Elden Ring Death Knight's Twin Axe Build - Death Knight 2.0 (Shadow Of The Erdtree Guide)

Jul. 8, 2024

Elden Ring Death Knight’s Twin Axe Build – Death Knight 2.0 (Shadow Of The Erdtree Guide)

In theShadow of the Erdtree Death Knight’s Twin Axes Build, I’m going to show you myDeath Knight 2.0 build. I say 2.0 because we had a previous build in the base game calledDeath Knightas well, which focused on theSword of Night and FlameandDeath Sorceries. However, in this build, we’re focusing on theDeath Knight’s Twin Axes, which can be found inShadow of the Erdtree, and using theDeath Knight Armor. This armor boosts the damage of the weapon skill on this weapon, which isBlink Bolt Twin Axe. This is an absolutely phenomenal build, and I can’t wait to talk about it.

In this Elden Ring Build Guide, I’ll be showing you my Death Knight’s Twin Axes build. This is aShadow of the Erdtreebuild that takes place after level 150. If you’ve been looking for an Axe build that deals great damage with its weapon skill Blinkbolt: Twinaxe, then you might want to check this build-out.

We have over 110Elden Ring builds. Each one is meticulously crafted to offer unique playstyles, strategies, and experiences, ensuring there’s something for every adventurer in the Lands Between. Whether you seek the raw power of heavy weapons, the finesse of spellcasting, or the versatility of hybrid builds, our collection has you covered. Explore the depths of the game’s mechanics and unleash your full potential with our diverse array of builds.

This build revolves around theDeath Knight’s Twin Axes, a dual-paired weapon. You can equip one of these and use the paired moveset, which, while not as good as some other paired weapons in terms of movesets, is still effective. This weapon deals primarily physical damage but also includes some lightning damage. It has moderate requirements of 14Strength, 12Dexterity, and 16Faith, scaling withStrength,Dexterity, andFaith. We’ve crankedStrengthhere since it offers the best scaling and raisedFaithto 25 to use a couple ofIncantations, while also investing points inDexterity. This weapon continues to grow in power as you level up to 200 or 250, making it very viable for the DLC andNew Game+.

One advantage of using a paired weapon is the ability to easily equip something in your offhand. I have aSealfor buffing withGolden Vow. You could also useFlame, Grant Me Strength. While it won’t buff all the damage of this weapon, it will enhance about 60-65% of it, which is useful for boss fights. You could also equip something like theSacrificial Axefor betterFPmanagement. Note that when using the weapon skillBlinkbolt: Twinaxe, it utilizes both axes of the paired moveset, not the axe in the offhand. Therefore, pairing it with a bleed axe or similar won’t add bleed damage during the spin attack.

Blink Bolt Twin Axeis an advanced weapon skill that requires practice to master. It has a long wind-up, and you need to anticipate enemy attacks to use it effectively. If you panic and press it when an attack is imminent, you’ll likely get hit. However, if you recognize enemy attack patterns, you can avoid damage and phase through attacks using this skill. It also deals a bit of lightning damage, but this is secondary to its dodging capability. Following up with a strong attack after the initial use of this skill results in a twirl that hits multiple times rapidly. This triggers buffs fromWinged Sword Insignia,Rotten Winged Sword Insignia,Millicent’s Prosthesis, andThorny Cracked Tear, significantly boosting your attack power and allowing you to melt bosses.

Understanding the distance you can travel with both parts of this skill is crucial. In boss fights, particularly against those that pause occasionally, you can be aggressive by spacing your attacks correctly. This ensures that the enemy hasn’t started attacking when you use the second part of the skill, giving you a better chance to dodge their counter-attack. Learning to use this weapon skill effectively against specific bosses, recognizing their attack patterns, and using the beginning portion of the skill to close gaps on enemies, then following up with a dual-wield combo chain, is essential. This helps conserveFPas the skill costs 18FPper use, which is relatively high if it takes two uses to kill an enemy compared to one use of another skill.

The seal I’m using here is theErdtree Seal. The only reason I’m using it is because it weighs nothing. I don’t even meet the requirements for it. I’m just using it forGolden Vow. If you hadFlame, Grant Me Strength, it would be the same deal. It’s not going to matter with these, so just use something that weighs zero. We’re really only using that for these buffs.

When it comes to theDeath Knight Set, each piece of the set will increase the damage of the weapon skill. It is not a substantial amount of damage; it seems like the total set increases damage by about 5% in my testing. It is not a lot. One of the problems with this set is that its poise, when you’re wearing all four pieces, is like 47. So you’re just under that 51 poise breakpoint, and it kind of sucks to use oneTalismanslot for 4 poise. What I’ve done here is I’ve swapped out the legs for a different piece, one that looks similar, in order to keep the fashion but get over that 51 poise breakpoint. This way, you don’t get staggered out of attacks, and when you’re doingBlinkbolt: Twinaxe, you don’t get interrupted as much.

In terms ofTalismans, we obviously haveMillicent’s ProsthesisandRotten Winged Sword Insignia.

If you don’t have both, you can use theWinged Sword Insigniainstead. TheBlinkbolt Twinaxebuilds up your attack power super rapidly when you have both of these equipped, allowing you to reliably trigger them and easily buff your damage in fights.

Shard of Alexanderis a no-brainer here as well because it boosts the damage ofBlinkbolt Twinaxe, and you want that to hit as hard as possible. One really good thing about this weapon skill, which I forgot to mention earlier, is that it does a decent amount of stance damage. It’s not the most stance damage out of any weapon skill I’ve ever used, but it still does a decent amount, allowing you to get stance breaks now and then.

Another talisman I want to mention is theBlessed Blue Dew Talisman. It’s also not bad when you’re out on the landscape, as it allows you to replenish FP as you’re using this skill. It’s a good way to open up an area with a lot of enemies, buff your attack power before engaging several other enemies.

Alternatively, you could use theCrimson Amber Medallionto buff your damage with each enemy kill. That’s another good way to get more damage out of the skill, but both of those will most likely be used out on the landscape rather than in a boss fight, as it doesn’t make much sense there in my opinion.

So attribute-wise for this build I have 55 Vigor, 30 Mind, 25 Endurance, 50 Strength, 25 Dexterity, 16 Intelligence, 25 Faith, and 9 Arcane.

You don’t need any Intelligence or Arcane; my 16 Intelligence is because of theAstrologerstarting class. If you start with a different class, your stat spread might be a bit better at this level.

Vigoris at 55 because this is a very aggressive build. While you can play defensively usingBlink Bolt Twin Axe, the focus is on playing offensively to build up attack power and deal substantial damage to bosses.

Enduranceis at 25, though this should be higher. As you level up, aim to increase Endurance to 35 or even 40 because you use a lot of stamina with this build.Blink Bolt Twin Axeand attacking aggressively drain stamina quickly, so theGreen Turtle Talismanis a good option for stamina management.

For damage attributes, we have50 Strength,25 Dexterity, and25 Faith. Strength scales the best for this build, giving the most damage. Dexterity is also good but behind Strength, and Faith is similar to Dexterity. I have 25 Faith to useGolden VowandFlame Grant Me Strengthif needed.

Moving forward, you’ll likely increase Dexterity and Faith up to 50 and then continue to increase Strength up to 80. This allows for a lot of room to grow, making this weapon viable forNew Game Plusor continuing inShadow of the Erdtreeif you level up to 200 or 250.

For theFlask of Wondrous Physick, I recommend using theThorny Cracked Tearto increase damage as you attack rapidly, which is a no-brainer for this build. Stamina recovery is also good here as you typically have stamina management issues in boss fights, so getting that extra stamina recovery is beneficial. If you have theGreen Turtle Talisman, you might not need it, but if you don’t, it’s definitely good to have. You can also use theLightning-Shrouded Cracked Tearto increase your lightning damage. This weapon does about one-third of its damage as lightning, so while it’s not as much of a boost as if it were full, it is still a way to increase damage.

ForGreat Runes,Radahn’s Great Runeis the obvious choice here because you need more FP for this build since you use a lot. You need more stamina because it’s stamina-hungry, and more health is good for trading damage since you’re playing aggressively. So I highly recommend using that one if you are playing this build.

So that wraps up ourDeath Knight 2.0 Build. I wanted to make a build that showcases buffingDragon Cultskills. If you’re not familiar,Dragon Cultskills typically deal lightning damage, such asLightning SlashorThunderbolt. TheDeath Knight setboosts the damage of these skills, allowing you to play around with various lightning-based attacks. This newAsh of Warslaps really hard, and theDeath Knight setboostsDragon Cultincantation damage as well. As always, let us know if you have questions or other tips in the comments below. We have a ton more builds coming forElden RingandShadow of the Erdtreeso stay tuned for those. If you need help finding the spells, items, or equipment in this build, and securing some personal objectives, make sure to check theElden Ring Map.

Castielle

Senior Editor at Fextralife. I enjoy gaming, playing and watching sports, cooking yummy food, watching a good movie and hanging out with Fex.