Dark Souls 3 is famous for its intense difficulty, but one of the most challenging parts is simply knowing how to build your character. There are an obscene number of stats that have unclear and minuscule effects, meaning it can be exceptionally confusing to know which are worth leveling up and what weapons you should choose.

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There are tons of ways that expert players can maximize their

Dark Sould 3 Builds Lord Of Cinders Breaking Souls Sword Master Deprived Warrior Red

power and efficiency in Dark Souls 3, but there are also several builds that can also help you progress smoothly through the game. These are some of the ways you can build your stats and equipment that can give you some early direction, and make the game’s many bosses less of a pain.

Updated on March 9, 2022, by Jeff Drake: In the Dark Souls games, a player cannot simply make up their character as they go along. Well...they can, but this is a recipe for a weak character that will make an already difficult game much more difficult. That is where builds come in. Builds are basically a plan, or template, for a character. Most builds focus on a specific area of combat or sorcery to exploit a strategy, weapon skill set, spell loadout, or a common weakness among enemies. Always have a plan in Dark Souls, this is not a game for spontaneity. This update has added five additional entries for builds that will make players think they're playing Skyrim on the easy setting.

15 Giant Dad

The Giant Dad build in Dark Souls 3

This build makes the game almost too easy and considering we're talking about a Dark Souls game that's saying something. This build is originally from Dark Souls 1. There are legions of players that claim the Giant Dad build cannot be replicated in Dark Souls 3; truthfully, they are correct - but we can get close.

Focus on Poise and Perseverance when choosing your armor. This will allow the character's attack to have stun priority against whatever enemy they are facing. Heavy armor is a must, and giant two-handed weapons are the calling card of the Giant Dad build. The Zweihander with a Chaos or Fire infusion is the ideal weapon.

14 Stun-Lock Shield Knight

The Stun Lock Shield Knight in Dark Souls 3

This is a great build for new players. It has a high survivability factor because of its heavy armor, and shield bonus. In addition to being a die-hard, this build can also easily defeat nearly any enemy by exploiting the stun-lock system in Dark Souls 3. Stun-locking is when an enemy, or the player, is hit with a powerful blow that staggers the enemy - locking them into the stagger animation.

This build uses the Strength and Vitality stats as primaries, and Endurance and vigor are its secondary stats. Faith should also get some points added to it occasionally as well if the player wishes to make use of Faith-based spells during late-game play. The Black Knight Shield is perfect for this build, and any weapon that stun-locks the enemy should be chosen.

13 Sellsword Twinblade

Sellsword Twinblade build in Dark Souls 3

This build is for players that want to pretend they're Drizzt Do'Urden. The Sellsword Twinblades are dual-wielded swords that have incredibly fast attacks. This enables the player to deliver huge amounts of damage in seconds. The downside is that these weapons have a short reach, but a good secondary ranged weapon or spell can be used to soften up the enemy before closing with the twinblade.

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The Mercenary class starts with the Sellsword Twinblades; however, it can be found in-game as well. This build requires high Dexterity - the higher, the better. Endurance and Vigor are this build's secondary stats.

12 Dark Pyromancer

The Dark Pyromancer build in Dark Souls 3

Pyromancers are fun during early-game play; however, as you progress fire damage becomes less effective. This causes many Pyromancer builds to begin taking on another build type later in the game to compensate by adding a little damage variety in attack options.

By combing Dark Magic with a Pyromancer build, the player can create a powerful character with great spam-worthy attack options like Deep Soul. Players will want to focus on raising Intelligence and Faith to pump up their damage. Vigor, Attunement, and Endurance are secondary abilities. For a weapon, the player should try and find a Dark Sword, and the Dancer's Armor works well with this build.

11 Bleed Build

The Bleed Build in Dark Souls 3

Let's be honest, if it wasn't for the roll dodge maneuver, a shield would be a necessity for every Dark Souls 3 build. Builds that use the roll dodge will be using that move a lot during combats - especially against bosses. With the Bleed build a player can build up the devastating status ailment with a strike, roll away, and then roll back when it's safe to hit again.

This build also has the advantage of being easy to put together. The player only needs to find a weapon that causes Bleeding and then pump Vigor and Endurance for survivability and equipment weight. After finding a Bleed weapon worth keeping, it should be infused with Hollow for an increase in Luck scaling.

10 Pure Vigor

The naked build in Dark Souls 3

If you're new to the Dark Souls series, you should know that there's no shame in taking some damage. It’s important to let yourself fall occasionally, and there are plenty of builds that ensure your small mistakes don’t cause you to die repeatedly. One of the simplest is to skip all your other stats, and level up your Vigor stat non-stop to give yourself more maximum health.

Since the cost of leveling increases with each improved stat, it can be extremely effective to rush Vigor until you reach the soft limit of 1,000 HP, which you can do within the first few bosses. Afterward, you can begin leveling up offensive stats based on how you want to play. By using the Fire Gem starting item, you can transform a weapon to deal damage purely off its upgrades, meaning your poor offensive stats won't hold back your damage.

9 Greatshield Rush

Lothric Knight build in Dark Souls 3

Classic players of the first two games know that dodging and parrying can be great strategies, but shields are much more difficult to utilize since few shields block damage perfectly.

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Greatshields are a primary exception to this, as they provide a huge amount of stability and defense for those who would rather take on bosses slowly and defensively. Simply build up 36 Strength as fast as you can, and try to find a Greatshield from killing Lothric Knights wielding them nearby Vordt of the Boreal Valley’s boss room. If you also use a spear weapon, you can even attack while blocking for extra caution.

8 Endless Endurance

The Endurance Assassin build in Dark Souls 3

Defense might be a great way to bear through damage, but many players are far less patient with the game's largest enemies. Players who want to roll and dodge attacks can have a huge edge in this game, and making sure you have enough endurance to attack afterward is key in the strategy working.

Much like a build that exclusively builds Vigor, players who think they can dodge hits constantly are welcome to maximize their endurance as much as possible, ideally until you’ve beaten at least three or four bosses. Once again, using a weapon infused with a Fire Gem will help greatly with your poor offensive stats early on.

7 Big Beater

The Vordt Hammer build in Dark Souls 3

Greatshields are far from the only heavy items in the game. Many of the greatest weapons in the entire series include boss weapons that require high stats and move quite slow, but deal a worthwhile ton of damage. The cost, though, is that these weapons typically require high Strength to wield.

To use them well, you’ll need to maximize this stat early so that you can use the first heavy weapon you get, such as Vordt’s Great Hammer if you save his boss soul to transpose later. As for other stats, make sure you have some Vigor to take hits, and Endurance to avoid running out from massive swings is equally important.

6 The Sword Master

The Swordmaster build in Dark Souls 3

One of the earliest powerful weapons you can get is right at the beginning of the game, dropping from a nearly nude enemy named the Sword Master just to the left of Firelink Shrine’s entrance. Obtaining it can be extremely difficult early on, but if you’re clever enough to dodge hits or trick him into falling off the cliff, his Uchigatana is worth the effort.

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This item requires 16 Dexterity and 11 Strength to use, but its damage scales wonderfully through upgrades and with your stats. Killing him early will also cause his summon sign to appear near bosses like Vordt of the Boreal Valley and Champion Gundyr, giving you even more benefits for stealing his killer katana.

5 Diverse Dexterity

The Dexterity Build in Dark Souls 3

Dexterity itself is a stat that gives access to several spectacular blades, so maxing it out early can be a great benefit for those who don’t want to commit to a single weapon too early. Most weapons can be upgraded fairly cheaply, so building tons of Dexterity alongside Vigor will let you try tons of weapons before settling into your build.

Additionally, dexterity has much overlap with magic weapons, so building some Intellect can be a great boon to you as well. Not many of the builds have room for Magic until New Game Plus, so if you're interested in casting some spells, don’t be afraid to prepare the stat a little in advance.

4 Faithful Assistant

The Faith Paladin in Dark Souls 3

Faith builds are often some of the most difficult early on in Dark Souls games. Many Miracles provide unique utility effects like healing and returning to bonfires, and late in the game there are several powerful Lightning spells, but building Faith early can result in low initial damage.

If you’re passionate about the Faith stat, however, that utility and support can absolutely be effective against bosses when fighting alongside summoned allies. With enough online or NPC assistants, your healing spells that recover those in the vicinity can help them sustain far more damage while they take down your foes.

3 Ranged Mage

The Arcane Mage Knight build in Dark Souls 3

Dark Souls 3 is mostly a melee-focused game, so there aren’t a lot of ways to play if you’re used to using bows & arrows in other fantasy games. Most of the spells and tools that deal ranged damage take a long time to cast and deal quite little damage, so they’re more often used to taunt enemies into safer areas to fight.

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The one exception to this is Magic, and by building high Intellect and Attunement early, you can pelt foes with Soul Arrows from a huge distance until they drop. Some Endurance is also a great boon to this, as you’ll want to sprint across rooms often to maintain some perpetual distance and dodge any long-range attacks from magical bosses like the Crystal Sage.

2 All-Around Hero

The Basic Knight build in Dark Souls 3

If you have enough familiarity with Dark Souls 3 that you can survive some bosses, there’s no reason you need to go hard into specific stats to get your power. As traditional and simple as it seems, leveling all your stats evenly until they're each around 20 can give you a great set of resistances, and plenty of options in terms of weaponry you pick up.

That said, there are still some stats you don’t need to bother with, even in a neutral Knight-like build. Some like Luck and Poise don’t affect gameplay enough to bother investing in, while Faith and Intellect don’t intersect enough to need both. Usually, it’s best to focus on balancing your physical traits, while choosing only one magical stat to invest in.

1 Painted World Wanderer

The Painted World build in Dark Souls 3

Regardless of stats, items are something that can make or break a character, and finding ones that deal sufficient damage is key to succeeding in this game. Since most of the game’s weapons are balanced for the bosses within, there can be some limits as to their uniqueness and effectiveness.

In the Painted World of Ariandel DLC, you can pick up several powerful items throughout Ariandel that the main game's bosses aren't prepared for. You can travel there as soon as you reach the Cathedral of the Deep, and while you might not be able to fight the enemies with your low stats, you can still easily sprint through areas to find items like the Follower Javelin and Millwood Battle Axe on the ground, then return to the base game.

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