AuraAmile
∙
11 Min read The Elden Ring Dexterity build has the most variety of any class in the game. There are a ton of options and most of them are very strong at that.
Overall, Dexterity also has a large variety of multi-statting. This means investing in different stats like Faith or Intelligence.
This class becomes amazing from the get-go with most of the weapons having very high attack speed. With that in mind, let’s get to the pros and cons!
This leveling path will NOT account for Intelligence or Faith weapons. If you use any, you can take away some stats invested into Dexterity, or Strength.
| Starting Stats | Lv25 | Lv50 | Lv100 | Lv150 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vigor | 11 | 20 | 24 | 34 | 50 |
| Endurance | 11 | 13 | 18 | 18 | 30 |
| Strength | 10 | 10 | 18 | 30 | 25 |
| Dexterity | 16 | 22 | 30 | 60 | 80 |
| Mind | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 17 |
| Intelligence | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Faith | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Arcane | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
As usual, we will be getting our main damage stat, Dexterity, up to a certain threshold first. 22 is where you can wield most weapons from the early parts of the game. We also put some stats into Vigor and Endurance for survivability.
Around level 50 we are aiming for 18 Strength, because this allows you to wield most Dexterity weapons, even the later ones. Aside from that, we follow the standard upgrade path for Dexterity, Vigor, and Endurance getting them all up.
Look to get Dexterity to 60 around level 100 and max out Endurance at 30. After this, we increase Vigor up as much as possible until hitting 50.
At level cap (150 because after leveling this further finding PVP becomes more difficult) we max out Dexterity at 80, this is the cap after which the damage you get will fall off drastically. We also hit 50 Vigor for max survivability and 30 Endurance to get the most out of that.
We also invest a little more into Strength to get more damage and be able to wield more weapons that are acquired in the last parts of the game. We put our last stats into Mind to be able to use our Ash of War a bit more often.
There are a TON of Dexterity weapons in Elden Ring. This makes for a huge variety in build choices and some tough cuts into the Honorable Mentions. We will rank some from each weapon category that Dexterity influences or you can see our weapons tier list.
One of the most flexible weapons in the entire game, I have to rank it number 1 on the list for now. You can go in so many different directions with this weapon, which makes for a lot of fun experimenting.
The 3 best ways to run this weapon are Lightning Infusion, Ice Spear Ash of War, and Giant Hunt Ash of War. These 3 are all amazing in their own right and ranking them is almost impossible. I will say on higher NG’s, the Ice Spear takes the edge because frostbite becomes insanely useful on higher NG+.
The Great Knife is a very good offensive option. Even though it has a very short range, it has very good attack speed, especially once you dual-wield them. You can even infuse them with your preference of Ash of War or infusion to take them to the next level!
Next to the Guardian Sword Spear, is a super flexible weapon, the Bandit’s Curved Sword. It works amazing with 3 infusions: Lightning, Bleed, and Keen. This weapon does however work the best if you dual-wield them. This is mainly because you can fully utilize the jump attack from the Curved Sword this way.
This is the first weapon in the entire game you can get. Since it drops from the boss you are supposed to die too. If you are good enough you can get it then and there. If not you can come back later through the Belfry portals.
This weapon like the Great Knife has amazing rush-down. It has insane attack speed, and very good damage, especially once infused with its amazing Ash of War. The only difficulty is obtaining it early.
An overall powerhouse with a great moveset, the Butchering Knife has tons of options that make this weapon great to wield. You should always infuse it with Keen, giving it an A scaling in Dexterity. It also works great with many Ash of Wars like Wild Strikes and much more!
The Bloodhound’s Fang was destined to be up here. It has one of the best Ash of Wars in the whole game, which has great offense but also amazing defensive capabilities. Just don’t spam it in PVP since experienced players can easily parry it. It also staggers many enemies with its hits, making it great for many enemies without any problems of taking damage.
Not only one of the coolest but also one of the best Dexterity weapons, The Dragon King’s Cragblade deserves to be here. Even though you get this weapon very late in a playthrough it’s more than worth the wait, with one of the coolest Ash of War in the entire game which is also practical, it already has an edge. Next to that it also is a great weapon with the amazing moveset of Heavy Thrusting Weapons.
Nagakiba is one of the longest weapons in Elden Ring. This makes for amazing reach giving it a great advantage over all other katanas with no direct downside. It is a direct upgrade to the Uchigatana. The only thinkable downside is that you need to kill Yura to obtain it early which means you cannot do his quest.
Another amazing dragon-inspired weapon with a very cool Ash of War, the Bolt of Gransax is a great option for Dexterity builds. It does require some hefty stat investments but it has great reward for this.
The weapon itself is already very good, but the Ash of War is the cherry on the cake. It fires a lightning missile with an enormous range and good damage to match. With the great moveset of the spear, you can even wield this with a shield for a more defensive build.
There are too many Dexterity weapons that are good to make up a proper list. These are some of the best that sadly did not cut it for our Dex build recommendations.
| LV25 | LV50 | LV100 |
|---|---|---|
| Nagakiba | Magma Blade | Hand of Malenia |
| Bloodhound’s Fang | Scavenger’s Curved Sword | Rivers of Blood |
| Great Knife | Butchering Knife | Morgott’s Curved Sword |
| Bandit’s Curved Sword | Ornamental Straight Sword | Dragon King’s Cragblade |
| Noble’s Slender Sword | Wing of Astel | Bolt of Gransax |
| Bastard’s Stars | ||
| Eleonora’s Poleblade | ||
| Guardian’s Sword Spear |
Seppuku is the best Ash of War for any Elden Ring bleed build. It exchanges some HP for 30 flat extra damage and 30 flat extra blood buildup, which is a lot. it is often used in combination with the Curved Swords because of the insane blood buildup those weapons already have.
Blood Sash is the earliest bleed Ash of War you can find. This Ash of War does a lot of damage and a lot of blood buildup in exchange for some HP. It cannot be parried and also does posture damage.
In general a very good Ash of War
Dual Slash is pretty much Corpse Piler from Rivers of Blood without the blood slash. Still very good and gives a lot of attacks for quick blood buildup. It is still inferior to the other 2 Ash of Wars.
Repeating Thrusts provides a short charge up you deal a quick succession of thrusts. These can easily break an enemy’s guard while also dealing a good chunk of damage.
Giant Hunt is a charging attack that deals massive damage. Very good in combination with Nightrider Glaive or Greatsword. It also heavily profits from running the Spear Talisman because, it counts as a thrust attack which means it can counter-hit.
Flame of the Redmanes provides a flame in a wide attack onward, dealing a pretty good amount of damage. This attack also has a very short down time making it easily spammable.
Fire an Ice Spear after a short delay. Only use this in combination with the Guardians Sword Spear. These 2 make for one of the best weapon combinations in Elden Ring.
The best part is this build only becomes better in NG+ making it one of the best at dealing with NG+7 bosses. I think that alone speaks volumes about its value.
If you like ranged abilities and spells like this, check out our mage build.
Lightning Slash infuses the weapon with Lightning after firing a lightning strike. Amazing if you want lightning affinity on your weapon. Probably the best Lightning Ash of War you can find until you acquire the Glintstone Wetblade to put Lightning on any weapon.
The armor only matters if your weapon has Hemmorhage on it. Otherwise, the choice made here does not influence your build at all!
In any case, here is our list of the best armor in Elden Ring.
With so many different weapons in this guide, it is understandable that there will be a ton of good Talismans to match. Some are more limited to specific builds, however.
Increases HP, Stamina, and equip load.
Greatly raises attributes at the cost of increased damage taken.
It gives a big boost to equip load.
Increases your Dexterity by 5
Increases weapon skill damage by 15%
Increases damage with successive attacks up to 13%
Increases your Jump Attack damage by 15%
Increases your Lightning Damage by 12% but increases your Physical Damage taken by 10%.
Increases your Magic Damage by 12% but increases your Physical Damage taken by 10%.
Raise your Attack power by 20% after Blood loss occurs around you.
Our recommendation is running 12 healing flasks and 3 FP flasks for this guide. Mainly because you will be using your Ash of War a lot on some of these weapons.
This however is not required, and you can play while running 15 healing flasks if it’s more to your comfort, or if these weapons don’t use their Ash of War.
Even though Mimic Tear has been nerfed into the floor, its viability with bleed builds is still a massive plus. It makes for a super easy time to get Hemorrhage damage on the enemy, dealing massive damage. With that said, only use this if your Dexterity weapon has Bleed buildup.
Black Knife Tiché is unique in that he has the Deathflame weapon art. This is a max HP scaling burn that also lowers the enemy’s HP. Next to that, he is very aggressive with a decent amount of HP. He is considered the best summon in the game.
Though Tricia is not very strong as a frontline, she has very good buffs she will apply to you, next to that she does have amazing zoning making it harder for you to be attacked.
Kristoff is a defensive powerhouse who can tank the boss for a long time while dishing out some decent damage.
If you run a build that breaks guards easily, Oleg will only increase that strength. Oleg is a dual-wielding Banished Knight who can easily demolish any low-health boss.
League of Legends
Teamfight Tactics
Valorant
Lost Ark
Destiny 2
Diablo 4
Download APP