The samurai is one of the starting classes available in Elden Ring and focuses on katana-style weapons and dexterity. Here are the stats and equipment you should prioritize as a samurai build.
Recommended Stats
The samurai starts with high dexterity and decent vigor/mind. Focus on raising these core stats:
| Stat | Priority |
|---|---|
| Dexterity | High |
| Vigor | High |
| Mind | Medium |
| Endurance | Medium |
Dexterity increases damage with katana skills and critical. Vigor boosts HP for surviving hits. Mind sustains ashes of war and summons. Endurance raises load capacity and stamina.
Recommended Weapons
Katana-style weapons shine with the samurai's dexterity scaling. Moonveil and Uchigatana are great early Elden Ring weapon options:
- Uchigatana (starting weapon) - Basic katana with excellent dex scaling.
- Moonveil - Int scaling katana with magic-infused skills.
- Nagakiba - Longer katana with good reach for dual-wielding.
- Meteorite Ore Blade - Dex/int curved sword for magic hybrid.
Power stance dual katanas or use ashes that boost critical damage. Rivers of Blood is also a popular dex/arcane bleed option late-game.
Recommended Shields
While shields aren't required, they provide useful utility and protection:
- Brass Shield - Basic 100% physical block with innate fire resistance.
- Carian Knight's Shield - Greatshield with magic block and parry skill.
- Lordsworn's Shield - Medium shield with parry and best physical defense.
- Tree Sentinel's Shield - Colossal shield great for blocking in two hands.
Recommended Armor
Light armor is recommended to maintain a medium load for rolling:
- Nomadic Merchant's Set - Popular starter set with good stats.
- Ronin's Set - Iconic samurai armor set with balanced defense.
- Scaled Set - Raising dex raises the physical defense of this set.
- Blue Cloth Set - Light armor boosting evasion and stealth skills.
Additional Tips
Consider leveling Arcane for occult/bleed builds. Magic-infused skills pair well with Moonveil and Meteorite Blade. Use stealth and evasive tactics leveraging katanas' high critical damage. Explore free-aim attacks and counters with well-timed parries.
Learn boss patterns and find openings to deliver fast, consecutive strikes. Summons provide useful aggro diversion against tough foes. Focus on dex/vigor first and mind later for your samurai's deadliest offense.
