Samurai in Elden Ring - one of the starting classes of the game and a general designation for several builds based on katanas. These warriors can deal significant damage and are adept at status effects. The samurai's attacks are fast and deadly, but his defensive capabilities are often limited to rolling, at least for most of the game.
The guide presents the top 3 best samurai builds in Elden Ring, with a description of the necessary weapons, skills, talismans, armor and principles of the game.
Is it worth playing as a Samurai?
The structure of the Samurai class, chosen at the beginning of the game, allows you to use swords for dexterity and strength, as well as use bows. Samurai are relatively hardy, strong and dexterous, but have weak faith and wisdom, and do not cast magic well. However, some late game builds rely on spellcasting and other status effects. As a result, in all these cases, the samurai turns out to be a character who is not very armored and tanky, but mobile and capable of inflicting significant damage with katanas, in particular due to status effects such as bleeding and frost.
Based on the above, it follows that you should play as a samurai if you decide not to rely heavily on the shield and armor, but more on massive cutting damage, mobility and status effects.
Initial characteristics of Samurai in Elden Ring
The Samurai can be selected at the beginning of the game as a starting class. His main weapon at all stages of the game is a katana, to use which you need to level up your strength (16 to unlock all types) and dexterity (up to 48 to unlock all). There are famous samurai subclasses that depend on wisdom and sorcery.
Starting gear
Equipment available to the character from the beginning of the game:
- Uchigatana is a cutting-and-piercing sword that accumulates bleeding.
- Longbow.
- Round shield with a red thorn, with parry skill.
- The Land of Reed Armor Set is the standard armor for the Samurai in Elden Ring.
Starting parameters
The character's stats are as follows:
| Life force | 12 |
| Intelligence | 11 |
| Resistance | 13 |
| Force | 12 |
| Agility | 15 |
| Wisdom | 9 |
| Vera | 8 |
| Witchcraft | 8 |
Best Samurai Build in Elden Ring
The samurai build in Elden Ring can be developed in many ways. In this section, we will look at several configurations at once, each with its own characteristics, weapons and techniques:
- Bloody Samurai: A classic bloodletting build based on the Rivers of Blood katana or/and similar items.
- Samurai of Frost: build for frostbite with a blade and crowd suppression with icy clouds.
- Storm Samurai: A mid-to-close range storm thrower class.
All of the above options differ in attributes.
Honkai Star Rail Luocha Best Main Stats
Using examples of three builds, let's look at what a Samurai can and in what areas it can be developed.
Bloody Samurai
For a level 150 Bloody Samurai, the targets should be something like this:
| Life force | 50 |
| Intelligence | 30 |
| Resistance | 18 |
| Force | 12 |
| Agility | 48 |
| Wisdom | 9 |
| Vera | 15 |
| Witchcraft | 40 |
Dexterity and Sorcery scale the damage of the River of Blood katana. Affliction also speeds up the buildup of bleeding. Samurai blood pumping is based on these two parameters. Faith is needed for strengthening prayers. The OK bar is needed to use skills. For parameters at a higher level, see below.
Storm Samurai
For a level 150 Storm Samurai, slightly different target attributes work, since the weapons and skills are different:
| Life force | 54 |
| Intelligence | 28 |
| Resistance | 25 |
| Force | 13 |
| Agility | 83 |
| Wisdom | 9 |
| Vera | 8 |
| Witchcraft | 8 |
Life force is needed simply for survivability in battle. Higher intelligence is required to often use the samurai's storm ability: upgrade this attribute among the first. Durability - the more it is, the better, but there are more important parameters, so it if possible. All damage comes from dexterity, so it is the most important assembly parameter.
Frost Samurai
For a level 150 Frost Samurai, you need to invest in wisdom and agility. Here are the targets:
| Life force | 55 |
| Intelligence | 30 |
| Resistance | 19 |
| Force | 18 |
| Agility | 65 |
| Wisdom | 50 |
| Vera | 8 |
| Witchcraft | 8 |
Faith and witchcraft are not needed at all. 55 vitality is enough for most of the game so as not to die from a couple of hits. Intelligence is important for casting skills, but you don't need too much of it since freeze skills don't cost much and don't need to be spammed. There is never enough stamina, but at level 150, 19 points is enough for a comfortable game. The strength value is the minimum required to use the build's weapons: increase the strength if you want to add a shield to the build. Damage modifiers - dexterity and wisdom, so invest the most points in them.
Best weapon
Let's look at the best katanas for each of the given subclasses.
Bloody Samurai
For the bloody samurai, the target blades are:
- [Start game] Uchigatana.
- [Start or mid-game] Long fang. Can be obtained by killing Bloody Fingers Hunter Yura at any of the meetings or by completing his quest line. The first can be done already in Zamogilye: the character set up camp under an arch that fell from the sky south of the lake with the dragon.
- [Final stages]
Ashes of War and additional prayers used for Uchigatana and Longblade:
- Double strike. Starry Wasteland, located in the location of Sellia, the city of magic. Reward for killing the War Ash Scarab, which lives on a tree root hanging over the city.
- Blade of Blood Flame. Kill the Prayer Scarab in the Temple of the Roses in Lake Liurnia.
- Flame, give me strength. Increases physical damage. Located between two chariots of fire standing against the wall behind Fort Gael.
Ashes of War: Double Strike and Bloodflame Blade are not needed for the River of Blood Katana.
Storm Samurai
It is better to take a massive weapon for the Storm Samurai, with slow attack animation. This is because Ashes of War: Storm Blade allows you to attack up close faster with a larger blade. Therefore, the best option would be large katanas, available only in DLC. Although the Storm Samurai grows a lot after entering the Shadow of the Erdtree zone, there are also suitable weapons for it in the main game:
- [Start or mid-game] Long Fang or Uchigatana. The hardening for both specimens is sharp.
- [Final stages] Big katana. Found in the DLC, on the Tombstone Plain. The Dragon of Death lives on the territory of the lake near Belurat, and a katana lies in the water. Hardening is sharp.
Necessary Ashes of Warfor the build to work:
- Storm Blade. Summons a fast-moving lightning projectile. If the enemy is close to the hero, then swinging the blade will also cause damage at close range along with a thunderstorm clot. Sold by Bernal in the Warrior's Shack near the grace of the same name, almost at the beginning of the game. Price - 1800 runes.
In total, the Thunder Blade speeds up the animation of the swing of the Great Katana, adds projectile, and the swing of the blade itself also deals damage.
Frost Samurai
The necessary blades are available from the beginning of the game:
- [Start or mid-game] Long Fang or Uchigatana. Hardening - frosty.
- [Final stages] Long Fang or Great Katana.
Ashes of War that we will use:
- Icy fog. Reward for killing the scarab in the ruins west of the main building of the Caria Estate, next to the towers Seluvisa.
Best armor
For all three builds, choose armor according to your desire and situation, but to maximize efficiency, you can choose helmets that improve characteristics:
- [For Bloody, Frosty, Storm Samurai] Okina's Mask, which increases agility by 3 but reduces concentration by 50. Drops after killing Okina in the Temple of Peace on the Peaks of the Giants. Other helmets for increasing agility are also suitable.
- [For the Bloody Samurai] Thiolier's Mask, which gives +3 to witchcraft. Drops from Thiolier.
- [For the bloody samurai] White mask. Prize for killing a phantom
- [For Storm Samurai] Sacred Beast Head or Sacred Beast Helmet. Increases the damage of storm skills by 4-5%, agility and strength by +3-4, but reduces concentration by -45-60 and the effectiveness of healing with flasks by -9-11%. Combines with Ashes of War: Storm Blade. The head is a prize for defeating the Sacred Dancing Lion and will lie in the arena. The helmet drops from the sacred beast warriors guarding Enir-Ilim.
- [For Frost Samurai] Moon Queen's Crown, gives +3 wisdom. Sold by Enya in the hub after defeating
The best talismans
Let's list the talismans that mainly improve the attacking potential of builds. Let's look separately at how to find each one.
Bloody Samurai
The build revolves around skills, inflicting bleeds and successive slashes, hence the recommended talismans:
- Talisman with a green turtle. Accelerates the recovery of stamina. It lies in the Village by the Waters of Summoning, in the basement, the entrance to which is surrounded by turtles. To enter you will need xiphoid key. In the late game - Talisman with a Two-Headed Turtle. Speeds up stamina recovery even more. Lies in a cave under a waterfall on the Ellak River: the route is in the screenshot.
- Winged Sword Emblem or Rotting Winged Sword Emblem. After the third hit, attacks are increased by 3%/5%/10% or 6%/8%/13% per hit. Kill the Knight of Pure Rot in the Still Pool Cavern to obtain a Common Emblem. To get the best version, complete the story Millicents, defeating the sisters.
- Triumph of the Lord of Blood. Damage +20% for 20 seconds after bleeding on an enemy or player. Reward for defeating Blood Priest Esgar in the Dungeon of Alienation (Laindell Catacombs).
- Shard of a warrior jug or Shard of Alexander. Gives +10-15% damage from all weapon skills. Both fragments fall from Alexandra: the first if he dies before completing his mission, the second after completing his quest.
Storm Samurai
The build is based on Ashes of War: Storm Blade. Based on this, select talismans for the samurai of the storm:
- Talisman with a green turtle or Talisman with a Double-Headed Turtle for quick replenishment of stamina. We described above where to find it.
- Wrath of the Sacred Beast. Increases the damage of storm skills by 10%. Exchanged for Memory of the Dancing Lion in the game hub. The memory is a reward for killing the Sacred Dancing Lion in Belurat.
- Shard of a warrior jug or Shard of Alexander. Damage +10-15% from weapon skills.
- Any protective talisman: for example, Talismans with bloody/azure seeds +1 Ymir's quest.
Frost Samurai
The build involves using both the freezing Ashes of War:Icy Mist and the normal bleed attack, so talismans should enhance both of these aspects:
- Shard of a warrior jug or Shard of Alexander. +10-15% damage from weapon skills. For casting Icy Mist.
- Bloodlord's Triumph. Damage +20% for 20 seconds after activating Bleeding. For normal attacks.
- Any offensive talismans that are compatible with the katana: Talisman of the Claw (jumping attacks deal +15% damage), Talisman of the Two-Handed Sword (+15% damage when wielding two-handed), Talisman of the Curved Sword (block counterattacks deal +20% damage).
- Emblem of the sacred campaign. Damage +15% after defeating an enemy. Icy Fog deals well with groups of enemies, making it effective against mobs. Reward for the first victory over Fire Knight Quiline.
They will help you in searching for talismans and other valuables. interactive map of the Shadowfell in Elden Ring.
How to play as a Samurai: rotation
A couple of general words about how to use the samurai subclasses presented in the guide.
Bloody Samurai
In the case of a bloody samurai, the algorithm of actions boils down to approximately the following:
- If you don't have a River of Blood katana, then cast the "Blade of Blood Flame" prayer if possible.
- Invoke the prayer “Flame, grant me strength” whenever possible.
- Use Ashes of War: Double Strike in case of a regular katana, or the Corpse Collector skill in case of the River of Blood blade.
- Repeat until you win. Heal, restore OK and move away to replenish stamina when necessary.
In total, the tactics of fighting a bloody samurai rely almost entirely on the use of the katana skill (Shift + RMB).
Storm Samurai
The storm assembly is the same two-button as the previous one:
- Spam Ashes of War: Storm Blade whenever possible (Shift + RMB). Do it both in ranged combat and in close combat: The latter is especially welcome, since swinging the blade while activating the skill has a hitbox and deals damage. The animation of this swing is also faster than the animation of a normal attack.
- When enemies or the boss push, roll/heal/defend.
The Thunder Blade's fast projectiles work great against mobile bosses, next to which the camera behaves inappropriately, like Messmer the Impaler, the skill also copes.
Frost Samurai
The build is more complex and relies on both skill and normal attacks:
- First, summon an Icy Mist to envelop the katana in the cold. No need to spam Ashes of War, cast it 1-2 times.
- Fight with a frost-enhanced katana, as always. Use any tactic you want: attack while jumping, counterattack from a block, spam with a series of attacks.
- When enemies or the boss push, roll/heal/defend.
- Repeat steps 1 and 2 when the effect of Icy Mist on the blade ends.
Icy Mist is great for dealing with crowds of enemies, but isn't suitable for absolutely all bosses. However, the build as a whole allows you to cause two status effects at once: bleeding and frost.
We hope that with the recommendations we were able to create a Samurai build in Elden Ring. If you have any questions about the features of building construction and other aspects of the game, then ask them at comments. You will find more assemblies in Elden Ring section.
