The Hand-to-Hand arts is a new weapon category introduced in Shadow of the Erdtree which you can use to make some of the best Kung Fu martial arts builds in Elden Ring. These arts have some of the coolest movesets in the RPG, and while they may lack in range the fist-only playstyle more than makes up for it with its damage numbers and poise break potential.
So if you are looking to go for a pure martial arts playstyle, then below is a list of some of the best Kung Fu builds that you can make with the Hand-to-Hand Arts in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree.
Most OP Hand-to-Hand Kung Fu martial arts builds in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC
1) The Frost Monk martial arts build
Equipment, Spells, and Ashes of War:
| Category | Item |
|---|---|
| Main Weapon | Dryleaf Arts (Cold Imbune) Dane’s Footwork (Cold Imbune) |
| Secondary Weapon | Any Talisman (if you reach 25 Faith) |
| Armor | Any Set works, but if you want to cosplay, you can try the following: Dane’s Hat Messmer Soldier Armor Horned Warrior Gauntlets Horned Warrior Greaves |
| Primary Talismans | Blue Dancer Charm Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman Bull-Goat’s Talisman Shard of Alexander |
| Alternate Talismans | Millicent’s Prosthesis Rotten Winged Sword Insignia Godfrey Icon Claw Talisman |
| Primary Stats | Intelligence Strength Dexterity Vigor Endurance |
| Secondary Stats | Faith Mind |
| Ash of War | Divine Beast Frost Stomp Palm Blast (Situational) Dryleaf Whirlwind (Situational) |
| Spells | Flame Grant me Strength Golden Vow |
| Primary Crystal Tear | Greenburst Crystal Tear Thorny Cracked Tear Magic-Shrouding Craked Tear |
| Alternate Crystal Tear | Opaline Hardtear Stonebarb Cracked Tear |
Attribute Distribution:
| Attribute | Points |
|---|---|
| Vigor | 60 |
| Mind | 25 |
| Endurance | 30 |
| Strength | 35 |
| Dexterity | 35 |
| Intelligence | 35 |
| Faith | 25 |
| Arcane | 09 |
How to use:
The Frost Monk build emphasizes the use of the Divine Beast Frost Stomp Ash of War and applying the Frostbite effect with the fast attack animation of the fists. As it’s a light-weight build you will be able to make the most of the Blue Dancer Charm.
Once the enemy is affected by Frosstbite, you will be able to deal even more damage to them. Hand-to-Hand also has good poise break and with continuous jumping-heavy attacks, you will be able to open them up for a critical hit. You can maximize your poise break strategy by using the Palm Blast Ash of War instead of Divine Beast Frost Stomp. However, that will be a bit more situational.
The build is pretty versatile with its Talisman usage, and you will be able to play around it a bit to fit the playstyle that you are going for.
2) The Bloody Puncher martial arts build
Equipment, Spells, and Ashes of War:
| Category | Item |
|---|---|
| Main Weapon | Dryleaf Arts (Bleed imbune) |
| Secondary Weapon | Commander’s Standard Any Talisman A weapon with Seppuku on it |
| Armor | Head: White Mask Rest: Rakshasa’s Set |
| Primary Talismans | Shard of Alexander Rotten Winged Sword Insignia Lord of Blood’s Exultation Two-Headed Turtle Talisman |
| Alternate Talismans | Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman Millicent’s Prosthesis |
| Primary Stats | Strength Dexterity Arcane Vigor |
| Secondary Stats | Faith Endurance |
| Ash of War | Bloodhound’s Step Rallying Standard Seppuku Palm Blast (Situational) |
| Spells | Flame Grant me Strength Golden Vow |
| Primary Crystal Tear | Opaline Hardtear Thorny Cracked Tear |
| Alternate Crystal Tear | Dexterity-Knot Crystal Tear Greenburst Crystal Tear |
Attribute Distribution:
| Attribute | Points |
|---|---|
| Vigor | 50 |
| Mind | 15 |
| Endurance | 20 |
| Strength | 55 |
| Dexterity | 55 |
| Intelligence | 10 |
| Faith | 25 |
| Arcane | 45 |
How to use:
The Bloody Puncher Kung Fu martial arts build in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree is amazing at inflicting the Hemorrhage status effect. Once you proc blood loss on an enemy you will be able to gain a massive boost in damage because of the White Mask headgear and the Lord of Blood’s Exultation Talisman.
You will usually be using the Bloodhound’s Step for the majority of the time in your playthrough. However, we advise switching to Palm Blast once you are up against a boss. The Ash of War is amazing at breaking poise, and you will be able to open them up for critical hits often during an encounter.
Additionally. just before a boss fight, make sure to use Commander’s Standard for a buff, and then apply Seppuku. This will let you proc Bleed on every alternate hit, making it significantly easier to take down some of the hardest encounters in the DLC.
3) The Fire Fist Kung Fu martial arts build
Equipment, Spells, and Ashes of War:
| Category | Item |
|---|---|
| Main Weapon | Dryleaf Arts (Flame Art imbune) |
| Secondary Weapon | Any Talisman |
| Armor | Rakshasa’s Set |
| Primary Talismans | Shard of Alexander Rotten Winged Sword Insignia Fire Scorpion Charm Two-Headed Turtle Talisman |
| Alternate Talismans | Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman Millicent’s Prosthesis |
| Primary Stats | Faith Dexterity Vigor Endurance |
| Secondary Stats | – |
| Ash of War | Bloodhound’s Step Palm Blast (Situational) |
| Spells | As it’s a Faith build you will have access to every single Incantation in the game. So use the ones that fit your playstyle. |
| Primary Crystal Tear | Oil-Soaked Tear Flame-Shrouding Cracked Tear |
| Alternate Crystal Tear | Dexterity-Knot Crystal Tear Greenburst Crystal Tear Opaline Hardtear |
Attribute Distribution:
| Attribute | Points |
|---|---|
| Vigor | 50 |
| Mind | 15 |
| Endurance | 30 |
| Strength | 20 |
| Dexterity | 50 |
| Intelligence | 11 |
| Faith | 80 |
| Arcane | 09 |
How to use:
The Fire Fist build has an incredible amount of damage potential. Especially if you are given enough time to free-hit the enemy, you will start racking up the DPS numbers in no time.
What makes the build incredibly versatile is how you dump all of your points into Faith. This gives you access to every single Incantation in FromSoftware‘s title and you will not have much issue powering your way through most of the DLC content.
So when you are trying to use this build, don’t just stick to punching your enemies. Rely on some of the amazing Incantations to chip at them from afar. Use a summon as well in difficult encounters as they will help you get heavy attacks off and break enemy poise.
