Need a nifty class that is good with stealth and revolves around parrying or triggering status effects? Bandit is the one to go for then! In this class guide, we’ll take a closer look at the peculiar Bandit class in Elden Ring and see what kind of playstyles it caters to.
The Bandit is a DEX and ARC-inclined class in Elden Ring. I know, a weird set of stats. The class is equipped with a dagger and a bow to prioritize stealth play. Having higher Arcane could lead to some amazing build by the end of the game.
Is Bandit good for beginners?
Starter Equipment
| Weapons | Great Knife Shortbow (w/ Bone Arrows Fletched) |
| Shield | Buckler |
| Armor | Bandit Mask Bandit Garb Bandit Manchettes Bandit Boots |
Starting Stats
| Level | 5 |
| Vigor | 10 |
| Mind | 11 |
| Endurance | 10 |
| Strength | 9 |
| Dexterity | 13 |
| Intelligence | 9 |
| Faith | 8 |
| Arcane | 14 |
Let me tell you right off the gate, the Bandit is not a class you would want to pick as an Elden Ring noob. This class is extremely hard to handle and requires a lot more knowledge of the game and skills to make it shine.
Other than Arcane and somewhat Dexterity, this class has a very mediocre stat spread in every other attribute. You won’t be able to wield the sturdiest of weapons or absorb much damage.
On the other hand, if you build this class right with Arcane items like incantations and weapons later on, this could yield some surprising results.
Not to mention, the class is pretty much geared towards prowess in parrying. The Buckler shield is great at parry and the Great Knife dagger will deal a massive amount of critical damage.
However, both these respective equipment fail as a regular shield with its low defensive properties head-on and a standard melee attacking with its extremely short range.
The class does start off with a Shortbow for that sweet ranged capabilities. Coupled with the Great Knife, you can stealthy clear an arena.
What are the best Builds for Bandit?
Below we have come up with two builds for the Bandit class in Elden Ring:
Best Melee Build for Bandit
Stat Sheet:
| Level | 150 |
| Vigor | 48 |
| Mind | 15 |
| Endurance | 25 |
| Strength | 15 |
| Dexterity | 61 |
| Intelligence | 9 |
| Faith | 9 |
| Arcane | 47 |
Equipment:
| Talismans | Claw Talisman Lord of the Blood’s Exultation Rotten Winged Sword Insignia Erdtree’s Favor +2 |
| Weapons | Scavenger’s Curved Sword +25 (x2 in each hand) With Seppuku: Ash of War |
| Armor | White Mask |
How to play with the build:
With a curved sword in each hand with Bleed potential, the purpose of the build is to proc Hemorrhage as quickly as possible. And you must be aware of how OP is Bleed in the wrong hand.
The Scavenger’s Curved Sword is one of the most revered weapons in the game owing to its easy customization, easy-to-find, and break-neck combos. It also has a bleed build by default. With one in each hand, you will be copping fools left and right.
The jumping attack of the dual curved sword deals multiple strikes in mere seconds thus inflicting more bleed build-up with each hit. The Claw Talisman further exasperates this. To top it off, using the Seppuku Ash of War will also boost the bleed potential.
As soon as the bleed procs, the White mask and Lord of the Blood’s Exultation come into play, giving you another increase in attack power when you are close to anyone suffering Hemmorhage.
And since you will be attacking quickly, the Rotten Winged Sword Insignia will activate pumping even more attack power behind your subsequent hits.
You can easily stand in front of any enemy and spam your power-stance combo and watch as their HP bar gets annihilated with constant Bleed procs.
Best Hybrid Bow Build for Bandit
Stat Sheet:
| Level | 51 |
| Vigor | 20 |
| Mind | 14 |
| Endurance | 20 |
| Strength | 27 |
| Dexterity | 14 |
| Intelligence | 13 |
| Faith | 8 |
| Arcane | 14 |
Equipment:
| Talismans | Arrow’s Sting Talisman Arrow’s Reach Talisman Warrior Jar Shard Winged Sword Insignia OR Green Trutle Talisman |
| Weapons | Horn Bow +10 (with Might Shot: Ash of War) Lazuli Glintstone Sword x2 |
| Armor | Any armor below 70% weight limit |
How to play with the build:
This is an early build that focuses on dealing damage with the bow. It also leans towards INT to leverage the power of magic to augment damage. Furthermore, there are some melee options baked in, too, when things get dicey.
Your primary weapon should be the Horn Bow. Equip this weapon with the Might Shot Ash of War and you got yourself a mighty sniper.
Now all you need are Magic Arrows, which you can either buy or craft yourself, and you’ll be taking care of enemies from afar. You can also utilize the manual aiming trick to aim at enemies that are hard to lock on to.
You must top up on all manner of arrows. Use the right bow for the job or exploit enemy weaknesses. Here is the list of all the arrows in the game and where you can get them.
To not totally rely on arrows, you have the dual Lazuli Glintstone Sword in each hand. Whip them out when enemies get near and shred them to pieces. The good thing about these swords is that they scale off INT thus compliment the build.
The talisman loadout also compliments archery. You’ll get boosted damage, and more range, and the Alexandar Shard will increase the damage from the Might Shot skill.
To capitalize on Winged Sword Insignia, you must first use the sword to attack in quick succession to activate the effect then take out the bow to deal more damage.
Does your class actually matter in Elden Ring?
Making the right class selection at the start of a game can greatly impact your gameplay experience. Each class offers its unique strengths, weaknesses, and tactics, allowing you to tailor your playstyle to your preferences.
Some classes are designed for specific roles, like the Bandit class, which excels in stealth and parry.
However, as you progress further into the game, the importance of your initial class selection decreases, as you gain more flexibility to allocate your stats as you see fit.
Starting with a class that aligns with your preferred playstyle can provide a solid foundation for your future build, but it shouldn’t limit your choices in the long run.
For instance, if you’re interested in magic combat, the Bandit class may not be the most suitable choice. Nevertheless, with a bit of investment in FAI/INT, even the Bandit class can be transformed into a powerful sorcerer.
Can you change your class in Elden Ring?
It’s important to keep in mind that once you select your starting class in Elden Ring, it can’t be changed later on. However, there is a solution to this problem.
Once you manage to defeat Rennala, the Queen of the Full Moon, you’ll unlock the respec mechanic, which allows you to redistribute the points that you invested in your character.
It’s worth noting, though, that the respec mechanic only refunds points that you spent, not the ones that came with the class you chose. As a result, the stats of your original class will remain unaltered even after a respec.
If you’re thinking of trying out a completely new class, you’ll have to start a brand-new game from the beginning. There are no shortcuts, even in New Game+.
Bandit Tips and Tricks
Here are some tips you should keep in mind when starting out as the Bandit class in Elden Ring:
- Get rid of the starting armor ASAP. It is utterly rubbish. Get something with better defense stats.
- Allocate more HP flasks over FP. The class has little use of FP at the start at least. A single FP flask would work to activate your Bow’s Ash of War.
- Make good use of the Shortbow. Pick off every enemy in the surroundings before you face the enemy in the middle of the arena.
- Be sure to craft and experiment with all kinds of arrows in the game. The ones that inflict status ailments and elemental damage can come in very handy in exploiting weaknesses.
- Stock up on a ton of arrows. Arrows are generally weak in the game; thus, you will be firing more to take enemies down. You don’t want to run out at the most inopportune time.
- Upgrade the Bow while you are at it to increase the damage output.
- Start practicing parrying with your shield. The Buckler is one of, if not the best, parry shields in the game. The backstab/riposte potential of the knife eats away a ton of HP so be proficient in its use.
- Practice dodging as well!
- Get a Longbow as well. This will help you pick enemies from afar. Keep the Shortbow for close-quarter fights, especially for bosses. The short bow’s quick-fire rate is best suited for this purpose.
- The short bow can be fired while jumping so use it to your advantage while retreating from pursuing enemies.
- Pump up Vigor early on to mitigate the class’s squishiness.
- Endurance needs to be upgraded to facilitate all the bow firing, dodging, jumping, and retreating.
- Find cookbooks to unlock better and more diverse arrow recipes.
The Bandit is a hard class to start with in Elden Ring. You should only choose it if you want to go for a niche build that leverages either archery or the Arcane stat. As for the rest of us, we’d better look for other classes in the game.