In the vast and challenging world of Elden Ring, choosing the right build can make the difference between victory and defeat. Among the many playstyles, the Samurai build stands out for its balance of speed, precision, and deadly melee combat. Samurai characters excel at swift katana strikes, parrying, and maintaining agility while dealing substantial damage. This guide explores the best Samurai build in Elden Ring, covering essential stats, weapons, armor, and strategies to dominate your foes and master the art of the blade.
Key Attributes for the Best Samurai Build
Optimizing your character’s stats is crucial to harnessing the full potential of the Samurai playstyle. Elden Ring offers a wide array of attributes, but focusing on the following will ensure your Samurai is fast, strong, and effective with katanas and ranged weapons.
1. Dexterity (Primary)
Dexterity is the backbone of any Samurai build. It boosts the damage of katanas, light weapons, and improves casting speed for certain spells like weapon buffs. Investing heavily in Dexterity not only increases your damage output but also enhances your ability to perform quick, fluid attacks. Aim for a Dexterity level of around 40 for maximum katana scaling.
2. Endurance (Secondary)
Endurance increases your stamina and equipment load, allowing you to perform more attacks, blocks, and dodges without getting fatigued. It also lets you wear heavier armor without sacrificing mobility. Since Samurai rely on agility and sustained combat, having Endurance between 20 and 25 strikes a good balance between stamina pool and armor choices.
3. Vigor (Vitality)
Survivability is vital in Elden Ring, and Vigor increases your health points (HP). While the Samurai build is focused on dodging and precision, having enough health to survive a few hits is essential. A recommended Vigor level is 20 to 25 to maintain durability against tough bosses and enemies.
4. Mind and Strength (Optional)
Mind can be useful if you plan to use weapon buffs or some spells to enhance your Samurai’s abilities. Strength can be leveled minimally (around 12-15) to wield certain heavier katanas or paired weapons, but Dexterity remains the primary focus.
Best Weapons for the Samurai Build
The weapon choice defines the Samurai experience in Elden Ring. Katanas are the signature weapons, combining speed and bleed damage that can shred through enemies quickly. Here are the top weapon picks for an effective Samurai build.
1. Uchigatana
The classic katana choice, Uchigatana is found early in the game and is great for newcomers and veterans alike. It boasts solid Dexterity scaling and innate bleed buildup, making it perfect for the Samurai build. Its moveset includes fast slashes and thrusts, allowing for quick combos and ripostes.
2. Nagakiba
For players seeking extended reach and longer combos, Nagakiba is an excellent upgrade to the Uchigatana. It has a longer blade and similar Dexterity scaling with bleed effects, offering more versatile combat options and safer spacing from enemies.
3. Moonveil Katana
Moonveil is a powerful magical katana that adds a ranged component to the Samurai arsenal. Its special weapon skill Transient Moonlight releases a swift magic projectile with a strong Dexterity scaling. This weapon excels in PvP and PvE situations where quick bursts of damage and ranged pressure are valuable.
4. Hand of Malenia (Optional High-End Weapon)
This unique katana is prized for its extraordinary scaling and moveset. Though it requires more investment in stats, the Hand of Malenia offers tremendous damage potential and is a top-tier choice for dedicated Samurai players looking for the best in-game weapon.
Armor and Equipment for Agility and Defense
The Samurai’s armor should balance protection with mobility. Wearing heavy armor hinders dodging and rolling, which are essential to the build’s survival. Here are recommended armor pieces and equipment setups.
1. Light to Medium Armor Sets
Choose armor that offers decent defense but keeps your equip load under 70% to maintain fast rolling. The Ronin armor set fits perfectly with the Samurai theme and offers good protection while allowing agility. Alternatively, the Black Knife set or the Raging Wolf set provide similar benefits.
2. Talismans
- Green Turtle Talisman: Boosts stamina regeneration, critical for maintaining attack combos and dodging.
- Radagon’s Scarseal/Sourceal: Increases Dexterity damage at the cost of slightly increased damage taken.
- Carian Filigreed Crest: Reduces FP cost of weapon skills, helping you use katana skills more often.
- Erdtree’s Favor: Increases HP, stamina, and equip load to improve survivability and flexibility.
Best Ashes of War and Skills for Samurai
To maximize damage and versatility, pairing your katana with effective Ashes of War is crucial. Ashes of War are special weapon skills that add new moves or buffs to your weapons.
1. Flame of the Redmanes
This Ash of War adds fire damage and boosts attack power briefly, making your katana strikes hit harder. The fiery visuals also add a satisfying effect to combos.
2. Quickstep
Quickstep Ash of War enhances mobility by adding an evasive step, which complements the dodging playstyle of Samurai perfectly.
3. Bloodhound’s Step
Another mobility-focused Ash of War that gives you a quick teleport-like dodge to avoid attacks or close distance rapidly, perfect for aggressive Samurai players.
4. Sword Arts like Unsheathe
Unsheathe is a powerful katana skill that delivers a deadly single strike, ideal for punishing enemies who leave themselves open after attacks.
Playstyle Tips for the Best Samurai Build
The strength of a Samurai build lies in agility, precision, and bleeding damage. Here are some tips to enhance your gameplay experience:
- Master Dodging and Parrying: Use quick rolls to evade enemy attacks and learn to parry to open enemies for critical hits.
- Manage Stamina Wisely: Avoid exhausting your stamina bar; keep enough to dodge or block when needed.
- Utilize Weapon Skills: Timing your Ashes of War can turn the tide of battle, especially skills like Unsheathe or Bloodhound’s Step.
- Bleed Builds: Focus on weapons and buffs that build bleed quickly to maximize damage over time.
- Mix Melee and Ranged: Use bows or magic for ranged attacks to soften enemies before closing in.
The best Samurai build in Elden Ring balances swift, deadly katana strikes with agile movement and stamina management. By focusing on Dexterity and Endurance, choosing top-tier katanas like Uchigatana or Moonveil, and equipping effective Ashes of War and armor, players can create a versatile and powerful warrior. This build suits players who enjoy high-risk, high-reward combat that rewards timing and precision. Whether facing bosses or exploring the vast world of Elden Ring, the Samurai build offers a thrilling and satisfying way to master the art of the blade.