Elden Ring Star-Lined Sword Build - Star-Lined Samurai (Shadow of The Erdtree)

Jul. 11, 2024

Elden Ring Star-Lined Sword Build – Star-Lined Samurai (Shadow of The Erdtree)

In thisShadow of the Erdtree Star-Lined Sword Build, I’m going to be showing you myStar-Lined Samurai Build. This build uses theStar-Lined Sword, a katana that you can get pretty early on in the DLC if you know where to pick it up.

In this Elden Ring Build Guide, I’ll be showing you my Star-Lined Sword build. This is aShadow of the Erdtreebuild that takes place after level 150. If you’ve been looking for a Katana build that deals great damage with it’s weapon skill Onze’s Line of Stars, then you might want to check this build-out.

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TheStar-Lined Swordis quite an interesting weapon. It deals both physical and magic damage, with about two-thirds of the damage being physical and one-third being magic. It scales withstrength,dexterity, andintelligence, though thedexterityscaling is significantly better than eitherstrengthorintelligence. Despite having high intelligence requirements, the weapon doesn’t scale very well withintelligence.

The sword has a relatively short reach for a katana, making it somewhat challenging to use compared to longer katanas in the game. However, it does have blood loss buildup, which is a notable advantage. After extensive testing, I concluded that theStar-Lined Swordshould be treated more like a straight sword. The length is comparable to a straight sword, and playing two-handed doesn’t provide much benefit since the weapon doesn’t significantly benefit from strength scaling. Instead, it works better with a shield in the offhand and the sword in the main hand.

The weapon skill,Onze’s Line of Stars, is highly effective in certain situations but challenging in others. This skill performs a chain of attacks with follow-up options: pressing the button once gives a double swing, pressing again adds a twirl, and pressing a third time results in a somersault attack. It’s particularly useful against elite enemies that can be stun-locked, allowing for repeated hits. The skill also has a longer reach than the weapon itself, making it effective for hitting enemies that are out of the sword’s normal range. Learning when to use a singleL2press for extra reach and when to attack normally is crucial.

One of the skill’s advantages is that you don’t have to complete the full chain. You can interrupt it based on the situation, which offers flexibility. However, many bosses are hyper-aggressive, making it difficult to execute the full combo. In these cases, using just the first or second part of the combo without committing to the full sequence can be more effective.

For this build, I use theWolf Crest Shieldin my offhand, a medium shield that provides a decent guard boost. When fully upgraded, it offers a 66 guard boost, which is impressive for a medium shield with only 12strengthrequirements. Although you could use theCarian Knight’s Shield, it has a lower guard boost, so I don’t recommend it. TheWolf Crest Shieldreally brings this build together. With its excellent guard boost, you can block counter easily. Since you already have some points in intelligence to wield theStar-Lined Sword, you can useScholar’s Shieldto further enhance your guard boost for a limited time during fights, making it easier to handle bosses that hit repeatedly or very hard, while not consuming too much stamina.

I typically use theNo Skillash on this shield to freely useOnze’s Line of Stars. This allows me to block counter and then, if an opportunity arises, utilizeOnze’s Line of Starsfor a bit more reach or to take advantage of an opening. However, there are a couple of other ashes of war that you might consider for this shield:Carian RetaliationandBarricade Shield.

Carian Retaliationis useful if you’re fighting enemies or bosses that fire a lot of projectiles. It allows you to catch these projectiles and use them as weapons against the boss. Additionally, it enhances parrying with a medium shield by increasing the iframe window, making it more effective than the regular parry on a medium shield. This gives you the flexibility to either block counter or parry during boss fights, and it’s sometimes nice to be able to grab projectiles.

Barricade Shieldworks well for certain boss fights if you decide not to useScholar’s Shield. It enhances your blocking capabilities, allowing you to block counter effectively. When an enemy’s guard is broken, you can either perform a critical strike or useOnze’s Line of Starsto deal significant damage while they’re vulnerable. Depending on the boss I’m facing, I might switch between these skills, but I usually default toNo Skill.

For the armor in this build, I use theIron Kasa, theTree Surcoat, and theglovesandlegsof theWhite Reed set. This combination gives me a samurai knight style that you see on the screen, but it falls short in poise, providing only 41 poise. To reach the crucial 51 poise breakpoint, I use theBull-Goat’s Talisman.

If you were min-maxing, you would likely choose an armor set with at least 51 poise, freeing up a talisman slot and probably offering better protection, making the build easier to play. However, I prioritize fashion over everything, so I went with this setup.

Additionally, I want to mention that theSpellblade Setincreases the damage ofOnze’s Line of Stars. However, since this skill deals two-thirds physical and one-third magic damage due to the weapon’s scaling, you won’t get as much benefit from it as you would if the weapon skill dealt purely magic damage. You’ll only see about a third of the effectiveness from theSpellblade Set, so I don’t recommend using it.

For talismans in this build, one of my slots is occupied by theBull-Goat’s Talismandue to my unoptimized armor setup for fashion, but I’ll suggest alternatives.

My two staple talismans are theShard of Alexanderand theTwo-Headed Turtle Talisman. TheShard of Alexanderboosts the damage ofOnze’s Line of Stars, which is frequently used, making it essential. TheTwo-Headed Turtle Talismanhelps recover stamina quickly, which is crucial asOnze’s Line of Starsuses a lot of stamina, allowing for efficient block counters and attacks.

For other slots, when out on the landscape, you can choose between theCrusade Insigniafor increased damage after killing enemies, which is beneficial for quick movements, or theBlade of Mercy, which increases damage after a critical strike, useful when block countering and then critically striking an enemy.

With an optimized armor setup, you can double stack these by replacing theBull-Goat’s Talisman.

Additional talismans to consider depending on the boss or enemies include theCurved Sword Talismanfor increased block counter damage, particularly useful in boss fights.

TheDragoncrestGreatshield Talismanfor further guard boosts if blocking frequently in a boss fight.

And eitherMillicent’s ProsthesisorRotten Winged Sword Insigniafor increased damage with rapid strikes. These are situational and may not be needed all the time but can be effective in specific scenarios whereOnze’s Line of Starsis heavily used.

So stat-wise for this build, I have 55Vigor, 26Mind, 30Endurance, 12Strength, 70Dexterity, 21Intelligence, 7Faith, and 9Arcane. You don’t need anyFaithorArcanefor this build, as those are not attributes we’ll be using.

Vigoris at 55 in this build, which is pretty standard forDLCbuilds. MostDLCbuilds are going to have somewhere between 55 to 60Vigor. You’ll probably want to take this up to 60 eventually. The reason I don’t here is that at this level, 151, I need to spend the points onMindandEndurancefor this build.

Mindis at 26, and I would like to have more here.Onze’s Line of Starsis an expensiveWeapon Skillif you use the whole combo. It’s something like 26FPto do the whole combo, which is quite extensive, especially if it takes you two combos to kill one elite. You’re looking at 52FPevery time you do that, so that can be a lot ofFPto go through, and that includes buffing withScholar’s Shieldperiodically as well.

Enduranceis at 30 here mostly for stamina. If you’re going for a block counter style build, you’re going to need a lot of stamina to absorb those hits and then be able to return attacks. So 30 is kind of the minimum I would go for here; 35 or 40 would be better.

Strengthis at 12 to meet the minimum requirements for the shield.

Intelligenceis at 21 there to meet the minimum requirements for the sword.

All my other points left went intoDexterity, and eventually, you’ll take this up to 80 to get even more damage out of this weapon before continuing to increaseStrengthandIntelligenceto get more damage.

When it comes to theFlask of Wondrous Physick, you have a few options. First, theGreenburst Crystal Tearis beneficial, as you go through a lot of stamina when block countering with any build, especially since we’re not using a great shield here.

This can help you out in boss fights by getting your stamina back so you can block and attack. TheOpaline Hardtearis also a good choice for increased protection. Bosses hit hard, so this is useful in any build. You can also use theThorny Cracked Tearto increase damage with successive attacks, but I find this one less useful for this build since it doesn’t focus on rapid attacks.

Another option is theDeflecting Hardtear, which increases yourGuard Boostif you block just before you get hit and also boosts your block counter damage in the same scenario. If you can get your timing down and know the attacks of a boss, this can boost your damage output with block counters and make guarding easier during boss fights. This is definitely worth considering.

RegardingGreat Runes,Radahn’sis easily the best choice. It provides more health andFP, which is needed for theWeapon Skillsince it’s expensive. Extra stamina is also beneficial for block countering and attacking. All these benefits make it the ideal choice.

That wraps up myStar-Lined Samuraibuild. I hope you enjoyed this one. This can be a tough weapon to use because itsWeapon Skillis very situational. Building around block counters to augment theWeapon Skillgives you an alternative when you can’t use it. Otherwise, you’re dealing with the very short reach of the weapon, which can be challenging. 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.