12 December 2025

Best Scholar Build, Weapons, Relics, Passives in Elden Ring Nightreign

By newsgame

The Scholar is an Arcane-focused Nightfarer in Elden Ring: Nightreign who leans more toward debuffs and status effects than raw damage. Instead of standing toe-to-toe with enemies, he shines by applying weakening targets and linking enemy vulnerabilities to boost team damage.

That said, his low durability means positioning and resource management matter just as much as his build. This guide breaks down a straightforward Scholar setup, covering useful relics and consumables, as well as the overall setup you’ll need to get the most out of him.

Sleep Weapons for Balancers in Nightreign

Elden Ring Nightreign: How to Get Sleep Weapons for Balancers (Weakness)

The Balancers is one of the new bosses added to Elden Ring Nightreign’s Forsaken Hollows DLC, here’s how to get sleep weapons to target its weakness.

Elden Ring Nightreign Scholar Abilities Explained

Scholar’s kit in Elden Ring Nightreign features one of the most interesting abilities of all the Nightfarers, which is a massive support to other teammates on the battlefield. Here’s a quick breakdown of all Scholar abilities and how they can help the overall team in surviving one battle after another.

Type	Ability	Description	Ability Explanation
Character Skill	Analyze	See the target with a monocle and note findings that linger as spirit symbols to various effects.	This is a multi-use skill that can apply a debuff or buff to multiple targets, but leaves Scholar vulnerable while charging it. You can either activate it mid-charge or wait for it to complete 100% to unleash a stronger effect. You have the option to either go for a buff or a debuff. Buff (RT/R2): If Analyze is used mid-charge, Scholar will apply a buff to stamina for himself and the rest of the teammates in the vicinity. At 100%, Scholar and other teammates will be granted a shield that will break on impact, pushing back all targeted enemies. Debuff (LT/L2): If used mid-charge, Scholar will lower the attack of the targeted enemies. At 100%, the target enemies will receive additional damage on the next strike.
Passive Ability	Bagcraft	Carry more items, and level up items by using them.	Scholar can carry more stacks of items like consumables and throwables with him. Using each type of item more than twice will increase or add additional effects to that item category, e.g., prolonged effects, increased damage, increased max HP, etc.
Ultimate Art	Communion	Scatter pages of the taboo tome to thread enemies and damage simultaneously.	Scholar will thread all the enemies and allies in the vicinity together. This means that damage done to one enemy will affect all the enemies caught within the Ult’s radius. Similarly, any healing Scholar receives will impact other threaded allies, too.

Type

Ability

Description

Ability Explanation

Character Skill

Analyze

See the target with a monocle and note findings that linger as spirit symbols to various effects.

This is a multi-use skill that can apply a debuff or buff to multiple targets, but leaves Scholar vulnerable while charging it. You can either activate it mid-charge or wait for it to complete 100% to unleash a stronger effect. You have the option to either go for a buff or a debuff.

Buff (RT/R2): If Analyze is used mid-charge, Scholar will apply a buff to stamina for himself and the rest of the teammates in the vicinity. At 100%, Scholar and other teammates will be granted a shield that will break on impact, pushing back all targeted enemies.
Debuff (LT/L2): If used mid-charge, Scholar will lower the attack of the targeted enemies. At 100%, the target enemies will receive additional damage on the next strike.

Passive Ability

Bagcraft

Carry more items, and level up items by using them.

Scholar can carry more stacks of items like consumables and throwables with him. Using each type of item more than twice will increase or add additional effects to that item category, e.g., prolonged effects, increased damage, increased max HP, etc.

Ultimate Art

Communion

Scatter pages of the taboo tome to thread enemies and damage simultaneously.

Scholar will thread all the enemies and allies in the vicinity together. This means that damage done to one enemy will affect all the enemies caught within the Ult’s radius. Similarly, any healing Scholar receives will impact other threaded allies, too.

Best Relics for Scholar in Elden Ring Nightreign

There are a few Relics in Nightreign that can give players an edge while running with Scholar. Most of these Relic picks will focus on Scholar’s playstyle as it’s preferred he maintains his distance from the threat. These will help keep his HP up, get his skills and ultimate back quicker, and others Scholar exclusive buffs.

Here’s a list of some of the best Relics you should use with Scholar.

Relic	Effect Explained	How to Get
Note “My Dear Successor”	[Scholar] Allies targeted by Character Skill gain boosted attack. [Scholar] Prevent slowing of Character Skill progress. Character Skill countdown reduction +3	Scholar’s Remembrance Questline
Cleansing Tear	[Scholar] Continuous damage inflicted on enemies threaded by Ultimate Art. Improved affinity damage negation. Defeating enemies fills more of the Art gauge.	Scholar’s Remembrance Questline
Night of the Wise	Increased Maximum FP. Starting armament inflicts poison. Poison and Rot in the vicinity increases attack power.	Defeat Sentient Pest Nightlord
Dark Night of the Miasma	Nearby frostbite conceals self. Starting armaments inflict frost. Improved (boosts) physical damage negation.	Defeat Everdark Sovereign — Caligo
Night of the Fathom	Increased Maximum HP Flask Also Heals Allies Items confer effect to nearby allies	Defeat Augur Nightlord
Grand Drizzly Scene	HP is restored when using medicinal boluses, etc. Lightning Pots at the start of expedition Items confer effect to all nearby allies	Can be bought from Small Jar Bazaar.

Best Weapons for Scholar in Nightreign

Scholar works best with thrusting swords, especially if they’re dex-based weapons that come with a status effect. While all other Scholar stats are okay-ish, his Arcane stat comes with an S rating, making him one of the best Nightfarers to build status effects quickly on enemies. Here’s a list of weapons that will be best suited for Scholar in Elden Ring Nightreign.

Weapons	Scaling	Highlight Stats
Eleonora’s Poleblade	Strength: C Dexterity: B Arcane: B Blood Loss: 56	Physical: 45 Attack, 100 Guard Fire: 45 Attack, 47 Guard Critical: 100 Attack Boost: 42 Guard
Frozen Needle	Strength: E Dexterity: S Frostbite: 56	Physical: 84 Attack, 100 Guard Magic: 40 Guard Critical: 100 Attack Boost: 33 Guard
Rivers of Blood	Strength: E Dexterity: A Arcane: C Blood Loss: 56	Physical: 46 Attack, 100 Guard Fire: 46 Attack, 52 Guard Critical: 100 Attack Boost: 35 Guard
Antspur Rapier	Strength: E Dexterity: S Scarlet Rot: 56	Physical: 88 Attack, 100 Guard Magic, Fire, Lightening, Holy: 33 Guard Critical: 100 Attack Boost: 33 Guard
Reduvia	Strength: E Dexterity: A Arcane: C Blood Loss: 56	Physical: 71 Attack, 100 Guard Critical: 110 Attack

Best Scholar Passives in Elden Ring Nightreign

Lastly, we’ll go over the optimal passive effects to use with Scholar that you should look for on weapons you find in Limveld. These will aim to increase the Nightfarer’s survivability, boost his stats, and help out the overall team with buffs (which synergizes with his other abilities).

Character Skill Cooldown Reduction.
Attacks inflict status effects like Blood Loss, Poison, or Rot.
Blood Loss/Poison/Rot in the vicinity increases attack power (high synergy with the passive above).
Less Likely to Be Targeted by Enemies.
Improved Physical Damage Negation.
Continuous HP Recovery.
FP Restoration Upon Attacks.
HP Restoration Upon Attacks.
Improved Attack Power at Full HP.
Increased Maximum FP.