Best Raider/Executor Builds After Nightreign’s Latest Patch

Fix the frustration: rebuild your Raider & Executor after Nightreign's 1.03.2 buffs

Patch 1.03.2 shook Nightreign's balance in late 2025 — and if you’re a UK player logging back in during 2026, you’ve probably felt it. Raider and Executor Nightfarers received meaningful buffs that alter weapon choices, stat priorities, and PvE rotations. This guide gives you updated, practical builds, clear stat spreads (for the most common level caps), weapon and talisman choices, and a farming-friendly PvE rotation you can replicate in co-op runs across EU servers.

Why this matters now: the meta context for 2026

Several trends from late 2025 carried into 2026 and directly affect Nightreign builds:

• Aggressive melee dominance — Bleed and high-ARC weaponry continued to outpace pure spellcasting in open-world PvE after quality-of-life and relic buff changes.
• Hybrid stat builds — Players increasingly invest in secondary Arcane or Intelligence to unlock weapon affinities and weapon skills introduced in Nightreign.
• Raid event tweaks — FromSoftware reduced the impact of environmental raid damage (for example Tricephalos and Fissure in the Fog adjustments), making sustained DPS and bleed-proc strategies more viable during world raids.

"Decreased the continuous damage received by player characters during the \"Tricephalos\" Raid event. Adjusted the visibility during the \"Tricephalos\" Raid event." — Nightreign patch notes 1.03.2

That patch quote matters because raid events used to punish glassy, high-risk builds. The damage and visibility adjustments let Raider and Executor Nightfarers lean into sustained offensive plays without getting one-shot by environment mechanics.

Quick decisions: Raider vs Executor — which to pick?

If you’re short on time, here’s the one-line breakdown:

• Raider — The choice for fast bleed pressure, mobility, and burst window play. Ideal for open-world PvE, co-op boss rushes, and farming raids thanks to quicker clear speed.
• Executor — High-poise, single-target demolition. Scales heavier into Strength or Strength/Arcane hybrids and thrives on stagger and critical windows in tougher field bosses and dungeon gatekeepers.

Raider Nightfarer Build (Bleed/Dex Hybrid)

Overview

The Raider gets a power spike after 1.03.2. Buffs to Nightfarer weapon skills and bleed affinity mean you can be aggressively mobile while delivering reliable bleed procs. This build is tuned for PvE at level 120 (co-op-friendly) with an optional level 150 solo variant.

Key stats (recommended)

• Level 120 PvE (co-op friendly)
  • Vigor: 40
  • Mind: 18
  • Endurance: 30
  • Strength: 14
  • Dexterity: 60
  • Intelligence: 9
  • Faith: 9
  • Arcane: 30
• Level 150 Solo (more HP & utility)
  • Vigor: 50
  • Mind: 18
  • Endurance: 34
  • Strength: 16
  • Dexterity: 70
  • Arcane: 35

Primary weapon choices

Pick a weapon that:

• Has innate bleed (or can be infused to bleed)
• Scales with Dexterity
• Possesses a high-damage weapon skill that strings hits quickly

Top picks:

• Rivers of Blood (Katana) — Still the go-to bleed finisher; its weapon skill generates rapid blood buildup and pairs with tertiary Arcane investment.
• Uchigatana / Handaxe (Sharp infusion) — Reliable, widely available, and excellent early-to-mid game bleed scaling with Dexterity.
• Reduvia (Dagger) — Great for early bleed and bleed burst combos; works best dual-wielded or in off-hand for quick procs.

Ashes of War & infusion

• Sharp infusion — Primary for Dexterity-leaning Raiders; maximises physical damage scaling.
• Blood-themed weapon skills — If a weapon has a bleed-centric skill (e.g., Rivers of Blood's step-attack sequence), use it aggressively to stack proc faster.

Talismans

• Lord of Blood's Exultation — More damage on bleed procs (ideal for group farming and boss windows).
• Green Turtle Talisman — Faster stamina recovery; crucial for spam rolls and attacks.
• Dex-scaling talisman / Sharp-focused talisman — Pushes Dex-scaling damage higher to capitalise on Rivers or Sharp-infused weapons.

Armor & stance

Prioritise light-to-medium armor that preserves mobility. Aim for a mid-roll between 25–35% equip load. Mix effects: a medium chest and light greaves to retain sidestep speed and stamina efficiency.

PvE rotation (practical, repeatable)

1. Open with the weapon skill (bleed proccing step or lunge) to land heavy buildup.
2. Follow with two quick R1s to sustain pressure and maintain spacing.
3. Evade/backstep any telegraphs; use limited R2 pokes when the boss recovers to avoid overcommit.
4. Refresh skill and reapply bleed stacks — Repeat until proc; on proc, go for burst with L2 or critical when the boss staggers.

Actionable tip: in raids where visibility is poor (Tricephalos or Fissure in the Fog), rely on sound cues and short step-in committals. The 1.03.2 visibility adjustments make proccing bleed safer than before.

Executor Nightfarer Build (Heavy Strength / Poise)

Overview

Executors shine at breaking enemy poise and controlling single-target encounters. The 1.03.2 buffs increased their weapon-skill damage window and improved scaling on many heavy nightfarer weapons — a direct buff to stagger-oriented plays.

Key stats (recommended)

• Level 120 PvE
  • Vigor: 45
  • Mind: 12
  • Endurance: 34
  • Strength: 70
  • Dexterity: 12
  • Arcane: 12
• Level 150 Solo
  • Vigor: 60
  • Endurance: 40
  • Strength: 80
  • Arcane: 14

Primary weapon choices

Executors need high poise damage and wide arc attacks to capitalise on the new buffs.

• Giant-Crusher / Great Club — Excellent stagger and raw damage. Pair with Starscourge Heirloom for Strength boosts if you can manage the equip load.
• Colossal Greatsword / Greatsword — Balanced stagger and reach; best for bosses requiring longer range.
• Polearm/Greataxe hybrid — If you want a mix of reach and heavy poke to control adds.

Ashes of War & infusion

• Heavy infusion — Maximise Strength scaling and stagger potential.
• Poise-boosting weapon skills — Use skills that end with a heavy thrust or slam to maintain pressure and apply chip damage after the recent buff to Executor skills.

Talismans

• Starscourge Heirloom — Boosts Strength for pure damage gain.
• Great-Jar's Talisman (if you favour FP/skill cycling) — For heavy skill-oriented weapons that cost FP.
• Crimson Amber Medallion (or similar) — Raises max HP to survive heavy hits in open-world raids.

Armor & stance

Prioritise high poise and HP. Full heavy sets are recommended; aim for a fat roll only if you can maintain stamina for attacks. However, for high-level PvE content, a medium-heavy mix that keeps you in a slow/mid roll often offers the best mix of mobility and survival.

PvE rotation (stagger-centric)

1. Start by baiting the boss into a predictable recovery window.
2. Land a charged R2 or heavy weapon skill to break poise or force stagger.
3. On stagger, switch to sprint + heavy R1s and use criticals for the most damage.
4. Back off to regen stamina and repeat — keep an eye on FP if you use heavy skills frequently.

Actionable tip: target limb breaks on bosses that drop valuable goodies or interrupt dangerous attacks. Executor builds excel here due to their superior poise damage.

Common build crossovers & utility choices

Flask allocation

• Raider: Push a 3:2 HP:Stamina split (more Stamina is essential for sustained burst and dodge windows).
• Executor: 4:1 HP:Stamina is safer — more HP lets you absorb environmental and raid hits if you mistime a stagger.

Co-op & EU server tips for UK players

• Nightreign supports cross-region play across EU. Use European servers for the lowest latency if you’re in the UK — the experience is smoother for raid timing and hit registration.
• Matchmaking level: stick to level 120 for most community co-op — it’s the standard for jolly cooperation and ensures you can join other UK/EU players easily.

Where to buy expansions, talismans, and DLC validation in the UK

Nightreign is available across major UK platforms. Check these stores for deals and regional keys:

• Steam UK store — frequent winter and summer sale discounts.
• PlayStation Store UK / Xbox Store UK — watch for platform-specific discount windows (Holiday Sales, January Deals 2026).
• Bandai Namco EU store — often bundles the base game + Nightreign in EU-region keys.
• GAME and Currys — physical copies and gift cards; useful if you collect physical editions.

Advanced strategies & expert tweaks (2026 meta adjustments)

Hybrid Arcane spikes

One of 2026’s defining trends is players splitting points into Arcane on Raider builds to buff bleed speed and unlock certain weapon affinities introduced with Nightreign. If you’re comfortable with stat management, investing 25–35 Arcane alongside Dex gives you consistent proc windows and unlocks specialized weapon skills.

Skill-swap microtechniques

Experiment with weapon-skill toggles mid-fight to re-sequence stuns and avoid parry windows. For Raiders, using the weapon skill to close the gap then immediately switching to an off-hand dagger increases chances of a quick clamp and bleed proc. Executors can alternate charged R2 with heavy skill cancels to confuse bosses that counter large, slow attacks.

Case study: clearing Forsaken Hollow in under 6 minutes (Raider example)

Loadout: Rivers of Blood (main), Reduvia (off-hand), Green Turtle Talisman, Lord of Blood's Exultation, Sharp infusion on off-hand. Stat spread: V40 / End30 / Dex60 / Arc30.

1. Enter with stealth approach to reduce initial agro.
2. Use Rivers' skill to stack two bleed layers on the first mini-boss, keep pressure while dodging AoE with quickstep.
3. When the big boss commits to a telegraphed swing, dash in with off-hand Reduvia quick-crit and retreat to stack bleed — the boss falls fast thanks to the 1.03.2 raid safety adjustments and reliable bleed windows.

Practical upgrade & farming routes for UK players

Where to spend time farming for weapons, talismans, and smithing stones in 2026:

• Rivers of Blood — Prioritise on-world boss drops or trade runs in high-density areas; try co-op farming runs on EU servers for faster clears.
• Smithing Stones — Target late-game catacombs and raid caches where scaling stones drop more frequently after Nightreign’s relic changes. For practical gear and field-tested upgrade routes, see field-tested gear guides.
• Talismans — Revisit legacy merchants and mid-to-late-game hidden caches — several talismans were made slightly more common after the 1.03.2 relic rework.

Troubleshooting common problems

“I proc bleed but boss health barely moves”

If your bleed proc feels weak, check these three things: 1) infusion — use Sharp if Dex-focused; 2) Arcane — many bleed weapons scale with Arcane for buildup speed; 3) talismans — Lord of Blood's Exultation amplifies bleed proc windows.

“I keep getting punished in raids with environmental damage”

1.03.2 reduced continuous environmental damage for Tricephalos and Fissure in the Fog, but you still need to:

• Equip medallions or armor that resist the raid element where available.
• Use mid-roll to maintain movement speed and avoid slow fat-roll punishments.
• Coordinate with co-op partners to stagger boss attention and secure safer pulse windows.

Final actionable checklist

• Choose your role: Raider for bleed speed, Executor for poise/stagger.
• Set your level target: 120 for co-op, 150 for solo durability.
• Pick weapon + infusion: Rivers of Blood (Raider), Giant-Crusher (Executor).
• Equip talismans: Lord of Blood's Exultation (Raider), Starscourge Heirloom (Executor).
• Practice the PvE rotation in a safe farm zone before tackling raid events.

Conclusion — adapt, test, dominate

The Nightreign 1.03.2 changes are more than balance tweaks — they reshape viable playstyles. Raiders become the new raid-clearing standard when you combine bleed speed with Arcane investment. Executors, meanwhile, retake control of boss fights thanks to improved stagger windows and stronger heavy skills. Both live well in the 2026 meta thanks to the raid event adjustments and relic reworks.

Ready to test your build? Try the level 120 Raider in a Forsaken Hollow run with a co-op partner, or take the Level 150 Executor into a field boss for a stagger trial. Post your time and drops in the comments below or drop into our UK Elden Ring Discord to compare tactics live with fellow Nightreign players.

Call to action

Want build calculators, downloadable stat templates, or regular patch-note breakdowns tailored to UK players? Subscribe to our weekly Nightreign guide roundup, and join our Discord — we run co-op farm sessions every weekend across EU servers. Let’s craft the meta together.

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