Elden Ring Nightreign Wylder build, tips, and best weapons

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As a dedicated fan of Elden Ring’s Nightreign, it’s easy to see why Wylder is often considered the “face” of the Nightfarers, but that doesn’t diminish his battle prowess in any way. Despite being both agile and strength-based, it can be challenging to discern a specialized build for this versatile warrior. After investing countless hours with Elden Ring’s enigmatic swordsman, I’ve uncovered some clever strategies to maximize the potential of an optimal Wylder build.

In Nightreign, virtually everything is unpredictable, ranging from the loot you gather during quests to the inherent abilities each item possesses. Random occurrences like locusts snatching your levels add to this uncertainty, ensuring that you can’t always get what you desire. However, understanding which items and statistics to prioritize will help you minimize time spent organizing inventory and maximize your visits to optimal Nightreign rune farming locations. Here’s my top build for Wylder, along with tips and tactics to exploit every advantage.

Elden Ring Nightreign Wylder build

In Elden Ring, Nightreign, the character-building aspect emphasizes four key elements: artifacts (relics), weapons (including their inherent abilities), charms (talisman equivalents), and passive benefits derived from vanquishing bosses. While you encounter the latter three items during your journey, it’s essential to understand which relics suit your character best before setting out, as choosing the right ones can greatly impact your gameplay experience.

Wylder is an exceptional character with high initial health and endurance, and a preference for powerful strength-based weapons, particularly the greatsword. Enhancements that boost survivability or his favored weapon are beneficial to start with. Wylder’s ultimate is robust, and he has useful abilities from his grappling hook skill, making talent boosts on relics and passives, whether they’re weapon-based or from boss rewards, worth considering as well.

Elden Ring Nightreign Wylder best relics

Similar to other characters, Wylder possesses distinct relic enhancements that can be found on relics, identified by [Wylder] before the ability’s description. Generally, these are the most beneficial relics for him, particularly the exclusive feature that boosts his skill with a greatsword, his preferred weapon class, by unleashing a potent secondary attack.

I’d recommend the following buffs for Wylder:

  • [Wylder] Follow-up attacks possible when using character skill (greatsword only)
  • [Wylder] Create a lingering area of fire damage after using ultimate art
  • [Wylder] One additional Claw Shot use
  • Ultimate Art Gauge +
  • Defeating enemies fills more of the Art gauge
  • Increased greatsword attack power
  • Increased maximum HP
  • Strength/vigor/endurance + (increases greatsword damage via scaling, health, and stamina respectively)
  • Starting armament inflicts X (if you can match a Nightlord’s weakness)
  • X attack power up (match the above weakness, or use fire to match the follow-up attack from the unique affix above)
  • Improved X resistance (match the Nightlord’s damage type)
  • X damage negation up (match the above damage type)
  • Increased rune acquisition for self and allies
  • Items confer effect to all nearby allies
  • HP restored when using cured meats, medicinal boluses, etc. (this one also stacks with the above, letting you heal allies when you consume these)

Elden Ring Nightreign Wylder best weapons and passives

Wylder generally wields a greatsword, which are plentiful due to their widespread availability. Although he tends to favor strength-based weapons, he’s competent with dexterity-based ones too, so you have flexibility in your choice of weapon. You can also opt for a shield in your off-hand, but once you get the hang of evasive maneuvers and his hook, wielding a greatsword with both hands is his preferred method.

The high-grade weapons such as Death’s Poker, inflicting Frostbite, and Sword of Milos, causing Bleed damage, make excellent choices. This is especially true once you understand how to elevate weapons in Nightreign to legendary status using the Shifting Earth: The Crater event. Moreover, there are some exceptional legendary weapons in Nightreign that complement Wylder effectively (unlike the remarkable Ironeye build due to lack of unique dexterity bows). Some of these include the Blasphemous Blade, Golden Order Greatsword, and Sacred Relic Greatsword.

Here are the best weapon passives for Wylder:

  • Improved charged attacks
  • Improved jump attacks
  • Improved chain attack finishers
  • Improved X attack power (match the Nightlord’s weakness)
  • Improved attack power when two-handing
  • HP restoration on attacks
  • Improved damage negation at full HP
  • Successive attacks negate damage
  • Successive attacks improve attack power
  • Improved X damage negation (match the Nightlord’s attack affinity if known)
  • Add X to weapon (if you don’t have the Nightlord’s weakness covered)
  • FP restoration on attacks (less important but useful if you want to use weapon skill)

Elden Ring Nightreign Wylder best talismans

During expeditions, another common type of gear you might encounter, often referred to as talismans, can be acquired in two ways: either by defeating the shimmering scarabs (which are similar to dung beetles) or occasionally from power-up drops, such as those that seem to frequently appear at the gateway within the central castle.

The best talismans for Wydler are:

  1. Erdtree’s Favor: Raises maximum HP and stamina
  2. Viridian Amber Medallion: Improved stamina
  3. Twinblade Talisman: Improved chain attack finishers
  4. Bull-Goat’s Talisman: Improved poise
  5. Ritual Sword Talisman: Improves attack power at full HP
  6. Ritual Shield Talisman: Improved damage negation at full HP
  7. Godskin Swaddling Cloth: Successive attacks HP restoration
  8. Winged Sword Insignia: Successive attacks boost attack power
  9. Green Turtle Talisman: Increased maximum recovery
  10. Crimson Seed Talisman: Improved flask HP restoration

Elden Ring Nightreign Wylder tips

Wylder, being relatively accessible for beginners, boasts a good deal of health and endurance, plus an assortment of weapon choices to select from. This variety can somewhat soften the impact of randomness in gameplay. However, it’s important to note the following points:

1. While Wylder is beginner-friendly, they still have their unique challenges that experienced players should be aware of.
2. The wide selection of weapons doesn’t necessarily mean they are the best or most versatile in every situation.
3. Players should always be prepared to adapt their strategy based on the specific circumstances they encounter in the game.
4. Despite Wylder’s high health and stamina, careful positioning and resource management remain crucial for success.

  1. Use Claw Shot to engage

In simpler terms, Wylder’s ability with the Claw Shot is like a grappling hook that either pulls weaker adversaries towards you or propels you closer to larger, heavier foes, such as bosses. Normally, melee combat is challenging against Nightreign’s mobile bosses. However, Wylder can circumvent this issue by using his grappling hook to bridge the distance. When fighting bosses, it’s more effective to dodge their area-of-effect attacks on foot, but use Claw Shot to get back into melee range instead of the reverse. This strategy helps conserve stamina and triggers Wylder’s unique relic’s follow-up attack.

From a fan’s perspective, I’ve found that mastering the Claw Shot feels like a seamless transition between sprinting and attacking. This makes it effortless to unleash swift running attacks or, for added impact, jump attacks (which cause extra knockback damage). To top it off, when combined with passive weapon effects, this mobility skill transforms into an offensive powerhouse, making every move count!

  1. Charge Onslaught Stake

On the character selection screen, you might not realize that some skills allow for charging or holding attacks to enhance them, or alter their effects in specific scenarios. For instance, Wylder’s ultimate, Onslaught Stake, can be charged by holding the button, boosting its damage output. Given its powerful nature, it’s worth taking advantage of this charge mechanic to deal even more damage!

  1. Time your ultimate with your allies

The Onslaught Stake ultimate is amazing, but it gets even stronger if you have an Ironeye and/or Duchess on your team. If you’re playing with friends, you might politely suggest they switch characters to boost your power in one of the best Elden Ring Nightreign team setups.

Be vigilant for adversaries with a crooked cross symbol – these are enemies that have been tagged by Ironeye, making them vulnerable to more damage. Normally, Ironeye is tasked with maintaining the boss’s marking, but if it’s not present, it’s usually beneficial to wait until the enemy is marked before using your fully-charged ultimate. By doing otherwise, you might be overlooking extra damage potential.

Similarly, Duchess can employ her ability, known as Restage, to make enemies sustain damage for a second round. This can be tricky when playing with new teammates because you can’t monitor their skill cooldowns, but having Duchess utilize Restage after your ultimate significantly enhances its impact, essentially activating it twice. The good news is that this tactic synergizes well with Ironeye, transforming your skewer into a powerful explosion.

  1. Learn to dodge or counter with a shield

Given that you’ll often find yourself in close combat, it’s crucial to learn how to survive. Mastering evasive maneuvers, particularly against bosses, is key. Evading provides a short period of invulnerability (which can be enhanced with passive abilities), so use this skillfully to dodge attacks and minimize damage. Additionally, employing a shield for defense offers the advantage of dealing extra damage and causing stagger, but remember that you won’t be able to wield your greatsword with both hands, which increases its base damage.

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2025-05-30 01:38