Best Zweihander build in Elden Ring

The Zweihander, the lightest of the Colossal Swords, is a unique weapon with its high Dexterity scaling and low overall stat requirements. It can fit into any build, but building around a Zweihander in Elden Ring requires some finesse. Let’s get physical.

The Zweihander is a Colossal Sword in Elden Ring, though it only requires 19 Strength to wield in one hand. While it boasts a lower Dexterity requirement of 11 to wield, its base version ends up scaling better with Dexterity than Strength. While the Zweihander is a very flexible weapon, this build is going to stick to the themes of the weapon and provide an optimized build on top.

Best stats for a Zweihander in Elden Ring

The following stats are possible at level 150 with a Warrior start. Most other starting classes can reach this point with a few extra levels.

• Vigor: 60
• Mind: 12
• Endurance: 30
• Strength: 20
• Dexterity: 60
• Intelligence: 10
• Faith: 28
• Arcane: Eight

This stat lineup gets us to the soft caps of two stats: Vigor and Dexterity. 60 is the maximum you usually want to go unless you plan on getting 200 or more levels in your build. This gives you a ton of health and damage to work with, which is really all you need for a Zweihander.

In the meantime, you want to boost a few other stats. 20 Strength is enough to one-hand the weapon and enough to heft one or two larger shields with it. An Endurance of 30 gives you enough Equip Load to wear medium armors instead of just light, as well as enough Stamina to be comfortable.

The weirdest part of this build is likely the 28 Faith. This is just enough Faith to cast a handful of impactful buffs, like Electrify Armament and Flame, Grant me Strength. Since you can get a ton of damage out of the Keen, the extra damage from these buffing spells can be a big deal during boss fights.

Best weapons for a Zweihander build in Elden Ring

Other than the Zweihander, I suggest you use the Jellyfish Shield and Frenzied Flame Seals to maximize their combat effectiveness. The Great Turtle Shell is an excellent alternative for Stamina-hungry playstyles, though its defensive capabilities leave much to be desired.

This build uses the Keen Affinity for the Zweihander. Keen is a huge damage boost for the weapon, as long as you have a lot of Dexterity, and is available within the walls of Stormveil Castle. Royal Knight’s Resolve is a good Ash of War to override the mediocre Stamp. If you like Area of Effect capabilities, Golden Land and Earthshaker are valid options.

The Jellyfish Shield is an excellent pair for a one-handed Zweihander. This shield’s Weapon Skill lets you gain a 20 percent damage boost for 30 seconds. Alternatively, you can use the Great Turtle Shell with a two-handed build to regenerate some Stamina.

Your best seal is the Frenzied Flame Seal. This scales off of your high Dexterity stat, making it pretty efficient. It also allows you to use the various Frenzied Flame Incantations at a small bonus, giving you some decent ranged capabilities.

Best armor for a Zweihander in Elden Ring

Your higher Endurance opens up a bunch of medium and heavy armor options you can use. The Leyndell Knight armor set, for example, puts you before the cusp of Heavy Load—as long as you’re only using one of the Heavy Shield options. You can wear a Dexterity- or Faith-improving helmet if you’d like, but that’s hardly necessary by level 150.

If you do decide to wear a stat-boosting hat, Okina’s Mask is a good option. The extra plus-four is pretty significant, and it only comes at a loss of your Focus stat—a stat only useful for resisting Sleep and Madness.

Depending on how all-in you go on Frenzied Flame Incantations, you could make use of the Black Dumpling to further boost your damage. This is quite hard to manage, especially without some Mind investment, but getting a Madness proc before a boss can pay dividends.

Best spells for a Zweihander in Elden Ring

The only spells worth using alongside the Zweihander are weapon buffs, body buffs, and Frenzied Flame Incantations. Specifically, you should learn Flame, Grant Me Strength, Electrify Armament, and Frenzied Burst. In addition, learning low-Faith Incantations can improve your utility and let you more easily handle multiple combat situations.

Healing magic, like Bestial Vitality, is also good for the build, but focus on your offenses first. Prebuffing before difficult bosses—like Malenia—can make the early steps of the fight much easier. Make sure you get multiple weapon buffs if you want this to be efficient. Electrify Armament is a great all-around option, but Black Flame Blade, Vyke’s Dragonbolt, Bloodflame Blade, and Poison Armament can be useful for different situations.

Best Talismans for a Zweihander in Elden Ring

A Zweihander build, as a Colossal Weapon build tends to, relies on specific damage Talismans and generic defensive options to survive and thrive on the battlefield.

• Erdtree’s Favor +2: A must-get from the Ashen Capital, and a necessary evil for how heavy your gear is. The Erdtree’s Favor is a four percent increase to health and a little less than 10 percent bonus Stamina and Equip Load.
• Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman: This is a generic 20 percent physical damage resistance buff. For most bosses, this can let you take one or even two extra hits before you need to heal.
• Ritual Sword Talisman: One of the few Talismans that buff generic damage, the Ritual Sword Talisman grants a 10 percent bonus to all damage, a very nice boon to have. And you get this as soon as you climb to the Altus Plateau, so it can stay in your build from midgame onwards.
• Claw Talisman: Another way to boost your damage, the Claw Talisman provides a solid 15 percent damage to your jumping attacks. While Colossal weapons don’t just do jump attacks, this and Royal Knight’s Resolve is a safe way to deal very good damage to most enemies. This is another boon from Stormveil Castle.