9 Best Elden Ring Builds [Detailed With Tips]

Elden Ring offers ten starting classes with unique abilities and stats. These classes won’t lock you into a specific build; you can freely distribute points as you wish. Starting classes provide gear and stat boosts for specific playstyles, but min-maxing is essential for optimal PvP builds.

Choosing a class that aligns with your goals is crucial. Melee-focused classes might leave a pure magic build with misplaced points. While minor, these differences matter in close battles. The Elden Ring Best Builds guide offers tips and outlines the top 9 starting classes to consider.

My Elden Ring Best Builds Comparison

No.	Name	Vigor	Mind	Endurance	Dexterity	Intelligence	Strength	Faith	Arcane
1	Pure Casters – Intelligence Build	40	35	27	18	60	-	-	-
2	Vagabond – Quality Build	40	15	40	40	-	40	-	-
3	Hybrid Build	40	25	30	-	-	40	40	-
4	Hero – Strength Build	40	10	45	-	-	66	-	-
5	Samurai – Dexterity Build	40	-	44	65	-	-	-	-
6	Dual Katana Bleed Build	40	30	30	50	9	12	18	45
7	Faith-Melee Hybrid	-	-	-	40	-	20	40	-
8	Melee Sorcerer Build	35	35	9	18	60	12	7	9
9	High Strength Tank Build	-	-	60	-	-	60	15	-

Please note that this guide is subjective, so my views on the best builds may differ from your first-hand experiences with the game. However, I have ensured that my personal experience with Elden Ring is extensive. So, players can pick whichever class they want and build whatever they want later on down the line. Of course, you’re going to level up, and you can also allocate whatever you want into your stats lines however you please and change up your entire build.

Pure Casters – Intelligence Build

Starting with Caster Astrologer will be best if the weapon requirements aren’t too high otherwise, Prisoner and Vagabond become competitive. For you guys, damage stat is the most important, especially since the world is much more significant; you’ll be able to space yourself and backpedal when fighting to not likely get hit much at all. For these, you will want ash of war that scales your weapon into Intelligence or Faith on your weapon.

I believe that raw scaling does not exist as it did in Dark Souls 3, so early on, pure caster’s melee will be relatively weak, and spells do cost stamina to cost as well as fp. So, you do want some endurance to cast and have enough stamina to dodge an attack. While Dexterity increases casting speed, there is usually a ring or talisman that can achieve the same thing, and you save many points. The essential stats For Best Elden Ring Intelligence build that you want to keep are as follows;

• Vigor-40
• Mind-35
• Endurance-27
• Dexterity-18
• Intelligence-60

Vagabond – Quality Build

The Quality build class in Elden Ring is Vagabond, offering the following stats with six flexible points, including faith. This build is versatile for both Strength and Dexterity weapons, excluding magic. It’s also suitable for Hybrid builds depending on your Strength or Dexterity needs.

Vagabond allows immense flexibility, making it ideal for Melee, Hybrid, or Pure Caster playstyles. Stats typically cap at 40, as further points have diminishing returns. Focus on:

• Vigor: 40
• Mind: 15
• Endurance: 40
• Strength: 40
• Dexterity: 40

Use Strength-scaling weapons for extra damage. Prioritize leveling Strength, Endurance, and Vigor for increased health and stamina. Two-handed weapons grant a 50% Strength boost, but you can also opt for single-handed weapons and a shield for versatility in damage and defense.

Hybrid Build

Elden Ring’s Hybrid builds can be challenging to develop early on but offer significant strength, especially with Dexed out spells and incantations. These builds leverage the posture system, unlike Pure Casters. You may need varying levels of Mind, Endurance, or Strength/Dexterity based on weapon preferences, but generally aim for your highest stat to reach 40 or 41.

The Prophet class is ideal for a Strength and Faith hybrid, while Astrologer works well for Dexterity and Intelligence. Prisoner is an option if you need minimal Strength. Choose Astrologer if you want to create both a Pure Caster and a Hybrid in one character. For Paladin, the level difference between Prophet and Vagabond depends on whether you need Dexterity. Key stats are:

• Vigor: 40
• Mind: 25
• Endurance: 30
• Strength: 40
• Faith: 40

This build offers the power of a Strength build along with useful buffs and damage options. As a hybrid, you won’t wear heavy armor, focusing on leveling Faith and Strength. 

Hero – Strength Build

Hero is the best Elden Ring strength build if you neglect every other stat, but Strength, Vigor, Endurance are the only three you need. It is much simpler to build than the other classes; however, since you will be weak at the start, you won’t have access to those big or ultra weapons yet, nor will you have super chunky armor. But that likely means you can pump Vigor higher early on than other classes. So, there’s that to counter that negative. The important stats that you want to keep are as follows;

• Vigor-40
• Mind-10
• Endurance-45
• Strength-66

Having 66 Strength will readily give you an additional 99 Strength when you use two-handed weapons. In short, this method will straight-up flatten your enemies with incredible damage output.

Related: Best Strength Weapons in Elden Ring

Samurai – Dexterity Build

The Samurai class is an excellent choice for new players in Elden Ring. It offers a well-rounded character with strong melee attacks, decent range, good armor, and excellent mobility. Samurai is ideal for leveling Dexterity for this build, allowing you to use Strength or Dexterity-scaling weapons.

Choosing the Golden Seed during character creation is highly recommended, providing an extra mana or healing potion that can give you an advantage in fights. Since Samurai starts with few or no arrows, crafting some along the way is essential. The primary weapons are the Bow and Uchikatana, so it’s crucial to know when to use each. Key stats to focus on are:

• Vigor: 40
• Endurance: 44
• Dexterity: 65

Leveling Vigor is essential for close-range combat, where you won’t have much time to escape. To deal additional damage, focus on Dexterity for Strength-based attacks, ensuring you can survive encounters effectively.

Dual Katana Bleed Build

The dual-wield bleed Katana build in Elden Ring prioritizes Dexterity and Arcane, focusing on katanas to maximize weapon arts and bleed damage, inflicting significant blood loss.

Recommended weapons are the Uchigatana and Rivers of Blood Katanas, with the Uchigatana in your right hand. High Arcane allows you to add bleed affinity to your Uchigatana, or you can use a blood flame. Aim for Dexterity and Arcane levels of 30 and above once you reach around level 90, along with high Vigor and Endurance for durability.

For Ashes of War, use “bloody slash” on your Uchigatana for its power. This build emphasizes dealing massive damage by inflicting blood loss on enemies. Stay close, execute perfect dodges, and use L1 dual combos or L2 for Ashes of War. When the opportunity arises, dual-wield your Uchigatana and unleash “bloody slash.”

This build is effective for both PvE and PvP, offering high speed and massive damage output. It excels in close-quarters combat, making it one of the best Elden Ring builds for taking down foes quickly.

Faith-Melee Hybrid

Elden Ring has more faith weapons than ever seen before in a Fromsoft game. This allows for an abundance of Faith builds in Elden Ring. One such build is a Faith-Melee Hybrid build. These builds have high casting speeds and high damage through incantations while also having a decent weapon and having most combat be close quarters.

I recommend the tree spear, with the Coded Sword being a close second. You should also go with Talismans that increase FP and casting speeds alongside incantation damage. It is also best for searching for and acquiring as many memory stones as you can. For incantations, our favorites are fire orb, lightning spear, healing incantations, poison curing incantations, flame, grant me strength, and the likes. I recommend a late-game faith level of around 50 with a high strength of dex level. Read Dex Build.

The way you will be using this build is to use your incantations to lure enemies away and clear ads from afar, then going in for the kill. You will be using your healing incantations to avoid wasting your flasks. You will be using buffing incantations before fights to ensure you deal tons of damage. All in all, this build is very viable and one of the best Elden Ring builds.

Melee Sorcerer Build

To make this build effective, you’ll need powerful sorceries along with a weapon that preferably scales with Intelligence. Consider sorceries like Glintstone Shard, Azure Comet, Glintstone Comet Release, Great Blade Phalanx, and similar options. For weapons, the Darkmoon Blade or the Moonveil Katana are recommended, allowing you to focus on maximizing your Intelligence rather than investing in other stats like Strength or Dexterity.

This hybrid build is versatile and performs well in both PvE and PvP. The potent spells alone can carry you through the game, while the addition of melee weapons makes it even more formidable, especially in close-quarters combat. Overall, the melee sorcerer build stands as one of the best builds in Elden Ring.

High Strength Tank Build

Similar to the strength build mentioned above, this build leaves all else for a very high strength level and high equip load. The goal of this build is to have the absolute maximum equip load and the biggest Greatsword and Great shield the game has to offer.

For this build, I recommend Endurance of around 45 and above, with strength being just as high (yes, this is a very late-game build). I’ll also advise to go with a weapon similar to the Grafted Blade or Golden Halberd alongside the Dragon Claw great shield. On top of all this, you want armor with the highest resistance and poise, something like the Bull Goat’s armor or Lionel’s armor.

This build aims to tank attacks while dealing high damage. Use talismans for defense and attack boosts, and consider incantations that buff you. While not the most viable, it can be fun and effective in PvP, allowing you to absorb enemy attacks while dealing significant damage. Tank builds can be enjoyable and effective in Elden Ring.

Additional Stats Tips

In Elden Ring, focus on optimizing your stats for effective gameplay. Three key stats to prioritize are Vigor, Endurance, and Mind, which are universal for all builds. Strength, Dexterity, Faith, Intelligence, and Arcane are damage stats with hidden bonuses tailored to enhance your chosen damage output. Avoid leveling any attribute above 60, as the benefits diminish significantly. A well-balanced build will make the game more manageable.

Vigor

Vigor increases your health and provides fire resistance and poison immunity. Higher levels grant more health and stronger resistance. Avoid exceeding level 60 for Vigor. Many effective Elden Ring builds utilize Vigor.

Mana

Mana influences focus-related resistance, crucial for using weapon skills and spells. Effective mana management is vital, as skills and spells deplete it quickly. Specific stats can help reduce mana consumption.

Endurance

Endurance boosts stamina, physical defense, and equipment load capacity. Stamina is vital for running and attacking without fatigue.

Strength

Strength allows you to wield heavy weapons and boosts attack power for standard weapons. It also increases maximum equipment load. Leveling Strength is essential for using heavy weapons effectively.

Dexterity

Dexterity enhances damage with Dex Weapons and affects magic, decreasing casting time for massive spells but making you vulnerable to minor “full damage.” Dexterity is crucial for many builds, but not ideal for Sorcerers due to the trade-off between casting speed and damage.

Intelligence

Intelligence boosts damage with sorcery spells and unlocks specific spells that require a minimum Intelligence level. It also increases your magic resistance. If you aim to be a primary sorcerer, prioritize leveling Intelligence.

Faith

Faith enhances damage with incantations and unlocks specific incantations as it’s leveled up. Unlike Intelligence, it doesn’t affect resistance and is solely focused on incantations.

Arcane

Arcane is generally considered less valuable, mainly affecting discovery and luck in finding loot, death resistance, and some sorceries and incantations. It’s not a high-priority stat for most builds.

I hope that the above Builds In Elden Ring, along with a brief overview of the basic stats of the game, have greatly helped you either use one of the above builds or create them on your own. Obviously, you will get a better idea of what stats you should level before going mid-game. Due to my personal experience within the game, I jotted down a few best builds to help you work your way through the game without figuring out things your way. If you loved my guide, you should check out other guides related to Elden Ring.