As reported by Eurogamer, Elden Ring‘s “Tarnished Edition” GOTY re-release and update won’t just come with new weapons out in the world: It’ll have two new starting classes added to the lineup, with both harkening back to Souls characters of the past, and one of them coming equipped with the Milady Light Greatsword, a killer weapon that used to be gated by an endgame boss.
Famitsu attended a press event about the Tarnished Edition in Tokyo on May 6 where FromSoft shared images of the two new classes (follow the link to Famitsu to check them out). Their names may change in localization, but literally translate as “Knight of Ides” and “Heavy Knight.”
The Knight of Ides is where it’s at if you ask me. First, its armor set looks amazing, and strikes me as a clear riff on the Fluted Armor from Demon’s Souls, one of the coolest knight designs FromSoft has ever produced, and its very first box art, “mascot” set of Soulsborne armor. The Drip Souls is off the charts with the Knight of Ides.
But that’s not all: It comes equipped with Milady, the standard, most customizable version of the Light Greatsword weapon class introduced in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
Though SotE introduced flashier options like the Backhand Blades and Rakshasa’s Great Katana, Milady was a standout addition, combining an elegant, duelist moveset with the power of a greatsword. The Knight of Ides could be a new favorite starter for Dexterity or Quality (Dex/Strength) build enjoyers.
On the opposite end of the character archetype spectrum, the Heavy Knight is, as you might guess by the name, beef city. Similar to Ides’ echo of the Fluted Armor, Heavy Knight screams Dark Souls 1’s Iron Tarkus.
They come equipped with that heavy black plate armor, no shield, and a brand new large sword. It’s hard to tell, but if it’s the same weapon that appears in later images shared by Famitsu, it seems like the Heavy Knight’s default weapon is a curved greatsword, one that resembles a giant falchion.
Soulsborne classes are often more suggestions for how to build your character, but the addition of new armor, a new weapon, and early access to a killer late-game sword sweetens the deal.
The Tarnished Edition is targeting Nintendo’s Switch 2, but its new classes and other additions will also come to PC, hopefully day-and-date with the launch. Bandai Namco has not confirmed a release date, but I would be surprised if it’s far off from the Switch 2’s June 5 release.
