Executor Character Guide

The Executor character in Elden Ring Nightreign is a katana-wielding warrior that specializes in one-on-one combat, which he dominates with his natural ability to inflict deadly ailments, while also being adept in the art of parrying. With Cursed Sword in hand and a bit of finesse, all incoming attacks directed toward him are rendered ineffective - while also boosting his own power in the process, enabling him to inflict tremendous poise damage and deliver devastating counterattacks. When overwhelmed, he can channel his inner beast to lay waste to hordes of enemies before returning to the fray to spell demise for those unlucky enough to remain standing. Let's learn some more about our fearsome swordsman in this Executor Character Guide.

Executor makes great use of Relics that generically raise attack power, since he can always benefit from them when switching between Cursed Sword and regular weapon attacks. Good examples of these are:

• Improved Attack Power with 3+ Katana Equipped
  • Try to focus on Relics that mention weapons that Executor is most likely to equip during an Expedition, such as Katanas.
• Improved Attack Power when Two-Handing
• Physical Attack Up +2

When playing in groups, Relics with effects like Items confer effect to all nearby allies or Increased rune acquisition for self and allies are great for increasing player power over the course of an Expedition. Lastly, Executor has a class-specific Relic that is quite good as long as you build around it:

• [Executor] Character Skill Boosts Attack but Attacking Drains HP

In order to counteract the drain effect, you'll want to pair it with Relics or passive effects like HP Restoration upon Katana Attacks or Continuous HP Recovery.

Teardrop Scarabs can be found throughout Limveld and always drop a talisman when killed. Look for Talismans that boost your health to help make Executor a bit more sturdy. You can also use things like the Winged Sword Insignia or Millicent's Prosthesis to gain a significant damage boost. The Lord of Blood's Exultation provides damage whenever you proc Blood Loss, which is very easy to do since most of Executor's best weapon options inherently possess the ability to inflict this ailment.

Use Stamina-enhancing Talismans like Green Turtle Talisman or Viridian Amber Medallion to ensure you have plenty of stamina to attack often or parry long enemy attack chains. Defensively, look out for a Pearldrake Talisman or Dragoncrest Shield Talisman to bolster your damage mitigation. It's also generally a good idea to look out for damage reduction against attacks that your target Nightlord uses, for example, a Flamedrake Talisman to protect against frequent fire attacks.

Executor has a stat template that is great for any weapon that has high Dexterity and/or Arcane scaling. This primarily includes Katanas, Daggers, and Thrusting Swords, and to a lesser extent, Curved Swords or even Whips and Claws - if any of these weapons also have the ability to inflict ailments, they hold even more value. Furthermore, although Executor specializes in and should mainly focus his efforts on close quarters combat, it's important to note that he is quite good with a Bow equipped as a secondary weapon for situations that favor ranged combat.

Katanas

This category is what Executor's signature default weapon (Executor's Blade) belongs to. Katanas are a natural fit for this character due to their high Dexterity scaling and often inherent ability to inflict Blood Loss, which is inflicted at a much quicker rate than other characters due to Executor's high base Arcane stat. Rivers of Blood is a great option to take advantage of its dual Dexterity and Arcane scaling as well as the aforementioned Blood Loss application. The iconic Hand of Malenia returns to this game as a Legendary armament as well, and is a solid pick for its high base attack power.

Daggers

What they lack in range, they make up for with raw damage output thanks to their quick attack animations. Similar to Katanas, they scale extremely well with Dexterity and are good at inflicting ailments, though the options are somewhat limited. Reduvia stands out as yet another dual attribute scaling weapon with inherent Blood Loss; it comes with a pretty solid ranged skill built into it as well.

Thrusting Swords

Continuing the trend of high Dexterity scaling, Thrusting Swords are a great option for the Executor. This category has two options for inflicting ailments, Antspur Rapier and perhaps more importantly, Frozen Needle, which inflicts Frostbite. This status is similar to Blood Loss, with the added benefit of increasing the target's damage taken, which gives this weapon tremendous value. Although not technically a Thrusting Sword (instead, a Heavy Thrusting Sword), Bloody Helice is a special mention here since it has Dexterity and Arcane scaling and inflicts Blood Loss, while also being just a relatively solid weapon in general.

Other Weapons

Since you don't always have full control over the weapons you find, you may need to improvise at times. Aside from passive effects, certain weapons are better candidates than others just because of the way they scale. Curved Swords, Claws, and Whips are decent options since they typically have either A, or at worst, B-Rank Dexterity scaling. Claws in particular are interesting since they all come with some sort of ailment inherent to them (mostly Blood Loss), a good example being Raptor Talons. Generally, Executor can do rather well with a wide range of weapons, so don't be afraid to equip one that gives him the highest damage numbers regardless if they fit these categories or not.

Bows

Having a decent Bow tucked away should always be a consideration. Most of these have S-Rank Dexterity scaling, so they're more than capable of dealing heavy damage from range as needed. In a group setting, Bosses move around a lot, especially if the party is constantly split up. To help avoid damage downtime outside of melee range, whip out the Bow instead of chasing a Boss across the arena.

Weapon Passives

All equipment found has a passive effect, most of which are active regardless of whether the item is equipped or not. For Executor, take items that help him sustain HP, mitigate incoming damage, or raise attack power (especially when Two-Handing). The equipment doesn't have to be weapons typical to the character; on Executor, a Staff's passive is just as strong as a Katana's passive. There are only six equipment slots, so use them wisely. If a passive effect has a symbol of a red hand next to it, that means it is only active while you are using the weapon.

Executor usually uses weapons with high attack speed, making it easy for him to capitalize on effects that trigger off successive attacks. An example of this is the HP Restoration upon Successive Attacks in the picture above. Defeating Enemies Restores HP is a decent alternative, but is useless against bosses. One of the best modifiers you can get is Successive Attacks Negate Damage, as it provides significant mitigation and Executor attacks quickly enough to give it high uptime. Taking Damage Boosts Damage Negation is also great to fall back on in cases where you accidentally get hit (which will happen, let's face it). Lastly, generic attack increases, like Improved Attack Power when Two-Handing are pretty solid for increasing your damage output.

Executor is a fierce melee character that strikes swiftly and inflicts deadly status ailments. As such, it benefits him greatly to be relentless in the way he attacks. This is sometimes easier said than done, as the Executor is not the sturdiest fighter compared to the other melee characters in the roster.

Abilities

What does give him the advantage here though is his natural ability to parry incoming attacks via Cursed Sword - a playstyle that must be mastered to get the most out of what our cursed swordsman has to offer. Essentially, whenever you are the primary target when facing dangerous enemies, it is usually a good idea to switch to Cursed Sword stance and parry attacks, rather than fight recklessly. Aside from avoiding damage, there are other benefits to this; successful parries inflict a great deal of poise damage and can easily incapacitate the opponent when done skillfully. Parrying in this way will also "charge" the cursed sword, allowing for high damage counterattacks.

Ultimate Art

The Aspect of the Crucible: Beast is a transformation that serves as Executors's Ultimate, and it gives him a way to deal with crowds when he becomes overwhelmed. Shapeshifting into the Beast significantly increases your health bar and gives you a variety of wide sweeping attacks that tend to interrupt and knockback the opposition, which does a great job at preventing incoming damage. When the transformation is about to end, it's usually a good idea to finish with the attack that is the same button your weapon skill is typically bound to; this has a long wind-up but does heavy damage - unfortunately, it reverts you to your original form, so it's best to save it for last. Although you can generally play pretty recklessly while transformed, be aware that it is indeed possible to die, especially against strong multi-attacks. Your Flask of Crimson Tears is also disabled while shapeshifted, so make sure to bail if the situation becomes perilous.

Summary

Executor is a deadly warrior that is unmatched in hand-to-hand combat. Though he is somewhat frail for a melee character, he makes up for it by being able to expertly wield armaments with quick attack animations, which help him dodge incoming strikes. And of course, he has his Cursed Sword to fall back on to deflect any combination of attacks an enemy might throw at him. For this reason, the Executor is a great candidate for solo play, as it is often quite favorable for him to be the one drawing the attention of opposing forces - that is, if you're skilled enough to handle it. Even when things get dicey, his Ultimate form is great to fall back on to sway the fight back in his favor, especially when up against many foes at once. In general, Executor is a fantastic character for almost all situations, solo or not, and is very satisfying to pilot once his playstyle has been mastered.

Credits

Written by: snail

Reviewed by: IBoilerUp