Elden Ring BEST Builds Tier List: All Builds Ranked

Elden Ring is studio Fromsoftware’s most recent Magnum Opus published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The game massively improves upon the open-world design of The Legend of Zelda: BOTW.

It adds more content making The Lands Between one of the best Maps to explore. Our Elden Ring Best Builds Tier List will rank the best builds available in the game. While you’re at it, check out our Elden Ring Best weapons guide.

S-Tier

S-Tier builds contain the use of the most overpowered and best weapons in Elden Ring. These builds will not only melt bosses in PvE but they will also help you dominate PvP. 

Following is the list of S-Tier Builds in Elden Ring;

• Bleed Build
• Frost Build
• Magic Build
• Dex Build

These are the absolute best builds in Elden Ring with almost no flaws. Now we will discuss the S-Tier builds in complete detail.

Bleed Build

Bleed Builds are probably the best in Elden Ring. The blood Build up has been completely buffed up by Fromsoftware this time around. Our Assassin’s Build in Elden Ring guide goes into detail about the bleed mechanic. Basically using a bleed weapon will proc a percentage of Boss’s health.

Using the right weapons and grease, you can defeat bosses in a matter of seconds using bleed. Our Blood Build guide showcases how powerful bleed can be in the game. There are many Powerful Bleed Weapons in Elden Ring most of which build up bleed swiftly.

Bleed Scales with the Arcane stat primarily and you will have to invest your levels here the most. Leveling up Arcane will make bleed proc more often.

Katanas and Claw weapons do good bleed damage but for the optimal bleed build, use an Ash of War to give them the Arcane affinity. That will not only increase their bleed damage but will also scale the weapons with Arcane.

Rivers of Blood has the best bleed Ash of War in Elden Ring. It will not only stun most Bosses but it will also quickly build up bleed. Reduvia is another great weapon for Bleed if you want to stay at range. We recommend using the following gear for your Bleed Build;

• Weapons: Uchigatana, Rivers of Blood, Bloodhound’s Fang, and Ghiza’s Wheel
• Wondrous Physick Mixture: Greeburst Crystal Tear + Thorny Cracked Tear
• Armor: War Surgeon Set and Crucible Tree Set
• Incantations: Bloodflame Blade
• Talismans: Lord of Blood’s Exultation, Rotten Winged Sword Insignia, Godskin Swaddling Cloth, and Erdtree’s Favor

Dexterity Build

Dexterity has always been really strong in all of Fromsoftware’s games which is why it makes an appearance in S-Tier on our Best Builds in Elden Ring Tier List. Katanas will be your main weapons in the Dexterity build. These weapons paired with high Dex Levels will give you the hight DPS in the game.

Powerstancing Katanas is recommended as it doubles your damage output. Katanas have a long range and feature a fast moveset. Not only will that dominate bosses in PvE but you’ll also win most of your PvP battles. Check out our Dual Katana Build guide for more information on Powerstancing.

Make sure to give the Dex affinity to your weapons by using an Ash of War. This will give them the best scaling for Dexterity. We recommend using the Uchigatana and Nagakiba for your Dex builds.

Nagakiba has the longest range whereas the Uchigatana is faster. For more information on Dex check out our Elden Ring Dexterity Build guide.

We recommend using the following gear for your Dexterity Build;

• Weapons: Uchigatana, Nagakida, Bloodhound’s Fang, Moonveil Katana, and Godskin Peeler (Best Dex Weapons for more information)
• Wondrous Physick Mixture: Greenburst Crystal Tear + Dexterity-Knot Crystal Tear
• Armor: Raging Wolf Set and Briar Set
• Talismans: Erdtree’s Favor, Rotten Winged Sword Insignia, Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman, and Radagon’s Soreseal

Frostbite Build

Frost was not a viable build back in Dark Souls 3. But Fromsoftware has once again buffed it up making it one of the strongest mechanics in the game. Not every boss bleeds but almost every boss will get Frostbite. Frostbite will also proc a percentage of Boss’s health but the amount is less than bleed proc.

Frostbite not only procs but the frost itself will stay on the boss for quite some time. That will increase the damage of your attacks on bosses as frost weakens their defense. Frost also scales primarily with Intelligence. The build itself will use a melee/int hybrid weapon.

Use a frost Ash of War like the Hoarfrost Stomp to give your weapon the Cold affinity. Almost every weapon is good with the Frost Affinity but we recommend using either a Club or a Katana.

We recommend using the following gear for your Frostbite Build;

• Weapons: Cold Banished Knight Greatsword, Cold Club, Darkmoon Greatsword, and Cold Uchigatana
• Wondrous Physick Mixture: Greenburst Crystal Tear + Intelligence-Knot Crystal Tear
• Armor: Snow Witch Set
• Incantations: Adulas’s Moonblade and Ranni‘s Darkmoon
• Talismans: Erdetree’s Favor, Radagon’s Soreseal, Stargazer Heirloom, and Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman

Magic Build

Sorceries and Magic have also always been strong in Fromsoftware’s games. All the way from the early game to the final boss, you will probably have an easier time using sorceries. Spells like Comet Azure will absolutely wreck bosses and sometimes even kill them before phase transition. 

Sorceries are very overpowered in Elden Ring. Some spells will also cause Frostbite and some spells cannot even be detected by the enemies.

Our guide on Comet Azure Build explains how powerful spells are in the game. For more information on Magic, check out our Intelligence Build guide.

Sorceries scale off Intelligence so that stat will eat up most of your levels. Staffs will be your main weapons for a pure Magic build and check out our Best Staffs in Elden Ring guide for more information.

We recommend using the following gear for your Magic Build;

• Weapons: Carian Regal Sceptor, Meteorite Staff, and Lusat’s Glintstone Staff
• Wondrous Physick Mixture: Intelligence-Knot Crystal Tear + Hidden Cerulean Tear
• Armor: Queen’s Robe/Crown and Lusat’s Armor Set
• Incantations: Ranni’s Darkmoon, Comet Azure, Meteorite of Astel, and Glinstone Cometshard
• Talismans: Erdetree’s Favor, Marika’s Soreseal, Stargazer Heirloom, and Graven Mass Talisman

A-Tier

A-Tier builds are also very good in Elden Ring but there are some minimal flaws in them. However, the pros outweigh the cons by a huge mile.

Following is the list of A-Tier Builds in Elden Ring;

• Scarlet Rot Build
• Strength Build
• Faith Build
• Blackflame Build

These are the best A-Tier builds in our Elden Ring list. Now we will Discuss these builds in complete detail.

Scarlet Rot Build

Scarlet Rot is a new addition to the different ailments in Fromsoftware’s games. Rot is basically a buffed-up version of Poison and does massive amounts of damage. Scarlet rot procs faster than poison and lasts for longer as well.

It is capable of taking down huge enemies including the Fire Giant and the Dragons in Elden Ring. All you have to do is just proc the Scarlet Rot and it will take down the enemy on its own over time.

It can deal almost a thousand damage in under a minute which makes it A-Tier on our Best Builds List in Elden Ring.

We recommend using the Antspur Rapier or power stance it if you’ve got two for faster procs. You can even give the rapier cold/bleed affinities and make it proc both Scarlet Rot and Frost/Bleed. That makes Antspur Rapier one of the deadliest weapons in Elden Ring.

You can level up whatever stat you want but just level enough to be able to wield the Antspur Rapier. The build itself focuses on getting Scarlet Rot procs. On top of weapons, you can even use the Rot Breath Incantation to apply Scarlet Rot even more swiftly.

We recommend using the following gear for your Scarlet Rot Build;

• Weapons: Cold/Blood Antspur Rapier and Rotten Crystal Spear
• Wondrous Physick Mixture: Greenburst Crystal Tear + Opaline Bubbletear
• Armor: Malenia‘s Armor Set
• Incantations: Rot Breath
• Talismans: Erdetree’s Favor, Marika’s Soreseal, Shard of Alexander, and Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman

Strength Build

Strength is one of the most famous stats in Elden Rings. Players particularly refer to Strength weapons as ‘Bonk‘ weapons and rightfully so. Strength is very strong but there are some cons to a Strength build as well. This is why we placed it in the A-Tier of our list of Elden Ring Builds.

For a comprehensive guide on Strength, check out our Elden Ring Strength Build guide. Many strength weapons are capable of breaking down the poise of bosses swiftly. Breaking the poise will stagger a boss, which will let you perform a critical hit.

There is a variety of weapons in Elden Ring which sets it apart from other open-world games like The Legend of Zelda: BOTW. For the best strength weapons, check out our guide on Top 16 Strength Weapons in Elden Ring. Strength Weapons have become even more viable with the additions of Ash of Wars. You can make your greatsword or great hammer cause bleed or frostbite.

We recommend using the following gear for your Strength Build;

• Weapons: Starscourge Greatsword, Giant Crusher, Ordovis’ Greatsword, and Axe of Godrick
• Wondrous Physick Mixture: Strength-Knot Crystal Tear + Stonebarb Cracked Tear
• Armor: Blaidd’s Armor Set and Banished Knight’s Set
• Talismans: Arsenal Charm, Radagon’s Soreseal, Starscourge Heirloom, and Axe Talisman

Faith Build

Faith incantations are extremely viable but not as good as Sorceries. However, Faith allows for a versatile build where you can use both weapons and incantations. Incantations are not only damage related but some are defensive as well which can heal your health or remove certain ailments.

For more information on a Faith Build, Check out our Best Faith Build in Elden Ring guide. If you want to know more about faith-related weapons then read our Best Faith Weapons guide. Faith allows the use of many different incantations which are;

• Bestial Incantations
• Blood Incantations
• Dragon Cult Incantations
• Erdtree Incantations
• Fire Giant Incantations
• Fire Monk Incantations
• Golden Order Incantations
• Two Fingers Incantations

As you can see there is a huge catalog of Incantations to play around with and they all primarily scale with Faith. You can also run a hybrid Faith/Melee build as Faith weapons only scale off faith stat. For more information read our Elden Ring Prophet Build guide.

We recommend using the following gear for your Faith Build;

• Weapons: Gargoyle’s Black Blades, Winged Scythe, Sacred Relic Sword, and Tree Spear
• Wondrous Physick Mixture: Faith-Knot Crystal Tear + Lightning-shrouding Cracked Tear
• Armor: Brair Set, Crucible Axe Set, and Crucible Tree Set
• Incantations: Golden Vow, Black Blade, Fortissax’s Lightning Spear, and Flame of the Fell God
• Talismans: Erdetree’s Favor, Marika’s Soreseal, Faithful’s Canvas Talisman, and Lightning Scorpion Charm

Blackflame Build

Blackflame is a type of incantation and scales off Faith only. The reason we are separating Blackflame from Faith build is that the incantations are very different and the weapons for the blackflame build require you to invest in other stats as well.

Blackflame incantations and Ashes of War are extremely useful in taking down larger enemies including Dragonlord Placidusax and Elden Beast. For an in-depth guide on a Blackflame Build, check out our Elden Ring Blackflame Build guide. 

We recommend using the following gear for your Blackflame Build;

• Weapons: Godskin Peeler, Godslayer’s Greatsword, and Winged Scythe
• Wondrous Physick Mixture: Faith-Knot Crystal Tear + Lightning-shrouding Cracked Tear
• Armor: Crucible Tree Set, Haligtree Knight Set, and Godskin Apostle Set
• Incantations: Blackflame Blade, Scouring Black Flame, Black Flame Ritual, and Noble Presence
• Talismans: Erdetree’s Favor, Marika’s Soreseal, Faithful’s Canvas Talisman, and Radagon Icon

B-Tier

B-Tier Builds are neither impressive nor that bad to use. Sure you can make do with but you’re gonna make the game harder for yourself. There are certainly good things about the B-Tier builds but there are a lot of cons too.

Following is the list of B-Tier builds in Elden Ring;

• Quality Build
• Dragon Build
• Frenzy Build
• Colossal Sword Build

These are the best B-Tier builds in our Elden Ring list. Now we will Discuss these builds in complete detail.

Quality Build

Quality Builds have never been too good since they require investments in two different stats. Almost every Quality weapon scales off both Strength and Dexterity. Additionally, the damage dealt by these weapons is not on par with something like a pure strength or pure dexterity weapon

Once you level up both strength and dexterity past 50, quality weapons start getting good. Our website features a comprehensive guide on the Best Quality Build in Elden Ring that you can read. Quality isn’t that bad either when it works it works well.

We recommend using the following gear for your Quality Build;

• Weapons: Ghiza’s Wheel, Axe of Godfrey, Bloodhound’s Fang, and Quality Claymore
• Wondrous Physick Mixture: Strength-Knot Crystal Tear + Dexterity Knot Crystal Tear
• Armor: Blaidd Armor Set and Zamor Armor Set
• Talismans: Erdetree’s Favor, Radagon’s Soreseal, Green Turtle Talisman, and Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman

Dragon Build

Dragon Build is another B-Tier build on our list of best Elden Ring builds. These builds basically use the Dragon spells or incantations. These incantations scale off both Faith and Arcane. You will encounter many dragons in Elden Ring. When you beat these dragons, you can use their hearts to trade for a Dragon Spell at a Dragon Communion Church.

Our Elden Ring Dragon Build guide goes into detail about these Dragon incantations. Dragon Communion Seal is the best seal for Dragon Incantations. Dragon spells deal massive damage to bosses. But there are two big flaws in using such spells. Firstly, you are vulnerable while using these spells. Secondly, these spells cost a large amount of FP.

We recommend using the following gear for your Dragon Build;

• Weapons: Dragon Communion Seal, Eleonora’s Poleblade, and Magma Blade
• Wondrous Physick Mixture: Faith-Knot Crystal Tear + Flame-shrouding Cracked Tear
• Armor: Veteran’s Set and Ronin Armor Set
• Incantations: Agheel’s Flame, Magma Breath, Rotten Breath, Glintstone Breath, and Dragonice
• Talismans: Erdetree’s Favor, Marika’s Soreseal, Faithful’s Canvas Talisman, and Radagon Icon

Frenzy Build

Frenzy Build also known as the Madness Build depends upon the use of incantations and Faith. These incantations are generally weaker than other Faith Incantations. However, their Faith requirement is also low making them available to use even at the early game.

You can read our Elden Ring Frenzy Build guide for more information on madness-related weapons. Confessor builds can utilize the Frenzy Spells while maintaining good stats for other weapons. Frenzy incantations are exceptionally good against NPC invaders and bosses like Gideon Ofnir. But against everything else, they’re just subpar making them B-Tier.

We recommend using the following gear for your Frenzy Build;

• Weapons: Vyke’s War Spear and Frenzied Flame Seal
• Wondrous Physick Mixture: Faith-Knot Crystal Tear + Flame-shrouding Cracked Tear
• Armor: Haligtree Knight Set, Raging Wolf Set, and Azure’s Glintstone Set
• Incantations: Unendurable Frenzy, Frenzied Burst, Howl of Shabriri, and Inescapable Frenzy
• Talismans: Fire Scorpion Charm, Godfrey Icon, Faithful’s Canvas Talisman, and Mottled Necklace

Colossal Sword Build

Using a Colossal Sword in Elden Ring is very hard unless you pair it up with an Ash of War like Bloodhound’s Step. That makes these weapons B-Tier on our list of best Elden Ring builds. Bosses are extremely fast in Elden Ring and you will get very less opportunities with a Colossal Sword to punish them.

Greatswords are recommended to use instead of colossal swords as they are much faster and deal almost similar damage. Check out our Best Elden Ring Swords guide for more information on Colossal Swords vs Great Swords. Our Greatsword Build in Elden Ring guide entails the best 

We recommend using the following gear for your Colossal Sword Build;

• Weapons: Godslayer Greatsword, The Greatsword, Grafted Blade Greatsword, and Ruins Greatsword
• Wondrous Physick Mixture: Strength-Knot Crystal Tear + Greenburst Crystal Tear
• Armor: Blaidd’s Armor Set and Banished Knight’s Set
• Talismans: Erdetree’s Favor, Radagon’s Soreseal, Starscourge Heirloom, and Godfrey Icon

C-Tier

C-Tier builds are below-average builds that we will not recommend on a normal playthrough. Although there are some benefits of using these builds they are very limited.

Following is the list of C-Tier Builds in Elden Ring;

• Bow Build
• Poison Build
• Spear Build
• Whip Build

These are the best C-Tier builds in our Elden Ring list. Now we will Discuss these builds in complete detail.

Bow Build

Even though bows have been extremely buffed in Elden Ring, they are still not viable for killing bosses in the end game. Bows are almost never used as main weapons. They are only kept as secondary ranged weapons to kill fodder enemies silently. You might like our Best Bow Weapons in Elden Ring guide.

Bows require you to invest different stats and ammunition as well. You will also have to craft some arrows that you’ll use. Bow Build requires grinding to pull off and is not as rewarding as other builds. For more information on Bow builds read our Elden Ring Bow Build guide.

We recommend using the following gear for your Bow Build;

• Weapons: Composite Bow, Pulley Bow, and Erdtree Bow
• Wondrous Physick Mixture: Strength-Knot Crystal Tear + Dexterity Crystal Tear
• Armor: Raging Wolf Set and Crucible Tree Set
• Talismans: Arrow’s Reach Talisman, Arrow’s Sting Talisman, Ritual Sword Talisman, and Radagon’s Soreseal

Poison Build

Poison is another ailment Scarlet Rot in Elden Ring. However, unlike scarlet rot, poison is much weaker and deals less damage. It is better to just use the scarlet rot build or use poison alongside some other build. Poison builds on their own are considered weak and scale off Arcane. Our website features a comprehensive guide on Elden Ring Poison Build that you can read.

We recommend using the following gear for your Poison Build;

• Weapons: Poison Uchigatana, Serpentbone Blade, Venomous Fang, and Poison Nagakiba.
• Wondrous Physick Mixture: Dexterity-Knot Crystal Tear + Greenburst Crystal Tear
• Armor: Mushroom Set and Crucible Tree Set
• Incantations: Poison Armament and Poison Mist
• Talismans: Erdetree’s Favor, Radagon’s Soreseal, Faithful’s Canvas Talisman, and Radagon Icon

Spear Build

Spears are also long-range weapons but the damage they do is pretty negligible compared to other weapons. There are certain spears that let you use Scarlet Rot but the weapon damage itself is not on par. Serpent Hunter is probably the best Spear weapon for Spear builds. 

Spear builds will make the game harder for you so be prepared for the challenge if you decide to use spears. However, most spears do possess amazing Ashes of War so you should utilize them. We recommend using the following gear for your Spear Build;

• Weapons: Rotten Crytal Spear, Death Ritual Spear, and Bolt of Gransax
• Wondrous Physick Mixture: Dexterity-Knot Crystal Tear + Greenburst Crystal Tear
• Armor: Raging Wolf Set and Crucible Tree Set
• Talismans: Erdetree’s Favor, Radagon’s Soreseal, Shard of Alexander, and Spear Talisman

Whip Build

Whips are good for long-range combat and NPC invaders. But whips also do very little damage and there are not many whips in Elden Ring to choose from. If you choose whips for your build, then you’re going to have a hard time not only in PvE but also in PvP.

We recommend using the following gear for your Whip Build;

• Weapons: Giant’s Red Braid and Hoslow’s Petal Whip
• Wondrous Physick Mixture: Dexterity-Knot Crystal Tear + Strength-Knot Crystal Tear
• Armor: Raging Wolf Set and Briar Set
• Talismans: Erdetree’s Favor, Radagon’s Soreseal, Shard of Alexander, and Claw Talisman

What Are Builds In Elden Ring 

To get the best gameplay experience when it comes to exploration and battle, players use a variety of combinations of their armor, stats, and weapons known as Builds in Elden Ring. Builds have other key items as well and each build is unique and best In its own way. They offer a unique approach to your play style and allow you to experiment with different functions that can help you in the PvP and PvE situations of Elden Ring.

In order to change your Build, you need to use the Rebirth Mechanic that will allow you to Respec your character. In order to unlock the mechanism, you will have to defeat Rennala Queen Of The Full Moon. After that, you will get Larval Tears that you can trade for a respec.  

Elden Ring Tier List Criteria

This Elden Ring Best Builds Tier List was written after complete research on each and every build. We discussed the best S-Tier builds and the below-average C-Tier builds. We also explained the best gear that you could use for the build that you like.

Hopefully, the Tier List helped you understand what builds are good for you in Elden Ring. Let us know what you think about Fromsoftware’s Magnum Opus in the comments below!

Elden Ring Tips

Director Hidetaka Miyazaki has set a new standard for the open-world genre in the Gaming Industry. There is a variety of gameplay that also sticks to the old Souls Combat and improves upon it. From Colossal Swords to Katanas to Seals for using incantations, there is a lot to do here. 

Elden Ring features a variety of bosses. Some are easier to beat like the Regal Ancestor while others like Malenia will make you invest countless hours before you beat them. Bosses in Elden Ring also drop Remembrances, check out our guide on how you can Duplicate Boss Remembrances.

For Intelligence and Faith players, we’ve got guides on the Best Intelligence Weapons and Best Faith Weapons in Elden Ring. If you want to know whether Int or Faith is stronger then check out our Intelligence vs Faith guide on Elden Ring. We will also rank these builds later in our Elden Ring Tier List to find the best one.

Players also use Spirit Ashes a lot in Elden Ring to compensate for the difficulty. If you feel like the game is too punishing, try using the Mimic Tear.

Flask of Wondrous Physick is another great mechanic in Elden Ring that lets you use unique buffs. You mix Crystal Tears in the Physick and for the location of these Tears check out our All Crystal Tears Location guide.