What is a Dragon Priest
In a world of gods that walk among us, it's almost expected to see dragons right there with them in the realms of high fantasy. The Lands Between honors this well with some of the most powerful spells in the game which are given to us by the ancient dragon cult and the dragon communion. So what exactly is a dragon priest? Dragon priests are a type of class that functions like a cleric, and they wield the power of the dragons with full fury using the incantations to master powerful breath attacks, and overwhelming damage.
Playing the Dragon Priest
The Dragon Priest usually starts as a Confessor or a Prophet class, since these start the players out with extra faith, extra FP, and a fire spell that helps to get the adventure rolling. The next step up from the fire spell usually ends up being something from the Flame Monk or the Giant's Flame incantations, but there's another major incantation that specializes in fire and that's the dragon incantations. These incantations focus heavily on breath attacks or special magical attacks that are based on powerful dragon enemies in the game.
The first major stat in any of these builds is always going to be Faith because that's the vital stat for using any of the incantations. Mind is also a big factor for most of these builds, mostly because the Breath attacks from the Dragon Communion Incantations use up a lot of FP. The incantations from the Ancient Dragon Cult are equally expensive so it ends up falling on the player to carry extra Cerulean Flasks, which isn't a bad idea with the new talismans released in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, or to put their extra stats into mind.
I was surprised by this, but Arcane is also a major factor in a majority of the Dragon Priest builds because it is a vital scaling stat for the Dragon Communion Seal, which powers up the breath attacks that much more. Since arcane also builds up status effects faster, that also makes it useful for several of the builds, but keeping your Arcane high, or wearing Arcane boosting gear is never a bad option.
Dexterity is the last of the major stat for this build because we need it for spellcasting speed. This also brings us into the Talismans of the builds because with the new DLC, we received talismans that vastly improve spellcasting speed even more than Radagon Icon, which means that we can focus our stats in other areas, but these only improve spellcasting speed, which doesn't give you Dexterity for scaling weapons.
Talismans also make up a major part of the build for this one, and can be swapped around to make the build as custom as you want, but most Dragon Priest builds play roughly the same in terms of style. The main purpose of the build is to pump up the power of the incantations as much as possible and then use the breath attacks to wipe the floor with trash mobs. What's left is based around the weapons you choose to compliment the builds. Since this build type is one that focuses on the power of the breath attacks and the damage that they do, it's good to make sure the weapons flow with the build and can get any boosts from the talismans that might carry over into the weapons as well.
While the dragon priest is a mixed build of range and melee, they focus most on using the breath, making this a mid-range build for the most part. Players aren't going to want to take too much damage from any of the bosses unless they run the more aggressive builds which don't care about tanking a few hits.
Picking the Top 5
5. Dancing Dragon God
What is the Dragon Dancing God?
This is actually a new build and one that makes its place on the list for the Shadow of the Erdtree players, mostly because this build functions around a DLC consumable that's been released. The Dragon God uses a special infinite consumable called the Stone Heart and Priestess heart to turn into a dragonkin and boost either Dragon Communion or Ancient Dragon Cult incantations.. In a sense, this is a pure true were-dragon build, since every fun RPG has some kind of shapeshifting build. Skyrim brought us Vampires and Werewolves, but Elden Ring has brought us the Dragon God.
Playing the Dancing Dragon God
- First and foremost, this build focuses the most on dealing out a lot of damage, including a lot of physical damage during the battle. Both the Dragon Dancer build and the Dragon God builds that came from the Fextralife page put a premium on physical damage, so when you're thinking about the spell, it's important to remember to get the most out of that damage. Because of that, almost all the talismans used are going to be for buffing that up, Roar Medallion, Blue Dancer Charm, Shard of Alexander, you name it.
- The catch 22 for this build is that to even make it work, the player's going to have to get pretty comfortable with dragon nudity. That's right, this build runs no armor. The reason for that is because the new consumable, which can be used whenever, requires that the player have no armor on to activate the skill. This comes with a buff in power to dragon incantations and damage, but it also means that the reason this build only made it to number 5 is that it's such a glass cannon build. I'm not a huge fan of how long most of the Dragon Communion incantations take to cast, but in a build with no poise from armor, it makes me more nervous about being interrupted. That's why I jumped on the Eochaid's Dancing Blade skill weapons, because they really pump up that physical damage but also give you a little bit of range at the same time.
- When this build is pumped up, it hits every bit as hard as some of those Barbarian builds. That means there's a few fights that it can one shot pretty easily. What also makes it good is that since this build focuses on pumping up physical damage, not just elemental and other damages, it can be used consistently for an all game build in the NG+, and even be used against the Elden Beast
- There is one downside to the release of new powerful builds with any DLC and that is post-patch updates. Right now this build is a fun one and it can get pretty powerful already. But before the release of the Shadow of the Erdtree, Elden Ring was sitting on patch 1.09 for most of their game balancing. Since the release of Shadow of the Erdtree, they have already released patch 1.18 within 10 days. There was also talk of some weapons and items that were destined to get the nerf because players could literally charge through their toughest enemies with a shield. It's safe to say that this build looks fairly balanced already since it requires the use of no armor to make it work. But that's not to say it might not get worse later. Of course, there are several builds including the archers and most of the incantations reduced patches that made them better with the 1.09 release, so there's a chance that with so many new patches on the way to balance out the game, this build might get significantly better too. Only time will tell, and it usually takes them about six months to really smooth out the details.
- The Essential Stats are really in what it takes to scale everything in this build. Faith and Arcane are vital for scaling the Dragon Communion seal, and Dexterity is important for spell casting speed. If you're using Radagon's Icon then you don't need as high a dexterity, but it depends on what you're trying to make slots for and where in your loadout.
Gear Loadout:
Primary Hand:
Regalia of Eochaid
- Requirements: 12 Strength, 18 Dexterity, 15 Arcane
We like the Regalia of Eochaid more than the Marais' Executioner sword for this build for one real reason only. That's the fact that this build is originally designed to be lightweight for the use of the Blue Dancer Charm. The Marais Executioner Sword is probably one of my favorites in the game, but it's also a heavy sword that weighs 11.5 lbs while the Regalia of Eochaid only weighs 5.5 lbs. Since the Blue Dancer Charm works the best at under 8 lbs on the gear loadout, that means the Regalia of Eochaid is the best choice for the job, but still gives you that Eochaid skill which is my favorite for this build.
Marais Executioner's Sword
- Requirements: 24 Strength, 14 Dexterity, 23 Arcane
If you're a slightly more tanky player, or you're just looking to use something besides the Blue Dancer's Charm to power yourself up, you may just prefer this weapon. It hits harder, and has a longer range than the Regalia of Eochaid, which means it's going to get more of that straight damage we were talking about. But it also means changing up the style of this build just a little bit to trade blows a little better. Since this build is strong, there's always the option to pair it up with the Jellyfish Shield, or just use it in between the dragon attacks. With new skills like Bayles Tyranny and golden oldies like Greyoll's Roar, there's a lot of weight to stagger the enemy and make range for the use of the Eochaid skills.
Erdtree Seal
- Requirements: 40 Faith
This is just a build that I really like having two seals for. I like running lightning damage too but this build is a bit more on the physical damage side and I like it that way, but it also means that if I'm not using the Dragon Communion Seal to cast the spells, then I honestly just want the best scaling seal as my backup seal. That does mean putting a minimum of 40 into Faith, but that's hardly a problem in an Incantation build that uses some of the most advanced spells in the game.
Secondary Hand:
Jellyfish Shield
- Requirements: 20 Strength, 14 Dexterity
The Jellyfish shield is really here for two major reasons, even though it's not required for the build. The first is that it's not just lightweight, it's a greatshield. It has some of the best defensive capabilities in the game for a build that has almost no armor. That alone makes it awesome for this build. The other thing that makes this shield great for this build is the special skill that it has that buffs up attacks from the player for a time. That means even without the Blue Dancer's Charm, which isn't a huge fan of a shield that weighs 8 lbs, this shield has a special ability that can boost the attack up instead. It makes for a good alternate, and it goes pretty well with both of the Eochaid swords.
Dragon Communion Seal
- Requirements: 10 Faith, 10 Arcane
Dragon Communion Seal is the go-to seal for pretty much any dragon priest build that does use the Ancient Dragon Cult incantations. It boosts your Dragon Communion spells well, and it's even better because it has no weight to it. That makes it perfect for a build that was trying to keep the weight down for more damage with the Blue Dancer's Charm. Even without that talisman, having a lower weight is never a bad thing for making a build more mobile.
Primary Spells:
Greyoll's Roar
- Requirements 28 Faith, 17 Arcane
- This attack deals a 360 AOE roar that knocks back enemies, deals a good amount of physical damage, and applies a 15% increase to enemy attack and a 10% decrease to enemy defense for 60 seconds.
Ekzykes's Decay
- Requirements: 23 Faith, 15 Arcane
- Sprays Scarlet Rot in a wide area in front of the caster that deals more damage than the Rotten Breath attack. It's interesting to note that while the player can't jump while using Rotten Breath, they can jump while using Ekzykes's Decay but not use it while riding on horseback.
Golden Vow
- Requirements: 25 Faith
- Golden Vow buffs attack 15% and defense 10% for 80 seconds. This spell is standard to almost every incantation build and it's one of the best and the longest lasting spell to keep your damage high without having to cast it again later in the fight.
Dragonmaw
- Requirements: 24 Faith, 16 Arcane
- This spell summons a large dragon mouth that bites the enemy and deals a great deal of physical damage to the enemy.
Ghostflame Breath
- Requirements: 23 Faith, 15 Arcane
- This spell casts a large breath attack of ghost flame that spreads over the area, dealing physical damage, and a build up of death blight and frostbite.
BaylesTyranny
- Requirements: 49 Arcane
- This spell creates a huge heat shock wave that causes eruptions of flame around the caster.
Flame, Grant me Strength
- Requirements: 15 Faith
- This spell buffs physical and fire damage 20% each, and is probably one of the most useful spells for early in the battle to get a lot of damage done fast.
Dragonclaw
- Requirements: 17 Faith, 13 Arcane
- This spell creates a large dragon claw to swipe at the enemy. This deals a large amount of physical damage and poise damage to the foe.
Armor Loadout
Special Equipment:
Rock Heart
Transforms the player into the frame of a dragon and boosts the Dragon Communion spells for 60 seconds. This also applies a +50 boost to all status resistances and a 10% damage negation, while boosting Dragon Communion incantations 20% for 60 seconds.
Priestess Heart
Transforms the player into the frame of an ancient dragon and boosts the Dragon Cult Incantations. This is good for a low weight version of the Lightning Dragon Lord as well, since that spell wields Ancient Dragon Cult incantations. It provides all the same benefits as the Rock Heart, just for a different set of incantations.
Extra Essentials
Talismans:
- Marika's Soreseal- Raises Mind, Faith, Intelligence, and Arcane +5
- Rotten Sword Winged Insignia- boosts damage from consecutive attacks
- Flock's Canvas Talisman- Raises potency of incantations by 8%
- Radagon Icon- Shortens Spell casting time
- Godfrey Icon- Enhances Charged Spells and Skills
- Millicent's Prosthesis- Boosts dexterity and raises attacks on consecutive strikes
- Roar Medallion- Enhances roar and breath attacks by 15%
- Blessed Dew Talisman- Slowly restores health over time
- Blessed Blue Dew Talisman- Slowly restores FP over time
- Shard of Alexander- Boosts the attack power of skills 15%
- Talisman of Lord's Bestowal- Raises poise 54% after using a flask of tears
- Blue Dancer's Talisman- Increases attack power when equip load is low
- Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman- Increases physical damage negation by 20%
Stats
- 65 Vigor
- 45 Mind
- 25-30 Endurance
- 25-40 Strength
- 45-65 Dexterity
- 16-25 Intelligence
- 65-80 Faith
- 75 Arcane
Build Credits
Dragon God by Fextralife
Dragon Dancer by Fextralife
http://fextralife.com/elden-ring-regalia-of-eochaid-build-guide-dragon-dancer/
4. Plague Priest/Bloody Dragon build
What is the Plague Priest
One of the favorite dragon incantations out there is the Rotten Breath and Ezyke's Decay, because of the fact that they are just about perfect for setting the scarlet rot effect on the first try. The status effect isn't as flashy as bleed or frostbite is, but it gets the job done, and it gets it done consistently. There's not too many enemies that are completely immune or even that highly resistant to scarlet rot, and that makes for a powerful ally to rely on to help get the job done, even against the toughest bosses.
The Plague Priest is actually a hybrid build that came from the bloody dragon build and the various scarlet rot builds that exist, because the Ezyke's Decay ability really seems to be popular in a lot of builds that rely on using incantations. Instead of relying on just the poison to do the job though, this build is even more aggressive because it keeps a fluid weapon in the pole blade and an aggressive rot option in the glaive that is the Poleblade of the Bud. Both weapons do the job fast while dealing plenty of damage, and it makes for a powerful, fast, and agile build to take down tough opponents.
Playing the Plague Priest
- Scarlet Rot and Bleed are almost like two sides of the same coin, if one side of the coin was a very dangerous toxin that could kill both of you. Bleed takes big chunks out of the health bar every time it triggers, but the Rot triggers, and then keeps taking big chunks out of the health bar. It's not that uncommon to see scarlet rot be able to clean up every bit of half an enemy's HP without having to rely on other tricks, which means that bleed has the best chance to carry it the rest of the way. But since both take large chunks of health, that only means that the play priest gets rid of the enemy that much faster.
- This build focuses pretty heavily around trying to get the scarlet rot effect set from the very start of the fight. That's why even though I like to run my breath attacks for the main and my weapons as my backup plans, I tried to include a good scarlet rot weapon that can set it if you have an aggressive enemy. That became necessary with the new DLC where it's not even really an uncommon occurrence to walk into a boss room, such as Rellana or the Black Goal Evernight which cheese you with ranged fire crossbows and magic attacks less than a second after the boss fight loads. This will probably get fixed in the patches that come out, but it also means that sometimes you don't have time to summon spirit ashes or do anything except dodge roll to the side. That makes having weapons for both critical in a build like this, which can be slow with the dragon spells.
- This is a build that does require a little bit of careful monitoring to make sure that you don't poison yourself at the same time. Scarlet Rot isn't as easy to deal with as poison is, mostly because it poisons everyone that gets too close to it, and that poison can build up incredibly fast. Don't believe me? Try to make it across a tiny area of the Lake of Rot before it triggers. If you're not covering your end with high vigor, or high immunity armor, then it might be best to make sure that you're carrying plenty of scarlet bolus to use, or making sure that you have the stats put into your armor and build the right way to protect you.
- One of the big risks that this build is going to have for any player is the fact that both bleed and rot are good, but this is still a build that is about being the best dragon priest that you can be. It's important to figure out that balance that can be used on the enemy while keeping your gear and your spell slots getting the most out of it for you. Remember when setting up your gear to figure out if you're trying to get the most out of the bleed or the rot and to build accordingly. I like to work off the Rot effect because it lasts longer which is great for items like the mushroom crown and Kindred of Rot's Exultation. But if you're having trouble with an enemy, it might be good to look to see how you have your damage advantages spaced out and try and make sure that you focus on what will get the most out of the build while keeping it the way you want to play.
- This build uses the Dragon Communion Seal which has no weight to it and it scales primarily with Faith, and Arcane. Since we like Arcane a lot for bleed already, and since this is a Faith build, we usually lean towards maxing those out pretty early on. We also put a lot of points into Dexterity for the purpose of scaling the weapons and scaling the spell casting speed. If you use Radagon Icon or the newest Blessed Stardust Talisman, spellcasting speed will be plenty high as it is, but without those, you may want to at least keep Dexterity somewhere about 60-80. The last major stat for this one is going to be Vigor. Vigor boosts immunity stats and the HP bar, so both are big in Scarlet Rot builds.
Gear Loadout:
Primary Hand:
Bloody Helice
- Requirements: 16 Strength, 19 Dexterity, 17 Arcane
Bloody Helix is a popular weapon in most of the agile bleed builds because of the way it triggers bleed over and over again. Since this build relies heavily on the use of the Arcane stat, anything bleed and scarlet rot synergizes together really well, and it gets the multiple hits off without having to focus too much on the dancing around that comes from the polearm weapons which can be dangerous in narrow paths like the Haligtree branches.
Pole Blade of the Bud
- Requirements: 14 Strength, 22 Dexterity, 20 Arcane
Pole Blade of the Bud is a Shadow of the Erdtree release that is one of the few weapons equipped with a decent Scarlet Rot effect and it's new to the build. While it has the name poleblade, it actually falls more under the Glaive category while still keeping close enough to the two handed fighting style that both types of weapon use to make this build aggressive and fast, without relying on the poison to work before an enemy does.
Eleonora's Pole Blade
- Requirements: 12 Strength, 21 Dexterity, 19 Arcane
Eleonora'sPoleblade is one of the better bleed weapons out there and it has an ability that triggers talismans like the Rotten Winged Sword Insignia and Lord of Blood's Exultation. The Bloody Helix is a great weapon for bleed buildup fast in builds, but I like the Eleonora's Poleblade because it has the ability to deal a lot of consecutive hits, then jump away to trigger a ranged attack, like Rotten Breath, Dragonfire, Dragonice, or even Dragonmaw.
Secondary Hand:
Dragon Communion Seal
- Requirements: 10 Faith, 10 Arcane
This is the best of the seals to use for any of the builds for the Dragon Communion incantations because it boosts them specifically. It's also great for a build that has a lot of movement because it has no weight to it which makes it easier to keep the equip load more manageable.
Shield of the Guilty
• Requirements: 8 Strength
Shield of the Guilty is a small shield that has the added benefit of inflicting bleed damage. Since it can be slung on the back, it adds to the pole blade build a little bit more when using it two handed.
Primary Spells:
Rotten Breath
- Requirements: 15 Faith, 12 Arcane
- Sprays Scarlet rot in a wide area in front of the caster. This spell is useful because it can be cast on horseback and the player can turn their character while using the breath attack. This also deals physical damage.
Ekzykes's Decay
- Requirements: 23 Faith, 15 Arcane
- Sprays Scarlet Rot in a wide area in front of the caster that deals more damage than the Rotten Breath attack. It's interesting to note that while the player can't jump while using Rotten Breath, they can jump while using Ekzykes's Decay but not use it while riding on horseback.
Greyoll's Roar
- Requirements 28 Faith, 17 Arcane
- This attack deals a 360 AOE roar that knocks back enemies, deals a good amount of physical damage, and applies a 15% increase to enemy attack and a 10% decrease to enemy defense for 60 seconds.
Golden Vow
- Requirements: 25 Faith
- Golden Vow buffs attack 15% and defense 10% for 80 seconds. This spell is standard to almost every incantation build and it's one of the best and the longest lasting spell to keep your damage high without having to cast it again later in the fight.
Swarm of Flies
- Requirements: 11 Faith, 16 Arcane
- This spell releases a swarm of bloodflies to attack enemies and cause bleed buildup. This spell can also be cast while in motion and while crouching to add to stealth builds.
Blessing's Boon
- Requirements: 24 Faith
- This spell heals 8 hp per second for a total of 90 seconds and can be stacked with other healing items like the Blessed Dew Talisman and the Royal Remains Armor but also works to heal allies and spirit summons as well.
Armor Loadout
Helms:
- White Mask- Increases damage whenever blood loss occurs in the area
- Mushroom Crown- Increases damage of attacks whenever poison or rot occurs in the area
- Thiollier's Mask- Boosts arcane
Armor:
- Theiolliers Garb- boosts arcane
- Twinned Armor- has one of the highest vitality stats in the game and makes it effective against blight and poisons
- Mushroom Armor- has one of the highest immunity sets in the game
Gauntlets:
- Thiollier's Gloves- Boosts arcane
- Twinned Gauntlets- armor with the highest vitality stat
- Mushroom Hands- armor with the highest immunity stat
Greaves:
- Thiollier's Trousers- boosts arcane
- Twinned Greaves- armor with the highest vitality stat
- Mushroom Legs- armor with the highest immunity stat
Extra Essentials
Talismans:
- Kindred of Rot's Exultation- increases attack when poison or rot occurs in the area
- Lord of Bloods Exaltation- raises attack whenever blood loss is triggered near the player
- Mottled Necklace+2- Raises Robustness, Immunity, and focus by 100
- Outer God Heirloom- Raises Arcane by 5
- Crusade Insignia- Raises attack power by 15% for 20 seconds after killing an enemy
- Marika's Soreseal- Raises Mind, Faith, Intelligence, and Arcane +5
- Rotten Sword Winged Insignia- boosts damage from consecutive attacks
- Flock's Canvas Talisman- Raises potency of incantations by 4%
- Radagon Icon- Shortens Spell casting time
- Godfrey Icon- Enhances Charged Spells and Skills
- Millicent's Prosthesis- Boosts dexterity and raises attacks on consecutive strikes
- Roar Medallion- Enhances roar and breath attacks by 15%
Stats
- 60 Vigor
- 35 Endurance
- 22-30 Strength
- 35-50 Dexterity
- 9-18 Intelligence
- 65-80 Faith
- 75-80 Arcane
Credit for this Build
Blood Dragon by Fextralife
http://fextralife.com/elden-ring-bleed-build-arcane-guide-blood-dragon/
Blood Dancer by Fextralife
http://fextralife.com/elden-ring-eleonoras-poleblade-build-guide-blood-dancer/
3. Glintbreath Dragon Knight
What is the Glintbreath Dragon Knight
Where there are dragons, there is magic, and you will always find yourself a magical dragon knight. This was especially true for Elden Ring because there is so much great crossover between the carian sorceries and the glintstone breath abilities, with some great magical weapons. The Carian Knight and the Dragon Knight are both powerful sword sage builds that rely on using great magical weapons and dragon abilities.
This build only got stronger with the new DLC release, which gave us the best weapon to come out for a build like this, Rellana's Twin Blades. With a weapon that now gives you two long greatswords for the price of one, and an upgrade on the Sword of Night and Fire's abilities, this build made its way up to the top of my list fast, as well as the top of my personal playthrough style.
Playing the Glintbreath Dragon Knight
- This build was already strong with weapon options like the Sword of Night and Fire, and the Dark Moon Greatsword. But Rellana's Twin Blades have given us a new weapon that just really puts it over the top. Right away it matches the Sword of Night and Fire by having one magic ability and one fire ability. The fire ability creates a fantastic cyclone of fire that works just like the Stormhawk Axe's Thunderstorm ability, and it takes out flying enemies too. The magic slashes are just as good, and they add extra range and speed to this build. Light Greatswords aren't as strong as normal greatswords, but they hit harder than normal swords and they work almost like a fencing weapon, making them really fast and efficient.
- The breath attacks make up the next part of this build because it's either boosted magic damage that can wipe out mobs and ruin boss health bars, or it's something like the Ghostflame breath which can set frostbite status and open this build up to really heavy hits from charged skills like Carian Grandeur which get boosted by the Godfrey Icon talisman.
- This build is a bit rough around the edges compared to the other builds. Since magic damage is usually a big player in the sorceries instead of the incantations, this build doesn't have as much access to power buffing spells like Terra Magica that other builds do. That doesn't stop it though, because it has plenty of ways to power up magic damage, set frostbite, and even use weapons like Sword of Night and Fire or Rellana's Twin Blades to reset the field and blend into the Tyrant of Frozen Flame build.
- Depending on what the player decides to go with for weapons, gear, and talismans, the stat spread can get pretty far on this build. You already have to pump up Faith and Arcane for most Dragon Priest builds to use the Dragon Communion Seal, and Dexterity for that spellcasting speed, and most weapons. The rest of the build really needs focus on catering the rest of your necessary stats and trimming the fat everywhere else.
- The Essential stats in this build are going to be the classic three, plus one. Faith and Arcane are both usually expected to be buffed up for this build because they scale the Dragon Communion Seal the best when they are both at least at 65. Dexterity is used to buff spellcasting speed so unless the player has the Radagon Icon, or wants to risk a 30% damage increase to use the Beloved Stardust, keeping it above 65 is good too. The last big one for this build is going to be intelligence for buffing magic damage. It doesn't have to be as high as the others, but it should be sitting at least at 40 to get some good scaling for that magic damage for the weapons, especially Rellana's Twin Blades and the Sword of Night and Flame. The Last major stat here has got to be mind. Even with a bunch of Cerulean Flasks, this build uses a lot of FP, and it can turn into a glass cannon fast. It's never bad to have a good high stat for Mind, to keep that mana pool high.
Gear Loadout:
Primary Hand:
Rellana's Twin Blades
- Requirements: 13 Strength, 16 Dexterity, 16 Intelligence, 16 Faith
First and foremost, this weapon can only be obtained with the DLC release of Shadow of the Erdtree, but it may be the best weapon to come out of the DLC for sword users. That's subjective, but it's definitely the best weapon to come out for the magic knight build and anything that has to do with stances. These swords start as a one handed option that leaves the other hanging off the players back, but that means that even without something equipped in the left hand, this player has the ability to dual wield greatswords for only 8 lbs without wasting an equip slot. Add into this the fire cyclone which is great for being surrounded by trash mobs, and the magic slash attack which is great for hitting incoming enemies, this sword puts the leg work into being the best sword for this build that anyone can pick up in the game.
Dark Moon Greatsword
- Requirements: 16 Strength, 11 Dexterity, 38 Intelligence
The Dark Moon Greatsword is a tribute to Ranni and a powerful way to take this build a bit more in the direction of a Barbarian. It has a powerful attack that gets a little bit of range to it, and the weapon itself hits for a lot of damage and is used to power stance well in other magic knight builds.
Carian Knight's Sword
- Requirements: 10 Strength, 10 Dexterity, 18 Intelligence
This is probably one of the easiest early game weapons to pick up, and it's good because it has the Carian Grandeur ability. This isn't my favorite weapon for this build, but it does take it straight magic a bit more and it does have an overwhelming damage with the special attack when the Carian Grandeur blade gets charged to full capacity. Since this build also has Godfrey's Icon as a staple option for the list, that means it also gets boosted from the charged attack buff.
Secondary Hand:
Dragon Communion Seal
- Requirements: 10 Faith, 10 Arcane
The Dragon Communion Seal is used to boost the incantations in this build, and weighs nothing which keeps the risk of an overburdened build slightly lower.
Sword of Night and Flame
- Requirements: 12 Strength, 12 Dexterity, 24 Intelligence, 24 Faith
The Sword of Night and Flame is the original sword for this build and the sword sage build, since it came equipped with the Comet Azur and flaming slash abilities. This got an upgrade with faster casting times on the Rellana's Twin Blades, but neither sword completely cancels out the other. Since this is a build that sometimes requires fast swapping between weapons and a two-handing option for the Rellana's Twin Blades, the Sword of Night and Flame makes for a really powerful weapon that can knock out most opponents pretty easily.
Primary Spells:
Smarag's Glintstone Breath
- Requirements: 23 Faith, 15 Arcane
- Summons a large dragon head to deal a large amount of physical and magic damage. This spell is stronger than the Glintstone breath spell but cannot be used from horseback.
Ghostflame Breath
- Requirements: 23 Faith, 15 Arcane
- This spell spreads ghost flame in front of the caster and deals a large amount of physical damage as well as the buildup of death blight and frostbite.
Greyoll's Roar
- Requirements 28 Faith, 17 Arcane
- This attack deals a 360 AOE roar that knocks back enemies, deals a good amount of physical damage, and applies a 15% increase to enemy attack and a 10% decrease to enemy defense for 60 seconds.
Glintstone Breath
- Requirements: 15 Faith, 12 Arcane
- This spell copies a dragon and deals a large amount of physical damage and magic damage.
Golden Vow
- Requirements: 25 Faith
- Golden Vow buffs attack 15% and defense 10% for 80 seconds. This spell is standard to almost every incantation build and it's one of the best and the longest lasting spell to keep your damage high without having to cast it again later in the fight.
Dragonmaw
- Requirements: 24 Faith, 16 Arcane
- This spell summons a giant dragon mouth to bite the enemy dealing a large amount of physical damage to the enemy.
Flame, Grant me Strength
- Requirements: 15 Faith
- This spell buffs physical and fire damage 20% each, and is probably one of the most useful spells for early in the battle to get a lot of damage done fast.
Armor Loadout
Helms:
- Queen's Crescent Crown- +3 Intelligence
- Helm of Night- Aesthetically fun SOTE armor
- High Priest Hat- increases intelligence and arcane +1
- Rakshasa Helm- Boosts all damage done by 2% but takes 2% more damage too
- Spellblade's Pointed Hat- boosts magic and frostbite damage by 2%
Armor:
- Spellblade's Traveling Attire- boosts magic and frostbite damage by 2%
- Armor of Night- Aesthetically fun SOTE armor
Gauntlets:
- Spellblade's Gloves- boosts magic and frostbite damage by 2%
- Gauntlets of Night- Aesthetically fun SOTE set
Greaves:
- Spellblade's Trousers' boosts magic and frostbite damage by 2%
- Greaves of Night- Aesthetically fun SOTE set
Extra Essentials
Talismans:
- Talisman of Lord's Bestowal- Increases poise by 54% after using a flask of tears
- Rellana's Cameo- Enhances attacks by 15% after maintaining the same stance for 2 seconds
- Marika's Soreseal- Raises Mind, Faith, Intelligence, and Arcane +5
- Rotten Sword Winged Insignia- boosts damage from consecutive attacks
- Flock's Canvas Talisman- Raises potency of incantations by 4%
- Radagon Icon- Shortens Spell casting time
- Godfrey Icon- Enhances Charged Spells and Skills
- Millicent's Prosthesis- Boosts dexterity and raises attacks on consecutive strikes
- Roar Medallion- Enhances roar and breath attacks by 15%
- Magic Scorpion's Talism- Increases magic damage by 12%
- Fire Scorpion Talisman- Increases fire damage by 12%
- Taker's Cameo- Restores health upon defeating an enemy
- Two-Handed Sword Talisman- Enhances attacks with two-handed weapons by 15%
- Crusade Insignia- increases attack power by 15% for a time after defeating an enemy
- Beloved Stardust- Significantly shortens casting speed, but increases damage taken by 30%
Stats
- 50-60 Vigor
- 35-45 Mind
- 25-60 Endurance
- 22-35 Strength
- 60-80 Dexterity
- 65-80 Intelligence
- 65-80 Faith
- 35-60 Arcane
Credits for the Build
Magic Dragonknight by Fextralife
http://fextralife.com/elden-ring-arcane-build-guide-magic-dragon-knight/
Dragon Knight build by Fextralife
http://fextralife.com/elden-ring-arcane-faith-build-dragon-knight/
2. Tyrant of Frigid Flames
What is the Lord of Frigid Flames
The Lord of the Frigid Flames is the Dragon Priest version of the Song of fire and ice. And in tribute to the man who created the world lore, I'd say his dragons are just as fearsome as ever, maybe even more fearsome in the Lands Between.
The Tyrant of Frigid Flames is essentially the Fire Dragon Priest build that evolved from the Pyromancer, but it gives a lot of options for how the player wants to do a little more damage. Since most of the Dragon Communion spells are Fire based from the beginning with Dragonfire and Agheels Flame, all the way up to Theodorix's Magma and Bayles Tyranny. What makes this build a little bit stronger, though, is the fact that while the breath may be fire, the enchanted blades deal frost, hitting the enemy with hot and cold.
Playing the Tyrant of Frigid Flames
- Honestly, one of the reasons why I love fire and ice builds, even though they can get complicated or muddled, is because of the dual nature of it. It almost reminds me of Olaf's song in the first Frozen movie when he sings "My snow up against the burning sand, probably getting gorgeously tan, in summer!” It's not just because the builds are fun and challenging, it's because they have answers to almost everything. Fire is already an aggressive build on it's own, but
- Another reason this build is good, is because it's actually a two-faced build, almost like one of those reversible jackets or shirts they made back in the day. The main build structure is about using a huge amount of fire damage to just wipe out trash mobs and take out enemies left and right
- When it comes to the fire build, there are more options for flame damage spells than just about anything else. There's both the fire and the magma breath attacks, and with the DLC there's also now a heatwave version of Greyoll's Roar. This makes it pretty open to figuring out how you really want to put together your build.
- Dragon breath builds are some of the slower casting time spells so being able to alternate between the types of damage that can be done can be a little bit difficult. I try to speed up my spells as much as possible but this is definitely going to be a build that is focused around timing.
Gear Loadout:
Primary Hand:
Zamor Curved Sword
- Requirements: 16 Strength, 18 Dexterity
Zamor Curved Sword and Blasphemous Blade are the two bread and butter weapons for this build because they make use of the fire and ice skills the best. These two don't power stance well together, but they both do a good amount of damage in their way and they both pair up with the opposite breath attacks well. Blasphemous Blade deals with frostbite, and the Zamor Curved Sword uses the Zamor Ice Storm ability to set frost on even some of the toughest bosses like Radagon.
Seprents Flail
- Requirements: 10 Strength, 24 Dexterity, 21 Faith
The Serpent's Flail is a new DLC weapon that creates magma areas when it slams the ground. It's a fun weapon that doesn't weigh too much and at the same time it gets a good boost from the fire damage that gets buffed up the most hee.
Icerind Hatchet
- Requirements: 11 Strength, 16 Dexterity
The Icerind Hatchet is an axe that deals frost damage with its special ability, hoarfrost stomp. It's not the most powerful ice ability out there but the Icerind Hatchet is a staple in a lot of fire and ice builds just because it does a good job of setting the frostbite status effect early and fast. The Hoarfrost stomp ability is strong too in its way and is used to take on multiple bosses that are weak to frostbite.
Secondary Hand:
Dragon Communion Seal
- Requirements: 10 Faith, 10 Arcane
The Dragon Communion seal weighs nothing which is great and it adds a boost to all dragon communion spells which is even better in a build that focuses on hitting with as much explosive fire and magma damage as possible.
Blasphemous Blade
- Requirements: 22 Strength, 15 Dexterity, 21 Faith
The Blasphemous Blade is actually my favorite weapon for this build because of the fact that it feeds into the fire damage buffs, and it restores HP when it hits an enemy. That's not just per attack, that's per enemy that the attack hits. This blade can wipe out trash mobs of pretty decent sizes in the main game and the dlc and it heals the player a minimum of 150 HP per hit. One good shot is enough to restore the health bar to full, but it does also serve as an excellent way to clean up enemies and do a lot of damage.
Primary Spells:
Golden Vow
- Requirements: 25 Faith
- Golden Vow buffs attack 15% and defense 10% for 80 seconds. This spell is standard to almost every incantation build and it's one of the best and the longest lasting spell to keep your damage high without having to cast it again later in the fight.
Flame, Grant Me Strength
- Requirements: 15 Faith
- This spell buffs physical and fire damage 20% each, and is probably one of the most useful spells for early in the battle to get a lot of damage done fast.
Agheel's Flame
- Requirements: 23 Faith, 15 Arcane
- This spell sprays dragon fire in a wide area in front of the player, and deals more damage than the normal Dragonfire spell.
Dragonfire
- Requirements: 15 Faith, 12 Arcane
- This spell sprays dragon fire in a wide area in front of the player and can be cast on horseback.
Bayle's Tyranny- SOTE
- Requirements: 49 Arcane
- Bayles Tyranny produces a massive heat shock wave followed by eruptions of fire in the area around the player.
Flame, Fall Upon Them
- Requirements: 28 Faith
- This spell launches a set of 12 fireballs that all do individual damage but increase damage on multiple hits. This spell is ideal for mob AOE and for wiping out larger enemies as well as stacking damage after setting frostbite
Dragonice
- Requirements: 15 Faith, 12 Arcane
- Produces a giant breath attack of Ice that deals physical damage and a large buildup of frost.
Borealis's Mist
- Requirements: 23 Faith, 15 Arcane
- This spell produces a large area of ice that is bigger than the dragon ice spell and deals more damage.
Armor Loadout
Helms:
- Fire Knight Helm- SOTE
- Thiolliers Mask- boots arcane
- Flame Monk's Hood
Armor:
- Flame Monk's Armor
- Black Night Armor-SOTE
- Black Knife Assassin Armor
Gauntlets:
- Flame Monk's Gauntlets
- Black Night Gauntlets- SOTE
Greaves:
- Flame Monk's Greaves
- Black Night Greaves- SOTE
Extra Essentials
Talismans:
- Marika's Soreseal- Raises Mind, Faith, Intelligence, and Arcane +5
- Rotten Sword Winged Insignia- boosts damage from consecutive attacks
- Flock's Canvas Talisman- Raises potency of incantations by 4%
- Radagon Icon- Shortens Spell casting time
- Godfrey Icon- Enhances Charged Spells and Skills
- Millicent's Prosthesis- Boosts dexterity and raises attacks on consecutive strikes
- Roar Medallion- Enhances roar and breath attacks by 15%
- Fire Scorpion's Charm- Enhances fire damage 12%
- Taker's Cameo- Restores health upon defeating an enemy
- Two-Handed Sword Talisman- Enhances attacks with two-handed weapons by 15%
- Crusade Insignia- increases attack power by 15% for a time after defeating an enemy
- Beloved Stardust- Significantly shortens casting speed, but increases damage taken by 30%
- Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman- Increases physical damage negation by 20%Talisman
- Lord's Bestowal- Raises poise 54% after using a flask of tears
- Blessed Dew Talisman- Slowly restores health over time
- Blessed Blue Dew Talisman- Slowly restores FP over time
Stats
- 50 Vigor
- 25-40 Endurance
- 25-30 Strength
- 50-65 Dexterity
- 9-25 Intelligence
- 65-80 Faith
- 65-80 Arcane
Credits for the Build
Lord of All Flame build by Joseph Ferguson
http://eip.gg/elden-ring/guides/lord-of-all-flame/
Pyromancer by Fextralife
http://fextralife.com/elden-ring-pyromancer-build-guide/
Dragon Knight by Fextralife
http://fextralife.com/elden-ring-arcane-faith-build-dragon-knight/
1. Lightning Dragon Lord
What is the Lightning Dragon Lord
The Lightning Dragon Lord is the build that comes from combining the most overwhelming lightning weapons in the game with some of the most powerful dragon spells in the game. This is probably one of the only builds that doesn't focus on Dragon Communion incantations, and that's because this build uses the Ancient Dragon Cult incantations. They're still dragon spells, but the amount of lightning damage and lighting buffs that come with the build are overwhelming. Even the Vykes Dragonbolt ability is useful here to charge up a weapon, give it a powerful affinity, increase equip rates to use heavier armors, and send the player out the door to end the battle before it even starts. Lightning may not make the top of the list every time, but in a build like this, it shines more than ever and it makes for a powerful force to be reckoned with, against god and dragon alike.
Playing the Lightning Dragon Lord
- When it comes to aggressive builds, there are very few that are more aggressive than a lightning build. Even if you take away the overwhelming dragon powers that come from this build, players post lightning builds that take down heavy bosses like Radagon, Malenia, and even several of the major dragons with just a couple big attacks. This build takes that and expands it even further by giving it range and coverage, with some of the most aggressive damage dealing spells in the game.
- Lightning builds also come equipped with some of the most powerful weapons in the game. Part of what makes this build so great is that it has so many powerful options for any range. At close range there are the Stormhawk and the Death Knight axes, both of which have powerful lightning abilities. At long range, the Bolt of Gransax is probably one of the most powerful ranged weapons in the game that can take out over 3000 points of damage against late game enemies with each strike. It's more than enough to take out more than 90% of the tough enemies in the game, and even as a support player it makes taking down bosses pretty easy.
- This is also a build that comes complete with some of the most effective AOE spells in the game. Almost every lighting strike spell has some kind of AOE area attached to it, and they all do a number on trash mobs. By which I mean that Lightning spells are some of the most highly recommended for fast farming in the Lord of Blood region to get hundreds of thousands of runes fast. Farming has its benefits, but on a more objective level this means that the AOE is good for clearing out lots of little enemies in the area, and is great in the Lands Between as well as the newly installed Land of Shadows.
- Lightning is not an all inclusive winning factor, but it is a build that seems to favor going all in on maximizing the damage. So this is going to end up being one of the most dedicated builds out there and that means enemies that are strong against lightning will require a backup strategy of some kind. It's not something to worry about though, because this does take you through 99% of your enemies pretty well.
- Strength and Dexterity are two critical points for this build. They power up both popular axes for the build, and they buff up the Bolt of Gransax. Faith is the other one that can be capitalized in this build for the purpose of the Incantation potency. Since this is an FP heavy build, if you want to free up flasks for healing you'll also need to run at least 45 into mind as well
Gear Loadout
Primary Hand:
Bolt of Gransax
- Requirements: 20 Strength, 40 Dexterity
When it comes to a build that focuses on the mid range fight, almost nothing hits harder than the Bolt of Gransax. It's a solid spear all on its own and it does some decent damage in any build that you put it in, but it has its best use from its special skill, Ancient Lightning Strike. This attack charges, has good range, and it hits for every bit as much damage as a colossal weapon. It's a little too focused to make it good for taking out trash mobs, but it will one shot almost all the small enemies in the game, and it also does a number on the bigger enemies too. Anyone with a spirit ash that can help them out can clear just about any of the big bosses when this weapon is maxed out.
Stormhawk Axe
- Requirements: 19 Strength, 15 Dexterity
The Stormhawk Axe is the original weapon of choice for most of the lightning builds because it has the overwhelming thunderstorm ability and it can wipe even Radagon, Radahn, and Malenia off the map pretty easily. Since it can be used two handed, it benefits from plenty of talisman boosts, and it gets boosted from any dexterity and strength that is put into it for scaling.
Death Knight Axe- SOTE
- Requirements: 14 Strength, 12 Dexterity, 16 Faith
The Death Knight Axe is the newest addition to the lighting weapon category and it comes to us as a good accompanying weapon or alternate weapon to the Stormhawk Axe. It has a powerful lightning charge ability that can stagger enemies and leave them wide open to critical damage, but it also scales well and it gets the benefits of any lightning damage that gets buffed up by this build.
Secondary Hand:
Dragon Communion Seal
- Requirements: 10 Faith, 10 Arcane
The Dragon Communion Seal is actually the secondary steal for this build, because it doesn't boost anything from the Dragon Cult incantations. It does scale well and weigh nothing though, which makes it a good alternate hand option if you choose to skip the weapons and go straight lightning dragon damage like the Scarlet Red Lightning build.
Gravel Stone Seal
- Requirements: 4 Strength, 18 Faith
The Gravel Stone Seal is the best seal for this build because it boosts the power of Ancient Dragon Cult incantations the same way that Dragon Communion Seal boosts Dragon Communion incantations. Since this is a build that uses the lightning incantations, they get the most benefit from the Gravel Stone Seal, and it scales pretty well with the Faith stat as well.
Primary Spells:
Bayle's Flame Lightning
- Requirements: 53 Arcane
- This spell enchants the right arm to hit the enemies with a big strike of flame lightning.
Fortissax's Lightning Spear
- Requirements: 46 Faith
- This spell throws down two red lightning spears that do a great deal of damage and sends lightning coursing across the ground.
Lansseax's Glaive
- Requirements: 40 Faith
- This spell creates a massive glaive out of red lightning to swing at the enemy.
Knight's Lightning Spear
- Requirements : 36 Faith
- This spell summons multiple lightning spears that it throws at the enemies.
Dragonbolt of Florissax
- Requirements: 52 Faith
- This spell is an update to Vyke's Dragonbolt and enchants the user and their allies with red lightning. It also reduces damage by 10%
Golden Vow
- Requirements: 25 Faith
- Golden Vow buffs attack 15% and defense 10% for 80 seconds. This spell is standard to almost every incantation build and it's one of the best and the longest lasting spell to keep your damage high without having to cast it again later in the fight.
Ancient Dragon's Lightning Strike
- Requirements: 26 Faith
- This spell summons down a strike of red lightning that creates a massive area of lightning damage.
Armor Loadout
Helms:
- Death Knight Helm- Enhances the Skills and incantations of ancient dragon cult by 2%- SOTE
- Divine Beast Helm- Heightents Strength, Dexterity, and the Power of Storms by 4%
- Navy Hood- Boosts Mind +1
Armor:
- Death Knight Armor- Enhances the skills and incantations of ancient dragon cult by 2% SOTE
- Fingerprint Armor
- Black Knife Armor
Gauntlets:
- Death Knight Gauntlets- Enhances the skills and incantations of ancient dragon cult by 2%
- Fingerprint Gloves
Greaves:
- Death Knight Greaves- Enhances the skills and incantations of ancient dragon cult by 2%
- Fingerprint Greaves
Extra Essentials
Talismans:
- Lightning Scorpion Talisman- Increases Lightning Damage 12%
- Marika's Soreseal- Raises Mind, Faith, Intelligence, and Arcane +5
- Rotten Sword Winged Insignia- boosts damage from consecutive attacks
- Flock's Canvas Talisman- Raises potency of incantations by 8%
- Radagon Icon- Shortens Spell casting time
- Godfrey Icon- Enhances Charged Spells and Skills
- Millicent's Prosthesis- Boosts dexterity and raises attacks on consecutive strikes
- Roar Medallion- Enhances roar and breath attacks by 15%
- Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman- Increases Physical Damage Reduction 20%
- Bull-Goat Talisman- Raises poise 33%
- Talisman of Lord's Bestowal- Raises poise 54% after using a flask of tears
- Verdigris Discus- Raises defense with higher equip load
- Enraged Divine Beast- Raises potency of storms 10%
- Taker's Cameo- Restores HP on killing enemies
Stats
- 55-60 Vigor
- 25-40 Endurance
- 65-80 Strength
- 65-80 Dexterity
- 9-25 Intelligence
- 65-80 Faith
- 25-65 Arcane
Credits for this Build
Stormhawk Axe Build by EliteCarlosN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOVdVd2SaaI&list=PLGsjkEmdpvt0pH6DXrKPJkPIceIRaSK2o&index=42
Thunderclap Lightning Faith Build by Lust4Power
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiqScLLRc2Q
Death Knight Axe Build by Fextralife
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XPipjqNySM&pp=ygUZdmFtcGlyZSBrbmlnaHQgZWxkZW4gcmluZw%3D%3D
Scarlet Red Lightning build by Fextralife
http://fextralife.com/elden-ring-faith-build-guide-red-lightning/
Lightning Dragoon build by Fextralife
http://fextralife.com/elden-ring-bolt-of-gransax-build-lightning-dragoon-guide/
Conclusion
When it comes to the Lands Between, there are so many different ways to build a character to play it your way, that the game could easily have way more than just an NG+7. But if you're going to play a cleric, there honestly might not be a better way to go than the dragon priest. You'll breathe fire, you'll have some dragon heads to breathe fire, or ice, or rot, you name it. And if all else fails, the lighting of the ancient elder dragons will lay the rest low. Or you can even turn into a dragon with the new DLC. But that's part of what makes the dragon builds fun, all the options and watching a whole swarm of enemies wiped out with the powerful dragon fire.
