Among those he has seen fit to spare, the Fight Knight is rumored to be both a lonesome wanderer and a holy justiciar of righteousness, a brutal boxer and a master spellcaster, and as menacing in combat as he is chivalrous – though the strangely silent Tarnished never seems to say anything unless first prompted.
Some say not even Sir Gideon Ofnir dares to learn more about this foe, fearing he could not fathom the Fight Knight's flurry of fists, and his foolish frail form would fluster and fumble under the back-breaking barrage of the silent ascetic's ceaseless strikes.
How To Get Dryleaf Arts in Shadow of the Erdtree
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree introduces several new weapon types, including the incredible "Hand-To-Hand" Arts, so here's the first you can find.
But before envisioning yourself in that gleaming suit of armor, punching the living daylights out of anyone foolish enough to cross your path, you'll need to prepare – by re-allocating your stats, finding the right gear, and learning strategies to play the build effectively.
The Shadow of the Erdtree Fight Knight build is a Dryleaf Arts build at its core, but underneath the slots of the metal warrior's helmet, there's a lot more going on.
Elden Ring DLC Fight Knight Build Overview
A Playstyle That Combines Dryleaf Arts, Heavy Armor, & Incantations
The Fight Knight build is one that focuses almost entirely on the use of its Dryleaf Arts with the support of various Incantations to help buff your power and survivability – not that that's much of a problem, if you use the recommended armor set and Talismans. Because of the low weight of the build's weapons, and the lack of a shield, you can equip extremely heavy armor like the Solitude set.
The Dryleaf Arts are incredibly effective at breaking enemy Poise, especially with the jumping and normal Heavy attacks. Plus, its default Ash of War Palm Blast is able to knock down most enemies when fully charged, though this can be changed if you want to incorporate other Dryleaf Art skills.
Utilizing Incantations turns this from a good build to a great one, giving you extra defenses, HP regeneration, and other buffs to help you stay engaged with combat.
But the core defensive feature of this build is its reliance on the Spontaneous Guard mechanic, unlocked with the Deflecting Hardtear, which allows us to only equip Dryleaf Arts and a Sacred Seal without sacrificing survivability – plus, it boosts Guard Counters, making it even easier to break Poise.
Best New Weapons In Shadow of the Erdtree, Ranked
Of the more than 100 new weapons in Shadow of the Erdtree, these six are best Elden Ring DLC weapons to pick up and try out.
When played effectively, the Fight Knight build is capable of staying in combat without missing a beat, constantly dishing out damage while hardly ever getting a scratch on its steel armor. It's effective against normal enemies and bosses alike – including the final boss of the DLC, whose attacks can all be blocked and abused with the Deflecting Hardtear.
Fight Knight Stat Allocation (Lvl 175, Warrior Starting Class)
|
Stat |
Lvl |
|---|---|
|
VIG |
60 |
|
MIND |
12 |
|
END |
29 |
|
STR |
50 |
|
DEX |
30 |
|
INT |
16 |
|
FAITH |
48 |
|
ARC |
9 |
Fight Knight Build – Equipment & Spells
Weapons & Armor For The Fight Knight Build
-
Right Hand Armament: Flame Art
Dryleaf Arts.
- The Flame Art affinity scales extremely well with Faith, and though some enemies are resistant to Fire damage, it's still the best option against the majority of enemies. Strength scaling is great on this, too, and means you can equip and use a variety of situational backup weapons (like the Shadow Sunflower Blossom, which is much heavier but has better Guard, deals Holy damage, and still fits this build thematically).
-
Left Hand Armament:
Golden Order Seal.
- Weighs nothing, allowing the Fight Knight to push their Armor to the absolute limit while remaining at Medium Equip Load. Plus, it has very high Incantation Scaling at max upgrade level, even though it also scales with Intelligence.
-
Head Armor:
Helm of Solitude.
- The main source of Elden Bling for this build. Provides enormous Physical defenses.
-
Chest Armor:
Night's Cavalry Armor.
- The Solitude Armor weight almost twice this set, and provides only a few more stat improvements.
-
Hand Armor: Gauntlets of Solitude.
- Though these provide a lot of Physical Defense, and look great with the build, Lionel's Gauntlets also look great on a fisticuffs-focused fighter.
-
Leg Armor:
Greaves of Solitude.
- Though not particularly remarkable, its high weight and high Physical Defense push our Equip Load to its absolute maximum.
Best New Talismans In Shadow of the Erdtree, Ranked
There are dozens of new Talismans Shadow of the Erdtree players can find and use, but these six are arguably the best Talismans in the DLC.
Fight Knight Support Incantations & Ashes of War
-
Blessing of the Erdtree: Grants a strong heal-over-time effect to you and any nearby Allies.
-
Golden Vow: Grants a short-term attack boost for you and all nearby allies.
-
Black Flame's Protection: Grants enormous Physical Defense boost to the caster only. Paired with the rest of the set, this almost completely nullifies many attacks in the DLC.
-
Lord's Divine Fortification: Grants a boost to Holy Damage resistance for you and all nearby allies.
-
Flame, Cleanse Me: Clears Poison and Scarlet Rot buildup on the caster only. Not particularly useful throughout the DLC, but very handy to equip before the end of the Ancient Ruins of Rauh
-
Ash of War: Palm Blast: The default skill on the Dryleaf Arts, Palm Blast can be charged to deal a staggering amount of damage in a short frontal area, blasting enemies backward and breaking the poise of most foes in one cast. You can replace this with other Dryleaf Arts skills, but Palm Blast is deceptively good – and it doesn't cost much FP, either.
Other Build Gear – Best Talismans, Physick, & Summons
Fight Knight Build Talismans
-
Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman: Vastly increases your Physical defenses, making it even easier to shrug off hits in close combat.
-
Pearldrake Talisman +3: Vastly increases your Non-Physical defenses, pairing with the Dragoncrest Greatshield talisman for a huge overall boost to your defenses.
-
Great-Jar's Arsenal: Increases your Equip Load maximum by about 20%. This allows us to equip almost the whole Solitude set, and the Night's Cavalry Armor, without breaking the Medium Equip Load limit.
-
Rotten Winged Sword Insignia: Greatly increases Attack Power for each successive hit. Because the Dryleaf Arts and Spontaneous Guard mechanic lets you constantly deal damage, you will gain the strongest buff this Talisman can offer very fast, and likely maintain it throughout each encounter.
-
Two-Headed Turtle Talisman: Greatly increases Stamina Recovery Speed. Swap this out for the Dragoncrest or Pearldrake talismans if you are having a hard time managing your Stamina on particularly rough bosses.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree - Every New Ash of War In The DLC
Here's a guide to finding all the Ashes of War in Elden Ring's DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree.
Crystal Tears – Deflecting Hardtear and Poise Tear
The 
Deflecting Hardtear is a core feature of this build, allowing the Fight Knight to walk into combat uninhibited by his heavy armor or the lack of a shield. Using this in your Flask of Wondrous Physick enables a Perfect Block system, which almost completely negates Stamina damage and blocks 100% HP damage if timed correctly.
You don't have to have a Shield to do this, you can perfect block with any weapon capable of blocking – including the Dryleaf Arts.
It also boosts your Guard Counters for a time, often knocking down enemies if it connects, though it can be tricky to avoid being hit if you don't time your follow-up correctly. But once you figure out the correct timing for this mechanic, you can stay in close combat without taking damage and constantly Guard Counter, breaking all but the strongest enemies' and bosses' Poise.
The 
Stonebarb Cracked Tear is an excellent pair for the Deflecting Hardtear, as it increases your ability to break enemy Stance with all attacks. This multiplies with the Deflecting Hardtear's Guard Counter boost, which already is usually enough to knock down most enemies.
With the Stonebarb Tear active too, though, Guard Counters become guaranteed ways to instantly break Poise (and get a Critical Hit in) against practically everything but bosses. And even then, it usually only takes two Guard Counters in quick succession to break almost every Boss' Stance.
Best Fight Knight Build Spirit Summon: Another Fight Knight
If you are having trouble against a boss with this build, don't worry – even the legendary Fight Knight himself faced trials he couldn't surmount without help. But being a lone wanderer means making many enemies and few friends, which is why the only person you can trust to help, is yourself.
The 
Mimic Tear Ashes are arguably the best Spirit Ashes in Elden Ring, and when compared to the usefulness of other Spirit Ashes (even the new ones in the DLC), nothing really compares. For this build, having a second Fight Knight can help you break enemy Poise even more reliably than any other Spirit Summon.
Plus, because it has your Incantations, this summon can refresh your buffs in the middle of combat.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree
- Released
- June 21, 2024
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
- Base Game
- Elden Ring
- Developer(s)
- FromSoftware
- Publisher(s)
- Bandai Namco Entertainment, FromSoftware
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
