In Elden Ring, the bow typically serves as a support weapon, used to draw enemy attention, weaken foes from a distance, or even cause certain enemies to plummet to their demise for rune farming. However, when you step into the shoes of the Ironeye class in Nightreign, the bow becomes central to your gameplay, offering a unique experience distinct from the other eight classes. This class is perhaps the closest Nightreign has to a support role. Dive into the exclusive gameplay video below to see Ironeye in action.
Playing as the Ironeye, you'll quickly notice their vulnerability. While capable of using any weapon, the bow is essential for maintaining a safe distance from combat, as the Ironeye can't withstand much damage, particularly early in the game. Thankfully, your starting bow is reliable, offering solid damage and the Mighty Shot skill, which enables long-range attacks with increased damage and poise damage.
It's worth noting that bows in Nightreign have been significantly revamped. They now shoot faster, and you can move more swiftly while targeting locked-on enemies. Arrows are no longer a concern, as you're equipped with an endless supply of the type your bow uses. This change eliminates the worry of running out during critical moments like boss fights. Additionally, new features include an animation for shooting arrows mid-roll, the ability to perform acrobatic feats like wall-running and shooting, and the option to aim without switching to first-person view. The strong attack now fires a spread of three arrows, effective against multiple foes, and you can even execute backstabs or visceral attacks on downed enemies with your bow. These enhancements make the bow a formidable primary weapon, addressing the shortcomings from its role in base Elden Ring.
As the Ironeye, your main skill is Marking, a swift dagger dash that pierces through enemies, marking them for increased damage from all sources. With a short cooldown, this skill can be maintained on bosses with attentive play, serving also as a mobility tool to escape dangerous situations.
The Ironeye's ultimate, Single Shot, is a potent, charged shot that offers full invulnerability during its animation. This powerful attack can pierce through multiple enemies, making it ideal for clearing groups.
What sets the Ironeye apart in team play is their ability to revive allies safely from a distance. In Nightreign, reviving downed teammates involves depleting a segmented circle above their character through attacks. While other classes might need to risk close encounters or use mana and ultimates, the Ironeye can revive allies without expending resources, significantly impacting the success of a run. However, reviving becomes challenging if an ally has fallen multiple times, as each faint adds another segment to the circle, and the Ironeye's damage output from afar isn't sufficient for multiple segments unless using their ultimate.
Despite not matching the raw damage of other classes, the Ironeye's utility in a squad is unparalleled. Their marking ability boosts team damage, a passive increases item drops for the group, their ultimate clears mobs effectively, and their unique revival capability from a distance makes them an invaluable asset among Nightreign's classes.
