Nightreign Executor Build Guide and Tips

Everything you need to know about playing as Executor, the adaptable samurai class with Sekiro deflection, in Elden Ring: Nightreign.

Abilities and Relic Effects

Executor’s unique abilities and effects enable him to behave more like Wolf does in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and make a samurai character feel more complete than it does in Elden Ring by providing some missing pieces.

Tenacity buffs your stamina recovery and attack power by ~20% for 20s after a status effect bar empties as a result of it triggering. This effect stacks.

For example, you get the buffs after you’ve been poisoned and the effect has been removed, but since the bleed bar doesn’t deal damage over time, you benefit immediately after triggering bleed.

There is 1 exclusive Relic effect that strengthens Tenacity and 2 passive stat Relics:

1. [Deep][Executor] Slowly Restore HP upon Ability Activation (for 25s)
2. [Deep][Executor] Improved Vigor and Endurance, Reduced Arcane
3. [Deep][Executor] Improved Dexterity and Arcane, Reduced Vigor

The first Relic just makes it so you also get a bit of HP recovery whenever Tenacity triggers, and the effect lasts 25s rather than 20s. It’s enough to recover roughly half of the HP lost from using Seppuku.

The stat Relics can be combined so that you’re just gaining more Endurance and Dexterity.

Suncatcher is the name of Executor’s cursed sword that you can use to block and deflect like you can in Sekiro by tapping block right as the attack hits. You can also do perfect deflections during part of the drawing and sheathing animations.

Perfectly deflecting attacks deals posture damage to the enemy, reduces the stamina cost to a negligible amount, and partially charges the sword’s Ash of War.

The Ash of War is a short-range slash past your target that deals roughly the same damage as a regular swing. When the blade glows gold, your next use of the Ash of War will deal ~3.75x more damage than it would if it weren’t glowing and deals Holy damage.

The golden effect is permanent until you use it, even if you put the sword away, but provides no other benefits. Using regular attacks deals roughly the same damage as a blue or purple Katana, depending on level.

Since it takes 4 deflections to charge Suncatcher, you’re basically just getting the damage back you would have dealt if you chose to attack rather than deflect.

Posture damage, safety, and no physical DPS loss are the main benefits of deflecting attacks with Suncatcher. It’s a purely defensive move rather than an offensive one. The only offensive upgrade over a Katana is that it’s treated as a heavier sword, so enemies can’t block it.

Suncatcher does come with some drawbacks. While the cursed sword is drawn, you move slowly and can’t use items. You also lose any buffs applied to your weapon, and if you sprint, you’ll sheath the cursed sword and redraw your regular weapons.

There are 2 exclusive Relic effects that strengthen Suncatcher:

• [Executor] Character Skill Boosts Attack (by ~8%) but Attacking Drains HP
• [Executor] While Character Skill is active, unlocking use of cursed sword restores HP

Both the damage boost and attack drain are so small, they feel more like a bit of RP flavor rather than a serious consideration for the build. The healing from the second effect only seems to be enough to counteract the damage from the first.

To be clear, the healing occurs when you block enough that the sword begins glowing gold with the light of the Crucible. It can’t trigger again until you’ve used the Ash of War.

All in all, the Executor’s Character Skill is meant to augment their defensive capabilities, not their offensive ones. Use Suncatcher for the free block, not for regular attacking.

Like all Ultimate Arts, you are immune to damage during the activation animation, but the base effect transforms you into a large beast with its own moveset (PS5 | Xbox | PC controls). Your attacks consume remaining Ultimate Art Charge rather than Stamina, though you are still vulnerable to posture damage.

• Light Attack (R1 | RB | LMB)
• Heavy Attack (R2 | RT | CTRL + RMB)
• Roar (L1 | LB | RMB)
• Crucible Horn Swipe (L2 | LT | Q)

The damage output between the light and heavy attack is similar, though the heavy attack sequence is shorter and reaches the same posture damage sooner. The Roar is weaker but has insanely long range and benefits from a Relic effect.

The Crucible Horn Swipe deals more damage but has a long charging time, consumes the remaining charge, and ends the transformation no matter how much charge you have left. Damage does not scale with remaining charge, but the attack deals Holy damage.

If you have nothing to hit, you can end the transformation early (and more immediately than with the Crucible Horn Swipe) by pressing the Ultimate Art button (s) again, preserving some of the charge.

While transformed, your max HP is doubled and you are healed to full. You also roar during the transformation, dealing a bit of damage that can get be enough to consume ~2 purple slices of a downed teammate.

There is 1 Executor-exclusive Relic effect that strengthens Aspects of the Crucible: Beast:

• [Executor] Roaring restores HP while Art is active

The Roar ability heals you and allies struck by the soundwave for ~20-30% of their max HP. Since healing is limited, this is pretty valuable and definitely makes it worth using instead of dealing a little bit more damage.

Executor Unique Relics

Executor has 2 unique Relics you get from his remembrance quest, and you can purchase an extremely synergistic one from the Collector Signboard for 3 Sovereign Sigils.

Attributes and Weapons

A Nightfarer’s attribute scaling, described with tier letters, determines which weapons they will be most effective with, defining their playstyle. Everyone wants to use weapons that scale well with their stats.

Executor Attribute Scaling

Executor has a lot of Dexterity and Arcane. He can apply status effect buildup ridiculously fast thanks to his Arcane stat and deals a lot of damage with weapons that scale well with Dexterity. His Strength is mediocre, so most types of swords and heavier weapons will be put to better use by another Nightfarer.

• S: Dexterity, Arcane
• B: Vigor, Endurance
• C: Strength
• D: Intelligence, Faith, Mind

Weapon Types

As Executor, you’ll use a Katana or some other weapon that scales strongly with Dexterity and Arcane. If the weapon doesn’t scale with those attributes, it can be put to better use by other Nightfarers.

Katanas

I would say Katanas are Executor’s bread and butter, but it makes more physical sense to say that Katanas are the blade Executor uses to butter his bread. Please excuse me.

The purple Katanas are best, but you can make a strong case for some of the blues upgraded to purple with a Smithing Stone [2], especially if it has the affinity that the Nightlord is weak to.

Nagakiba always has a special place in my heart because the length of the blade is insane. It’s a lot easier to land hits with Nagakiba than any other Katana, save for the Hand of Malenia.

Bows

Executor lacks the faster firing rate that Ironeye has, but his stats still scale well with Bows, and it’s nice to have a back-up ranged option against bosses that like to galavant around the arena like Caligo.

Regular Bows scale better with Executor’s stats, but there isn’t as much of an incentive to use them over a Greatbow like Ironeye has, and if you do use a Greatbow, you get to feel more like Genchiro Ashina.

Any bow will do, just try to get the highest rarity bow you can find, but make sure the Ironeye’s is better.

Other Melee Weapons

Katanas and a bow are really Executor’s bread and butter, but there are a few other weapons to keep an eye out for:

Other Twinblades, Thrusting Swords, and Daggers work fine as well, but they don’t have any Arcane scaling and may scale with Intelligence or Faith instead. If you have a Duchess in the group, she’s going to want those a whole lot more.

If you already have a top tier Katana, you may want to consider giving one of these to an Ironeye as well. He has nearly identical stats to Executor and may even give you a solid bow in return.

Recommended Relic Effects

We’re going with an ice cream sundae metaphor for Relic effects. You have your foundational effects that you really need to have as the ice cream, followed by the fudge and sprinkles as necessary to make them worthy of use, and finished with the cherries on top turning them into the delicious god roll sundae.

The sundae metaphor only applies to Executor-specific Relic effects. Generic or universally useful effects will be listed afterwards.

Ice Cream

These are the foundational Relic effects you should seek out and equip as Executor. If the Relic does not have at least one of these buffs, your Relic probably isn’t all that great.

• [Executor] Roaring restores HP while Art is active
• Stamina Recovery Upon Landing Attacks
• Physical Attack Up
• Improved Katana Attack Power
• [Deep] Improved Attack Power with 3+ Katana Equipped
• Improved Poise & Damage Negation When Knocked Back by Damage
• Starting armament inflicts poison | bleed
• Changes compatible armament’s skill to Seppuku at start of expedition

Executor’s Passive Ability: Tenacity (and Remembrance costume) were clearly designed with Seppuku in mind, to the extent it’s strange there isn’t an easier way to access it on the starting weapon. Perhaps FromSoftware doesn’t want to incur the wrath of ESRB/PEGI or risk getting bad press…

Fudge and Sprinkles

If a Relic has one of these effects, on top of the ice cream, it’s a pretty solid roll and may be worth equipping even if there isn’t a third effect.

• Endurance | Vigor | Dexterity | Arcane | Poise | Mind +X
• HP Recovery From Successful Guarding
• Art gauge charged from successful guarding
• FP Restoration upon Katana Attacks
• FP Restoration upon Successive Attacks
• [Executor] Character Skill Boosts Attack but Attacking Drains HP
• Attack power up when facing poison-afflicted enemy +X
• [Deep][Executor] Slowly Restore HP upon Ability Activation
• [Deep] Both:
  • [Executor] Improved Dexterity and Arcane, Reduced Vigor
  • [Executor] Improved Vigor and Endurance, Reduced Arcane
• [Deep] Arcane increased for each great enemy defeated at a Ruin
• [Deep] Reduced FP Consumption

Cherries on Top

The following are nice to have, and while they don’t contribute enough to be worth seeking out on their own, they are probably necessary to qualify as a god roll if they come in concert with the ice cream, the fudge, and the sprinkles.

• [Executor] While Suncatcher is active, unlocking use of cursed sword restores HP
• Improved Critical Hits
• Taking attacks improves attack power
• Improved Initial Standard Attack
• Boosts Attack Power of Added Affinity Attacks (if applicable)
• Improved Bow Attack Power

Generic Useful Relic Effects

These Relic effects are useful regardless of what Nightfarer you’re using:

• Ultimate Art Gauge +X
• Increased Maximum HP
• Increased Maximum FP
• Attack power increased for each evergaol prisoner defeated
• Improved Poise and Damage Negation when knocked back by damage
• Increased Rune acquisition for self and allies
• Partial HP Restoration upon Post-Damage attacks
• Character Skill Cooldown Reduction +X (if your skill has a cooldown)
• Continuous HP Recovery
• Slowly Restore HP for self and allies when HP is low

Talismans Tier List

Below, you’ll find the tier list for Talismans. Keep in mind that this is just a default list. Executor can make the most of Talismans that increase damage based on triggering bleed | poison, improve Skills (Ashes of War), or effects triggering after successive attacks.

Tier Legend

Many of you probably know how tier lists work, but there’s more meaning you can glean from one of my lists than simple “S is better than A is better than B and so on”.

• S: These are the best talismans in the game for Executor. If you ever find one of these, it’s always worth equipping. Non-Executor players should give these to you if they ever find them.
• A: Great talismans that might be the best you’ll find in your run. They are second only to the exceptional.
• B: Good talismans for Executor, but they are more situational or have less impact than A or S-tier options.
• C: Weak talismans for Executor that are better than nothing but have limited impact and situational.
• D: Minimally useful for Executor, likely far more useful for another Nightfarer.
• F: Talismans that are useless or detrimental to Executor.

Talismans Tier List

I only recommend holding onto S, A, and, situationally, B tier Talismans. Everything below that should be given to whoever else in the group can use it more right now.

Duchess can also benefit greatly from successive attacks Talismans, so if you have a strong alternative, give those to her.

Priority Locations for Executor

Executor benefits more than others from visiting Ruins and Mines. To be clear, other locations are fine, but these places are particularly worth visiting as Executor. 

Mines

It’s a perfectly legit strategy to forge your own blade using Relic Rites and upgrade it in the field with Smithing Stones. Night of the Wise (from regular Gnoster) alongside a relic that gives Seppuku and hopefully Katana damage is a fun combo.

The miniboss in each mine drops a Smithing Stone [2], and if the mine has a Troll, there’s often a Smithing Stone [1] in the room with the chests nearby.

You may also want to visit a Mine if you get a nice Nagakiba with the affinity the Nightlord is weak to.

Ruins

Some Ruins are marked with Poison or Bleed icons, meaning you’ll find enemies who deal the associated type of status effect buildup and drop loot that can apply that type of status effect (or affinity).

These are good in general, but you’ll also want to swing by Ruins with the affinity that the Nightlord is weak to, and the same goes for Encampments. It’s not necessary to visit Ruins once you have a purple Katana.

Bow Racks

This is absolutely not something you want to go out of your way to get, but if you want to pick up a Bow, you’ll most likely need to swing by a Bow rack. They can be found at most Encampments, Frenzied Flame Towers (unmarked), and some small starter camps.

Again, do not deviate from your main route to get a Bow, just pick one up if you see one.

Essential Weapon Passives for Executor

Weapon passives are buffs granted to so long as they’re in your inventory. Unless they have the little hand next to the icon, your Nightfarer doesn’t need to be physically holding them in their hands. In most cases, these buffs will increase your chances of success than Relic effects.

Probably don’t hold onto something like a Carian Regal Scepter if there’s a Recluse or Duchess in the group in the group and they’re still stuck with blue catalysts, but if you don’t expect them to use it as their main weapon, I say hold onto it for one of these passives.

I’m hesitant to say this, but it may be worthwhile to hold onto a weapon that is more useful but not top tier to someone else in your group if it provides one of these buffs.

• Attacks Inflict Poison | Blood Loss | Rot
• Successive Attacks Negate Damage
• Improved Damage Negation at Full HP
• Successful Guarding Ups Dmg Negation
• Successful Guarding Ups Poise
• Improved Skill Attack Power
• Reduced Skill FP Cost
• Increased FP Recovery
• FP Restoration upon Landing Attacks
• Taking Damage Restores FP
• Critical Hit FP Restoration
• [Deep] Flask Healing Also Restores FP
• [Deep] Increased Maximum FP

In general, Executor has some extremely powerful Skills (Ashes of War) at his disposal, like Corpse Plier. You need quite a bit of FP recovery to spam them, and you want them to deal as much damage as possible.

Essential Non-Weapon Passives (Dormant Powers)

These passives drop directly from defeating bosses and are the only thing that drop from the end-of-day bosses. You can pick up one of them instead of a weapon, which is usually the way to go. You should prioritize these Dormant Powers as Executor whenever you see them.

• Blood Loss in Vicinity Increases Attack Power
• Poison and Rot Trigger Continuous HP Recovery
• Critical Hits Inflict Blood Loss
• Damage boosted After Critical Hit
• Increased Maximum FP
• Reduced FP Consumption
• Successive Attacks Restore HP | FP
• Improved Stamina Recovery
• Improved Physical Attack Power
• Improved Dodging
• Improved Flask HP Restoration
• Ultimate Art Gauge Charge Speed Up
• Increased Maximum HP | FP | Stamina
• Improved Physical | Affinity Damage Negation
• Creates Holy Ground at Low HP
• Periodical Giant Glintblades
• Flame of Frenzy While Walking
• Violent Deluge of Rain While Walking

Executor benefits from a mix of survivability, melee-focused damage boosts, FP recovery, and bleed/poison dependent buffs.

Executor Costumes

Below are all 6 of Executor’s appearances. Remembrance skins are unlocked after completing his/her quest. Dawn and Darkness skins are available as soon as you unlock the appearance changer. The named outfits are based on characters from Dark Souls and unlocked after you defeat Heolstor for the first time.

Executor’s Crucible Beast also has darker coloring when using the Darkness, Thorns, or Sable Church appearance.