Best Strength Build Guide

This is a guide to making the best Strength Build in Elden Ring. Learn how to use this Strength Build, its build stat distribution, and its equipment.

Strength Build Guide

Best Weapons for Strength

Best Weapons	Explanation
Greatsword Ash of War: Lion's Claw	・Can be used with different affinities. ・Straightforward to use. Attack multiple enemies at close range with wide sweep attacks. ・Pair with Lion's Claw for a posture break option.
Giant-Crusher Ash of War: Royal Knight's Resolve	・Can be used with different affinities. ・Deals high poise damage that can stun enemies and break guards easily. ・Has a custom heavy charge attack. ・Combo with Royal Knight's Resolve and jump attacks.

Strength Builds benefit the most from heavy hitters such as Colossal Weapons that can deal lots of burst damage and stance breaks. They are simple to build into and are highly satisfying when played well.

However, these builds are demanding in both Strength and Endurance, and require a somewhat slow and patient playstyle of poking and hit-and-run due to sluggish speed of Colossal Weapons.

Use Colossal Weapons and Jump Attacks

Jump Attacks are one of Strength Build's best moves, especially paired with Colossal Weapons. Use jump attacks buffed with Royal Knight's Resolve for massive damage and poise destruction.

Repeating jump attacks is one of Strength Build's most effective tactics in their arsenal, being simple, low-effort, and dealing lots of damage.

Use Power Stance for Most Damage

Armor Setup	Stats	Compatible Pairs
Set ①: ・Scaled Armor Set ・Raptor's Black Feathers Poise: 53	42 END 78 STR	・Giant-Crusher ・Prelate's Inferno Crozier
	40 END 80 STR	・2 Greatswords
Set ②: ・Scaled Armor Set ・Bull-Goat Greaves ・Raptor's Black Feathers Poise: 61	48 END 72 STR	・Giant Crusher ・Prelate's Inferno Crozier
	45 END 75 STR	・2 Greatswords
Required Equip Load Talismans	・Erdtree's Favor +2 ・Great-Jar's Arsenal

This considers other stats at Level 150. See the Strength Build Stat Distribution further down below.

Power Stancing (or dual-wielding) is the ideal weapon setup for a Strength Build. You will want to power-stance 2 Colossal Weapons while still having Poise above 51, which is the standard for bypassing attack interruptions in PvE.

Power Stancing unleashes the most damage potential in a Strength Build, but it is also the most vulnerable due to losing the ability to block (meaning dodge rolls will only be your defensive option.)

How to Dual-Wield

Use Shields for a Defensive Style

Compatible Set Core Stats	Shield Pair
Set ① | Set ② 45 | 40 END 75 | 80 STR	・Giant Crusher ・One-Eyed Shield
Set ① 47 END 73 STR	・Giant Crusher ・Fingerprint Stone Shield

Refer to the previous section for the set pieces and the next section for total stat distribution.

Should you opt for shields in your Strength Build, you should have no problems managing Equip Load with the armor sets in the previous section for Giant-Crusher and One-Eyed Shield pairs or lighter.

When considering the heaviest shields in the game (Fingerprint Stone Shield or Visage Shield), you will have to push your Endurance stat further to at least accommodate the Scaled Armor Set pieces along with Raptor's Black Feathers.

Strength Build Stat Distribution

Recommended Stats

Recommended Level
150
Stat	Points	Explanation
VIGOR	50	・Vigor HP stat growth has a soft cap at 60. ・Best to prioritize this alongside Strength for better survivability.
MIND	10	・No need to invest into it if you focus mostly on basic attacks like Jump Attacks. ・Use the Cerulean Hidden Tear to temporarily remove FP consumption and requirements if you plan on using expensive Spirit Ashes like Black Knife Tiche.
ENDR	40	・Level up for more Stamina capacity useful for attacks and dodges. ・Higher weight encumberance for using heavier, high-poise armor prevent being flinched from hits.
STR	80	・Essential core skill for a Strength Build. ・Core requirement for using Strength-based weapons and scaling damage.
DEX	18	・Level up at least to meet the Dexterity requirements for Grafted Blade Greatsword. ・Will also allow access to ranged options such as Greatbows.
INT	9	・Optional to level up. Similar to Mind, invest into it if you're going for a STR/INT build to meet requirements for spells and weapons such as the Starscourge Greatsword.
FAI	15	・Increase for access to some utility Faith spells such as Flame, Cleanse Me for stat debuff cures, Flame Grant Me Strength for increased damage, and even Heal-related spells.
ARC	7	・Not required to level up.

Above is the ideal stat distribution for a general, effective strength build. Feel free to adjust according to your level.

Vigor, Strength, and Endurance are three stats that you will want to prioritize when developing a strength build.

Investing some points into Dexterity is needed to meet the stat requirements of some weapons, and Intelligence is an option to look into if you are building into a STR/INT hybrid.

Faith and Mind are worth putting some points into for FP management and spell utility from useful Incantations such as Flame, Cleanse Me.

Recommended Starting Class

VGR	MND	END	STR	DEX	INT	FAI	ARC
15	10	11	14	13	9	9	7

The Vagabond class is a recommended class for starting out to invest early into meeting the requirements of early colossal weapons such the Greatsword. It also has high stats in other relevant stats such as Vigor and Dexterity.

Starting classes have a fixed stat distribution set. While useful to decide on making a build early, they will have little influence later on when maximizing builds to their soft and hard caps in the late game and New Game Plus.

Vagabond Class Guide

Respec Stats at Rennala in Raya Lucaria

Your character's accumulated stat points can be reset by offering a Larval Tear to Rennala for rebirth at the Academy of Raya Lucaria in Liurnia of the Lakes.

Offering Larval Tears are non-refundable. Once your character stats have been reset to your class's base stats, you will have to reassign your attribute points.

How to Respec Stats

Best Strength Build Equipment

Weapons

Melee Weapons

Weapon	Explanation
Giant-Crusher	・Can be used with different affinities. ・Has a custom charged heavy attack animation that deals high poise damage.
Prelate's Inferno Crozier	・Can be used with different affinities. ・Prelate's Charge skill deals a strong stance-breaking forward charge and can be used continuously. ・Default skill leaves a flame trail that damages enemies (can combo with a status affinity like Bleed).
Ruins Greatsword	・Weapon skill Wave of Destruction is great for damaging enemies in a straight line. Scales higher from Strength over Intelligence. ・Will require investment in Intelligence for its stat requirements.
Serpent-Hunter	・A Great Spear that requires virtually no stat investment. ・Scales greatly with Strength and has a good sweep and thrust moveset.
Lance	・Scales from Strength and Dexterity. ・Can modify affinity with infusions and weapon art with Ashes of War.
Nightrider Glaive	・Has exceptinoal Strength scaling (S) when upgraded at high levels using Heavy infusion. Good halberd for Strength Builds. ・Affinity and weapon art can be modified with Ashes of War.
Greatsword	・Can be obtained early (in a carriage in Caelem Ruins at Caelid). ・Versatile and good all-around strength weapon.
Brick Hammer	・Lootable early at Stormveil Castle, near the Limgrave Stormveil Cliffside Site of Grace. ・A strong Great Hammer that does a good deal of poise damage.
Grafted Blade Greatsword	・Obtainable early Leonine Misbegotten at the Weeping Peninsula, but will require a lot of points in Strength. ・Weapon skill Oath of Vengeance increases stats and grants hyper armor (immunity to stagger) for a limited time.
Broadsword	・Obtainable early by buying from the Nomadic Merchant near the Coastal Cave in Limgrave. ・A versatile Straight Sword that scales from Strength and Dexterity. ・Has the default skill Square-Off which deals a large amount of poise damage especially against blocking enemies.

Above are great Strength-focused weapons to look out for as you develop your build. The Broadsword should be the easiest to obtain in early game and build around due to its weight.

From there, you can progress towards testing out other weapon types and Colossal Weapons such as the Greatsword.

Best Weapon Tier List

Ranged Weapons

Weapon	Explanation
Lion Greatbow	・Gives increased damage to it and any bow using Radahn's Spears in either your main or offhand. ・Radahn's Rain weapon skill is useful in dealing damage and stance-breaks against large enemies like Golems, Dragons, and Bosses.
Golem Greatbow	・High damage bow, can also use Radahn's Spears and is buffed by the Lion Greatbow equipped on offhand. ・Pairs well with Golem's Great Arrows and Rain of Arrows Ash of War. Such ammunition is rare to obtain, however.
Misbegotten Shortbow	・Lightweight and easy to obtain (from Misbegotten at Castle Morne).
Pulley Crossbow	・Shoots in bursts of 3 with just 1 arrow, making it ideal for applying status effects.

Having bows are optional but convenient for airborne targets or enemies that you cannot easily reach. They are best used as companion weapons to your heavy primary melee weapon.

Shields

Shield	Explanation
Brass Shield	・Good all-around Medium Shield. Can incorporate Parry and other useful Ashes of War. ・Light enough to pair with other heavy weapons and armor.
Great Turtle Shell	・Scales based on Strength and increases Stamina recovery.
Jellyfish Shield	・Weapon skill Contagious Fury best activated at the offhand. Temporarily increases your attack power.
Golden Beast Crest Shield	・The lightest greatshield (12.5) with guaranteed default 100 physical damage negation.
One-Eyed Shield	・Has a cannon that shoots fireballs (weapon art). Useful for dealing fire damage to targets at a range. ・Cannon damage scales only on weapon level. ・Damage can be increased with fire-boosting talismans and incantations.
Haligree Crest Greatshield	・High Holy damage negation useful in the endgame. Can be boosted further with Sacred infusion.
Fingerprint Stone Shield	・Has excellent all-around damage negation and guard boost. However, it is the heaviest shield in the game. ・Infusing with Fire affinity will grant it 100 fire damage negation.

Medium Shields and Greatshields are good defensive picks to have in your offhand.

Shields with Parry weapon arts will make it easier to deal with heavy yet quick enemies such as the infamous Crucible Knights.

Best Greatshields and All Greatshields

Weapon Arts

Weapon Arts for Weapons

Weapon Arts	Explanation
Ash of War: Royal Knight's Resolve	・Increases the damage of your next attack. ・Quick to use, making it ideal for repeated burst damage from jump attacks.
Ash of War: Lion's Claw	・A jump attack that deals large poise damage. ・Grants hyper armor while using the skill, preventing you from being interrupted by most attacks except grabs and other special cases.
Ash of War: Cragblade	・Imbues the weapon with Heavy affinity. ・Increases power and poise damage when used. ・Obtain from a Scarab near the Impassable Greatbridge in Caelid.
Ash of War: Troll's Roar	・Area of Effect attack around the user that deals damage pushes enemies back. Good for crowd control. ・Damage scales based on Strength.
Ash of War: Endure	・Increases Poise and reduces damage taken.
Ash of War: Square Off	・Ideal for Straight Swords with Strength scaling. ・A strong attack that deals large poise damage and easily guard breaks most blocking enemies. ・Obtainable early via Broadsword. Else, the Ash of War must be obtained from Siofra River.
Ash of War: Impaling Thrust	・Great stance-break skill ideal for larger weapon types (Greatswords, Spears) before the Colossal Weapons territory.
Ash of War: Flaming Strike	・Allows your weapon to deal Fire damage. Scales with Strength. ・Releases fire damage in a wide arc in front of you.

Weapon Arts for Shields

Weapon Arts	Explanation
Ash of War: Carian Retaliation	・Has generous parry frames similar to Golden Parry while only consuming FP when parrying a spell.
Ash of War: Barricade Shield	・Obtainable early when getting as an Ash of War from defeating a Night Cavalry at the Weeping Peninsula. ・Significantly reduces stamina drain when blocking. Often making most blocks seemingly cost no stamina at all, useful for dealing with combos or chain attacks.
Ash of War: No Skill	・Useful quality-of-life weapon art if you want to use your main hand weapon skill without taking away your shield or switching to two-handed.

List of All Skills

Armor

Recommended Armor Setup
Scaled Helm Head	Raptor's Black Feathers Chest
Scaled Gauntlets Arms	Bull-Goat Greaves Legs
Poise: 61 Equip Load: 36.2
Suggested Armor Sets
Veteran's Armor Set Poise: 80 Equip Load: 45.0	Scaled Armor Set Poise: 71 Equip Load: 38.0
Banished Knight Armor Set Poise: 72 Equip Load: 41.6	Bull-Goat Armor Set Poise: 100 Equip Load: 63.0

Armor set Poise and Equip Load values above are computed before any other equipment.

For armor, you will want to look into using mixed sets that provide enough poise and damage negation while still meeting Medium Load.

The above armor setup with some Bull-Goat (not all, since they are extremely heavy) pieces are good choices to fit in to maximize your survivability once are using the Great-Jar's Arsenal and Erdtree's Favor +2 talismans.

Raptor's Black Feathers grants a 10% damage buff to Jump Attacks and will stack on damage provided by the Claw Talisman and other damage-boosting options such as Flame, Grant Me Strength and Royal's Knight's Resolve.

Best Armor and All Armor Sets

Spells

Spells	Explanation
Flame, Grant Me Strength	・Use to boost your overall attack by 20%.
Flame, Cleanse Me	・Utility spell used to cure poison and scarlet rot buildup if you do not want to depend on boluses or other means.
Bestial Vitality	・Lets you regenerate HP for a limited time.
Beast Claw	・God ranged option for multiple ground enemies in a frontal cone.
Stone of Gurranq	・Ranged option for dealing considerable physical and poise damage.

The above spells are optional and are usable with any seal (such as a Finger Seal) in the offhand. The Clawmark Seal is a great option for a Strength Build that makes use of Bestial Incantations.

You may also use Heal-related for yourself and allies but do note your FP capacity and Mind level.

List of Magic Spells

Talismans

Talisman	Explanation
Great-Jar's Arsenal	・Greatly increases equipment load ・Essential paired with Erdtree's Favor +2 for increasing equipment load.
Erdtree's Favor +2	・Increases HP, stamina, and equipment load ・Essential paired with Great-Jar Arsenal for increasing equipment load.
Claw Talisman	・Increases jump attack damage by 15% in PvE.
Axe Talisman	・Increases charge attack damage by 15%.
Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman	・Gives significant physical damage reduction. Useful for Strength Builds since you will be engaging up close and personal most of the time.
Ritual Sword Talisman	・Increases attack power at full health. Good to pair with HP regeneration options such as Bestial Vitality.
Crimson Amber Medallion +2	・Greatly increases your HP, allowing you to take more hits.
Viridian Amber Medallion +2	・Greatly increases your Stamina capacity, allowing for more dodges, attacks, and blocks.
Bull-Goat's Talisman	・Raises your Poise which prevents flinching from most basic attacks, making your attacks uninterruptible in most cases.
Green Turtle Talisman	・Increases stamina regeneration, making it easier for you to use more attacks, dodge rolls, and blocks.

Best Talismans

Spirit Ashes

Spirit Ashes	Explanation
Mimic Tear	・Great Spirit Ash in general that costs only HP and not FP ・Copies your equipment, weapon art, and other skills
Black Knife Tiche	・Best used when using Cerulean Hidden Tear to bypass its high FP consumption. ・Causes HP percentage damage to enemies through its attack's Destined Death debuff. ・Can attack and deliver the debuff at a range.
Banished Knight Oleg	・A tanky and versatile heavy-hitter. Can close the gap on enemies with a dash. ・Uses an AoE attack that pushes back enemies (similar to Storm Stomp).

All Spirit Ashes and Best Spirit Ashes

Great Runes

Great Runes	Explanation
Radahn's Great Rune	・Great for general use once you have met all the stat requirements. ・Increases your HP, FP, and Stamina.
Godrick's Great Rune	・Best to use when you have not yet meet all the stat requirements. ・All stat attributes are increased by 5.

All Great Runes

Crystal Tears

Items	Explanation
Cerulean Hidden Tear	・Prevents you from consuming FP for a limited time in a mixed physick, enabling the use of any FP-costing spell, weapon art, or item. ・Lets you use expensive Spirit Ashes such as Black Knife Tiche if you do not have enough FP.
Spiked Cracked Tear	・Increased damage from charged attacks for a limited time in a mixed physick. Can be paired with the Axe Talisman.
Crimson Bubbletear (Optional)	・Restores HP in near death in a mixed physick.

List of All Items

Elden Ring Related Guides

Elden Ring Best Builds (2024)

List of All Builds

Build Guides
Best DLC Builds	Build Guide for Beginners
Rellana's Twin Blades Build	Rolling Sparks Lightning Perfume Bottle Build
Best Strength Build Guide	Strength Faith Build
Impenetrable Thorns Build	Bloodfiend's Arm Build
Fire Knight's Greatsword Build	Wing Stance Milady Build
Backhand Blade Build	Black Steel Greathammer Build
Ancient Meteoric Ore Greatsword Build	Obsidian Lamina Build
Greatsword of Radahn Build	-