If you’re anything like me, picking your starting class in Elden Ring can be a real head-scratcher. Your class choice pretty much defines how you’re gonna play, so it’s no walk in the park. But hey, no worries, we’ve put together this in-depth guide on the Samurai class in Elden Ring to give you the lowdown on its playstyle and even a nifty build to up your game.
The Samurai is quite a versatile class in Elden Ring. With both ranged and melee options, you can easily engage with enemies at any distance you like. The Uchigatana weapon is exceptional owing to its speed, excellent Unsheath weapon art, and Bleed build-up. It is mainly a DEX class but you can easily spend points in other stats to make it a hybrid of sorts.
Is Samurai good for beginners?
Starter Equipment
| Weapons | Uchigatana Longbow |
| Ammo | Arrow Fire Arrow |
| Shield | Red Thorn Roundshield |
| Armor | Land of Reeds Helm Land of Reeds Armor (Altered) Land of Reeds Gauntlets Land of Reeds Greaves |
Starting Stats
| Soul Level | 9 |
| Vigor | 12 |
| Mind | 11 |
| Endurance | 13 |
| Strength | 12 |
| Dexterity | 15 |
| Intelligence | 9 |
| Faith | 8 |
| Arcane | 8 |
If its is not already evident by the name and look of the class, the Samurai class in Elden Ring is well a Samurai. The class packs all the tropes of a samurai, like a katana and the traditional bamboo-made light armor. This is the perfect class if you want to role-play.
The Samurai is a Dexterity class for those fast complex weapons in the game. Nevertheless, it also has a nice stat spread in Vigor and Endurance to help him survive for longer. The class is more melee focused hence lacking in INT and FAI stats.
The starting weapon, Uchigatana, is one of the best weapons in the game and can stay relevant even in the late game with proper upgrading. The sword is fast and deadly, but its shining feature is that amazing Unsheath Weapon Art.
You can perform two different attacks while holding down the ability button, and both of them come out at breakneck speeds and deal insane damage. Most regular katanas in the game have this ability.
The weapon also has a Bleed/Hemorrhage build-up with each hit, which, when procs, takes away a huge chunk of enemies’ HP. One of the most OP status effects in the game.
The Longbow and two types of arrows open up ranged options for this class without having to rely on magic. You can easily lure in enemies with the bow from a distance if you are afraid of getting mob-rushed. The Mighty Shot weapon art is quite devastating at range.
The shield is weak and mostly there to parry or block some incoming damage. The samurai armor is pretty durable and lightweight.
It is one of the better classes for beginner tarnished. The weapons and speed of the class are easy to wrap your head around. Although the class is most effective in close quarters, you have to get ready to bear some punishment while you learn the ropes.
What are the best Builds for Samurai?
Here is an OP build that goes perfectly with the Samurai class in Elden Ring:
Best Melee/Hybrid Build for Samurai
Stat Sheet
| Level | 150 |
| Vigor | 50 |
| Mind | 11 |
| Endurance | 30 |
| Strength | 24 |
| Dexterity | 80 |
| Intelligence | 9 |
| Faith | 15 |
| Arcane | 10 |
Equipment
| Talismans | Rotten Winged Sword Insignia Millicent’s Prosthesis Winged Sword Insignia Lord of Blood’s Exultation OR Shard of Alexandar |
| Weapons | Keen Nagakiba +25 with Double Slash Ash of War Cold Uchigatana with Golden Vow Ash of War Commander’s Standard (only for its Rallying Standard Weapon Skill) |
| Seal | Any seal will work with the build |
| Incantations | Bloodflame Blade Flame, Grant Me Strength |
| Aromatic | Bloodboil Aromatic |
| Mix of Wonderous Physick | Dexterity-Knot Crystal Tear Greenburst Crystal Tear OR Thorny Cracked Tear |
| Armor | White Mask Ronin’s Armor Ronin’s Gauntlets Bull-Goat Greaves |
How to play with the build:
This is a Dexterity build that utilizes the exceptional reach of the Nagakiba, the swift and deadly strikes of the Double Slash Ash of War, and the firey edge of the Bloodflame Blade to unleash devastation upon your foes and carve your path as an unstoppable force.
The Nagakiba is the star of the show here. The sword is the longest of all the weapons in the game with a swift moveset. You can safely poke enemies from a distance with this in your hand. To top it off, this katana has passive Bleed properties, which we will capitalize upon. Use the Keen affinity on this weapon.
To add further deadliness to the katana, we will pair it with the Double Slash Ash of War. If you continue tapping the ability button, it will string together a series of slashes that will shred any opponent caught in it. The initial attack of this skill comes out fast, and the recovery time between strikes won’t leave you hanging. Additionally, with a full combo volley, you are sure to inflict Bleed no question asked.
The armor of choice here, other than the headgear, boils down to it having better durability and poise. Any armor will work as long as you are above 51 poise and medium weight limit for quick dodge rolls. The White Mask, however increases the player’s damage each time you proc Bleed, which synergizes with this build quite nicely.
Other things that go into this build are:
- Bloodflame Blade: This incantation will coat the weapon with Hemorrhaging effects. It also deals fire damage so there is twofold damage within this one spell. Moreover, the Bloodflame also continues to trickle away health even if you stop hitting the target.
- Uchigatana: With two katanas, you can utilize the quick L1 combos of power-stancing. The dual katanas will proc Bleed fast. The jumping L1 attack is perfect for multiple hits. You can assign the Cold affinity to this weapon for another deadly Frostbite status effect proc.
- Whenever you proc Frostbite it will instantly be removed by the Bloodflame. Cycling through these effects will continually proc different status effects thus totally annihilating enemy health bars in mere seconds.
- Bloodboil Aromatic: This perfume will grant 30% extra damage when consumed.
- Commander’s Standard: Use this weapon’s weapon art to gain extra 20% damage for 30 seconds.
- Golden Vow Ash of War: Equip this to the Uchigatana to buff your character’s damage output.
- Flame, Grant Me Strength: This incantation not only boosts physical damage but also increases fire damage from the Bloodflame.
- Rotten Winged Sword Insignia: Since you’ll be chaining together multiple combos, they will benefit from the progressively increasing damage output from this talisman.
- Millicent’s Prosthesis: It functions similarly to the Rotten Winged Insignia plus adds 5 Dex points.
- Winged Sword Insignia: Another similar talisman to the previous two but this one stacks with Millicent’s Prosthesis resulting in superior damage.
- Lord of Blood’s Exultation: With each Bleed proc, you will receive a 20% damage boost with this talisman. With continuous bleed proc from this build, you will continuously be triggering this potent effect.
- Shard of Alexander: This talisman can be substituted if you like. It will raise the damage of weapon skills.
- As for Mix of Wonderous Physick, use the following tears:
- Dexterity-Knot Crystal Tear: Temporarily acquire increased DEX levels for better weapon scaling.
- Greenburst Crystal Tear: Boosts stamina recovery for 3 mins.
- Thorny Cracked Tear: This also works like Millicent’s Prosthesis. This can be used in place of the Greenburst Crystal Tear.
The way you use these buffs before a fight goes like this:
- Mix of Wonderous Physick
- Bloodboil Aromatic
- Commander’s Standard Rallying Standard Weapon Skill
- Golden Vow Ash of War
- Apply Bloodfalme Blade to the Nagikaba
- Flame. Grant Me Strength
With everything listed above played right, you’ll be slicing through enemies like butter while they burn in agony and bleed at the same time. This build is downright broken. You’ll be surprised how easily you’ll take out even the largest of foes with this build.
Does your class actually matter in Elden Ring?
Your starting class basically sets the stage for how you’ll play in the beginning. Each class comes with its own set of pros, cons, and tactical options. In this example, the Samurai is a mix of melee and ranged build with a heavier emphasis on Dexterity-based melee.
But, don’t sweat it too much about class selection once you’re deep into the game. You can distribute your level-up points however you fancy as you make progress. Having a certain class as your starting point does give you a leg up for building specific character types, though.
For instance, if you’re aiming for a wizard-like character, steer clear of the Samurai and go with the Astrologer class, which packs a punch in the Intelligence department. But, even the Samurai can be turned into a bit of an all-rounder with some points in INT, if that’s your jam.
Can you change your class in Elden Ring?
Sadly, once you kick off your adventure, you’re stuck with your starting class. The good news is, there’s a respec feature in the game, but you’ll only get back the points you put in, not the class-given ones, after taking down Rennala, the Queen of the Full Moon.
Just a heads up, no matter how much you respec, your class stats stay put. If you’re itching for a class change, you’ll have to start a brand-new game. No class swaps in New Game+, sorry!
Samurai Tips and Tricks
Some tips you can employ when starting with this class:
- The Uchigatana’s Unsheath ability is no slouch. It eviscerates enemies in close range. Take your time to practice this ability and you will come out on top in most fights.
- Make sure to level up Mind so that you have enough FP to consistently use the Unsheath ability.
- You can also thin out enemy herds with the Longbow before finishing off stragglers with your katana.
- Unsheath’s R2 or heavy attack inflicts enormous posture damage. With a few successful hits, most enemies’ posture will break opening them up for a Critical Strike.
- Make good use of Uchigatana’s Hemorrhage or Bleed status effect. The status effect takes away a percentage of enemy HP when it procs which is extremely valuable when facing bosses. Keep up your onslaught to capitalize on this power.
- Best to ditch the shield and hone your dodging skills to take advantage of the class’s speed.
- The Uchigatana can be coated with various elemental damage using the Grease item. This way you can exploit most enemies’ weaknesses without resorting to other weapons.
- If you can get your hands on another Uchigatana in the game then power-stancing or dual wielding it is damn fun. Moreover, it expedites Bleed build-up too.
- The Longbow’s Might Shot Ash of War deals significant damage so make sure to use that often when taking out enemies from afar.
- Level up both weapons, especially the Uchigatana.
- Try to farm materials for crafting arrows. If you are a heavy bow user then you must carry backup materials to craft them on the fly.
The Samurai is an amazing versatile build in Elden Ring. The potential of this class to be worked into a force to be reckoned with is huge. The class starts out powerful and remains sturdy as you can see through the build we mentioned above.