Guardian is revealed as the 5th playable character in Nightreign

Elden Ring: Nightreign, the cooperative expansion of the award-winning RPG by FromSoftware, has just introduced its fifth playable character: the Guardian. Heavily armed and with an imposing look, he reinforces the focus of the new adventure on tactical combat, cooperation, and survival in the Intermied Lands. The expansion will be released on May 30, 2025, with versions for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam.

Visually, the Guardian stands out for his full armor, a stylized eagle head, a colossal axe, and a shield marked with a split-wing symbol. According to the official game description:

"Let your shield be the bastion of hope that will guide your band to victory."

He uses real wings during some of his special attacks, which allow aerial movement and impact attacks, functioning as a kind of aerial tank in cooperative combat. The character is designed for players who prefer field control, strategic defense, and group leadership.

The Guardian joins the other four characters already revealed for Nightreign, although the names and functions of the others are still being gradually disclosed. The expansion will have a new cooperative progression format, according to FromSoftware, with a greater emphasis on interdependence between players, in contrast to the solo campaign of Elden Ring (2022).

Nightreign also marks an aesthetic and technical evolution in the universe created by Hidetaka Miyazaki, with new regions, unseen enemies, dynamic climates, and random world events — features that promise to broaden the scope of the original experience.

After the success of Shadow of the Erdtree, released in June 2024, which focused on narrative content and additional bosses, Nightreign arrives with the proposal to offer a more multiplayer and continuous cooperative exploration approach, something rare in FromSoftware productions.

The community's expectation is now focused on the remaining playable characters that have not yet been revealed, as well as more details about the group progression system, PvE events, and possible PvP modes, not yet officially confirmed.

For those following the Soulslike universe, Nightreign is seen as an opportunity to experience the Elden Ring formula from a new perspective, with more strategic challenges and shared real-time experiences.