@vinlandxberserk7x then learn the dodge. It's not really that hard. As soon as she starts it, start sprinting away, then it's a series of rolls and a strafe/roll under her between the 2nd and final flurries, and you're golden. The odds of her never doing the attack the whole fight is zero. So if you put your controller down and give up all sad about yourself you're gonna lose every time
I wanted to create a melee only char at some point and not use any magic cause tbh ffff the golden order, the sorcerers, the giants, the blood god etc. They are all corrupted. Only steel is trusty. But thing is i would miss flame cleanse me. Cause the items for bollusses etc are finite ffs.
funny thing is that medium roll would actually be a bit more realistic, there is this misconception that plate mail was incredibly bulky and hard to move in, but the funny thing is that it was actually lighter and more maneuverable than modern plate carriers due to the weight being distributed evenly across the body. Another fun fact was that it was very rare for a knight to not be wearing padded armor underneath it for blunt impacts and protect against any arrows that punch through, and it was exactly as sweltering as it sounds. Heatstroke got more knights than swords ever did. if you want an example of how it is to move in, there are a few videos on youtube of men doing gymnast routines and working out in plate, really entertaining to watch if nothing else
@@SaxSlaveGael I actually did my complete first playthrough in heavy armour and sword & board. I dislike those oversized weapons and overly epic armour sets. Sword & board all the way through, no magic, just steel.
That Morgott fight was the most organic shi- I've ever seen it's like the core of melee souls combat condensed. You attack, guard, fat roll, trade, chug, fall, rise, run out of estus, survive an insane combo before breaking the boss' posture and win. 42:39 I like to imagine fire giant is salty and mocking the player with that roll spamming 😂
Man every time FG rolls I am like, yeah this is how it must feel being a boss lol. That Morgott fight took 2 hours... I suck at him. That was seriously hard to pull off!
Why it took this long for RU-vid to show me this channel is beyond me. But God damn it. I can't get enough of this playstyle. I personally prefer banished knight armor because it gives better vibe of "traveling warrior". But despite everything it's a very well thought out build. And your technique? You're destroying bosses like they're nothing. Malenia was really quiet after that fight ._. Side note: I really appreciate the fact you're showing fights where not everything aligned perfectly and you've got hit. It's way more realistic than showing frame perfect fights which 99% players won't be able reproduce no matter what. A true testament of skill ⚔️🛡️
Man, honestly. This comment absolutely made my day! I am glad YT recommend the video man and you enjoyed it so much. I also 100% agree with you, I've done many no hits, but it's so unrealistic and from my time doing no hit showcases, it's not authentic at all. Again, thank you so much!
A guard counter run was fun and frustrating at the same time, and a highlight of my Elden Ring experience. It takes some real strategy, unlike some other overpowered builds. The back-flip guard animation is one of my favorite character animations. As a benefit, it trivializes some of the more annoying enemies like rats, imps, dogs, and birds. I like to co-op against RadaBeast with a guard-counter build. Crucible Tree Armor Set, a Greatshield set to Holy affinity, Haligdrake Talisman, Lord's Divine Fortification, and help some fellow Tarnished. Thanks for the great video Sax!
While a lot of people think that knight armor limits movement to the one wearing it. It’s actually quite light and movement is just as easy. But honestly it’s so awesome to finally see an authentic knight build with just a sword and shield. It’s so cool to create a story line with a character making it to be a mortal human knight that goes up against the biggest and toughest immortal bosses in the game, killing them and walking away with honor and strength instead of these mage builds and ninja builds that walk away only seconds after killing a boss. A sword and shield boss fight feels more authentic and lengthy kinda like fighting an actual powerful immortal being.
i play faith builds, my first being a pure faith build, i decided to do some coop runs for a few rune arcs and brought some extra healing spells and buffs with me. one of my summons was a build very similar to this, using a greatshield.... i absolutely loved that session, healing him from the really big hits, keeping us buffed up and occasionally taking off agro with a ranged spell or mace bonk when he needed to heal but was too far away from me. if we had a rouge/dex build i would've experienced the classic trifecta of class balance and that would've been truly magical
Guard countering is probably the most underated mechanic in this game. I know you are going for stance breaks and throwing in normal hits. But if you could only damage from guard counters and criticals, i'd pick a thrusting weapon, spear talisman, curved sword talisman, dragonscrest greatshield talisman and carrian filigreed crest talisman if you have low fp. Then put barricade shield on your shield and then put cragblade on your thrust weapon along with heavy infusion. Wear a big old set of armour with high poise and defence so you can hyperarmour through attacks and get your guard counters off. Then you are pretty much the god of guard counters. At least in theory, i came up with this on the toilet lmao.
Does the spear talisman proc when doing guard counters? I thought that was only during an enemy attack animation. I'm currently doing a spear and shield, but opted not to use the talisman because I don't have slots left.
@@FlyingFox86 Yes, there are a few times I did this against Malenia where I attacked her mid attack. However, I only lander them due to the sword ducking animation.
@@SaxSlaveGael Fr. I cant help myself, I just constantly come up with batshit insane builds instead of thinking about actually important stuff. Elden Ring is the best.
i never even would have thought people didnt like it. But i dont know the "meta" since i dont go to forums about this game. But when i played with the shield Guard Counters seemed bonkers , at least to me
some things I would add to become an "authentic knight" have a dagger!!! a dagger was incredibly important for knights when they come to grapple with other knights so you can expose those openings. so using a dagger to switch to to do those finishers is absolutely a must! and I would consider putting on the quickstep ash of war, since that is the realistic way to avoid an attack.
I ADORE guard countering. It feels amazing. Focusing on stance breaks through it (as well as jump attacks mixed with charged attacks) really breathed new life into the game for me. Its my favorite playstyle/build. It also makes managing stamina more fun. Knowing when to jump, attack and and dodge while making sure to leave enough stamina left over to block and counter makes fights feel so much more engaging.
Bro you really changed my opinion on Elden Ring after this video. I have played all souls game and I disliked ER but now I think that I should have gone in with an open mind. Good timing right before the DLC.
The most satisfying guard counter animation imo is the curved sword one. It's really fast and provides the poise damage that curve swords don't have easy access to. It's so cool how fluid the animation is when it counters from a shield block.
That is really cool! I'm going to buy Elden Ring and try this build. I love the classic sword and board. There is something charming and enigmatic about a full suited knight that looks unimposing yet can destroy Gods with shear technique of his mastery.
Cheers dude, apologies for the Narration though, I've gotten significantly better and this basically how I approach my content now. I think the Format is good haha
When he collapsed in exhaustion after Fire Giant… I felt that. Personally I would be using Vow of the Indomitable on some of these bosses, but you still managed!
To add to this, plate armour like in the video was so effective that a shield wasn't even necessary though for the sake of the video and build I get it
After finishing most of the DLC, I just found this video. I’d like to go to peoples world and help them fight their bosses and I’m a go help him with this build, especially with the 2 headed turtle, it should help me keep up with the bosses.
Man, you made this WAY harder on yourself, tbh. I could never! And especially since fat-rolling is a death sentence. The medium roll isn’t great in Elden Ring either, but at least it tries (if only it were more like DS3’s medium-roll speed with additional frames). Fat-rolling in Elden Ring, and Medium-rolling in DS1, are a nightmare. And yet, YOU made each encounter look easy despite almost dying a few times. That’s an anxiety-booster if there ever was one.
Great video as always, always thought the guard counters were such a cool addition! Also 27:42 is definitely the coolest boss combo attack in the game! I love how Morgott switches between all his Holy Summoned weapons besides the spear during it!
Having done faith and hybrid builds, a non-magic knight build has been the most engaging and rewarding. I have not been able to go back to any other playstyle since going full sword and shield. I keep a crossbow, throwing knives and make full use of cracked pots and greases when fighting things like the undead. The castlevania fan in me can't resist :p Some enemies call for guard counters, some call for parries, some just want a good shield bash. Very fun making full use of your toolkit. Enemies don't stand a chance against a preparation. Anyone who has played Outward can attest to that.
Man, WTF??? I think that segment of you fighting malenia with this build has made me fall in love with the combat design of this game all over again. This was such an honest, basic and fair run at this boss, I can't believe we spend like two years of people complaining that the bosses are way too much for the player's moveset when you're limiting yourself that much for the build and making it look so good.
Malenias gets mentioned a lot, because she ignores and breaks some rules which all other bosses abide by. Fair criticism to be honest, but she's by no means unbeatable. Not even for players with worse reflexes than our friend here. Can't dodge waterfowl? No problem, get yourself a decent great shield, a poking weapon and the greatshield talisman and tank through it. The damage is 100% physical, yes she will heal, but you'll ideally be able to outdamage her without much issue from behind that shield. Don't like her dodging all your spells? Get something with better tracking or just the night sorceries. She sure is hard and really unfair, but it is easy to just bully her when you put your mind to it.
Sorry for the late reply. If you want my honest direct opinion, it's simply because the ER community lacks patience and creativity. This playstyle has always been viable, but it takes practice and patience. Too many people just don't have that which is why to are led towards using OP stuff. I get the complaints about Malenia, but as someone who has bet her 100's of times using all sorts of stuff. Anything is viable so long as you are patient.
I created a build similar to this one but it’s almost broken. If anyone wants to recreate it you will need the following: >Almost the same stats as in the video, with the exception of 16 dex so you can wield the weapon, the Great Epee. It’s a thrusting sword but it has A scaling in strength with the heavy affinity. >The fingerprint stone shield, the guard boost on it is insane, you can hold it up and almost never get stance broken. >Here is where the build is busted, because the Great Epee is a heavy thrusting sword you can make light attacks while blocking! >For talismans, I used ertrees favor+2 for all the buffs it provides, dragoncrest great shield for the rare instances I actually took damage, rotten winged sword insignia for damage, and the green turtle talisman for stamina because it’s the only resource I needed to manage. >For armor, anything with a minimum of 51 poise works, I used the fingerprint set to fit the theme. And that’s how you beat the game without ever feeling like your in danger. I wonder if Sax will make a vid on this weapon and shield combo because I haven’t seen any big elden ring RU-vidrs discuss it.
Yup! I think thats why I loved this playstyle so much! You feel like a knight that has everything to lose and are fighting for whatever it is you believe in!
I don’t know how I got recommended this, but I love it and this is how I’m going into the DLC (but with claymore, knights GS, lordsworn SS, or Watchdog GS instead of broadsword!
Great video! Shields are awesome imo. Vow of Indomitable, Holy Ground, Carian Retaliation and Barricade Shield are some of the most useful defensive Ashes of Wars. I don't understand why there are so many people still acts like it's a crime to use one. The Good Old Reddit Weird Flex Moment... "I just press dodge button just don't get hit ehe ehe" 😂
I like this video, I made a build using shield and lordsworn’s straight sword. I made sure to use guard counters when possible but to be honest a lot of the time I just used square off, it’s just TOO good. I also put parry on my shield because parrying bosses like Melina was so funny.
This is so cool! I'm defo going to try this for my next playthrough, I really like the guard counter mechanic but I was too dense in my first playthrough to recognise the versatility of it with the talismans. Also big fan of you using your real voice over the AI voice just makes for a more natural watch, awesome vid as always!
Years ago a certain big youtuber made a video about how Bloodborne teaches you not to over-rely on shields...and almost the entire community of series vets decided this meant you should never ever block lol. Shields are definitely better in Elden Ring than DS1 and 3, but they were still plainly very useful even in those games. I can't imagine not being able to block against Manus on NG+7, for example. Most players aren't godly enough to just dodge everything every time against a boss that can't be parried or staggered in any way.
I use a build that’s like this, but higher level and with a bunch of other stuff stapled on. It’s essentially meant to level the playing field between magic and physical fighters without adding magic, it made NG+5 easier than I thought it would be: RL 250 Vagabond "Arsenal Knight" Vigor: 60 Mind: 35 Endurance: 49 Strength: 80 Dexterity: 80 Intelligence: 9 Faith: 9 Arcane: 7 Helmet: Greathelm Armor: Gelmir Knight Gauntlets: Gelmir Knight Leggings: Gelmir Knight R Weapon 1: Longsword (Square Off) R Weapon 2: Pike (Impaling Thrust) R Weapon 3: Greataxe (Lion's Claw) L Weapon 1: Banished Knight Shield (No Skill) L Weapon 2: Pulley Crossbow (Kick) L Weapon 3: Black Bow (Barrage) Talisman 1: Green Turtle Talisman Talisman 2: Greatshield Talisman 3: Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman 4: Crimson Seed Flasks: 14 Red, 0 Blue Physick: Both Crimson Crystal Tears
I love playing as a knight so much that I'm playing with a spellblaxe knight and it's basically a regular knight with a few spellswords moves, and its amazing.
Did a setup nearly identical to this one on a recent playthrough, except I used a greatshield and a heavy-infused Lance (with RKR). For talismans, run Erdtree's Favor/Crimson Amber, Dragoncrest, Green Turtle, and Curved Sword. Optionally, you can swap the Green Turtle put for Ritual Shield (that 30% damage negation can seriously come in clutch, in those rare instances you _do_ get hit). You don't need the Greatshield Talisman, since greatshields have so much guard potential as is -- *ESPECIALLY* with Barricade Shield. It definitely took a while to get up to speed, and struggled against bosses somewhat, but against anything else, it is an absolute tank. To complete the "look" of the build, run the Confessor armor and Greathelm, with whatever arm & leg armor you want.
For anyone having access to the DLC, the guard counter build has been greatly upgraded with several weapons that make the playstyle more unique than ever before: - Streng/faith build: Black steel greathammer is one of the best is built soley on the foundation of guard counter. It hits hard, it has natural high poise damage against enemy, plus it unique guard counter will apply constant pressure on all kinds of enemies, even bosses. Using lion claw or prayerful strike on this thing will make you become the boss itself, trust me on this - Quality build: Milady light greatsword has long range of a greatsword but the quick, fluid attack movesets of long sword. It can be infused and buffed with everything you want. It guard counter consist of two quick attacks that will take a large chunk of enemies health and causes considerable poise damage in a very short window. - Intelligent/dex build: The Carian sorcery sword is a light thrusting sword that now allow mages to be able to cast spell in the heat of the battle without having to switch to staff and be exposed to enemies. You can easily use Carian heavy phalanx, Carian greatsword, Gavel of Haima on the fly along with guard counter to easily break poise of enemies. If that is not enough, impaling thurst will surely finish the job. I have managed to run the build of the video until Rykard but have to give up due to the need to evade the boss's skulls shower, go to the DLC and this build is simply unusable without additional modifications or upgrades in playstyle.
My first playthrough was a great shield and two handed sword build with the tree sentinel armor, once I got it that is, and guard counters felt like SO much fun to play around. This video rocks.
I used this build to roleplay as a knight who wants to do nothing but use "the old fashioned way" to conquer the Lands Between and the Lands of Shadow. Had lots of fun, would recommend it.
for historical accuracy you could also use a spear and sword. as a spear was like your assault rifle and a sword was like your handgun in a modern sense. you could have gotten away with using the lance? talisman as well for extra damage.
They canonically have superhuman strength and vigor though. So not really. The mario jumps and the excessive rolling still don't make sense, even with the canonical stats, however. Which makes this showcase more interesting, since he avoided using those.
Interestingly, I'm noticing that your fat rolling was really good for spacing. The short roll distance allowed you to keep pressing the attack while the bosses recovered. A medium or light roll would have meant more distance, and more distance would have meant more time walking toward the enemy to strike as opposed to rolling into the attacks point-blank and immediately countering as was showcased here. The majority of the dodging, however, was covered by walking into and out of range at the right times. An impressive display!
@@jaeg.3806 Fat Rolling is no way near as terrible as it's made out to be. It's a bit more difficult due to the recovery times. But generally it works okay in most situations.
The most fun I’ve ever had in EldenSouls was playing as a lowly knight in DS1, with my Hollow Shield and Longsword. It’s the canonical way to play the game. But after “gittin gud” I became a shieldless ninja dodging everything at lightning speed, blitzing through everything like I’m unstoppable. I miss the old days.
You could fit in the more realistic hammers/maces into this, they do insane poise damage and fit in really well with a medieval knight theme. Also, spears on horseback are a must have for RP.
God, what a video. Sekiro was the first of Fromsoft’s games I beat, and I found the parry was an entirely different beast here in elden ring. Only realized after my first playthrough that an aggressive guard counter style was the closest I could probably get to how I actually wanted to to play. Have any excitement for the thrusting shields in the dlc? I seem to be the only person I know who cares about it, ha
Thanks man! And yeah, nothing can beat Sekiro parrying, that game is a master piece. Haha, honestly I haven't given them a second thought. I've played with just a shield before, so an attack shield does seem interesting though!
My sword and shield build involves combining guard counters with the Impaling Thrust skill, which should do the same amount of stance dmg. I use a Greatshield and a pure str build, heavy infused lordsworn's for extra crit dmg, and I also put 3 bonus levels into intelligence from Vagabond base to be able to use the scholars armament buff spell (though I recommend using electrify armament instead, I just want it to look like the Master Sword from Zelda). If you upgrade the staff/seal, that 12 int/15 fth will get you up to over 100 in extra dmg, both spells lasting 90 seconds. A pure physical infusion is imo wasted if you don't use buffs, especially varying ones to exploit weaknesses. Taking turns doing block counters and impaling thrust is excellent for stance-breaking, and the AOW is a great opener and tool when you don't seem to get a chance to guard counter. Talismans are Greatshield talisman, Shard of Alexander, Dagger talisman, and either curved sword or Crimson Dagger talisman, depending on the boss.
I’ve been having a hard time trying to decide what build i want to create and honestly I might just start a new character and enjoy this game as a simple knight!
Change the weapon to Lordsworn SS and Ash of War to Square Off and shield to No Skill and you have a real power house build imo. Love this. Great stuff.
@SaxSlaveGael Yes, I love the broadsword as well. And it has a special place for me, always. But I find myself missing the move set of other Straight Swords. Also, the extra crit and the extra length on the Lordsworn SS helps justify the loss of cool factor imo. The Noble Slender Sword, though it has superior range, is just too silly looking for me to even consider. But the range on it is glorious.
This is so sick. Is it bad that I bought Dragon’s Dogma 2, but then I played Elden Ring for the last couple of days instead? The amount of builds you can do, and the playthrough feeling fresh every time you change it up, makes it so that I can’t stop. This game is absolutely incredible.
@@SaxSlaveGael Same here, man. I did take a break to run through FromSoft's other games, but I don't think that counts lol BG3 got me for a few months, but otherwise, I can't stop Elden Ring...
Omg, I just got schooled. I have only just started playing, and have been rolling around like a buffoon. (I am up to Godric). I wasn't sure how much the shield would absorb and rather than test it, roll, roll, roll. Massive thanks for this video.
I just came back to Elden Ring for the DLC and I intend to use a build just like this, but instead of a sword, I use the Lance and Impaling Thrust! Thanks for your guide!
I 100% plan to use this build for just a fun and casual run through the game, only things I’m changing are: The drip The sword Green Turtle Talsiman Adding Electrify Armament, Golden Vow, and maybe Flame, Grant me Stength as a buff rotation with physick
As an irl armored combat enjoyer, I approve. In terms of armor, you can also use the regional knights sets or the banished knight sets, as those are both very realistic. Personally I wish there was a set w a red and yellow surcoat, since that’s the colors I use in my irl heraldry, but I’ve just settled on the mausoleum knight armor with the carian knight or fingerprint helm, with the altered mausoleum knight helmet someone looking like a ROA bascinet if you squint hard enough. (Also fun fact, medium rolls in elden ring are probably more accurate to rolling in plate armor than heavy load)
Mausoleum knight's armor is my favorite. Probably not very practical IRL, but the poise to weight ratio is great and those shoulder accents are SO badass
@@prisonbreadnope! Look up the winged hussars. It wasn’t used on that style of armor, but it was used historically. In fact, I think the hussars actually had bigger wings, but I’m not sure
@@mysteriousstranger5873 Holy shit, just found some images of the winged hussars and they look incredible! That had to be so intimidating to see a battalion of soldiers wearing that coming over a hill. Really thought this was an invention Fromsoft came up with. Thank you so much for sharing, I appreciate your enthusiasm and knowledge about armor..
I want to run this build now. Though im going for medium roll (knights are actually pretty fast, they are trained warriors and their armor is tailored to them) and switch out the broadsword for a longsword, because having thrust attacks in narrow corridors is a godsend.
I used basic armour and shield to fight Rellana and had an amazing time of it, I was using a new save file that I sped throught the game with so I completely forgot about the talismans that you were using. Definitely wanna do a second run of DLC w/ just the authentic knight build
My current play through is using a similar build, Long Sword, Long Bow, Mid Shield, along with Square Off ashes of war. It may not be the highest damage build in game but it is very very reliable.
You can incorporate different 100% shields Example Carian knight shield for Rennla. Possibly a 89% shield with high fire resistance but coat it with shield grease or magic shield spell for the fire wyrm bosses. Only downside to this build is that throughout the game you will acquire spells incantations and weapons that look so fun to use but you can’t.
