This build is made with survivability in mind for both world exploration and boss fights. The passive health regen will reduce the need to use up your flasks when you are traversing the open world. Great Stars, combined with Prayerful Strike can heal you almost as much as a fully upgraded Crimson Flask, making it very useful in boss fights. When entering boss fights, replace Blessed Dew Talisman for something else as the passive regen will do little good in that situation. Green Turtle Talisman, Axe Talisman and Claw Talisman are valid considerations. Talismans that negate elemental damage are also valid depending on the boss you are fighting. The incantations selected are geared towards survivability and versatility. Order’s Blade is for undead and makes taking them out much less of a hassle. No more double taps! Bloodflame Blade is for everything else. Heal is for Revenants, you’re welcome. Flame Cleanse me also heals frostbite in addition to poison or rot. Order Healing is for those rare occurrences of death blight.
In combat, it is recommended that you two-hand the Great Stars. Two-handing and it’s unseen increase to the STR attribute is useful since you wont have to dump too many points into STR. The Icon Shield is for the passive regen however, if you wish to switch it out for a different shield during boss fights then go for it. The Brass Shield has not failed me yet. The Jar headpiece is chosen because I like it and because it does increase the damage of thrown pots. YES, this build is not shy about using equipment to gain an advantage! Other alternative weapons for different enemies include the Claymore, Nightrider Glaive and Jar Cannon. Carry a Longbow as well, you’d be surprised how useful it can be. I have not included anything from SOTE in this build since most players will tackle that after beating the main game. Your Misericorde with Bloodhound’s Step is for getting in close after breaking the enemies stance and delivering a critical. The Sentry’s Torch is not only for lighting your way in dark places but it also reveals invisible enemies like those pesky Black Knife Assassins. Any torch will do though.
I originally made this build to wear the Tree Sentinel Armor set but since it’s annoying to get and I wanted to keep it accessible to even new players, I opted for the Crucible Tree armor instead. Of course, wear the armor you want. HP is often more important than armor so go nuts.
This build was made to give players an answer to just about every situation and to handle even the toughest enemies. It balances survivability with damage and versatility. As long as you play smart, this build should serve you well. I would also like to add that for those who use the mimic tear, it is SCARY effective with this build. The only Boss that this build cant properly defend against is Maliketh due to his destined death effect from his attacks that ignore all defenses and chew through your health like it’s nothing. I don’t have an answer for that except dodge and PRAY!
I hope this build proves useful! Have fun!
