Unlocking the Duchess in Elden Ring Nightreign is a must for players seeking a swift and deadly addition to their roster. This elusive Nightfarer, renowned for her lightning-fast dagger combos and unique dodge-chaining ability, isn’t available from the start. To recruit her, you must conquer the challenging Tricephalos Expedition, earn the coveted Old Pocketwatch relic, and present it to the mysterious Priestess at Roundtable Hold. This unlocks one of the game’s most agile and powerful classes, transforming your gameplay with her blend of speed, sorcery, and devastating skills.
With her theatrical flair and tremendously helpful passive ability (you can string together dodges), the Duchess is one of the best characters in Elden Ring Nightreign. It’s worth spending the time to add her to your character selection repertoire as soon as you can.
Below, here’s how to unlock the Duchess class in Elden Ring Nightreign.
When you can unlock the Duchess in Elden Ring Nightreign
You can unlock the Duchess in Elden Ring Nightreign relatively early by completing the Tricephalos Expedition and defeating its boss, Gladius, Beast of Night. Upon defeating or even attempting this boss, you will receive the Old Pocketwatch relic. Once you have this item, return to the Roundtable Hold and present the pocketwatch to the Priestess. After a brief cutscene, the Duchess will reveal herself and become available as a playable class. If defeating Gladius proves difficult, the pocketwatch can also drop randomly from failed expedition attempts, so persistence will eventually grant access to the Duchess.
You can unlock the Duchess fairly early in Elden Ring Nightreign. After you finish the tutorial and can queue up for the Tricephalos expedition at the Roundtable Hold, you’re able to unlock the Duchess. There is no rush to unlock her, but again, it’s worth prioritizing, as you’d otherwise be missing out on one of the game’s strongest characters.
How to unlock the Duchess class in Elden Ring Nightreign
To unlock the Duchess class in Elden Ring Nightreign, you first need to complete the Tricephalos expedition by defeating its boss, the three-headed dog Gladius. Upon victory, you will receive the Old Pocketwatch relic as a reward. With the Old Pocketwatch in your inventory, return to the Roundtable Hold and present it to the Priestess standing near the expedition table. This triggers a cutscene where the Priestess reveals herself as the Duchess, unlocking her as a playable class for your future runs. The Duchess is a dexterity-focused rogue-like character known for her fast attacks, extended dodge ability, and unique relic-powered skills, making her one of the most agile and strategic classes in the game.
You need to complete the Tricephalos expedition at least once to unlock the Duchess in Elden Ring Nightreign.
The Night Lord boss of that expedition drops an Old Pocketwatch item. Give that item to the Priestess in the Roundtable Hold. After the ensuing cutscene, you’ll be able to play as the Duchess in your expeditions in Elden Ring Nightreign.
Duchess class details in Elden Ring Nightreign
The Duchess in Elden Ring Nightreign is a versatile hybrid class that excels in both magic and melee combat, with a strong focus on Dexterity and Intelligence. She is notable for her B rank in FP, allowing sustained spellcasting, and her A rank in Intelligence, making her a half-spellcaster who pairs well with magic weapons and staffs. The Duchess specializes in quick, evasive combat with daggers and other Dexterity-scaling weapons, relying on her passive ability, Magnificent Poise, which enables double dodges and reduces stamina consumption. Her character skill, Restage, allows her to replay recent damage to enemies, boosting her damage output, while her ultimate, Finale, grants invisibility to herself and nearby allies for strategic repositioning. Despite her low health, her agility and spellcasting make her a formidable DPS class suited for players who enjoy a spellblade or battlemage playstyle.
The Duchess is a dextrous character that focuses on an evasive, mobile playstyle. Here’s a brief overview of her perks:
- Her passive ability, Magnificent Poise, allows you to dodge twice in a row and reduces the amount of stamina used for attacks and dodges.
- Her Restage character skill allows you to “replay” damage occurrences to damage nearby foes a second time. It’s a bit confusing, but the best way to understand is that it’s a skill that lets you keep your DPS up while waiting for other resources like stamina to regenerate. You can use Restage at any time.
- Finally, her ultimate art, Finale, turns you and your surrounding allies invisible, allowing you and your teammates some breathing room to rethink your approach, restore health, or revive a downed teammate.
Want to discover the secret steps to unlock the powerful Duchess in Elden Ring Nightreign
To unlock the powerful Duchess in Elden Ring Nightreign, start by completing the first Tricephalos Expedition and defeating the Night Lord boss, Gladius, to obtain the key item called the Old Pocketwatch. If you struggle to defeat Gladius, the pocketwatch can also drop randomly from failed expedition attempts. Once you have the Old Pocketwatch, take it to the Priestess at Roundtable Hold and show it to her. This will trigger a cutscene revealing the Duchess, who then becomes a playable Nightfarer class. The Duchess excels as a dexterity-based rogue with extended dodge abilities and unique powers like temporarily turning the party invisible and replaying recent damage on enemies, making her a formidable addition to your team.
What are the hidden abilities that make the Duchess a powerful class in Nightreign
The Duchess in Elden Ring Nightreign boasts several hidden abilities that make her a powerful and unique class:
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Magnificent Poise (Passive Ability): This allows the Duchess to chain multiple dodges in rapid succession, granting her enhanced mobility and extended invincibility frames. Unlike typical rolls, her dodges cover more ground and consume less stamina, making her extremely hard to hit when mastered.
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Restage (Character Skill): This ability creates phantom versions of recently damaged enemies, causing them to take the same damage again, including status effects. It works on enemies damaged by the Duchess or her teammates, effectively multiplying damage output and enabling strategic burst damage or crowd control.
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Finale (Ultimate Art): This skill cloaks the Duchess and nearby allies in invisibility for a short duration, allowing for stealthy repositioning, ambushes, or escapes. While invisible, enemies lose track of the party, though direct hits or highly perceptive foes can still reveal their location.
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Arcane Growth and Weapon Synergy: The Duchess has higher Arcane scaling, allowing effective use of Occult-infused weapons that increase status ailment procs like Blood Loss or Poison. Her favored weapons are daggers with a unique moveset, complementing her dexterity and stealth playstyle.
These abilities combine to make the Duchess a nimble, high-skill-cap assassin who excels at evasion, burst damage, and team utility, though she remains vulnerable due to low health and defense.
