Elden Ring: BEST Greatsword Build

Embrace your Berserk fantasy with the Elden Ring Greatsword Build, a fearsome choice for dominating foes and bosses. You can adopt this build early and use it throughout your playthrough. While obtaining the main weapon may be challenging, early death runs can secure it. The effort pays off, providing lasting benefits. To switch to the Greatsword build, use Larva Tears, found in the Village of the Albinaurics, and travel there swiftly with Torrent Horse.

Elden Ring Greatsword Build 

For the Elden Ring Best Greatsword build, consider the Vagabond class. It begins with high Vigor, Strength, and Dexterity, essential for this build. Maintain Dexterity and focus on boosting Vigor, Endurance, and Strength.

Aim for a minimum of 21 Strength but ideally, 31 or higher since the Greatsword requires 31 Strength for one-handed use or 21 for two-handed. Two-handing increases Strength by 50%, allowing the use of larger weapons. This article covers pure melee builds for your Elden Ring Greatsword Build.

Greatsword Build Gear

Once again, this guide is meant primarily for new players, so all of the items mentioned below can be acquired relatively early on in the game. And none of those items involve any Incantations or Sorceries.

As you grow stronger and acquire some of the Best Melee Weapons in the game, you can choose to substitute any item you want at your own leisure. I do, however, believe that the Greatsword I mentioned is particularly useful throughout the whole game, and you can continue upgrading it and keep it useful indefinitely. After all, the build is specifically named after the weapon.

Greatsword

In this Greatsword Build guide, I’m focusing on the weapon known simply as the ‘Greatsword.’ It’s gained popularity among players as an homage to the iconic sword from the manga Berserk by Kentaro Miura, a major influence on the game’s director, Hidetaka Miyazaki.

While the Greatsword is massive and slow, it packs a punch, dealing significant damage and staggering foes with just a few charged hits. Its broad arc allows you to hit multiple enemies simultaneously. The Greatsword lacks passive effects, but its raw power makes it a standout choice. Starting at 164 damage, it reaches a formidable 401 damage at max upgrade, making it the highest physical damage weapon in the game.

Higher Strength boosts Greatsword damage. It has a C scaling in Strength initially, improving to B at +8 and A at +20. With 31+ Strength, expect 350+ damage per hit, increasing to 500-550 with higher Strength. The Greatsword’s ‘Stamp (Upward Cut)‘ Ash of War move is versatile. The Stamp stance negates recoil, ideal for powerful foes, followed by the devastating Upward Cut, effective against regular enemies and bosses. Risky but rewarding.

Find the Greatsword in a caravan chest near the Caelem Ruins Site of Grace in Caelid, a challenging region. Easier to obtain than the Moonlight Greatsword.

Armor For Greatsword Build

Armor is a complicated thing to talk about in Greatsword Build, and that’s mostly because of your Equipment Weight. You see, the Greatsword is already one of the heaviest weapons in the entire game, and it is also enough to bring you up to Medium Load by itself when equipped. Combine some armor on top of this, and you’ll reach Heavy Load instantly. See the problem?

Players have different preferences in combat: some rely on shield blocking instead of dodge rolling. However, enemies hit hard, necessitating dodging. With a Heavy Load, rolling becomes slow and ineffective. Endurance is a crucial stat that boosts stamina and carrying capacity. By investing in Endurance, you can sprint longer, attack and dodge more frequently, and equip heavier gear. This improves mobility and flexibility in combat.

You can equip the Greatsword with heavy armor and still dodge effectively, but it demands significant Endurance investment, impacting other stats. This Greatsword Build centers on Strength.

Two choices:

1. Limit Endurance, and use light armor for effective dodge rolls, but defense suffers.
2. With no Endurance investment, you can go armorless, but you’ll be vulnerable to strong hits. Precision in dodge timing is crucial for survival.

Your other option is to Farm Runes and upgrade Endurance until your allowed Equipment Weight is high enough to support both the weapon and somewhat decent armor. I recommend this course of action because while dodging is great, sometimes you will take a hit, especially with a weapon as slow as the Greatsword. You simply want to ensure you do not drop dead when it happens.

Feel free to choose any armor set you prefer for a Greatsword Build. The Vagabond Armor Set can be suitable for the first 10 hours, and the Knight Set can be obtained after defeating Godrick The Grafted. After that, pick an armor set that suits your fancy and aligns with your play style.

Talismans For Greatsword Build

There are a lot of Talismans in Elden Ring, but I’ve picked out a few that can absolutely make or break your character. So, as part of this Greatsword Build, I’ll review some of them and explain their importance and uses.

First, I have the Arsenal Charm, which is extremely useful for this build as it increases your maximum equipment load by 15%. Using this, players can get that slight edge they require to have some proper armor equipped alongside the extremely heavy Greatsword. This can make the difference between being able to dodge roll or not at all. Starscourage Heirloom is also an excellent talisman for STR-focused builds.

To acquire the Talisman, speak to Nepheli Loux near Godrick The Grafted boss in Stormveil Castle. After exhausting her dialogue and defeating the boss, find her in Roundtable Hold, where she rewards you with the Arsenal Charm.

Next is the Axe Talisman, found early in Mistwood Ruins (East Limgrave). It boosts charge attack damage by 10%, enhancing overall character damage and enemy staggering. Lastly, the Assassin’s Crimson Dagger, useful for Greatsword Builds, restores health on critical hits. The Greatsword’s effective staggering allows you to chain staggers and critical hits, maintaining high health.

Elden Ring Greatsword Build Tips

In your initial 10 hours, your Greatsword Build is fragile; a single strong enemy hit can be lethal. You must be daring and engage closely for effectiveness. Swing broadly, assessing opportunities for additional strikes. Be cautious, as even the mightiest characters can be overwhelmed.

With the slow weapon, initiating attacks takes time. Multiple foes attacking can leave you defenseless. I would recommend Utilizing the Stamp (Upward Cut) skill to counter recoil and maintain posture in battle. An upward slash can dispatch one or two foes if timed right.

My Experience Using The Greatsword

After over a year of playtime on my WaterJuice Steam Profile, I can safely say that every colossal greatsword in Elden Ring is as fun to wield as the other. While there is no premiere colossal greatsword, the massive, sharp “Greatsword” is the most prominent. It is something that’s visually amazing, has one of the most iconic designs in the game, and can be used against practically any type of enemy, from slowest to fastest.

From my experience, while using it in late-game areas, it has high damage output and can run multiple Ashes of War, making it quite flexible and viable to use in a handful of situations. While an argument can be made that certain other colossal greatswords are superior, the Greatsword stands as what makes you feel the most legendary, and it certainly isn’t cosmetic, either.

Conclusion

If you have invested some points in Endurance, a shield can be a killer combination with the Greatsword. You swing your sword and then immediately bring up the shield to defend. Repeat this process as many times as you have to. This Greatsword Build is primarily intended to be a Two-Handed style, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use a shield if you choose to.

But make a choice, and make it early. You either forgo dodge rolling in favor of shielding and heavy armor by investing in Endurance. Or you give up damage negation to prioritize greater damage and dodge rolling by investing in Strength.

You can go for both of these things together in the late game when you’re over level 70, but early on, you have to stick with one or the other. Make your choice.