There are plenty of vague effects and descriptions in Elden Ring Nightreign, and that includes Thrusting Counterattacks, a stat that players might recognize from their Relics as they're trying to build their Ironeye before a run. The name may seem self-explanatory, but in reality, it's a bit more complicated.
Players who want to win their runs in Nightreign will need to make use of every advantage they can get their hands on. Thrusting Counterattacks is one such exploitable advantage, but given how vague it is, not everyone knows how to make use of it. This guide includes an explanation of how these counterattacks work as well as some other observations we made regarding this obscure mechanic.
Best Wylder Build in Elden Ring Nightreign
Here are all the best weapons, passives, and relics you should look out for when playing as Wylder in Elden Ring Nightreign.
What's a Thrusting Counterattack?
Thrusting Counterattacks refer to any thrusting attack that you make while an enemy is making an attack of their own. Successfully performing a Thrusting Counterattack slightly increases the damage of that attack. This technique is not exclusive to any specific Nightreign character, though it only works with piercing/thrusting weapons.
After testing with the training dummy in the Sparring Grounds using Ironeye, we discovered the following:
- Bow shots count as piercing/thrusting attacks.
- Thrusting attacks with rapiers, spears also work with Thrusting Counterattacks
- Thrusting Counterattacks increases your damage by ~6-10% depending on your weapon.
- The Ironeye-exclusive Relic effect that improves his Thrusting Counterattacks after using his Art increases his counterattack damage by ~30% when using his starting bow.
- Thrusting Counterattack timing window is very tight.
How to Do Thrusting Counterattacks
Unlike Guard Counters, you don't need to press any special buttons to trigger a Thrusting Counterattack. As long as your attack hits during the enemy attack's wind-up or during the animation itself, you will deal bonus damage to them as long as you're using a piercing/thrusting attack.
The timing for these counterattacks is very tight, or at least it is for the training dummy in the Roundtable Hold. Players shouldn't worry much about perfectly timing their attacks in a practical scenario, as the chaos of combat usually means they'll be able to sneak a few Thrusting Counterattacks even if they're only spamming their attacks. This is especially true for Ironeye, who prefers to pelt targets with arrows from a distance.
Speaking of Ironeye, he can equip Relics with effects that improve his Thrusting Counterattack damage, making him the best at using this technique. Relics can randomly drop with this effect on them, though if you want to get a guaranteed Thrusting Counterattack Relic, you'll want to complete his Remembrance quest and get his unique Edge of Order Relic.
Thrusting Counterattack Damage
During our testing, we noticed that the default damage bonus of Thrusting Counterattacks seemed to change depending on the weapon, and damage values tend to get rounded up or down. The normal Rapier, for example, dealt 96 damage with regular hits and 106 with counters, equating to a 10% boost when rounded up. Meanwhile, Rogier's Rapier did 118 on normal hits and 136 on counters, which translates to roughly an 11% boost when rounded up.
The discrepancy was larger with spears, however. The normal Spear dealt 90 damage on regular hits and 99 on counters. Meanwhile, the Cleanrot Spear dealt 136/144, which is only a ~6% increase compared to the normal Spear and the rapiers. This may be because the Cleanrot Spear deals elemental damage.
Tests were done using a Level 15 Ironeye against the Roundtable's training dummy. Results against actual enemies may change depending on the target's resistances.
Elden Ring Nightreign
- Released
- May 30, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Publisher(s)
- Bandai Namco Entertainment, From Software
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op
- Number of Players
- 1-3
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Unknown
- PC Release Date
- May 30, 2025
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- May 30, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- May 30, 2025
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, Soulslike, Roguelite
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC
