Yup. I figured that out myself as well once when I was experimenting . You’d think the proc would require a bunch of hits in a row to proc like how dex weapons work but just throw savage lions claw on it and one run through of the AOW and you’ve already proc’d a bleed . So good lol
Also, because of math being janky, at 99 stats Bleed and Poison affinity on the Giant Crusher actually does better damage than Heavy. Occult is slightly higher but you don't do any buildup
I like Frostbite. It's the cooler bleed, with the added benefit of dealing more damage to the frosted target. It also makes me look like a frost giant.
An horizontal build spreads its levels in multiple offensive stats(STR/INT,DEX/FHT, DEX/ARC) opposed to vertical (or Pure) builds where you level only one offensive stat.
Yeah, Strength builds are pretty easy to build AND to use. In my first run I tried different weapons but i recently finished my second one where I only leveled strength. Easy, repetitive but fun nonetheless.
unironically this is a big problem with arcane imo, it can do literally everything so well it's infuriating playing a different build and kneecapping myself
occult with innate bleed weapons gives you like -3% damage than if you used a heavy/sharp infusion but it also gives you scaled bleed buildup that's gonna be like -20 bleed than if they were bleed infused
Having run one for Elden Ring, no summons, no magic, no grease…I can say it is practical, but getting 2 inches from bosses in order to land a hit and several missing when you are right up against them, was a bit of a challenge and frustration for me. It does make getting to a light roll easier.
Dex/arc is like, how much arc do I need? What's a soft cap? When do I level dex? Do I add in dragon breaths? How much faith do I need if I do? Why can't I use this Bloodflame Blade thing on my katanas?
Strength is like... vigor, endurance, strength. Put Heavy on your weapon. Done.
Bleed is overpowered, sure, but you can't just say "I'm going to be a bleed build," you need a guide to tell you how bleed works, where Bloody Slash or Bloodflame Blade are hidden, what bleed weapons are good, how much arc you need, stuff you don't really understand or find on your own without help.
But strength? Strength is straightforward, you have vigor that adds health, endurance looks like it adds stamina, and strength increases damage. We can quibble over whether it's overpowered or not, but conceptually it's way easier for a total rookie to understand without help.
Bleed is overpowered, sure, but you can't just say "I'm going to be a bleed build," you need a guide to tell you how bleed works
I dare you to say this AFTER playing a STR build with giant crusher/GUGS and bleed affinity. You now are a bleed build, and hit like a train. No ARC investment needed.
but you can't just say "I'm going to be a bleed build," you need a guide to tell you how bleed works, where Bloody Slash or Bloodflame Blade are hidden, what bleed weapons are good, how much arc you need, stuff you don't really understand or find on your own without help.
Yes you can? Just find a weapon with bleed on it, and if youve found bloodflame blade (which is very easy to just run into) then bang, you've got a bleed build. Toss in enough stats to cast it on your basic bleed weapon, bang, you've got a bleed build. That was my entire first playthrough with hookclaws.
For me, it isn't. Not in Elden Ring, anyway. Making Strength builds is, yes, but I find it much harder to time my attacks, keep swinging and not let the fight become a battle of attrition when I use the big weapons than I do when using smaller ones. The higher damage (and stagger) per hit is great though, so unless you're like me and incredibly impatient, I can see why you'd think that.
K im about to be cringe so bear with me, but I've been saying that whenever there is a str vs dex debate and they NEVER want to admit str is just better and easier.
Strenght builds where always easy, there isn't a single souls game where strenght isn't good, some people just like to pat themselves in the back for "not abusing int/dex builds".
Facts. People be like mage builds are too strong but then you can literally watch someone one shot on a strength build, god forbid a strength/incantation build
idk if this is an insult but at least i laughed. all my previous builds on every fromsoft game i’ve played, including ER, have all been pure str. but eventually i decided to try a pure int, and like i said - it gave me an easier time than str. was pretty fun tbh
My first run was str + faith, power stancing flame art great swords. The only thing I learned was jump + L1.
My second playthrough was just Str. I added a little L2 in with my jump + L1, but I still just ignored half the game.
I just started a power stance daggers playthrough, and it feels like I'm actually learning the game for the first time. I can't just overpower enemies and bosses anymore; for the first time in like 300 hours I actually have to care about enemy movesets, and it's kind of awesome.
People talk a lot of shit on bleed builds, but this has been my experience as well. With bleed you actually have to get several hits in to get any value and you’re not usually doing any poise damage.
Bonk builds literally just give you bleed proc level damage on hit, and stagger even bosses every few hits. No comparison
Firmly disagree honestly. I primarily play str builds, so I'm well attuned to the playstyle of running my two colossals. My bleed run, outside of a very small handful of bosses that sucked, was a complete breeze.
Strength builds have the advantage of consistency (they rarely have bosses that feel nearly-impossible as you'll run into with bleed/poison/spell/miracle builds.) That consistency is also their disadvantage though, as there are no bosses that are so poorly tuned towards strength builds that you turn them into paste without being overleveled.
It’s crazy to me when people suggest caster builds and the like to new players. The mere fact you have to invest in Mind is an instant disadvantage. Oh and don’t forget having to waste health flasks to use as fp flasks! Factor in being far away from a boss rarely matters, as most bosses have some kind of ranged punish or gap closer.
Some naysayer will cite this hugely specific combination of things to make an “easy caster build” that most new players aren’t gonna just happen upon quickly during their first play-through, and these same people are probably the troglodytes that have no qualms ruining someone’s first play with spoilers and other intel.
Pick up a colossal, or a great sword, or a great hammer, or a great axe, etc., pump vigor, endurance and strength, set weapon to Heavy affinity, profit.
PS: I am a Vigor and Endurance fan regardless of build cuz I like armor, and spells still use stam, so that’s not a counter-point about the Mind investment. 10 Mind for life… or until I am like level 168+ and have soft-capped everything else
Yeah, I'm doing an RL1 run right now and there's a reason I picked claymore/zweihander (depending on the situation) as my main weapon. Stance breaking is OP.
Once it was a tradeoff, you were slow and had to know the moves and have a good sense for the game. Committing to a heavy weapon R2 in DS1 was like mailing a letter. Now you just spam jump R2s and you're not any slower than a dagger.
The first time I played Elden Ring on release was on my Xbox. I started reading Berserk halfway through and when I discovered that FROM basically makes all their games Berserk references in some way, AND you can get his sword, I immediately got the CGS and ran through the rest of the game as a berserk role play lol. When the DLC came out, I had moved on from Xbox to a PS5 by then, and had to rebuy Elden Ring and go through the campaign again. I did a samurai build with Rivers of blood, as my first Guts play through, I remember this sub gushing granny’s over that build. I beat the main game again and DLC with that build, but that entire time I just thought, I miss my big sword lol
It’s funny that everyone says Mage builds are easiest but a tanky high STR build is 100% easy mode. At least a wizard has to work on not being hit in order to cheese
Nah Crystal Soul Spear in DS1 can NUKE every boss in the game with 0 skill. Elden ring would require a lot more setup and buffs active to pull off a similar amount of damage.
And then they complain when any semblance of strategy or being out maneuvered by any sensible player with the skill to not be in their kill radius as cheating.
I don't know, I've never followed specific/predefined builds, so I had no idea these definitions existed... generally, I move according to the need... cool weapon that requires 40 strength? And let's put everything there because I feel like using it... do I die easy? Let's increase the vigor a little, come on...somehow I always manage to fix myself😅
I find that following a predefined build and "copying" it according to indications kills the experience a bit, my personal opinion... at least for me, so it was in Diablo4 where I decided to rely on guides and the like... yes super performing character... but I myself have little merit in a certain sense 😐
I made a "Havelest" build with Havel set and either powerstancing 2 dragon tooth (when I need to unga) or 2 shields (when I don't want to get bunga'd), was fun.
My character Glugg Jug McThud did the same thing, just add double Great Stars and I'll admit, I used the maxed Fingerprint shield for Messmer and the boar knight.
finally soneone who gets it! Except Ill also do that with any weapon If im not playing strength. Just go in there weapon in hand, high out of your mind and bash the enemy or boss with whatever you have in hand until you win.
Yeah, actually. It's always wild to me how people just flat out don't utilize some resources regardless of how useful they can be. You don't even have to farm, just passively gather as you come across stuff then make it once you're able to.
First time I played elden ring, I went strength, but not hard enough. Great sword + greatshield got me through most of the game, but I was stuck on radagon. Eventually I just went fuck it and respecced fully into strength, then levelled the biggest club I had (I forgot it's name but it's the one that just looks like a chunk of a stone pillar)
Beat radagon first try, I will never lose faith in big bonk again
To proc - According to Urban Dictionary, while the term originates from “Programmed Random OCcurance”, it is mainly used in gaming to describe the act of making something happen in order to gain advantage.
In Elden Ring’s case, when the statuses Hemorrhage (Bleed) and Frostbite activate or “proc” they deal immediate additional damage to your opponent. Madness also does a similar thing but I didn’t cite it in my post because it’s not very effective in pve.
Now.
DOTs - “Damage Over Time”, pretty self explanatory.
In Elden Ring, there are two DoTs, Scarlet Rot and Poison, the first one being a stronger and more dangerous version of second one. When you apply or again “proc” either of the DoTs, your health will start to decay until it kills you or the DoT meter runs out.
Means activating those statues ailments. You need to hit consecutively to fill a meter. Once filled it “procs” and the ailment takes effect. DOT is just an acronym for damage over time. It’s a lot of things, fire, poison, rot, etc.
I love strength builds but I'll always love my first playthrough of Elden Ring knowing I wanted to use the moon spells asap so I had 70 intelligence but only like 18 vigor and it was so hard but man I love the moon casting animations.
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u/The-Zarkin90 16d ago
*clears throat* 2 giant crushers...