Elden Ring Hero Build: Top 4 Hero Builds

Elden Ring offers you, the player, 10 base classes to choose from when you start a new game, one of them being the Hero class. The Hero is described as a champion who relies on pure, unadulterated Strength to disengage any enemy that may oppose them. While there are many contenders for the Best Hero Build that you can work towards, here are my top 4 recommendations!

Here is a comparison table for the Best Elden Ring Hero Builds:

No.	Name	Vigor	Mind	Endurance	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith	Arcane
1	Nimble Bloodhound (Level 150)	50	25	35	60	15	9	25	11
2	Guts, The Black Swordsman (Level 100)	40	15	25	45	12	9	25	11
3	Warhammer Barbarian (Level 150)	50	25	35	75	12	7	15	11
4	Starscourge Champion (Level 100)	35	20	30	50	13	7	15	11

Nimble Bloodhound (Level 150)

Attributes and Stats

Hero Builds are often known for their brute-force nature, relying on a heavy weapon to stomp their enemies. However, as far as the damage per second metric is concerned, both heavy and light weapons fare quite equally and have a strong potential to reach those high DPS numbers. TraitorNeo’s agile strength-oriented build is one of the Best Hero Build in Elden Ring that goes to show just that as he demonstrates a unique way of forging your Hero:

• Vigor – 50 (High HP and survivability is important with close-combat weapons)
• Mind – 25
• Endurance – 35 (To allow for relatively heavy armor)
• Strength – 60
• Dexterity – 15
• Intelligence – 9
• Faith – 25 (Sufficient enough to use the specified buffs and incantations)
• Arcane – 11

Weapon Choice

Beastman’s Curved Sword

	Phy	Mag	Fire	Light	Holy	Crit	Boost
Attack	113	0	0	0	0	100	-
Guard	44	33	33	33	33	-	27
	Str	Dex
Scaling	C	E
Requires	13	11
Curved Sword	Slash
Spinning Slash	FP 6 ( - 12)
Wgt. 4	Passive -

Clawmark’s Seal

• Strength-focused build supplement.
• Requires 4 strength and 10 faith.
• Scales with Strength and Faith.
• Peaks at B-scaling in both attributes.
• Obtainable from Gurranq, Beast Clergyman, in Caelid.

	Phy	Mag	Fire	Light	Holy	Crit	Inc	Boost
Attack	31	0	0	0	0	100	60	-
Guard	25	15	15	15	15	-	-	15
	Str	Fai
Scaling	D	D
Requires	4	10
Sacred Seals	Strike
No Skill	FP -
Wgt. 1.5	Passive Boosts Bestial Incantations

Dragonclaw Shield

• Offers strong defense and offense.
• Great absorption against elemental damage.
• 100% physical damage absorption.
• Weapon art: Shield Bash inflicts solid damage.
• Upgrades to peak at 227 physical and 147 holy damage.

	Phy	Mag	Fire	Light	Holy	Crit	Boost
Attack	118	0	0	76	0	100	-
Guard	100	52	52	76	47	-	61
	Str	Dex
Scaling	D	E
Requires	28	12
Greatshield	Strike
Shield Bash	FP 10
Wgt. 13.5	Passive -

Armor Combination

Talisman Options

Erdtree’s Favor

Name	Erdtree's Favor
Weight	1.5
Effect	Raises maximum HP, stamina, and equip load

• Increases maximum HP, Stamina, and Equipment load.
• Obtained in Fringefolk Hero’s Grave.
• Upgrade to +1 and +2 versions later for enhanced benefits.

Claw Talisman

Name	Claw Talisman
Weight	0.7
Effect	increases jump attack damage by 15% (7.5% in PvP).

The Claw Talisman is an integral part of Hero build and will go a long way in significantly increasing the damage of plunging attacks since it stacks with the Raptor’s Black Feathers. It can be obtained quite early in the game and boosts jump attacks by roughly 15%. It is located in Stormveil Castle and requires quite a trek to get to the central watchtower, at the top of which it can be looted off a corpse.

Great-Jar’s Arsenal

Name	Great-Jar's Arsenal
Weight	1.5
Effect	Vastly raises the maximum equip load by 19%.

Dragoncrest Shield

Name	Dragoncrest Shield
Weight	0.8
Effect	Reduces physical damage taken (10/13/17%).

Spells to Memorize

Flame, Grant me Strength

Spell Type	Fire Monk Incantation
FP Cost 28	Slots Used 1
Effect	raises physical and fire-affinity attack power
Stats	Int	Fai	Arc
Requires	0	15	0

• Costs 28 FP and requires 15 faith.
• Boosts physical and fire attack power by 20% for 30 seconds.
• Found behind Fort Gael.

Vyke’s Dragonbolt

Spell Type	Dragon Cult Incantations
FP Cost 28	Slots Used 1
Effect	Enchants right-hand armament with lightning damage
Stats	Int	Fai	Arc
Requires	0	23	0

• Increases weapon damage, particularly plunge attacks.
• Costs 35 HP and requires 23 faith.
• Lasts for 70 seconds.
• Enhances equipment load by 15%.

Guts, The Black Swordsman (Level 100)

Attributes and Stats

• Vigor – 40 (Decent HP for Level 100)
• Mind – 15
• Endurance – 25
• Strength – 45 (Pump many more attribute points into this when scaling)
• Dexterity – 12
• Intelligence – 9
• Faith – 25 (Sufficient enough to use the specified buffs and incantations)
• Arcane – 11

Weapon Choice

Greatsword

No Guts build is possible without the original greatsword, a Colossal Sword that is community-wide revered as an easter egg of Berserk, closely following the clean design of Guts’s sword. Weighing in at 23.0 units, the greatsword demands its worthy wielders to approach it with 31 strength and 12 dexterity, a hefty stat requirement. However, it offers a natural scaling of C in Strength and E in Dexterity, although that can be fine-tuned.

	Phy	Mag	Fire	Ligt	Holy	Crit	Boost
Attack	164	0	0	0	0	100	-
Guard	84	50	50	50	50	-	56
	Str	Dex
Scaling	C	E
Requires	31	12
Colossal Sword	Standard
Stamp (Upward Cut)	FP 5 ( - 8)
Wgt. 23	Passive -

Finger Seal

	Phy	Mag	Fire	Ligt	Holy	Crit	Inc	Boost
Attack	25	0	0	0	0	100	114	-
Guard	25	15	15	15	15	-	-	15
	Str	Fai
Scaling	E	C
Requires	4	10
Sacred Seals	Strike
No Skill	FP -
Wgt. 1.5	Passive -

The Finger Seal is one of the best sacred seals in Elden Ring because it is an S-tier catalyst that can be obtained incredibly early, serving as the starting equipment for Confessor and Prophet Classes, and being sold by the Twin Maiden Husks. Additionally, at +14 reinforcement with Smithing Stones, it achieves a D scaling in Strength and an S scaling in Faith as well as a spellbuff of 232.

Buckler

	Phy	Mag	Fire	Ligt	Holy	Crit	Boost
Attack	68	0	0	0	0	100	-
Guard	61	30	30	16	30	-	37
	Str	Dex
Scaling	E	D
Requires	8	13
Small Shield	Strike
Buckler Parry	FP -
Wgt. 1.5	Passive -

Going off a similar tangent as the Finger Seal, it is purely optional for you to equip a small shield like a Buckler – I primarily have it on to parry certain enemies that are a pain to deal with, such as Crucible Knights.

The Buckler can be obtained through several means, on top of being part of the starting kit of the Bandit Class. Other than that, it can be purchased off of Gatekeeper Gostoc at Stormveil Castle or from the Twin Maiden Husks after offering them Gostoc’s Bell Bearing (which you get if you slay Gostoc).

The Buckler is king when it comes to executing parrying due to its early animation start-up time and high amount of parry frames. Furthermore, you can infuse it with the Golden Parry Ash of War dropped by a Teardrop Scarab within Capital Outskirts to increase the hitbox of your parry.

While the Buckler excels at parrying, it performs poorly as a blocking tool at the cost of such a maneuver.

Armor Combination

Talisman Options

Starscourge Heirloom

Name	Starscourage Heirloom
Weight	0.8
Effect	raises strength by 5

• Increases Strength by 5.
• Found in Fort Gael, southeastern Caelid.

Ritual Sword Talisman

Name	Ritual Sword Talisman
Weight	0.9
Effect	Raises attack power by 10% when HP is at maximum.

• Increases attack power by roughly 10% at full health.
• Found in Lux Ruins after defeating Demi-Human Queen Gilika.

Radagon’s Soreseal

Name	Radagon`s Soreseal
Weight	0.8
Effect	Raises vigor, endurance, strength, and dexterity by 5 each, but increases damage taken by 15%

• Increases Vigor, Endurance, Strength, and Dexterity by +5.
• Lowers all resistances by 15% (counter with Golden Vow).
• Found in Fort Faroth.

Shard of Alexander

Name	Shard of Alexander
Weight	0.8
Effect	Greatly boosts the attack power of Skills by 15%

• Increases skill damage by approximately 15%.
• Obtainable after defeating Iron Fist Alexander.

Spells to Memorize

Flame, Grant me Strength

Spell Type	Fire Monk Incantation
FP Cost 28	Slots Used 1
Effect	Raises physical and fire-affinity attack power.
Stats	Int	Fai	Arc
Requires	0	15	0

Golden Vow

Spell Type	Erdtree Incantations
FP Cost 47	Slots Used 1
Effect	Increases attack and defense for oneself and allies
Stats	Int	Fai	Arc
Requires	0	25	0

Warhammer Barbarian (Level 150) 

Attributes and Stats

Apart from exploiting the damage inflicted by plunging attacks, charged heavy attacks are also a very powerful part of strength weapons used on Hero Builds. I’m not simply referring to your average charged heavy attack here, but the ones brought about by the Barbaric War Ash of War, which is known for changing charged heavy attacks into an entire combo that deals tremendous stamina and physical damage! Here are the stats for one of the Best Hero Build:

• Vigor – 50 (Solid HP for good survivability)
• Mind – 25
• Endurance – 35
• Strength – 75 (In order to wield our main weapon at considerable damage)
• Dexterity – 12
• Intelligence – 7
• Faith – 15 (Sufficient enough to use Flame, Grant me Strength)
• Arcane – 11

Weapon Choice

Giant-Crusher

	Phy	Mag	Fire	Light	Holy	Crit	Boost
Attack	155	0	0	0	0	100	-
Guard	88	52	52	52	52	-	58
	Str
Scaling	C
Requires	60
Colossal Weapon	Strike
Endure	FP 9
Wgt. 26.5	Passive -

Clawmark’s Seal

	Phy	Mag	Fire	Ligt	Holy	Crit	Inc	Boost
Attack	31	0	0	0	0	100	60	-
Guard	25	15	15	15	15	-	-	15
Sacred Seals	Strike
No Skill	FP -
Wgt. 1.5	Passive Boosts
Bestial Incantations
	Str	Fai
Scaling	D	D
Requires	4	10

Dagger

	Phy	Mag	Fire	Ligt	Holy	Crit	Boost
Attack	74	0	0	0	0	130	-
Guard	35	20	20	20	20	-	15
	Str	Dex
Scaling	D	C
Requires	5	9
Daggers	Slash / Pierce
Quickstep	FP 3
Wgt. 1.5	Passive -

Armor Combination

Talisman Options

Green Turtle Talisman

Name	Green Turtle Talisman
Weight	0.7
Effect	raises stamina recovery speed by 8 per second (17.7%).

Roar Medallion

Name	Roar Medallion
Weight	0.7
Effect	increases the damage of roars and breath attacks by 15%.

Axe Talisman

Name	Axe Talisman
Weight	0.8
Effect	increases charge attack damage by 10%.

• Enhances charged attacks by roughly 10%.
• The Talisman can be obtained quite early in the game, in a prison cell in Mistwood Ruins towards the west of Limgrave.

Lord of Blood’s Exultation

Name	Lord of Blood’s Exultation
Weight	0.9
Effect	Vastly raises the attack power by 20% when Blood Loss occurs in the area. (12% in PvP)

The main reason why we’re rocking a blood infusion on the Giant-Crusher is due to this very Talisman right here! Having a blood infusion along with the savage heavy combo, you’ll be inflicting bleed buildups left and right, causing very frequent bloodloss and this is where the Lord of Blood’s Exultation will come into play. As it increases your attack power by 20% for 20 seconds whenever you inflict blood loss, you can very well imagine to be sweeping through bosses and field enemies!

Spells to Memorize

Bestial Vitality

Spell Type	Bestial Incantation
FP Cost 18	Slots Used 1
Effect	Heals over a period of time.
Stats	Int	Fai	Arc
Requires	0	12	0

Flame, Grant me Strength

Spell Type	Fire Monk Incantation
FP Cost 28	Slots Used 1
Effect	Raises physical and fire-affinity attack power.
Stats	Int	Fai	Arc
Requires	0	15	0

Starscourge Champion (Level 100)

Attributes and Stats

Coming to the final entry of the Best Hero Build, I would like to present to you my own build that I am currently using in my second Elden Ring playthrough – I like to call it the Starscourge Champion!

I have personally had great success with this build in all kinds of situations, sweeping through hoards of enemies, taking down formidable bosses, and giving cheeky invaders a run for their money!

• Vigor – 35
• Mind – 20
• Endurance – 30 (Good enough to wield well-poised armor with the help of Talismans)
• Strength – 50 (Enough to wield my main armament of choice one-handedly)
• Dexterity – 13
• Intelligence – 7
• Faith – 15 (Sufficient enough to use the specified buffs and incantations)
• Arcane – 11

Weapon Choice

Ruins Greatsword

I started playing Elden Ring with the Lordsworn’s Greatsword, moving onto the greatsword, finally settling with the Ruins Greatsword, which in my opinion, is the Blasphemous Blade equivalent of Colossal Swords. The Ruins Greatsword is the heaviest of the nine legendary armaments in Elden Ring, weighing 23.0 units.

Thus, it reasonably requires 50 strength and 16 intelligence to wield properly, rewarding its wielders with a B scaling in Strength and an E scaling in Faith, which can be significantly improved.

As far as upgrading is concerned, the Ruins Greatsword requires Somber Smithing Stones to upgrade to +10, at which it achieves an S scaling in Strength and a D scaling in Faith, exhibiting 303 physical, 90 magic, and 168 stamina damage.

The Ruins Greatsword does not even require the capability to be infused with ashes of war because its weapon art, Wave of Destruction is nasty. I can not count the number of times I’ve used it to clear waves of enemies and stagger bosses from a safe distance!

Clawmark’s Seal

• Essential for any Best Hero Build in Elden Ring.
• Scales decently with Strength, making it valuable for Strength builds.
• Requires 4 strength and 10 faith to use.
• Natural scaling of D in both Strength and Faith.
• Upgrading it with Smithing Stones improves scaling to B-tier in both attributes.
• Best utilized with Bestial Incantations, boosting their effectiveness.
• Obtained from Gurranq, Beast Clergyman, after feeding him one Deathroot.
• Deathroot can be obtained from slaying the Tibia Mariner boss in Summonwater Village, northwest Limgrave.

Buckler

I have personally never relied on shields in any FromSoftware game, mainly because I love to dual wield or two-hand my weapons. However, the only instance I find myself using a shield in these games is if I ever come across a cumbersome boss that can be parried, which in Elden Ring has to be the Crucible Knight! Look no further than the Buckler if you’re like me, who seeks an excellent parry tool.

While being one of the worst small shields in the game in terms of damage absorption, the Buckler has always made its mark for being one of the best parry tools. Additionally, in Elden Ring, it is factually the best parry tool in general due to its early start-up time and the fact that it possesses the most parry frames out of all other parry tools, besting even the Caestus.

Armor Combination

The armor combination for this Hero build in Elden Ring is very open-ended; you can go for a more fashionable combination or a more poised one. I personally prefer a mix of both, although leaning towards having the most poise possible for my given level of Endurance.

In the very beginning, I wore a weird amalgamation of the heaviest, most poised armor pieces I had until I started getting proper armor sets.

After dwindling through different kinds of armor sets, I have settled for this: Blaidd’s Armor, Radahn’s Gauntlets, and Radahn’s Greaves, leaving my head bare because I like the way it looks.

I prefer this combination mainly because I rever Radahn as one of my favorite bosses in Elden Ring – thus the name Starscourge Champion!

Talisman Options

Ancestral Spirit’s Horn

• Restores 3 FP every time you defeat an enemy.
• Useful for general exploration, allowing conservation of Cerulean Tears for bosses.
• Obtained from giving the Remembrance of the Regal Ancestor to Enia at Roundtable Hold.

Bull-Goat’s Talisman

• Increases poise by 33%.
• Essential for executing heavy attacks and weapon arts without interruption.
• Found in the back of Dragonbarrow Cave on a corpse.

Axe Talisman

• Enhances charged attacks, maximizing damage output.
• Particularly useful for the Ruins Greatsword’s heavy attack.
• Obtained early in the game in Mistwood Ruins in Limgrave

Great-Jar Arsenal

• Increases maximum Equipment load by roughly 20%.
• Allows for more freedom in wearing heavy armor sets.
• Obtained as a reward from the Great-Jar after defeating his three invader knights in Caelid.

Spells to Memorize

Flame, Grant me Strength

I, too, recognized Flame, Grant me Strength to be a must-have incantation when I obtained all the way in the backside of Fort Gael in Caelid, behind the two flamethrower enemies.

This incantation is amazing because, with the requirement of just 15 faith, it increases physical and fire damage by 20% at the cost of just 28 FP, lasting for the next half a minute.

This will make the Ruins Greatsword do much more damage than before!

Bestial Vitality

I would take minor chips of damage throughout my playthrough, which I generally never wanted to waste an entire Flask of Crimson Tears on. Therefore, I decided to opt for a healing spell and am now content with the Bestial Vitality incantation.

This is particularly because it becomes much more potent with the Clawmark’s Seal, a Sacred Seal that boosts Bestial Incantaitons! Bestial Vitality requires 12 Fatih to use and at the cost of 18 FP, heals for 5 HP per second for the next two minutes.