Paladin of the Golden Order (Faith/Vigor) Build – Elden Ring

In a world of dragons, monsters, and dark gods, sometimes players want to be the “Holy warrior” of the story. This Elden Ring build guide will focus on making you a tank fueled by the Greater Will that hits like the zealous crusader you are.

Starting Class

We suggest basing the Paladin of the Golden Order build off the Confessor. The class starts out with high faith making it a great base to begin the build. However, you can use any other class and adjust the stats accordingly. Although, keep in mind that each class begins with stats that cannot go lower than their starting value.

What This Build Is For

This build aims to maximize the damage done by holy incantations and faith-scaling weapons, while still being relatively tanky. This build can work as both a PvP and PvE build. Note that you won’t be able to follow this build until the end game, thanks to the high suggested level and the fact that it uses the Sacred Relic Sword as a primary weapon.

We’ll be using a lot of incantations, so while our prioritized stats are Faith/Vigor, Mind will be third in importance, allowing us to actually cast the incantations we want. To raise stats further, equip Godrick’s Great Rune (Restored). With the Great Rune equipped, you can approach the soft cap for more key stats. This build is tailored for level 150.

Weapons & Seal

This is a high-level, end-game build — the Sacred Relic Sword isn’t attainable until you beat the game’s final boss. However, if you’d like to use this build to conquer the lands between before NG+, use the Golden Order Greatsword until defeating the Elden Beast.

• Sacred Relic Sword
  • This sword is the best holy damage weapon in the game and easily one of the top 3 faith weapons in Elden Ring. It also offers close-range damage and long-range area of effect damage. Obtained from the Elden Remembrance, this sword is the pinnacle of Holy damage.

• Golden Order Greatsword
  • This sword is obtainable in the mid-game and offers a substantial faith-scaling damage output. The skill acts like a lesser version of Wave of Gold (The Sacred Relic Sword’s weapon art).

• Erdtree Seal
  • This seal is ideal for increasing the holy damage of our incantations.

Talismans

• Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman
  • This talisman will help significantly reduce the damage taken.

• Godfrey Icon
  • This build likes charged attacks in PvE — by using this talisman, both of our charged attacks will do more damage.

• Flock’s Canvas Talisman
  • With an incantation heavy build, it’s helpful to increase their damage — which this talisman does.

Incantations

• Golden Vow
  • This incantation should be cast pre-fight to improve your attack and defense. An easy-to-use incantation, low FP cost as well.

• Triple Rings of Light
  • This is better than it’s single-ring counterpart, offering superior crowd control. Also, it makes for an amazing PvP incantation, as it’s challenging to avoid and quick to cast.

• Elden Stars
  • This incantation is best to used against bosses, seeing as honing it on a single target is better for dps. Using this incantation on enemies in PvP forces them to move, creating opportunities for you to attack or replenish resources.

• Black Blade
  • Despite its dark appearance, this weapon is exclusively Holy damage. It offers the Destined Death ability, which lowers enemy maximum HP for the duration of the fight.

How to Use This Build

Time to begin your holy crusade across the lands between and put this all together. We’ll use the Sacred Relic Sword or the Golden Order Greatsword for our right-hand weapon. For our left-handed item, equip the Erdtree Seal. This build relies on all-out aggressiveness, embodying the zealous fury of the Greater Will — it’s important to stack your attacks with each other; after using a weapon art, follow up with an incantation. This both melts away any group of enemies attacking you and deals easy damage to a boss or fellow Tarnished.

For PvP, continue casting Triple Rings of Light and Elden Stars to apply pressure. The Black Blade incantation is a great way to get in some extra damage when the enemy is trying to fall back. Rather than spamming the Weapon Arts, charge them up to better use the Godfrey Icon talisman. Keep in mind that players can dodge both weapon arts and incantations, so do your best to use them sparingly and wait for openings.

Rotations & Strategy for Groups of Enemies

1. You should use Wave of Gold as often as possible from the beginning. Few incantations and weapon arts compare to the damage output from the Sacred Relic Sword.
2. If enemies are still left over, cast Triple Rings of Light and pick them off.

Rotations & Strategy for Bosses

1. Start the fight by casting Golden Vow to increase your attack damage. It’s best to have everything at maximum before making attacks.
2. If the boss has already started its attack patterns, take a step back and cast Black Blade to deal some damage and lower the Boss’s HP.
3. Cast Elden Stars; this will deal some background damage while you attack.
4. Use the Sacred Relic Sword to attack the boss, only casting Wave of Gold if you’re at a distance, as the weapon art isn’t as effective up close.

We hope this build guide was helpful! Please leave any questions, suggestions, or thoughts you have in the comments section below.