The best builds for Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

GamesRPGThe best builds for Elden Ring: Shadow of the ErdtreeWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

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Shadow of the Erdtree Sword of Darkness

You could go wandering around Elden Ring’s new expansion using the same old gear you finished the new game with, but that would be something just short of a crime.Shadow of the Erdtreeintroduces eight new weapon categories anddozensof new weapons across its entire arsenal—there are so many new powerful, unique choices that the best Shadow of the Erdtree builds all pull from the expansion’s gear set. We’ve been experimenting with as many different builds as we can while playing the expansion to hone in on the best new Shadow of the Erdtree weapons (and the ones that make us hoot and holler, even if they aren’t ideal for a high stakes boss showdown).

Here are the deadliest, effective Shadow of the Erdtree builds we’ve assembled during our collective hundreds of hours in the Land of Shadow so far.

Str/Dex: Bearserker

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Shadow of the Erdtree bearserker

Weapon:Beast Claw or Red Bear’s ClawArmor:Iron Rivet set/Pelt of RalvaMinimum stats:13 strength, 11 dexterityStat priority:Strength, dexterity, vigor, enduranceTalismans:Crusade Insignia, Rotten Winged Sword Insignia, Lord of Blood’s Exultation, Carian Filigreed Crest or Shard of Alexander

Winged Sword Insignia and Lord of Blood’s Exultation also work well with for a wild flurry of blows, since you’ll gain extra attack for consecutive hits, and gain attack when you proc bleed with the claws. For the final touch, either add Carian Filigreed Crest, reducing FP cost so you can use the Red Bear Hunt skill more, or the Shard of Alexander to boost its damage.

Int: Carian spellblade

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Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Carian Spellblade

Weapon:Carian Sorcery Sword and Carian Thrusting ShieldArmor:Rellana’s setMinimum stats:17 strength, 19 dexterity, 16 intelligenceStat priority:Intelligence, strength, dexterity, mindNew spells:Glintstone Nails, Glintblade Trio, Gravitational Missile, Miriam’s VanishingTalismans:Graven Mass Talisman, Beloved Stardust, Glintstone Blade, and Graven School Talisman

The Carian Sorcery Sword is one of the flashiest new weapons for sorcerers. This thrusting blade, which you can find on top of Castle Ensis if you drop down from Scadu Altus, also counts as a staff and can cast spells when you use its heavy attack. This offers some unique possibilities in terms of throwing out spells while also keeping an intelligence-scaling weapon in your hand to stab enemies with.

The Carian Thrusting Shield is another fun addition; one of the new ‘striking shields’ that deals magic damage and also scales with intelligence, though you won’t find this until the Specimen Storehouse area in the Shadow Keep later on. Both weapons are perfect if you’re a sorcerer who’s tired of simply casting spells and wants to mix it up with some close combat, too.

For stats, you’ll want intelligence and mind for casting spells, then strength and dexterity to buff weapon damage. While Rellana’s set doesn’t enhance sorceries, it does look cool as hell. You can purchase this from Finger Reader Enia after you defeat the boss in Castle Ensis. You’ll also want your typical sorcery talismans such as Graven Mass, Graven School, and Glintstone Blade to increase spell damage.

Beloved Stardust is a new talisman you get throughCount Ymir’s questwhich massively shortens cast time. You can also purchase all of the new sorceries mentioned above from the count as well, though you’ll have to find him first in the big cathedral in east Scadu Altus.

Erdtree map fragments: Uncover the Land of ShadowScadutree fragments: How to level up in ErdtreeErdtree bosses: A full hit list for the DLCLeda quest: Track the Erdtree main questSir Ansbach quest: Help the former servant of MohgHornsent quest: Complete the quest for vengeance

Erdtree map fragmentsScadutree fragmentsErdtree bossesLeda questSir Ansbach questHornsent quest

Str/Dex: Courtly duelist

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Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Wing Stance

Weapon:Milady with Ash of War: Wing Stance and Main-gaucheArmor:Winged Serpent Helm/Oathseeker Knight ArmorMinimum stats:12 strength, 17 dexterityStat priority:Strength, dexterity, endurance, vigorTalismans:Rellana’s Cameo, Dagger Talisman, Two-Handed Sword Talisman, Carian Filigreed Crest or Shard of Alexander

This build is centered around the new light greatsword weapon archetype: in particular the Milady, and the new Ash of War: Wing Stance. You can find both of these in Castle Ensis and they function perfectly together. Wing Stance raises the blade at your side, letting you unleash either a series of quick slashes or a jumping thrust. To compliment the courtly vibes of this build, I also recommend you pick up the new Main-gauche parrying dagger from near to the Shadow Keep entrance.

Talisman-wise, I recommend the new Rellana’s Cameo which you also find in Castle Ensis. This boosts attack after you hold a stance, so works perfectly with the Wing Stance ash. I’d also suggest the Dagger Talisman for increased crit damage after you parry with Main-gauche, then the new Two-Handed Sword talisman that’s a straight up damage buff for two-handed weapons if you’re comfortable swapping grips during the action. You can get this at the top of the Temple Town Ruins in Rauh Ruins Base. Lastly, whack on Carian Filigreed Crest for more skill use, or Shard of Alexander for more skill damage.

Dex: Monking around

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Dryleaf Monk

Weapon:Dryleaf ArtsArmor:Anything that keeps you light on your feetMinimum stats:8 strength, 8 dexterity, 25 faithStat priority:Dexterity, vigor, endurance, faithAsh of War:Bloodhound StepSpells:Golden Vow, Flame Grant Me StrengthTalismans:Rotten Winged Sword Insignia, Millicent’s Prosthesis, Shattered Stone Talisman, Green Turtle Talisman

Dryleaf Artsis an unarmed weapon technique that turns you into a martial arts master, battering enemies with your furious fists. The technique can be learned fromDaneafter you’ve challenged him to a fight. The above build is a pretty simple one, but there are so many ways to build a Dryleaf Arts monk: you can focus on strength, go for a bleed build, stomp around freezing everyone—it lends itself well to a bunch of different playstyles. The one thing they all have in common, though, is that you’re going to be spending a lot of time getting up in monsters' faces, so you’re going to have to master dodging.

This is why I recommend picking the Bloodhound Step Ash of War initially. For a miniscule FP cost, you can dash while invisible, and you’re invulnerable during the dash. It’s great for repositioning and avoiding an HP-bar-demolishing attack. So you can use this Ash of War instead of dodging, letting you save stamina for relentless punches and kicks. Dryleaf Arts scales with strength and dexterity, but I recommend choosing the Keen affinity for Bloodhound Step so you can focus on dexterity.

The technique lets you unleash a rapid barrage of blows, so you’ll want talismans that take advantage of this. Both the Rotten Winged Sword Insignia and Millicent’s Prosthesis are perfect, since they raise attack power with successive attacks. The latter also boosts your dexterity. To get both you’ll need to be in NG+ (or ask a friend to gift you one), since you can only get one of these rewards from Millicent’s quest. Your R2 attack unleashes a powerful spinning kick and you’ll be using it a lot to stagger enemies, so grabbing the new Shattered Stone Talisman is also a good idea, since it empowers kicks and stomps. Green Turtle Talisman increases your stamina regeneration and reduces downtime.

Str/Fai: Unholy knight

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Elden Ring; Shadow of the Erdtree Sword of Darkness

Weapon:Sword of Darkness, Dryleaf SealArmor:Haligtree Knight Helm, Malformed Dragon ArmorMinimum stats:14 strength, 11 dexterity, 24 faithStat priority:Strength, faith, endurance, vigor, mindSpells:Lightning Spear, Golden Vow, Fortissax’s Lightning Spear, Aspect of the Crucible: ThornsTalismans:Blessed Blue Dew Talisman, Sacred Scorpion Charm, Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman, Erdtree’s Favor

One of the most involved mini questlines in Shadow of the Erdtree is finding and awakening one of its newlegendary weapons, theStone-Sheathed Sword. Follow our guide to get your hands on this blade, then take it to an altar to transform it into the Sword of Darkness, which has C strength scaling and D on dexterity and faith. This unholy knight build is all about playing up the sword’s holy damage: when you trigger its unique skill Darkness, you’ll raise the sword above your head and conjure a dark fog that not only deals holy damage but lowers the holy protections of any enemies it blankets. That’s your cue to strike.

The Haligtree Knight Helm offers a small +2 bump to faith, while the talismans are designed around keeping you tanky while regenerating enough FP to use incantations without constantly chugging flasks. Wear whatever armor you want; the golden Malformed Dragon Armor just happens to be gold and ugly in a way that saysHoly, but wrong.

A seal in your off-hand to quickly cast spells is the daring way to play, but you can also go in with a shield and focus on delivering holy damage with your blade. But incantations are just more fun: dump enough points into faith to use some higher level incantations and you can do big damage with Fortissax’s Lightning Spear, buff yourself with Golden Vow and roll around like an unhinged hippo with the new Aspect of the Crucible: Thorns. Sub in your favorite faith spells or progress further into Shadow of the Erdtree to turn the Sword of Darkness into theSword of Light, which still deals holy damage but with an entirely different unique attack.

Dex/Str: Great Katana Edgelord

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Elden Ring character in Drake Knight armor gesturing in front of Gravesite Plain in Shadow of the Erdtree

Weapon:Rakshasa’s Great KatanaArmor:Diallos' Mask, Drake Knight ArmorMinimum stats:12 strength, 27 dexterityStat priority:Dexterity, then Strength, then Faith for incantation buffsPhysick:Deflecting Hard TearTalismans:Dragoncrest Greatshield, Two-Handed Sword Talisman, Curved Sword Talisman, Shard of Alexander

On my first Shadow of the Erdtree character, I rocked theStar-Lined Sword, a Dex/Int katana that pairs beautifully dual wielded with my old friend, Moonveil. While its ash of war, Onze’s Line of Stars, is rad as all hell, it’s not the greatest against bosses. On my second guy, I wanted a weapon where the ash of war was always the center of attention, one which was, dare I say it, spammable.

Enter Rakshasa’s Great Katana, aka “Giant Rivers of Blood.” Its Weed Cutter ash of war, a quick two part swipe that can be repeated until you run out of stamina, feels like the sort of thing you can replace basic attacks with. It’s light on FP cost, and while you take more damage during the animation, the super high poise you gain actually makes it very forgiving when used judiciously. It’s an ash of war I can hang my hat on.

To that end, I rushed it on my evil, blood-themed, Frenzy ending character formerly armed with Eleonara’s Poleblade, and you can check out a guide I wrote onhow to get Shadow of the Erdtree’s best Great Katanafairly early. You can pretty much nab Rakshasa’s Great Katana without doing any legacy dungeons, but I recommend at least going through Belurat so you don’t bork the NPC questlines, as well as exploring for Scadutree Fragments so the fight with Rakshasa herself isn’t too brutal.

I was having enough fun with this sword on its own, but then I found out about the Deflecting Hard Tear Physick powerup in Shadow of the Erdtree. Basically? It gives you the ability to performperfect blocks like in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, making blocking and performing guard counters viable even without a shield. I’m finding it to be an incredible pairing with Rakshasa’s Great Katana, with Weed Cutter being a perfect follow-up to a guard counter.

So for talismans, I’m using the Two-Handed Sword Talisman, because I don’t like shields, the Curved Sword Talisman to bolster guard counters, the Shard of Alexander to power up Weed Cutter, and the Dragoncrest Greatshield because that extra tankiness is never unwelcome.

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Str/Dex: Bearserker#

Int: Carian spellblade#

Str/Dex: Courtly duelist#

Dex: Monking around#

Str/Fai: Unholy knight#

Dex/Str: Great Katana Edgelord#

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Str/Dex: Bearserker

Int: Carian spellblade

Str/Dex: Courtly duelist

Dex: Monking around

Str/Fai: Unholy knight

Dex/Str: Great Katana Edgelord

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals