This guide contains the progression path for one of the strongest builds in all of Elden Ring, as well as where to get all the items, and how to utilize them to find success on even the hardest bosses. additionally, this build uses a unique interaction between thrusting weapons and shields, which allows you to attack from behind the shield.
Pros
- Makes many bosses trivial
- Unique playstyle
- Great even at high NG+ runs
- Very defensive
Cons
- Makes many bosses trivial
- Lots of required items
- High rune level requirement
- High equip load
Getting started
Hero is a great option as your starter class, given that it has great baseline strength and endurance which is needed for the block the world build. However, by the time you get all the items together, you are going to be well into Leyndell, Royal capital. You should follow Maxroll's Path to Power guide to get a head start on your journey.
Attributes
Your most important stats to level are Strength, Endurance, and Vigor. Strength and Dexterity are your main damage scaling stats, however, Strength in particular requires heavy investment to equip Greatshields, so level that first. Arcane allows you to increase the amount of status buildup weapons inflict as long as they scale with Arcane. Endurance allows you to attack more often, as well as gives you the equip load needed for heavier armor. Lastly, Vigor gives a safety net of health to prevent getting one-shot by grab attacks, or if your guard breaks and you take a hit or two.
Level 100
- Vigor - 30
- Mind - 15
- Endurance - 32
- Strength - 50
- Dexterity - 20
- Intelligence - 16
- Faith - 7
- Arcane - 9
Level 120
- Vigor - 32
- Mind - 15
- Endurance - 40
- Strength - 50
- Dexterity - 30
- Intelligence - 16
- Faith - 7
- Arcane - 9
Stat thresholds
At 55 Strength the stat hits its first damage softcap, so increases past 55 give slightly less damage per point, 55 Endurance is the first Stamina softcap, and 60 Endurance is the first equip load softcap.
80 points allocated is the hardcap for most skills, so putting more than 80 points into a stat should be avoided.
Level 150
- Vigor - 40
- Mind - 15
- Endurance - 40
- Strength - 50
- Dexterity - 30
- Intelligence - 16
- Faith - 7
- Arcane - 31
Level 200+
- Vigor - 60
- Mind - 15
- Endurance - 60
- Strength - 55
- Dexterity - 30
- Intelligence - 16
- Faith - 7
- Arcane - 36
Core items
Numerous different item combinations can be used, however, each section goes over the most effective items for the slot. Additionally, you can find information on how to get a lot of the items for this build in the video below!
Weapons
Thrusting weapons, heavy thrusting weapons, spears, and great spears can all be used to attack from behind your Greatshield of choice, therefore it is mandatory that you only use these weapon types.
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Antspur Rapier is a unique weapon that always has scarlet rot buildup, while also being able to apply an ash of war, thus enabling bleed buildup, as well as scarlet rot buildup on the same weapon. Because the Antspur Rapier is a regular thrusting weapon, it has minimal stamina usage when attacking.
Godskin Stitcher is a heavy thrusting weapon that has a huge amount of bleed buildup when paired with the bleed affinity, it also boasts high flat damage and is the best option for raw damage. This comes at the cost of increased stamina usage, this weapon also has a much higher range than a lot of other weapons for the block the world build.
Lots of weapons have different playstyles, Use the various thrusting weapons you find in your journey until you get one of the aforementioned weapons.
Greatshields
The Guard Boost and Guarded Damage Negation stats are the most important stats for greatshields. Guard boost dictates how much stamina damage the player takes while blocking, while damage negation lowers how much health damage you take from a block.
Prior to the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC the best shield that could be obtained was the Fingerprint Shield, it has incredibly high defense as well as a high guard boost, its only drawback is that it weighs more than any other Greatshield.
Verdigris Greatshield is new to the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC and has the highest guard boost in the game, as well as weighing less than the Fingerprint Shield, Also the negation is very comparable to the Fingerprint Shield making it the new best option for the block the world build.
Greatshields like the Black Steel Greatshield have less guard boost, however with certain affinities can get up to 100% holy damage guarded negation, this makes it great for bosses that do mostly holy damage.
Fingerprint Stone Shield
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Talismans
Complimenting the block the world build with strong talismans ensures you find victory in even the toughest bosses! However, there are a few combinations to use. Offensive, defensive, and mandatory talismans are displayed separately.
Mandatory Talisman
The only mandatory talisman is the Greatshield Talisman, as stamina is one of the hardest things to manage during fights, thus mitigating the stamina damage taken is vital, thankfully this talisman reduces that stamina damage taken while blocking by 20%, and is a staple of the block the world build.
Click the image to expand
Offensive Talismans
Since the block the world build allows for lots of consecutive attacks the Rotten Winged Sword Insignia talisman is one of the best choices for increasing your damage when a more aggressive playstyle is warranted.
Putting an ash of war with the bleed affinity gives the build bleed buildup, this makes using the Lord of Blood's Exultation a fantastic option to boost damage after causing a hemorrhage on an enemy.
This build is designed to not take much damage, so the drawback of Radagon's Soreseal's increased damage taken is reduced heavily, while also giving you a lot of stats in all the areas needed.
Rotten Winged Sword Insignia
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Defensive Talismans
With the block the world build being as defensive as it is, there is no shortage of great options for talismans.
The Two-Headed Turtle Talisman excels in keeping stamina up and recovering it quickly.
Given how much the block the world build weighs, it may be necessary to use an equip load boosting talisman. The Great-Jar's Arsenal or Erdtree's Favor talismans are the best options.
The block the world build still takes health damage from attacks that are not exclusively physical, making it important to reduce that damage where you can. The Pearldrake Talisman or the Pearl Shield Talisman (or both) are very effective at doing this.
Armor
The Verdigris armor set has extremely high mitigations at the cost of being very heavy, the set is the best armor set for the block the world build.
The Bull-Goat armor set is the best base game armor set and can be obtained before going into the DLC, however, the armor weighs more than any other set in the game.
Sets like the Crucible tree armor have some of the highest holy damage mitigation, look great, and even weigh a lot less than other sets.
The block the world build is strong enough to use any armor set in the game, use the highest defensive set you can with your equip load.
Verdigris Armor Set
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Gameplay
The block the world build is one of the strongest and most comfortable builds in Elden ring, there are lots of ways to play it and plenty of items to use along the way.
- Tap the block button to regain bursts of stamina quickly
- Only attack when stamina is at a manageable level
- Grab attacks cannot be blocked and should be rolled or spaced out
Here is a short video on how to play the build effectively, as well as just how strong it is.
Summary
The Elden Ring block the world build revolves around pairing thrusting weapons with Greatshields for consistent damage and unparalleled safety. This build excels in NG+ and makes many of the game's toughest bosses (including the final boss from the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC) trivial. You need a lot of Strength and Endurance to assemble the build which makes this a late game setup for level 100+ players.
While your exact gearing is flexible, an example loadout might be the Antspur Rapier, Verdigris Greatshield, Verdigris Armor Set, a Greatshield Talisman, and a mix of additional offensive or defensive talismans depending on what the situation requires.
Written by: Sirfreeforall
Reviewed by: Tenkiei
