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Elden Ringhas recently released numerous updates, and these patches have put a lot of foolish ambitions to rest. Suffice it to say, many builds that were once overpowered are more or less dead now. On the bright side, that gave rise tomore innovationsamong the community and placed other meta stuff in the spotlight.
As it is, there are still severalElden Ringbuilds that are capable of cheesing the most challenging aspects ofthe game. Will they survive the next nerf wave via updates? Only time will tell. But at the moment, these builds are the ones that befit an Elden Lord.
Updated Jul 21, 2025 by Erik Petrovich: In the more than three years since Elden Ring launched, more and more overpowered builds have been discovered by Elden Ring players. But there’s still one weapon that often goes overlooked, despite having one of the most powerful weapon skills in Elden Ring. Ghiza’s Wheel deals Bleed damage with its Ash of War, Spinning Wheel, and if you maximize your Stamina and boost its damage, it will all but rip and tear every enemy in the game. This guide to the most overpowered builds in Elden Ring has been updated to include a Ghiza’s Wheel build that maxes out this veritable chainsaw of a weapon with specific talismans, spells, armor pieces, and stat suggestions.
Stat Priority
Ghiza’s Wheelis an incredibly strong weapon inElden Ring, but under normal circumstances, you can’t use its rapid bleed-proccing weapon skill for very long. If you hold down the left trigger as you perform theSpinning Wheel Skill, you will continue to spin the wheel like a chainsaw and eat through your Stamina bar.
If you build heavily into Endurance alongside Dex and Strength, you will have significantly more Stamina (and therefore more time) to use Spinning Wheel and shred through boss HP bars. Though many Bleed builds call for high Arcane stats, you actually don’t need it for this Ghiza’s Wheel build – but you can enhance the weapon art further with specific talismans and spells.
Equip theWhite Maskhead armor and theLord of Blood’s Exultationtalisman to enhance your bleed damage. TheShard of Alexanderwill enhance the damage of Spinning Wheel, theCarian Filigreed Crestreduces the initial FP cost of the weapon skill, and theBull-Goat’s Talismanwill reduce the chance that you get staggered.
Get Faith up to 25 to be able to cast a handful of self-buffs:Bloodflame Bladefor more weapon damage,Golden Vowfor damage and defense, andFlame, Grant me Strengthfor even more damage. Take theStonebarb Cracked Tearto break boss stance faster, then enter theShadow of the ErdtreeDLC to pick up the Viridian Cracked Tear, which grants infinite Stamina for 10 seconds.
Combine these pieces and, as long as your target isn’t resistant or immune to Bleed, Ghiza’s Wheel will tear through just about everything in the game.
One build that starts off strong is this lightning-addicted maniac.Lightning Speardoes the majority of your damage here, and if players want to conserve FP, they can just buff upUchigatanawith Electrify Armament. Meanwhile, the Dragon Lightning skills are certified boss killers, especially when used alongside theDeath Knight Setfrom theShadow of the ErdtreeDLC, which amplifies Ancient Dragon incantations with each piece..
TheIncantations scale well into the endgame., but you’ll want to equip powerful Faith weapons to supply your spellcasting. After beating the final boss, players will want to nab themselves aSacred Relic Swordby trading its Remembrance with Enia. It’s the best area damage Weapon Skill inElden Ring, and scales particularly well with this Faith-focused build.
Royal Knight’s Resolve on dual weapons
Melee builds aren’t lagging behind Sorcery builds when it comes to one-shotting bosses – though melee builds still require a lot of setup to maximize damage. This Strength-oriented buildutilizes the pile of buffsbefore ultimately running at the enemy, jumping, and then doing a heavy jump attack with both Hammers.
At full HP, start with a drink from your Physick flask (with the Opaline Bubble and Winged Crystal Tears), then castGolden Vow,Flame, Grant me Strength,and finallyRoyal Knight’s Resolve Skill. Make sure both hammers hit the target with your jumping attack guarantee enormous damage (and practically instant poise-break) on all but the sturdiest of bosses.
Confessor or Prophet
Some of the bestElden Ringbuilds empower players' capabilities while playing the game normally, but some of themost useful builds inElden Ringare targeted towards very specific goals. The Sacred Relic Sword Farmer build is one of these targeted builds, in this case, targetedtowards Rune farming.
With theAsh of War on the Sacred Relic Swordand gear that amplifiesRune Gain and Weapon Skill damage, players can easily farm millions of Runes per hour with this build. Head toMohgwyn Palace, specifically the Palace Approach Ledge-Road Site of Grace, and look for a huge group of Albinaurics resting on a slope nearby.
Buff yourself, consume aGold-Pickled Fowl Foot, and clear out all of them with theWave of Gold SkillWeapon Skill. Then, sit at the Grace, turn around, and do it again – with each swing, you shouldnet tens of thousands of Runes. Justdon’t bring this build into PvP or against particularly tough bosses– it’s meant to farm enemies in AoE, not necessarily perform well in one-on-one combat.
For a simpler Bleed build that still does well against bosses orenemies that are immune to Bleed, one can go wrong with theOccultScavenger’s Curved Sword. For best results, players needtwo of these, which means either a second playthrough or getting it from other players via item drops.
Before entering combat, players just need to apply theSeppuku Skillbuffto both weapons, drink thePhysick Flask, and then attack the enemy with a dual jumping power attack (usually LB/L1). With this setup, your hits will proc the Bleed effect and cause enormous Hemorrhage damage incredibly fast.
If the target is immune to Bleed, then buff the weapons withGolden VowandFlame, Grant me Strength, then continue with the jumping power attacks. You won’t inflict the Bleed effect, but your hits will still hit very hard. Thankfully not too many enemies inElden Ringare immune to Bleed.
While Pyromancy builds and methods were mostly overshadowed by the more wrathful and powerful lightning incantations, this combination is more than competitive. This Pyromancy build revolves around spamming two to three skills and incantations, primarily.
Against bosses or regular enemies,Magma Shower Skillwith the dual Magma Blades orBurn, O Flame!can both knock them down and make quick work of them. Meanwhile, tough and single targets are pretty susceptible toGiantsflame Take Thee.
Of course, don’t forget the buffs and flasks to empower yourself even more. As an Incantaiton build, you have easy access toGolden Vow,Flame, Grant me Strength, andBlessing’s Boon, which can give you a serious edge defensively and offensively before you start slinging some firestorms.
You can either wield two Giant’s Seals or two Magma Blades for this bestElden Ringbuild (with a Giant’s Seal in your second off-hand slot). Your primary source of damage is from your spells, so be sure to assign more uses to your Cerulean Tear flask.
For a pure Strength build, one can’t go wrong with thisBerserktribute build which happened to be overpowered. It takes full advantage of theAsh of War: Lion’s Clawin a Colossal Greatsword. Players will mostly spam that skill and go in for critical attacks once the enemies have been staggered.
For multiple targets or large enemies, thenFlame of the Redmanes Skillwill do the work to stun them. And yes, this build can and will humiliateMalenia, Blade of Miquellasolo with no summons. With the amount of defensive provided bythe Berserk-inspired armor set, and the sheer amount of power going into its specific strengths, you’ll be almost unstoppable cosplaying as Guts.
This build revolves around taking advantage of the charged variant of theEochaid’s Dancing Blade Skill. It spins multiple times like a drill and does so longer if charged, just like the Elemer of the Briar boss. There are a lot of ways toincrease your damage with weapon skillsinElden Ring, and ways to increase damage with repeated attacks, too.
The Shard of Alexander will guarantee more damage with the Ash of War, the Godfrey Icon will empower the drill skill when fully charged, and Millicent’s Prosthesis and the Winged/Rotten Winged Sword Insignias increase damage as the drill rapidly hits its target.
Paired with these talismans that increase damage on successive attacks and charged attacks, a single use of Eochaid’s Dancing Blade is usually enough to take massive chunks off of enemies' HP or outright kill them.
It does take a while to get used to this playstyle, and you will be vulnerable to hits from the side while using the weapon skill, but the payoff is worth it. It’s essentially like a Flail build taken to the next level, making it one of the strongest builds inElden Ringthat doesn’t rely on a status effect.
This build is all about interweaving spellcasting and melee fighting, as you will wield Frost spells in addition tothe Moonlight Greatsword, one of the best weapons inElden Ringand the foundation of this overpoweredElden Ringbuild.
It’s more of a battlemage build, but the idea is the same as other Frostmage builds. Instead of spamming justGlintstone Icecrag, players will rely onDark Moon Greatsword’sMoonlight Greatsword Skillheavy attack to shoot projectiles.
Glintstone Icecrag is a backup here. For boss fights, players will want to start off withRanni’s Dark Moonand then follow up with Icecrag for large enemies orNight Cometfor fast and evasive bosses.
The creators of this build (the community) swear by its one-shot potential, but the sequence of buffs for ensuring that is a little complicated. So for bosses, follow these instructions swiftly and carefully, it’s crucial to do them in quick succession:
First, equip theBlack Dumplinghelmet.Then,castHowl of Shabririrepeatedly until Madness triggers and until HP is low(which triggersRed-Feathered Branchsword). Switch to theMushroom Crownhelmet, and castGolden Vow.
ActivateContagious Fury Skillfrom theJellyfish Shield, thentrigger Poison on the characterusing thePoison Pot(which activates Mushroom Crown buff). Finally,remove the Poison using boluses.
Quickly enter the boss arena or fight after completing all of these steps, and then castAncient Dragons' Lightning Strikeon the boss. If they’re not dead, or they entered the second phase, then cast Ancient Dragon Lightning Strike again. Most regular enemies will simply die to Lightning Spear or something similar without the need for elaborate buffs.
TheBackhand Bladebuild is one of the most overpoweredElden Ringbuilds that has become available with the launch of theShadow of the Erdtreeexpansion. This build relies onthe use of the Backhand Blade(which can be Two Handed for a Dual Wield moveset), Buffs to empower your consecutive attacks, and theDeflecting Hardtearfor defense.
TheBackhand Blade does not come with an innate Bleedaffinity, but if you infuse it with the Blood affinity and raise your Arcane to at least 40, its normal damage scales well and its Bleed buildup gets much stronger. The Backhand Blade Dual Wield moveset is particularly fast, and you can usually expect to proc Bleed on most enemies by the time you finish one full attack sequence.
To strengthen this build, use theAsh of War: Seppukuon an offhandUchigatana, and drink theThorny Cracked Tearand equip theRotten Winged Sword Insigniafor more damage with consecutive attacks. TheLord of Blood’s Exultationboosts damage when Bleed happens nearby, and theTwo-Headed Turtle Talismanensures you will have enough Stamina after long attack chains to dodge.
The Deflecting Hardtear is a particularly strong Crystal Tear for the Flask of Wondrous Physick, and because you can block with the Backhand Blades,Elden Ringplayers who are able to time their blocks perfectly will be able to avoid nearly all incoming damage. It’s tough to master, but it’s an essential part of the bestElden Ringmelee builds when performed correctly.
Additionally, equipping theGravebird’s Blackquill Armorand theClaw Talismanwill empower your Jumping Attacks, which are a great way to enter combat with this build.
Moonveil’s poise damage has been nerfed a bit, so the weapon barely makes the cut when it comes to “overpowered,” but it still slaps hard. Much likeBlasphemous Blade builds, players will simply have to abuseMoonveil’sTransient Moonlight Skillweapon skill (usually the heavy variant) to deal magic damage from a safe distance.
Moonveil scales well with Intelligence, and pairs extremely well with a Sorcery-oriented build. If you don’t have time to cast a Sorcery before an enemy gets to you, Moonveil can unleash its weapon skill incredibly fast instead.
Moonveil also deals a small amount of Bleed damage, and can be paired with a second Katana to unlock the dual-wielding moveset, if you have the Weight to stay in the Medium Weight category. Consider pairing this with a Scavenger’s Curved Sword or Rivers of Blood to maximize your Bleed damage in melee range, but keep a staff equipped in your off-hand to cast Sorceries when needed.
Most likely the build that everyone’s been talking about, this wizard is all about one-shottingthe enemywith aKamehameha wave ofComet Azur. Buff up usingTerra Magica, drink thePhysick Flask, and then fire away with an 8-second unlimited beam of magic that will deplete a stationary boss' HP (or at least halve it).
For even more damage, do some Seppuku with a modified Uchigatana until low HP to trigger theRed-Feathered Branchsword’sbuff.
Quite possibly themost powerful fire paladinbuildat the moment, this build relies on abusingBlasphemous Blade’sweapon skill;Taker’s Flames Skill. It deals staggeringly high fire damage, which is further increased bythe talismans.
To maximizeRitual Sword Talisman, make sureHP is fullbefore firing off the weapon skill. Radagon’s Soreseal makes characters a glass cannon, but this can be mitigated with theGolden Vowbuff. That, in conjunction withFlame, Grant me Strength, will also buff Taker’s Flames' damage to astronomical levels.
Bandit or Vagabond
No pairing of weapons and no build is quite as feared in Elden Ring PvP as the Dual Rivers of Blood build. By going into New Game Plus or trading with another player, one can get twoRivers of Bloodfor the ultimate bleed combination.Paired with armor, talismans, and other itemsto boost the power of your Bleed buildup, this build is nigh-unstoppable.
However, the nature of Bleed damage is that, while it’s extremely powerful against fleshy foes that can bleed, its borderlineuseless against enemies that don’t bleed. In PvE, the Rivers of Blood dual wield build is only OK, butagainst other players(and in areas of the game with lots ofhumanoids), thisbuild shows its teeth.
Anything heavy that won’t result in fat rolling
This is a build that can start out strong and become even strongerlate-game. Players will start with theWinged Scytheand take advantage of its weapon skill, which dealsHoly damageand has incredible range. Later on, players can swap the Winged Scythe with theGodslayer’s Greatswordwhich also has a very abusable weapon skill.
The Queen’s Black Flame skill creates a tornado of Black Flame around the caster, unleashing immense AoE damage and reducing enemy Max HP. Pair this with a swathe of Black Flame Incantations (and the Godslayer’s Seal), and high-HP bosses will melt under the power of the Godslayer’s Black Flame.
Thanks to the fixes introduced in past updates, bleed is not only a viable tactic now, but it’s also quite busted. It madeMohgwyn’s Sacred Speara little too powerful, where abusing itsBloodboonRitual weapon skill can gradually deal more than 10,000 points of damage, which is usually enough to kill bosses using less than a full bar of FP.
The best part about Mohg’s spear is that it’s a thrusting weapon and can be used with a shield. Meanwhile, bothRivers of Blood andEleonora’s Polebladeare powerful thanks to proper Arcane scaling and can be used for smaller encounters. Of course, this build isn’t that powerfulagainst enemiesthat can’t bleed, so use it wisely.
