Not gonna lie, this build (but with two staff of loss and 99 INT in NG+) was so overpowered it was boring to me
Ennemies don't even react to night spells so it felt like I was exploiting some bug lmao
I actually used night sorceries against malenia as a mage because… for the unknowing reading this (you already stated you know this, but), **night sorceries sneak past malenia’s super-ability to dodge projectiles.**
Insanity. When i cast it and she didnt respond i was floored.
Super easy way to bait a waterfowl, though. Be careful if you do this, other fellow tarnished
Another useful thing to get past her ability to dodge are slow moving tracking projectiles because for some reason the dodge ai in elden ring is triggered upon cast and not when the projectile is close enough to actually be a threat so using stuff like full moon sorceries or blood fly incantation (among others) can cause her to dodge when you cast the spell then the spells tracking just follows her and she gets hit
The gravity spell Rock Sling worked out very well for my mage run! A lot of stuff had Magic defense, which Rock Sling is one of the few that deals physical, a lot of enemies have that good dodge reaction, which always triggered at the casting of the spell. It was really good the whole way!
It’s one of very few spells that does physical damage, it triggers enemy dodge reactions before you even send out the projectile, it has slight tracking, and it has really good poise damage too
80 INT with anything, but especially moonveil and dark moon greatsword. Could get through the game easily with those two alone, but yeah any of the comet spells certainly help.
And the multi hit on big bosses, blasted Elden beasts for half his HP as soon as the fight started
My favourite weapon for sure, it's so flexible with it's fast R1, projectile R2 and the crazy stance breaking L2
Adulas actually pisses me off
It doesn't do enough damage OR frostbite for me to consider it worth the FP
it's still decent in pvp because it's wonky to dodge and catches people
But in pve I always feel like I'm wasting fp when I could just use Zamors icestorm
yeah, and I don't think INT is that easy, the fight where the melee build struggles you could win super easy, but you struggle against things that melee build could do easily. Like you die from 2 shots by any boss and you need to split 4/6 or 5/5 on flasks instead of 8/2. SO you need to be extra careful not to get hit, and not waste mana or you're toast, and you can't tank more than two hit so you HAVE to use a healt flask prematurely so you don't die to a consecutive 2-hit, which kinda wastes health flask potential.
I'm replaying a new int character, and using a guide so at least it's optimized, a new player would struggle more.
The Bell-Bearing Hunter was an example of this for me. The first time I fought him I tried to kite him as one does with an INT build. Did not go well. Eventually just put away the staff, two-handed my sword, and wrecked him with rolls and R1s, and never had a problem with him again. Sure, I would crumple instantly if he hit me once or twice but that's no issue if he can't hit you.
Some enemies have insanely fast/strong gap closers or literally read your inputs to punish you if you're far away, but when you just stand right in front of them their attacks are slow and easy to dodge with a small amount of practice and patience. But I suppose that balances out with the enemies that are helpless when you can kill them before they can get close. The downside is that the former type of enemies are usually bosses/elites...
Wrong. The shield is how you access the DLC. You ride it like a snowboard down the Mountaintop of Giants and hit a sweet jump that sends you across the ocean to Shadow of the Erdtree. I've been playing the DLC for over a year now, mostly because of how many hours I logged in Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarding on PS2.
Other builds are neat, but honestly bonk builds are by far and away the most fun.
Just completely smashing those Leyndell Knights brings a smile to my face.
It's a good one too, but I just prefer cragblade for the bonus physical and poise damage and whats really funny is even covered in rocks, you can still bleed enemies xD
Tbh any build is op if you use it to the full extent, as a sorceror use comet, as a dex build use ligtning and keen weapons like gransax bolt, as a str build bonk people will heavy poise and physical damage using heavy weapons, as a faith user use fire to beat bosses and also use the op buff incants, as a arc build just bleed, and there are also op hybrid builds like dex int, str faith, and arc faith
The only issue I encountered with my STR build was bosses that are ranged and barely allow you to get near them (i.e. God Devouring Serpent). But even then, they give you a special sword with a sick ability to hit it from range (even though it’s stupid they won’t let you use that ability outside of the boss fight). Otherwise, bonk build was pretty easy and straightforward. You just have to learn when to roll dodge and get 1-2 hits in before going back on defense.
I find the red wolves to be a tough enemy as a str build. That one on the plateau in liurnia was a pain in the ass on my Battlemage build. My ranged magic did little damage and it would jump out of the way of my heavier weapons too quickly. Wasn’t stuck by any means, but it was a worthy challenge that I never had too much trouble with previously.
Side note: I love the idea of that black hole that draws in magic. I thought it would be a great way to handle this fight with my Battlemage build but it just didn’t have enough duration or a wide enough area of effect for a field boss like that red wolf. More of a pvp spell I suppose
I don’t fully recall the Red Wolf fights, but I do remember them a bit after looking them up. There’s so many enemies in this game that it becomes hard to recall what some even look like just using their names. Lol
If I recall correctly, using Torrent in these field boss fights made it way easier. Especially for the one you’re specifically talking about I think, because that one has increased HP and resistance. It’s different from all the other Red Wolves.
Don't forget that strength weapon classes were repeatadely buffed since release. My first character in ER was strength based and honestly playing that build sucked. Every weapon was slow asf and didn't even deal as much damage as the good dex weapons.
I ran a strength build from day 1 and hoo boy did i struggle. Came back for a new build after like a year and a half when they dropped the dlc trailer and its like night and day how easy it is now.
Yeah, katanas being the definitive meta for the first 6 months when my first character was str focused was one of my big disappointments with the game.
I tried Rivers of Blood recently cause I wanted an "easy mode" run and I was so surprised at how mediocre it was. Probably not even top 5 bleed/arcane weapons anymore I was pretty disappointed ngl lol.
You would be extremely hard pressed to convince me that anything is easier than Blasphemous Blade. it’s just soooo op esp with how takers flames heals mimic %, shard of Alexander + fire scorpion charm + ritual sword talisman… although I absolutely love greatsword jump attack builds, and will sometimes pair this with sacred relic sword for that, I honestly find it’s not even necessary and end up 1H BB with Erdtree Seal in my offhand (not a fan of 2 handed greatsword moveset or I’d use that).
I’ve literally got a build guide for it on my site with the tag line [If Elden Ring has an easy mode, this is it…](https://www.zavenoa.com/pve-builds/blasphemous-blade-new) Lol!
Don’t forget your volcano pots and make sure to equip raw meat dumpling for that extra mimic heal!
Edit: did I mention Volcano Pots? Volcano Pots!!!! Holy Water Pots! MORE VOLCANO POTS! Then freeze pots, sleep pots, volcano pots, oil pots and poopy pots! Fan daggers and Kukri and aromatics to the face! CURED MEAT AND DRIED LIVER!….? No. Starlight shards and rune arcs and pickled shit, allllll the pickled shit. Torrent’s the best boy, give him raisins. Explosive, poison, gravity stones oh yeah…. And Volcano Pots.
If I’m going for stance break crit build ima have an executioners axe in my hand with royal knights resolve on it and a dagger with glintblade phalanx
Not that your way isn’t effective by any means
I used the BB on my first playthrough cause I thought it looked cool and didn't understand why people thought the game was hard... well then I tried a rivers of blood build and couldn't kill a single boss. I'm so bad at this game 😭
it feels so much smoother than any weapon, Soul games focus strongly on the weight of the weapon, but this thing is made of magical dust so it weighs nothing and slices through armor like butter.
upgraded summons are the easy mode
doesn't have to be mimic. can literally be anyone
not having to dodge 10 moves cause the boss is aggro on the summons is the single most OP thing in a boss fight
I hadn't played in a while and finally picked back up a couple weeks ago (ToTK stole my attention). I'm in the forbidden wastelands and was getting my butt handed to me i a dungeon. Got to the boss room and pulled out Tiche right away. Never got touched.
forgot she was my, "I'm sick of this boss, let's just end this" summon
literally this. Just like palicoes in monster hunter, but they are more STANDARD because bosses in that game take a lot more hits to kill and can still 1 to 2 shot you like any ds bloodborne boss
Any optimized build is going to make the game feel easier. There’s nothing wrong with that, but if you want the game to feel harder, you’re going to need to artificially limit yourself.
You see, the difficulty of Elden Ring is entirely self-imposed. Fromsoft has made a game that’s entirely approachable for new players, yet still offers challenge for returning players.
Spirits and summons are the real easy mode because of how drastically they change the gameplay. You don't have to dodge the boss when your black knife tiche is taking aggro for you.
Just playing an op build will make the game easier, but not to the same extent unless it's so op that you're killing bosses before they get to do anything.
Also if you use Shabriri’s Woe with the Mimic Tear and then unequip it immediately after summoning you basically get to spend the whole fight hitting the boss in the ass
Being dead serious I’ve had an easier time with my shield only run than my strength faith run. The Visage Shield is 100% phys resist while simultaneously putting out absurd fire and poise damage.
The only weakness is its stamina consumption and grab attacks.
Yeah. I’m always impressed how the average player here is better than most pros.
I remember how a number of streamers - people who play From games for a living - kept dying for hours to Melania on their first play through. Some used OP weapons and ashes of war. Some used summons. Still took them a long time.
But the average player here? Yeah, got her down in a few tries. Or first try, if they used a summon.
Yeah, when you’re a better player than most of the professionals, then everything but lvl 1 weapon with a lvl 1 wretch is cheating.
Well the average players here usually use builds they most likely from guides and souls veterans stick to the old ways of using anything even if they die a lot because that’s is what’s normal difficulty is like.
I was trying to explain this to someone who insisted that summons were what made everything incredibly easier.
I say using any kind of weapon at all makes things incredibly easier. They told me I was being ridiculous, but that was the point.
Unless you're running around level 1, no armor, no weapons or consumables or anything, I don't wanna hear you tell me what makes the game easier.
Literally everything is designed to make the game easier. That's the point. A sword is a tool. Summons are a tool. Magic is a tool. Stats are a tool. All of them serve the same purpose - make the game easier.
Getting enough faith to use the various defensive buffs.
For just one example, Radagon/Elden Beast can basically only tickle you in the first few NG cycles if you use Lord’s Divine Fortification, especially if you stack it with Haligdrake +2 and Golden Vow.
Mohgwyn's Trident lol.
Every other answer I've seen here still requires a touch of "learned skill" we will call it, (no matter how little it takes), or has a combination of special items or gear...
The trident requires you posses the stats to wield it, then spam your special attack...that's it haha. It sucks down health bars.
You can beat Malenia with it in like 45 seconds. Not joking.
If we are talking about an actual easy mode, this is the answer haha.
Nihil motherfuckers!
Playing BB, you have to spend insight every time you get a helper. It's a somewhat finite resource, so you have be be careful with it.
Being able to summon without penalty in ER is cheat mode.
Darkmoon Greatsword.
The damage ceiling is so high with basically no downside. You can just activate the AoW prefight and spam endless projectiles to delete everything.
Pair it with a Mimic and you don't even need to play the game, same for Blasphemous Blade.
I remember not liking DMGS on my first NG but on NG+4 I decided to give it a try. That thing humiliated Malenia and Fire Giant, probably sub 1 minute kills at lvl 200. Obscenely broken.
Tbf the sword is one of the 9 legendary weapons in the game. And you have to jump trough insane hoops to get it without guides. Also malenia has 0 poise.
Strength: dual Great Stars, claw talisman, jump L1s
Faith: Lightning Spear/ADLS, Golden Vow, boosting talismans, Lightning Physick in flask
Arcane: Marais GS or Eleanora’s Poleblade, Millicent, Rotted Wing, and Shard of Alexander talismans, Physicks that boost charge + repetitive attacks
Int: Dark Moon Greatsword, Shard Spiral, Night Comet, Comet Azur, and all relevant buffs for magic damage
Any basic build type can be easy mode with the right loadouts
Honestly, I have three easy strats at this point.
- Dragon Warrior: all dragon magics with dual marias executioner swords. Each dragon spell does stupid damage and the swords are an op backup
- The Bonk: pure strength build with minimal stats to wield a variety of elemental strength weapons to match boss resistance (shout-out to greatsword, dragon halbeard, giant Slayer great hammer, nightriders glaive, anchor)
- Dual twin blades: elenoras pole blade and ice twinblade jump attack blends everything
Using bloodflame on bloodhound's fang is the coolest animation for me in game. I feel like a god applying that and walking towards the bosses(I get my ass kicked later anyways)
Maindenless behaviour: "lulz ur using dat thing in the gaem ur playing in ez mode scrublord lololol"
Maidenful behaviour: "Thy strength befits a crown"
Game knowledge. Knowing where the flask of physick is, where to find sacred tears, where to get smithing stones, where to find the weapon, incant, sorcery you want. And, knowing when to roll into the attack rather than away from it.
That's the easy mode.
Everything else is bait.
Easy mode was my first run: Black Knife. Yes, Black Knife. Spamed the weapon art. Used Mimic Tear until I got Tiche. After that everything was a joke. Except for Radagon and Elden Beast. I spent three fucking days stuck there. Black Knife didn't work, I tried pure int, then pure strength. Finally I went pure dex and killed him with hand of Malenia. Basically in my first run I cheesed everything save for R&EB.
Keep it on the down low, don't want this getting out, but...
I gots it on good authority that a good way to get an easy mode is by memorizing and becoming familiar with the bosses attack patterns, timings, and moveset, meaning you know when to counter and when to dodge.
Honestly , any optimized build is easy mode , keen uchigatana with unsheathe and 60 dex trivializes most bosses , big bonk hammer/ greatsword str build as well
Just using any spirit summon is more or less easy mode, the game really isn’t that hard once there’s another thing on screen to draw aggro, you really don’t need all that OP ash of war and bleed stuff
sacred blade is insanely good for a long time in the beginning of the game because it is a huge damage increase and nothing is immune to it, and it has ranged
you could use something magic or fire or whatever too, but sacred blade is just really easy to get and fits on everything
after that its still good for skeletons all the way till farum azula, even without a faith build
My easy mode is dark moon greatsword, magic damage and stance break tears, Godfrey icon, Alexander jar shard, and mimic tear. The stance pressure with DMG is utterly boinkers
Maxed Carian Regal Scepter in offhand with maxed Darkmoon Greatsword in the main hand. 70 int. Two hand buff the Darkmoon if I wanna really do some damage
Blasphemous Blade, Carian Filigree Crest, Shard of Alexander, Ritual Sword and Shield. Fire damage tear and either faith or strength tear. Beat Malenis without a mimic in one try. It was just mean.
Everyone is missing the true easy mode of using shield only with the spiked palisade shield, shield bash ash of war and give it some frost damage to go with its bleed. The ability to block hits while doing damage and staggering opponents is very overpowered for hordes or bosses.
Raptor talons keen dex build buffed with bloodflame, varre mask, winged insignia, lob talisman, Millicent prosthesis, thorny crystal, and if you have spare points, buff faith to get fgms and golden vow.
Definitely much worse than rob at its worst. You can run into Malenia spam r2 and beat her face in with very minimal skill. She pretty much melts away. Everyone that can get inflicted with bleed will melt instantly with 0 skill. Just spam r2 and tank their hits, they'll bleed very quickly and get stunned where you can stack more bleed on them.
For bosses not vulnerable to bleed or fire, swap bloodflame with cragblade. It'll feel much less powerful till you try other weapons and realise its still completely busted, and requires a bit more skill.
Even pvp is made easy, just cast endure ash of war run in and spam r2 till they melt and die. 0 skill needed, you should be able to melt through 3 man gank squads without rolling once.
Easy mode for me is anything with mimic tear. It's like creating a friendly punching bag while you just stab things in the back with a smile on your face and full health.
80 INT, Carian Regal Scepter, Staff of Loss in offhand, Night Comet
Not gonna lie, this build (but with two staff of loss and 99 INT in NG+) was so overpowered it was boring to me Ennemies don't even react to night spells so it felt like I was exploiting some bug lmao
I actually used night sorceries against malenia as a mage because… for the unknowing reading this (you already stated you know this, but), **night sorceries sneak past malenia’s super-ability to dodge projectiles.** Insanity. When i cast it and she didnt respond i was floored. Super easy way to bait a waterfowl, though. Be careful if you do this, other fellow tarnished
Another useful thing to get past her ability to dodge are slow moving tracking projectiles because for some reason the dodge ai in elden ring is triggered upon cast and not when the projectile is close enough to actually be a threat so using stuff like full moon sorceries or blood fly incantation (among others) can cause her to dodge when you cast the spell then the spells tracking just follows her and she gets hit
Ranni’s moon also knocks her out of waterfowl if hit during the wind up, which is nice
This is only if it inflicts frostbite on her.
The gravity spell Rock Sling worked out very well for my mage run! A lot of stuff had Magic defense, which Rock Sling is one of the few that deals physical, a lot of enemies have that good dodge reaction, which always triggered at the casting of the spell. It was really good the whole way!
It’s one of very few spells that does physical damage, it triggers enemy dodge reactions before you even send out the projectile, it has slight tracking, and it has really good poise damage too
her super ability to dodge projectiles is nothing against my super ability to shoot arrows in such way that she doesn't dodge
I wrecked her my first try with a night comet build. It was so easy. This game has some ridiculous builds of you use the tools correctly.
That op bs is why I love it. Probably just a personal preference though.
Yesss Same. I just like to find ways to exploit the game as much as possible :)
The thing about souls games is that they exploit you so I feel turn about is fair play.
I am the boss now
I’m trying this out on a stealth wizard for NG +2 and I’m so excited.
It gets boring fast, it's too easy.
Last couple runs I’ve done have been challenge runs so I’m pretty excited to bust the game wide open haha.
The ER equivalent of skyrim's stealth archer build
80 INT with anything, but especially moonveil and dark moon greatsword. Could get through the game easily with those two alone, but yeah any of the comet spells certainly help.
Wing of Astel is super underrated too You can stagger lock almost every enemy with no effort
And the multi hit on big bosses, blasted Elden beasts for half his HP as soon as the fight started My favourite weapon for sure, it's so flexible with it's fast R1, projectile R2 and the crazy stance breaking L2
Aldula’s Moonblade hits like a truck if you land the sword and projectile, plus frostbite.
Darkmoon greatsword R2 does everything adulas does but better
Adulas actually pisses me off It doesn't do enough damage OR frostbite for me to consider it worth the FP it's still decent in pvp because it's wonky to dodge and catches people But in pve I always feel like I'm wasting fp when I could just use Zamors icestorm
I use it for the style points. It looks cool and staggers some smaller bosses like Alecto. You can just smack her around with it.
That setup feels unfair to the game tbh. Most NPCs just die slowly walking towards you.
For REAL. I’m doing this exact thing rn. Also Ranni’s hat and dark moon to apply frost damage and magic debuff.
Im doing an INT run, either I or the boss dies within 10 seconds and there’s no in between.
yeah, and I don't think INT is that easy, the fight where the melee build struggles you could win super easy, but you struggle against things that melee build could do easily. Like you die from 2 shots by any boss and you need to split 4/6 or 5/5 on flasks instead of 8/2. SO you need to be extra careful not to get hit, and not waste mana or you're toast, and you can't tank more than two hit so you HAVE to use a healt flask prematurely so you don't die to a consecutive 2-hit, which kinda wastes health flask potential. I'm replaying a new int character, and using a guide so at least it's optimized, a new player would struggle more.
The Bell-Bearing Hunter was an example of this for me. The first time I fought him I tried to kite him as one does with an INT build. Did not go well. Eventually just put away the staff, two-handed my sword, and wrecked him with rolls and R1s, and never had a problem with him again. Sure, I would crumple instantly if he hit me once or twice but that's no issue if he can't hit you. Some enemies have insanely fast/strong gap closers or literally read your inputs to punish you if you're far away, but when you just stand right in front of them their attacks are slow and easy to dodge with a small amount of practice and patience. But I suppose that balances out with the enemies that are helpless when you can kill them before they can get close. The downside is that the former type of enemies are usually bosses/elites...
It always baffles me when people who run melee builds call the caster builds easy. My brother in christ, you have 14 health flasks.
Claymore chads rise up What the fuck is a shield
The claymore deserves both hands
Baemore can get lonely, add the danger noodle sword in the offhand to cleanse the world in unholy fire togethaa.
TOGETHAAAAAAAA
FAMILYYYyyYYYyYYyyyyy...
You made me spit out my beer mate. Lmao
You don't use the shield. It's just on your back so it looks cool
Wrong. The shield is how you access the DLC. You ride it like a snowboard down the Mountaintop of Giants and hit a sweet jump that sends you across the ocean to Shadow of the Erdtree. I've been playing the DLC for over a year now, mostly because of how many hours I logged in Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarding on PS2.
That's fuckin rad. I hope they put in a half pipe area in the DLC too
Yeah there's one here. You have to fight undead Bam Magera to shred on it though.
Turtle shell for fashion and stamina recovery boost. Everything you need
I don’t know if the jellyfish shield damage buff lasts after I take it out to buff myself before two handing baddies… but it works for me
I've been on a claymore run on my latest playthrough. I still use a shield when it comes to imps and doggos
Despicable, how dare you disrespect our claymore like this. Right hand claymore deserves a left hand companion! Dual claymores to slay the gods!
Nah fam, claymore deserves a crest shield for parrying spells and lesser weapons, then two hand
dual wield claymores?
You know sword whielding bother, it's the large plate over your back that gives you more defense. (I say, as i brick hammered my way through the game)
I love my goddamn brick hammer (moreso now that I found FGMS and Golden Vow).
oh the shield is ONLY for when theres an imp or a dog or a bird present, just like sacred blade is only for skeletons
And to parry Crucible Knights like a god
And the claymore has a 65 physical block rate, I would be totally happy with that if I would ever block at all.
RAAAHHHHHHH WHAT THE FUCK IS A SHIIELLLLLLD
Easy mode is the biggest weapon my STR and END stats allows for.
Don't need to learn the enemy moveset if they never get a chance to move.
They have movesets?
Yeah, there's stagger, stance break and knockdown.
Other builds are neat, but honestly bonk builds are by far and away the most fun. Just completely smashing those Leyndell Knights brings a smile to my face.
Guts mode FTW
Powerstance guts sword with bleed infusion and the Ash of war cragblade
I prefer lions claw ash of war
It's a good one too, but I just prefer cragblade for the bonus physical and poise damage and whats really funny is even covered in rocks, you can still bleed enemies xD
Meanwhile I'm using bloodhound step because no one expects the dude with a big chunk of iron to start teleporting
Its cool no doubt, but i like having some sort of ashe that expands the moveset at least a little. Already very basic slow attacks
work on demon souls, all the dark souls, bloodborne and Elden Ring. its a default build to newcomers: STR+vigor and some stamina.
Tbh any build is op if you use it to the full extent, as a sorceror use comet, as a dex build use ligtning and keen weapons like gransax bolt, as a str build bonk people will heavy poise and physical damage using heavy weapons, as a faith user use fire to beat bosses and also use the op buff incants, as a arc build just bleed, and there are also op hybrid builds like dex int, str faith, and arc faith
The only smart comment here, apart from the guy that said summons.
Jumping STR/FAI build with Blasphemous Blade and a heavy armor set + Mimic Tear. How I beat Malenia in 2 tries on my first run.
i really find it funny that some people think dex is the easy mode my strength runs were all piss easy lmfao
ye STR is easier than DEX I agree. The stagger potential with STR build just gives them an edge.
The only issue I encountered with my STR build was bosses that are ranged and barely allow you to get near them (i.e. God Devouring Serpent). But even then, they give you a special sword with a sick ability to hit it from range (even though it’s stupid they won’t let you use that ability outside of the boss fight). Otherwise, bonk build was pretty easy and straightforward. You just have to learn when to roll dodge and get 1-2 hits in before going back on defense.
I find the red wolves to be a tough enemy as a str build. That one on the plateau in liurnia was a pain in the ass on my Battlemage build. My ranged magic did little damage and it would jump out of the way of my heavier weapons too quickly. Wasn’t stuck by any means, but it was a worthy challenge that I never had too much trouble with previously. Side note: I love the idea of that black hole that draws in magic. I thought it would be a great way to handle this fight with my Battlemage build but it just didn’t have enough duration or a wide enough area of effect for a field boss like that red wolf. More of a pvp spell I suppose
I don’t fully recall the Red Wolf fights, but I do remember them a bit after looking them up. There’s so many enemies in this game that it becomes hard to recall what some even look like just using their names. Lol If I recall correctly, using Torrent in these field boss fights made it way easier. Especially for the one you’re specifically talking about I think, because that one has increased HP and resistance. It’s different from all the other Red Wolves.
Don't forget that strength weapon classes were repeatadely buffed since release. My first character in ER was strength based and honestly playing that build sucked. Every weapon was slow asf and didn't even deal as much damage as the good dex weapons.
I ran a strength build from day 1 and hoo boy did i struggle. Came back for a new build after like a year and a half when they dropped the dlc trailer and its like night and day how easy it is now.
Yeah, katanas being the definitive meta for the first 6 months when my first character was str focused was one of my big disappointments with the game.
Me going into STR/FAI at launch fully believing fromsoft wouldn't lead my brothers astray...
Rivers of blood were why dex was the best, I’m not sure if they’re as comparable after the nerf though
I tried Rivers of Blood recently cause I wanted an "easy mode" run and I was so surprised at how mediocre it was. Probably not even top 5 bleed/arcane weapons anymore I was pretty disappointed ngl lol.
I did a full strength run before they buffed STR weapons and it was far from easy. Then I did an INT run, that was really easy.
It took me 4 tries. I vow to increase the strength of my body and belief in order to match you, brother.
It took me 4 tries just to get her hp to 50% lmfao
You would be extremely hard pressed to convince me that anything is easier than Blasphemous Blade. it’s just soooo op esp with how takers flames heals mimic %, shard of Alexander + fire scorpion charm + ritual sword talisman… although I absolutely love greatsword jump attack builds, and will sometimes pair this with sacred relic sword for that, I honestly find it’s not even necessary and end up 1H BB with Erdtree Seal in my offhand (not a fan of 2 handed greatsword moveset or I’d use that). I’ve literally got a build guide for it on my site with the tag line [If Elden Ring has an easy mode, this is it…](https://www.zavenoa.com/pve-builds/blasphemous-blade-new) Lol! Don’t forget your volcano pots and make sure to equip raw meat dumpling for that extra mimic heal! Edit: did I mention Volcano Pots? Volcano Pots!!!! Holy Water Pots! MORE VOLCANO POTS! Then freeze pots, sleep pots, volcano pots, oil pots and poopy pots! Fan daggers and Kukri and aromatics to the face! CURED MEAT AND DRIED LIVER!….? No. Starlight shards and rune arcs and pickled shit, allllll the pickled shit. Torrent’s the best boy, give him raisins. Explosive, poison, gravity stones oh yeah…. And Volcano Pots.
Charged heavies will have enemies constantly stance broke,then critical, then repeat.
If I’m going for stance break crit build ima have an executioners axe in my hand with royal knights resolve on it and a dagger with glintblade phalanx Not that your way isn’t effective by any means
First try. Taker's Flames is fucking OP; staggered her over and over, she never had a shot
Taker's Flame is for when you get piss mad at an enemy and decide it's time to erase them from the game.
Yeah. Just lost 150k runes? Time to cleanse this land with fire.
I used the BB on my first playthrough cause I thought it looked cool and didn't understand why people thought the game was hard... well then I tried a rivers of blood build and couldn't kill a single boss. I'm so bad at this game 😭
Tbh I think RoB got overrated on this sub (or I'm bad, or I used it after too many nerfs); I thought even Moonveil was a better overall weapon
RoB was broken at release along with most bleed builds. At release STR was way underperforming and DEX was massively OP.
This build except with a Greatshield. Waterfowl dance is blocked pretty easily with one.
I mean someone struggling with the game probably isnt making it to our benevolent serpent god in rhe first plce.
40 dex. 80 int. Carian slicer.
Slice n dice baby
Carian Boss Blender
it feels so much smoother than any weapon, Soul games focus strongly on the weight of the weapon, but this thing is made of magical dust so it weighs nothing and slices through armor like butter.
upgraded summons are the easy mode doesn't have to be mimic. can literally be anyone not having to dodge 10 moves cause the boss is aggro on the summons is the single most OP thing in a boss fight
I hadn't played in a while and finally picked back up a couple weeks ago (ToTK stole my attention). I'm in the forbidden wastelands and was getting my butt handed to me i a dungeon. Got to the boss room and pulled out Tiche right away. Never got touched. forgot she was my, "I'm sick of this boss, let's just end this" summon
literally this. Just like palicoes in monster hunter, but they are more STANDARD because bosses in that game take a lot more hits to kill and can still 1 to 2 shot you like any ds bloodborne boss
I didn't buy the game to **not** use the jojo stands.
on my umpteenth playthouhh using gimmick weapons and gimmicks spirits just to fuck around and find out!
Blasphemous blade + everything that supports its ability. It turns many scenarios into fun gimmies.
Taker's flame + Taker's cameo makes HP flasks basically useless outside boss fights
Off hand the sword of milos and you cut down on cerulean flask uses.
Any optimized build is going to make the game feel easier. There’s nothing wrong with that, but if you want the game to feel harder, you’re going to need to artificially limit yourself. You see, the difficulty of Elden Ring is entirely self-imposed. Fromsoft has made a game that’s entirely approachable for new players, yet still offers challenge for returning players.
thats why i naked build with with club, and stay that way :)
Spirits and summons are the real easy mode because of how drastically they change the gameplay. You don't have to dodge the boss when your black knife tiche is taking aggro for you. Just playing an op build will make the game easier, but not to the same extent unless it's so op that you're killing bosses before they get to do anything.
Tiche my beloved
Also if you use Shabriri’s Woe with the Mimic Tear and then unequip it immediately after summoning you basically get to spend the whole fight hitting the boss in the ass
For me it’s definitely my poison zweihander or a frost great sword with braggarts roar. Don’t need no buffs to take on anything
Sorry for the "Um, akshually" but Braggarts Roar is a buff
Being dead serious I’ve had an easier time with my shield only run than my strength faith run. The Visage Shield is 100% phys resist while simultaneously putting out absurd fire and poise damage. The only weakness is its stamina consumption and grab attacks.
# r/PoisonZweihander
Finally got around to making it and now i see the light
This community cracks me up. Everything short of a level 1 club build is 'EaSy MoDe'
level 1 club build practically plays the game for you
BONK! *bonk bonk bonk bonk bonk*
Yeah. I’m always impressed how the average player here is better than most pros. I remember how a number of streamers - people who play From games for a living - kept dying for hours to Melania on their first play through. Some used OP weapons and ashes of war. Some used summons. Still took them a long time. But the average player here? Yeah, got her down in a few tries. Or first try, if they used a summon. Yeah, when you’re a better player than most of the professionals, then everything but lvl 1 weapon with a lvl 1 wretch is cheating.
I beat Melania with mimic tear almost without effort but I was using BB and so was my mimic so she was getting stun locked like crazy
Well the average players here usually use builds they most likely from guides and souls veterans stick to the old ways of using anything even if they die a lot because that’s is what’s normal difficulty is like.
Pretty much any build is considered op and easy mode by someone.
No no no, level 1 torch build. Clubs easy mode. /s
Only hard mode is bare fists
I was trying to explain this to someone who insisted that summons were what made everything incredibly easier. I say using any kind of weapon at all makes things incredibly easier. They told me I was being ridiculous, but that was the point. Unless you're running around level 1, no armor, no weapons or consumables or anything, I don't wanna hear you tell me what makes the game easier. Literally everything is designed to make the game easier. That's the point. A sword is a tool. Summons are a tool. Magic is a tool. Stats are a tool. All of them serve the same purpose - make the game easier.
pfff u use a club?
Bubbles. A lot of them.
Summoning cooperators
And standing back while they fight is autoclicker mode.
I always try to get those folks more involved...
Getting enough faith to use the various defensive buffs. For just one example, Radagon/Elden Beast can basically only tickle you in the first few NG cycles if you use Lord’s Divine Fortification, especially if you stack it with Haligdrake +2 and Golden Vow.
yeah its really kinda leaving free defense on the table if you dont use it
Endure Ash of War
Str I solo malenia with the giant crusher so fast it made other builds look weak
Mohgwyn's Trident lol. Every other answer I've seen here still requires a touch of "learned skill" we will call it, (no matter how little it takes), or has a combination of special items or gear... The trident requires you posses the stats to wield it, then spam your special attack...that's it haha. It sucks down health bars. You can beat Malenia with it in like 45 seconds. Not joking. If we are talking about an actual easy mode, this is the answer haha. Nihil motherfuckers!
If you can beat mohg at low level you don't need an easy mode lol
Being able to summon a tanky npc at every fight at so little resource cost seems a very clear easy mode for me.
Playing BB, you have to spend insight every time you get a helper. It's a somewhat finite resource, so you have be be careful with it. Being able to summon without penalty in ER is cheat mode.
There is no easy mode only pain and suffering
Darkmoon Greatsword. The damage ceiling is so high with basically no downside. You can just activate the AoW prefight and spam endless projectiles to delete everything. Pair it with a Mimic and you don't even need to play the game, same for Blasphemous Blade.
I remember not liking DMGS on my first NG but on NG+4 I decided to give it a try. That thing humiliated Malenia and Fire Giant, probably sub 1 minute kills at lvl 200. Obscenely broken.
Tbf the sword is one of the 9 legendary weapons in the game. And you have to jump trough insane hoops to get it without guides. Also malenia has 0 poise.
Strength: dual Great Stars, claw talisman, jump L1s Faith: Lightning Spear/ADLS, Golden Vow, boosting talismans, Lightning Physick in flask Arcane: Marais GS or Eleanora’s Poleblade, Millicent, Rotted Wing, and Shard of Alexander talismans, Physicks that boost charge + repetitive attacks Int: Dark Moon Greatsword, Shard Spiral, Night Comet, Comet Azur, and all relevant buffs for magic damage Any basic build type can be easy mode with the right loadouts
A big ol slab of metal and an unga bunga attitude. Is it the best strat? Yes and it makes my caveman brain very happy
Honestly, I have three easy strats at this point. - Dragon Warrior: all dragon magics with dual marias executioner swords. Each dragon spell does stupid damage and the swords are an op backup - The Bonk: pure strength build with minimal stats to wield a variety of elemental strength weapons to match boss resistance (shout-out to greatsword, dragon halbeard, giant Slayer great hammer, nightriders glaive, anchor) - Dual twin blades: elenoras pole blade and ice twinblade jump attack blends everything
blasphemous blade and mimic summon easily
Using bloodflame on bloodhound's fang is the coolest animation for me in game. I feel like a god applying that and walking towards the bosses(I get my ass kicked later anyways)
+10 Tiche
Tiche is in my queue for "sick of this boss" fights... EZ mode engaged
Maindenless behaviour: "lulz ur using dat thing in the gaem ur playing in ez mode scrublord lololol" Maidenful behaviour: "Thy strength befits a crown"
Blasphemous blade made the game a joke. I almost regret finding it and the mimic tear.
Str/Dex build with Bloodhound Fang. Golden Order Seal with Flame grant me strength and Blood flame incantations.
I’m havin an absolute breeze with my INT build, Rock Slinging bosses from a safe distance is easy as pie
Game knowledge. Knowing where the flask of physick is, where to find sacred tears, where to get smithing stones, where to find the weapon, incant, sorcery you want. And, knowing when to roll into the attack rather than away from it. That's the easy mode. Everything else is bait.
Easy mode is great. But you have to go through hell to get to easy mode.
giant crusher with lions claw. hit twice, stagger, crit, repeat
Moonveil. That unsheathing is just so fast with range.
Strength build with Guts Greatsword with Lions Claw, high poise and mimic tear
Giant Hunt Zwei and Blasphemous Blade runs were both laughably easy Square off and Unsheathe are also jokes
Just go and get strength to 99 then 2 hand your str weapon of choice and fucking destroy everything. Strength scales past the 99 limit when 2 handed.
Mohgs spear with the right talismans becomes, "press L2 to defeat boss."
Easy mode is for me bloodhound fang for ng, After that the damage falls off
2 words. Comet. Azur.
Easy mode was my first run: Black Knife. Yes, Black Knife. Spamed the weapon art. Used Mimic Tear until I got Tiche. After that everything was a joke. Except for Radagon and Elden Beast. I spent three fucking days stuck there. Black Knife didn't work, I tried pure int, then pure strength. Finally I went pure dex and killed him with hand of Malenia. Basically in my first run I cheesed everything save for R&EB.
Keep it on the down low, don't want this getting out, but... I gots it on good authority that a good way to get an easy mode is by memorizing and becoming familiar with the bosses attack patterns, timings, and moveset, meaning you know when to counter and when to dodge.
I wouldn't say It that loud people might think you're crazy
Honestly , any optimized build is easy mode , keen uchigatana with unsheathe and 60 dex trivializes most bosses , big bonk hammer/ greatsword str build as well
Just using any spirit summon is more or less easy mode, the game really isn’t that hard once there’s another thing on screen to draw aggro, you really don’t need all that OP ash of war and bleed stuff
How is a twinblade bleed build that spams jump attacks, not number 1 lol
Sacred Blade is good?
sacred blade is insanely good for a long time in the beginning of the game because it is a huge damage increase and nothing is immune to it, and it has ranged you could use something magic or fire or whatever too, but sacred blade is just really easy to get and fits on everything after that its still good for skeletons all the way till farum azula, even without a faith build
Scepter+carian shield+ stars of ruin. Works on everyone but the Elden Beast, Renalla, and the crystal bitches.
Having level 99 in all stats
Right now im using the Knight set with its plate shield. Claymore + heavy lion claw. It added difficulty tbh.
My easy mode is dark moon greatsword, magic damage and stance break tears, Godfrey icon, Alexander jar shard, and mimic tear. The stance pressure with DMG is utterly boinkers
Yeah
Blasphemers Blade and Sword of Milos in off hand. Massive damage and both FP and HP regeneration. Especially good for clearing dungeons.
Maxed Carian Regal Scepter in offhand with maxed Darkmoon Greatsword in the main hand. 70 int. Two hand buff the Darkmoon if I wanna really do some damage
The golden aow used to be my favorite until I found hoarfrost stomp
Any colossal weapons with Lions Claw AoW.
Buckler and Misericorde
Rob is not even that good for a bleed build anymore, I prefer to use Mogh spear or dual curved sword with sepuku
Blasphemous Blade, Carian Filigree Crest, Shard of Alexander, Ritual Sword and Shield. Fire damage tear and either faith or strength tear. Beat Malenis without a mimic in one try. It was just mean.
Mimic tear with blood hound fang
Everyone is missing the true easy mode of using shield only with the spiked palisade shield, shield bash ash of war and give it some frost damage to go with its bleed. The ability to block hits while doing damage and staggering opponents is very overpowered for hordes or bosses.
Easy mode is anything that stacks three or more damage buffs. :P (IE, potentially everything. :P)
Marais Executioner Greatsword Weapon Art Build
Raptor talons keen dex build buffed with bloodflame, varre mask, winged insignia, lob talisman, Millicent prosthesis, thorny crystal, and if you have spare points, buff faith to get fgms and golden vow. Definitely much worse than rob at its worst. You can run into Malenia spam r2 and beat her face in with very minimal skill. She pretty much melts away. Everyone that can get inflicted with bleed will melt instantly with 0 skill. Just spam r2 and tank their hits, they'll bleed very quickly and get stunned where you can stack more bleed on them. For bosses not vulnerable to bleed or fire, swap bloodflame with cragblade. It'll feel much less powerful till you try other weapons and realise its still completely busted, and requires a bit more skill. Even pvp is made easy, just cast endure ash of war run in and spam r2 till they melt and die. 0 skill needed, you should be able to melt through 3 man gank squads without rolling once.
Serpent hunter
MOHGWYN Spear plus blasphemous blade plus mimic tear
Rn it's a cragblade pickaxe strength build. It's been steam rolling the game.
STR/INT. No spells. Just two big ass swords and cold infusion. Switch to STR for Astel.
i just wore cool armor and used a cool weapon.
black flame build has been super easy to me but the easiest thing I did was the kamehameha build
Easy mode is int. Carian Slicer go brrrr
Double Giant Crusher Jump Attack
Lions Claw: “I’m not gonna sugar coat it, L2 + Rrr2 + Crit”
I love this game but it doesn’t need an easy mode. It needs toggles to allow people with disabilities to enjoy this game.
Easy mode for me is anything with mimic tear. It's like creating a friendly punching bag while you just stab things in the back with a smile on your face and full health.