Elden Ring: Nightreign - Ironeye Preview - IGN First

While the bow has always been a powerful weapon in Elden Ring, it's typically used as a support tool—ideal for drawing enemy attention, softening foes from a distance before engaging with your primary weapon, or strategically causing creatures like birds to plummet for rune farming. However, when you're playing as the Ironeye in Nightreign, the bow transforms into the core of the class, offering a playstyle that diverges significantly from the other eight classes in Nightreign, and closely resembles a support role. Experience the unique mechanics of the Ironeye in the exclusive gameplay video below.

One of the first things you'll notice about the Ironeye is their vulnerability. While they can use any weapon, the bow is essential for maintaining distance and avoiding melee combat, as they can be quickly overwhelmed, especially early in the game. Thankfully, the starting bow is robust, delivering solid damage with the Mighty Shot skill, allowing for long-range attacks that also deal additional poise damage.

In Nightreign, the mechanics of bows have undergone significant changes. They now shoot faster, and players can move more swiftly while targeting locked-on enemies. Moreover, the need for a constant supply of arrows is eliminated, although this means you're limited to the arrow type of your equipped bow. This change is particularly beneficial, as it removes the stress of running out of ammunition during critical moments like boss fights. Additional enhancements include a new animation for shooting arrows while rolling, the ability to perform acrobatic feats such as running up walls, leaping, and shooting arrows for added flair, faster movement during manual aiming without switching to first-person view, a strong attack that can release a spread of three arrows to hit multiple enemies, and the ability to backstab or perform visceral attacks on downed enemies with arrows. These updates make the bow a viable primary weapon, addressing its limitations in the base Elden Ring and enhancing its effectiveness in Nightreign.

When playing as the Ironeye, the bow is not just a weapon but the essence of the class. The Ironeye's main skill, Marking, is a swift dagger dash that penetrates enemies, marking them for increased damage from all sources. With a short cooldown, this skill can be continuously applied to bosses, enhancing your team's damage output. It also serves as a useful mobility tool, allowing you to bypass enemies and escape dangerous situations.

The Ironeye's ultimate ability, Single Shot, is a potent, singular arrow attack. It's essentially an enhanced version of Mighty Shot, requiring a brief charge time during which you're invulnerable. Once fired, it delivers massive damage and can penetrate through multiple enemies, making it excellent for crowd control.

The Ironeye's true value shines in team play, particularly in their ability to revive allies from a safe distance. In Nightreign, reviving an ally involves depleting a segmented circle above their character by attacking them. While most classes must risk close combat or use mana and skills to revive teammates, the Ironeye can do so safely from afar without expending any resources. This ability can be crucial for the success of a run. However, the challenge increases with each ally's fall, as additional segments are added to the circle, making it harder for the Ironeye to revive those who have fallen multiple times without using their ultimate for revival.

Although the Ironeye may not match the raw damage output of some classes, their impact on the team is undeniable. From enhancing group damage with their marking ability, increasing item discovery for the entire team, clearing mobs with their ultimate, to safely reviving allies, the Ironeye's utility is unparalleled among the Nightreign classes.