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One of my favorite things about Souls games is that sometimes the best method for dealing with tragic, corrupted knights and primordial horrors is simply hitting them very hard with a large object. It’s an ideal embodied by the Raider, the subject of Bandai Namco’s latest Elden Ring: Nightreign character reveal trailer, who seems just as comfortable using himself as a bludgeoning implement as anything else.
At first blush, the Raider looks a bit like someone’s Skyrim character wandered out of Nord country and into Limgrave. For all you Elden Ring buffs, he’s Godfrey-coded—or maybe Hoarah Loux-coded is more accurate: He’s a burly, bearded, viking-looking gent, who starts the trailer cracking his knuckles as though he’s not particularly interested in the massive axe he’s got strapped to his back.
If I was the kind of person who would casually deliver an uppercut to a dragon like the Raider does just a few seconds later, I’d probably be pretty ambivalent about my own great axe, too.
It’s unclear if the Raider’s brawling abilities are unique, or if they can be found as Ashes of War for any Nightreign character to use. But still, he has a clear passion for pugilism. He socks wyrms in the mouth. He headbutts knights wearing full plate armor. And if engaging FromSoft enemies in fisticuffs wasn’t enough to charm you, we get a shot of him enjoying a cold one. (It’s important to treat yourself between bouts of dragon boxing.)
At the end of the trailer, we get a look at what seems like the Raider’s ultimate ability. He stomps the ground, causing a damaging eruption of sharp rocks as a large stone slab bursts from the ground and lifts him into the air.
The slab provides some interesting utility. It can elevate you and your teammates above the reach of enemy attacks, and even provides a safe shooting position for someone like Ironeye, Nightreign’s archer character, to fire down at targets without risk. And best of all, the slab serves as a platform you can leap off of for a timely plunging attack, which as we all know is the coolest form of attack anyone can do.
Bandai Namco has followed up previous Nightreign reveals with longer videos providing more details about the character’s abilities, so if you’re keen to learn more about the Raider’s whole deal, keep an eye on the publisher’s YouTube channel.
Elden Ring Nightreign launches on May 29, 2025.
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Kurt Indovina
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