Nightreign’s Raider class is for anyone who just wants to beat shit up. It’s the most straightforward class that focuses on pure damage output and nothing else. He has simple mechanics that are geared to give enemies as much of a hard time as possible.
Ability: Fighter’s Resolve
Raider’s passive ability is called Fighter’s Resolve; it works in tandem with his character skill, Retaliate. This makes sure that he will never be knocked out of Retaliate’s animation while boosting the skill’s power Additionally, if he takes damage during the animation that would otherwise down him, he’ll survive with just 1 HP.
Ability: Retaliate
There are two versions of Retaliate. When Raider does the normal version of his character skill, he’ll stomp on the ground, blowing away smaller enemies, and do a straight jab to enemies right in front of him. The attack will still deal some hefty damage and stance-breaking damage, but you’ll actually want to wait before using it.
This is because the buffed version of Retaliate is much better. As Raider keeps taking damage, Retaliate will be charged. You can tell when the charge is complete because the character skill icon will glow purple and Raider himself will radiate steam. In this buffed version, Raider will do the same stomp but will unleash a powerful uppercut.
Read More: Elden Ring Nightreign: A Begeinner’s Guide To Mastering Recluse
Attacking this way is much, much stronger than the normal Retaliate. It’s single-handedly the most powerful instance of stance damage in the game. This makes it an excellent tool against big enemies, especially Nightlords. However, this can be hard to land on more agile enemies or those who like to jump around a lot due to its longer wind up animation compared to the normal version. It’s better used on slower or stationary enemies.
Ultimate Art: Totem Stela
Raider’s Ultimate Art is Totem Stela, where he summons a giant rock slab from under him. This attack does incredible stance damage, often causing larger enemies and bosses to double over and leaving them open to critical hits from teammates. Because of its sheer power, the totem is also helpful for reviving teammates quickly.
The totem can be pulled out from any location, and will stay around for about 30 seconds. Its surrounding aura will buff the attacking power of you and your nearby teammates. It’s climbable as well, so ranged characters like Ironeye and Recluse can gain a significant height advantage and vantage point to attack enemies from, keeping them safely away from enemies.
A look at Raider’s attributes
- HP: A
- FP: D
- Stamina: A
- Strength: S
- Dexterity: C
- Intelligence: D
- Faith: D
- Arcane: C
Raider is the only character in the game with an S-rank in strength, which plays into its main strength as a close-range powerhouse. With high stamina and HP, Raider can also withstand beatings while dishing them out himself.
His FP, intelligence, faith, and arcane stats aren’t nearly as high, but those are rather irrelevant to his role on the team. However, his low faith and FP stats makes him a poor candidate for healing incantations. So his primary form of healing is through healing flasks or consumables like Warming Stones.
Read More: Elden Ring Nightreign: A Beginner’s Guide To Mastering Ironeye
During your run, be sure to pick up buffs from bosses that buff Totem’s Stela’s boosting capabilities as well as equipment that let him restore HP and FP by dealing critical hits as he’ll be breaking stances quite a lot.
Elden Ring Nightreign is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X, and Windows PCs.