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Elden Ringoffers players a lot of different stats, each of which is used to reach various requirements for different weapons and pieces of armor. Not all of these stats are damage-orientated, with a stat like Endurance focusing on increasing one’s carrying capacity and Mind increasing a character’s amount of FP. However, when it comes to dealing with damage, players will need to decide how they will be going about it.
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Intelligence is what players will need if they wish to make use of Sorceries, but Faith will be the driving force for their Incantations. When paired with a stat like Dexterity or Strength, the buffs granted by Incantations can take a player to a whole new level of power.
Elden Ring
Best Starting Class
You will have your pick of many different classes, and thanks to being able torespec using Larva Tears, the class you take doesn’t have too much impactwhen it comes to the late game. However, if you really like the idea of hitting hard and having an array of Incantations to back you up, you will want tostart with the Confessor. This will give you the right mentality of how to play as a Stength & Faith playstyle from the very start of the game.
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Best Stats
Strength will let you hit hard, allowing you to wield some very fierce-looking weapons —such as some of the greatswords in the game. Faith will help you meet the requirements of a lot of weapons, including theBlasphemous Bladeused in this build. This stat will also let you cast all manner of Incantations that can act aspowerful buffs to prepare youfor a vast number of encounters before you charge in.
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Best Weapons
No matter how high your Faith stat is, having the wrong melee weapon will dramatically lower your odds of survival. There are a lot of different options thanks to the game offeringsynergy between a lot of stats, some even do not need melee weapons at all. For this build, players are going to be getting their Faith exceptionally high, and then using Strength to allow them to get close up to justhack away at their opponents. Players will be able totake a lot of hits due to being a melee buildbut will have the means to heal right back up and get in there once again.
Gargoyle’s Blackblade
TheGargoyle’s Blackbladewill require you to have18 Strength, 10 Dexterity, and 22 Faith. This weapon will scale with aD in Strength, an E in Dexterity, and a D in Faith. This weapon is dropped by theBlack Blade Kindred, an extremely fearsome foe that can wipe the floor with experienced players over level 100. The reason this weapon is the first mentioned is that the enemy that will drop this can be killedwithout even being fought. This weapon also has aHoly Affinityto it.
Bronze greatsword wielded by Valiant Gargoyles mended with blackened corpse wax. Deals holy damage. Such is the mark of those who serve Maliketh, the Black Blade.
This can be accomplished by getting the Poison Mist Incantation — which is dropped by aTeardrop Scarab in the Weeping Peninsula. Once you have access to the Site of Grace in the Beastial Sanctum, simply crouch down and leave the Sanctum to sneak up behind theBlack Blade Kindred guarding the entrance. Use the Poison Mist Incantation on it and itshealth will drop without initiating the fight. Just keep applying the Poison Mist each time it runs out, and you’ll get this monstrously powerful weaponvery early on. Wield this weapon in one hand with your starting Broadsword in the other for somefearsome dual-sword jump attacksthat will decimate foes.
Clawmark Seal
TheClawmark Sealwill require you to have4 Strength and 10 Faith. This seal will scale with aD in Strength, and a D in Faith. This will also boost the effects ofBeast Incantationswhich will be great for dealing with lesser enemies. When fully upgraded, both its Strength & Faith Scalingwill be up to B.
A sacred seal given by Gurranq, the Beast Clergyman. A rare trinket which allows incantations to be scaled with strength. The claw mark represents Gurranq’s wrath. Enhances bestial incantations learned from Gurranq.
You can get this seal from the Beast Clergyman, Gurranq,after he has been fed a Deathroot. Continue to feed him Deathroots to get more and more Beast Incantations.
Blasphemous Blade
TheBlasphemous Bladewill have aStrength Requirement of 22, a Dexterity requirement of 15, and a Faith requirement of 21. This weapon will scale with aD in Strength, Dexterity, and Faith. The Blasphemous Blade is obtained through a pretty intense boss battle, one that will involve using aspecial gimmick weaponthat you will need to master toslay Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy.
Sacred sword of Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy. Remains of the countless heroes he has devoured writhe upon the surface of this blade. Now they share the same blood, bound together as a family. Some HP is restored upon defeating an enemy.
Once Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy has been slain, takestheRemembrance of the Blasphemous to Eniaat the Roundtable Hold to get this weapon. This weapon utilizes an Ash of War that will allow you to top up large portions of your health while being on the offensive.
Gargoyle’s Greatsword
TheGargoyle’s Greatswordwill have aStrength Requirement of 18 and a Dexterity requirement of 10. This weapon has ahigh base damage, and will scale with aC in Strength, and will alsoscale with an E in Dexterity. You will want to use theRed-Hot Whetbladewith this blade to give it a fire affinity.
Bronze greatsword wielded by Valiant Gargoyles. Just like the wielder, the missing parts have been mended with corpse wax; a patchwork of champions.
This weapon will be your companion blade to dual strike jump attacks with theBlasphemous Blade or Gargoyle’s Blackbladedepending on your opponent — such as when you want toadd extra fire affinity into the mix. This weapon will be droppedin theSiofra Aqueductby theValiant Gargoyle.
Best Ash Of War & Incantations
Incantations will become stronger as youinvest in your Faith stat,which is the highest stat in this build thanks to the buffs it will give you in melee combat, and dealing with smaller enemies quickly. One of the most important skills you will be using is not an Incantation, but rather anAsh of War that scales with your Faith.
Taker’s Flames
This Ash of War will send a blast of pure fire damage across the ground. When it hits an enemy, the player willheal 150 HP plus 10% of their maximum HP. This allows players to be right up in melee combat, and when they need to heal, they use this Ash of War to top up their high Health Poolthanks to their 50 Vigor. This lets them keep dealing damage while healing in the process.
Raise the sacred sword aloft to set it ablaze with blasphemous flames, then bring it down to fire off a forward blast. The flames steal HP from those they touch.
This Ash of War will be the default Ash of Waron your Blasphemous Blade. Players should consider having mostly FP flasks for this Ash of War,with a few HP flasksto heal up in a pinch.
Corpse Wax Cutter
This Ash of War works very similar to Taker’s Flame in that it will send forth a projectilethat will heal the playeronce it hits. However, the damage of this ability isHoly instead of Fire. Alternating between these damage types will cover everything the game can throw at you while you fight close up and aggressively, backed by incantations, andhealing any hitsthat make their way through.
Lost skill of ancient heroes. Lift the sword up high to release the power of corpse wax and launch it forward as a blade-like projectile.
Corpse Wax Cutter is thesignature Ash of War for the Gargoyle’s Blackbladeweapon, and will be part of it by default. This weapon will alsodeal more stance damagethan Taker’s Flame.
Golden Vow
This Incantation willraise the attack and defenseof both the caster and their allies.
An incantation of Erdtree Worship. Increases attack power and defense for the caster and nearby allies. Hold to continue praying and delay activation. This incantation has been taught to knights of the royal capital for generations, and knights sent on distant expeditions lean on it as a source of courage.
This Incantation can be picked up at Mount Gelmir. Go into theCorpse-Stench Shackwhere you will find a single corpse with the Incantation.
Flame, Grant Me Strength
This Incantation will raise the attack powerof your physical and fire attacks. The attack buff also willstack with Flame, Grant Me Strength.
Superior incantation of the Fire Monks. Creates an invigorating fire within that enhances physical and fire-affinity attack power. This incantation does not burn the caster, and so it is considered forbidden by the guardians of the Flame.
Make your way over to Fort Gael, where you will also find several chariots.Go behind Fort Gaeland you will find a corpse between two of these chariots — the Incantation will be on this corpse. Note that this Incantationwill not boost the effects of Corpse Wax Cutter.
Best Armor
You will definitely want to get your hands on theRaptor’s Black Feathersin the Sage’s Cave dungeon. This is a piece of Chest Armor that will increase thedamage of your jump attacks by 10%. Other than that, you should focus on armor that lets you mitigate damage. This willsynergize perfectlywith your high health pool and large healing from Taker’s Flame.
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Best Talismans
You will need to decide whichfour talismans to put in your slots. Below are the Talismans thatwill synergize bestwith charging into battlewith two greatswordsin your hands for the late game.
Claw Talisman
This Talisman will boost yourJump Attack damage by 15%.You can get this Talisman inStormveil Castle.
Great-Jar’s Arsenal
This Talisman raises yourequipment load by 19%.This will help you mitigate even more damage thanks to heavier armor. Complete theGreat-Jar’s challengeand you will receive this as a reward.
Shard Of Alexander
This Talisman boosts yourattack power of Skills by 15%. You will get Shard of Alexander much later in the game once you havecompleted the questline ofIron Fist Alexander.
Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman
This Talisman reduces thephysical damage you receive by 20%. This can be acquired in a chest by going through the Legacy Dungeon known asElphael, Brace of the Haligtree.This is located in the Haligtree part of the game.
How To Play A Strength & Faith Build
Use both Flame, Grant Me Strength, and Golden Vowbefore going into a fight— these will give you a massive buff.Utilize jump attacksto rain down a lot of damage against your opponents relentlessly. If you get hit, you can use either Taker’s Flame or Corpse Wax Cutterto top up your healthbefore getting back into close range. You canalternate between Holy and Fire affinityby cycling between your greatswords. You will not want all three of these weapons equipped at the same timedue to the weight, so be sure to have the right ones equippedbefore you cast your buffsand charge in.
Elden Ring: Best Strength & Intelligence Build
This guide breaks down the best build, stats, weapons, armor, and talismans you’ll want to use for a Strength and Intelligence Build in Elden Ring.
