Elden Ring Vampire Build: Gear, Armor, & Playstyle

The Elden Ring Vampire build is based on the concept that your attacks get stronger with each successive strike. All the while you restore health with every enemy defeated whilst leveraging the bleed effect. All these factors, if used correctly, can ultimately make you un-killable. Thus, the name, Vampire build.

Vampire Build Gear

For a Vampire Build, the gear is key to its power. Here’s what you’ll need:

1. Rivers of Blood: Primary weapon inducing blood loss and allowing for quick successive attacks.
2. Blasphemous Blade: Secondary weapon (left hand) for health regeneration upon defeating enemies.
3. Taker’s Cameo Talisman: Aids in HP restoration upon enemy kills.
4. Millicent’s Prosthesis: Increases dexterity and attack power with successive attacks.
5. Godskin Swaddling Cloth: Restores HP with quick successive attacks.
6. Lord of Blood’s Exultation (optional): Further boosts attack power with Blood loss.
7. Rykard Great Rune: Aids in restoring HP upon killing enemies.
8. Mimic Summon: A useful summon creating a copy of you to assist in battle.

Rivers of Blood

Rivers of Blood is the main weapon that I will be utilizing for the Vampire build. Its long slashes make it a great medium-range melee weapon and a great fit with the Samurai class.

How To Get Rivers of Blood

Acquiring the Rivers of Blood Katana isn’t difficult once you reach the Church of Repose in the Eastern region of the Mountaintops of the Giants. Use your Torrent Horse for the journey. Look out for an invader NPC named Bloody Finger Okina near the church, defeat him, and he’ll drop the Rivers of Blood Katana.

Churches are excellent places for NPC encounters and valuable loot, including Sacred Tears. You can find more details in the guide “Elden Ring All Sacred Tears and Churches Locations.”

Stats And Requirements

Strength, Dexterity, and Arcane matter for the Rivers of Blood Katana.

Taker’s Cameo Talisman

Get the Taker’s Cameo Talisman before the other blade. Go to Volcano Manor, talk to Tanith, get her key, and use it to access the corridor behind her. In that corridor, the second door on the left has two NPCs. Pick up the “Letter from Volcano Manor” on the table; it marks a red dot on your map. Don’t forget this, as you can’t return once you have the blade.

Teleport to the red dot; it’s an NPC invader mission, not too hard. Defeating these bosses gives great loot. Return to the manor, talk to the NPC, and repeat this three times in different locations. The final boss is tougher, but the Rivers of Blood blade should help. After defeating them all, go back to Tanith for the Taker’s Cameo Talisman.

As mentioned before, Taker’s Cameo Talisman will help us in recovering HP as you defeat enemies. This makes it a great weapon for an aggressive Vampire build.

Blasphemous Blade and Rykard Great Rune

Get both items by following the Volcano Manor questline and defeating the final boss, God-devouring Serpent Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy.

How To Get Rykard’s Blade and Rune?

After getting the Taker’s Cameo Talisman, go visit Rykard. Agree to challenge him when Tanith asks. In the cave, find the Audience Pathway Site of Grace behind you upon spawning. This will help you respawn easily. The battle will be tough, but you’ll earn the Rykard Great Rune.

If you want the Blasphemous Blade too, return to Tanith and exhaust her dialogue. Then, go to Roundtable Hold, talk to Finger Reader Enia, inquire about receiving power, and you’ll get the Blasphemous Blade using the Remembrance of the Blasphemous.

Blasphemous Blade Stats And Requirements

To equip the Blasphemous Blade, ensure these stats:

• Strength: 22
• Dexterity: 15
• Faith: 21

You likely meet these requirements after beating Rykard. If not, invest your earned Runes into the missing stats. The blade also scales with Strength, Dexterity, and Faith (D scale), but you mainly use it for health restoration.

The blade even restores health when nearby enemies die, like when fighting a big boss who crushes smaller foes. Additionally, Rykard’s Great Rune restores 185 HP per defeated enemy. Combining both offers significant HP restoration.

Millicent’s Prosthesis

To get Millicent’s Prosthesis for the Vampire Build:

1. Visit Gowry’s Shack in Caelid and talk to the NPC inside.
2. Start a lengthy questline involving interactions with Millicent.
3. Near the end, choose to challenge and defeat Millicent for the prosthesis.

For other secret endings or if you prefer not to battle Millicent, explore alternative talismans or find powerful ones in the game using our guide “10 Best Elden Ring Talismans With Locations.”

Regardless, Millicent’s prosthesis will increase your dexterity by 5 and will increase attack power with each successive hit. This makes it great with your Vampire build which is essentially a dexterity build and needs all the strength attributes it can get.

Godskin Swaddling Cloth

Perhaps one of the simpler Talisman for the Vampire build to acquire is the Godskin Swaddling Cloth. You can acquire it by defeating the boss in Spirircaller’s cave, The Godskin Noble. He is not as hard as Rykard so you should be able to manage the fight.

The Godskin Swaddling Cloth heals 4.5 – 5% of health triggered by successive attacks, randomly ranging from 3 to 7 hits. For the Vampire build, getting these hits with the Rivers of Blood blade or any Katana isn’t too hard. Timing is crucial, and you can hit different enemies; it doesn’t have to be the same one for the hits to count.

Mimic Tear Summon

To get the Mimic Tear Ashes for your Vampire Build:

1. Proceed with the Renna/Ranni questline, which includes a tough boss, Radahn.
2. Reach Night’s Sacred Ground.
3. Obtain Stonesword keys to break the Imp Statue seal.
4. Inside a chest, you’ll find the Mimic Tear Ashes.

The Mimic Tear Ashes allow you to summon a copy of your character with the same gear and perks, capable of inflicting blood loss damage and providing health regen at the cost of 660 health. Ensure enough points in Vigor or have flasks to sustain its usage. Explore other war of ashes and summons using our guide “10 Best Elden Ring Ashen Remains With Locations.”

Lord of Blood’s Exultation

In Leyndell Capital, you’ll find the Lord of Blood’s Exultation Talisman inside the Leyndell Catacombs, a dungeon to explore. Defeat the main boss, Esgar, Priest of Blood, in the Catacombs to obtain it. It’s an optional Talisman, so equip it if it suits your playstyle, especially if you’re using a bleed-focused vampire build.

The Lord of Blood’s Exultation Talisman boosts your attack power when there’s blood loss nearby, whether from yourself or enemies. When paired with bleed weapons and a mimic summon, your attack power can significantly rise as enemies suffer from the bleed effect.

Armor

For the Vampire Build:

1. No specific armor is needed.
2. The initial Land of Reed’s armor from the Samurai class works fine.
3. Opt for light-medium armor to stay in the medium load category.
4. This is important as both hands will have weapons (Blasphemous Blade on the left, Rivers of Blood on the right).
5. Without shields, rely on dodging and rolling for defense.
6. Heavier armor affects dodge timing, so prioritize enough armor and defense to survive while dealing damage for regen to activate.

For the best armor options, explore our guide “10 Best Elden Ring Armor Sets With Locations

Combining All The Gear Together

You need to have the blasphemous blade in your left hand and the Rivers of Blood katana in your right hand. Otherwise, the effects of the Blasphemous blade will not kick in. With that, you are ready to rock the vampire Build.

Vampire Build Playstyle

The Vampire Build is similar to a melee dexterity build at its core, meaning defense is crucial. The Rivers of Blood katana offers mid-ranged attacks, allowing defensive play while hitting enemies.

Where this build excels is in regeneration. You can take some risks, thanks to equipped Talismans like the Rykard Rune and Godskin Swaddling Cloth, which provide substantial regen. Don’t hesitate to be slightly greedy with your strikes, and use regen to your advantage.

For single enemies without smaller foes to generate regen, use the mimic summon. It diverts attention and inflicts bleed damage, enhancing regen.

Additionally, the build offers added strength with Millicent’s Prosthesis, boosting attack power with successive hits. Combined with regen, you can be aggressive and rely on increasing damage.

Other Builds: Sword of Night And Flame Build

Vampire Build Starting Class And Stats 

Picking a starting class for the Vampire build can be quite tricky. You need to realize that the Vampire build will take time and is not something that you can start off with as soon as you jump in. If you’re looking for something to get started right off the bat with, consider reading: Best Elden Ring Darth Maul Build. It is quite similar and will set you up nicely to transition into the Vampire build as you level up.

What Class Does The Vampire Build Require?

For the Vampire Build, opt for a dexterity-based class that aligns with the playstyle of quick successive attacks and bleed effects. A dexterity build allows for swift and successive strikes, effectively building up the bleed effect.

 Your main focus should be on delivering as many slashes as possible, allowing the buffs to do the rest.

Picking The Samurai Class

The class that best fits these requirements is the Samurai class. Many players use it as a base for dexterity-based builds, especially those using katana-style weapons with a bleed effect. Vagabond is another option for the Vampire Build, but the Samurai’s starting weapon already has a bleed effect, serving as a temporary substitute for Rivers of Blood. For more Samurai-based builds, check out “Elden Ring Best Samurai Build: Gear, Stats And Playstyle.”

Which Stats To Invest In Early On

To wield the required weapons, initially focus on Strength, Arcane, and Faith stats, aiming for around 20-22 in each, with Strength being the most demanding. Once met, you can disregard Arcane and Faith. Dexterity in the Samurai class needs only three additional points. After meeting these requirements, work on endurance and stamina to enhance defense and dodging.

My Experience And Recommendations On The Vampire Build

Unlike most builds I’ve tried out in Elden Ring, the Vampire build is definitely the most unique one. It is also quite an overpowered build, as it requires me to focus solely on bleed damage while utilizing mechanics that will heal me as I inflict damage. What else can you expect from Count Dracula?

I would personally recommend creating this build in New Game+ when you already have all the required weapons and items. The Rivers of Blood, Blasphemous Blade, and a few other items can only be acquired when you are already more than 50% done with the Elden Ring; therefore, it is not viable to start creating the vampire build in New Game only.

The Vampire Build is known for its aggressiveness and regenerative capabilities, often called the “never die” build. However, remain cautious of your health despite regeneration sources. No build is perfect, so feel free to customize it to your playstyle. If you have questions, please ask.

Read other Elden Ring Builds

• Comet Azur Build
• Confessor Build
• Astrologer Build
• Elden Ring Greatsword Build

Build & Images Credit: LaserBolt