In thisRecluseGuide forElden Ring Nightreign, we’ll explore how to play and master the best caster in the game, including how to complete her remembrance quest, and find a pathway through Limveld to reach theNightlordat your best.
General Description
The Recluse’s gameplayfocuses on casting powerful spells to deal high damage from a safe distance, so the challenge of her gameplay is mapping out exactly where to go to make sure you get the gear you need, as the spells are bound to weapons and random as you explore.
To make your life easier, I won’t repeat the tips from ourBeginner’s Guide, but if you’re just starting out and want a better understanding of the game, verify to check it out to save yourself several hours of frustration!
Stats & What That Means
The Reclusebegins the run with some of the lowest HP of the whole group, with a poor “D” rating shared only bythe Revenant. This meansyou have a measly 2000HPto work with, and you may go down easily if you don’t stay with your group. You have adecent FP starting pool of 80, and 54 staminato work with, giving you an immediate hint that you are meant to stay away from danger.
Your strongest stats are Intelligence and Faith, enjoying the highest rating in the game with an S. That means that spells and holy or magic-based weapons are what you should be focusing on, and you will be able to output great damage by using them.
Skills and How to Use Them
The Recluseskills are some of the most fun and intricate of the game, making the class the likely highest skill ceiling out of allNightfarers.
Elemental Defense: Passive Ability
Collect elemental residues to replenish FP.
This is your passive ability and it enables your characterto regain FPby taking an element from a target. The element can be taken from an ally too, and it usually follows the last taken damage.
These elemental pulls not only give you backFP,but are also saved to a magic reservoir that will trigger your next skill.
Magic Cocktail: Character Skill
Combine elemental residues into different powerful spells.
Press the active skill buttons(E on PC or Triangle and L2 on Playstation)and you will absorb the element of a target that has taken specific damage. Once you have collected an element, it will be saved and displayed in your UI with its symbol.
Once you collect 3 elements, the fourth activation of“magic cocktail”will instead mix the properties you gathered and unleash special effects based on the combinations
This is some of the most complex mechanics for gameplay as you need to balanceyour need for FPwith your desire to trigger specific combinations in specific situations, and the fact that you are locked into an inescapable animation whenever you execute these special skills.
These are all the recipes:
PURE MAGIC:Enwreath the enemy in magic that deals damage for some time, encircling and attacking the target
This is the most basic of combinations and you will trigger it often. Despite not doing a lot of damage, It’s actually quite useful as the magic burst flinches enemies and can stop their attack animations.
PURE FIRE:Throw a whirlwind of flame. Flame spreads across a small area upon contact and burns for some time.
The pure fire combination is very useful against bosses and groups of enemies, as it not only does a small explosion when reaching its target, but it also sets the ground on fire dealing some damage over time and flinching enemies.
PURE LIGHTNING:Enwreathe oneself in lightning, bolstering dodging actions.
This effect gives you a dodging buff that makes your dodges extend longer, work faster, and makes your character invisible for several frames. The effect lasts quite a while and is very useful when bosses enter their final stages and you need to dodge massive AoEs and relentless combos.
PURE HOLY:Enwreathe oneself in holy light, bolstering poise and increasing damage negation.
This one is quite straight forward, making you a bit more tanky and helping you maintain poise better, but in general it’s not a very useful effect compared to the many others you can trigger.
There’s of course combinations, which is where it gets very interesting.
Finally there’s the triple combinations, which are the hardest to get during gameplay but yield the highest reward.
Soulblood Song: Ultimate Art
Unleash forbidden blood chant to brand nearby foes with blood sigils
This is your ultimate technique that builds up by doing damage and attacking.
This skill can be particularly powerful as it can help both you and your alliesregenerate FP and HPfrom simply attacking enemies.
This skill is best used mid or late fight when your team is struggling with flask andFP managementto give one final boost, and it pairs very well with auto-cast skills as it works as free regeneration while you dodge, for example.
The Recluse Remembrance relicsinfluence this skillby giving you 30% increased HPon activation and even increased attack power, so make sure to do the quest as soon as possible.
Suggested Relics
Before we begin with the relics, you should know that all characters have more than one container to perform rites in.
Doing your remembrance quest unlocksthe Recluse Chalice, which gives you new color combinations to use on this character.
There are additional chalices to be gained from completing the quest, completing the final boss and for purchase atthe Small Jar Bazaar.
Make sure you purchase them all and any special relics that show up there to optimize your choices. A full list of allChalicesandRelicscan be found on the wiki.
I personally usethe Recluse’s Chalicethe most, which providesYellow- Green - Any color.
This is available by progressing the character quest, as are some of the best relics for the game.
Asthe Recluse, your relics play a very important role for your character. Since you are spells -focused player,FP managementis quite important but unlikethe Revenantyou will have a built-in way to regain it so your main focus is to make spells cost less, and to increase the size of your FP bar. This means you may look for relics that increase FP or add levels to Mind.
For your basic starter chalice, you should focus on getting buffs to your HP, Mind and Intelligence.
You should also try to pick buffs to spells you like, such asGravity, and since you start withGlintstonesorceries by default it’s a good option to buff that one.You can also slot things that boost incantations if you plan on going that way.
This will of course be up to chance as you can’t guarantee you’ll get the matching spells type to drop once you’re out in the expedition.
For the Recluse Chalice, you should make full use of theRecluse specific relicsthat you get.
My endgame combination is: AGrand Tranquil Scenerune that gives buff to spells,mind and intelligence,The Bone-Like Stonethat buffs your ultimateby adding 30% extra HPand some attack power plus intelligence, and theVestige of Nightbecause it auto-castsTerra Magicaunderneath you whenever you do your first elemental pull.
With these relics, you get a lot out of your ultimate and you buff your performance during the whole run. Of course you’re able to customize to your playstyle so I suggest you have a look at the Relics page on the wiki to find effects that match your needs.
Completing the Recluse Quest
I won’t go into all of the details of how to complete this quest to avoid spoilers, but I’ll give you a couple of important tips on the two points I saw everyone get stuck on without giving any significant details.If you don’t want any spoilers, just click on the next chapter of the video.If you want to know the full flow of the quest, like everything:it’s on the wiki!
Once you begin your remembrance, you will work in an instanced version ofthe Roundtable Hold, and sometimes have to set out on expeditions to advance unique objectives.
You cannot match with someone else you have a remembrance with, but if you have people in a friend party, only the leader’s remembrance will be active and count, so even if you have the same objective, you may miss out if you aren’t the party lead.
The Recluses’ questhas two uniquely difficult points. One is at page 6, where you are tasked to finding a “lurker” inthe Roundtable Hold, but there’s nobody! The trick is to go to the sparring grounds and attack the NPC there.
In same cases you need to change your sparring level up for it to count.
The next step you’ll be stuck on is page 7, because the game does not tell you what to do next and even if you guess right, the party problem can really mess you up.
You have to defeat the final Nightlord and not complete the post-game sequence normally but instead explore the area and find a unique scenario for your character.
Doing this last step rewards you with an outfit.
Suggested Weapons & Ideal Run
As one of thelowest HP classes, your objective during the expedition is to find specific weapons that will give you the right spells.
You should search for“Fort”locations, there are always two on every expedition map. Here you will find an area at the very top with a map that will mark scarabs and secret treasure chests, as well as a rack for staves to loot.
You can also do theRise locations, but finding the seals can be rather annoying as there are many places they could be hidden.
We have somenotes about them on the wikiand are compiling a list of images of where to check, so you may use that information if you want to target Rises.
If you want to find incantations, look for“Great Church” locations; there are always two on every expedition map. Here you will find either a boss aboveground, or an underground passage leading to a subterranean boss.
The underground churches are always better as there is a chest with guaranteed Sacred Seals.
Like all classes, you should be aware that you can find the corpses of fellow players around the map and get their loot, so use grouppassword FEXTRAto increase your chances of finding well-geared remains to help you along.
Ideally your run will begin by clearing the first camp and getting to level 2 on the nearby bonfire, and then going straight to those location to get yourself some powerful spells.
Death RancorandAncient Death Rancorare my favorites to get but you can also make do with many others and even your starter staff if you upgrade it by visiting a mine.
If you plan on getting the drop from the world, you want one of the purple staves preferably thePrince of Death staff,Meteorite StafforLusat’s Glintstone’s Staff. Ironically I seem to getAzur Glintstone staffvery often but I should warn you that whileComet Azuris very powerful, most bosses move right out of its way and leave you standing there doing nothing.
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If you want to use incantations,Lightning SpearandBlackflameare my favorites to get, but I have also been successful withFlame Sling. Traditionally powerfulDragon incantationslike all theDragon Breathsdon’t work as well as you expect because of the AoE and mobility of bosses.
However themassive effect ones can be incredible, particularlyAncient Dragon’s Lightning Strike,Burn, o FlameandScarlet Aeonia. Check your nightlord’s weaknesses to pick the best element for your run.
You can also opt to get some melee weapons, but you need thingsthat scale with Intelligenceso your options are really poor with the best scaling you canhope for a Con their normal stats unless you get a Magic one from a camp, so best to stay away.Bows and Shieldsare not really for this character but you can pick some up if the random buffs are what you need.
In terms of buffs that you need for your character, you’ll want to get:
You absolutely should not forget to seek outTalismans. There are scarabs in fixed areas around the world that you may memorize and run to, or you can get a guaranteed talisman from the locked area inside the castle in the middle of the keep. This requires beating a sometimes tough boss so it’s usually done day 2, but you can get a purple talisman out of it.
The talismans you should be looking for are:
Party Composition
The Recluseis successful with any party, but since it is such a squishy class it is best paired with classes that can take the head from battle away. If you get the right spells, weapon effects and talismans, you’re able to deal fantastic damage and really help takedown bosses while also providing off-heals and buffs to your team via your unique cocktails
My favorite party compositions for Recluse are:
Making this character perform best is entirely about finding the right equipment and rhythm. You should always have your cocktails in mind when taking in elements, and position yourself to survive so you can keep cranking out crazy damage from afar. I highly recommend that you customize your relics to match the boss you are about to take on if you are struggling with specific bosses.
So that wraps up my guide for the Recluse Do you guys have any more tips or playstyles you’ve found with the Recluse? Let me know in the comments below!
