The Elden Ring Nightreign Scholar uses his analytical eye and taboo tome to bolster himself and allies and debuff enemies to make them less dangerous. It's definitely a playstyle that takes some getting used to as hanging back doesn't feel especially useful in Nightreign, and it doesn't help that the Scholar's abilities are a bit confusing with lots of little tricks to be aware of. But his kit shows promise so far, if you're able to make the most of it, so here's everything you need to know about how the Scholar's abilities work in Elden Ring Nightreign and which Relics and weapons you should be looking for.
How to unlock the Scholar in Elden Ring Nightreign
Assuming you know how to access the Forsaken Hollows DLC, unlocking the Scholar is very simple. To unlock the Scholar in Nightreign, you first need to have beaten the Tricephalos expedition, the first one. Once you've done that, you'll be told to visit the Small Jar Bazaar by the Iron Menial and can unlock a new room in the Hold where both the Scholar and the Nightreign Undertaker are standing. Speak to the Scholar and you'll unlock him as a playable Nightfarer.
With your roster of Nightfarers filled out, you can start experimenting with each one to see who you prefer, or you can check out our Nightreign character tier list.
Elden Ring Nightreign Scholar abilities guide
- Passive – Bagcraft: Carry more consumable items per stack and level them up by using them. When an item reaches level 2, its effect is improved, and when it reaches level 3, it gains a bonus effect.
- Skill – Analyze: Press Triangle + L2/Y + LT to activate Analyze. Enemies in your field of view are marked with a white ring that gradually fills red. At any point, you can press R2/RT to apply buffs to yourself, or you can press L2/LT to apply debuffs to the targeted enemy.
- Ultimate Art – Communion: Use the Scholar's book to "thread" nearby allies and enemies and deal some damage to enemies. Damaging a threaded enemy causes that damage to be applied to other threaded enemies. If a threaded enemy hits you, that enemy also takes damage. Finally, threaded allies receive your healing too.
Those aren't exactly the simplest abilities, so let me explain some of the hidden details about each one. For the Bagcraft passive, items are sorted into broad categories, so you don't need to use same item repeatedly to level it up. For example, all throwing pots share the same level, as do all boluses and all stat-boosting "food" items (Gold-Pickled Fowl Foot, Boiled Crab, Exalted Flesh, etc…). In fact, the Scholar is an excellent character for using throwing pots as they improve significantly at level 3. It's also a good idea to make sure you've got runes to spare before the final boss so that you can stock up on items at the shop if necessary.
Analyze is a weird ability but can be quite potent. Bear in mind that the longer you observe an enemy (ideally you should observe long enough to turn the ring red), the more powerful the buffs or debuffs applied are. You can also analyze enemies faster by observing multiple enemies at once and analyzing your teammates, so make sure you stay back.
Thankfully, the Scholar's Communion Ultimate Art is quite straightforward and is great for quickly dispatching larger groups of enemies through damage sharing and for healing allies in boss fights. You can act as a sort of team medic by using it when near your allies then using your own flasks to heal everyone.
Elden Ring Nightreign Scholar best weapons, stats, and build
- Strength: D
- Dexterity: C
- Intelligence: C
- Faith: C
- Arcane: S
With the Scholar's Arcane being high and everything else being average, your best bet when it comes to weapons is anything that can lay on status ailments (Poisons, Scarlet Rot, Blood Loss, Frostbite, Sleep, Madness, and Death) thick and fast – Katanas are definitely best as most can apply Blood Loss, but some Daggers and Swords of differing types can apply Frostbite and Scarlet Rot too, and they're all Dexterity-based which make them ideal for the Scholar. Additionally, you can try using Seals or Staves to add some ranged magic to your Scholar build.
You can also use Relics to grant certain status ailments to your starting weapon, or you can obviously loot weapons with status ailments from relevant Ruins. You may also want to consider Relics that provide items at the start of an expedition, letting you get a head start with levelling from Bagcraft.
Here are some ideal weapons and Relics you can be on the lookout for to kit out your Scholar before and during expeditions:
- Relics:
- Night of the Fathom: Helps you heal allies and grant item effects to allies, leaning into the Scholar's support role.
- Night of the Wise: Starting weapon inflicts Poison buildup and your attack power increases when near poisoned or rotted enemies. This should be quite often thanks to the Scholar's high Arcane stat.
- Night of the Miasma: Similar to the above, this Relic grants your starting weapon the Chilling Mist skill for Frostbite buildup, which can be very powerful. You also get concealment and increased attack power when near Frostbitten enemies.
- Weapons:
- Daggers: Wakizashi, Scorpion's Sting, Reduvia
- Straight Swords: Rotted Crystal Sword, Sword of St. Trina
- Thrusting Swords: Antspur Rapier, Frozen Needle, Bloody Helice
- Katanas: Nagakiba, Meteoric Ore Blade, Moonveil, Rivers of Blood, Hand of Malenia
- Glintstone Staves and Sacred Seals: Staff of the Guilty, Rotted Crystal Staff, Frenzied Flame Seal
Why not also try mastering the Nightreign Recluse and her Magic Cocktail or the Nighteign Revenant with her summoning necromantic summoning abilities.
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