For many players, including myself, there is nothing more satisfying than using a strength build in a soul-like game. Being able to wield some of the heaviest and most powerful weapons in Lords of the Fallen feels extremely rewarding and will also turn you into a killing machine.
The beautiful thing about raw strength builds is the fact that they’re effective against every single enemy in the game. If you want to feel extremely powerful with no weaknesses whatsoever, this is going to be the perfect build for you.
Here, I'll breaking down one of the best strength builds in Lords of the Fallen and going over the best stats, weapons, and gear. Please prepare enough Lords of the Fallen Vigor to join me in making this build!
Best Starting Classes
For starting classes, you actually have several options.
Anyone that purchased the deluxe edition of Lords of the Fallen will immediately gain access to the Dark Crusader class, which is actually one of the best starting classes in the game, especially for a strength build.
The weapon and armor are both incredible for early game and the class has high Strength, Endurance, and Vitality.
The Hollowed Knight, Udirangr Warwolf, Partisan, and the Mournstead Infantry will all work as starting classes for a strength build since all of these prioritize melee combat and provide a decent starting point for a powerful strength build during endgame.
Stats
The main stats to focus on for this build are Strength, Endurance, and Vitality.
Strength is going to be the main contributor of your weapon’s overall damage and your crossbows damage since the Trapper Crossbow skills exclusively with strength, providing a powerful ranged option for your slow heavy hitting warrior. This is a stat that you can afford to increase over time, considering each level will gradually increase your overall base damage.
At some point, there will be diminishing returns. But anyone around level 100 to 125, you want to get this somewhere around 70 to 80, so you can deal some serious damage against your enemies.
Since strength builds are generally slower, you’ll want as much damage as possible to compensate for that.
Endurance is important, but you really shouldn’t increase this to any more than 25 for your first play through. It’s way more beneficial to focus on Strength and Vitality since the gains after 25 Endurance are very minimal.
This stat can be increased once your main stats are in a comfortable spot. If you find yourself in a situation where your Encumbrance is too heavy, then maybe investing some points into Endurance will help. But generally, if you’re around level 100, you don’t need to increase this any more than 20 to 25.
Vitality is your character’s overall HP. The more you increase this, the more Health your character will have. Vitality is very important for a strength build since you leave yourself open at times to execute powerful heavy attacks.
You also want high Vitality to survive enemy attacks when you’re trying to finish a powerful combo. If you want to have high Poise, you need to have a higher Health pool.
Weapons
The main weapon on this build probably the best strength weapon in the entire game, The Iron Wayfarer’s Hammer.
Once fully upgraded, this powerful Hammer provides S Tier scaling for Strength, giving you the most amount of damage possible.
I have over 1,000 Attack Power with 80 Strength, divided into Physical, Holy, Fire, and Wither damage. 3 additional status effects in addition to the weapon's already high physical attack power, making it the perfect hammer to use against every single enemy in the game. You will need at least 31 Strength to wield this weapon.
I also have three runes equipped on this hammer:
- 2 Ruq runes, which increase posture damage. This is going to help break an enemy’s guard, and it’s also going to help interrupt their attacks when you hit them more often.
- 1 Pertiax rune, which increases my overall physical damage.
To get this weapon, you have to defeat the Iron Wayfarer boss, which is guarding the entrance to the Bramis Castle later on in the game.
Before you get the Iron Wayfarer’s Hammer, I recommend using the Sword of Skin and Tooth, which can be found pretty early in the game near the Lower Calrath Alehouse, aka the Vestige of Lydia the Numb Witch.
This is a massive sword that scales incredibly well with Strength and also has 200 burn buildup on enemies. Just keep in mind, you will need at least 36 Strength to wield this weapon.
The Proselyte Sword is also a decent option if you don’t want to use a heavy great sword. This sword can be dropped from the Proselyte enemies you encounter several times throughout your journey. It has decent scaling for Strength, 100 burn buildup, and it only requires 19 strength to wield.
Ranged Weapon
For my ranged weapon, I’m using the Trapper Crossbow.
This crossbow can be purchased from vendors relatively early and it’s the best crossbow for a Strength build since it offers A Tier scaling for Strength once fully upgraded.
On top of that, it also causes 200 burn buildup over time, which can be combined with Cinder Bolts to amplify the effect. I also have Radiant Bolts for enemies weak against Holy damage and Weighted Bolts, which deal almost 1,000 physical damage alone.
Lords of the Fallen has a lot of ranged enemies to the point of frustration they’re everywhere, which means you need a ranged option to eliminate them as soon as possible.
Throwables
If you’re not a fan of crossbows in Lords of the Fallen, you also have throwables as an option, which are equally effective.
The most powerful throwable for a Strength build is the Enhanced Lump Hammer. It has B+ scaling for Strength and can be extremely effective against all enemies in the game.
I also recommend using the Accusing Spirit. This throwable is very powerful and extremely underrated. It basically debuffs your enemies, amplifying your damage against them while also nerfing the damage that they deal to you in the process. On top of that, this debuff will also transfer to nearby enemies upon death.
Lastly, I do have the Throwing Rock just to get Lords of the Fallen Items that are hanging from trees.
Apparel
Let’s take a quick second to break down my apparel for anyone that’s interested. I love the way this outfit turned out and I feel like it really fits the build overall.
For the head, I have the Udirangr Warwolf Hood.
For the torso, I’m using the Tancred’s Armour.
For the gloves, I have the Pilgrim’s Bandages just to help me maintain a medium Encumbrance and the Drustan’s Leggings to finish it off.
Pendant & Rings
For the jewelry, I’m using the Warrior’s Claw pendant, the Melchior’s Ring, and the Mineowner’s Ring.
The Warrior’s Claw pendant is one of the best in slot pendants for a raw Strength build since it increases physical damage and physical defense. This pendant increases your damage and survivability simultaneously.
The Melchior’s Ring increases your physical damage even further.
The Mineowner’s Ring increases maximum stamina and stamina regeneration rate. The Mineowner’s Ring is probably the most important ring just because The Iron Wayfarer’s Hammer is heavy and takes a lot of Stamina to swing. You want that Stamina back as quick as possible, so you can dodge attacks or land a final killing blow.
Quick Access Items
For quick access items, you obviously want to have your health potions handy.
You also want to make sure you have Ammunition Pouches and Ammunition Satchels if you want to keep up with your crossbow. These are pretty cheap and can be purchased from Gerlinde at Skyrest.
Unripe Berries are also good to have during boss battles, so you can execute more attacks and dodge when needed.
