There are a lot of new fun and powerful builds in Shadow of the Erdtree that come with excitement, especially when facing some extremely tough challenges, such as boss difficulties. As you know, they are not completely new content in DLC, they are still at least as powerful as before.

Today we will talk about a build from the base game, which completely destroys DLC. These will be something you can at least build up before stepping into Shadow of the Erdtree, and then feel as powerful as possible from that position.

Ancient Dragons’ Lightning Strike

Ancient Dragons’ Lightning Strike, which is pretty much the most powerful thing in Elden Ring base game, it requires a one-charge spell to be cast somewhere near the boss, and as long as the setup is correct, the boss will be defeated.

If you want to RNG multiple lightning strikes on them, it sometimes takes a couple of tries, there’s no real trick to it, just get it to line up, this isn’t really different in Shadow of the Erdtree, bosses have more health,but there are ways to increase this damage further in Shadow of the Erdtree Blessing Level system. Just because of DLC itself, it might take an extra cast, just to show how strong it is.

Optimize Spell Damage

This is largely just the base game version of the build, with only minor upgrades. You want the spell itself, you ideally want two Gravel Stone Seals, one in each hand, as they enhance Dragon Cult Incantation Spells by 15%, and this stacks, but you usually only get one of these per play, maybe try using Elden Ring Items in exchange for a second Gravel Stone Seal if you want to stack damage quickly.

Another alternative offhand is the dagger with Endurance Weapon skill, so you can actually cast spells more consistently as well. On top of that, you also need to put a Light Straight Sword in your actual offhand, just to actually put seppuku on. Because we’re going to use this to trigger White Mask and Lord of Blood, increasing all damage we deal by 30% for 20 seconds after doing this.

When And How To Spellcasting?

You only need to use this before starting a boss fight, because if the fight ends with no spells in 20 seconds, then, you’ll still be glad you had it in the first 20 seconds because the boss is probably almost dead, after that, you can use Godfrey Icon Talisman, for 15% increased charged spell damage, or Lightning Scorpion Charm, for 12% increased lightning damage. Then Flock’s Canvas Talisman, for 8% increased spell damage. Of course, you also have the lightning damage boost in your flask.

You can even use it with an upgraded Boosts Poise or Ironjar Aromatic. The damage will be high. So much so that the guaranteed casting itself has an enormous benefit to general stats. For this, you mainly just need to reach 80 Faith, otherwise you need the stamina to get some heavier armor.

This is the version built from the base game, and it completely smashes Shadow of the Erdtree from start to finish. The vast majority of his powers also appear before you touch Madding Hand and enter the realm, and while his basics haven’t changed since the release of DLC, they’re actually getting better with every new addition to the game, so you can even improve them on your journey through DLC.