Ironeye is an impressively flexible class. He can fit into just about any role; though he isn’t all that capable of tanking, he has a big range between support and DPS, and he can even dip a little bit into melee. His Relics are a way to give him an initial push towards one of his many talents.
This is designed to give you quite a few ideas for Best Relic Effects & Unique Relics that Ironeye can use to fuel his builds during the expeditions: no matter the weapons, passives, Nightlords, or playstyle you might be shooting for.
Ironeye Best Relics
We will go over three different sets of effects below: DPS, Support, and Survival.
Ironeye has a lot of ways of boosting his DPS (even if it’s indirect via making use of status effects/affinities on his bow), and even more if he makes creative use of his off-hand options (which we discuss in Ironeye’s Best Weapons guide). Then, Ironeye has an increased item drop passive, so you get him a Small Pouch as a starting item and make his effects apply to nearby allies, for example, if you are going more for the Support role and letting your allies do the primary bulk of damage. He is a squishy character, so you can top him off with some Survival effects to balance things out, with the options like HP Restoration upon Bow Attacks — you tend to shoot quite quickly and hang out at the back.
And, voilà! You are ready to head out. Let’s take a look at each set below.
Best DPS Effects
Best:
- Dexterity +1/+2/+3
- Improved Bow Attack Power
- Edge of Order (Ironeye’s Second Remembrance Reward):
- [Ironeye] Boosts thrusting counterattacks after executing Art
- Starting armament deals holy damage
- Improved Bow Attack Power
- [Element] Attack Power Up +1/+2
- Combine with Attack power up when facing [same element]-afflicted enemy
- Improved Attack Power with 3+ Bows Equipped
- Stamina recovers with each successful attack — for quicker Bow shots
Depending on Playstyle:
- Cracked Sealing Wax (Ironeye’s First Remembrance Reward):
- [Ironeye] Extends duration of weak point
- Critical Hits Earn Runes
- [Ironeye] +1 additional Character Skill use — great when using the Marking Skill to dodge also
- Night of the Lord (Reward for beating the final Nightlord/Heolstor):
- Switching Weapons Adds an Affinity Attack
- Boosts Attack Power of Added Affinity Attacks
- Switching Weapons Boosts Attack Power
- Attack power permanently increased for each evergaol prisoner defeated
- Increased Maximum FP — for a Barrage build or with a casting off-hand weapon
- Ultimate Art Gauge +3, and Defeating enemies fills more of the Art gauge — doesn’t quite resolve the issue of a very slow-charging Ultimate, but it helps
- Attack power increases after using grease items — good to combine with a starting/purchased Small Pouch for an extra slot
- Starting armament deals [element] damage — for rarer effects, matched against target Nightlord (Fire/Magic/Poison/Holy tend to be relatively common)
Ironeye’s best weapon happens to come with lowest DPS (regular bow), but there are several ways to give it a major boost:
- You can find a Bow (not Greatbow/Crossbow) with an affinity or a status effect, and a Rain of Arrows or Barrage skill, and push it to Epic rarity
- Or you can make use of your free off-hand for a Greatbow, a melee weapon, or a good casting Staff or Seal to mix into your rotation (moments when your teammates have the target’s full attention, or, for melee weapons — when they don’t)
We discuss these options and more in our Best Weapons for Ironeye guide, which you should definitely check out if that’s of interest.
That being said, unless you see a great Epic weapon that nobody else on your team wants, the classic option remains the bow with an affinity or a status effect. In most cases, your best position is at the back, building up a stance break or an affinity cap on a target, Marking/dodging through it when it gets up close. (The way it works out, there is always a need for a person getting the least damage to help resurrect teammates.)
To that end, your flat Dexterity increases are #1
Best Support Effects
- Increased rune acquisition for self and allies
- Flask Also Heals Allies
- Slowly restore HP for self and nearby allies when HP is low
- Defeating enemies restores HP for allies but not for self
If Using Items:
- Items confer effect to all nearby allies
- Small Pouch in possession at start of expedition — to carry more items, if used often
In our How to Play Ironeye guide, I discuss in passionate detail why Ironeye is in a great position to use items. The whole team is getting an item drop boost from his passive to begin with, and Ironeye is hanging out in the back during battle, which means he is in a good position to cycle through his items, grease up, or throw a pot/stone. Use them!
But, as mentioned in the previous section, Ironeye is a naturally great support character by the virtue of staying in the back and remaining unharmed. When the enemy changes targets and Ironeye can kite them a bit, or making sure there is someone to resurrect the others (make use of your Ultimate), or just that steady supply of damage (especially with a status effect): you will often feel like you are supporting the rest of the team in small but important ways.
Best Survival Effects
- Vigor +1/+2/+3
- Increased Maximum HP — less effective, but can make a difference for Ironeye
- HP Restoration upon Bow Attacks — one of the best “HP Restoration upon” options among classes due to frequent attacks
- Slowly restore HP for self and nearby allies when HP is low
- HP restored when using cured meats, medicinal boluses, etc. — good to combine with Small Pouch(es)
- [Ironeye] +1 additional Character Skill use — great for using Marking Skill as a dodge
The evasive Ironeye is one of the most enduring members of the group, but he can go out in single hits with certain enemies (especially if the run hasn’t been going as well and you are underleveled), so a supplementary Max HP boost isn’t the worst idea.
With more aggressive bosses (which always includes the Nightlords), using Marking as a dodge is critical. It will save you a lot of health due to your low defense: if possible, dodge through by placing a mark, dodge sideways (sometimes preemptively), or dodge backwards in emergency (going backwards usually still gets you hit, so be careful).
Overall, don’t make Survival your main focus. You are a long way until being able to tank hits, so master your dodging instead. Remember that Ironeye’s Stamina replenishes very quickly, so if needed — remove your target lock-on and sprint away to reposition.
