Master the art of devastation from afar with the Recluse in Elden Ring Nightreign – a high-risk, high-reward spellcaster who commands deadly incantations and sorceries fueled by both Faith and Intelligence. Fragile yet formidable, she thrives by exploiting elemental weaknesses, managing her FP through unique Magic Cocktail combos, and unleashing powerful area attacks that can turn the tide of battle. Ready to dominate as a backline mage and leave your enemies in ashes? This guide reveals everything you need to master her cunning playstyle, optimize gear, and unleash god-slaying power.
Recluse is the perfect character for you if you want to dedicate many hours to mastering a character. In comparison to the other classes, Recluse demands constant management of stamina, FP, and your character skill on top of all the other requirements Nightreign demands of you.
If you’re an aspiring Recluse main who wants to get the best out of the character in your future expeditions, this Elden RingNightreign guide will show you how to play as Recluse, with a focus on recommendations for her best relics, best teammates, and best weapons, alongside other miscellaneous tips.
How to make a great Recluse build in Elden Ring Nightreign
To make a great Recluse build in Elden Ring Nightreign, focus on maximizing her unique magic and elemental affinity mechanics. Equip a staff in one hand and a Sacred Seal in the other to cover multiple elements, allowing you to exploit enemy weaknesses effectively. Prioritize relics that boost Intelligence, Mind, and Faith, as well as those enhancing your ultimate ability and spell damage, such as the Bone-Like Stone and Vestige of Night for auto-casting powerful buffs like Terra Magica. Constantly use Recluse’s Magic Cocktail skill to absorb elemental residues from enemies and allies, restoring FP and enabling devastating combo spells. Flexibility with weapons, passives, and talismans is key due to the randomized nature of expeditions, so keep a diverse inventory and adapt your build to the drops you find.
As a mage, you want your Recluse build to involve staves and whatever melee weapon you’re most comfortable with. The most challenging part of learning Recluse’s quirks isn’t strictly about managing her character skill but also about keeping your FP high. It’s easy to disregard it and spam the spells of your weapons, but once you run out of FP, you’re out of luck; there is no azure flask to lean on.
The only way to restore this vital resource is by using your character skill. This is why a good melee weapon you’re comfortable with matters as you begin to learn. Once you have a good grasp on weaving your skill in between spells, you can prioritize weapons and relics that boost intelligence and improve spellcasting.
Best relics for Recluse in Elden Ring Nightreign
For the Recluse in Elden Ring Nightreign, the best relics to equip focus on enhancing her magical abilities and survivability. Key relics include the Grand Tranquil Scene, which increases attack power and causes blood loss on ultimate art activation, providing a strong offensive boost when used carefully. The Bone-Like Stone relic raises maximum HP and boosts attack power upon ultimate activation, making Recluse more durable and potent in combat. Additionally, the Vestige of Night relic creates a Terra Magica field when collecting affinity, amplifying magic attack power while inside it. These relics synergize well with Recluse’s playstyle, emphasizing spellcasting power and strategic ultimate use to maximize effectiveness in battles.
For Recluse, Intelligence is king! There are many relics to choose from in Elden Ring Nightreign, but as long as your relic has some boost to spellcasting, FP cost, or intelligence, you are in good shape. While playing the game, you’ll unlock some relics that have passives unique to Recluse. As you can probably assume, these are some of her best options.
Some of the Recluse’s best options are relics with the following effects:
- [Recluse] Activating ultimate art raises max HP
- [Recluse] Collecting affinity residue activates Terra Magica
- [Recluse] Suffer blood loss and increase attack power upon art activation
- Magic attack power up
- Ultimate art gauge
- FP restoration upon successive attacks
- Improved resistance relics are also grand if you’re able to match them up with the damage type of your chosen expedition’s Nightlord
- Other miscellaneous relics to prioritize are those that increase vigor, mind, intelligence, faith, or endurance. Recluse is a frail character, so more survivability is always good.
Best teammates for Recluse in Elden Ring Nightreign
The best teammates for Recluse in Elden Ring Nightreign are melee-focused characters who can keep enemy attention away from her, allowing Recluse to safely unleash her powerful Magic Cocktail abilities. Wylder and Executor are ideal companions, as they excel in close combat and can consistently apply elemental damage to generate the Affinity Residues Recluse needs to maximize her spell damage. Additionally, having teammates who can cover all four elemental types-Magic, Fire, Lightning, and Holy-ensures Recluse can absorb a variety of residues for versatile and devastating attacks. For more protection, adding a tanky character like Raider can help stagger enemies and provide Recluse with more opportunities to cast her slower but potent spells. This synergy of melee pressure and elemental support makes the Recluse a formidable force in coordinated teams.
Similar to other less tanky options like Duchess, Ironeye, and Revenant, Recluse thrives in a team composition that can take enemy pressure off of her as she applies high magic damage through her spells and skills. The following classes are great for Recluse, and you shouldn’t pick her unless one of your teammates is hovering them.
- Guardian – Guardian’s ultimate art provides a useful damage negation buff to teammates in its radius, helping Recluse stay alive longer.
- Raider – Raider easily absorbs enemy attention, allowing for Recluse to damage her targets safely.
- Wylder – Wylder’s character skill allows him to grapple enemies to him, relieving pressure off of Recluse. His Ultimate Art also deals fire damage, which you can provide fire essence for your character skill.
Best Magic Cocktail Combinations in Elden Ring Nightreign
The best Magic Cocktail combinations in Elden Ring Nightreign for the Recluse class revolve around mixing elemental affinity residues-Magic, Fire, Lightning, and Holy-to unleash powerful and diverse spells. Pure element cocktails like Pure Fire create area-of-effect flame whirlwinds, while Pure Lightning enhances dodging with a lightning aura. Mixed combinations offer versatile effects such as Magic/Fire/Lightning, which summons a devastating gravity orb that pulls enemies inward before exploding, or Magic/Lightning/Holy, which generates an ice storm that grants invulnerability. Other notable combos include Fire/Holy for raising allies’ max HP and reducing status ailments, and Magic/Fire/Holy that damages enemies while restoring HP and FP to allies. Mastering these combinations allows the Recluse to adapt to various combat scenarios with offensive, defensive, and support spells, making Magic Cocktail a central and dynamic skill in Nightreign gameplay.
Recluse’s character skill is the meat and potatoes of her playstyle. There is no way around it; you have to get comfortable with all 14 of the possible spell combinations. When an enemy or ally takes elemental damage from any source, you can use this skill to siphon the residue of that damage and bank it. Once you’ve banked three element residues, your next cast will cast a unique spell. Every single one has its uses, but some are more practical and usable in nearly every situation.
- Pure Holy – Enwreathe oneself in holy light, bordering poise and increasing damage negation. Requires 3 Holy residues.
- Magic & Holy – Cover nearby area with a magic veil, fully conserving FP for self and allies for a short time. Can be used with any combination of Magic and Holy residue.
- Magic, Fire, & Lightning – Conjure frontwards exploding gravity orb. Gravity orb pulls enemies inward, expands, and explodes, inflicting heavy damage. Requires Magic, Fire, and Lightning residue.
Best talismans for Recluse in Elden Ring Nightreign
The best talismans for Recluse in Elden Ring Nightreign focus on enhancing her spellcasting capabilities and FP management to maximize her effectiveness as a mage. Top choices include the Graven-School Talisman, which boosts sorcery damage, and the Primal Glintstone Blade, which reduces spell FP cost by 25% at the expense of some health. The Radagon Icon is also highly recommended as it shortens spell casting time, allowing faster and more frequent spell use. Additionally, talismans that increase FP or improve FP regeneration, such as those that synergize with her unique ability to collect affinity residues and cast powerful Magic Cocktails, are invaluable. Players should prioritize talismans that boost magic damage, reduce FP consumption, and enhance casting speed to keep Recluse effective and safe at range during Nightreign expeditions.
Talismans are some of the rarest gear in Elden Ring Nightreign, but they can be found if you know where to look. They can drop in fortresses and from scarabs, so if you spot one of these, it’s good to prioritize them. The best talismans for the Recluse are the following:
- Ancestral Spirit’s Horn – Defeating Enemies Restores FP
- Taker’s Cameo – Defeating Enemies Restores HP
- Ritual Shield Talisman – Improved Damage Negation at Full HP
- Blessed Dew Talisman – Continous HP Recovery 2
- Viridian Amber Medallion – Increased Maximum Stamina 12%
Any talisman that offers FP restoration, HP restoration, damage negation, and stamina recovery is good, as they allow Recluse players some individuality and choice regarding whether they should instead play defensively or offensively. Recluse in Elden Ring Nightreign requires a specific type of player, and with some practice, adaptability, and a good loadout, mastering the mage will be a piece of cake.
How can I master the delicate balance of casting and positioning as Recluse in Elden Ring Nightreign
Mastering the delicate balance of casting and positioning as Recluse in Elden Ring Nightreign hinges on understanding her unique Magic Cocktail system and her fragile survivability. To excel, you must carefully manage FP and stamina while staying at a safe distance behind tanky allies who can absorb enemy aggression. Position yourself to collect three affinity residues to activate powerful Magic Cocktail spells, which require precise timing and spatial awareness to unleash devastating combos without exposing yourself to danger. Prioritize mobility and awareness to dodge enemy attacks, as Recluse’s low health demands avoiding direct hits. Equip relics that boost FP and reduce spell costs to maintain your casting flow, and coordinate with teammates like Guardian or Wilder to keep threats at bay while you rain down sorceries and incantations from afar.
What are the best positioning techniques to avoid damage as Recluse in Nightreign
To avoid damage effectively as Recluse in Elden Ring Nightreign, the best positioning techniques focus on maintaining distance and leveraging mobility:
-
Stay behind or near tanky allies who can draw enemy aggression, allowing Recluse to cast safely from the backline without being targeted directly.
-
Use an affinity bow to apply residues from afar, which helps keep you out of melee range while setting up your Magic Cocktail combos.
-
Be mindful of the residue collection animation, which slows you down and leaves you vulnerable; position yourself in safe spots before collecting residues to avoid interruption.
-
Prioritize constant movement and dodging to evade attacks, as Recluse has low health and cannot afford to tank hits.
-
Avoid melee range entirely since most of Recluse’s powers and relics are designed for ranged magic combat, making close combat risky.
-
Use terrain and environmental cover to break enemy line of sight and create safe windows for casting powerful spells.
By combining these techniques-leveraging allies, maintaining distance, using ranged tools, and staying mobile-you can minimize damage taken and maximize Recluse’s spellcasting effectiveness.