Elden Ring Nightreign’s roster contains two characters not available by default, requiring the player to unlock them through gameplay.
As is often the case with FromSoftware games, the method of obtaining Duchess and Revenant, while relatively straightforward, is left intentionally somewhat obtuse for players to discover for themselves.
If you’re not interested in following the breadcrumb trail and want to complete Nightreign’s roster as soon as possible, we’ve got you covered. You’ll need to unlock Duchess before Revenant’s short quest chain becomes available, so let’s start there.
How to unlock Duchess
To unlock Duchess, you’ll need to obtain the Old Pocket Watch as an end-of-level reward from Nightreign’s first Expedition, Tricephalos.
- Play the Tricephalos Expedition to obtain the Old Pocket Watch.
- Deliver the Old Pocket Watch to the Priestess in the Roundtable Hold.
Find the Old Pocket Watch
It’s not exactly clear what, if any, prerequisites are needed to make the Pocket Watch drop at the end of Tricephalos. I obtained it alongside a handful of Relics on my third run without defeating the expedition’s final boss.
Keep playing Tricephalos until it appears in the same post-Expedition rewards screen as Relics.
Return the Old Pocket Watch to the Priestess
Once you’ve obtained the Old Pocket Watch, return to the Roundtable Hold hub area and interact with the Priestess. A new dialogue option, ‘Show her the old pocketwatch’ will appear. Select this option to trigger a cutscene and unlock Duchess in the character select screen.
How to unlock Revenant
To unlock Revenant, you’ll need to purchase the Besmirched Frame item, find a Phantom in Roundtable Hold, and defeat Revenant in battle.
- Purchase the Besmirched Frame from the Small Jar Bazaar.
- Locate a phantom in Roundtable Hold.
- Defeat Revenant.
Buy the Besmirched Frame
Only after unlocking Duchess, a new item, the Besmirched Frame, will appear in the Small Jar Bazaar‘s store inventory. Purchase it for 1500 Murk.
Find the Phantom
Owning the Besmirched Frame will prompt a Phantom NPC to appear in Roundtable Hold. Return to the central chamber, take the Southeast hallway, and make a sharp left turn to find them staring at a painting. Use the image below as guidance.
In the corner, you’ll find the Phantom. Interact with them to be teleported back to Nightreign’s tutorial area.
Best Revenant in battle
Once returned to the tutorial area, head to the crumbling ruins where you fought the Fell Omen tutorial boss to find Revenant.
While the fight isn’t exceptionally difficult, you’ll need to deal with three Phantoms Revenant summons to fight alongside her. You can take these out first or ignore them entirely and focus on Revenant. Whichever method you choose, once she’s defeated, Revenant will be added to Nightreign’s character select screen, completing the roster.
For more Nightreign guides, check out our character builds for Wylder, Ironeye, and Guardian, as well as all the bosses you’ll need to defeat in the climb to face off against the final Nightlord.
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