Elden Ring: 7 Lore-Based Builds (2024)

Elden Ring is brimming with exceptional lore if you want to delve into it and the story is more than just dressing on top of a mechanics cake. In many cases, items and spells that have linked lore will synergize with each other, allowing you to create builds that are both potent and give your character a cohesive theme.

These builds are perfect for people who want to fight their way through the Lands Between, while still feeling like a part of the world. Let’s look at which armor sets, weapons, and Spirit Ashes you can combine to create builds that will really scratch that narrative itch.

7 Godskin

Everyone knows that fighting the Godskin Duo can be a miserable experience. So, if you can’t beat them, why not join them instead?

This build is primarily focused around using Godslayer Incantations, like Black Flame, which drain the health of your opponents. The Godslayer Seal will buff the damage of these Incantations, and the Godskin Noble chest piece will increase the damage of Noble Presence specifically.

There are a lot of weapon choices for this build, namely the Godskin Peeler, Godslayer's Greatsword, and Godskin Stitcher, but all of them have high Dexterity requirements.

You might be better off opting for a weapon with lower requirements and equipping the similarly thematic Black Flame Tornado Ash of War. The obvious lore-friendly Spirit Ash is Blackflame Monk Amon, who was the first Fire Monk to change loyalties and get seduced by the Black Flame.

6 Warrior of House Hoslow

This build allows you to roleplay as a member of House Hoslow, the family of Diallos and his much cooler brother, Juno.

Both brothers wield and drop the Hoslow Petal Whip, meaning you can actually get two of them without going into New Game Plus. It’s a powerful Dexterity weapon that also inflicts Bleed quickly, especially if you dual wield them.

As for their armor sets, Diallos will only drop his mask, regardless of when he dies. You’ll need to fight Juno during the Volcano Manor questline for his own mask and the rest of the Hoslow Set.

Unfortunately, there isn’t a Hoslow-themed Spirit Ash, but you could always go with the Soldjars of Fortune, a group of Living Jars that blow themselves up. Diallos eventually sacrifices himself to protect Jarburg; now the Living Jars can sacrifice themselves to protect you.

5 Second-Generation Albinauric

This build is more on the silly side than the competitively viable one, but these deformed, graceless constructs have some surprising potential.

The armor set consists of two pieces, with the Helm (the real key to this look) only being obtainable in Volcano Manor. Once you have the look down, you can use the Albinauric Ashes, allowing you to wander around as a gang of roving frogmen.

They aren’t especially strong, though, so if you want something that’s more potent, you could always go with Latenna, although she’s a different kind of Albinauric than what we are going for here.

The most interesting part of this build are the weapon options, the Ripple Blade and Ripple Crescent Halberd, which have the relatively unique property of possessing innate Arcane while also being buffable. As a result, they apply status effects that scale with Arcane (Sleep, Bleed, and Poison) extremely quickly.

4 Haima Battlemage

Elden Ring’s Battlemages don’t play a major role in the game’s narrative. They are members of the Haima Conspectus, an order within Raya Lucaria Academy that focused on halting conflict through violence, and were among the few to venture outside the Academy after it was sealed.

They wear the Battlemage Set, a unique feature of which is the Haima Glintstone Crown, which provides the unusual combination of Intelligence and Strength at the cost of FP.

The two main spells you’ll be using are Cannon and Gavel of Haima, a pair Sorceries that are underrated and exceptionally fun. Then there is the secondary weapon of the Battlemages, the Stone Club, which gets solid Intelligence scaling, despite generally being Strength-focused.

As for your Spirit Ash, there is actually a Battlemage option, Battlemage Hugues, who uses all the same spells and weapons listed above.

3 Nomadic Merchant

Those who have never attacked one of the Nomadic Merchants might be surprised to learn that they use Frenzied Flame Incantations in combat. As such, this build will be focused around using the Frenzied Flame Seal and powerful, Madness-causing Incantations, like Unendurable Frenzy.

You might also be surprised to find that you can get the Nomadic Merchant Set in game, as it is easy to miss. It’s located partway down the parkour puzzle leading to the Three Fingers.

You’ll need to get a nearby Nomad to destroy the tent blocking it. The Spirit Ash for this build, the Nomad Ashes, can be found nearby in the Subterranean Shunning. It will join you in casting Frenzied Flame Incantations, in burning the Lands Between to the ground.

2 Storm Lord

The Storm Lord is the ancient (and somewhat mysterious) lord of Stormveil. The weapon of choice for the build is the Stormhawk Axe, which is wielded by warriors from Stormveil.

The first time most players will see them is in the hands of Nepheli Loux, although you don’t have to kill her to get them, probably because there are multiple endings to her questline that render the Axes inaccessible.

You can find one in Leyndell, and another in Castle Sol. The Axe has an exceptionally potent Weapon Skill, which creates a small thunderstorm around you. (although it did get nerfed rather hard in the patch that preceded the DLCs release)

This build has perhaps the single most thematic Spirit Ash available to them, Stormhawk Deenh, who apparently served the old king of Stormveil. Unfortunately, despite its excellent theming, Deenh isn’t quite as synergistic as you might want, since it’s ability only buffs physical damage, and a significant portion of the Stormhawk Axe’s damage is Lightning-based.

As an alternative, you could use the Warhawk Ash, which summons one of those blade-footed, fire-breathing hawks you can fight in Stormveil Castle.

1 Primeval Sorcerer

The Primeval Current is a mysterious force, one that multiple characters in the game are obsessed with. There are three spells that tap into it: Comet Azur, Founding Rain of Stars, and Stars of Ruin. Of these, easily the most potent of these is Comet Azur, which can one-shot bosses in the right scenario.

While traveling the Lands Between, you can meet two Primeval sorcerers (not counting Sellen): Lusat and Azur. Their armor sets are perfect fits for this build, and the Helms even buff certain Sorceries.

You can also carry both of their Staves at the same time, since Lusat’s has the game’s best scaling, and Azur’s will increase your casting speed while equipped.

There’s an ideal Spirit Ash for this build as well, the Crystalian Ashes. Crystalians are closely tied to the Primeval Current and make for an excellent protector for Sorcerers, since, like the Crystalians you can fight in the Lands Between, the Ash is basically unkillable, unless your opponent deals Strike damage.