The Warrior build is one of the major starting classes in Elden Ring, mainly focusing on Dexterity and somewhat on Strength. In fact, it has the highest Dexterity level out of any starting class, so if you’re looking to make an agile and mobility-focused melee build, your best bet to begin your journey with would be the Warrior.
- Warrior is one of the 10 starting classes in Elden Ring, excelling in the Dexterity stat.
- This class has arguably the best blend of damage output, agility, and close-range combat effectiveness.
- To make an optimal Warrior build, players should stick with Dex-based melee weapons and medium or heavy armor.
- Furthermore, they should continuously level up Vigor, Endurance, Strength, and Dexterity attributes until they reach the designated stat caps for each.
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Best Warrior Build In Elden Ring
Here’s a brief overview of the best items you can get as a Warrior class, detailing the weapons, attributes, armor, and talismans for the build:
ATTRIBUTES | WEAPONS | ARMOR | TALISMANS |
---|---|---|---|
– Vigor – Endurance – Dexterity – Strength | – Rogier's Rapier (Early-game) – Moonveil (Mid-game) – Dragon King's Cragblade (Late-game) | – Okina Mask (Helm) – Blaidd's Armor (Chest) – Royal Remains Gauntlets (Hand) – Veteran's Greaves (Leggings) | – Rotten Winged Sword Insignia – Radagon's Soreseal – Shard of Alexander – Carian Filgreed Crest |
Best Stats To Level Up
As highlighted earlier, you’ll be sticking to a Dexterity build, so you should focus on amplifying both your Physical Damage and defense. However, doing so will restrict you from using incantations and spells, meaning there’s no room for ranged combat.
Here’s a list of the attributes you should prioritize leveling up as a Warrior build in Elden Ring:
ATTRIBUTE NAME | ATTRIBUTE EFFECT |
Vigor | Increases maximum HP |
Endurance | Increases maximum Stamina and Equipment Load |
Dexterity | Lets you wield and increase the potency of Dexterity-based weapons |
Strength | Lets you wield and increase the potency of Strength-based weapons |
Best Weapons
The Warrior class stands out as the top Dexterity-based archetype in Elden Ring. As such, the weapons I’ll be recommending will be melee-oriented Dexterity weapons. Fortunately, there are several Dex weapons scattered throughout the title’s weapon classes, so there are ample options to choose from.
Rogier’s Rapier – Early-game
- Why I Chose This: From my experience, this was a reliable weapon that saved me tons of runes since it was pre-upgraded.
Pros
- Regular attacks are quick and have a good range.
- Ash of War can be applied.
- Already upgraded when given by Rogier.
Cons
- No passive effects.
- No Attack Power besides Physical Damage.
Moonveil Katana – Mid-game
- Why I Chose This: The Moonveil Katana’s Ash of War is easy to use and unparalleled in terms of speed and damage.
Pros
- Incredibly quick Ash of War attack with strong vertical and horizontal range.
- High Blood-loss buildup.
- Easy to use.
- Attacks can be delayed, helping to bait other players in PvP.
Cons
- Low Physical Damage.
- High Intelligence Requirement.
Dragon King’s Cragblade – Late-game
- Why I Chose This: After using the Cragblade extensively in offline and online mode, I’ve discovered that players find it extremely difficult to dodge this weapon’s Ash of War.
Pros
- Ash of War has incredible range, stagger potential, damage output, and makes you hard to hit.
- Each frame of the attack hits the opponents if you’re touching them.
- Ideal blend between Dexterity scaling and Lightning Damage out of any weapon.
- Lighter than most Greatswords.
Cons
- High FP-cost for the Ash of War attack.
- Regular and charged attacks have slow animations.
Best Armor
I’ve previously mentioned that Endurance should be one of the priority attributes you should level up for your Warrior build in Elden Ring. As such, that means you’ll have enough weight to support heavy armor sets, increasing your overall defense against enemies.
Okina Mask
- Why I Chose This: The Okina Mask is the only Dex-focused helm in Elden Ring that I personally thought had a positive and noticeable impact on my build.
Blaidd’s Armor
- Why I Chose This: Besides looking stylish, Blaidd’s Armor has arguably the best weight-to-defense ratio.
Royal Remains Gauntlets
- Why I Chose This: The Royal Remains Gauntlets are the only arms that offer something besides Damage Negation, so it’s more of a default pick.
Veteran’s Greaves
- Why I Chose This: The Veteran’s Greaves compete with the heaviest in-game leggings while being noticeably lighter, and after extensively using it, that tradeoff is a great deal.
Best Talismans
Talismans are additional add-ons that you can equip to your Warrior character in Elden Ring. Here, I’ll mainly focus on Dexterity-focused and melee-focused talismans to maximize your build’s potential.
Rotten Winged Sword Insignia
- Why I Chose This: The Rotten Winged Sword Insignia’s Attack boost got me through most of the late-game phase since it was a great pair with all the weapons I listed and used above.
Radagon’s Soreseal
- Why I Chose This: The Radagon’s Soreseal is a more extreme version of Erdtree’s Favor, so while it does make you more vulnerable to attacks, the increase in stats this talisman gives makes up for it.
Shard Of Alexander
- Why I Chose This: The Shard of Alexander has been a part of the meta since launch, and from my experience after getting +800 Damage on the Dragon King’s Cragblade, it’s clear to see why.
Carian Filgreed Crest
- Why I Chose This: The Carian Filgreed Crest is the ideal match for all the talismans I’ve listed above, but the main reason it’s so good is that you don’t need to commit to useless stats anymore.
My Tips Using The Warrior Build
I consider the Warrior class to be one of the top 3 starting classes in Elden Ring. However, the way to properly optimize it is by leveling up the right attributes early. As such, I’d recommend leveling up Endurance and Dexterity in the early-game phase.
In case you’re struggling to maintain HP against bosses, you can periodically raise your Vigor. Strength would be the last primary attribute you should focus on since most weapons and armor of a Warrior build rarely use it. By following these progression steps, I’m sure you’ll have a strong build that’ll let you breeze through most encounters.
That wraps up my extensive guide on the best Warrior build in Elden Ring, detailing the attributes, weapons, armor, and talismans to prioritize. If you’re interested in learning about build of other top-notch starting classes, I have a detailed guide on the best Prisoner build in Elden Ring.
If you’re going for a specific themed build, check out Hammad’s Vampire Build in Elden Ring, which will make you stand out in PvP. And for fans of Star Wars, Huzaifa Durrani’s Darth Maul Build will give you the best of both worlds.
Next:
- Elden Ring: Best Rune Farming Spots
- Elden Ring: How To Reach Moonlight Altar
- Elden Ring: Best Bows
- Elden Ring: All Great Runes & How To Get Them
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