The network test for The Duskbloods allows eight players to jump into matches together, creating different character builds between Bloodsworn classes and Kin allies. The Bloodsworn are named characters in the game, similar to the monikers of Guardian, Duchess, or Recluse were used to describe the classes you can play as in Elden Ring: Nightreign. Each person is someone you embody, with each one having unique weapons and abilities that will determine your play style in competition with others.
Matches in The Duskbloods begin with choosing a Bloodsworn character in the House of Night, the hub world right before the first Phase of a Dusk Battle. You also get to pick one of several Kin allies, who act like Spirit Ashes in Elden Ring, manifesting in matches as stedfast allies who grow in strength alongside your character. Much like the Bloodsworn, Kin have varying skills and mechanics, but far fewer than the highly detailed characters you play as throughout four Phases that culminate into tense PvP brawls.
Albert is the first Bloodsworn you can pick in The Duskbloods, among the six in the network test and likely among the planned 10 Bloodsworn coming out with the game’s official release. The most straightforward Bloodsworn available, Albert is an every-man character that can adapt to ranged or close combat equally, without excelling in either department. Everything about Albert is balanced for players to easily pick him up, including blood-infused attacks that corellate to the main gameplay ideas of The Duskbloods.
While everyone can suck blood from enemies to turn them intro thralls, Albert can unleash special blood powers stronger than other characters. On top of this, Albert wields twin sabers with moderate reach, as well as a sub-machine gun that sports above average range. Although the gunshots are more of a spread meant to cover enemy approaches than precise targeting, Albert’s unique Blood Blades create projectiles with more accuracy. Albert can also create beams of light through Light of Hayern, and make enemies with high Virtue resources easier to stagger with his Upriser ability.
Albert also gains more uses from blood-based abilities through his High Lorrik Blood Aspect, a passive skill you can apply to your build. Some of Albert’s abilities require some commitment and risk, but his well-rounded nature covers up a few of his weaknesses. For players just getting into The Duskbloods, Albert might be the perfect choice.
Although a strange, pajama wearing character, Bloodhand Jan is not someone you want to underestimate. This highly aggressive character only has a pot over his head, signifying his sacrifice of defense for a purely offensive play style. Playing as Bloodhand Jan, you’ll be given a large one-handed axe that deals plenty of damage, encouraging an up-close-and-personal strategy. At the same time, you’re given the ability to cast fire from your off hand, creating a burning pillar of flames that injures and burns opponents.
This character’s signature attack is a falling attack after a hefty jump, ending in a huge slam that activates a bloody AoE follow-up that is hard for enemy players to dodge. Another key ability for Bloodhand Jan is Blink, a passive skill that changes his dash into incorporeal teleports, similar to Bloodhound Step in Elden Ring and Bloodborne. This character has Aspects that tie him into Bloodborne even more, such as Bloodhand Lineage, which allows the character to restore health through landing counterattacks after receiving damage.
Another Aspect is Lord of Blood, a skill that lets Bloodhand Jan heals HP of spellbound foes in order to increase his own attacking power. Once again, this emphasizes fast movement and oppressive tactics, with the character benefiting the most from staying on the attack. For fans of Bloodborne‘s style of combat represented in The Duskbloods, Bloodhand Jan could be the best character for the network test.
The regal attire of Trang Lanh reflects a sleek and refined warrior, who would prefer to sneak around Dusk Battles until the time to strike is right. This character uses a massive ring blade weapon for both close quarters and ranged combat, almost like Kung Lao’s razor hat in the Mortal Kombat series. Trang Lanh can toss her ring weapon from afar, or use it in melee scraps, meaning you never have to juggle with a larger arsenal of tools. That being said, Trang Lanh’s best skill is how she can turn invisible through her Darkmoon ability.
The invisibility from Darkmoon doesn’t last long, but it can help her avoid detection from other players, letting her get close for a lethal critical backstab. She can also use this skill to acquire the exceedingly rare Flame Virtue that only appears once on the Dusk Battle map, sneaking past everyone else fighting over it to claim the prize. If threatened, Trang Lanh can summon a giant silver serpent to strike and knock back foes, giving her enough time to disappear and escape certain situations.
Some of Trang Lanh’s Aspects include Alluring Blade, an ability that spellbinds nearby enemies whenever she chooses to drink blood. Her Daughter of the Darkmoon Aspect makes her harder for enemies to detect on their mini-map, and even harder to target with attacks too. This brings forth a cunning, more strategic gameplay than Albert or Bloodhand Jan, with the character not thriving in direct combat, but rather in fights she dictates in The Duskbloods on her own terms. Those who played Duchess in Elden Ring: Nightreign could find similarities with Trang Lanh’s approach.
Precision and lethality are traits associated with the Bloodsworn Sniper Layla, a character designed to kill targets fast from long-range. Sniper Layla has two katar weapons for melee combat, acting as twin daggers with short range but swift attacks when necessary. Obviously, the character’s biggest weapon is a sniper rifle, which deals incredibly high damage from a much larger range than most characters can ever manage. On top of this, Sniper Layla has innate skills beyond just shooting her opponents from a distance.
Those who play as Sniper Layla have access to the Neb-ra Vanishing skill, an ability that allows the character to become a swarm of insects to instantly travel to another location close to her. This leaves an afterimage to confuse enemies, whether they are player controlled or PvE minions/bosses. Mainly acting as a repositioning tool, Sniper Layla’s other skill is the Verd Gatling Gun, where players pull out a huge firearm from their stomach. This mini gun doesn’t deal a lot of damage, but it creates a barrage of bullets to stagger and disrupt enemies caught in its range.
When choosing Aspects, Sniper Layla has the Neb-ra Lineage, a passive skill that turns your HP into something that can be recovered to its halfway point over time. This does make Goldblood strikes less restorative compared to other characters, but it grants Sniper Layla extra vitality that is more consistent. With the Nighteye Aspect, Sniper Layla’s range for lock-ons and observations is extended, allowing you to pick off opponents from even further away. Sniper Layla is highly mobile, but somewhat fragile if caught, making her an interesting glass cannon to play in The Duskbloods.
Senator Samir Patres is a refined warrior that uses a thrusting rapier weapon, yet the character is far from straightforward once you dig into their Bloodsworn skills. The first of these, Bloodstake, gives players the option to create a swamp of blood at the feet of enemies, creating a colossal stake to rise out of the ground. This appears as a tracking line of blood that then knocks enemies up into the air, creating the perfect situations for follow-up attacks. Senator Samir Patres specializes in these sort of transformative debuffs, creating an odd but effective style of play.
To add to the Senator’s strangeness, his ranged attack is nothing but spectral, fiery birds that launch themselves at opponents before exploding. This mastery over animals builds up into the Bloodsworn Skill Saurian Form, where the Senator turns into a small dinosaur. No, really, he turns into a dinosaur. When this form activates, players charge forward, grabbing whatever enemy they run into with their powerful jaws before flinging them to the side. This attack deals plenty of damage, but can also easily throw enemies off ledges for instant kills.
Although the full exploration of character ability combos will have to wait for The Duskbloods‘ official release date, Senator Samir Patres is one of the most interesting figures in the network test. Everything in the Senator’s tool kit facilitates his stronger skills, such as the Aspect Blood Disciple, which lowers his required Bloodsworn skill level. With the Unshakable Sword Aspect, the Senator can boost their own melee power too. This character relies heavily on their Bloodsworn specific abilities, creating one of the few builds that relies less on their regular fighting techniques.
The last character in The Duskbloods‘ network test is Zork, a lovable FromSoft character in a suit of protective heavy armor, with a similar visual look to a Big Daddy out of BioShock. Acting almost like Siegward of Catarina from Dark Souls 3 or Havel the Rock from the first Dark Souls, Zork is a slow character that hits like a truck with their Colossal melee weapon. The weapon itself is an undersea cable, reflecting the character’s rusty scuba diver look alongside his speargun for ranged attacks. However, it’s the Bloodsworn skills that take this character’s ridiculousness up a notch.
Zork has hyper armor on some attacks, meaning his offense can’t be interrupted by something like Sniper Layla’s gatling gun. One such attack is Human Rocket, an ability that deploys a propulsion mechanism from the diving suit’s back, shifting it into a flight mode. When the rockets on the suit activate fully, players are launched forward toward their target, charging ahead for a big impact. Zork’s other skill is Missile, an ability where he deploys several targeting projectile missiles from a canon on his suit’s back, after taking some time to go into a firing stance.
Traversing maps using Human Rocket is hilarious as Zork, but he has legitametly good Aspect passives he can apply to not be considered a “joke” character. For example, Zork’s Law of the Deep Sea Aspect lets him steal max HP from fallen Bloodsworn, gaining extra vitality until defeated in some way. Zork can also unleash a inhuman sonic burst attack through the Dread Resonance Aspect, disrupting enemies in range. Zork’s comedic appeal is just as interesting as the cool factor behind other Bloodsworn, giving you a colorful cast of classes to choose from when participating in The Duskbloods network test.
