In preparation for Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC coming on June 21, 2024, I built a fantastic starter build, a Cthulhu Inspired build that will melt all aliens. In this guide, we’ll talk about everything you need to know to build this mind build. Without further ado, let’s take a quick look at the summary of this build.
Overview
Starting with the traits, aka the things that define this build. This is either a Strength/Faith/Arcane build or Dexterity/Faith/Arcane, depending on the weapons you decide to stick with.
Since you can’t make monsters in this game disappear just by thinking about them, the next best thing would be Madness status effect. This means this build uses Frenzied Flame Incantations.
To complement the mind theme, it uses weapons with power of mind attacks, namely Regalia of Eochaid and Marais Executioner’s Sword. Then I will try to make it as powerful as possible without detracting from the theme.
Now for the pros. What I can say is that the best thing about this build is the damage, it’s ridiculously high! If you manage to use the weapon skills in this build when the enemy leaves a gap. Besides that, its spells also do a ton of damage, especially the ones used at a distance.
Now let’s look at the cons of this build. First of all, I would like to say that this is a build that works best in New Game+ and above. You can try it on New Game, but the problem is that it is very harsh in the early game because the lack of some early attribute points leads to low damage to early weapons.
And its Madness status effect is almost useless in PVE. But luckily, most build up Madness’ spells also deal fire damage, so the spell itself is not useless.
Also, the armor sets of this build don’t provide a lot of poise, so that’s another aspect that this build lacks. And Sacred Seal and some Talismans take a while to get, and some can even be obtained only on New Game+.
Because of all these cutbacks on this build, it is not beginner friendly. This is indeed a build that requires some gaming knowledge, even if you have experience playing Soul-like games.
Weapons
With the basics out of the way, let’s take a look at the weapons I chose for this build.
We’ll start with the weapon you can get your hands on as quickly as possible, which is Regalia of Eochaid. With this weapon, the stat points will be focused on Dexterity instead of Strength. You only need 12 points of Strength to use it, and then the rest of the build will focus on Dexterity, Faith and Arcane.
The most interesting part of this weapon, of course, is its skill, Eochaid’s Dancing Blade, which is where most of the weapon’s damage comes from. This skill can be charged up to increase damage and attack range.
Beyond that, you can also deal even more damage with another weapon that has almost the same name, but is slower. I present to you Marais Executioner’s Sword.
It works exactly the same as Regalia of Eochaid, but it’s a Greatsword. The skills are the same, it works the same, and it’s used the same way. But if you’re going to use it, the stat points should be focused on Strength instead of Dexterity. You only need 14 Dexterity to use it.
Incantations
Now let’s check out the other part of this build that deals damage, namely Incantations. Start with the obvious: Golden Vow and Flame Grant Me Strength. These are the two support incantations for this build. There’s a third one, which I’ll talk about soon.
Golden Vow increases all sources of damage by 15% and increases damage resistance to all types of damage by 10%. To get it, you need to go to Corpse-Stench Shack in Mt Gelmir. It’s on a corpse inside a shack. Note that when you get close to the shack, an NPC will invade you, but you can rush in and grab it before she appears on the map.
Another support incantation is Flame Grant Me Strength, which combines perfectly with Golden Vow. But it works better in builds that deal fire damage, as it increases this damage by 20%. It’s located behind Fort Gael in Caelid. You can get it early, as it only requires 15 Faith to cast.
Now let’s look at Frenzied Flame Incantations that this build requires. This is an area of effect incantation. When cast, the user will eject a very erratic fireball from their eyes in front of them. As such, it is best used against large enemies or enormous groups, especially when they are not moving fast.
Sacred Seals
Now, let’s move on to Sacred Seals that should be used in this build. This is a fairly simple Seal, Frenzied Flame Seal. As it boosts the damage of Frenzied Flame Incantations by 20%.
To make the most of it, you should get a second one on New Game+, as using two Seals together increases the boost by 40%.
It is one of the best Seals to have early in the game and is fairly easy to get. If you start with a class other than Prophet or Confessor, you can easily buy this seal from Twin Maiden Husks for Elden Ring Runes.
Talismans
Speaking of Talismans, we need to split them into two different sets. One for weapons, and one for more focused spells.
For weapons, Talismans I recommend are: Winged Sword Insignia/Rotten Winged Sword Insignia, Millicent’s Prosthesis, Warrior Jar Shard/Shard of Alexander and Godfrey Icon. These three Talismans focus on increasing the damage of consecutive hits.
Now, we are going to check Talismans to equip when using spells, including: Fire Scorpion Charm, Faithful’s Canvas and Flock’s Canvas. They can greatly increase the damage caused by this build.
The above is all you need to know about assembling this build. Its high damage and fun gameplay experience will leave you with impressive memories in Shadow of the Erdtree DLC!
