Yo, Tarnished! So, remember when FromSoftware was all like, "No new Elden Ring game, bro"? Yeah, they totally pulled a fast one on us at The Game Awards and dropped the bomb that is Elden Ring Nightreign. This isn't your typical Soulslike—it's a three-player co-op roguelite set in The Lands Between. The trailer was packed with lore crumbs and visual teases, and the community has been going absolutely ham trying to decipher everything. The latest hot take? One of the game's most mysterious creatures might not be a boss you fight, but a character you play as. Mind = blown.
Let's break it down. Nightreign is shaking up the FromSoft formula big time.
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No sprawling main story: It's all about three-day survival runs.
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Battle Royale-style storm circle: A shrinking ring of doom à la Fortnite. Gotta keep moving!
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Fixed character classes: Instead of deep customization, you pick from one of eight pre-built archetypes.
From early previews, we know four of these eight classes:
| Class | Role | Playstyle Vibe |
|---|---|---|
| Wylder | All-Rounder | Jack of all trades, master of none. |
| Guardian | Tank | Your shield, your wall. Takes hits like a champ. |
| Duchess | Glass Cannon | Hits like a truck, but made of paper. High risk, high reward. |
| Recluse | Mage | Pew-pew magic from a safe distance. |
That leaves four classes completely MIA. And this, my friends, is where the theory gets spicy.
Check out this absolute unit from the trailer (around the 2:30 mark). We've got this bizarre, floating entity with a ram's skull for a head and these huge, haunting eyes, just chilling in a pool of golden, faith-based magic. At first glance, everyone, myself included, was like, "Yep, that's a boss. 100% gonna wreck my day." It has that classic FromSoftware "what the hell is that" energy.
But hold up! A sharp-eyed Redditor (shoutout to BrightPercentage8444) dropped a theory that's got everyone rethinking. What if this critter isn't a boss... but one of the four missing playable classes? 🤯
Here's why this theory actually has some legs:
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Size Check: Look at it compared to the other characters in the trailer. It's roughly the same size as the humanoid Wylder or Guardian. It's not some gargantuan monster; it's companion-sized.
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The Magic Vibe: The area it's in is absolutely dripping with golden faith magic. So far, none of the revealed classes seem to be dedicated Faith users or healers. The Recluse uses magic, but it looks more like sorcery/glintstone stuff. This floaty boi is surrounded by the holy stuff. Could it be our Cleric/Healer archetype?
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FromSoft's Love for the Weird: Let's be real. Would it really be that out there for FromSoftware to let us play as a floating, spectral ram-skull creature? After letting us be a pot-headed warrior in the base game? I don't think so. It's totally on-brand.
Think about it. In a three-player co-op game focused on survival runs, having a dedicated support/healer class is almost a given. This entity could be the Oracle or the Ascetic—a class that uses Faith not for offense, but for protection, healing, and maybe even buffing the team. Its floating animation could mean high mobility or even immunity to ground-based hazards. That's a dope kit!
The community is, as you'd expect, split. Some are fully on board, already nicknaming the class "The Wraith" or "The Pilgrim." Others are skeptical, thinking it's just a cool environmental NPC or a mini-boss. But honestly, the evidence is pretty compelling. FromSoftware loves hiding things in plain sight.
With Elden Ring Nightreign slated to drop sometime in the next year (we're in 2026, so the hype train is leaving the station!), we won't have to wait too long to get our answers. But you can bet your last Rune Arc that this won't be the last wild theory to surface. The lore hunters are just getting warmed up. Personally? I'm all in. I can't wait to squad up with my buddies, one of us playing as this mystical floaty healer, as we try to survive the Nightreign. It's gonna be pure chaos, and I'm here for it. Stay tuned, and don't you dare go hollow waiting! 😎