Elden Ring Best Bandit Build

calendarJan 8, 2023 · 5 min read  ·
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Although classes in Elden Ring don't really matter as much as in other games. As no item is locked to any particular class. And you can level any statistic up at any point. We still came up with great suggestions for weapon swaps and upgrades that feel like natural upgrades of Bandit's starting gear. So if you like sneaking about and utilizing those juicy backstabs. Then this Elden Ring “Best Bandit Build” is definitely for you.

The Bandit is a great class for beginners to the Elden Ring and newcomers to all the Soulsborne games.The class teaches you the importance of a mechanic pretty new to the Soulsborne formula. That mechanic being the stealth system. And if things get too harsh for your liking, you can always opt to swap out the dagger for a thrusting sword.

Bandit is all about that dexterity and blades that scale with it. You can continue to level up Dex to achieve a nice “dex-focused build.” Allowing you to experiment with most bows, katanas, twin blades, and such in the game. One pitfall of the Bandit class is that his shield is quite bad. And if you are bad at rolling through attacks, you might pay the ultimate price.

It should be noted that this class is a poor choice if you want to use magic in the game. You can build towards it for sure. But if you want a full-blown magic or incantation character, then start with a class that already can cast spells from the beginning of the game. Let's now look at the Elden Ring's best Bandit builds.

Best Bandit Build in Elden Ring

  • Weapons
    • Reduvia – An awesome unique dagger. Daggers are one of the greatest weapons for powerstancing in Elden Ring. They may have inferior range. But they more than make up for that with crazy attack speeds. In the case of Reduvia, as a cherry on top, you have bleed buildup on enemies on each hit.
    • Elonora's Poleblade – Another great option for powerstancing. Twinblades have a crazy moveset with one in each hand! Elonora's Poleblade is one of the more exotic and unique twinblades in the game. It offers excellent damage and bleed buildup. But you do need some Arcane to wield it.
    • Godskin Peeler – A more Dex-focused twinblade. Excellent damage, and even better ash of war. The “Black Flame Tornado” is a cool move that definetly plays great into the Dex-focused build. Only watch out for the FP drain!
    • Sacrificial Axe – A great, great, great axe that can be picked up in Weeping Peninsula. So relatively early into the game. Requires 16 Str and 10 Dex. And scales great with both of those stats. Starts out with the amazing “Wild Strikes” Ash of War. It can be swapped out for anything you like, but I recommend keepign that one.
    • Dragonscale Blade – Another cool option for Dex-focused Bandit. This weapon definetly favours Dex over Str, and you cannot swap the Ash of War out sadly. Because this is an unique blade. But the Ice Lightning that is comes with is a nice option to have for some ranged enemy blasting. Dual wield with some other katana for an awesome moveset options.
    • Longbow – The trusty longbow. Nothing wrong with it. Great Dex scaling. It can fire arrows (duh). And some of them come in handy for close quarters combat. For example you can put enemies to sleep with sleep arrows and then rend them with your blades.
  • Shields
    • Beast Crest Heater Shield – The one thing you should swap out as early as possible. The shield that Bandit starts out with is doodoo. And the Beast Crest shield is indeed a Beast! Blocking 100% physical damage at 3.5 weight. It is incredible. One of the best medium shields in the game. And you can pick it up easily in Limgrave, the starting location.
  • Armor Sets
    • The Bandit playstyle of swinging agile weapons comes hand in hand with running around in lightweight armor. After all, you dont want the heavy playe armor to slow you down! That being said. Here are some great light armor sets in the game! So if you must wear something, be sure it is one of those:
    • Raging Wolf Set (combined weight 24.1) – Set that ofers superb resistances and killer looks. It also happens to be on the lighter side compared to all the other armor sets in the game! You obtain it quite late into the playthough. But it's definetly worth it.
    • Raya Lucarian Soldier Set (combined weight is 24.7) – This one is an interesting proposition. Again, on the lighter side of things when condiering all armors of Elden ring. But the resistances are equally distrubted twoards phsycial protection and magical defences. Making it a jack of all trades but master of none, type of deals. To me, its versitality is well worth it!

To get the most out of playing as a Bandit, it is best to use primarily Dex scaling weapons. The choice of weapon type is up to you. Twin blades, daggers, katanas usually are great with Dex builds. Each of these is also great while dual-wielding. But you can always slot some preferred stat-based ash of war into any fightstick you like!You will also have PLENTY of weapons to try out and experiment with during your adventure in Elden Ring.

  • Most Important Atributes To Level Up
    • Vigor
    • Dexterity
    • Strenght (Optional)

The many fast blades available to you as soon as you pick them up is a great asset of any dex-focused Bandit build. Bundled with the plenty of leftover equipment load, since you should opt for light armor. This build leaves plenty of room to run around with two weapons and not be slowed down. And you should never underestimate just how much DPS you can achieve with dual-wielding! You can also always mix in some raged combat for much-needed utility.

This guide covers the best Bandit builds in Elden Ring. If you ever get lost and stray off the path, you can always come back to us. We have excellent guides for Elden Ring, many informative posts about requirements and tips. And build for classes such as the Samurai, Wretch, Confessor, Prisoner, and Vagabond. Do not be afraid to seek some help! The game is seriously tough.

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