The Best Elden Ring Dexterity Build – Stats, Weapons, Skills & More

Elden Ring Dexterity Builds – Playstyle, Pros and Cons

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!

Pros

• The biggest weapon diversity in the game.
• Amazing scaling on weapons makes this great in NG+
• Viable at every stage of the game.

Cons

• Some of the best weapons are not found early game.
• There are almost no cons to this weapon class, mainly because it gives everything.

Starting Class, Attribute Leveling and Distribution

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.

Best Weapons and Skills for Dex Build

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.

Guardian Sword Spear

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+.

• Location: Dropped by Erdtree Guards around lesser Erdtrees.
• Required Stats: 17 Strength, 16 Dexterity

Great Knife

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!

• Location: Starting Weapon for Bandit, also dropped rarely from Demi-Humans.
• Required Stats: 6 Strength, 12 Dexterity

Bandit’s Curved Sword (Lightning, Bleed or Keen Infused)

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.

• Location: Dropped from Skeletal Bandits wielding them.
• Required Stats: 11 Strength, 13 Dexterity

Ornamental Straight Sword

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.

• Location: Dropped by the Grafted Scion boss.
• Required Stats: 10 Strength, 14 Dexterity

Butchering Knife

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!

• Location: Dropped by Anastasia, Tarnished Eater in Mount Gelmir.
• Required Stats: 16 Strength, 20 Dexterity

Bloodhound’s Fang

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.

• Location: Limgrave, dropped by Bloodhound Knight Darriwil.
• Required Stats: 18 Strength, 17 Dexterity.

Dragon King’s Cragblade

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.

• Location: Purchased with the Remembrance of the Dragonlord at Enia.
• Required Stats: 18 Strength, 37 Dexterity

Nagakiba

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.

• Location: Dropped by Bloody Finger Hunter Yura North of Murkwater Cave upon death. It can also be obtained at the end of his quest.
• Required Stats: 18 Strength, 22 Dexterity.

Bolt of Gransax

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.

• Location: Found on the Spear in Leyndell. This weapon CANNOT be obtained after you defeat Maliketh.
• Required Stats: 20 Strength, 40 Dexterity

Honorable Mentions

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.

• Rivers of Blood (see our Rivers of Blood build here)
• Hand of Malenia
• Eleonora’s Poleblade
• Scavenger’s Curved Sword
• Morgott’s Curved Sword
• Bastard’s Stars
• Wing of Astel
• Magma Blade
• Noble’s Slender Sword

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

What are the best Ashes of War for Dex Builds?

Seppuku

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.

• Location: Mountaintops of the Giants, dropped from an invisible Scarab, on the Freezing Lake.

Bloody Slash

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

• Location: Limgrave, dropped by a Godrick Knight in Fort Haight.

Dual Slash

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.

• Location: Caelid, dropped by a Teardrop Scarab in Selia, Town of Sorcery.

Repeating Thrusts

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.

• Location: Dropped by the Night Cavalry on the bridge near Agheel Lake North.

Giant Hunt

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.

• Location: Dropped by a Night Cavalry between Bellum Church and East Raya Lucaria Gate.

Flame of the Redmanes

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.

• Location: Dropped by an invisible scarab in front of Fort Gael

Ice Spear

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.

• Location: Drops from the Night Cavalry on the Raya Lucaria Highway

Lightning Slash

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.

• Location: Altus Plateau, dropped by a scarab south of the Highway Lookout Tower.

Best Armor to Use

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.

White Mask

• Location: Dropped by killing one of three Nameless White Mask NPC invades inside the Mohgwyn Dynasty Mausoleum area.

White Reed Set + Okina Mask

• Location: The armor can be found in the Spiritcaller’s Cave on a corpse on the Mountaintops of the Giants. The Okina Mask drops from defeating Bloody Finger Okina at the Church of Repose in the same area.

Land of Reeds Set

• Location: Starting armor for Samurai, or sold by the Isolated Merchant’s Shack in the North of Caelid in the Dragonbarrow section.

Scaled Set

• Location: Reward for killing Old Knight Istvan as a request for Volcano Manor

Banished Knight Set

• Location: Chance to be dropped by Banished Knights

Best Talismans to use with Dex Build

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.

Erdtree’s Favor

Increases HP, Stamina, and equip load.

• Location base: Found guarded by Grafted Scions in Fingefolk Hero’s Grave
• Location +1: Found in a chest in the Subterranean Shunning Grounds after killing Mogh.
• Location +2: Found in Leyndell Ashen Captial guarded by lesser Ulcerated Tree Spirits

Radagon’s Soreseal

Greatly raises attributes at the cost of increased damage taken.

• Location: Found on a corpse in Fort Faroth

Great-Jar’s Arsenal

It gives a big boost to equip load.

• Location: Reward for defeating the 3 great jar champions in Caelid.

Prosthesis-Wearer Heirloom

Increases your Dexterity by 5

• Location: After finishing the sidequest given by Cowry in Caelid, return to Millicent to receive the talisman.

Shard of Alexander

Increases weapon skill damage by 15%

• Location: Drops upon completing Iron Fist Alexander’s questline.

Rotten Winged Sword Insignia

Increases damage with successive attacks up to 13%

• Location: Given to you by Millicent after helping her defeat her sisters.

Claw Talisman

Increases your Jump Attack damage by 15%

• Location: Stormveil Castle, found on a corpse atop a watchtower.

Lightning Scorpion Charm

Increases your Lightning Damage by 12% but increases your Physical Damage taken by 10%.

• Location: Found in the Wyndham Catacombs sealed behind an Imp Statue which requires a Stonesword Key

Magic Scorpion Charm

Increases your Magic Damage by 12% but increases your Physical Damage taken by 10%.

• Location: Obtained from Seluvis after progressing his questline. Do this before ending Ranni’s questline or it will become inaccessible.

Lord of Blood’s Exultation

Raise your Attack power by 20% after Blood loss occurs around you.

• Location: Drops from Esgar, Priest of Blood in Leyndell Catacombs.

Best Flasks Distribution for Dexterity Builds

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.

Recommended Summons

Mimic Tear

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.

• Location: Locked behind an Imp Stattue requiring a Stonesword Key in the Night’s Sacred Ground in Nokron, Eternal City.

Black Knife Tiché

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.

• Location: Dropped from Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader upon defeating him inside the Ringleader Evergaol. This can only be accessed upon completing Ranni’s quest in the south of Liurnia

Perfumer Tricia

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.

• Location: Rewarded for defeating Perfumer Tricia and Misbegotten Warrior in Unsightly Catacombs on the Altus Plateau.

Ancient Dragon Knight Kristoff

Kristoff is a defensive powerhouse who can tank the boss for a long time while dishing out some decent damage.

• Location: Dropped by Ancient Hero of Zamor inside the Sainted Hero’s Grave west of Leyndell

Banished Knight Oleg

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.

• Location: Found on a corpse inside the Fringe folk Hero’s Grave