Elden Ring Samurai Build Guide - Supreme Samurai
May. 2, 2024Elden Ring Samurai Build Guide – Supreme Samurai
In this Elden Ring Samurai Build Guide, I’m introducing theSupreme Samuraibuild. This is a versatile, all-game build that works from the very beginning of Elden Ring and remains effective through New Game and New Game Plus. It primarily focuses on dexterity, emphasizing traditional samurai combat. A common question for those starting with a samurai build is what to do if you’re not interested in following the typicalMoonveilpath or theBloodflame Bushidoapproach.
This guide is designed to offer an alternative route, showing how to create a successful samurai build without relying on the more popular options. TheSupreme Samuraibuild is ideal for players who want to stick with a pure-dexterity approach or even incorporate some strength elements into their samurai playstyle. I’ll explain the best way to build and play this type ofsamurai, focusing on skillful swordplay, quick attacks, and adaptability throughout all stages of the game.
A pure DEX Build that uses the Nagakiba and Grease to have the best damage for any situation, coupled with extremely high mobility.
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Let’s start with the weapon choice for this Dexterity Samurai build—theNagakiba. It’s one of my top five weapons in the game, thanks to its exceptional reach and manageable stat requirements, especially if you two-hand it. While theUchigatanais a popular alternative, theNagakibagenerally outperforms it, offering a longer reach without sacrificing much in terms of damage output. TheUchigatanamight have lower attribute requirements, but if you’re already focusing onDexterity, the requirements for theNagakibaare easily met, making it an excellent choice for a dexterity-based build.
In this build, I’ve opted for theKeenversion of theNagakiba, paired with theUnsheatheAsh of War.Unsheatheis the default weapon skill on theUchigatana, familiar to those who start as aSamurai. It allows you to hold L2 and choose between two types of attacks: R1 for a quick slash or R2 for a more powerful overhead slash that deals greater stance damage. If you’re targeting stagger effects, the R2 is your best bet, while the R1 is ideal for quicker responses when you need to act fast without knowing exactly what your enemy will do.
The playstyle for this build can be both aggressive and reactionary. When you’re facing bosses and want to stagger them, you might use the R2 stance repeatedly, akin to theMoonveilstrategy, to break their poise. If you’ve appliedBlood Grease, you might go all out with R1 attacks to triggerHemorrhageand deal burst damage. However, if you’re uncertain about an enemy’s moves or they’re highly aggressive, you can play more defensively, holding L2 and waiting to react with R1 or R2 depending on the situation.
The versatility ofUnsheatheallows you to adapt your combat approach, whether you’re going on the offensive, buffing your weapon, or playing defensively. This flexibility makes it a fantastic choice for a Samurai build, providing a wide range of options for engaging with enemies.
Another advantage of keeping your weapon with pure physical damage is the ability to buff it with Greases, adding versatility to your attacks. If you’re aware of enemies’ weaknesses—whether through experience or by referencing the wiki—you can craft and apply the appropriateGreasesto exploit those weaknesses. This is particularly useful in New Game Plus, where you often have a better understanding of boss vulnerabilities and a large supply of crafting materials.
Early on,Lightning Greaseis effective since many enemies and bosses are vulnerable to lightning.Blood Greasehelps triggerHemorrhagefaster, giving you an edge in combat.Magic Greaseadds magic damage, and Dragon Grease boosts your damage against dragons likeAgheel. This flexibility is a significant advantage over builds focused solely onBleed, likeBloodflame Bushido, allowing you to adapt to different scenarios and boss fights.
In New Game Plus, you’ll have plenty of crafting materials, making it easy to create theseGreasesas needed. If you’re playing through New Game, you might need to collect recipe books to craft them, which can be a bit challenging early on, but it’s not overly difficult. Overall, the ability to switch damage types withGreasesadds a strategic layer to this build, letting you tailor your approach depending on the enemies you’re facing.
So when it comes to armor for this DEX Samurai build, this is all about fashion for me. I’m trying to get thatSamurailook or that Ronin look. So I really went and mixed and matched pieces to try and give me that, and also make it a little bit different than the otherSamuraibuilds I’ve done. I have theNox Swordstress Armorfor the chest. I have theWhite Reed Gauntletsfor my arms. And then I have the two pieces of theRonin’s setfor my helmet and legs. That kind of gives us the look that we’re going for here. It’s not min-maxed in terms of protection and things like that, but it’ll give you that appearance. I feel like if you’re trying to play aSamuraiin this game, you want to look like aSamurai, you want to feel like aSamuraiwhen you’re playing. You don’t want to just be like the tankiest knight ever with akatana.
By combining specific armor pieces with theBull-Goat’s TalismanandGreat-Jar’s Arsenal, this build achieves a light equip load, allowing you to perform longer dodge-rolls. This complements a Samurai build, providing excellent mobility and versatility in combat. Despite the light equip load, you still reach the critical 51 poise breakpoint, which means you can tank through a hit without being interrupted. This is crucial when facing smaller enemies like rats, as it ensures your attack isn’t disrupted, which can be particularly frustrating with light builds. Thus, this setup offers the best of both worlds—light rolling with enough poise to withstand a hit.
Additionally, this build uses theDragoncrest Greatshield Talismanfor increased protection, which is important given the lighter armor. It helps mitigate some of the damage when you’re trading hits. TheShard of Alexanderis also included to boost damage fromUnsheatheattacks, which is a central aspect of this build. SinceUnsheatheis used frequently, enhancing its damage is a significant advantage.
These aren’t the only talismans you can use, though. TheAssassin’s Cerulean Daggeris a great early-game option. It helps restore FP when landing critical hits, allowing you to use Unsheathe more frequently without worrying about FP cost. This is especially useful in New Game, where weapons aren’t fully upgraded, leading to more staggered enemies rather than one-shots. As you progress and your attack power increases, you might find you no longer need this talisman, and you can replace it with another option to further boost your damage or protection.
TheRitual Sword Talismancan be a good option if you play cautiously and keep your health full. It provides a damage boost when your health is at maximum, which suits a methodical playstyle. This talisman may be more useful in the early stages of New Game, where you have fewer flasks and need to be more careful about taking damage. For those who play aggressively, it might be less practical, but for a careful approach, it’s a solid choice.
Millicent’s Prosthesisis also a decent option for this build, offering extradexterityand increased damage with repeated attacks. This can be great for aggressive players who frequently spam attacks. The additional 5 dexterity contributes to your damage output even when the talisman’s secondary effect isn’t active. I find it slightly more useful than theRotten Winged Sword Insigniabecause of the consistent boost from the dexterity bonus, which makes it beneficial in a wider range of situations.
For this DEX Samurai build, the stat distribution is as follows: 50Vigor, 25Mind, 38Endurance, 18Strength, 80Dexterity, 16Intelligence, 7Faith, and 9Arcane. Note thatIntelligence,Faith, andArcanearen’t necessary for this build, as it doesn’t use any spells. The values in those stats are due to starting as anAstrologer, so your numbers might vary depending on your starting class. If you start as a Samurai, these stats will likely be lower, which is perfectly fine.
50Vigoris probably the bare minimum you want at the start of New Game Plus, which is where I am in this footage. So you’ll probably want to get this up to 60 throughout New Game Plus, in order to give yourself, you know, enough health that you’re not one-shot by later-game bosses.
25Mindjust gives us enough FP to play around withUnsheathe. This is plenty, in my opinion; you can probably drop this down to 20 if you don’t mind drinking a blue flask every now and then. You don’t need much Mind for this build. All you’re really using it for isUnsheathe, and you can still use it liberally with 25.
When it comes toEndurance, we have 38 here, which seems like a lot for this build, and it is, but theNagakibais a stamina hog. It absolutely uses a ton of stamina, whether you’re R1 spamming, L2Unsheathing, or Dodge Rolling. It just uses a ton of stamina. Also, this helps us get to the light equip load, so that you can maximize your dodge distance and still be under that weight threshold.
So you’d need a lot of Endurance, plus theGreat-Jar’s Arsenalwith the armor set we’re wearing, to get that light equip load. If you don’t care about light equip load, you can drop this down and replaceGreat-Jar’s Arsenalwith one of the other talismans that I mentioned. But if you want that light equip load, you’re going to have to get somewhere around 38 Endurance.
Strengthat 18 allows you to one-hand the weapon, but it’s not necessary for this build since it’s primarily two-handed. For a more optimized setup, especially at the beginning of a new game, you can dropStrengthto 12, which is the requirement for two-handing, and allocate the extra points toDexterityorVigorfor increased damage or health.
This is a better approach if you’re focusing on two-handed combat. I initially had 18 because I was considering one-handing but switched to two-handing without changing the stat. If you’re sticking to two-handing, 12 Strength is sufficient, and you can use those extra points elsewhere.
Dexterity is at 80, which is where the damage scaling starts to taper off for this build. This setup works well for New Game and New Game Plus, but it might not hold up as effectively in New Game Plus Plus. If you’re aiming for higher damage beyond New Game Plus, you’d need to switch to a Quality build with 65 Strength and 65 Dexterity, which eventually could reach 80/80 for better results. However, this requires a lot of stat investment.
For those using Millicent’s Prosthesis, you could set Dexterity to 75, allowing the talisman to boost it to 80, freeing up five points for other stats. This approach is especially useful during your first playthrough, where your level might be lower. Overall, this build is best for New Game and New Game Plus, with some adjustments required for New Game Plus Plus or later stages.
Here are some final tips before we wrap up this guide. For theFlask of Wondrous Physick, I recommend theGreenburst Crystal Tear, which boosts stamina recovery speed—crucial for this build, especially if you’re playing aggressively. I also suggest the Crystal Tear that increases stance damage, perfect for those who rely on the L2-R2 attack strategy. This makes it easier to stagger bosses, allowing for critical hits and continuous attacks while they’re down.
If your focus is rapid R1 attacks withBlood Grease, theCrystal Tearthat boosts damage with successive attacks is an excellent choice. It enhances your damage with each hit, giving you an edge in combat. For first-time players, the Crystal Tear that increases Dexterity is a solid choice, providing a general boost to your damage output.
RegardingGreat Runes,Radahn’s Great Runeis a strong recommendation. It increases health, stamina, and FP, which are all beneficial for this build. Another great option isMalenia’s Great Rune, as it restores health with every attack, fitting an aggressive playstyle. This is particularly useful towards the end of your first playthrough and in New Game Plus.Godrick’s Great Runecan also work, especially early on, since it boosts all stats by 5. However, this build doesn’t require much Strength, soGodrick’s Great Runemight become less useful over time, making it less suitable for the long term.
And that wraps up ourSupreme Samuraibuild guide. I hope you guys enjoyed this build. We do have more builds coming, along with more weapon videos. You can stay tuned for those. 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.
