Every story needs a heroic figure, and Elden Ring Nightreign’s might be the Guardian class. The Pinionfolk knight is one of the first faces you’ll see at the Roundtable Hold, and for good reason. The character can not only be a damage powerhouse, but also an excellent frontrunner in terms of defense and abilities to help his teammates.

There are multiple characters to pick, and it can’t be hard to decide on one in the heat of matchmaking, especially if somebody else calls dibs on your favorite. As such, being knowledgeable of the strengths and weaknesses of each will be beneficial in the short to long run. This guide covers everything you need to know about the Guardian class in Elden Ring Nightreign, from its attributes and abilities to the best relics. Be sure to also check out our look at the best Elden Ring Nightreign classes.

How the Guardian class works in Elden Ring Nightreign

In Elden Ring Nightreign, the Guardian class’ attributes are balanced toward HP and stamina, excelling at the former. He also has decent strength, while everything else should be a no-no from a prioritization perspective. If you’re the type of player who prefers to play the role of a tank in multiplayer games, the aptly named Guardian is a great choice.

The Guardian class has a passive ability, a character skill, and an Ultimate Art, which you can find below:

Passive Ability: Steel Guard

Steel Guard allows Guardian to get into a guard stance with a shield equipped, significantly improving the character’s Guard Boost and making it so attacks blocked by his shield will deplete less stamina than normal.

Character Skill: Whirlwind

Whirlwind has the character whip up a cyclone around him, engulfing nearby enemies and drawing them toward the center. It also sweeps away lightweight projectiles, and you can hold the ability button to enlarge its range.

Ultimate Art: Wings of Salvation

Wings of Salvation sees Guardian taking flight for a few seconds before diving back down to the ground with a downward attack. You can hold the ability button to shield nearby allies from damage, and for some extra help, the downward attack also revives teammates on near-death status.

Every expedition benefits greatly with Guardian on the team. Being able to withstand multiple attacks with ease and helping allies with abilities are excellent traits separately, even more so in the same class.

Best relics for Guardian

The random nature of finding relics makes it difficult to recommend a catch-all combination, especially since experimentation is part of the mechanic’s charm. That being said, there are a few options that can work well with the Wylder class:

Polished Burning Scene

There are a few buff variations of this relic that you should keep an eye on. Taking damage improves attack power is great to assume that tank role for the whole squad. So is flask also heals allies.

There’s also Grand Burning Scene which, while aimed at the Duchess, offers HP recovery from successful guarding, a great pairing for the Guardian’s abilities.

Polished Luminous Scene

Again, plenty of variations here, but we’ve found certain buffs to be noteworthy. These include stamina recovery with each successful attack, and improvement to vigor and endurance.

In short, gems that further increase health and stamina are a great fit for the Guardian class. If you’re curious about the alternative outfits for the character, check out our skins gallery and how to unlock them. For additional tips, we have guides covering how to revive teammates faster, the best ways to farm runes, and how to break statues for some vital loot.

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