Elden Ring: Best Underpowered Builds

There are lots of ways to play Elden Ring. Players on their first playthrough will naturally lean toward the "board n' sword" build that has become synonymous with FromSoftware's fantasy RPGs, but once they hit their second, third, or fourth playthrough, their builds will inevitably become more creative. Part of what makes the Soulslike genre so successful is that any build is viable. Some players are able to beat the game without leveling up while using their starting weapon, so why not experiment a little?

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There are ways to craft an unusual build in Elden Ring with a unique playstyle that will still end up being so overpowered that difficult bosses melt under its attacks. For the masochists of the FromSoft fanbase though, there's no fun in that. It's way more exciting to conquer The Lands Between when The Lands Between pushes back. There are a number of builds out there that buck many (if not all) of the trends in the Elden Ring meta, and come out the other side deeply strange, not very strong, and yet still an absolute blast to play.

Updated February 22, 2024 by Evan Regan: With the Elden Ring DLC not only announced, but officially given a release date, what better time to start experimenting with some unconventional builds before the next wave of FromSoft content hits? We've added more details for each of the builds listed here previously, and included a couple newer builds just to keep things fresh. There's still other, weirder builds out there, and this is by no means an exhaustive list, but it is a good starting point for players looking to get a bit unusual with their next Elden Ring playthrough.

11 Double Whips

Just Go A-Whackin'

As far as this list goes, this build is probably the most standard of the bunch. When it comes to the open world, whips are actually pretty viable. They're great for crowd control, have high attack speed and range, and can build up any status effects they're equipped with like almost nothing else in the game. Using two of them only further improves those stats.

The thing is, whips are awful against enemies with high poise, and that group includes pretty much every single boss in the game. Given that these are the hardest fights players will undertake, it seems fair to call whips underpowered, at least when it matters most. They're also virtually useless against shields, so good luck against those "sword n' board" Crucible Knights.

10 The Shotgun

Bring A Gun To A Sword Fight

Now we're getting weird. This build has been floating around the internet for a while, but it was first discovered by YouTuber Gigasthiccas that equipping the Radagon Icon to a character with 40 Dexterity - maxing out their cast speed - makes casting the Beastial Sling Incantation almost instantaneous. Now if a character were to equip a seal in each hand, that would nearly double the speed of their already fast casting, effectively turning the player into a full-auto shotgun.

The major downside here is that this build just devours FP while not doing a ton of damage for the cost, meaning players will need to invest in Mind as well as Dexterity to truly push this build to its peak. The Shotgun build's main strength outside of PvP is its poise damage, which is high enough to stagger most enemies and open them up for a critical hit. This is how this build will do the majority of its damage because the Incantation itself won't cut it in the late game.

9 Swiss Army Knife

"Knife" Being The Operative Word

Daggers are a lot of fun. Daggers are also very versatile. They come in all shapes, sizes, and elemental damage types. They strike quickly and frequently, weigh next to nothing, and can handle any type of encounter.

The only thing daggers aren't is particularly strong. They don't exactly dish out big damage, which is why this build is so fun. Players equip two daggers in each hand, each dealing a different type of elemental damage, and then have two backups that each deal two other elemental damage types. It's a challenge to manage each dagger and make sure it's being used against the right enemies. There's no situation players won't be prepared for, even if they won't exactly excel in that situation either.

8 Fists/Unarmed

Tarnished Didn't Hear No Bell

Another FromSoft classic, this one dating back to the days of the original Demon's Souls. Players can technically "equip" their character's fists by simply having no equipped weapon in either hand. There are fist weapons, like the Caestus, available in the game, but to truly employ the "Mike Tyson" build players need to be bare-handed.

There is very little that can be done to improve the damage of this setup. In fact, it's probably the best practice for players to focus more on improving their ability to avoid certain fights (like against the Royal Revenants) with rings and equipment. When it comes to the game's mandatory boss fights, the only hope is to dodge perfectly and slowly whittle away at their health.

7 The Mechanic

If It Ain't Broke, Set It On Fire

Sometimes the weirdest builds aren't so much a "build" as they are a dealer's choice of the weirdest weapons available. Such is the case with The Mechanic, a build that employs the iconic "Pizza Cutter" known as Ghiza's Wheel, the One-Eyed Shield, and the Ballista.

As is the trend for this list, this build is not strong. However, it is extremely satisfying to take down a tough enemy with such a wonky set-up, particularly in PvP. Lead in with some shots from the Ballista, set them on fire with the Shield, then grind them down with the Wheel. The most dangerous enemy is an unpredictable one, after all.

6 Flaming Boulder

Just Keep Rolin' Rollin' Rollin'

It's possible to deal some damage (although not a lot) by rolling into enemies if players equip any piece of the Briar armor set. The more pieces of the set they equip, the more damage their rolls will do. Even so, we're talking minimal damage, with even the most standard, unupgraded sword able to dish out far more.

So, obviously, the best way to improve that situation is for the rolling character to first set themselves on fire. This is done via the Fire's Deadly Sin Incantation. It should be expected that this Incantation will damage the player while it is active, so this build requires a significant investment in Vigor to be anything other than a quick way to respawn. Outside of that, it's surprisingly viable for how ridiculous it is, and at one point was even the meta for Elden Ring's PVP scene.

5 Bruce Lee

Be Like Water, My Friend

The ugly step-sibling of the fist build is this setup, lovingly (and perhaps generously) named after one of the greatest martial artists of all time, which involves exclusively fighting with the Kick Skill. This Skill is the default for a number of weapons throughout Elden Ring, including most crossbows and whips, and can be bought from Knight Bernahl early in the game for a mere 800 Runes.

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By  Ritwik Mitra

Much like with only using fists, the Kick doesn't do a ton of damage. The one advantage it does possess over the fist build is that it provides knockback against most enemies in the game, as well as dealing poise damage. While it's hilarious to watch players using the same kicking animation over and over as they slowly progress through the game, that progress is a brutal challenge only fit for the most steely-nerved players.

4 The Shield Wall

The Rising Of The Shield "Hero"

Much like with fists, kicks, and rolls, there is another unusual "weapon" in Elden Ring that can deal a small amount of damage: shields. Particularly with Greatshields, players that equip one of these in each hand can use them as a weapon, and while they won't do much damage, they aren't going to take much damage either.

The biggest struggle with this build is the slog that a character's movement speed becomes when they're this defensively focused. Rolls will be slow and clunky (aka. The Heavy Roll) so it's best to avoid any and all possible attacks by ducking behind the two shields. Then equip the Shield Bash Art of War and go to work slowly smacking the enemy's health down to 0.

3 The Brass Musician

Play It Again, Tarnished

By far one of the strangest weapons in Elden Ring is the Envoy's Longhorn. The Envoys are found in Leyndall, Royal Capital, playing their instruments along the city's ramparts, and some of them will drop their weapon: a long brass instrument that resembles a trumpet.

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By  Russ Boswell

This weapon's attack shoots a stream of bubbles - yes, bubbles - at the enemy. They aren't exactly fast-moving projectiles, sort of floating on the wind toward their target, but against large enemies (like bosses) where most of those bubbles will connect, the Longhorn can do a ton of damage, especially for Faith builds. However, throughout the rest of the game when players are facing smaller opponents, this weapon - and therefore the surrounding build - becomes very difficult to rely on.

2 No Armor

Who Needs Defense Anyway?

The legendary Let Me Solo Her may have made this build famous, but doing naked runs of FromSoft games has been one of the peak challenges players can undertake for a long time. That is no different in Elden Ring, and to truly meet the description of this build, players shouldn't even be using the Jar helm; it provides too much protection.

The downsides of this build are obvious. No armor means next to no defense, which means every hit the player takes - even from the game's weakest enemies - will deal a devastating amount of damage. This means players will need to have an extremely detailed memory of enemy attack patterns because the only way to survive will be to dodge everything that comes their way.