Elden Ring Best Melee Build [Top 5]

There are a lot of elements that go into building your perfect melee character build. These include the class, stats, weapons, and many more. However, what really matters is your choice of playstyle. For instance, some players would prefer overpowered build without focusing on health.

At the same time, some would consider keeping their distance from the enemies and still deal heavy damage. The choice for the character build in Elden Ring is completely yours.

Elden Ring Melee Build

With the tons of items and game elements available to explore, there is much potential to build your character that suits your playthrough requirements. However, these are classified as an early game and endgame items. This means some items will be only available for early-level players. The only way to get the endgame items and get overpowered is to progress the storyline and level up the character. With that said, let’s look at the first entry in the top 5 melee builds in Elden Ring. 

Bandit Bleed Melee Build

The first and the most important one on the list will be the Bandit melee build. This build dishes out slow yet best damage output to the large bosses and has a good Area of Effect. Plus, it is a fast-paced character dodging all the strikes from the enemies. 

The cherry on top is that this is will be an early game build that will allow both early and higher-level characters to pursue and enjoy their game. First things first, Bandit melee build centers around three pieces of gear. You will need Ash of War Bloodhound Step. It is the main gear for dodging all the attacks with clean movements and making out alive even when you make a mistake. 

For those who do not know, Ashes of War are a new aspect in the latest Elden Ring that allows players to remove and mix different skills on weapons. This enables players to experiment with the weapons to match their character build needs. The Bloodhound Step is also one of the Ash of War items that grants Bloodhound skill and Keen Affinity. 

The main reason it matters in the melee build is that you will mostly be in close range with the enemies. It may not sound right for early-level players, as fighting with a huge boss in close range is extremely difficult. Bosses are known to stomp or even punch you into the ground, instantly killing your character and losing all the progress. However, the Bloodhound step will allow you to phase in and out before even the boss can make his strike. 

The second important item we will be adding is the weapon. For that, you might want to add Bloodhound Claws to do crazy bleeding damage to the enemies. What is so unique about this melee weapon is that it automatically comes with a Bloodhound step. So you do not have to worry about acquiring it separately for the sake of Bandit Bleed build.

As an early-level player, you can also consider using the Hookclaws because of its accessibility. Or the Raptor Talons with the famous Raptors Black Feather armor in the Elden Ring will definitely enhance your gameplay experience for the build. 

Lastly, you will need a good armor that does not go heavy for your character build and still offers decent defense. As said earlier, you can go with Raptor Black Feather. However, that is not ideal for this melee build. You will have to use a mid-game set known as Fire Prelate Set to maximize the defenses.

Now, this is heavy armor with a huge Physical Damage Negation to protect your character. You can equip it when you are not going to use your dodge. Otherwise, you can rely on the Raptor’s set along with the Raptor Talons. The endgame attributes of the Bandit Bleed Melee build are as follows.

Similar: Bleed Weapons in Elden Ring

Attribute	Values
Vigor	21
Mind	25
Endurance	8
Strength	14
Dexterity	23
Intelligence	7
Faith	37
Arcane	13

As you can see, this build centers around focuses on Faith and Dexterity. The main reason behind it is that your character build will be using Bloodflame Blade incantations that require 12 Faith and 10 Arcane. Bloodflame Blade, upon execution, will apply a continuous bleeding effect on the enemies for a certain amount of time. However, this onset bleeding effect is quite short at the cost of 20 FP. But the amount of damage and tactical advantage this character will gain is off the charts. 

Prisoner Melee Build

Next, Elden Ring melee build will focus on the Prisoner class. Prisoners is a famous class in Elden Ring that focuses on Strength, Intelligence, and Dexterity. We will also focus on these attributes to utilize the specific melee weapons and enhance the character’s capabilities with spells. 

Sorceries go a long way to assist players in dealing with heavy damage and maintaining defenses against potential threats. Wandering in the Land Between will cost you progress as the enemies are always lurking in the shadows to get a piece of you. However, with different Elden Ring spells on your side, your character can easily make your way out of the threat and keep a safe distance during combat. 

As for the weapons, you have numerous options available to make the most out of the build. These include Darkmoon Greatsword, Moonviel, Troll Knight’s Sword, and Crystal Sword. As you can see, you will be using unique swords that can be found easily in the mid-game. Moreover, these swords have a good range of strikes. This means you will keep your distance and still register the strike on the enemies and bosses. 

Next, you might want to get armor. For this build, you will have to obtain Battlemage Set to fit the Prisoner and sorcerer style playthrough. But you have the freedom to choose any other armor to maximize the character’s defenses. 

Additionally, it would help get the Meteorite Staff to cast meteorites from the skies and onto the enemies. Here is how you can obtain the Meteorite Staff and cast the spell that will scale with your intelligence, thus inflicting massive damages to the enemies. Here are the mid-game attributes for the Prisoner melee build that will be granting all the weapons and spells. 

Attribute	Values
Vigor	22
Mind	19
Endurance	12
Strength	12
Dexterity	23
Intelligence	37
Faith	6
Arcane	9

These stats reveal that you will not have to invest points in the Strength (Read Strength Build). Instead, you will be giving these attributes points to Intelligence and Dexterity. 

Samurai Warrior – Defensive Melee

Just because melee weapons can inflict fatal damage does not mean you can not do anything about the defense. In fact, the defense should be the prime priority for beginner players. Samurai Warrior is exactly what you need to set up the best defense strategy for your character while still defeating enemies from a safe distance. First, you will be building this character under the Samurai class to fit the higher Strength and defensive qualities into the game. 

Also Read: Elden Ring Strength Weapons

Moving on, this build uses Katana to its benefit for a fair-range combat weapon. Thanks to the higher Strength and Endurance, you will be able to deal the best damage and dodge the strikes with fast-paced combat. Moreover, you might want to combine it with the Manor Towershield shield. The reason for that is you might not want to experience the heavy strikes from some of the worst boss fights in the game. Especially, the early-level players struggle to maintain defense and combat simultaneously. 

Meanwhile, this shield will assist players by blocking the enemy and boss attack. This is where the Strength and Endurance attributes will come to play by unlocking a variety of shields with unique effects with stronger melee weapons. Not just that, but it will also be contributing to enhancing the stamina and equipment load so you can dodge those attacks. 

As for the armor, it is highly suggested to get a Twinned Armor set. The main reason for that is it is easily obtainable for early-level players. Plus, the medium-weight will not affect the performance of this fast-paced build. Let’s look at the stats attributes for the Samurai Warrior melee build. 

Attribute	Values
Vigor	14
Mind	18
Endurance	25
Strength	35
Dexterity	12
Intelligence	9
Faith	8
Arcane	8

With these stats, your character will be extremely overpowered. However, you can add more points to other stats to gain maximum advantage over spells and incantations. 

Confessor Melee Caster Build

The Confessor is an all-rounder class for defense and heavy damage strikes on enemies. It allows your character to move quickly between the combats and easily make your way out of the boss fights. Even better is that you will be combining the melee weapons with casting spells to gain maximum advantage in your playthrough. 

You will be relying on sword and shield to utilize the parry effects and easily drop the bosses without farming for Runes to get the overpowered weapons. You might already know that the Confessor starts with the Faith, thus allowing it to cast different spells. Meanwhile, Strength and Mind also play a crucial role in the early-level gameplay. 

As for the weapons, you will be using Broadsword along with Blue Crest Heater Shield. Moreover, before diving into the gameplay, you might want to meet a Knight to purchase some skill that will significantly enhance the character’s speed. You will be heading to Warmaster’s Shack, on the north side from where you spawn at the beginning of the game. 

Here you will see Knight Bernahl purchase different Skills. First things first, get the Ash of War: No Skill to use your Shield along with the armaments. Next, you might also need Ahs of War: Quickstep to equip in on your sword. These are the starting attribute points for the Confessor melee build. 

Attribute	Values
Vigor	10
Mind	13
Endurance	10
Strength	12
Dexterity	12
Intelligence	9
Faith	14
Arcane	9

Although, these are the base stats for Confessor. But as you progress further and level up your character, you might want to invest more attribute values into Dexterity. It is recommended to get it all the way to 20 because it will allow you to cast numerous spells like Flame Sling. 

Colossal Knight

Lastly, Colossal Knight is an overpowered melee build that will utilize the Strength stats to push the boundaries of damage output. This character is an absolute barbarian warrior using the Ash of War: War Cry skill. This will allow your character to use a charging attack piercing through all the enemies and then again slicing them with another swing of the sword. Another important thing to note is that you will be building this character under the Hero class, which often allows you to pursue the higher Strength and barbarian style playthroughs. 

As for the weapons, you will have to find the biggest sword in the game. Combining it with the War Cry will greatly benefit players to gain instant kills on small enemies while also dropping the bosses. For that instance, the ideal sword for the Colossal Knight is Greatsword. Not just that, but you might also need Axe Talisman to dish out the best damage in the charge attacks. On the other side, you can also acquire Roar Medallion Talisman will increase the War Cry damage to 25. 

As said earlier, this build focuses on Strength. So most of the points will go into that stat. However, as you progress through the game and reach at least level 50, you must target these attribute points values to become an overpowered Colossal Knight. 

Attribute	Values
Vigor	25
Mind	9
Endurance	25
Strength	32
Dexterity	12
Intelligence	7
Faith	8
Arcane	11

Just because you are pushing points into the Strength does not mean every other attribute is not important. For Colossal Knight, you might also want to increase the Endurance to 25. This attribute will affect the character’s robustness and equipped load, allowing it to move faster even with the heavy Colossal Sword. 

Final Words

There are infinite possibilities for melee build in Elden Ring. Thanks to the variety of content and unique storylines that you can complete, the game holds great importance for pursuing different character builds to get a unique experience every time. All you need to do is experiment with each item and attribute that game offers to grasp the mechanic easily and then build your ideal melee build character.

That is about it for the Elden Ring melee build. Do you find this guide helpful for some of the best builds in Elden Ring? What is your go-to build for melee-based characters? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section down below.