Herald of Death (Intelligence/Faith) Build – Elden Ring

Remember those crazy worm people found in the Altus Plateau with the Death Blight status effect? Well, now you can use it to make other players feel the pain of death. Go full villain with this PvP Herald of Death build and dominate the battlefield.

Starting Class

We suggest basing the Herald of Death build off the Astrologer as it starts out with high intelligence. However, you can use any other class and adjust the stats accordingly. Although, keep in mind that each class begins with stats that cannot go lower than their starting value.

How This Build Works

Much like the status effects Hemorrhage and Scarlet Rot, Death Blight is built up with attacks and incantations. Where Death Blight differs from other status effects is just how deadly it is. When the bar is filled, Death Blight instantly kills your enemy, making deathroot branches sprout from their body. This status builds up slowly, so patience is key to this build. Furthermore, only players are susceptible to this effect. To ensure maximum buildup, the two prioritized stats will be Intelligence/Faith. This build is tailored between levels 150.

Weapons & Seal

• Eclipse Shotel
  • This weapon is the bread and butter of this build, being the most reliable source of Death Blight buildup. If you are on NG+, it’s ideal to dual wield two of these weapons. This weapon has the ability to cast a Death Blight buff on itself, inflicting up 20 Death Blight per hit. This weapon can be found in the Church of the Eclipse in Castle Sol, in the Mountaintops of the Giants.

• Black Knife
  • Much like Maliketh’s Black Blade, this weapon shoots a projectile Destined Death slash that lowers an enemies HP. This will be especially useful as the forcing your enemy to panic-heal can open them for more Death Blight attacks. Furthermore, this weapon art is mid-ranged, allowing you to keep your distance if needed while doing damage. Obtained by defeating the Black Knife Assassin found on the Altus Plateau 

• Prince of Death’s Staff
  • To boost our Death Sorceries, we’ll be using this staff. This build will use a combination of both sorceries and incantations, so be sure to upgrade the staff and seal for this build. Found in the Deeproot Depths, on a building accessible by climbing the roots east of The Nameless Eternal City site of grace.

• Golden Order Seal
  • Surprisingly, the Death Blight status effect scales with Holy damage, so this seal is perfect. This seal will also further boost our incantation strength.This seal can be found in the Altus Plateau’s Capital Outskirts, in the Minor Erdtree Church.

Talismans

• Graven-Mass Talisman
  • This talisman will be helpful in boosting our incantation damage. While it won’t increase Death Blight buildup, it leaves more room for error. If you miss your second casting of our sorcery, at least the damage will be increased.

• Sacred Scorpion Charm
  • As stated, Death Blight scales with Holy damage. Thus, this talisman will be used to boost our Holy damage.

• Flock’s Canvas Talisman
  • This will increase the power of our incantations, further increasing damage output and Death Blight buildup

• Claw Talisman
  • This build will see you making a lot of jump attacks, so it’s a good idea to boost those jump attacks with this talisman. Who’s saying no to a 15% damage increase?

Sorceries & Incantations

• Fia’s Mist
  • This is our Death Blight sorcery. Its range is substantial, so it serves as both area-of-effect and area-denial to keep your enemy where you want them. This sorcery spreads a mist in front of the caster that causes Death Blight buildup.

• Eternal Darkness
  • This is a defensive sorcery, block those who will try to cast spells against you with this sorcery. It draws in incantations away from hitting you.

• Death Lightning
  • This Incantation creates a volley of Death Blight building lightning strikes in an area-of-effect. Always charge this incantation up before casting, as the duration will be increased after charging. This is the only incantation that builds up Death Blight, so use it sparingly.

How to Use This Build

Let’s begin putting all of the pieces together! Place the Eclipse Shotel and Black Knife in the right hand armaments slots. In the left-handed slots, equip the Prince of Death’s Staff and the Golden Order Seal. Understand that this build can be used defensively and offensively — it’s best to poke and prod the enemy before going full-tilt and using all of your incantations. Nevertheless, there are incantations that can cleans this status effect, so playing too passively can also be dangerous. Remember, jumping with this build will be the best way to maximize damage.

Rotation & Strategy

1. Begin the fight by equipping the Black Knife and casting Destined Death. Not only will this lower the enemies’ HP for the duration of the fight, it will force them to start panicking and moving around sporadically.
2. Cast Fia’s Mist after being charged up, while simultaneously charging the Eclipse Shotel with Death Blight. While the enemy is preoccupied with the death mist, you’ll have an opening to jump up and start getting in attacks.
3. Take some steps back and wait for the opponent to react. Cast Death Lightning to keep the pressure on them, remember the game gives players many ways to cleans this status effect.