The Shadow of the Erdtree DLC for Elden Ring has brought in a lot of new items to make different types of builds. For this, we've come up with what we think is the best Dragon Warrior build in Elden Ring.
Best Dragon Warrior Build Armor and Weapons in Elden Ring
- Armor: None, using Dragon Form
- Right-hand Armament: Dragon Hunter's Great Katana +10
- Left-hand Armament 1: Great Katana +25
- Left-hand Armament 2: Dragon Communion Seal+10
We're using the Dragon Form which you can get via the Domain of Dragons Painting puzzle, so you can't use any armor here. The Dragon Form also gives a boost to your physical damage negation so it'll be very helpful when you're fighting against enemies in the base game as well as the DLC.
For the main weapon, we're using a maxed-out Dragon Hunter's Great Katana which you can get by defeating the Ancient-Dragon Man at the Dragon's Pit, east of Gravesite . This does a huge amount of damage to all kinds of enemies, especially dragons (while causing blood loss as well). On top of that, it's swift Dragonwound Slash skill is devastating and can take most big enemies down with two or three uses. There are other weapons suited for this build, but this great katana is quick and its weapon skill basically one-shots enemies.
Other right-hand weapons we recommend are the Blasphemous Blade (by defeating Rykard at Volcano Manor) and Spear of the Impaler (by defeating Messmer at Shadow Keep) since we're going with the fire theme. Both of these weapons' skills are overpowered and do tons of damage. It's highly recommended to get the Blasphemous Blade to start out with this build since the Dragon Hunter's Great Katana and Spear of the Impaler will be very difficult to get early on in the DLC.
We will also be casting a lot of Dragon spells and for that, we're using the Dragon Communion Seal found in the Stranded Graveyard. In case you want to dual-wield katanas, the Great Katana found at the Abandoned-Ailing Village, north of Gravesite Plain, is perfect.
Best Dragon Warrior Build Spells and Incantations in Elden Ring
We're using the following spells/incantations with this build:
| Spells/Incantations | What they do |
| Ekzykes's Decay ( Dragon Communion Incantation) | Spews roth breath and causes scarlet rot |
| Golden Vow (Erdtree Incantation) | Increases attack power and defense |
| Flame, Grant Me Strength (Fire Monk Incantation) | Increases physical and fire-based attack power |
| Ancient-Dragon Lightning Strike ( Dragon Cult Incantation) | Showers red lightning from above |
| Borealis' Mist ( Dragon Communion Incantation) | Spews out razor ice breath and causes frostbite |
| Dragonmaw ( Dragon Communion Incantation) | Spews out a dragon bite to enemies |
| Agheel's Flame ( Dragon Communion Incantation) | Spews out dragon flame |
| Ghostflame Breath ( Dragon Communion Incantation) | Spews out Magma from above |
| Theodorix's Magma ( Dragon Communion Incantation) | Spews out Magma from above |
The majority of these are Dragon Communion incantations which cause different status effects. These will be boosted since the Dragon Communion seal is equipped. These incantations can cause status effect buildups quickly and will certainly help you clear out enemy mobs in short order. Ezykes's Decay is especially useful here as the majority of bosses and enemies are weak to scarlet rot and will die in seconds.
The Ancient-Dragon Lightning Strike is the odd one here considering it's a Dragon Cult incantation rather than a Communion one. But its area-of-effect damage is particularly useful against dragons and bosses who move around a lot and have a wide frame. You'll find powerful DLC bosses like Bayle the Dread and Ancient Dragon Senessax are weak to it. Using Golden Vow and Flame, Grant Me Strength together for any encounter will stack the physical damage by 35%, so this is a must before you go to any boss.
Best Dragon Warrior Build Talismans and Great Rune in Elden Ring
We're using the following Talismans for the build:
- Talisman 1: Godfrey Icon (increases charged spells and skills by 15%, found by defeating Godefroy the Grafted at Altus Plateau)
- Talisman 2: Faithful Canvas Talisman (raises the potency of incantations by 4%, found in Sellia Crystal Tunnel)
- Talisman 3: Shard of Alexander (boosts the attack power of skills by 15%, found by defeating Alexander at Crumbling Farum Azula)
- Talisman 4: Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman (reduces physical damage taken by 20%, found in Miquella's Haligtree)
With the Godfrey Icon and Shard of Alexander, your weapon skill and spells will have more damage when charged. Additionally, the Faithful Canvas Talisman's boost is slight but with the Dragon Communion Seal it will work perfectly for the dragon spells we have. And, the Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman adds on to the physical damage negation we already had with the Dragon Form.
Best Dragon Warrior Wondrous Physick in Elden Ring
To boost the damage negation even further we have the Opaline Hardtear ( found at Fort Faroth in Caelid) in the Wondrous Physick which combines with the Greenburst Crystal Tear (found at the Minor Erdtree in Caelid) boosting the stamina recovery speed. The latter is especially useful for the Dragon Hunter's Great Katana (as well as the other recommended weapons) and the dragon spells because they will drain your stamina bar quickly.
Best Dragon Warrior Build Stats
Generally, here's how your build should look at level 200 since this is more suited to endgame and DLC areas:
- Vigor: 55
- Mind: 36
- Endurance: 20
- Strength: 33
- Dexterity: 50
- Intelligence: 7
- Faith: 60
- Arcane: 18
This is just an approximation of course, and you can respec to your needs. But to make the most of out of this build, this is generally what you should aim towards.
Faith is needed for all the spells and Arcane is needed for the Dragon Communion ones. The Arcane is the minimum you'll need to use all the incantations mentioned above but feel free to adjust it if you don't want some of them. Vigor is important because since you're going to be using these dragon incantations you'll be open to a lot of hits and your poise will be basically zero (with the Dragon Form). Your first aim after 200 will be to level up Mind and Endurance since you'll be needing these two to cast spells and use the weapon skills.
How to play the Dragon Warrior Build in Elden Ring
You'll be able to handle most enemy mobs and bosses with this dragon build but you'll still have a huge weakness: no poise. As such, you'll need to dodge and counterattack as much as you can. Fortunately, with the weapons we recommended normal enemies and groups of enemies will be down in seconds.
Before taking on a boss, use the Wondrous Physick and then Golden Vow and Flame, Grant Me Strength for the attack boost. Start off with a combo of light and heavy attacks followed by the weapon skill. Then, follow it up with any of the dragon spells you prefer. You won't be able to use spells successively with bosses like Godfrey or Maliketh, who are quick, so this is where your melee weapons will shine.
For more on Elden Ring, check out the 14 Fun Elden Ring Builds to Try, here on Pro Game Guides.
