The roster of Duskbloods characters is certainly a diverse bunch, from pyjama-wearing axe murderer Bloodhand Jan to lumbering deep-sea diver Zork. These characters, or Bloodsworn as they're called in the lore, are vampiric beings from various clans, each bringing their own weapons and abilities to fight for First Blood.
So far, we've only seen six characters thanks to the recent August closed network test for The Duskbloods, but we know there will be more at launch. So, here’s a look at every Duskbloods character that's known and what they do.
All Duskbloods characters
Every Duskbloods character gets a unique melee weapon, ranged attack, two Bloodsworn Skills (one of which is unlocked after reaching a certain level during a match), and two passive Aspects.
Albert
Concerned about PvP? Here's a rundown of how The Duskbloods multiplayer works.
Albert has the simplest kit of all the Bloodsworn characters in The Duskbloods, with a good mix of melee attacks and ranged Skills that make him a jack of all trades. He lacks any fancy options, but it means he's the easiest Duskbloods character to master and you don't have to think too hard when playing as him.
- Weapons:
- Lorrik's Jeweled Saber: A standard one-handed sword that balances speed and power.
- SMG: A gun that Albert fires in bursts of eight bullets that becomes much less accurate outside of short range.
- Skills:
- Blood Blade: Launch a blood projectile. Hold X to increase the projectile's damage.
- Light of Hayern (Level 12): Shoot a beam of light towards a target, which can be fired continuously by holding X.
- Aspects:
- High Lorrik Blood: Albert's blood-based Skills start with extra uses. (This presumably means Albert will have more blood Skills outside of Blood Blade in the full version of the game.)
- Upriser: Albert's attacks stagger enemy players with high Virtue more than usual.
Bloodhand Jan
Jan's fighting style is all about using his agility to outmaneuver your opponents and deliver devastating axe blows. Mastering his movement isn't easy but he can be very hard to kill if played well, especially as he has a couple of ways of regenerating HP too.
- Weapons:
- Bloodthirsty Axe: A hefty battleaxe that restores a little HP after landing a heavy attack.
- Stone of Sorcery: Shoot a jet of fire directly ahead, which can also be used while jumping.
- Skills:
- Blink: Temporarily increase the speed of your dodging.
- Surrender to my Blood (Level 12): Slam your axe into the ground and cause blood slashes to strike the surrounding nearby area, damaging anyone within.
- Aspects:
- Bloodhand Lineage: Counterattacking after taking damage restores HP.
- Lord of Blood: Spellbound foes (NPC enemies that you have drunk the blood of and now fight with you) are healed and have increased attack power.
Trang Lanh
Since being hard to spot is one of Trang Lanh's main abilities, she's good for players who either want to avoid PvP by staying out of sight or fight other players by ambushing them, using stealth to their advantage.
- Weapons:
- Full Moon Blade: A large, circular blade weapon, like a chakram, that serves as Trang Lanh's melee and ranged weapon as it can be thrown at enemies before returning to her hands. Holding down ZL throws out multiple blades.
- Skills:
- Darkmoon: Become invisible for a short time. Getting too close to an enemy or attacking makes you more noticeable.
- Mama Natha (Level 12): Summon a giant snake that quickly attacks the surrounding area and can deal hefty damage. Use the left stick as you press X to command the snake to attack head-on.
- Aspects:
- Alluring Bride: Drinking an enemy's blood also spellbinds any nearby enemies.
- Daughter of the Darkmoon: Trang Lanh is naturally harder to spot and target enemies when she is far away.
Sniper Layla
Layla is The Duskbloods' marksman character, capable of dealing high damage from afar using her rifle and gatling gun. As for melee, her Katars aren't as fast as you'd think but you can dodge and use her Neb-ra Vanishing Skill to escape, recuperate, and reposition.
- Weapons:
- Hieroglyph Katars: A pair of dagger-hands for relatively fast, stabby attacks. Press R and A to perform a special dodge attack.
- Sniper Rifle: An accurate, long-range rifle that deals significant damage for a ranged weapon. Hold ZL and press in the left stick to aim precisely.
- Skills:
- Neb-ra Vanishing: Turn into a swarm of insects then move to a nearby location before transforming back. You can activate this Skill immediately after taking damage to rapidly relocate.
- Verd Gatling Gun (Level 6): Deploy a massive gatling gun with its own ammo supply from Layla's chest. Hold R to fire the gun continuously.
- Aspects:
- Neb-ra Lineage: Layla naturally regenerates up to half of her maximum HP, but her Goldblood Stakes restore less HP.
- Nighteye: Layla can lock onto and observe enemies using Observation Mode from further away.
Senator Samir Patres
The Senator is a very deadly close-range fighter, capable of delivering rapid rapier strike combos and unexpectedly grabbing foes with his Saurian Form. He's not the easiest to play but can be a serious menace in the right hands.
- Weapons:
- Senate Rapier: A fast and agile thrusting sword. Press R and A to perform a special dodge attack, and press R after ZL to perform a rapier follow-up attack after releasing a bird.
- Soulbird Ring: Release a spectral bird that homes in on enemies.
- Skills:
- Bloodstake: Create a swamp of blood at an enemy's feet, then cause a massive blood spike to erupt from it. Hold X to cause the swamp to follow the enemy then release to unleash the spike.
- Saurian Form (Level 6): Temporarily turn into a dinosaur and charge at enemies. Human-sized enemies are grabbed in the dinosaur's jaws and chewed up. You can also press R to headbutt enemies and press X again to end the transformation early.
- Aspects:
- Blood Disciple: Lowers required Skill level.
- Unshakeable Sword: Perfect guarding increases melee attack power.
Zork
Zork's huge bulk mean they are slow to attack but hit like a truck. Their cable weapon is very strong and is especially good if you're able to land stunning heavy attacks, but your timing needs to be immaculate. Similarly, the Human Rocket Skill, while difficult to land, can be utterly brutal.
- Weapons:
- Undersea Cable: A massive chunk of cable that you can wallop enemies with. Heavy attacks can also shock enemies, stunning them in place.
- Speargun: A simple ranged weapon that can be charged up by holding ZL before firing.
- Skills:
- Human Rocket: Deploy Zork's thrusters and launch yourself forward at incredibly high-speed. Enemies hit by this usually take significant damage and stagger and are sent flying backward.
- Missile (Level 6): Deploys Zork's back-mounted cannons which can fire arcing, mortar-like shells. Hold R to fire missiles continuously, press the left stick to aim them more precisely, and press X to stow the cannons.
- Aspects:
- Law of the Deep Sea: Killing an enemy player steals part of their maximum HP. If they kill you, they get their HP back.
- Dread Resonance: Hold L and ZR to perform a longer howl.
Unknown Duskbloods characters
There are also a few characters that we've seen glimpses of in The Duskbloods reveal trailer, but they did not feature in the closed network test, so very little is known about them:
- Black leather guy: Clad in a black suit and wielding a katana, this certified edgelord may serve as The Duskblood's equivalent of the Executor from Elden Ring Nightreign, using a curved sword for parrying rather than blocking with a shield.
- Blue coat person: This person reminds me a bit of the sweeting students that feature in Rannala's boss fight in Elden Ring, and we see them using some sort of gravity magic to lift and drop nearby foes.
- Oni: This oni-looking character with a long polearm-type weapon slung on their back appears in a single shot in the reveal trailer. They may be an enemy instead of a playable Bloodsworn.
If you were hoping to play The Duskbloods on PC, PS5, or Xbox Series X, I've got bad news for you.
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