The arrival of Shadow of The Erdtree DLC has dropped a lot of new gear, especially some Samurai-related weapons. If you enjoy destroying anything with wild swings and inflicting bleeding on your enemies, then this Raging Rakshasa Samurai Build is definitely what you are looking for.

In this guide, we will cover the play style of this build, what gear to use, the best amulets, useful gameplay tips, and more. So that eventually you will master the enormous power of the newest weapons in DLC and delete everything that stands in your way.

Gameplay

Raging Rakshasa relies heavily on the power of Rakshasa’s Great Katana, hence the name. Swinging this Great Katana violently is able to deal a lot of raw damage and apply additional bleeding effects, making it even more deadly.

In addition, when making said swings, players will also gain a huge Hyper-armor to focus more on destroying enemies, especially bosses.

Raging Rakshasa also has high Strength and Dexterity, and a little Faith Stat that grants attack and defense boosting buffs. Its overall gameplay is simple but very effective.

Weapons

Now that the basic gameplay is out of the way, let’s move on to the gear you need to complete Raging Rakshasa.

Main Weapon: Rakshasa’s Great Katana

Let’s start with the major weapon of the build, which is Rakshasa’s Great Katana, one of the newest weapons added in DLC. This Great Katana requires 12 Strength, 27 Dexterity, and no Arcane Scaling, which is really weird in my opinion, and it’s D scaling for Strength and B for Dexterity.

Not only does Rakshasa’s Great Katana look really exceptional, but it also offers a devastating skill, Weed Cutter. This skill cuts the target horizontally and removes it like a weed, so its name matches its ability. As long as they have Stamina, the user can extend the use time of Weed Cutter, and it only costs 8 FP per use, which is crazy.

This skill hits like a truck every time it swings, and since it has an additional bleed effect on top of the original damage, you’ll be dealing a ton of damage in a matter of seconds.

Additionally, the user will gain Hyper-armor in the middle of the animation, allowing them to defend against or face normal attacks.

While it sounds OP, it has its downsides. While having Hyper-armor is good, the user will also take more damage in the process. And I think the animation of Weed Cutter is very slow, and if you don’t use it correctly, you’ll be vulnerable.

Secondary Weapon: Finger Seal

Moving on to the secondary weapon for this build, I recommend using Finger Seal. While any Seal will work, Finger Seal is the easiest one for us to get. And by equipping Seal, we can get the buff later.

Finger Seal is the starting equipment for Confessor and Prophet classes. If you don’t choose either of these classes, you can also choose to get it directly from Twin Maiden Husks for 800 Elden Ring Runes.

Spells

With the weapons out of the way, let’s move on to the suggested spells.

Flame Grant Me Strength

I mentioned that we’ll be getting buffs when using this build, so the first one on the list is Flame Grant me Strength, which provides an additional 20% Physical Attack Boost and Stamina Recovery Buff.

Golden Vow

The second buff on the list is, of course, Golden Vow. This buff increases overall damage by 15% and adds 10% Damage Negation, which is very helpful for us to offset the negative effects of Weed Cutter.

Related: The Best Route To Quickly Complete Ymir And Jolan Questline In Elden Ring!

Talismans

Next, let’s get to the best Talismans for this build.

Shard of Alexander

The first Talisman on the list is our major hit, Shard of Alexander, which increases skill damage by 15%, especially when performing Weed Cutter. So be sure to slot this one.

Lord Of Blood’s Exultation

Since we deal with Bleed procs a lot with this build, I recommend slotting Lord of Blood’s Exultation. This Talisman will provide another 20% attack damage if blood loss procs occur near the user, which happens all the time when using this build.

Two-Headed Turtle Talisman

Next on the list is Two-Headed Turtle Talisman, which greatly increases Stamina Recovery. This is an upgrade from Green Turtle Talisman, and it will become the main Talisman I use in my build.

My gameplay and strategy always revolves around super aggressive gameplay and strategy, so most of the time, I’m completely running out of stamina. Therefore, the faster my stamina recovers, the more damage I can do to the enemy. What’s more, there are a lot of times you’ll find yourself with no stamina, especially after using Weed Cutter skill.

Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman

For the next Talisman, I recommend slotting Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman for an extra 20% Physical Damage Negation. There’s a good chance you’ll be taking a ton of damage, especially when using Weed Cutter skill, so the damage reduction this Talisman provides will greatly help you survive. Not to mention that almost every enemy in DLC can take 1 or 2 shots and die, so you need this talisman.

Stats

Let’s move on to the stats for Raging Rakshasa.

Starting with Vigor, 50 points have been assigned to it. Since I’m used to Glass Cannon Builds, I rarely assign a lot of points to Vigor, however, since this build is more likely to go head-to-head with enemies, I think 50 points are best.

If you’re really good at the game, you can lower it. But if you’re still tuning in, make sure to assign 50 points, otherwise you’ll have trouble resisting the impact of all the enemies in DLC.

Next up is Mind, which has 25 points assigned to it. You can at least bump it up to 20 if you want and add it to your other stats since this build doesn’t require that much FP and Weed Cutter is very cheap to use.

Talking about Endurance next, we have allocated 30 points to it since the intended gameplay for this build is super aggressive. You will be facing off against bosses most of the time and will continue to use Weed Cutter skill, so I feel 30 points is enough for now. Of course, Endurance being an offensive stat, the more you have, the more damage you will be able to do.

In addition, you will also want to have at least 50 Strength and 79 Dexterity so that you can match up well with Rakshasa’s Great Katana. These two are the key attributes of this build, so pay attention to them. 

Next is Faith. We allocated 25 points so that you can use the aforementioned Golden Vow and Flame Grant me Strength.

Finally, since we don’t need Intelligence and Arcane, no points were allocated to them, they remain at 10 points.

How To Optimize This Build?

Now that stats are out of the way, let’s move on to Raging Rakshasa’s gameplay and optimization tips.

Prepare Wakizashi

The first tip I have for you is to prepare Wakizashi and fuse it with Ash of War: Golden Vow. Now, this tip is only for when you don’t want to invest up to 25 points into Faith.

While it’s relatively weak, with it you can still increase your damage by 11.5% and increase damage negation by 7.5% across the board. Of course, feel free to use any dagger, I just used Wakizashi to match the theme of the build.

Improve Your Opener

Secondly, optimizing your opener is also crucial. When the fight starts, I usually use Flask of Wondrous Physick first to make my continuous attacks more powerful. And, to get more damage negation, I will choose to cast Golden Vow to deal more damage and damage reduction. Finally, pop Flame Grant me Strength for more attack boosts, then rush the boss and start executing Weed Cutter skill.

Use Weed Cutter Wisely

The third tip is to manage Weed Cutter skill wisely. You can still die if you use this skill carelessly, so use it intentionally and leave time to use the skill.

Gear Up Properly

For the last tip, if you are playing well and don’t need damage reduction, you can swap out Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman for something like Rotten Winged Sword Insignia to get more damage.

You can also remove Opaline Hardtear and choose something like Strength-knot Crystal Tear, or get more stamina regeneration by equipping Greenburst Crystal Tear.

That’s all about Raging Rakshasa Samurai Build. More top builds are coming soon as more new gear emerges. Try to choose the one you like best and start your adventure!