‘Elden Ring Nightreign’ Guide To Unlocking The Two Hidden Duchess and Revenant Classes And All Characters

Nightreign has a total of eight distinct characters to play as, with each one embracing a different style of build from Elden Ring. But you’ll probably notice that only six are available at the start. In typical FromSoftware fashion, Nightreign never tells you how to unlock those two additional characters — while it’s not overly complex to do, you actually can completely miss them if you don’t know what to do, and simply never have the chance to play as Duchess and Revenant. Here’s exactly how to unlock Nightreign’s most unique classes.

How to Unlock the Duchess in Elden Ring Nightreign

To unlock the Duchess, you’ll have to beat the game’s first boss, Gladius. That’s right, unfortunately, there’s absolutely no way to get this character otherwise. But if you’re struggling with Gladius, we do have a guide on how to beat the boss that might help.

Once you’ve defeated Gladius, you’ll get an item called “Old Pocket-Watch.” At this point, all you need to do is find the priestess in the Roundtable Hold, talk to her, and select the option to give the watch to her. A cutscene will play, and you’ll unlock the Duchess. For an added tip, it’s worth doing the Remembrance stories for both Duchess and Wylder, as the two characters have a surprising connection that’s fun to discover.

The Duchess is, by far, the fastest character in Nightreign. Her builds should always focus on speed and fast attacks. While you can use things like greatswords, she’s typically more effective with daggers, single-handed swords, or spears — but can also be proficient in spellcasting. Here’s a quick overview of the Duchess’s skills:

• Magnificent Poise (Passive) – Duchess has higher Poise than any other class, meaning the stamina reduction from attacks and evasive actions is reduced. She’s also the only character that can have two evasive actions in a row, and she can even execute two backstabs as well.
• Restage – This is easily one of the most fascinating skills in the game. Restage essentially lets you reapply the damage that was just done to an enemy within a short window, roughly ten seconds. This means if you time it right after a teammate’s ultimate, you can double the damage.
• Finale (Ultimate) – The Duchess uses a cloak to obscure herself and teammates. While everyone can still be damaged, enemies lose track of you and the others briefly, and are more prone to critical hits and backstabs.

How to Unlock the Revenant in Elden Ring Nightreign

Unlocking the Revenant is a bit more involved than the Duchess, and even requires you to take on a solo battle. You’ll first have to unlock the Duchess, which again means defeating Gladius. Once you’ve done that, head to the Small Jar Bazaar and purchase the item “Besmirched Frame.”

Now, if you look at your map, you’ll see an exclamation point icon and a marker of a new ghostly character. Head to that point and talk to the character. Now you’ll be transported to an arena, where you have to fight the Revenant and her three summons at the same time. This fight can be a bit tricky, and our best advice is to take it on as the archer class, Ironeye.

Using a bow means you can keep everything at range and pick off the enemies one by one. Start with the small sword-wielding Helen, then move on to Frederick, and finally the hulking Skeleton Sebastian. The Revenant herself is best saved for last, as she easily avoids a lot of your attacks, and you’ll find it’s easier to deal with her solo than trying to avoid three other enemies.

Revenant is a highly unique class that revolves around Faith, healing, and summoning. This is a character that’s great at crowd control and supporting the team, but doesn’t excel in one-on-one battles. Here’s an overview of the Revenant’s abilities:

• Necromancy (Passive) – Enemies that the Necromancer defeats, as in you land the final blow, are revived as ghosts that aid you for a short time. While this skill can help in boss battles, it’s especially useful for clearing out large bases like the Castle.
• Summon Spirit – The Revenant can summon three different spirits to aid in battle, although only one can be active at any time. If a spirit is defeated, it can’t be summoned again until its health bar recharges.
• Immortal March (Ultimate) – The Revenant launches a blast that makes the team immortal. Nearly dead allies will be instantly revived, and teammates who are up can survive with 1 HP if they get hit. If you have a summon spirit currently active, using your Ultimate will also make the spirit use their Ultimate.

Elden Ring Nightreign is available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.