Here are some of the best Elden Ring builds for 2024 that will be perfect for your Shadow of the Erdtree playthrough. Unless the DLC changes anything to the stats of weapons, talismans, charms, and prayers.
Best Elden Ring Builds for 2025
Most Elden Ring fans are currently replaying the game to prepare for the upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. While we don’t yet have all the details on what you’ll need to enjoy this expansion, we’re confident that you’ll need the best possible set of skills and gear to increase your chances of survival.
Content :
- Build “Wizard – Thunder and Lightning”
- Build “Bleeding – Gargoyle Twinblade”
- Build “Mage – Comet of the Night”
- Build “Warrior Mage – Darkmoon Two-Handed Sword”
- Melee Build – Star Orb
This is where things get interesting. Since its release, Elden Ring has received a number of updates that have significantly improved strategies, skills, and items. There are now a lot of overpowered and perhaps even seemingly broken builds in the game. While it remains to be seen if some of these will be changed in the upcoming DLC, they are some of the most powerful tactics in the game right now that are worth trying out before Shadow of the Erdtree.
Build “Sorcerer – Thunder and Lightning”
Key feature:
- Faith
Additional features:
- Strength and Vitality (optional).
Primary equipment :
- Stone seal is a weapon.
- Amulet with a thunder scorpion – talisman.
- The Sign of Godfrey is a legendary talisman.
- Canvas talisman of the pack – a talisman with an icon.
- Lightning Cracked Tear is a key item.
- Crystal Tear of Faith is a key item.
Basic prayers :
- Thunder Spear – Prayer.
- A sheaf of lightning from ancient dragons is a prayer.
- Fortisax’s Thunder Spear – Prayer.
One of the reasons why Lightning builds are so powerful right now is because there are very few enemies (especially bosses) in Elden Ring that can effectively counter Lightning. While that may change in Shadow of the Erdtree, this Lightning build is a great way to start your adventure in the expansion.
The main goal here is to increase your Faith level to 70 and above, and to acquire key items that help increase Lightning and Faith damage . These include Stone Seal, Thunder Scorpion Amulet, Godfrey’s Mark, Canvas Talisman of the Pack, Cracked Tear, Lightning Cracked Tear, and Crystal Tear of Faith. When paired with the right stats, these items will provide the ability to maximize the damage of your already powerful Lightning spells.
The spells used include Thunder Lance, Ancient Dragon Lightning Bolt, and Fortisax’s Thunder Lance. Not only are these abilities powerful individually, but they also provide a great combination of long-range, single-target, and area-of-effect spells. This will help you adapt to a variety of circumstances. The main benefit is how effectively these spells scale with Faith and their power in most fights . Use Thunder Lance for the initial strike, Ancient Dragon Lightning Bolt for area-of-effect attacks, and Fortisax’s Thunder Lance against a strong single target. Even a small number of enemies with lightning immunity will not be able to withstand such a powerful impact for long.
With these spells, you have a lot of freedom in the rest of your build. It’s not a bad idea to make Strength and Vitality your key secondary stats.
Build “Bleeding – Gargoyle Twinblade”
Main characteristic:
- Strength.
Additional features:
- Vitality and Faith.
Primary equipment:
- Twin Gargoyle Blades (2 pcs.) or Rivers of Blood – weapon.
- Ashes of War: Stone Sword.
- Millicent’s prosthesis is a talisman.
- The emblem with the rotting winged sword is a talisman with an image.
- Talisman of the Claw – a talisman with an image.
- The Thorny Cracked Tear is a key item.
- The predator’s black feathers are the body armor.
Basic prayers:
- The golden vow is prayer.
- Flame, grant me strength – prayer.
Bleeding builds have long been popular and have led to good results in Elden Ring. Like Lightning, few enemies in the game are able to fully resist bleed damage , and the condition causes health to drain after a rapid build-up. While some powerful enemies will not fall to the effects of bleed, the best builds with this status effect usually deal so much damage that it becomes irrelevant.
There has been some change in recent years (including several Elden Ring updates) regarding the discussion of what version of a bleed build is considered optimal. More often than not, the Rivers of Blood weapon is the foundation for the most popular bleed builds in the game . If you have this weapon and prefer to use it, it certainly remains in demand and relevant to this day.
Without a doubt, the most effective bleed build currently is based on the Twin Gargoyle Blades. To get them, you need to replay the game, defeating the boss “Brave Gargoyles” twice (or get one from the player’s visitor). After getting this weapon, you need to charge both swords with the ashes of war “Stone Sword”. This will not only add the necessary bleeding effect to them, which is essential for this strategy, but also significantly increase the damage to the enemy.
Only exceptionally this gear (and the chosen stats) causes a strange phenomenon to occur. Instead of the standard quick strikes that most bleed builds rely on, this build uses a powerful jumping attack, Dual Blades. Why is that? This attack effectively deals multiple hits (5+) during its execution. Using this attack not only increases the bleed effect on most enemies, but also deals more overall damage per second than most other bleed weapons.
The rest of the build is mostly focused on increasing the effectiveness of your Jump Slams and overall power. You should use Golden Vow and Flame Empower (assuming you have the Faith level) and drink from your Flask to maximize your damage output before the fight begins. From there, keep using your Jump Slams aggressively until you hit the limits of your Jump Slams. Even when fighting an enemy immune to bleed (including final bosses and potential expansion opponents), this tactic will still have a more significant impact than many other high-level builds in the game.
If you don’t want to start a New Game+ or replay Elden Ring before the DLC, it’s worth considering some builds based on the Rivers of Blood weapon, as that cursed sword is the basis for most Bleeding builds. Otherwise, you can try this build using a single Dual Blade, though it will be less effective and will require some gear changes.
Build “Mage – Comet of the Night”
Main characteristic : Wisdom.
Additional Stats: Vitality and Stamina or Intelligence.
Primary equipment:
- Staff of Loss (2 pcs.) – weapon.
- Amulet with a magic scorpion – talisman.
- A powerful talisman of the grave school is a talisman with an image.
- The Sign of Godfrey is a legendary talisman.
- Magic Cracked Tear is a key item.
- Secret Azure Tear is a key item.
Basic charms and prayers:
- The golden vow is prayer.
- Voi Shabriri is a prayer.
- Enchanted Lands – Enchantments.
In fact, Elden Ring has a significant number of builds that focus on magic abilities, allowing you to unleash the various sorceries in the game. However, there is actually one magic that stands out from the rest, and that is the Comet of Night.
The game’s description of Night’s Comet describes it as a stealthy spell that may initially appear insignificant. However, this means that enemies rarely avoid this spell due to its difficulty in detecting it . It is possible to dodge it, but few enemies are able to do so consistently. Additionally, Night’s Comet can be used frequently or charged from a distance to create a powerful spell that will help in battles and boss encounters.
Technically, the spell called “Night’s Comet” is meant to be less powerful than other spells in the game. However, it is possible to bypass this limitation by using various items and boosters that greatly increase the effectiveness of individual spells and charges.
The basic tactic is simple. Once you reach a high level of Wisdom (80+ or preferably 90+), equip two Staffs of Loss and pump them up to +25. Such staves increase the magic damage of “Invisible” by 30%. Simply put, one equipped Staff of Loss gives +30%, and two +60%. Yes, “Comet of Night” becomes 30% more effective as soon as you arm yourself with at least one of these staves.
However, we won’t stop at increasing damage by 30% or even 60%. You should also drink from your flask before important battles and use the Golden Vow and Shabriri’s Howl prayers to boost your damage. The Enchanted Grounds enchantment will also be used when you can stand in its area of effect for a powerful charged shot. Even if you can’t install the enchantment, the various other improvements you get from your spells and items will allow you to use the weak shots of Nightfall more often, which will be significantly more powerful at 100% compared to others.
Believe it or not, there is still an option to increase the damage of this build if you so desire. For example, there are builds specifically designed to reduce your health pool in order to increase the damage of the Red Feathered Sword Talisman. However, if you don’t want to take that risk, the gear items listed above promise a significant increase in damage at full health.
Unless the Elden Ring developers decide to nerf Staff of Loss before Shadow of the Erdtree arrives, this build offers one of the best ways to deal sustained, high damage from a comfortable distance , making it effective in most situations. When built correctly, it can one-shot multiple enemies in the open world, and deal significant damage to bosses while remaining mobile and safe.
Build “Warrior Mage – Darkmoon Two-Handed Sword”
Main characteristic :
- Wisdom.
Additional features:
- Vitality and Intelligence.
Primary equipment:
- Darkmoon Greatsword is a weapon.
- Carian Royal Scepter – Weapon.
- Warrior-Mage Set – Armor.
- Alexander’s fragment is a talisman.
- The Sign of Godfrey is a legendary talisman.
- Amulet with a magic scorpion – talisman.
- Magic Cracked Tear is a key item.
Basic charms and prayers:
- The golden vow is prayer.
- Dark Moon Rennie is a legendary magic.
- Enchanted Lands – Enchantments.
When Elden Ring first released, most players thought of the Darkmoon Greatsword as a fun weapon that didn’t require a lot of effort to obtain. Things are a little different now.
The key to the Darkmoon Greatsword’s power is its masterful manipulation of the weapon, turning it into the legendary Lunar Greatsword. This ability allows it to create powerful magical attacks. In addition, the sword is able to quickly envelop the target in an ice cover, which differs from bleeding in that it reduces damage resistance and helps restore stamina. Ultimately, the sword is ideally combined with Wisdom , as it is a magical weapon in itself.
With the right combination of these stats, you can master the Darkmoon Greatsword to develop a unique and powerful playstyle. This build allows you to play the role of a wizard who is capable of dealing heavy blows in close combat. Basically, you can rely on the Moonlight Greatsword skill to simplify many fights by using it as a spell. Not only does this skill deal significant damage at long range, but it also provides a constant build of Frostbite.
You can also modify the build by simply using the Rennie’s Dark Moon enchantment. Not only does this enchantment reduce the enemy’s magic defense and add extra Frostbite (making it a great complement to the Dark Moon Greatsword), but it can also hit the fastest bosses, leaving them vulnerable to a future Lunar Greatsword strike.
With the right build, the right magic and special talismans (Flask, Golden Pledge, and, if possible, Enchanted Grounds), you can open battles with the Dark Moon – hit the enemy with the Lunar Greatsword skill and kill him instantly, or greatly weaken him and deplete his health. The reason for this is the amazing synergy between Lunar Greatsword, Dark Moon, and the upgrades that increase the damage of both attacks.
When using the enhanced projectiles of the Moon Greatsword skill within the Enchanted Lands enchantment, you can easily get rid of all the enemies in your path. Even if you have to constantly move, the synergy of high-damage abilities will allow you to win many battles with just a few simple actions. It is considered to be one of the best tactics in the world of Elden Ring at present.
Melee Build – Star Orb
Main characteristic :
- Strength.
Additional features:
- Vitality and Faith or Fortitude.
Primary equipment:
- Star sphere is a weapon.
- The ritual sword talisman is a talisman.
- Axe Talisman
- The emblem with the rotting winged sword is a talisman with an image.
- Millicent’s prosthesis is a talisman.
- Crystal Tear of Power is a key item.
- Rock Cracked Tear is a key item.
- Ashes of War: Stone Sword
Basic prayers:
- The golden vow is prayer.
- Voi Shabriri is a prayer.
If you don’t particularly like using melee weapons in Elden Ring, you’re not alone. Some players may not see much use in the Star Orb, as it’s only effective at close range. However, many Elden Ring players have quickly realized that the Star Orb may be the strongest weapon in the game at the moment.
There’s nothing particularly special about the Star Orb’s description, but that’s what makes it so unique. The Star Orb doesn’t rely on a lot of tricks, gimmicks, or potential for error. It simply scales well with the Force, deals massive bleed damage , and can be safely used for both quick chain attacks and devastating charged strikes.
Some enemies are more powerful than others, but there is no enemy in the game that can handle a weapon of pure Force. These spiked gauntlets can deal a lot of damage with each powerful strike and even more damage with their charged power strike. It is important to note that this weapon is capable of destroying the “Balance”, which is something that no other item in the game can do.
If it seems easy, that’s because it is. Take the Star Spheres, fill them with Ashes of War: Stone Sword, increase your Strength, take the amulets and use the Flask, Golden Vow and Shabriri’s Howl to strengthen yourself before the fight. Then just skillfully use the Lightning and Heavy Strike as usual, enjoying the incredible damage.
Yes, you have to get up close to use this weapon, which will put you in danger. However, all of the gear and prayers that go into the Melee build are effective against any enemy in the game. The Star Orb Gauntlets deal significant damage, stun bosses, and don’t require a ton of items or stats. Until Shadow of the Erdtree makes any major changes to Elden Ring mechanics, our Melee build will likely remain incredibly powerful early in the game.
