Scholar is one of the newly added Nightfarers in the Elden Ring Nightreign DLC, The Forsaken Hollows. To play this character, you need to know about his abilities and skills. Also, choose the most powerful weapons and relics for Nightreign Scholar builds. 

Elden Ring Nightreign Scholar Best Weapons, Relics & Build Guide

The Scholar is a support-focused class in the Nightreign Forsaken Hollows DLC that excels at buffing allies, debuffing enemies, healing, and applying status effects rather than raw melee or spell damage. The class has mediocre stats except for high Arcane, which lets it apply status effects (bleed, poison, scarlet rot) extremely quickly—often in just one or two hits. Due to its mid-level HP, stamina, and FP, plus poor dodge distance, the Scholar is vulnerable in melee combat and must rely heavily on status effects, consumables, and keeping a safe distance. 

Nightreign Scholar Abilities

1. Passive Ability: Bagcraft

Allows the Scholar to carry twice the amount of consumables per slot and levels up consumable effectiveness as you use them. For example, buffs like Boiling Crab can give a team-wide 30% max HP increase at level 3. Constantly using consumables is vital to maximize buffs for you and your team.

2. Character Skill: Analyze.

This skill lets you either debuff enemies (reduce their damage output, increase damage they take) or buff allies (stamina, damage resistance). It has a cooldown (~10s) and you should use it every time it’s ready. Timing is crucial: letting the meter fill more grants stronger buffs/debuffs, but sometimes a quick activation is better.

3. Ultimate Art: Communion. 

Links all enemies and allies, so damage done by enemies heals your team, and attacks on enemies damage all linked foes. Very strong for clearing groups but less useful on single bosses. Healing is shared, and you can assist allies to recover or revive using this technique.

Best Weapons for Nightreign Scholar

Scholar has a unique moveset with thrusting swords, which can be good, but status effect application is more important than weapon type. Ideally, a thrusting sword with innate status effects is best, but not mandatory.

1. Antspur Rapier

A staple weapon that can be infused with poison or bleed, allowing you to apply dual status effects simultaneously. This makes it extremely effective for quick buildup of enemy debuffs.

2. Rivers of Blood

Excellent for applying bleed effects rapidly, synergizing well with Scholar’s high Arcane.

3. Scavenger's Curved Sword

Good for bleeding and sometimes dual status effects. Curved swords can complement the Scholar’s need to have multiple status types available.

4. Reduvia

Reduvia is an excellent weapon choice for the Scholar in Elden Ring due to its fast bleed buildup, which perfectly complements the Scholar’s high Arcane stat that accelerates status effects. As a thrusting dagger with a unique ranged blood projectile skill, it allows the Scholar to apply bleed both in melee and from a safer distance, addressing the class’s weaker dodge and stamina. Reduvia’s quick status application and versatile moveset make it a strong option alongside other bleed-focused weapons.

Best Relics for Nightreign Scholar

1. Character Skill Cooldown Reduction

Reduces Analyze cooldown, letting you buff/debuff more frequently—a key part of Scholar’s gameplay.

2. Defeating Enemies Fills More of the Art Gauge

Helps you use Communion more often, which is great for healing and damage in large fights.

3. Improved Dexterity, Reduced Arcane (Depth Relics)

Sacrifices some Arcane to boost Dexterity, increasing melee damage for Scholar, useful in high difficulty modes to diversify damage output.

Nightreign Scholar Best Builds to Play

1. Full Support Build

You can focus entirely on supporting your team by providing damage buffs, sharing flasks and consumables, and controlling crowds with your ultimate. The key relic here is the Night of the Fathom, which increases your maximum HP significantly, giving Scholar a solid HP pool of about 1,000 at level 15, making him surprisingly tanky for a support. This relic also heals allies when you use your flask and allows sharing the buffs from consumables like Boiled Crabs and Exalted Flesh with teammates, enhancing their HP and damage. Another important relic is the Cleansing Tear, which causes your ultimate to deal constant damage and life leech, especially useful in multi-enemy boss fights. Lastly, a relic that boosts attack for allies targeted by your character skill further amplifies your team’s DPS while reducing enemy damage. This build is ideal if you want to maximize your team's survival and damage output through buffs and healing.

2. Support with Ranged Damage Build

The second build for Scholar keeps the attack-boosting relic for allies but swaps out the Night of the Fathom and Cleansing Tear relics for ones that enhance Scholar’s ranged damage capabilities. Specifically, it uses a relic that allows you to start with a Wraith Calling Bell but costs a consumable slot and the Grand Drizzly Scene relic, which grants four Starlight Shards at the start and shares consumable effects with nearby allies. This build focuses on a balance between supporting the team and providing reliable ranged damage when enemies resist status effects, or you need to contribute damage yourself. Deep of the Night relics with magic attack power buffs complement this build to maximize ranged magical damage output. It’s a more self-sufficient build, useful for groups where the DPS teammates may not be as strong or when ranged damage is necessary.