Looking for an Elden Ring best Samurai build? If players are anything like half of the GameByte team, having the choice of Samurai as a class in Elden Ring is pretty much definitive. Running around the Lands Between with a Katana and Bow feels nice, although users will need to time strikes well and make sure they build towards making bow shots easy to pull off.
Elden Ring FAQ: Every Guide You’ll Need
General Elden Ring Best Samurai Build Tips
To kick things off, let’s get into some general build tips going into a new playthrough of Elden Ring as a Samurai. A player’s initial statistic choices should focus on Dexterity, Mind, and Vigor, with Dex and Vig helping out during physical combat.
Players should look at starting Elden Ring with 20 in both statistics to help with scaling and having the necessary statistics for better weapons down the line. Investing in the Mind stat will help players build focus, which is directly relatable to making good bow shots. Taking out stronger enemies from a distance is invaluable throughout an Elden Ring playthrough, so investing heavily into the Mind statistic is well worth it.
Players don’t need to worry too much about finding another weapon considering how well the Uchigatana scales with the above statistics in mind. Combining the focus of Dex and Vig alongside pairing this with Hoarfrost Stomp Ashes of War, the Uchigatana will serve players well throughout their Elden Ring playthrough. It’s also part of our Best Dex Weapons guide too, check out the rest here.
However, players may want to upgrade to the Moonveil Katana which requires a good amount of intelligence. Don’t worry about that, players can always respec by following this guide.
Weapons – Elden Ring Best Samurai Build
Uchigatana has the ‘Blood Loss Build-up’ passive effect which gives the Hemorrhage status on foes. Long story short, it’s bleeding damage that stacks providing players keep using a weapon with the same ability such as the Uchigatana.
Its Unsheathe skill is also great for dealing with single enemies and groups, simply hit the skill button and go for a light attack to perform a wide slash that can hit multiple enemies. A strong attack will perform an overhead attack that deals incredible damage alongside managing to stagger most enemies from one hit.
The Longbow is also a solid long-range weapon that will serve its purpose for the majority of the game. Its dex scaling works well with our recommended Samurai stat choice and has the Mighty Shot skill, dealing great damage whilst not sacrificing too many focus points.
Players can buy standard arrows for 20 runes per bundle from Merchant Kalé in the Church of Elleh. As long as players have a good rune farming strategy they’ll be fine. Find more about that here.
Armour – Elden Ring Best Samurai Build
This is actually one area that players don’t need to worry about too much, just make sure any armour set chosen provides good physical damage protection and doesn’t weigh too much. If users go for heavy armour it will affect dodging, which is one of the key mechanics in a Samurai build. Again, investing in Endurance will allow players to carry more and compensate for any Medium armour sets. Long story short, the Land of Reeds Armor set is cool and players should stick with it.
Talisman – Elden Ring Best Samurai Build
Here are the three Talismans that will work great with this Elden Ring best Samurai build:
Arrow’s Reach Talisman
This Talisman will enhance the distance of ranged weapons shots, which will work great with the Long Bow. It will allow players to pick off enemies at a greater distance than usual, making up for light armour protection.
Axe Talisman
The Axe Talisman increases the power of charged attacks, which means combining this with a heavy Unshethe skill attack will be devastating. Let’s not forget that good chance of staggering too.
Assassin’s Crimson Dagger
This Talisman manages to restore health when players land critical hits, which also marries up well with the Uchigatana’s Unsheathe skill. Restoring health whilst dealing with some serious damage is a perfect combination.
Strategy – Elden Ring Best Samurai Build
Players will soon find out that their Elden Ring best Samurai build is quite a week out of the gate, which means dodging and avoiding head-on fights whenever possible is going to pay off. Using the Longbow to pick-off enemies whilst using the Mighty Shot ability for stronger foes is a good tactic to kick things off with. Players can also use ranged attacks to split groups of enemies up, going in for a close-range kill with weaker enemies.
When it comes to close-range attacks, it’s not a good idea to go into a group of enemies with a Samurai build. By the time close-combat rolls around, a player should have picked off enemies from afar with the option of going up against one or two enemies at once, no more.
Using the Unshethe ability leave a Samurai vulnerable to attacks, so players should get used to the timing of the ability alongside light and heavy attacks before relying on the skill. Plenty of low-level enemies can be found around Limgrave and the beginning areas of the game.
Other than that dodging and timed hits are a player’s best friend, which shouldn’t be too challenging given a Samurai’s high Dex and Vigor stats allowing for quick dodging.
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