Elden Ring: Nightreign - Ironeye Preview - IGN First

In the world of *Elden Ring*, the bow typically serves as a supportive tool, perfect for drawing enemy attention or softening them up from a distance before engaging with your primary weapon. It's especially useful for tactics like causing a bird to plummet for rune farming. However, when you step into the shoes of the Ironeye class in *Nightreign*, the bow transforms into the core of your gameplay, distinguishing it from the other eight classes. This unique playstyle positions Ironeye as the closest thing to a support class in *Nightreign*. To see the Ironeye in action, check out the exclusive gameplay video below.

Playing as the Ironeye, I quickly noticed their vulnerability. While they can wield any weapon, sticking to a bow is crucial for maintaining distance and avoiding direct combat, as they can't withstand many hits, especially early in the game. Fortunately, your starting bow is robust, delivering solid damage and equipped with the Mighty Shot skill, which allows you to strike from an impressive distance, deal additional damage, and inflict extra poise damage.

It's also important to note that *Nightreign* has significantly revamped the mechanics of bows. They now fire faster, and you can move more swiftly while targeting locked-on enemies. Moreover, you no longer need to manage arrow supplies, though this means you're limited to the type of arrow your bow uses. Other enhancements include a new animation for shooting arrows during a roll, the ability to perform acrobatic feats like running up walls and shooting mid-leap, quicker movement while manually aiming without switching to first-person view, a strong attack that disperses three arrows to hit multiple foes, and the option to backstab or perform a visceral attack on downed enemies with an arrow. These changes make the bow a formidable primary weapon in *Nightreign*, addressing the gaps felt in *Elden Ring*.

The Ironeye's main skill, Marking, is a swift dagger dash that pierces through enemies, leaving a mark that amplifies damage from all sources. With a short cooldown, it's almost always available for use against bosses if you keep an eye on the debuff's status. It also serves as an effective mobility tool, allowing you to escape tight spots by passing through enemies.

The Ironeye's ultimate, Single Shot, is a potent single-arrow attack. Think of it as an enhanced version of Mighty Shot. It requires some time to charge, but during this period, you're completely invulnerable. Once released, the shot can obliterate groups of enemies, piercing through everything in its path.

What sets the Ironeye apart in a team setting is their exceptional ability to revive allies from a safe distance. In *Nightreign*, reviving a fallen ally involves emptying a partitioned circle above their character through attacks. Most classes must risk getting close or use valuable resources like mana or ultimate abilities to revive. However, the Ironeye can do this safely from afar without expending any resources, making them invaluable in team dynamics. The challenge arises when reviving an ally who has fallen multiple times, as each faint adds a partition to the circle, and the Ironeye's ranged damage may not suffice for the more demanding revivals without using their ultimate.

Though the Ironeye may not match the raw damage output of other classes, their impact on a squad is undeniable. From boosting team damage with their marking ability, increasing item drops for all, clearing mobs with their ultimate, to their unparalleled capability to revive teammates safely, the Ironeye's utility is unmatched among *Nightreign*'s nightfarers.