Best builds to beat Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC

Shadow of the Erdtree is finally here, and you need the best possible Elden Ring character to tackle the threats beyond the veil in the Realm of Shadow.

After playing Shadow of the Erdtree for dozens of hours, I know what works, what doesn’t, and what’s OP enough to carry you through the whole expansion. If you want to learn what builds are best for Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, keep reading.

Best builds for Elden Ring DLC

Bosses in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree deal an absurd amount of damage and can easily kill you in a few hits, especially if you haven’t collected many Scadutree Fragments yet. For the best chance of survival, you need 60 Vigor and an assortment of defensive Talismans depending on your situation.

The Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman is imperative since it gives you a whopping 20 percent physical damage reduction, and most enemies and bosses in Shadow of the Erdtree deal physical damage with at least a few attacks. Likewise, elemental damage reduction Talismans (like the Haligdrake Talisman +2) are also essential to mitigate other damage types. Swap these Talismans into the builds below as and when they’re needed.

You should also equip Morgott’s Great Rune and use a Rune Arc to get an extra 25 percent health. With this setup, I went into most fights with nearly 2,600 health and a ton of defense, which is tanky enough to make a mistake and still recover.

Bleed (Arcane)

Stat distribution: 60 Vigor / 12 Strength / 21 Dexterity / 11 Faith / 80 Arcane
Talismans: Lord of Blood Exultation / Rotten Winged Sword Insignia / Erdtree’s Favor +2 / Shard of Alexander
Weapon: Eleonora’s Poleblade / Finger Seal
Armor: Hoslow’s Set (minus helm)

Most of the 10 major bosses in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree are weak to Bleed, so the strongest build takes full advantage of that. I used Eleonora’s Poleblade +10 because it’s one of my favorite weapons, but you can use any strong bleed weapon, like Bloodhound’s Fang or Rivers of Blood.

Pair it with Swarm of Flies (hence the 11 Faith) so you can Bleed enemies from a distance. With 80 Arcane, your Bleed procs take off a huge chunk of bosses’ health (I’m talking 10 percent of the final boss’s health per Bleed proc), and it’s viable against almost all of the new bosses. After reaching the stat distribution above, dump the rest of your levels into Endurance.

Bleed (Strength)

Stat distribution: 60 Vigor / 80 Strength / 11 Faith
Talismans: Lord of Blood Exultation / Rotten Winged Sword Insignia / Erdtree’s Favor +2 / Shard of Alexander
Weapon: Red Bear Claw / Finger Seal
Armor: Iron Rivet Armor / Iron Rivet Greaves / Iron Rivet Gauntlets

I swapped Eleonora’s Poleblade out for the Red Bear Claw as soon as I found it. It’s a fast-attacking Beast Claw-type weapon added in the DLC that causes Bleed buildup and scales with Strength. You get it by beating the boss of Eastern Nameless Mausoleum in southern Scadu Altus, which you can reach fairly soon after starting the expansion. To get there, explore Recluses’ River downstream.

With 80 Strength instead of Arcane, you deal more damage per hit and your attacks make you jump toward your target, so you’re super agile. The Red Bear Claw is tricky to get used to at first, but it’s very powerful in the right paws, and it’s the weapon that got me through the final boss. Again, after reaching the stat distribution above, dump the rest of your levels into Endurance.

Lightning (Dexterity)

Stat distribution: 60 Vigor / 20 Strength / 80 Dexterity / 30 Endurance
Talismans: Lightning Scorpion Charm / Godfrey Icon / Shard of Alexander / Carian Filigreed Crest
Weapon: Bolt of Gransax
Armor: Tree Sentinel Set (minus helm)

Many enemies in Shadow of the Erdtree are weak to Lightning, especially armored enemies. You’ll encounter lots of knights and similarly armored foes, including bosses. On top of this, a surprising number of boss arenas have shallow water that reduces the boss’ Lightning resistance by 10 percent while they’re standing in it. It’s no surprise builds that deal very high Lightning damage are performing well in Shadow of the Erdtree.

One of the highest-damage Lightning weapons in the game is the Bolt of Gransax. It has excellent reach in melee range, making up for its lack of speed, and a near-OP ranged attack with a very fast projectile that’s almost guaranteed to hit the boss if you aim at the right time. The Bolt of Gransax carried me through the first half of Shadow of the Erdtree until I changed to Bleed to mix things up.

With 80 Dexterity, your Ancient Lightning Spears will deal close to 1,000 damage. After reaching the stat distribution above, dump the rest of your levels into Mind so you can chuck more Lightning Spears.

Incantations (Faith)

Stat distribution: 60 Vigor / 30 Endurance / 80 Faith
Talismans: Erdtree Talisman / Flock’s Canvas / Radagon Icon / Various Scorpion Charms
Weapon: Longsword with Sacred Blade / Erdtree Seal
Armor: Black Hood / Night’s Cavalry Set (minus helm)

With an Incantation-based Faith build, you get access to most damage types—Lightning, Fire, Holy, and Physical, as well as Poison and Scarlet Rot. If you’re a resourceful player who likes to beat bosses by figuring out their weakness, you’ll do well for yourself in Shadow of the Erdtree using Incantations.

Equip yourself with an elemental Scorpion Charm matching the damage type you’re going for, then load yourself up with spells of one element and see how they perform against the boss. With 80 Faith plus the right Talisman combo, your spells will deal substantial damage, especially if the boss is weak to the element you’re using. After reaching the stat distribution above, dump the rest of your levels into Mind so you can cast more spells.