Best Elden Ring Nightreign Recluse build

What is the best Elden Ring Nightreign Recluse build? Nightreign's dedicated mage class sports some fabulously unique mechanics that separate it from its mainline cousin. This not only makes her a perfect fit in pretty much every team composition, but she's also arguably the most creative class in the game.

Of course, it's all well and good having unlimited potential, but you won't be able to get the best out of Elden Ring Nightreign's Recluse without understanding what makes her tick in the soulslike game. With our guide in hand, you'll soon be making light work of the Elden Ring Nightreign bosses with the Recluse's monstrous magical mastery.

The Recluse is a versatile spellcaster well-versed in both Intelligence and Faith, meaning she's highly proficient in both Sorceries and Incantations. Thanks to her Magic Cocktail mechanic, she can be utilized as an offensive, defensive, or supportive addition to any team, provided she's able to farm the required affinity residues to concoct her unique spells – more on that later. Unsurprisingly, the Recluse fares best when loaded up on Intelligence and/or Faith, as well as Mind for the bonus FP, though this isn't necessary as she can self-sustain her mana.

Here are Recluse's base attributes:

• HP: D
• FP: A
• Stamina: C
• Strength: D
• Dexterity: C
• Intelligence: S
• Faith: S
• Arcane: C

A veritable glass cannon in every aspect, Recluse needs to be shrouded in bubble wrap, else she'll be blown over by a stiff breeze. Staves and seals will naturally be your bread and butter, though it may also be worth grabbing a shield in case your team lacks a dedicated tank like Elden Ring Nightreign Guardian to take most of the heat. From our experience, spells with shorter cast times and quicker animations like Black Flame, Lightning Spear, and some Glintstone sorceries work best regardless of how much space you have to play with. Stars of Ruin is particularly potent, so run it when possible.

For in-run passives, prioritize picking up weapons that shorten cast times first and foremost. You'll also generally want to snag equipment that passively reduces FP costs, increases attack power, and improves your spells.

Recluse best Relics

The best Recluse Relics augment her monstrous damage potential by providing bonus Intelligence, Faith, and attack power. As with the other best Elden Ring Nightreign classes, special class-specific Relics are always worth equipping due to the powerful modifiers they provide, and the complementary stat rolls they typically come with.

Though Relic rolls are randomly generated for the most part, Remembrances, Night Lords, and the Small Jar Bazaar yield magical curios with set stats, the best of which for Recluse we've outlined below:

• Polished Drizzly Scene (Blue): Mind +3, Improved Death Blight Resistance (Purchased from the Small Jar Bazaar for 700 Murk)
• Grand Tranquil Scene (Yellow): [Recluse] Suffer blood loss and increase attack power upon Art activation, Mind +2, Intelligence +2 (Purchased from the Small Jar Bazaar for 1,000 Murk after defeating four Night Lords)

Elden Ring Nightreign Recluse abilities

The Recluse is a spellweaver who intricately threads Elemental Defense procs between casts to ensure she never runs dry of FP, before unleashing her Magic Cocktail of choice. Her Ultimate Art, Soulblood Song, can provide incredible team-wide value due to the on-hit HP and FP restoration; not only is the Recluse a powerhouse DPS class, but she boasts the means to keep your team topped up.

Here are Recluse's abilities:

• Passive Ability – Elemental Defense: Recluse and ally elemental attacks mark enemies. Recluse discovers elemental affinity residues from marked enemies. Affinity residues also appear on allies intermittently.
• Character Skill – Magic Cocktail: Recluse initially harvests affinity residues, restoring her FP. After collecting three affinity residues, Recluse crafts a spell based on their element. Utilizing more different elements creates a more powerful spell.
• Ultimate Art – Soulblood Song: Recluse unleashes a blood chant that brands nearby enemies with blood sigils. Sigil-marked enemies take more damage and restore HP and FP to whichever ally attacks them.

Recluse Elemental Defense

Elemental Defense is a simple passive that allows the Recluse to reveal affinity residues on marked allies and enemies. These are highlighted as a colored ring that encircles the target lock marker. For example, a blue circle signifies a magic affinity residue, and red fire.

Recluse's default Glintstone sorceries will only create magic affinity residues, so make sure you and your allies utilize other elements in your offensive tools to create more diverse Magic Cocktail options.

Recluse Magic Cocktail

Magic Cocktail is what makes the Recluse's kit one of the best in the game. Not only does gathering an affinity residue restore some of Recluse's FP, but collecting three creates an elemental spell that she can cast for free.

At a basic level, provided your team is preparing appropriately for a Night Lord's weakness, Recluse will always have the means to exploit the boss' fatal flaw. Magic Cocktail also has perhaps the highest skill ceiling in Nightreign, as you'll have to adjust your build based on the sorts of spells you'll need to excel. This is especially true when it comes to accessing tri-element spells, which require cycling through different elemental weapons before you can cast them.

Here are the possible spell combinations. Note that any mix of affinities for duo-affinity spells yields the same result:

Recluse Soulblood Song

Soulblood Song is a powerful Ultimate Art that marks nearby enemies, increasing their damage taken while restoring HP and FP to yourself and allies who attack marked targets (all damage sources count). Soulblood Song is best used offensively when an enemy's stance has been broken to maximize its value window. It can also be a run saver if your crew has run out of restorative items.

Soulblood Song has plenty of natural synergies with other Ultimate Arts like Finale (Duchess) and Wings of Salvation (Guardian). Finale's invisibility, for example, grants extra restoration time without fear of being hit, while Wings of Salvation's defensive boons add another layer of supportive power.

And that's all you need to know to craft the best Elden Ring Nightreign Recluse build. While you're here, check out all the Elden Ring Nightreign skins you can style the sorcerer supreme with. If you're looking for more great co-op games to play with your pals, read up on the best of the best in our dedicated guide.