Okay, so with Shadow of the Erdtree coming up, I got that itch again. You know the one. Time to dive back into The Lands Between. I’d mostly played Dex builds before, lots of katanas, fast stuff. This time, I thought, let’s try something different. Something beefy, but with a bit of holy flair. Strength/Faith seemed like the way to go. Big bonks and some divine power? Sounded fun.
Getting Started – The Early Grind
So I rolled a new character, went with the Confessor ’cause it felt right for the theme, decent stats to start. First thing, grab a big weapon. Found that Lordsworn’s Greatsword pretty early near the Gatefront Ruins. Solid starter. Pumped my points mostly into Vigor and Strength at the beginning. Gotta survive, right? And you need the Strength to even wield the heavier stuff.
Faith took a bit of a backseat initially. I leveled it just enough to meet requirements for basic buffs. I made my way over to Caelid pretty quick, risked it to get the Clawmark Seal from Gurranq, the beast clergyman up in Bestial Sanctum. That was key, ’cause it scales with Strength a bit, making my incantations hit harder even without huge Faith investment yet.
For spells, started simple. Stuff like ‘Heal’ for emergencies, ‘Flame, Grant Me Strength’ for that extra physical and fire punch. Kept my eyes peeled for Ash of War options too. Put ‘Sacred Blade’ on my greatsword for a while, gave it some holy damage and a nice projectile.
Finding My Groove – Mid Game Weapons and Spells
Alright, things started opening up once I beat Godrick and got into Liurnia and beyond. This is where the build started to feel more unique.
- Weapons: I messed around with a few. The Golden Halberd dropped by the Tree Sentinel right at the start? Tempting, but needed lots of stats early. I eventually found the Magma Wyrm’s Scalesword up on Ruin-Strewn Precipice. That thing was awesome, Str/Fth scaling built right in, cool weapon art. Used that for a good chunk.
- Stats: Started balancing more. Kept Vigor going up steadily, aimed for maybe 40 first. Strength was hitting around 30-40. Then I started really pushing Faith, maybe up to 25-30, to unlock better incantations. Didn’t ignore Endurance either, needed stamina for swings and dodges, plus carrying heavier gear.
- Incantations: This is where the fun started. Grabbed Golden Vow – that buff is just essential, boosts attack and defense. Found some offensive spells too, like Lightning Spear for ranged poking, Black Flame for percentage damage which is great on bosses.
It was a process, you know? Clear a dungeon, get some runes, level up. Find a new weapon or spell, try it out. Sometimes respeccing a few points at Rennala if I felt I messed up or wanted to try a specific weapon I just found.
Hitting the Stride – Late Game Power
By the time I was hitting the late game areas like Mountaintops of the Giants and Crumbling Farum Azula, the build felt really strong. This is where I made some final choices.
The Blasphemous Blade. Yeah, I got it from Rykard. Honestly, this weapon is kinda nuts for Str/Fth. Good damage, scales well, and the weapon art, Taker’s Flames, heals you on hit. Made exploring and boss fights way more manageable. It became my go-to weapon.
For seals, I eventually switched from the Clawmark Seal to the Erdtree Seal once my Faith got really high (like 60+), as it gives the best pure Faith scaling for buffs. But if my Str was higher than Faith, the Clawmark was still decent.
My final stats before thinking about the DLC looked something like this:
- Vigor: 55-60 (Seriously, don’t skimp here)
- Mind: 20-25 (Enough FP for buffs and skills)
- Endurance: Around 30 (Enough to med-roll in decent armor with my big sword)
- Strength: 50-55 (Hitting the soft cap)
- Dexterity: Just enough to wield my chosen weapon
- Faith: 50+ (For good incantation scaling and requirements)
- Arcane: Base
Talismans were crucial too. Shard of Alexander to boost Taker’s Flames. Fire Scorpion Charm to boost the fire damage part. Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman for defense. The last slot was flexible, maybe Godfrey Icon if I used charged spells/skills, or Carian Filigreed Crest to lower skill FP cost.
Ready for the Shadow
So, that’s the journey basically. Lots of exploring, smacking things with big swords, throwing lightning, and healing up with holy magic or weapon skills. It felt really versatile. You can stand back and cast, buff yourself up, then go in for massive melee damage.
Now, I feel pretty prepped for Shadow of the Erdtree. Got my trusty Blasphemous Blade, my buffs ready, stats feel solid. I’m really excited to see what new giant Strength/Faith weapons and crazy cool incantations are waiting in the Land of Shadow. Hopefully, this build holds up against whatever messed-up horrors are waiting there. Time to go find out!
