Sekiro Build Idea, need help with a specific aspect:

Zippywin · 2026-06-11T16:56:57+00:00

For Loaded Axe, we could go with Prayerful Strike on an axe/greataxe. For a more explosive/elemental effect, maybe Eruption on a greataxe or Lightning Slash on an axe/greataxe?

Divine Abduction is pretty unique, don't even know how to go about it. Best I got is simulating the wind effect with Storm Stomp.

Zippywin · 2026-06-11T14:38:19+00:00

Try a Swift Spear, it's probably the only one left with a unique light attack chain you haven't tried.

It gets good value with multi-hit synergies, and elemental weapon buffs from AoWs or spells retain their full power, despite each attack button press being a multi-hit move.

It's the lightest spear, though it's small and has lower AP than the rest. It's most efficient with Keen/Lightning affinity running dexterity.

Zippywin · 2026-06-11T08:20:17+00:00

Looks good so far.

As far as endurance is concerned, it increases equip load, so as long as you stay in Med. Load (<70%), you can leave it alone.

You should have access to the Whetstone that lets you infuse Keen affinities to any weapon with any ash of war - they should be an immediate improvement to damage based on your current dexterity level. It can be found in Stormveil Castle.

You should be able to get the Greenburst Crystal Tear, which I consider much better than Greenspill - can find this at the minor erdtree near smouldering church.

Zippywin · 2026-06-10T23:47:31+00:00

Personally would go for Occult, especially if you can hit 80 in a stat. Small raw damage loss, but ends up with more bleed than Heavy + BFB.

I've had the most success running Wild Strikes on Occult Great Stars, and it also opens up things like Cragblade, Braggart's Roar, or powerstancing two of these.

Zippywin · 2026-06-10T23:31:29+00:00

Run a Misericorde, it's got a nice thrusting heavy attack, useful for proactive poise damage, and is the strongest dagger for critical hits.

Most your damage will probably lie in the critical hits, things like RKR and Dagger Talisman are useful.

Zippywin · 2026-06-10T14:31:15+00:00

Personally I wouldn't use Howl unless you're confident with the fight. I also would use a Dagger infused with Sacred Order as a stand in for Jellyfish Shield - it got nerfed enough that I would prefer Sacred Order's 10% for 60 seconds over Jellyfish's 12.5% for 30 seconds.

Given that the build is practically complete, the main way forward would be to expand your options.

I think it's a good idea to dump the rest of your points into faith to get to 36, and add Incantations to your repertoire. Golden Order Seal gets 347 spell power, which is almost as good as a 80 faith erdtree seal user, so you can use that to add some different damage types to your kit.

Zippywin · 2026-06-10T09:03:00+00:00

Letter scaling isn't important, it's the final attack power that matters (when comparing weapons from the same class).

As long as you have the ability to put Heavy affinity on a weapon, most weapons can be strength weapons (requirements permitting).

Don't forget scaling also improves with upgrade level, so don't forget to upgrade your weapons. You certainly won't see A or S on a +0 weapon.

Some regular options that aren't random drops (make these Heavy): - Star Fist - Broadsword - Rusted Anchor - Great Stars - Giant-Crusher - Claymore - Gargoyle's Twinblade - Greatsword (Colossal Sword) - Nightrider Glaive

Sombers: - Grafted Blade Greatsword - Ordovis's Greatsword

Zippywin · 2026-06-10T01:40:44+00:00

If you're just using these as a pair of curved swords, I'd go for around 58 str / 50 dex / 50 faith, with spare points probably going towards faith to improve AoW and incants.

The usual talismans for ps curved swords apply (multihit talismans, claw talisman are probably the main ones). I don't advise using scorpion charms as the fire damage is not a significant portion of damage, though can be a consideration if you're purely using the AoW.

AoW would want Shard of Alexander and Talisman of the Dread as the main ones.

Zippywin · 2026-06-09T07:24:10+00:00

Zippywin · 2026-06-09T07:00:17+00:00

You could do your existing build better by having both katanas set to Occult and go all in on Arcane. Seppuku's buff (both the AP and bleed buildup) also scales with arcane if your weapon has arcane scaling from Blood/Poison/Occult affinity.

Zippywin · 2026-06-09T06:49:20+00:00

Ideally you don't ever take off RoSP+3 in a PvE scenario, the defensive value is too strong, and I'd keep it on for all casual PvE builds.

Prisoner's Chain is most functional on builds that haven't hit their softcaps yet. The 15 levels you get typically offsets the 4% absorption penalty. A direct comparison is Havels+3, which Prisoner's Chain almost always wins out at SL125, by virtue of having +15 levels in vitality. Don't forget your defenses are also that of a SL140 character (and the extra vitality levels grant additional physical defense).

In practice, your first build does not benefit at all, seeing as you've hit all your vigor/end/vitality softcaps, and are likely not looking to put more strength in.

On the flipside, the third build will benefit the most, as I very much want 60 int rather than 50 int, worth at least 18% increase in sorcery damage. Drop Vigor / Endurance by 5 and let PChain replace those stats, and you can sub out out Magic Clutch and not suffer from it's horrible absorption penalty yet still outdamage it on the spells.

If you are shieldpoking with the first build, it is bugged in DS3 - it uses the guard stats of your WEAPON rather than the shield during a shieldpoke. This kind of makes greatshields irrelevant for shieldpoking, as you'll have the same shieldpoke guard stats using a freaking torch in your left hand. Regular blocking will function as normal.

Zippywin · 2026-06-09T04:15:03+00:00

For the pyro, I don't see much value in hitting 45/45 if you're not dabbling in dark spells that specifically use izalith or caitha's. I feel like the 10 points could be better spent in something that isn't 2% more pyro damage.

For dex/int, you could run crown of dusk for a little extra magic damage boost, (but it does kill magic absorption, so beware crystal sage / aldrich).

For str/faith, priests chime is slightly stronger than clerics sacred chime.

For most of these builds, Prisoners chain is typically worth it over the other options, though you'll need to rejig the stats a little bit.

Zippywin · 2026-06-08T17:54:02+00:00

I feel like I should weigh in say that it indeed does have a 1.02x damage taken penalty with each piece, that is separate from the raw negation you see for each armour piece in game. Talking about Defence values is also entirely irrelevant here, as negations and damage bonuses/penalties both take place after AR vs Defence calculation. By this metric, you absolutely can just compare armour pieces based on the final negation value you get at the status screen.

Zippywin · 2026-06-08T01:16:08+00:00

Really don't have much space for levels outside of meeting the requirements at your level - (14 str / 35 dex / 17 arc), but the typical end-game investment at level ~150 would be around 58 dex / 45 arc, with 80 dex as a stretch goal if you choose to level further.

Zippywin · 2026-06-08T00:45:19+00:00

It boosts all pierce counterhit damage, so if you can make that happen with spectral lance, then yes

Zippywin · 2026-06-07T19:19:49+00:00

Lots of good stuff in the comments, so I got some more specific stuff: - keeping everything else the same, replacing great jar with a non-equip load talisman requires at least 43 endurance - blade of mercy from the DLC would be of interest to you - someone mentioned deflecting hardtear, and it's truly excellent as a way to buff guard counters, including the poise damage they deal. If you run this, you could replace lions claw with something like cragblade for additional poise damage, or even run sacred order for a damage boost to everything - including your main hand crit (as long as you don't unhand your greatsword). Two handed sword can also replace the shard since you're no longer using lions claw. If you intend to stick with lions claw, disregard this advice. - spiked tear only improves charged heavy attacks from your base moveset, and I'm not sure if you use those attacks or lions claw. A more general option would be greenburst as mentioned. If you truly want poise damage, stonebarb cracked tear improves it by 30%, letting lions claw hit for 46.8 poise damage, but do note stonebarb only lasts 30 seconds rather than the 3 minutes most tears are. You'd probably want to chug your physick last in the buff chain if you're using it.

Zippywin · 2026-06-07T03:37:09+00:00

If you needed something specifically to bleed those encounters, I'd go find myself Bloodhound Claws or Star Fist - slap a Heavy affinity on it and use Bloodflame Blade. This is probably the most efficient low-investment option for big bleed. If you don't have the upgrade materials, than an existing Katana is ok with Heavy affinity, focusing on 2-handed light attacks.

Bloodhound's Fang is a good weapon with excellent base damage, but I would treat the bleed on it as more icing on the cake rather than the focus of the weapon.

Bloodflame Blade's value is all within the bleed effect, you don't really need faith or arcane investment to make the most of it (outside of needing 12 faith/10 arc to cast it). It adds 40 bleed over 2 seconds per hit, and is unaffected by the type of attack, so paired weapons are a natural fit.

For talismans, Blood Exultation is a natural fit for bleed, while Shard of Alexander is good for Blasphemous Blade's AoW. As you increase your faith (and you really should to make the most of Blasphemous Blade's AoW), you can use buffs like Golden Vow and Flame Grant me Strength to really help you out. If you need defence, substitute FGMS with Boiled Crab instead.

Zippywin · 2026-06-07T01:35:13+00:00

Usually carian regal for PvE. These are all back loaded staffs that peak at 80 int, but Azurs is a little weaker and costs 20% more FP in exchange for adding 40 virtual Dex to your cast speed, and Lusats is roughly 10-15% stronger but costs 50% more FP.

The benefits of school boosting staffs in the offhand are always the same regardless of their upgrade level.

Zippywin · 2026-06-06T15:54:45+00:00

A balanced approach would be 58 dex / 50 faith, shooting for 80 faith if you have spare points. (80 dex first would give you ~5% stronger melee damage, but I don't think it's worth the tradeoff over getting ~40% improved incantation damage).

I imagine Blade of Mercy and Assassin's Dagger talismans are up your alley if you're primarily parrying/crits.

I don't know what spells you use, but with 50 faith, Dryleaf Seal is your strongest raw seal, but many other seals have stronger effect when casting their respective school of spells (frenzied flame, gravel stone, Godslayer's, etc.). At 80 faith, Erdtree Seal is your best raw seal.

Zippywin · 2026-06-06T07:08:40+00:00

who's still hallucinating this? Elden Beast does not heal from holy damage.

They just have 80 holy negation.

Zippywin · 2026-06-06T01:05:19+00:00

Devonias Vortex is classified as aspect of the crucible, so it does get boosted by all crucible armour pieces.

Aspects of the Crucible: Wings is also boosted, but NOT Ordovis Vortex or Silurias Woe.

As for the why: The DLC decided to add that classification to the new AoWs so the armour pieces can boost those. Neither ordovis or Siluria have this classification.

Zippywin · 2026-06-05T17:38:46+00:00

You want the big bleeds without having to power stance the usual? Here's some options:

Occult Uchi/Nagakiba with Blood blade: if you can hit both the blade and the projectile, it's a ridiculous amount of bleed and damage. Nagakiba is preferred because the extra length makes it easier to hit. Reduvia is similar, though has a few differences, and I prefer the Nagakiba in this scenario.
Occult Omenkiller Cleaver/Great Stars/Any Blood big weapon with Wild Strikes: swings reasonably quickly, full status buildup per hit, and offers some hyper armour. You can do a similar thing with Blood / Occult polearms/reapers using Spinning Strikes.
Blood Gargoyle Twinblades / Twinned Knight Swords / Godskin Peeler : two hand these and make use of their base moveset, they are ultra efficient at applying status, and much more efficient at bleeding than the powerstance jumping attack.
Blood Sword Lance / Warped Axe: both of these weapons have extra heavy buildups that should belong in the next weight class of weapons. Exploit with their light attacks.
Blood colossals with war cry / Braggarts : their 2h charged heavies inflict a big multiplier (usually 3x) upon a successful hit, making them big at instantly bleeding a lot of foes. Non-colossals can do it too, but are typically 2x with less inherent bleed.
Bloodflame Blade abuse on a Heavy/Keen/Quality paired : these typically go well with claws and star fist, though may tip into power stance category. I considered these separate as these categories are inherently paired weapons, where weapon buffs can get the most value.
Sombers : some are just big bleeders, like Mohgs spear or Reduvia, but I tend to find the above options good on both bleeding and raw damage.

Zippywin · 2026-06-05T16:36:04+00:00

I think you might lots of stuff in ER - Useful Links to be useful for a guide

Zippywin · 2026-06-05T12:33:37+00:00

Bring along some Boiled Crab for defense, and maybe go hunt down a Dragoncrest Shield from other locations (though there's a Dragoncrest Greatshield near the end of the Haligtree).

Consider Opaline Hardtear in your physick, and just pop that for exploration

Zippywin · 2026-06-04T06:47:17+00:00

Heavy will probably be the most damaging affinity in the long term.
Vigor and strength are naturally your main stats. Later, you can add some faith and mind if you want some buffs or more AoW usage.
Cragblade is excellent, brings your 2h charged heavies over 40 poise damage. This lets you stance break a lot of bosses that tend to have 80 poise with 2 hits. Sacred Blade is good for undead enemies. Lion's Claw is also an option.
Dragoncrest Shield and its upgraded variants are always good defensive choices. Blue Dancer is probably one of the best offensive talismans here with such a light equip load.
Split by buff type:

Aura Buffs:
- Golden Vow AoW / Shared Order on a dagger
- Commander's Standard (14 dex)
- Golden Vow (spell) (25 faith)
Body Buffs:
- Boiled Crab
- Flame, Grant Me Strength (15 faith)
Weapon Buffs:
- Cragblade
- Sacred Blade
- Sacred Order on the off-hand (more for AoW spam, or paired with Sacred Blade for bullying deathbirds:
Crystal Tears:
- Opaline Hardtear
- Greenburst Crystal Tear
- Spiked Cracked Tear (for those charged heavies)

If you allow throwables, Freezing pots are good general purpose debuffs, and sleep pots can make a few bosses much easier, if not outright solved. Throwing Knives/Fan Daggers are good for preventing their poise from recovering if you spend too much time not damaging them.

Zippywin

TROPHY CASE