It’s been less than 48 hours since the release of Elden Ring: Nightreign on May 30, 2025, and the internet is already flooded with fan art of the Dark Hermitess, one of the game’s standout characters.
Known as the Recluse in English localization, this hauntingly enigmatic Nightfarer has captured the hearts — and imaginations — of the Elden Ring fanbase, quickly earning the title of the community’s newest “waifu.”
With eyes described as “deep as the Abyss itself,” the Dark Hermitess has struck a chord with players. Her design, a blend of eerie mystique and captivating beauty, seems tailor-made to inspire devotion. In just a day, she’s become a cultural phenomenon, dominating fan spaces with an outpouring of artwork.
On DeviantArt and other platforms, artists have shared everything from detailed portraits to stylized interpretations, showcasing her blood magic and reality-warping powers in breathtaking ways.
But not all of the fan art is innocent. On sites known for explicit content, the Dark Hermitess has already inspired over 100 pieces, with the number growing rapidly.
The Elden Ring: Nightreign community on Reddit and other forums has noted this surge, with some fans humorously lamenting — or celebrating — the speed at which the character has been embraced in more risqué contexts. “Miyazaki, what are you doing to us?” has become a common refrain, as players attribute this fervor to Hidetaka Miyazaki’s knack for creating characters that resonate deeply with fans.
The Dark Hermitess’s appeal isn’t hard to understand. As a spellcaster with a dark, lonely aura—trusting only her ashes, yet wielding abilities like reviving teammates — she embodies the kind of complex, tragic allure that Elden Ring fans adore. Her role in the game’s cooperative roguelike structure, set in the procedurally generated Limveld, only adds to her mystique, as players team up to survive the Night’s Tide and face off against Nightlords.
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This isn’t the first time FromSoftware has sparked such a reaction — characters like Ranni the Witch from the original Elden Ring have long been fan favorites. But the Dark Hermitess’s meteoric rise shows that Miyazaki and his team still know how to craft characters that ignite the community’s passion, for better or worse.
As Nightreign continues to unfold, it’s clear the Dark Hermitess will remain a central figure in the fanbase’s creative outpouring —whether that’s through stunning artwork or more… daring interpretations.
