Elden Ring: Nightreign - Ironeye Exclusive Preview

Bows have always been a powerful tool in Elden Ring, but traditionally, they’ve served as a secondary option—ideal for drawing enemy attention, weakening foes from a distance before switching to your primary weapon up close, or repeatedly knocking that one bird off a ledge to farm runes. However, in Nightreign, playing as the Ironeye transforms the bow into the core of the class, creating a playstyle unlike any of the other eight classes available. It’s arguably the closest Nightreign gets to a dedicated support role. Watch the Ironeye in action in the exclusive gameplay video below.

My first impression of the Ironeye is how fragile they are. They can use any weapon they find, but keeping a bow equipped is essential to staying out of direct combat and avoiding damage—because it doesn’t take many hits to fall, especially early in the game. Thankfully, the starting bow is quite reliable. It deals respectable damage and comes with the Mighty Shot skill, which lets you strike from extremely long range, inflict extra damage, and break enemy poise more effectively.

It’s also worth noting that bows have been significantly reworked in Nightreign. They now fire much faster, and you can move more freely while targeting a locked-on enemy. Another welcome change: you no longer need to carry arrows. The trade-off is that you’re limited to the arrow type built into your bow, but not having to manage arrow supplies—or run out during a boss fight—is a huge relief. Other quality-of-life improvements include: a new firing animation after rolling; stylish acrobatic moves like running up walls, leaping off, and firing mid-air; manual aiming without entering first-person view, plus faster movement while aiming; a strong attack that fires a three-arrow spread for hitting multiple enemies; and yes, you can now perform a backstab or visceral attack on a downed enemy using an arrow. Essentially, every limitation that made the bow impractical as a main weapon in the original Elden Ring has been addressed in Nightreign.

When you play as the Ironeye in Nightreign, the bow becomes the heart and soul of the class.“

The Ironeye’s signature skill is Marking—a quick dash-and-stab attack that passes through enemies and marks them, increasing all incoming damage. It has a short cooldown, so you can keep it active on bosses as long as you monitor the debuff duration. It also doubles as a mobility tool, letting you slip through enemies to escape dangerous situations.

The Ironeye’s ultimate ability is Single Shot, which, as the name suggests, is one immensely powerful shot. Think of it as Mighty Shot amplified. It takes a moment to charge, but you’re completely invulnerable during the animation. Once fired, the projectile deals massive damage and pierces almost everything in its path, making it excellent for clearing groups of enemies at once.

What makes the Ironeye truly stand out in a team is their ability to safely revive allies from a distance.“

Where the Ironeye really excels in a squad, though, is their ability to revive allies safely from a distance. In Nightreign, when a teammate falls, a segmented circle appears above their character. Attacking your downed ally gradually empties this circle; once it’s fully depleted, they’re revived. Most classes must put themselves at risk by getting up close, spend mana on a ranged spell, or even use their ultimate to perform a revival. The Ironeye, however, can do it from safety without spending resources. That’s an incredibly valuable asset—one that can determine whether a run succeeds or fails. The catch is that each time an ally falls, another segment is added to the circle. While the Ironeye excels at reviving allies who’ve only fallen once or twice, they’ll struggle with allies whose circle has three segments, since their long-range damage output isn’t high enough—unless they use their ultimate just for the revive.

While the Ironeye may not match the raw damage output of other classes, their impact on a team is always noticeable. Between their Marking skill (which boosts everyone’s damage), a passive ability that increases item discovery for the whole squad, an ultimate that clears crowds, and their unique talent for safe, easy revives from a distance, the Ironeye’s utility is nearly unmatched among the nightfarers.