In Elden Ring, carving your own legend often means experimenting with unique builds that blend different combat styles. The Dragon Dancer build is an advanced iteration, perfect for New Game Plus (NG+), evolving from previous Arcane-focused builds like the Dragon Warrior and Eochaid Executioner. This guide will illuminate how to harmonize the swift strikes of the Regalia of Eochaid with the raw power of Dragon Communion Incantations, creating a force to be reckoned with in the Lands Between.
This build centers around maximizing Arcane to amplify both weapon damage and the potency of Dragon spells, offering a versatile approach to combat. It’s designed for players around level 150-200, ready to tackle the challenges of NG+ and beyond.
- Class: Any (optimized for classes starting with Arcane or Faith)
- Flask Distribution: Balanced HP and FP for sustained combat and spellcasting
- Right-Hand Weapon: Regalia of Eochaid
- Left-Hand Seal: Dragon Communion Seal
- Shield: None (emphasizing offensive gameplay)
- Armor: Silver Tear Mask (or Mask of Confidence) paired with flexible armor choices
- Talismans: Shard of Alexander, Rotten Winged Sword Insignia (or Winged Sword Insignia), Millicent’s Prosthesis, Godfrey Icon
- Primary Stats: Arcane, Vigor
- Secondary Stats: Mind, Faith
- Weapon Skill: Eochaid’s Dancing Blade
- Core Incantations: Golden Vow, Flame, Grant Me Strength, Dragonclaw, Dragonmaw
- Optional Incantations: Agheel’s Flame, Ekzyke’s Decay, Greyoll’s Roar
This build stands as a testament to the power of hybrid combat, effectively merging melee prowess with devastating incantations. Let’s delve into the specifics of equipment, talismans, spells, and stat allocation to fully realize the Dragon Dancer’s potential.
Dragon Dancer Equipment: Regalia of Eochaid and Armor Choices
The cornerstone of our offensive strategy is the Regalia of Eochaid. When selecting a weapon for an Arcane-focused build that incorporates Dragon Communion Incantations, the Regalia of Eochaid emerges as a superior choice compared to the Marais Executioner’s Sword. Its inherent Arcane scaling directly enhances both its physical damage output and the scaling of our Dragon spells cast through the Dragon Communion Seal. This synergy is paramount for maximizing overall damage efficiency. While the Regalia does possess Dexterity scaling, its impact diminishes significantly beyond 20 Dexterity, making further investment less rewarding than Arcane.
Regalia of Eochaid
The weapon skill, Eochaid’s Dancing Blade, mirrors the Marais Executioner’s Sword but with a slightly shorter range due to the blade’s size. However, its rapid multi-hit nature is a key advantage. When combined with talismans that amplify damage on successive attacks, Dancing Blade not only decimates enemies with melee strikes but also significantly boosts the damage of subsequent Dragon Incantations. This creates a powerful combat loop where weapon skill and spells dynamically enhance each other. Opting for the Regalia of Eochaid over Faith-scaling alternatives streamlines stat allocation, allowing for a more focused investment in Arcane, which benefits both weapon damage and incantation scaling simultaneously.
Elden Ring Greatsword Regalia of Eochaid Marais Executioner Sword Comparison
A visual comparison of greatswords in Elden Ring, highlighting the Regalia of Eochaid and Marais Executioner’s Sword, key weapons for Arcane-focused builds.
For headgear, the Mask of Confidence provides a +3 Arcane boost. For a more substantial Arcane increase, the Silver Tear Mask offers +8 Arcane, albeit with a slight reduction in physical attack power. While the Silver Tear Mask’s damage reduction is a factor, the significant Arcane boost can be advantageous, especially in optimizing spell damage and weapon scaling early on. The choice between these masks depends on your preference: Mask of Confidence offers a balanced approach, while the Silver Tear Mask maximizes Arcane at a slight physical damage trade-off.
Mask of Confidence
Armor selection for the Dragon Dancer build is flexible. The original build suggests a mix of the Exile Set and Bloodhound Knight Set to balance protection and equip load, conserving Endurance points. However, players can adapt armor based on their desired playstyle. Heavier armor sets can enhance survivability and Poise, potentially negating the need for the Bull-Goat’s Talisman and freeing up a talisman slot for more offensive options. Conversely, lighter armor allows for greater agility and less Endurance investment. The key is to find a balance that suits your comfort level with dodging versus absorbing hits, and whether you prioritize maximizing damage output or enhancing survivability.
Elden Ring Best Armor Set Exile Set Bloodhound Knight Set Showcase
A showcase of recommended armor sets for the Dragon Dancer build in Elden Ring, featuring the Exile Set and Bloodhound Knight Set, offering a blend of protection and style.
Talismans for the Dragon Dancer: Amplifying Attack Power
Talismans are crucial for fine-tuning the Dragon Dancer build, significantly boosting both weapon skill and incantation damage. The core talismans include:
- Shard of Alexander: This talisman is indispensable for maximizing the damage of Eochaid’s Dancing Blade. It substantially increases the attack power of weapon skills, making Dancing Blade hit even harder.
Shard of Alexander
- Rotten Winged Sword Insignia or Winged Sword Insignia: These talismans, alongside Millicent’s Prosthesis, are pivotal for builds leveraging rapid, successive attacks. They boost attack power with each consecutive hit, synergizing perfectly with Eochaid’s Dancing Blade’s multi-hit nature. Millicent’s Prosthesis further contributes by adding +5 Dexterity, potentially saving valuable stat points. The Rotten Winged Sword Insignia offers a higher damage boost compared to the Winged Sword Insignia but is obtained later in the game.
Elden Ring Talisman Rotten Winged Sword Insignia Millicent's Prosthesis Build Synergy
Showcasing the Rotten Winged Sword Insignia talisman, a key component in enhancing the Dragon Dancer build’s damage output through successive attacks.
- Bull-Goat’s Talisman: This talisman significantly increases Poise, allowing you to withstand hits while executing Eochaid’s Dancing Blade. It’s particularly useful when using lighter armor, ensuring you can unleash your weapon skill without being interrupted by enemy attacks. Reaching the 51 Poise breakpoint with this talisman allows you to tank through many regular enemy hits.
Bull-Goat’s Talisman
- Godfrey Icon: If you opt for heavier armor and higher Endurance, you can replace the Bull-Goat’s Talisman with Godfrey Icon. This talisman enhances charged spells and skills, boosting the damage of a charged Eochaid’s Dancing Blade. Alternatively, Flock’s Canvas Talisman is another excellent option, directly increasing incantation damage, further amplifying your Dragon spells.
Elden Ring Talisman Endurance Poise Optimization with Flock's Canvas Talisman
An illustration of talisman choices for the Dragon Dancer build, emphasizing endurance and poise optimization alongside the Flock’s Canvas Talisman for incantation enhancement.
Spells and Gameplay: Dragon Incantations in Action
The Dragon Dancer build truly comes alive with its spellcasting, blending buffs and powerful Dragon Communion Incantations. Essential spells include:
- Golden Vow: A foundational buff, Golden Vow increases both attack power and defense. It enhances the damage of Dancing Blade, regular attacks, and spells, making it a vital pre-combat cast.
Elden Ring Golden Vow Buff Stats and Gameplay Impact
- Flame, Grant Me Strength: This spell further boosts physical and fire damage. Given that most Dragon Communion Incantations deal physical damage (with exceptions like Agheel’s Flame), Flame, Grant Me Strength significantly amplifies your overall damage output.
Elden Ring Best Buffs Flame Grant Me Strength Character Enhancement
- Dragonclaw: Dragonclaw is ideal for crowd control. It’s effective against groups of enemies, providing good area-of-effect damage. However, in fast-paced boss fights, the dual cast animation can leave you vulnerable. It’s more mobile than Dragonmaw, allowing for better positioning.
Elden Ring Skill Guide Dragonclaw Spell Area of Effect Combat
- Dragonmaw: Dragonmaw is a boss-killer spell. After stacking attack buffs with Eochaid’s Dancing Blade, a single cast or two of Dragonmaw can decimate boss health bars. It deals massive damage and significant Poise damage, particularly effective against larger, less mobile bosses.
Elden Ring Dragonmaw Animation Boss Fight Devastation
- Greyoll’s Roar: A situational spell, Greyoll’s Roar is an area-of-effect roar that debuffs enemies, reducing their damage output and increasing their damage taken for 60 seconds. While it has limited range, it can be useful in cooperative play or against groups of enemies. For ranged area damage, Dragonclaw or breath spells like Agheel’s Flame or Ekzyke’s Decay offer better reach.
Elden Ring Godrick Lore Greyoll's Roar Debuff Spell
Attribute Allocation for the Dragon Dancer
Stat distribution is crucial for optimizing the Dragon Dancer build at level 150-200. Recommended attribute allocation is approximately:
- Vigor: 50-60: Prioritize Vigor for survivability. While the build isn’t designed for tanking, sufficient health is necessary, especially in NG+. Aim for 60 Vigor for maximum health pool.
- Mind: 35-50: Mind governs FP, essential for spellcasting. Dragon Incantations consume substantial FP, so a higher Mind stat ensures you can cast spells more frequently and sustain buffs. 40-50 Mind is recommended to reduce reliance on FP flasks.
- Endurance: 10-25: Endurance depends on your armor choice. Base Endurance (10) is viable with lighter armor and Bull-Goat’s Talisman for medium roll. Increase Endurance to 20-25 for heavier armor while maintaining medium roll.
- Strength: 12: Minimum Strength to wield Regalia of Eochaid.
- Dexterity: 20: Meets Regalia of Eochaid’s Dexterity requirement and provides some scaling benefit. Further Dexterity investment yields diminishing returns compared to Arcane.
- Intelligence: Base (for starting class): Intelligence is not required for this build.
- Faith: 30-45: Faith is necessary for Golden Vow and Dragon Communion Incantations. 30 Faith allows access to Greyoll’s Roar. Increasing Faith beyond 45 can surpass Arcane in incantation scaling at higher levels.
- Arcane: 75-80: Maximize Arcane as the primary damage stat. It scales both Regalia of Eochaid and Dragon Communion Seal incantation damage. Aim for 80 Arcane for optimal scaling, then consider increasing Faith for further incantation damage.
Elden Ring Best Stats NG Plus Dragon Dancer Build Optimization
Final Tips for Mastering the Dragon Dancer
To fully optimize your Dragon Dancer build, consider these final tips:
- Flask of Wondrous Physick:
- Flame-Shrouding Cracked Tear: Boosts fire damage, ideal if incorporating Agheel’s Flame into your spell rotation.
- Thorny Cracked Tear: Increases attack power with successive hits, synergizing with Eochaid’s Dancing Blade. Combine with Flame-Shrouding for a hybrid approach.
- Cerulean Hidden Tear: Eliminates FP consumption for a short duration. Invaluable for unleashing multiple Dragon Incantations at the start of boss fights or during critical moments.
Elden Ring Flask of Wondrous Physick Best Tear Combinations
- Godrick’s Great Rune: Provides a universal attribute boost, supplementing all stats. This allows for greater flexibility in stat allocation and overall build optimization, helping to meet requirements and enhance core stats simultaneously.
Elden Ring Great Rune List Godrick's Great Rune Stat Boost
The Dragon Dancer build masterfully blends the aggressive melee capabilities of the Regalia of Eochaid with the awe-inspiring power of Dragon Communion Incantations. By balancing stats, selecting synergistic talismans, and utilizing potent spells, you can create a versatile and formidable Tarnished, ready to conquer the most challenging encounters in Elden Ring. Experiment, adapt, and unleash the dragon within!
