Elden Ring Nightreign Guardian build, tips, and best weapons

Struggling to survive in Elden Ring Nightreign? Then you can't do better than the tanky and defensive Guardian, who just so happens to be a cool-looking bird man. With the best Guardian build, you'll be able to take hits and return the favour, and protect your team while you're at it.

Although almost everything is randomised in Nightreign, from the gear you find on runs to the ives each one has, it's still useful to know what items and stats to look out for—not least because the inventory is rather fiddly. Below you'll find my best build for Guardian so you know what you're working towards, but also handy tips and tricks to get the most out of his kit.

Elden Ring Nightreign Guardian build

After picking your character, builds in best relics for your character.

Guardian is a tank first and foremost, and one that relies on his enhanced block and counterattacks, so anything that boosts defence, stamina, or provides effects is always the way to go. Keep an eye out for buffs like this from relics, weapons, talismans, and boss reward ive effects.

Elden Ring Nightreign Guardian best relics

Much like the other Nightfarers, Guardian has a handful of unique relic affixes that can appear on relics, marked with [Guardian] before the skill description. These are almost always worth using.

When it comes to gearing up Guardian with relics before a hunt, I'd recommend the following buffs:

• [Guardian] Increased duration for character skill
• [Guardian] Reflect a portion of the damage received when an ability is activated
• [Guardian] Slowly restores nearby allies' HP while Art is active
• Character skill cooldown reduction +
• Defeating enemies fills more of the Art gauge
• Increased great spear attack power
• Strength/vigor/endurance + (increased halberd damage via scaling, health, and stamina respectively)
• Starting armament inflicts X (if you can match a Nightlord's weakness)
• X attack power up (match the above weakness)
• Improved X resistance (match the Nightlord's damage type)
• X damage negation up (match the above damage type)
• Increased rune acquisition for self and allies
• Items confer effect to all nearby allies
• HP restored when using cured meats, medicinal boluses, etc. (this one also stacks with the above, letting you heal allies when you consume these)

Elden Ring Nightreign Guardian best weapons and ives

The best weapon type for Guardian is halberds with a shield in his off-hand, giving him great range on counterattacks. Unfortunately, there are no unique legendary halberds that you can find, so you'll have to settle for upgrading either your starting weapon or one that matches the boss' weakness. You can only Shifting Earth: The Crater event. Otherwise, you can also use other strength-scaling weapons like great spears or hammers.

Here are the best weapon ives I recommend watching out for when playing Guardian:

• Improved guard breaking
• Improved guarding ability
• Improved charged attacks
• Improved jump attacks
• Improved X attack power (match the Nightlord's weakness)
• Improved attack power when using two armaments
• HP restoration on attacks
• Improved damage negation at full HP
• Successive attacks negate damage
• Improved X damage negation (match the Nightlord's attack affinity if known)
• Add X to weapon (if you don't have the Nightlord's weakness covered)
• FP restoration on attacks (less important but useful if you want to use weapon skill)

Elden Ring Nightreign Guardian best talismans

Alongside weapons, you can also find talismans during a run, which add even more ives. These are generally earned from killing scarabs (or dung beetles), though you can also occasionally get them from the power-up drops, such as the one that seemingly always spawns in the gateway in the central castle.

These are the best talismans for Guardian:

1. Erdtree's Favor: Raises maximum HP and stamina
2. Pearldrake Talisman: Boosts non-physical damage negation
3. Dragoncrest Shield Talisman: Boosts physical damage negation
4. Bull-Goat's Talisman: Improved poise
5. Viridian Amber Medallion: Increased maximum stamina
6. Ritual Sword Talisman: Improves attack power at full HP
7. Ritual Shield Talisman: Improved damage negation at full HP
8. Godskin Swaddling Cloth: Successive attack HP restoration
9. Green Turtle Talisman: Increased stamina recovery
10. Crimson Seed Talisman: Improved flask HP restoration

Elden Ring Nightreign Guardian tips

While Guardian's massive health pool might make him seem like a very beginner-friendly Nightfarer, that's far from the truth. Nightreign's bosses are incredibly fast and have lots of AoE attacks, often making melee a risky playstyle. Add on top of that Guardian's unique block-counter approach, and he's a lot more finicky than the likes of Ironeye.

1. Practice using his Steel Guard ive

One of the most confusing things about Guardian is his Steel Guard ive ability, letting him brace with a shield for a more powerful, stamina-efficient block. What's not entirely clear is how to activate it, as it actually needs to be triggered (kind of contradictory considering it's a ive, no?). By blocking and pressing the dodge button in any direction, Guardian enters a unique stance that slows his movement but gives enhanced block in return.

Since the animation begins with what looks like a dodge (which also means it takes a second to trigger), it's easy to overlook what it's actually doing, but this move is what makes Guardian such a strong tank. You can even get some good damage out of it thanks to guard counters.

2. Learn enemy attacks to effectively guard counter

Building off of his Steel Guard ive, you'll benefit greatly from learning enemy attacks so you know when to quickly block and when you need to activate his stance. Mastering this timing lets you weave between offence and defence much more fluently.

3. Charge his abilities

Another one of Nightreign's many quirks is that most characters' abilities have special effects if you charge them or hold them after activation. In Guardian's case, both of his abilities can be powered up. Charging Whirlwind gives it much greater range, and can even create a cyclone. Most importantly, though, his Wings of Salvation ultimate art creates a protective area for a short duration, as long as you continue to hold the button.

4. Use Wings of Salvation when you're marked

While you can be interrupted using Guardian's skill, unlike Ironeye's incredible blade dash, Wings of Salvation makes you completely invincible during activation and for the duration after if you're holding it. This gives you a solid ten or so seconds of invulnerability, which helps in a pinch if you're marked by a boss. Plus, you'll still be helping your team while you're out of action.

5. It's ok to run away

Guardian is a close-range character, and although tanky, you're not a superhero. Most Nightlords have some kind of big blast attack or AoE that covers the ground. No matter how much stamina you have or how skilled you are with a shield, sometimes you do just need to back up and avoid taking hits altogether.