Elden Ring DLC: How To Choose The Best Heavy Armor Sets For You? - Top 11 Recommendations

One thing that’s known about Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree is that the bosses are surprisingly strong. These brutal monsters will knock you down again and again until you learn how to defeat them and optimize your build to the strongest. After you defeat them, some bosses will give you one of their Remembrance as a reward, which you can exchange for weapons, spells, or amulets. These Remembrance Weapons are often very similar to the weapons used by the bosses themselves, and some of them allow you to perform the same actions as the bosses. This guide will introduce you to several Remembrance Weapons. You can choose the one that suits you best based on your current build or the boss you are facing! Poleblade Of The Bud In Shadow of the Erdtree, you can get this very nice-looking halberd, Poleblade of the Bud, by using Remembrance of Saint of the Bud. But it’s just a good looker, and the fundamental problem is the lack of good Ash of War. When the developers announced that a rot-based Remembrance Weapon was added to the DLC, many players were eager to see it. But in fact, its AOW rot build-up is lower than that of the average rot sorceries. Even with some Ash of War to increase rot accumulation, it doesn’t perform well. Secondly, you don’t have any super armor during the long skill animation, so you can be easily interrupted by enemies while using the weapon. So, the lackluster damage and low rot accumulation make it very disappointing. Putrescence Cleaver After you defeat Putrescence, you will get Remembrance of Putrescence, which can be exchanged for Putrescence Cleaver. This is a hybrid STR/ARC weapon that can also deal with magic damage and frostbite. Although it has the shortest hit range of all the greataxes, the damage and frostbite scaling mentioned above makes up for it. Like Poleblade of the Bud, its AOW is nothing special, but it is great for punishing large recovery windows and dealing with large groups of enemies, as it can be used indefinitely, or until FP or stamina is exhausted. In addition, the recovery animation of this weapon’s AOW is a bit long, so you need to be very careful when facing some bosses. It also has a less flashy move set than its previous master, Putrescent Knight, especially lacking a throwing attack. Greatsword Of Damnation After you obtain Remembrance of the Lord of Frenzied Flame, you can take this precious Remembrance and exchange it for Greatsword of Damnation. It is also a Greatsword with a unique appearance - twisted ribs cover the blade, and a golden sheen makes it gleam. Having said the appearance, as usual, some of its shortcomings. Its War Ashes are good in both PVE and PVP modes, but it doesn’t quite meet expectations as one would hope. According to the description of this weapon’s skill, Golden Crux, this weapon should pierce enemies from the top of their heads. Although this does not apply to large, inhumane enemies, the most disappointing thing about Greatsword of Damnation is that it does not work for any small creatures in the game. If you use it in PVP or PVE mode, you may see a surprise. In addition, the barbs that appear around you when you make a mistake also increase your tolerance in disguise. So for some players who are just starting to use Greatsword, Greatsword of Damnation can be tried. Sword Lance Sword Lance is what you get for Remembrance of Wild Boar Rider. It combines the attacks of Heavy Thrusting Swords and Lance. And also has very good scaling. It is also one of the highest damage weapons in the light attack category. If you choose a correct Ash of War to infuse it, it also has incredible cumulative damage, the highest in Heavy Thrusting Sword category. The biggest advantage is here! Sword Lance can be customized to the player’s needs. For example, when using it in a bleeding build, you may have an unexpected effect! Shadow Sunflower Blossom Shadow Sunflower Blossom has one of the best ashes of war in the entire game, because it can deal extremely high damage and can be perfectly matched with FAI for maximum kill potential. Most Remembrance Weapons can only hit an enemy once at a time, while Shadow Sunflower Blossom can hit the enemy two or three times in a row in a single attack, and in some cases you can even hit four times. Besides the attack aspect, Shadow Sunflower Blossom also has a very nice armor that deals 65 stance damage before all attacks land. This means that you only need to use two full combos on most bosses to make them take enough hits. If you use some Elden Ring Runes to optimize the build around Shadow Sunflower Blossom, you can deal with some bosses more easily and safely. Greatsword Of Radahn As the name suggests, to obtain Greatsword of Radahn, you must first defeat the long-awaited ultimate boss, Radahn. Although this weapon is not as powerful as when it was in Radahn’s hands, the damage it causes is enough to not disappoint you. There are two versions of Greatsword of Radahn, namely Greatsword of Radahn (Lord) and Greatsword of Radahn (Light). Regardless of which version you choose, the skills of the two weapons are similar, and if you pair it with Starscourge Greatsword, you will see that the animations of the two weapons are very harmonious. Although these three Greatswords are very similar in terms of movement, they are completely different in Ash of War. Greatsword of Radahn (Lord) has a three-move combo that can deal high damage, but requires some manipulation to activate. On the other hand, Greatsword of Radahn (Light) has a powerful impact attack, and there is no maneuvering requirement, which is easier to activate. It depends on how you want to good use it. The above is some of Remembrance Weapons you can use in Elden Ring DLC. If you find other more useful weapons during your exploration, welcome to share them with more players in iGMeet Discord. In addition, you may also get some benefits!

Spinning Gravity Thrust is one of the craziest newest Ashes of War builds from Elden Ring DLC, and it’s so powerful that I made an OP build specifically centered on it, Berserker Samurai Build. Here I’ll cover the play style for this Berserker Samurai, what gear to use, the best Talismans, helpful gameplay tips, and the pros and cons of this build. So if you’re looking for an effective build for this Ash of War, this guide is for you. Build Basics Berserker Samurai’s insane damage output can instantly break almost any boss in the game, with bleed procs raw firepower. This is a super aggressive build that trades hitting and taking damage to deal as much damage as possible in a short period, so this build theme really matches its playstyle. Berserker Samurai has high Dexterity and Arcane, and a little Faith Stat, with access to attack and defense boosting spells as mentioned above, to improve its overall firepower and survivability. Pros & Cons Speaking of pros to this setup, aside from the insane damage output of this weapon and Ash of War, as mentioned before, Spinning Gravity Thrust makes it like a sitting duck as it makes the target flinch and nearly stuns them. Humanoid Types are pretty much powerless compared to this setup. And giant targets or bosses will definitely die faster than anything because of its jaw-dropping firepower and Bleed procs. However, every setup has its weaknesses and drawbacks, and Berserker Samurai is no exception. The first one I want to talk about is the obvious issue with Ash of War, which is that its long animations make you more vulnerable to attacks. Since you’re already in mid-air, you’ll be dodging ground attacks more often, but you’ll still take damage most of the time, especially if you’re still adjusting to Ash of War’s timing. While the idea is that you will take damage to deal massive damage to your opponent, if you over-abuse Spinning Gravity Thrust, 90% of the time it will result in your death. Ash of War has a very slow acceleration animation, so when you are facing fast-moving targets, you will find yourself often missing a lot of targets or hitting the air. The last thing I want to say about its disadvantages is that Spinning Gravity Thrust consumes a lot of Stamina. This means that you will be using up Stamina most of the time, especially when rushing to the target, which is the regular play style of this build. Gear Now that the basic play style and overview are over, let’s move on to the gear that Berserker Samurai needs. Main Weapon: Great Katana Let’s start with the chief weapon of this build, Great Katana. This Katana requires 14 Strength and 18 Dexterity to use effectively, and this time we will infuse it with Blood. In terms of scaling, it will have D for Strength, C for Dexterity, and lastly D for Arcane. Now this may seem bad, but trust me, this weapon is more than enough to wipe out an enemy in seconds. Weapon Skill: Spinning Gravity Thrust Moving on to the core of this build, Ash of War Spinning Gravity Thrust. This is one of the deadliest Ash of War I have seen so far. What it does is it lifts the user into the air and performs a violent multi-hitting spinning thrust attack that not only does a ton of damage per attack, but it also causes the target to flinch during the attack. In addition to its insane damage multipliers, you also trigger Bleeds when using Ash of War, which makes its damage even more insane. Pressing L2 allows you to fire Ash of War, and pressing L2 again after the first animation finishes will perform another set of animations, but the second set of animations will have a powerful Sweeping Finisher that will knock the target back. Secondary Weapon: Dragon Communion Seal Moving on to the secondary weapon of this build, I am using Dragon Communion Seal here in case we need to slot Arcane Scaling offensive Incantation later. I’m only using Seal for the attack buffs for this build, but you can definitely use any Seal you want as long as you have enough Elden Ring Runes. Spells With the weapons out of the way, let’s move on to the spells I recommend. The first is Flame Grant me Strength, which grants an additional 20% Physical Attack Boost and Stamina Recovery Buff. The second buff is of course Golden Vow. This buff increases overall damage by 15% and adds 10% damage negation, which is very helpful. Talismans Next, let’s look at the best Talismans for this build. The first Talisman on the list is once again Shard of Alexander. This can increase skill damage by 15%, especially when performing Witching Hour Slash skill, so be sure to slot this one. Since we’re dealing with Bleed procs a lot with this build, I recommend using Lord of Blood’s Exultation. It will give you another 20% attack damage if blood loss procs are happening nearby. This happens all the time, so it will help you deal a ton of damage. Of course, since we’re dealing with fast multi-attacks, as usual, slotting in Millicent’s Prosthesis and Rotten Winged Sword Insignia is optimal for this build. You’ll always have the multi-attack buff active when performing Spinning Gravity Thrust, so make sure to prioritize these Talismans. However, I’ll have other Talisman suggestions later that will suit different combat situations. Armor Set Now that the main gear is done, let’s move on to the best Armor Set for Berserker Samurai. For this build, I’m wearing Land of Reeds Helm to preserve the identity of the build, in addition to using White Reed Armor and White Reed Gauntlets, and finally Land of Reeds Greaves. However, you can also choose to wear Rakshasa Set for a higher Attack Rating, as this Armor Set provides a damage boost overall. In summary, you can wear whatever you want, as long as you have about 51 poise, which is enough most of the time. Stats Then, let’s move on to Berserker Samurai’s stats. First, we start with Vigor, which I have assigned 60 points to. Since this build will be engaging enemies in melee combat, you will be taking damage quite often, so having 60 Vigor is essential for this build. Next is Mind, which I have assigned 20 points to. Now, you may find this quite low, especially with 26 FP required to use Spinning Gravity Thrust. However, enemies and bosses usually die quickly after 1 to 4 spins, so I don’t need more than that. In the event that the boss survives after 2 to 4 spins, you can also finish the fight by opening the flask easily. Next, talking about Endurance, I have assigned 30 points to it. Even though Spinning Gravity Thrust will drain your stamina in a few seconds, it’s actually OK to only have 30 points. As mentioned, enemies die very quickly. Then you also need to have at least 14 Strength to effectively wield Great Katana. Since Dexterity is our main stat for this build, I have allocated 75 points in total. And since we have equipped Millicent’s Prosthesis, it can even go up to 80. Next is Intelligence. We don’t need these, so it will be 10 points. Then Faith has been allocated 25 points, giving you access to the previously mentioned Flame Grant me Strength and Golden Vow. Finally, we have allocated 45 points to Arcane so that we can have more Attack Rating, while increasing our blood loss to 132 so that we can ensure that it triggers more often. Gameplay Now that the stats are taken care of, let’s move on to the gameplay and optimization tips for Berserker Samurai. Optimize Your Opener First, you need to optimize your opener as usual. Before or at the beginning of the battle, I usually cast Flame Grant me Strength and Golden Vow, and finally Bestial Vitality. Next, we can turn on Flask of Wondrous Physick for damage reduction and multi-attack boost. With all the buffs active, this build will be super aggressive and do as much damage as possible in this opening. Use Spinning Gravity Thrust Properly I know this build is a Berserker, however, if you miss Ash of War too many times as mentioned before, you will pay the price with death because of its overly long animation. Beyond that, you still need to master the timing of casting Ash of War. Unfortunately, getting good at it requires experience, and its usage varies from boss to boss. However, most of the time you will win the fight because of its damage output. Use Gear Wisely Now for the last tip, I recommend swapping Millicent’s Prosthesis for Crusade Insignia when exploring the overworld or dungeons, so that you can get a lasting buff while you’re on the landscape. Of course, if you think you need more protection, swap the aforementioned Talisman for Dragoncrest Greatshield. Berserker Samurai is a difficult Samurai build to master, and its satisfying violent thrusts can wipe out enemies in seconds. If you want to melt bosses with ease, don’t miss this guide. See you next time!

In Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, besides providing players with a new area, some new bosses, and some new armor, some ranged weapons have been added, including bows, crossbows, and Repeating Crossbow, which allow you to defeat enemies without getting in close contact in combat. Among the new ranged weapons in DLC, there are bows with high damage and great scaling, and some of them can fire multiple arrows after a single reload. In addition, there are some Talismans that are more effective when used with some of them. Here are the new ranged weapons added to Shadow of the Erdtree. Repeating Crossbow Status Requirements: 13 Strength & 15 Dexterity Max Damage (+10): 259 For Physical Repeating Crossbow does exactly what it says, firing multiple arrows in rapid succession when using Repeating Fire skill, which means it can deal continuous damage to enemies. Like the other Crossbows in Elden Ring, it doesn’t follow any of your stats, but if you feed it enough Somber Smith Stone, it can go from a backup weapon to your major weapon. Want to know where this powerful weapon is? You need to go to Site of Grace south of Moorth Highway and then walk north. Here you can find Repeating Crossbow next to Ghostflame Dragon and some Elden Ring Runes. Igon’s Greatbow Status Requirements: 23 Strength & 16 Dexterity Max Scaling (+25): C Strength & E Dexterity Max Damage (+10): 294 For Physical If you want to use your Strength build to fight the enemy, Igon’s Greatbow will be your best choice. Not only because of its excellent scaling and high base damage but also because it has Igon’s Drake Hunt, a wonderful skill in the game. In this weapon, because it is an advanced version of Through and Through, you can twist the bowstring to increase its power. In addition, you can also match it with Igon’s Harpoons to get the maximum damage to the enemy. Unlike Repeating Crossbow, Igon’s Greatbow only needs Smith Stones to upgrade, so the upgrade conditions of this weapon are simpler. Since it is Igon’s Greatbow, you must summon Igon. However, you don’t summon it to fight it, but to let it help you defeat Bayle The Dread, a dragon entrenched in Jagged Peak. After you win, Igon will leave its bow and armor to you. Spread Crossbow Status Requirements: 11 Strength & 17 Dexterity Max Damage (+25): 272 For Physical Spread Crossbow provides you with the easiest way to counter the various status effects generated by the boss. This is because the most basic attack of Tarnished is to fire multiple arrows at once, and can make the boss suffer sleep or blood loss effects depending on the type of arrows. Its skill, Kick is not surprising, but fortunately its upgrade material is also Smith Stones that can be found everywhere, which can make it slightly more useful. However, you still need to be careful that you need to have enough arrows equipped, because Spread Crossbow will consume arrows very quickly. Spread Crossbow is guarded by Messmer Soldiers on the right side of Ellac Greatbridge. You need to cross the bridge (or river) and defeat them to obtain this weapon. Ansbach’s Longbow Status Requirements: 9 Strength & 43 Dexterity Max Scaling (+10): D Strength & D Dexterity Max Damage (+10): 181 For Physical Thanks to its ability, Fan Shot, Ansbach’s Longbow is one of the best Longbows in the game. It can fire 8 arrows at once, and with some stats, even the biggest bosses will be affected by bleeding or rot. Although it may seem that this weapon requires very little Strength, don’t forget that you need to reach 43 Dexterity to use it. Check your Dexterity now! Like Repeating Crossbow, as long as you use enough Somber Smith Stones, you can get a better chance of winning in battle. Before you can get Ansbach’s Longbow, you need to make sure you have completed Ansbach’s quest in Shadow Keep. Completion here means that it is possible to kill him directly or help him fight invaders. Bone Bow Status Requirements: 8 Strength & 11 Dexterity Max Scaling (+10): D Strength & D Dexterity Max Damage (+10): 161 For Physical Although Bone Bow is not as outstanding in terms of damage compared to other weapons, it can stand out in Light Bow category with its own skill Rancor Shot. Light Bow allows players to fire a series of energy-infused arrows and is difficult to miss. In addition, its long range and lightweight are also plus points for it. Somber Smith Stones mentioned above are also its upgrade materials. Remember to pick up more Somber Smith Stones during the exploration process. The location of Bone Bow is in Belurat Tower Settlement you will see when you first enter DLC, or more specifically, in a tower with a broken spiral staircase. The process of taking it is not smooth sailing, but don’t worry, Spider-Scorpions inside are no match for you. Hopefully, these ranged weapons will play an important role in your battles. Have fun playing Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree and exploring more stories!

Richter Belmont is one of the most iconic Castlevania characters ever to appear in Elden Ring. If you want to get a better start playing as him in Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, which releases on June 21, then this guide is for you. Here we’ll go over Richter Belmont’s play style, gear to use, and the best Talismans to complete this build, as well as tips for using the game and more. Let’s get straight into it! Basics Of The Build Richter Belmont is a descendant of the powerful Belmont Clan, and he wields the legendary Vampire Killer, one of the deadliest weapons in the cleansing of Dracula’s legion. For this build, Richter relies heavily on hard-hitting incantations to deal as much damage as possible, while also having the ability to be agile in combat. If the enemy is resistant to Holy damage, Richter will use whips to make the enemy bleed, making him a well-rounded fighter. Richter Belmont has high Faith and Dexterity. You will be using spell combinations to deal a lot of damage to your enemies, especially when fighting humanoid-type enemies. Weapons Now that the basic play style is covered, let’s move on to Richter Belmont’s equipment. But before we dive in, I will not include all of his possible original movesets, such as his Throwing Axe, Holy Water, so that the build still flows well. Having so many spells and weapons on a build would make it unwieldy to use, so I limited it while trying to maintain the identity of the build. Hoslow’s Petal Whip With that said, let’s start with Richter’s major weapon, which is without a doubt Hoslow’s Petal Whip. We are trying to mimic his Vampire Killer Whip, so Hoslow’s Petal Whip, Giant’s Red Braid, and Regular Whip are the best Whips for the job. If you want to use it effectively, you need 10 Strength, 20 Dexterity, and it scales mostly based on the above stats. Bloodhound’s Step Besides that, it’s a natural Bloodloss Build, which is a huge plus for this build. Hoslow’s Whip is incorporated into Bloodhound’s Step to mimic his quick dash from Castlevania Symphony of Night, allowing him to gracefully dodge enemy attacks and counterattack with his whip with ease. I recommend setting it to Keen Hoslow Whip, though, as we’ll be buffing it later. Erdtree Seal Moving on to his secondary weapon. Since we’ll be using spells, I decided to go with Erdtree Seal. It scales well overall, and it looks like Richter is carrying a cross that fits the theme. This Seal requires 40 Faith to use effectively, which isn’t a problem for Richter. Of course, you can also choose some better Seals, but that’s also more demanding on your Elden Ring Runes budget. Incantations Next, let’s look at Incantations required for this build. Golden Vow The first Incantation in the list is Golden Vow, which increases your damage by 15% and adds 10% damage negation across the board. Since Whip usually needs a damage boost and also increases the damage of spells, Golden Vow is highly recommended for this build. And the cross-like graphic provided by Golden Vow matches Richter’s identity very well. Bloodflame Blade Next is Bloodflame Blade spell. Vampire Killer emits light, and most of the time it applies burning and explosion to enemies, so Bloodflame Blade is the best choice for this job. Not only will it grant whip fire damage and make the whip glow, but it will also help Richter trigger Hemorrhage faster. Discus Of Light One of Belmont’s signature sub-weapons is the cross, which they throw like Boomerangs, and it returns to the user’s hand after throwing. With this idea in mind, I decided to use Discus of Light because it is the closest spell when it comes to emulating Cross Sub-weapon. Discus of Light may seem weak at first glance, but just like Cross Sub-weapon, when Discus returns, it will deal damage to the target twice. If the user is experienced enough, consecutive casts of Discus of Light will deal considerable damage. Aspects Of The Crucible: Horns Moving on to the next spell, which is Aspects of the Crucible: Horns. Richter will perform a charge attack using a whip or kicking enemies. Since Martial Arts are not yet available in the game, I decided to slot in Aspects of the Crucible: Horns. This spell will mimic the mentioned charge attack, and can deal stance damage to the target or even send the target flying, especially against humanoid type ones. I tend to use this spell when closing the distance to the target, and it can be a deadly spell when paired with Wrath of Gold, as stun locks can be inflicted. Wrath Of Gold The next spell is Wrath of Gold, which is Richter’s strongest damage spell. Note that both Aspects of the Crucible: Horns and Wrath of Gold can be charged to deal more damage. Compared to the previous spell, Wrath of Gold is easier to use because of its close-range AOE. We usually use it when dealing with a large group of enemies, or use it as a counterspell in boss fights. Talismans With weapons and spells out of the way, it’s time to look at Richter’s Talismans. The first Talisman on the list is Sacred Scorpion Charm. Since Richter relies on Wrath of Gold for damage, the extra 12% Holy damage provided by this Talisman will be beneficial to this build. In exchange, physical damage taken is increased by 10%. Next up is Godfrey Icon, which increases the charged attack of spells and abilities by 15%. The extra charge attack damage provided by this Talisman applies to your Aspects of the Crucible: Horns and Wrath of Gold, making them very effective in combat. Next up is Flock’s Canvas Talisman. This Talisman further increases the damage of our offensive spells by 8%, and it stacks with your other buffs, so I highly recommend slotting this one. The last one is Green Turtle Talisman, which increases stamina recovery. This is one of the main Talismans we use, because my gameplay and strategy always revolves around ultra-aggressive strategies, so most of the time, my stamina is completely depleted. Therefore, the faster my stamina recovers, the more damage we can do to the enemy. For Richter, he will benefit greatly from this, because you will find yourself always needing stamina, and continuously launching his most deadly combos will usually consume 70% to 80% of his stamina. Stats Moving on to Richter Belmont’s stats. Note that I will standardize all of my builds at around level 200. It is up to you if you want to upgrade your build above 200. Starting with Vigor, 40 points have been allocated to it, feel free to increase it to 45 to 50 if you feel you need more HP to survive. Since we’ll be using Godrick’s Great Rune later anyway, I rarely invest a lot of points into Vigor. Next up is Mind, which has 35 points assigned to it. Since this is FP-hungry build, setting up buffs while constantly using spells will definitely deplete your FP in a short period of time. Talking about Endurance next, we’ve assigned 33 points to it since a lot of stamina is needed when dealing with continuous spells or a lot of whip attacks. 33 points of Endurance can sometimes feel insufficient, so feel free to adjust it to 40 if you feel it’s necessary. At least 10 points in Strength so that you can use Hoslow’s Petal Whip. The next stats on the list are Dexterity and Faith, which are the main stats in this build. I recommend setting Dexterity to at least 61 and Faith to 75 to help you deal a decent amount of damage in whip attacks and spells. If you’re really good at the game, you can sacrifice your Vigor points and allocate them to Endurance and more Faith to get a more ideal result. Finally, make sure you have at least 10 Arcane to use Bloodflame Blade and 13 Intelligence to meet Discus of Light requirement. Gameplay Now that stats are out of the way, let’s move on to Richter Belmont’s gameplay and optimization tips. Optimize Your Opener Burst The first tip on the list is to optimize your Opener Burst. When the fight starts, I usually start by casting Flask of Wondrous Physick, which can deal more holy and physical damage if you have Thorny Cracked Tear slotted in. Next is to cast Golden Vow to deal more damage, then cast Bloodflame Blade. Depending on the boss, I’ll either prepare a spell combo or keep whipping attacks until I bleed. During this time, do your best to counter as many attacks as possible to take advantage of the stacking holy damage buff. Incantation Combo The next tip is to take advantage of Richter’s incantation combo, especially when against humanoid types of enemies. To start the above combo, you can use Discus of Light multiple times to disrupt and lure the enemy, even dealing damage in the process, and follow up with a fully charged Aspects of the Crucible: Horns. If the enemy is hit, it will fly into the air and hit the ground, giving you enough time to perform your next killer move, which is a fully charged Wrath of Gold. It will knock the target back further, and then you can finish it off with a whip jump attack and follow up with a normal whip combo. If this move is used correctly, not only will the enemy take a lot of damage, but it will also allow you to build up blood loss in the process. Mastering Whip Line For some people, using the whip can be a challenging task. Two attacks are usually safe in most cases, while three attacks will get you into trouble most of the time. Therefore, I strongly recommend intentionally using whip attacks to master Whip line. Are you a fan of Richter like me? Do you like this character build? Regardless, with this guide, you will eventually master the power of Belmont family and have fun in the upcoming DLC.