Elden Ring Nightreign Duchess Build, Tips and Best Weapons

The Duchess class in Elden Ring Nightreign leverages excellent DEX-scaling and swift movement to make for a nimble assassin that can dish out tons of damage. She’s proficient at using daggers and casting INT-based magic, but her talents don’t end there as she can also dart in and out of combat effortlessly. With that being said, the character isn’t exactly beginner-friendly, mainly due to her poor HP reserve and lacklustre stamina. To help you get the most out of this Nightfarer, we’ve put together a guide going over the best Duchess build in Elden Ring Nightreign.

Best Duchess Weapons in Elden Ring Nightreign

Daggers gel seamlessly with the Duchess’ playstyle in Nightreign, so you’ll need to be on the lookout for ones that can inflict status damage, such as Bleed or Scarlet Rot. This will allow you to take advantage of her unique dagger moveset, since she can pull off two extra hits in the light attack combo. We also recommend using a staff member in the off-hand to cast magic, giving the character a range of options to rely on when she rolls away from danger.

Finding rare daggers is easier said than done, so you can always pick up light swords imbued with magic, or Katanas with bleed affinity, as the character is adept at using those as well. Regardless of the weapon types you utilize, it’s important to ensure they’re equipped with the right Passive effects.

In the Duchess’ case, the Passives should increase the potency of her rapid attack chains or improve damage negation, allowing her to tank through counterattacks. Given her magical strengths, grabbing a staff that comes with an FP restoration Passive would be ideal. That said, here are all the Passives we’d recommend prioritizing:

• Damage Negation on Successive Attacks
• Successive Attacks Improve Attack Power
• X Type Attack Power Up (match to selected Nightlord’s weakness)
• Increased Spell Casting Speed
• FP Restoration on Attacks
• Improved Sorceries
• Reduced FP Cost on Casting Sorceries

Next, we’ve got Weapon Arts, powerful offensive and defensive maneuvers that come with flashy animations, setting them apart from regular attacks. The best Weapon Arts for the Duchess are attacks that can inflict status damage, or quick, sweeping moves that offer high DPS and go hand-in-hand with her impressive mobility. Some examples include:

• Quickstep
• Repeating Thrust
• Reduvia Blood Blade
• Blade of Death
• Corpse Piler

Finally, here are the best weapons for the Duchess, ranging from starting gear to purple and golden tier armaments:

• Reduvia
• Wakizashi
• Rivers of Blood
• Scorpion’s Stinger
• Crystal Knife
• Black Knife
• Glintstone Kris
• Hand of Malenia
• Albinauric Staff

Best Duchess Relics in Elden Ring Nightreign

Relics in Nightreign are permanent progression items earned at each expedition’s end. They grant bonuses and buffs to various attributes, although the Relics you acquire are almost completely randomized. This adds a degree of complexity to the process of creating a cohesive build, but the

Relics you need to prioritize to reinforce your Duchess are pretty straightforward. Before getting into all of them, we highly recommend progressing through the character’s Remembrance quest since it’ll reward you with two powerful Relics.

Check out all the Relics best-suited for the Duchess below:

• (Duchess)  Dagger chain attack reprises event upon nearby enemies
• (Duchess) Improved character skill attack power
• (Duchess) Defeating enemies while Ultimate Art is active increases attack power
• Increased Dexterity
• Increased Intelligence
• Increased X type status effect build-up (match to selected Nightlord’s weakness)
• Improved character skill cooldown
• Improved stance breaking when wielding two weapons
• Consuming Flasks heals allies
• Increased HP
• Increased FP
• Improved Stamina Recovery

Best Talismans for Duchess in Elden Ring Nightreign

Talismans function essentially the same in Nightreign (compared to Elden Ring), barring the method to obtain them and their temporary nature. These items are now randomized and can only be acquired after eliminating teardrop scarabs. Nevertheless, they remain an essential element of any build, granting boosts to character-specific attributes and increasing damage negation.

The best Talismans for a Duchess build buff her damage output, grant bonuses on procing specific status ailments, and improve her fundamentals such as Dexterity, Intelligence, and HP, among other things. Here are all our Talisman recommendations for the Duchess in Nighreign:

• Milicent’s Prosthesis: Improved Dexterity and successive attacks boost overall attack power
• Erdtree’s Favor: Increase maximum HP and maximum stamina
• Crimson Seed Talisman: Improved HP Restoration through Flasks
• Green Turtle Talisman: Improved stamina recovery
• Blessed Dew Talisman: Continuous HP recovery
• Lord of Blood’s Exultation: Blood loss in the vicinity increases attack power for a limited time
• Kindred of Rot’s Exultation: Poison and rot in the vicinity improve attack power for a limited time
• Twinblade Talisman: Improved chain attack finishers
• Cerulean Amber Medallion: Increased Maximum FP
• Dagger Talisman: Improved Critical Hits
• Graven-School Talisman: Improved Sorceries
• Magic Scorpion Charm: Improved Magic Attack Power
• Radagon Icon: Improved Spell casting speed

Best Tips for Duchess in Elden Ring Nightreign

The biggest chink in the Duchess’ armor is her low HP pool. Outside of this, you have an incredibly nimble character that can use slashing attacks and sorceries while easily weaving in and out of combat.

Her Passive ability, Magnificent Poise, forms the bedrock of her playstyle, allowing you to spam dodge without worrying about running out of stamina. This doesn’t mean that she has unlimited stamina by any means. But you’ll find it to be a lot more forgiving when compared to every other character.

Once you’ve got the hang of her engage and disengage combat loop, follow these tips to enhance your mastery with the character:

1. Don’t Sleep on Duchess’ Dagger

The Duchess’ default dagger doesn’t seem like the most impressive armament at first, but its qualities immediately shine when you coat it with the magic affinity. During the early game, the dagger is worth relying on as you can pile on status effect damage and chew through enemy health bars. Be sure to pair it with a second dagger as soon as you can find one, and she’ll become one of the best Elden Ring Nightreign classes in no time.

2. Dual-Wield Daggers If Spellcasting Isn’t Your Thing

Piggybacking off the last point, the Duchess DEX-scaling and mobility make her the best character for dual-wielding light-weight armaments when raw damage output is concerned. Acquiring two daggers that can inflict status damage and pairing them with her Restage character skill is a recipe for surefire success. For players who enjoy pure DEX builds, this is a sound alternative to carrying a staff in your off-hand.

3. Use Ultimate Art to Revive Teammates

The character’s Ultimate, Finale, briefly renders the Duchess and her party invisible. During its active duration, enemies and bosses will wander around searching for their prey, but they’ll immediately lock on you if you attack them.

This caveat significantly damages the ability’s utility in an offensive sense, meaning you’re better off using the invisibility to revive downed Nightfarers quickly. Using the Ultimate strategically during boss fights can single-handedly save a run, especially if both your teammates have been downed.

4. Coordinate Restage with Your Teammates

Implementing this tip is a must for any team with a Duchess on it. The Restage character skill can be an absolute cheat code if all three Nightfarers sync their offenses together. The ability reapplies all the damage inflicted by the Duchess and her teammates in the last few seconds. Combined with the entire party executing their attacks in tandem, the skill can be pretty overpowered.

This is especially true if your team composition includes an Ironeye, as the archer can apply a weak spot to reduce the enemy’s damage resistance, and pair with the Single Shot for maximum damage. Add Restage into the mix, and you’re looking at boss clears at an insane pace.

And that’s the best Duchess build you can get in Elden Ring Nightreign. Are there any other Nightfarers that you want to see build guides for? Let us know in the comments below.