Dark Souls 3 BEST Strength Builds Guide

The Souls Series offers its players multiple ways to tackle its difficulty. One of those ways is by the use of builds. Dark Souls 3 is no exception. Builds can be of multiple ways, from cosplay builds (like our Guts builds) to Builds centred around a particular weapon, to builds that work on utilizing certain stats (check out our Pyromancer Builds).

This guide will cover Best Dark Souls 3 Strength builds. These builds emphasize the Strength stat. From melee builds to Strength Pyro hybrids, we got you covered. We hope you find this guide useful. For more Dark Souls, check out Dark Souls 3 Thief Builds and Dark Souls 3 Sellsword Twinblades Guide.

Strength Build Requirements

While every build in this guide will have different requirements, the one constant is Strength. When going for Pure Strength or Strength-focused builds, you should have a Strength level of At least 40 (preferably 50). We also recommend a vitality level of at least 40 and an endurance level of at least 25. Intelligence, Faith and attunement can vary depending upon the build.

Pure Strength Build

As the name suggests, pure Strength builds are melee-focused builds that usually rely on physical attacks from Strength weapons. A pure Strength build will try to have a weapon that scales with Strength and is infused with the heavy gem. A high Strength level of 60 and a high endurance of 30 is recommended for Pure Strength weapons are usually heavy and consume a lot of endurance. A high vitality is also recommended for you will be getting hit a lot.

While no armour in particular is required, we recommend picking a set from our best Heavy Armour sets for they will complement your Strength builds a lot. Since this build focuses on melee combat and tries to maximize Strength damage, you can go with any weapon that scales with Strength. We recommend using the Fume Ultra Greatsword for it practically represents Pure Strength Builds. Havels ring and Ring of Favour will also come in handy.

You can acquire the Fume Ultra Greatsword in the Catacombs of Carthus after beating Knight Slayer Tsorig. FUGS requires a Strength level of at least 50. It has slow but extremely hard-hitting attacks. Few weapons utilize Strength the way FUGS does due to its high Strength Scaling. A +5 FUGS will be tearing through all sorts of non-boss encounters in seconds.

Alternatively, another great (and heavy) option for a Pure Strength build is a Greataxe. We recommend the Dragonslayer Greataxe. Due to its high damage output, high Strength scaling, impressive L2 attack and lightning damage with high critical ability, the Dragonslayer Greataxe is one of the finest Strength weapons in Dark Souls 3, and a fine option for Pure Strength builds.

It has a strong moveset and its R2 attacks cause lightning damage. It has a unique L2 that is a strong overhead strike that causes a lightning damage spread. You can acquire this weapon by transposing the soul of the Dragonslayer armour. This weapon requires at least 50 Strength and its lightning damage scales with dark souls 3 strength faith build.

While these are both excellent options, they are both slow hitting, very heavy and have a steep learning curve. For those wanting an easier learning curve and a beginner friendly option, a great choice would be the heavy broadsword. You can acquire this weapon very early on in Dark Souls 3 in High Wall of Lothric.

Since it can be infused, we recommend infusing it with Heavy Gem (check out our upgrade and infusion guide)  to make it a pure Strength weapon. What separates it from other weapons is its quick moveset and ease of use. While it may not be as unique as the previous two entries, it is just as useful, and better so during certain scenarios. This sword is also a great option for Pure Strength builds focused on PvP.

Another great option for PvP focused Strength Builds is the Butcher’s Knife. Found after killing an NPC wielding it in the road of sacrifices, the Butcher’s Knife is one of the finest Strength Weapons in the game. It has extremely quick and hard hitting attacks, is lightweight and has an L2 that buffs your weapons and leads to HP recovery for a few seconds. The Butcher’s Knife’s versatility makes it one of the greatest PvP strength options in the game.

Strength Pyromancer Hybrid

This build is one that emphasizes Strength and melee weapons with a little pyromancy to hep along the way. For this build, we recommend a Strength level of at least 40, Intelligence and Faith of 20 each. All other levels can go to Vitality, Endurance and attunement in whatever order you want them to.

For this build, you will require a flame and a melee weapon. While no set in particular is required, you should go with a robe/armour mix for it will complement the build aesthetically. For your weapon, we recommend a buffable weapon.

While you can go with any Strength weapon, we recommend the Greatsword (or any other buffable weapon). For your spells, we recommend the Fireball and the Fire Orb or Carthus Flame Arc depending upon your Intelligence and Faith.

The Greatsword is a good option for this Dark Souls 3 Strength build for it serves as a great Strength weapon, scaling beautifully with the stat and giving you maximum benefits. You can acquire it from the fallen bridge in Farron Keep. Fireball will be useful for normal encounters, helpful with creating distance and killing minor ads.

The Fire Orb, due to higher damage, will be useful for killing some foes and attacking multiple foes at once. Carthus Flame Arc, given you have a high enough Faith/Intelligence level, will greatly buff your weapon’s damage by adding in Fire damage. The Greatsword coupled with Carthus Flame Arc will be dealing tons of damage.

For a PvP focused Strength Pyromancer build, we recommend lowering your Strength to 30 and upping the Intelligence and Faith. For your primary weapon, while you can go with any weapon you are comfortable with, we recommend the broadsword. For your weapon, we recommend a Heavy long sword.

You can acquire this sword by choosing the Knight class or pick it up from soldiers wielding it in the High Wall of Lothric. For your spells, we recommend Chaos bed vestiges and Carthus flame arc. Chaos Bed vestiges will deal a ton of damage and keep your opponents guessing your next move. Carthus flame arc will give your weapon a buff from Fire damage, which can be very useful during PvP encounters.

Strength Sorcerer Hybrid

While not a common sight in the game, Strength Sorcerer builds are certainly possible and can be very useful in the game. For this Dark Souls 3 Strength build, we recommend a Strength level of 40 and an Intelligence level of at least 35. We also recommend a high attunement level. You will be wielding a sword in your right hand and a staff in your left hand.

While no weapon in particular is required, some good options are the holy moonlight greatsword, or a buffable sword, such as the greatsword or the claymore. For the spells, we recommend going for spells that offer aid more than spells that cause damage. Our recommendations are Magic Weapon (or Greater Magic Weapon), Hidden Weapon, Soul Dart and/or homing Soulmass.

This combination of Sorceries, coupled with a Strength weapon, will to a build good as a Dark Souls 3 Strength Build PvE and PVP. The Soul Dart and homing Soulmass will serve to clear ads and to create distraction and distance during PvP encounters. Magic weapon, coupled with your high intelligence level, will buff your melee weapon and give it a lot of bonus damage.

Hidden weapon can be extremely affective for PvP encounters. Using Hidden weapon coupled with homing Soulmass and Soul Dart can create the illusion of a pure Int build, giving you opportunities to sneak on your enemy. While no armor is required for this build, as light coloured robe along with a hood will really go well with a build of this kind.

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Any number of Strength Sorcerer builds can be created using this pattern. From downright sneaky builds to builds that emphasize Spells as the primary mode of attack. While decent at both PvE and PvP, builds such as this are better geared towards PvE. For PvE, Pure Strength or Pure Intelligence builds will fare better.

Strength Mage Build

Again, while not common, Strength Magic builds are possible and can be very effective. We do, however, recommend sticking to PvE only for Strength Mage builds unless you just want to annoy an invader by using the healing repeatedly. For this build, we recommend a Strength level of at least 40 and a Faith level of at least 40 too. Attunement should also be emphasized depending upon how many spells you want to use. We recommend having at least 3 slots. You will need a melee weapon and a catalyst for this Dark Souls 3 Strength build.

For the weapon, while any Strength weapon will work, we recommend using something basic like the Zweihander or the Broadsword. Its better if these weapons have the Heavy Infusion. These weapons will make the most out of your Strength Stat due to their high Strength scaling. Most of your combat will be focused on melee combat, these weapons excel at that.

Their simple yet effective moveset, high damage and relatively low endurance consumption make them exceptional options for this build. For your miracles, we recommend going with a 1 attunement healing miracle. Something like Heal aid if you play solo and Heal if you play co op. For your second spell, go with something that buffs your weapon.

Blessed weapon, Lightning blade, Darkblade etc are all good options. For your third and final spell, we recommend going with a buffing spell that boosts damage and resistance, like Deep Protection. If you have 4 attunement slots you can also pick a combat miracle such as lightning spear and lightning arrow. These miracles with be especially helpful during PvP encounters, helping with creating distractions and mind games.

This is just our recommended build, you can run with any combination of miracles when going for a Strength Magic build. Trial and error will always lead to the most effective combination for you.

Some 2 attunement slot miracles, such as Wrath of the Gods and Sacred Oath, for example, can be extremely effective in a build like this. All in all, Strength Magic builds are a very fun way to play Dark Souls 3 and can be extremely powerful if done correctly. Like all the other builds in this guide, no armour in particular is required, but going with one that looks nice will be your best option.

Also See Dark Souls 3 Best Faith Weapons.