Elden Ring offers players a lot of different stats, each of which is used to reach various requirements for different weapons and pieces of armor. Not all of these stats are damage-orientated, with a stat like Endurance focusing on increasing one’s carrying capacity and Mind increasing a character’s amount of FP. However, when it comes to dealing with damage, players will need to decide how they will be going about it.

Intelligence is what players will need if they wish to make use of Sorceries, but Faith will be the driving force for their Incantations. When paired with a stat like Dexterity or Strength, the buffs granted by Incantations can take a player to a whole new level of power.

Best Starting Class

You will have your pick of many different classes, and thanks to being able to respec using Larva Tears, the class you take doesn’t have too much impact when it comes to the late game. However, if you really like the idea of hitting hard and having an array of Incantations to back you up, you will want to start with the Confessor. This will give you the right mentality of how to play as a Stength & Faith playstyle from the very start of the game.

Best Stats

Strength will let you hit hard, allowing you to wield some very fierce-looking weapons — such as some of the greatswords in the game. Faith will help you meet the requirements of a lot of weapons, including the Blasphemous Blade used in this build. This stat will also let you cast all manner of Incantations that can act as powerful buffs to prepare you for a vast number of encounters before you charge in.

• Vigor: 50 (Fueled by close-range melee combat and backed up by Incantations means this build is going to be getting right up into the faces of enemies and using high Faith to continuously heal up their high health pool.)
• Mind: 26 (You will need enough FP to set up all the buffs to make this build much more deadly.)
• Endurance: 30 (High health doesn’t matter much if most of it is taken out by a single hit, 30 Endurance gives you a larger carrying capacity to reduce how much damage you take from each attack.)
• Strength: 40 (This build utilizes greatswords, and they all scale with Strength.)
• Dexterity: 15 (This is purely to meet the requirement for the Blasphemous Blade greatsword, which will come into effect around mid-game.)
• Intelligence: 9 (Dump stat. Do not invest in Intelligence.)
• Faith: 50 (In addition to damage scaling for combat, this will allow you to use any Incantation in the game that does not require Intelligence or Arcane, creating a lot of versatility when you need it.)
• Arcane: 9 (Dump stat. Do not invest in Arcane)

Best Weapons

No matter how high your Faith stat is, having the wrong melee weapon will dramatically lower your odds of survival. There are a lot of different options thanks to the game offering synergy between a lot of stats, some even do not need melee weapons at all. For this build, players are going to be getting their Faith exceptionally high, and then using Strength to allow them to get close up to just hack away at their opponents. Players will be able to take a lot of hits due to being a melee build but will have the means to heal right back up and get in there once again.

Gargoyle’s Blackblade

The Gargoyle’s Blackblade will require you to have 18 Strength, 10 Dexterity, and 22 Faith. This weapon will scale with a D in Strength, an E in Dexterity, and a D in Faith. This weapon is dropped by the Black Blade Kindred, an extremely fearsome foe that can wipe the floor with experienced players over level 100. The reason this weapon is the first mentioned is that the enemy that will drop this can be killed without even being fought. This weapon also has a Holy Affinity to it.

Bronze greatsword wielded by Valiant Gargoyles mended with blackened corpse wax. Deals holy damage. Such is the mark of those who serve Maliketh, the Black Blade.

This can be accomplished by getting the Poison Mist Incantation — which is dropped by a Teardrop Scarab in the Weeping Peninsula. Once you have access to the Site of Grace in the Beastial Sanctum, simply crouch down and leave the Sanctum to sneak up behind the Black Blade Kindred guarding the entrance. Use the Poison Mist Incantation on it and its health will drop without initiating the fight. Just keep applying the Poison Mist each time it runs out, and you’ll get this monstrously powerful weapon very early on. Wield this weapon in one hand with your starting Broadsword in the other for some fearsome dual-sword jump attacks that will decimate foes.

Clawmark Seal

The Clawmark Seal will require you to have 4 Strength and 10 Faith. This seal will scale with a D in Strength, and a D in Faith. This will also boost the effects of Beast Incantations which will be great for dealing with lesser enemies. When fully upgraded, both its Strength & Faith Scaling will be up to B.

A sacred seal given by Gurranq, the Beast Clergyman. A rare trinket which allows incantations to be scaled with strength. The claw mark represents Gurranq’s wrath. Enhances bestial incantations learned from Gurranq.

You can get this seal from the Beast Clergyman, Gurranq, after he has been fed a Deathroot. Continue to feed him Deathroots to get more and more Beast Incantations.

Blasphemous Blade

The Blasphemous Blade will have a Strength Requirement of 22, a Dexterity requirement of 15, and a Faith requirement of 21. This weapon will scale with a D in Strength, Dexterity, and Faith. The Blasphemous Blade is obtained through a pretty intense boss battle, one that will involve using a special gimmick weapon that you will need to master to slay Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy.

Sacred sword of Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy. Remains of the countless heroes he has devoured writhe upon the surface of this blade. Now they share the same blood, bound together as a family. Some HP is restored upon defeating an enemy.

Once Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy has been slain, takes the Remembrance of the Blasphemous to Enia at the Roundtable Hold to get this weapon. This weapon utilizes an Ash of War that will allow you to top up large portions of your health while being on the offensive.

Gargoyle’s Greatsword

The Gargoyle’s Greatsword will have a Strength Requirement of 18 and a Dexterity requirement of 10. This weapon has a high base damage, and will scale with a C in Strength, and will also scale with an E in Dexterity. You will want to use the Red-Hot Whetblade with this blade to give it a fire affinity.

Bronze greatsword wielded by Valiant Gargoyles. Just like the wielder, the missing parts have been mended with corpse wax; a patchwork of champions.

This weapon will be your companion blade to dual strike jump attacks with the Blasphemous Blade or Gargoyle’s Blackblade depending on your opponent — such as when you want to add extra fire affinity into the mix. This weapon will be dropped in the Siofra Aqueduct by the Valiant Gargoyle.

Best Ash Of War & Incantations

Incantations will become stronger as you invest in your Faith stat, which is the highest stat in this build thanks to the buffs it will give you in melee combat, and dealing with smaller enemies quickly. One of the most important skills you will be using is not an Incantation, but rather an Ash of War that scales with your Faith.

Taker’s Flames

This Ash of War will send a blast of pure fire damage across the ground. When it hits an enemy, the player will heal 150 HP plus 10% of their maximum HP. This allows players to be right up in melee combat, and when they need to heal, they use this Ash of War to top up their high Health Pool thanks to their 50 Vigor. This lets them keep dealing damage while healing in the process.

Raise the sacred sword aloft to set it ablaze with blasphemous flames, then bring it down to fire off a forward blast. The flames steal HP from those they touch.

This Ash of War will be the default Ash of War on your Blasphemous Blade. Players should consider having mostly FP flasks for this Ash of War, with a few HP flasks to heal up in a pinch.

Corpse Wax Cutter

This Ash of War works very similar to Taker’s Flame in that it will send forth a projectile that will heal the player once it hits. However, the damage of this ability is Holy instead of Fire. Alternating between these damage types will cover everything the game can throw at you while you fight close up and aggressively, backed by incantations, and healing any hits that make their way through.

Lost skill of ancient heroes. Lift the sword up high to release the power of corpse wax and launch it forward as a blade-like projectile.

Corpse Wax Cutter is the signature Ash of War for the Gargoyle’s Blackblade weapon, and will be part of it by default. This weapon will also deal more stance damage than Taker’s Flame.

Golden Vow

This Incantation will raise the attack and defense of both the caster and their allies.

An incantation of Erdtree Worship. Increases attack power and defense for the caster and nearby allies. Hold to continue praying and delay activation. This incantation has been taught to knights of the royal capital for generations, and knights sent on distant expeditions lean on it as a source of courage.

This Incantation can be picked up at Mount Gelmir. Go into the Corpse-Stench Shack where you will find a single corpse with the Incantation.

Flame, Grant Me Strength

This Incantation will raise the attack power of your physical and fire attacks. The attack buff also will stack with Flame, Grant Me Strength.

Superior incantation of the Fire Monks. Creates an invigorating fire within that enhances physical and fire-affinity attack power. This incantation does not burn the caster, and so it is considered forbidden by the guardians of the Flame.

Make your way over to Fort Gael, where you will also find several chariots. Go behind Fort Gael and you will find a corpse between two of these chariots — the Incantation will be on this corpse. Note that this Incantation will not boost the effects of Corpse Wax Cutter.

Best Armor

You will definitely want to get your hands on the Raptor’s Black Feathers in the Sage’s Cave dungeon. This is a piece of Chest Armor that will increase the damage of your jump attacks by 10%. Other than that, you should focus on armor that lets you mitigate damage. This will synergize perfectly with your high health pool and large healing from Taker’s Flame.

Best Talismans

You will need to decide which four talismans to put in your slots. Below are the Talismans that will synergize best with charging into battle with two greatswords in your hands for the late game.

Claw Talisman

This Talisman will boost your Jump Attack damage by 15%.You can get this Talisman in Stormveil Castle.

Great-Jar’s Arsenal

This Talisman raises your equipment load by 19%. This will help you mitigate even more damage thanks to heavier armor. Complete the Great-Jar’s challenge and you will receive this as a reward.

Shard Of Alexander

This Talisman boosts your attack power of Skills by 15%. You will get Shard of Alexander much later in the game once you have completed the questline of Iron Fist Alexander.

Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman

This Talisman reduces the physical damage you receive by 20%. This can be acquired in a chest by going through the Legacy Dungeon known as Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree. This is located in the Haligtree part of the game.

How To Play A Strength & Faith Build

Use both Flame, Grant Me Strength, and Golden Vow before going into a fight — these will give you a massive buff. Utilize jump attacks to rain down a lot of damage against your opponents relentlessly. If you get hit, you can use either Taker’s Flame or Corpse Wax Cutter to top up your health before getting back into close range. You can alternate between Holy and Fire affinity by cycling between your greatswords. You will not want all three of these weapons equipped at the same time due to the weight, so be sure to have the right ones equipped before you cast your buffs and charge in.