Now that we have gotten Shadow of the Erdtree and the game has gone through necessary patches, I wanted to rank all the builds in Elden Ring from best to worst. This will be the definitive list for all kinds of players: new ones looking to invest in the best builds right off the gate, veterans looking forward to making their umpteenth build, and those who are not satisfied with their current build and hoping to respec.
Instead of listing specific builds and playstyles, I focused on ranking the combat stats (or combination of stats) that have the potential to birth the most potent builds in Elden Ring. There is much to talk about here, Tarnished, so let’s go!
15 – Intelligence and Arcane Builds
This build type has basically no weapon options. You could potentially use weapons like an Intelligence-affinity (Cold or Magic) Bloodfiend’s Fork or an Arcane-affinity (Poison, Blood, and Occult) Clayman’s Harpoon.
Still, those weapons are better when specced into one particular stat or a majority into that one stat, and having a decent amount of intelligence and Arcane will not reap any meaningful benefits. No affinity compliments both INT/ARC, either.
The most disappointing thing is that this build has literally no worthwhile spell options. There are only two spells under Clayman sorceries: the Oracle Bubbles and the Great Oracular Bubble. Although these spells are not bad, they’re just slightly above average.
Couple that with the lacklusterness of the only staff that boosts these spells, the Albinauric Staff, and you have nothing to build around. Even dumping a ton of levels in Arcane and Intelligence won’t result in good sorcery scaling.
There is a new ARC/INT staff from the DLC, the Maternal Staff, but that only relatively shines (damage-wise) once you have invested around 60 levels in both Arcane and Intelligence.
This kind of commitment is trash when no spells or weapons exist to profit from it. At that point, you are better off just going with an Intelligence or Faith build if you want to deal high damage.
However, there are some bleed-type sorceries, like Briars of Punishment or Impenetrable Thorns, and bleed does scale with Arcane. Using these spells with the aforementioned Arcane staff will enhance the bleed buildup further, but it’s not that much to make a difference, especially since the damage is not that good.
At about 60 Arcane and using the Maternal Staff, the Impenetrable Thorns does only a couple hundred more bleed buildup.
The damage will not be as good as if you could have with an Intelligence build. To add insult to injury, these spells have Faith requirements, too! So if you actually wanted to build around these spells, you have to spec into Intelligence, Arcane, and Faith.
The Maternal Staff also boost Finger sorceries, but these spells don’t even have an Arcane scaling; they have a pure Intelligence scaling, thus no build specific synergy.
This build type needed to have its own dedicated weapon or two or even an affinity. As it stands right now, it is not that practical.
14 – Intelligence and Strength Builds
This build type also suffers from the same situation as before, meaning it does not have many weapon options. The only real somber stone-based weapon you can use with an Intelligence and Strength build is the Royal Greatsword. This weapon gets a C scaling in both Strength and Intelligence. It is a decent damaging weapon, although it doesn’t really proc Frostbite that quickly, and its weapon skill can be a bit inconsistent.
Most other weapons with INT/STR-based scalings always have subpar scalings for one particular stat. For example, the Dark Moon Greatsword only gets a D Scaling in Strength, so it’s a much better Intelligence-based weapon.
All the gravity-themed weapons like the Starscourge Greatsword, Alabaster Lord’s Sword, and Fallingstar Beast Jaw reach D scalings in Intelligence. With these, there is no advantage in supporting intelligence unless you’re at really high levels.
The biggest letdown is that spellcasting is just abysmal with this build. There is no Clawmark Seal FAI/STR equivalent staff that scales with both STR and INT. Sorcery casters have no go-to catalyst to pick from when choosing this build.
There might be some cases where you can equip a Cold affinity with certain types of strength weapons and get an acceptable strength/intelligence-based scaling, but those are few. On the contrary, if you do want to go with those kinds of weapons, it’s better to spec into a magic build, and using some Frost sorceries, like Zamor Ice Storm, is going to be better anyway.
The Helphen’s Steeple Greatsword achieves a C scaling in Strength, but the Dark Moon Greatsword outclasses this weapon in almost every way.
If the gravity weapons had better Intelligence scalings and if there was a Strength and Intelligence-based staff, I’d put this build a lot higher on the list.
13 – Strength and Dexterity (Quality) Builds
For the uninitiated, speccing into both the physical stats STR/DEX results in a Quality build. The lack of complimentary somber stone weapons is the one thing that drags this build down the list. Outside of weapons like Bloodhound’s Fang, Zamor Curved Sword, and Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana (which are excellent Quality picks, don’t get me wrong), you are better off speccing into one of these stats rather than split into both STR/DEX equally.
As for the Quality affinity, this specialty is not geared toward the early game or your first playthrough. You will only see the fruits of your investment when you are around the 250 level and have raised both Strength and Dexterity above 60. Please don’t bother with Quality affinity below these levels, as it significantly lowers your base damage, and the early scaling is not enticing.
You are better off speccing into one stat, STR or DEX, especially if it’s a Strength-incline weapon because with Strength builds, you also benefit from things like the Clawmark seal and other types of projectile options.
The primary benefit of Quality affinity at lower levels is that it gives you the freedom to play with many different types of weapons. If you want to experiment with various kinds of Strength- or Dexterity-based weapons in your playthrough, you could opt for a Quality build.
12 – Dexterity and Faith Builds
From this point, most builds will be viable; the ranking will depend on their impact and effectiveness, among other things.
Dexterity and Faith have excellent weapon alternatives. The Halo Scythe, Sacred Relic Sword, Black Knife, Godslayer’s Greatsword, and Spear of the Impaler are all potentially S-tier weapons. On the flip side, no affinities really lean towards DEX/FAI build.
The blessing of pairing Dexterity with either Intelligence or Faith is that DEX does boost your casting speed. Thus, when you cast those incantations, they will come out a tad bit faster. It is not the most noticeable difference, but it could sometimes save your bacon.
However, like before, Elden Ring does not have a dedicated DEX/FAI-based seal tailored for these kinds of builds. I wish Gravel Stone Seal had ditched the STR scaling for DEX, and neither the Shadow of the Erdtree added one for this purpose.
If you have high Dexterity and Faith, the only adequate option is the Frenzied Flame Seal. It pales in comparison damage-wise to almost every other seal in the game, but it’s the only one with any sort of Dexterity scaling.
Regardless, Dexterity and Faith is a solid build type owing to its fantastic weapon choices. Unfortunately, it kind of lacks in the spell department.
11 – Dexterity and Arcane Builds
Dexterity and Arcane house plenty of awesome weapons as well. The Rivers of Blood, Bloody Helice, Reduvia, Eleonora’s Poleblade, and any Dexterity-based weapon that gets a nice Bleed affinity will pair fine with a DEX/ARC build.
For bleed-focused builds, I highly recommend going for a pure Arcane build with the Occult affinity. This works exceptionally well with weapons that already have passive bleed, and at higher levels, the performance will be much better. Plus, with a pure Arcane build, you’ll get the most out of the Dragon Communion Seal and Dragon Communion Spells.
On the other hand, Dexterity/Arcane weapons tend to scale better with DEX, resulting in you not getting much benefit from spells if you stick to low ARC levels. That’s a bit of a drawback, as I generally advise having some projectile options for any build since they make many encounters easier.
With a Dexterity/Arcane build, you’re limited in terms of damage output—you can’t fully optimize damage with other ranged attacks like bows or lightning pots, and you won’t maximize spell damage either.
10 – Intelligence and Faith Builds
Faith and intelligence builds can be some of the best in the game, especially at higher levels. The downside, though, is the lack of weapon options. You’re pretty limited, with the Sword of Night and Flame being the go-to choice.
Other weapons, like the Rellana’s Twin Blades, are still underpowered and in need of buffs. Even weapons that can be infused and have Intelligence or Faith scaling, like the Erdsteel Dagger or Clayman’s Harpoon, aren’t great for a hybrid INT/FAI build—they’re usually better when focusing on just one stat.
That said, the Sword of Night and Flame is easily a top-tier weapon, and with an intelligence/faith build, you get access to both incantations and sorceries. The Golden Order Seal (scales with both INT and FAI) is actually the highest-damaging seal in the game, so even at mid-levels, you’ll deal more damage than a pure Faith build.
However, there are a couple of downsides. If you split your stats equally between Intelligence and Faith, you won’t meet the requirements for the more expensive spells, like Black Blade or Ranni’s Dark Moon. You will have to pump these stats more to access them. Also, healing spells, like Erdtree Heal, won’t be as effective since they scale purely with Faith. Other seals in the game offer better FAI scaling, so healing will be weaker with this build.
On the sorcery side, it’s not ideal for low to mid-levels. The best early-game staff is the Gelmir Glintstone Staff, but it doesn’t excel in sorcery damage. The new Staff of the Great Beyond from the DLC is solid at mid-levels and can cast both sorceries and incantations, but it’s not as powerful as the Golden Order Seal for incantations. It’s convenient, though. At higher levels, like 60-70 in both Faith and Intelligence, the Prince of Death’s Staff becomes the highest-damaging staff in the game.
Speaking of higher levels in FAI and INT, this is when this build really shines because you’ll have access to all spells, status effects, and damage types, letting you create some powerful and downright broken builds.
Unfortunately, there are no Intelligence/Faith-based weapon affinities, and many of the spells that require both stats, like Death or Golden Order incantations, are either underwhelming or outclassed by other options. So, while the build has great potential at higher levels, it lacks synergy early on and doesn’t offer much variety in terms of weapon or spell choices.
9 – Only Dexterity Builds
Pure builds that focus on a single stat tend to shine more in the early and mid-game because you get greater returns from investing heavily in one stat rather than splitting them. But once you hit really high levels, like 100 and beyond, you might be better off exploring other options.
That said, pure Dexterity builds have fantastic choices, like the Katanas, Claws, Bolt of Gransax, Guardian’s Swordspear, Falx, and so many other great DEX weapons. Plus, there are solid Ashes of War and weapon skills that scale purely off Dexterity, such as Storm Blade, Ice Spear, and Lightning Ram. Pairing these with a Keen (DEX-centric) affinity can really boost your damage output.
One downside to pure Dexterity builds, though, is that if you’re two-handing your weapon—say, a two-handed Uchigatana—going with 40 DEX and a Keen affinity doesn’t measure up to going with 40 STR and a Heavy infusion.
This is because two-handing gives you a 50% bonus to your Strength stat, which results in more damage for STR builds. Early on, when weapon scaling isn’t as strong, this difference isn’t as noticeable, but once scaling kicks in, strength pulls ahead if you’re two-handing.
Dexterity builds also excel with passive bleed weapons, like Claws, Katanas, Scavenger’s Curved Sword, or Cross-Naginata. Pairing these with Bloodflame Blade Blood incantation can really up your game. But at higher levels, opting for an Occult affinity might be a better choice since Arcane builds give you more bleed buildup and the option to combine spells.
Speaking of spells, the previously raised concern is that there is no Dexterity-based seal or staff for using damaging spells with low requirements. So, if you wanted to add some cheap, damaging spells to your kit, DEX builds don’t allow for that. However, if you’re looking for projectile options, the Ansbach’s Longbow is the best bow in the game and pairs nicely with Dexterity builds.
So, while pure Dexterity builds are still potent and offer plenty of great options, Strength builds tend to edge them out in terms of overall damage potential.
8 – Only Arcane Builds
Note: All subsequent builds are top-tier, with little negative to say about them. If I do have any criticisms, it’s really just nitpicking to justify the rankings.
For a pure Arcane build, you can get some ridiculously overpowered setups. Powerstancing Scavenger’s Curved Swords or Cross-Naginata (basically any Bleed weapon with Occult affinity), or even using something like the Venomous Fang with Occult affinity, gives you insane damage and status buildup. Bleed weapons paired with Arcane are especially deadly; if you continuously trigger hemorrhage, expect bosses to go down pretty quickly.
What makes Arcane builds even more broken is their synergy with the Dragon Communion Seal. This seal is the second-highest damaging seal in the game, just behind the Golden Order Seal, and the difference isn’t huge. Plus, it boosts Dragon Communion Incantations, which are arguably some of the best spells in the game.
These spells can deal massive damage, and you don’t need to invest much in Faith—just about 15 points—to unlock a variety of options, like Flame, Grant Me Strength, and various damage-negation spells like Divine Fortification.
That said, there are a couple of disadvantages. Pure Arcane isn’t great at lower levels. You won’t benefit much from an Arcane build until your weapon is closer to max level because you need decent Arcane scaling for the Occult affinity to break through and deal massive blood build-up. So, until you hit around level 80, you might be better off sticking with a Dexterity or Strength build and then switching to Arcane once your scaling kicks in.
At higher levels, though, the Faith and Arcane builds start to outclass pure Arcane. Once you invest around 60 Arcane, stopping there and investing 25-30 points into Faith is better. This gives you access to more spells and boosts your spell damage, making it a more versatile build overall. So, while pure Arcane is amazing at mid to high levels, FAI/ARC beats it at the top.
7 – Intelligence and Dexterity Builds
The INT/DEX build is an absolute powerhouse with tons of broken weapon options. I would know cause this was my trusty build in my first playthrough. You’ve got choices like the Wing of Astel, Moonveil Katana, Death’s Poker, and pretty much any Dexterity weapon with a Cold affinity. These weapons give you solid DEX and INT scaling, so you’re working with some of the best melee weapons in the entire game.
Plus, as told in the Faith/Dexterity builds, the Dexterity stat improves your spell-casting speed, so with high Intelligence and Dexterity, you’ll not only have excellent spell damage but also faster casting. That said, this build comes together at higher levels.
Nonetheless, you’re in an awkward spot at medium levels of around 40 DEX and 40 INT. This is because no staff scales off both Intelligence and Dexterity, so your spell damage isn’t going to be as high as it could be. On top of that, many of the best staff (like Carian Regal Scepter) and spells (like Comet Azur) have high requirements, so with a hybrid build at lower levels, you’ll miss out on some of the more mighty spell damage and spells themselves.
Still, this build easily deserves an S-tier ranking because of the sheer number of insanely strong weapons it has access to. While you might not get the best spell options early on, the weapon variety alone makes it one of the strongest builds in the game.
6 – Only Strength Builds
A Pure Strength build is actually one of the best early-game options. When you two-hand a weapon, it gives you a 50% boost to your Strength stat, which makes Strength-centric affinities extremely effective.
No matter what weapon you use—whether it’s a curved sword or a katana—if you two-hand it with around 40 Strength, you’ll deal more damage than a 40 Dexterity build. Two-handing at 40 Strength effectively pushes you to 60 STR, which is like gaining an extra 20+ levels in damage output.
On top of that, Strength also boosts your physical damage negation, which is a big advantage over Dexterity. DEX may increase casting speed, reduce fall damage, and help with mounted combat, but those perks aren’t as valuable as the extra survivability you get from damage negation with Strength.
One of the standout aspects of a Strength build is the Clawmark Seal, which allows you to get reliable spell damage without needing to invest much in Faith. With just 15 to 20 points in Faith to meet the spell requirements, you can dish out decent damage while still focusing on Strength. This lets you mix in some spellcasting for utility and buffs while staying true to the raw power of a Strength build.
However, once you reach mid to higher levels, a pure Strength build can start to lose its appeal. At around 54 STR, two-handing pushes you to 80 STR. This is the soft cap of the stat, meaning any additional points in Strength won’t reap good returns.
You might be better off transitioning to a hybrid build like Strength/Faith at that stage. This allows you to two-hand your weapon while also getting more spell damage and using buffs like Golden Vow to sweeten your overall damage.
In summary, pure Strength is robust at lower levels, has the best affinity, adds to your survivability, and offers the most hard-hitting melee weapons in all of Elden Ring. However, the bashing heads in like a caveman approach will outstay its welcome at those higher levels where versatility reigns supreme.
5 – Strength and Arcane Builds
The Strength and Arcane build might not have much synergy with spells, especially since there’s no Strength and Arcane-based seal, and if you want to use incantations effectively, you’d have to invest heavily in Faith, which will muddy up this hybrid. However, the reason this build ranks in the top five is because of the assortment of absolutely broken weapon options at its disposal.
You’ve got weapons like the Bloodfiend’s Arm, Mohgwyn’s Sacred Spear, Marais Executioner’s Sword, and Ancient Meteoric Ore Greatsword, all of which are powerhouse picks. You can also go for Blood affinity on weapons like the Sword Lance or the Warped Axe, which turns out to be some of the best bleed weapons in Elden Ring. This mix of weapons alone pushes this build to astronomical heights.
While it doesn’t offer much in the way of spellcasting, the weapon choices are so strong that the lack of spell synergy doesn’t really matter. With these devastating weapons, Strength and Arcane builds easily make the top five for their sheer power and dishing out damage like it’s nobody’s business.
4 – Only Faith Builds
Needless to say, Pure Faith builds give you the key to the broadest collection of incantations, and in my opinion, incantations are better than sorceries across-the-board. While they might not be as ridiculously broken as things like Carian Slicer or Night Comet, you can still get some pretty close or equally powerful options like Catch Flame, Ancient Dragons’ Lightning Strike, and Knight’s Lightning Spear.
The real strength of a Faith build, though, is the medley of damage types it offers. You’ve got damage alternatives like fire and lightning, support spells like Golden Vow, damage negation, healing spells, and status effects like Scarlet Aeonia and Rotten Butterflies that can inflict the better version of Scarlet Rot (the 30% tick damage one) on bosses—which is its own kind of OP, especially in New Game Plus.
You can also access strong incantations like Black Blade, which inflicts the already crazy Destined Death effect, and Black Flame spells, making the build mind-bogglingly universal.
What’s funny, though, is that if you truly want to maximize damage from incantations, you’re better off with a hybrid build like INT/FAI or ARC/FAI. Seals like the Dragon Communion Seal and Golden Order Seal actually outperform the Erdtree Seal, even at the exact same stat levels. They are also better at medium levels when pitted against the Faith-biased Godslayer Seal.
However, pure Faith does have its own unique advantages. It maximizes weapon buffs like Electrify Armament and healing spells, which are way more effective with a pure Faith build. Trying to use healing spells with something like the Dragon Communion Seal won’t give you the same kind of healing.
Plus, Faith builds get their own dedicated affinities like Flame Art and Sacred, which give you a lot of flexibility and even acclimate most weapons to your build. Depending on the enemy’s resistance, you can switch between fire and holy damage (or other damage types) virtually on the fly, making this a super adaptable setup.
As for weapon options, pure FAI doesn’t have as many choices compared to hybrid builds, but you still get gems like the Coded Sword and Euporia, both of which scale remarkably well with Faith. They might not scale with Strength or Dexterity, but leaning fully into Faith makes these weapons literally shine.
So yeah, pure Faith builds are fantastic—seriously versatile, powerful, and adaptable. The only reason it doesn’t rank higher is that incantations are so easy to incorporate into hybrid builds, and the later builds have even more broken possibilities.
3 – Only Intelligence Builds
Pure Intelligence is easily one of the strongest pure builds in the entire game, from start to finish. Right from the beginning, you get access to some of the best spells like Carian Slicer and Night Comet, which are both extremely effective early on.
And let’s not forget about the Meteorite Staff—this thing comes with an S-scaling in Intelligence straight out of the gate and is already maxed out at +10, which is rare for early-game gear.
Most low-level weapons or staff have poor scaling, meaning you don’t get much out of pouring points into your primary stat early on. But with the Meteorite Staff, investing in INT immediately gives you great output, making it absolutely worth it. Pair it with the above spells, and you can easily breeze through most of the game.
Magic damage is also very versatile since there aren’t many enemies resistant to it, and you don’t have to worry much about weaknesses or immunities.
As for weapons and Ashes of War, INT builds also get some of the best freedom of choice. You’ve got weapons like the Dark Moon Greatsword and Ashes of War like Carian Sovereignty that are not only potent but also scale insanely well with Intelligence. Plus, you get the chance to use the Magic affinity, so you can slap it on pretty much any type of weapon and benefit from your INT levels.
One of the reasons pure Intelligence builds are superior to hybrid builds is the high requirements of the best staff and spells. Some of the more noteworthy INT options in Elden Ring have crazy high stat requirements, so trying to run a split build with other stats like Dexterity or Faith just isn’t as effective. You’re better off committing fully to Intelligence because that’s when you can truly unleash the full potential of the best sorceries in the game.
Honestly, pure Intelligence is one of the best builds to have until you reach around level 250. After that point, it might make sense to transition into a hybrid build like an Int/Faith setup. But until then, pure Intelligence just dominates.
From the early broken sorceries, like Night Comet, to top-of-the-line high-level stuff, like Lusat’s Glintstone Staff, no pure build has this kind of prospect.
2 – Strength and Faith Builds
The Strength and Faith build is home to THE best weapons in the entire game. Think Blasphemous Blade, Magma Wyrm’s Scalesword, Maliketh’s Black Blade, Magma Blade, and Ordovis’s Greatsword (among others)—there are just so many S-tier, game-breaking options here. And with the DLC, these weapons have only gotten better. For example, with the Talisman of the Dread, the Blasphemous Blade, already considered the most broken weapon in the game, got a 15% boost in power, making it even more deadly.
One of the standout features of this build is the Clawmark Seal. This seal scales with STR and FAI, making it perfect for a Strength-focused build that also wants to utilize some solid spell damage. Thanks to this seal, you can spec almost entirely into Strength and still get decent results from your incantations.
Now, if you’re at higher levels—around 50 Faith or more—the Godslayer’s Seal will outperform the Clawmark Seal in spell damage, no matter how much Strength you’ve invested in. But for a pure Strength build that also dabbles in some incantations, the Clawmark Seal is the right choice.
Once you hit higher levels, around 120-150, it’s wise to start pumping more points into Faith, especially if you’re two-handing your weapon. Once you reach the two-handed soft cap of 54 STR, you’ll have a lot of stat points to spare, and throwing those into Faith will open up more spell options and more significant spell damage. You’ll be able to use powerful incantations like Pest-Thread Spears, Golden Vow, and various healing and defensive spells.
At higher levels, the synergy between Strength and Faith just gets better. If you’re two-handing your weapon and you’ve already maxed out Strength, putting the rest of your points into Faith is the way to go. You’ll unlock a whole new layer of utility and dominance by having both incredible weapon options and a versatile toolkit of spells under your belt.
1 – Faith and Arcane Builds
The Faith and Arcane build is the most powerful endgame build, but it comes with a caveat: it’s only optimal at higher levels, primarily beyond level 120. It doesn’t perform as well at earlier stages, so this build is best reserved for the late game and beyond. The foundation of this build is predominantly Arcane with a bit of Faith. It shares many similarities with a pure Arcane build but gets that extra oomph from Faith.
The prowess of the build lies in the weapons you can use with Occult affinity. Weapons like Occult-infused Nagakiba, Raptor Talons, Star Fists, Venomous Fang, Scavenger’s Curved Sword, and Cross-Naginata become some of the best status-effect weapons in the entire game. These weapons can absolutely eat enemies and bosses, especially in New Game Plus, where percentage-based damage of bleed/hemorrhage is sought after.
One of the main highlights of this build is the Dragon Communion Seal. With just 30 FAI, you can cast so many amazing spells in Elden Ring. The Dragon Communion Seal outdamages most other Faith-based seals, giving you more spell damage than a pure Faith build would provide.
On top of that, you’ll get a 20% boost to your Dragon Communion incantations, making them even more brutal. The various breath attacks of the Dragon Communion spells are beyond impressive—they have long range, deal monstrous damage, and can apply a plethora of status effects.
The build opens up almost every damage type and status effect in the game, making it highly versatile. You can use spells like Greyoll’s Roar for one of the best debuffs in the game or Dragonmaw for that chunky bite, resulting in the greatest physical damage.
With a permit to both Arcane weapons and Faith-based incantations, this build can truly excel in both melee and spellcasting, allowing you to dominate every type of encounter.
You also have the flexibility to incorporate other powerful incantations like Catch Flame, Ancient Dragons’ Lightning Strike, and Pest-Threads Spears. These spells are surprisingly cheap to cast yet are just as devastating as the high-level incantations. All this is only adding to the build’s overwhelming versatility.
The only real downside is that the build isn’t very strong at lower levels. Arcane and Occult weapons don’t benefit much from the Faith stat early on, so your weapon damage won’t be as high until you’ve leveled up considerably. However, once you’ve reached a sufficient level, the Faith stat not only boosts your spell damage but also indirectly contributes to higher weapon damage through buffs like Flame, Grant me Strength and Golden Vow, creating a synergistic effect.
Ultimately, this build is unstoppable in the late game, utilizing some of the best DPS weapons and spells of countless varieties to annihilate everything standing in your way to the Erdtree.
Ranking Consideration for Builds in Elden Ring
I wanted to let you know a few things before I sign off on this guide:
- Since this is a build-based article, I only talk about the combat stats, not the rest that doesn’t directly impact damage output, like Vigor, Endurance, and Mind.
- The ranking criteria are centered around the number of viable and robust options available to the player if they pick certain build types. For example, the top FAI/ARC builds have access to the best status effects, spells, weapons, and buffs, while Quality builds lack meaningful weapon options and cannot cast spells.
- This is by no means a be-all-end-all ranking. You can make viable builds out of every single one of these build types.
- This is a strictly PVE-based list. PVP builds are crafted with a completely different mindset.
- Wherever I talk about weapons, staffs, and seals, I take into account that they are fully upgraded.
- Consider this an educational post, a stepping stone to your next build in Elden Ring.
- If something clicks with you in this article, but your current build is entirely different, you can always visit Rennala to respec your character.
- This ranking is based on patch 1.13. I don’t expect this to change drastically since most things are balanced as of now, but forgive me if FromSoftware reworked everything in Elden Ring.
This ranking is the culmination of experimenting with different stats and scouring the internet for answers. It is painstakingly drafted for Tarnished of all kinds to benefit from. You might disagree with my conclusions, but you can’t deny the facts of each stat and what they bring to the table. Hopefully, this list helps to direct you to your first or maybe next build in Elden Ring.