Elden Ring: Nightreign - Ironeye Preview - IGN First

In Elden Ring, the bow typically serves as a supportive weapon, ideal for drawing enemy attention, softening foes from a distance, or even farming runes by causing creatures like birds to plummet to their demise. However, when you step into the role of the Ironeye in Nightreign, the bow transforms into the core of your gameplay, offering a unique playstyle that diverges significantly from the other eight classes in Nightreign. The Ironeye might just be the closest thing to a support class that Nightreign has to offer. For an exclusive glimpse into this class, check out the gameplay video below.

Playing as the Ironeye, you'll quickly notice that this class is notably fragile. While they can wield any weapon they find, the bow becomes indispensable not just for combat but for survival. It allows you to maintain a safe distance from the fray, crucial since the Ironeye can't withstand many hits, particularly in the early game stages. Thankfully, the starting bow is reliable, dealing solid damage and equipped with the Mighty Shot skill, enabling you to strike from an impressive range, inflict additional damage, and disrupt enemy poise effectively.

It's important to highlight that Nightreign has significantly revamped the mechanics of bows. They now shoot faster, and you can move more swiftly while targeting locked-on enemies. Moreover, the need for a constant supply of arrows has been eliminated, simplifying inventory management but limiting you to the arrow type of your chosen bow. Among other enhancements, there's a new animation for shooting mid-roll, the ability to perform acrobatic feats like wall-running and arrow-shooting leaps, and the option to aim without switching to first-person mode, allowing for quicker movement. The strong attack now releases a trio of arrows capable of hitting multiple targets, and you can execute backstabs or visceral attacks on downed enemies with arrows. These changes make the bow a formidable primary weapon in Nightreign, addressing the limitations it had in base Elden Ring.

As the Ironeye, your primary skill is Marking, a swift dagger dash that pierces through enemies, applying a mark that amplifies damage from all sources. With its short cooldown, you can keep this debuff active on bosses almost continuously, making it not only a powerful offensive tool but also a great way to maneuver out of danger.

The Ironeye's ultimate ability, Single Shot, is a potent, charged shot that grants invulnerability during its animation. Upon release, it pierces through obstacles and enemies alike, ideal for clearing groups of foes with a single, devastating strike.

What sets the Ironeye apart in team play is their exceptional ability to revive allies safely from afar. In Nightreign, reviving a fallen teammate involves depleting a partitioned circle above them through attacks. While most classes must risk close combat or use resources to revive, the Ironeye can do so effortlessly and safely from a distance, without depleting their resources. This capability can be a game-changer, although reviving teammates who have fallen multiple times becomes challenging due to the increased partitions in the revival circle, requiring more damage than the Ironeye can typically deliver from range without using their ultimate.

Although the Ironeye may not match the raw damage output of other classes, their utility within a squad is unparalleled. From enhancing group damage with Marking, boosting item drops with a passive ability, clearing mobs with their ultimate, to safely reviving teammates, the Ironeye's presence significantly enhances team performance, making them an invaluable asset among Nightreign's nightfarers.