Best Strength builds in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

With new weapons dropping with the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC you will be able to make some of the best and most overpowered Strength builds in Elden Ring. Strength weapons have a lot of posture damage, and their builds usually revolve around making the most of these stagger values.

The “oonga bunga” playstyle is quite fun, and below you will find some of the most broken Strength builds in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree.

Most OP Strength builds in the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC

1) The Sacred Guard Counter Strength build

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The Sacred Black Steel Greathammer Strength build is an amazing choice to go for in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC if you love guard counters. The weapon has one of the highest stagger potentials in the RPG, and with the Sacred Blade Ash of War, you get a ranged option as well.

The build is very versatile and will help you cheese your way through most of the content in the Land of Shadow. As you primarily level Faith, you will have access to most of the Incantations. So you can weave in spells along with the big hits in your combo.

As the build has a lot of poise damage you can break enemy stance very easily, getting a critical hit in. You can maximize Ripote by using the Dagger Talisman or the Blade of Mercy which will boost your damage after a critical hit.

2) The Stance-breaking Anvil Strength build

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This Anvil Hammer build is all about two-handing the weapon and using it to break through enemy poise It is one of the hardest-hitting Strenth weapons in the RPG and its charged heavy attacks hit like a truck.

However, what you will be relying on the most in boss encounters is the Smithing Art Spears Ash of War. The skill damages enemies in three instances if you use it when you are on top of them. Each hit does a lot of stagger and poise damage and will very easily break an enemy’s guard if you keep spamming it.

This will leave them open to a critical hit, allowing you to make the most of the Blade of Mercy Talisman.

Jumping attacks also do a ton of damage to poise. So you can alternate between Claw Talisman and Shard of Alexander based on the situation. Moreover, as you are putting points into Faith to buff the Anvil Hammer’s fire damage, you will automatically gain access to all the Incantations.

3) The Thursting Shield Strength Build

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It’s one of the more unique Strength builds on our list today. It just utilizes the Carian Thrusting Shield and you just take out enemies by jabbing the shield into them.

The Thursting Shield does a surprising amount of damage but what makes this overpowered when it comes to clearing content is that you do not take any damage when using the shield. With its attack animation, you block and hit enemies at the same time so your HP never really goes down.

Additionally, you can maximize the damage of the shield with the Spear Talisman. The Carian Thrusting shield’s attacks have Pierce, with a Retaliation effect. It will deal even more damage to enemies and break their poise if you hit them while they are trying to attack you. The Cragblade Ash of War will boost poise damage even more.

Additionally, you can keep spamming the thrust attack and with the amount of stagger potential that the weapon has, you will often flinch enemies out of their attack animation.

4) The Smithscript Throwing-hammer Strength Build

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This is a spin-to-win build where you use the unique animation of the Smithscript Greathammer where you charge the heavy attack and your character will spin the hammer and then throw it a great distance. While the thrown hammer does a lot of damage, what sells this playstyle is the fact that during the spin animation, the hammer deals damage with each hit.

So if you are close to an enemy and are charging up the attack, you will be able to rack up high DPS numbers. It’s a very fun playstyle which is quite versatile as you will be putting points in Faith. This will give you access to most of the Incantations and you can use other spells to have an easier time clearing some of the harder content.

One downside to the build is that you need high poise to execute it well. Enemies will find it easy to stagger you out of the spin animation, so make sure your loadout has 70 and above poise. If you are finding it hard to have higher poise values, you can always switch out one of the Talismans for the Bull-Goat’s Talisman.

5) The Fire Knight’s Greatsword Flame Spear Strength build

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This Fire Knight build makes the most of the Flame Spear Ash of War. when you use the skill you will ready the greatsword in a thrusting attack stance and then unleash a spear of flame in front. You will be able to charge the attack for more damage.

After the move completes, your weapon will then be coated with fire for some time. This makes the build hit very hard once you have all the proper Talismans in place. The Ash of War itself does a lot of damage to both HP and poise allowing you to melt through bosses.

The Fire Knight’s Greatsword is one of the best PvP weapons in Elden Ring. It has great reach and stagger values, and you will be able to complete most content without much issue with this build.