Summary

  • Elden Ring Nightreign offers a variety of powerful bows with unique abilities and strengths.
  • Holy damage and status effects play a significant role in maximizing the effectiveness of bows in combat.
  • Each bow type in the game, from greatbows to light bows, offers different advantages and is suitable for various playstyles.

Elden Ring Nightreign has just as much variety as any FromSoftware game when it comes to the weapons and class types that the player has access to. From staffs, to greatsword, there is something for everyone regardless of how players want to fight their enemies, with all options being just as viable as the next.

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Elden Ring Nightreign: Best Relics And Relic Effects For Ironeye

In Elden Ring Nightreign, players should keep their eyes peeled for the following relics for Ironeye.

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Bows have long been a niche weapon type that many players overlook in Soulslikes, as the need to buy or craft extra arrows can be quite annoying. But that problem is now gone, and players are free to grab a quiver and fire off as many shots as they desire. And, with so many great bow choices to choose from, there is no shortage of ranged firepower to take on the foes that await from afar.

8 Erdtree Greatbow

High Burst, But Not A Lot Of DPS

Elden Ring Nightreign  Edrtree greatbow
  • Holy damage
  • Through and Through penetration skill

When it comes to picking up a bow to take on the foes across Limveld, one of the things that players need to consider is the versatility of the weapon when it comes to the trickier, more mobile enemies. Greatbows all suffer from the same long draw time, but that doesn't mean they don't have their uses against certain enemies, particularly those that can be exploited from afar.

The Erdtree Greatbow is a decent choice for players who need a bit of extra holy damage, whether for dealing with certain field enemies or the Nightlord itself. Also, as the weapon scales with multiple different stats like strength and faith, several different Nightfarers can make use of the bow when they need a little extra ranged punch to finish off a tough opponent.

7 Ironeye's Bow

Simple Yet Effective

Elden Ring Nightreign  Ironeye's bow
  • Starter Weapon
  • Can be buffed with relics from the start

It is safe to say that Ironeye is one of the strongest, if not the strongest, characters in all of Nightreign. The ability to deal damage from afar is a hugely valuable asset at any point in a run, and his starter weapon does more than enough work to warrant keeping it for the final fight.

Elden Ring Nightreign best spells featured image
Elden Ring Nightreign: Best Spells, Ranked

The spells in Elden Ring Nightrein work a little differently than they do in the main game. Here are some of the best options players can use.

The reason his bow is so powerful compared to others is the ability to equip certain relics that buff it right from the start. Players don't have to worry about running across the map in search of a frost weapon if one spawns in their inventory, and the benefits that come from having a powerful status effect out of the gate are huge, allowing the player to guarantee the correct element for the Nightlord's weakness.

6 Lion Greatbow

The Highest Burst There Is

Elden Ring Nightreign  Lion Greatbow
  • High damage single shot
  • Arrow rain on skill and heavy attack

The Lion Greatbow hits like a truck and crushes anything that is foolish enough to step in the line of fire. It has the highest single-shot arrow that players can gain access to, so it makes sense why it's a legendary tier weapon ripped straight from the arms of the esteemed General Radahn.

The passive skill is a super useful tool that helps players take care of groups of enemies without having to spend FP, something which other greatbows tend to struggle with. Even though it takes a while between shots, each blow deals significant damage to even the largest of opponents, and players will have a much easier time staggering enemies than ever before.

5 Horn Bow

Combining Archery And Wizardry

Elden Ring Nightreign  Horn Bow
  • Magic damage
  • Intelligence scaling

Mixed damage is always a massive boon for any player looking to have the most success in Limveld, and the Horn Bow is the perfect tool for delivering exactly that. Bringing a healthy dose of magic damage, along with some handy intelligence scaling, the bow is a great weapon for any class that likes to cast spells and have a secondary damage source when the FP runs low.

It's an excellent choice when used against specific enemies where the magic damage can really shine, and although thee isn't a specific Nightlord with a weakness to the effect, it is still a bow that can carry players all the way through night three, bringing more than enough damage to compete with the best.

4 Harp Bow

Quickness Combined With High Sustained Damage

Elden Ring Nightreign Harp Bow

The Harp bow is a simple but incredibly effective light bow that brings some serious damage to a weapon that lets players stay mobile at all times. Light bows are a great choice for most of the game, as almost every Nightlord and many field bosses have a decent gap close, making any form of additional mobility a necessity.

Despite not coming with an elemental or status effect, the raw physical damage it can output is hard to match with any other light bow, and for players who are looking for a solid armament that will reliably output damage at all times, the Harp Bow is an excellent choice.

3 Black Bow

The Best Of Both Worlds

Elden Ring Nightreign Black Bow
  • Can be wielded like a light bow
  • Barrage skill

The Black Bow is sort of a jack of all trades, not quite a long bow and not quite a short bow. The key difference between this bow and the other long bows is the ability to move around and fire off shots as if it were a much smaller weapon, adding much more fluidity to the combat and letting players get a few more shots in that would otherwise be impossible.

It's a staple choice and a pretty good Nightlord killer, being able to shred through health bars in no time while keeping the player on the move. The single-shot damage is high enough to warrant picking it up, and as it drops as a rare armament, players don't need to worry about jumping into the mines to upgrade it and can instead spend their time leveling up more for the final encounter.

2 Erdtree Bow

Arrows From The Heavens

Elden Ring Nightreign Erdtree Bow
  • Holy damage
  • Faith scaling

The Erdtree Bow is easily one of the best choices for an archer looking to be the true Nightlord destroyer. There are several Lords that suffer heavily from a holy damage weakness, so if this bow is ever found during a run, players should be sure to grab it in order to deliver some serious punishment during the battle.

Nightreign feature
Elden Ring Nightreign: 8 Best Things To Do On Day 2

Day two is arguably the most critical part of Elden Ring Nightreign. Here's what players should be doing in this important period.

Aside from the Nightlords, dealing holy damage in the main world is a nice bonus to any weapon, especially one that can be used from a safe distance. Plenty of enemies on the map are either undead or suffer from a weakness to the effect, which adds a whole other level of power to an already great weapon.

1 Serpent's Bow

Venom From The Skies

Elden Ring Nightreign Serpent bow-1
  • Applies poison
  • Arcane scaling

Much like the original game, status effects are king in Nightreign, offering some serious damage against the toughest opponents and being an incredibly important asset for any player looking to have the most success in a run. Poison is one of the best status effects players can apply, not quite as punchy as bleed, but incredibly effective at ticking away at large health pools like they are nothing.

The Serpent's Bow gives players all that poisonous power the second they pick it up, letting them fire off some high-damage arrows that also stack up an effect to deal even more damage over time. Combined with a nice set of relics or dormant powers, this single bow can transform the player into an unstoppable force that murders everything in its path.

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Elden Ring Nightreign Tag Page Cover Art
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Action RPG
Soulslike
Roguelite
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Systems
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Top Critic Avg: 80 /100 Critics Rec: 78%
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Released
May 30, 2025
Developer(s)
From Software
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Elden Ring Nightreign Press Image 6
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
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Genre(s)
Action RPG, Soulslike, Roguelite