This is the EXACT kind of build I was looking to try, getting to effectively equip three weapons at once is awesome. Scholar’s Shield on this build is genius
Carian Thrusting Shield can equip the _Impaling Thrust_ AOW (33 stance dmg on it) while you can have a better catalyst in your main hand. It does a whole lot more stance damage than a poking sword, can be acquired as fast as the Carian Sorcery Sword, goes as fast as a greatsword if not faster, does thrusting damage *while* blocking too and also does *more damage* than most infusable greatswords at STR17/DEX13/INT80 while leaving you with a better staff if you need to cast Glintblade Phalanx or the moon-related sorceries (the carian one, winkwink nod nod). Your shield is your weapon. At least that's what i did on my carian knight/royalty RP build. I'm breezing through the DLC with it too. Plus, believe you me, dear Messmy won't let you cast many sorceries. edit : *don't forget to collect every forager cookbooks*
@@Elsuya_Milo i was trying to point towards the carian *staff* because it"s a "carian" build. obviously it doesn't sound like that when i read it again but it was late. I never use Ranni's on this build btw, i only go for the dmg of rennala's or rellana's, adula's moonblade can apply frost if needed
Seriously, same. Can't believe I missed out on this on my first playthrough. I'm restarting an entire run and this is perfect for what I'm trying to do.
My first Souls game was DS2 and my first character was a sorcerer that used a rapier. I try to make the same character in every RPG since then. It's so nice to finally have a weapon that truly matches him like I've always pictured
It is really annoying so many people reject any build ideas if they aren't using super broken weapons, spells, etc. You can play through the game just fine with "underwhelming" damage builds. In fact, just doing the same meta or "big number" builds is just so stale and boring. I've been doing a firespark perfume dex/faith build and it has been fun even if it is more challenging than dual wield hammer strength or cheesy bleed.
Only unskilled people complain about non-“meta” weapons, I can beat this game with whatever I want, the only “meta” that matters is knowing you have a DODGE button lmao.
You could play anything on this and still be decent in pvp. You don't need to have OP damage which you can achieve, but your fan factor will decrease greatly.
Im so glad they buffed this weapon is such a short time, a great option for people that dont really like staffs... i would recomend playing this with the myriam vanish and the microcosm that IMO are the most fun spells of the DLC!!
Fantastic video, but may I request a video on an alternate build for this? Carian Knight build but with a Scepter and the Carian Thrusting Shield instead. Would love to see your take on that build, Fex.
Coincidentally I'm rocking a very similar build right now, so here's my advice: - if you're looking for a slightly different look armourwise, Im using the Carian knight helmet, gloves, and legs with Rellana's armour. Only a slight change, but I personally prefer it - another look if you're tired of the carian knight style is the spellblade hat with the dryleaf set for a kinda earthy hedge wizard type of vibe. Not my cup of tea personally, but im sure other people might like it! - an alternative weapon for those who are looking to use a glintstone staff in this build would be a cold or magic infused Milady with the Carian Sovereignty ash of war. Really makes you feel like a proper spellblade. Also the star-lined blade, but I feel like thats straying a bit too far from the carian theme. - a spell that gets overlooked a little is Ranni's Dark Moon- its damage is good, but the real kicker is that it debuffs the magic resistance of struck enemies. As this build does so much magic damage, id say its vital as a boss fight opener!
@@myb321_5 If you hold that sword in your left hand it then slots the spell cast in the ash of war bind. Use Forzen Needle ine main hand for a fun powerstanced thrusting sword setup that can pew pew pew at distance :)
I’m okay with it being tied to a weapon but not being able to change the ash of war is kinda meh. Also wish we had more options I mean there are great swords and straight swords used by Carian Knights too
@@MrNuclearzwoulda been cool if it did some extra damage with the melee sword spells if the actual weapon part hit the opponent as well but hey I’m not complaining now that it’s actually works
This is a fantastic build. One other option I would like to throw out for maybe some players who are higher level, Rellanas swords. One handed with a shield the moveset and block counter of the light greatsword is fantastic. The block counter does a conmbo hit with forward momentum. And then at any time you can two hand the swords for the Ash. Or use No Skill and use it any time if you're not a parry type of person.
I've personally been playing the Carian Sorcery Sword with an off-hand Main-gauche on the cold infusion (which it has excellent scaling with). The Main-gauche + thrusting sword moveset is really fun and interesting and it allows me to be able to cast sorceries and be able to parry without swapping my weapons around. Super fun setup.
@DavidScotton its all practice! im a souls veteran of like 7-8 years so im quite familiar with the timings, i recommend doing a run with parries in mind itll suck at first but youll get the hang of it super quickly and from there its just learning movesets really
Do you find you proc frostbite a lot with this setup? I've been playing with this combo and can't decide between magic and cold infusion on the dagger. It seems to only hit 4 times on a full combo in the left hand.
I am just gonna say, this DLC gave us a dagger named Main-gauche, which is a dagger but powerstances with a thrusting sword. Which is interesting, I guess? So you could have a parry dagger in your off-hand and use powerstanced thrusting sword moveset.
Finally a good build for an effective performance and not a one-shot build with changing load outs, incantations, ash of wars and consumables one. THANK YOU!
Definitely gonna respec into this kind of a build soon. Fell in love with the shield and poke guard counter strategy after the Prime Consort Radahn fight. Ranni's Dark Moon and Adula's Moonblade seems to compliment a build like this. Thanks again Fextra!
You know what I love about this build? It might not be the most OP or fully optimized, but it’s got style and I love it. This and the blue baller build bring me so much joy
Super fun build! A spellblade magus is one of my favorite classes to play! Btw do you say how to do the block counter with this sword because I had to hunt for that info. Didn't know it required hitting both R1+R2 😅. Hitting R2 by itself casts a spell immediately after.
I actually dropped this weapon simply because I believed it had no way to guard counter. Now that you've clarified that it actually has one, I'll definitely go back and use it. Thanks so much Fextra.
How does it guard counter by the way. R2 just casts a spell, does it not? I plan to try this build, but seeing the guard counters has me scratching my head
@ryanshaw1527 yes, exactly what dogevives just said. You have to tap both R1 and R2 (if you're using PS5) to activate the guard counter like Fextra stated. I am now using the sword for everything.
You should release an updated Dark Moon greatsword build that coincides with the dlc content! It’s my favorite weapon and I’m a huge fan of your moonlight crusader build!
Hi I’ve been using this build at lvl 297 for late game builds I recommend to balance 60 vigor and 60 Endurance because of the stamina consumption when you fail a parry or if you are not a parry master. If you want to speed cast 80 Int and 80 Dex, if not you can romove 20 Dex and use it to put 70 on Vigor and 70 on endurance.
Wish this had a unique version of impaling thrust that applied something like scholars armament, walking around with glowing shield and sword would've really felt like the ultimate version of this.
Pair it with magic infused main-gauche. You'll get one of the best parry in the game (buckler's frames) + the unique power stance moveset wich more than compensates for the absence of strong attacks. You may also want to equip melee spells like carian slicer, great sword etc. And use them to vary your moveset and keep your openents on their toes in PvP. This turns your build into one of the most versatile in the whole game. Without swapping you have at any moment access to consistent parries, power stancing, a varied and nuanced moveset which includes quick pokes, fast swipes, heavy bonks with Gavel of Haima for instance, or even Miriam's Vanishing for spacing and landing surprise attacks. Definitely one of the most unique, fun and elegant build in the game
Currently I’m running a similar build, except I put carian sovereignty on a milady. I love the light greatswords moveset and it fits the regal knight theme a ton
Using the spells for stance damage and buffing the shield is actually a pretty genius move! But you should really have the Ranni's Moon spell to open fights by getting frost + 20% increased magic damage on the enemy!
Hey Fex! Just wanted to say thank you for all you do for the community. Always love your thematic builds and I use the wiki frequently. You and your team rock!
Thank you so much for the video and specifically this build. I wanted a spellblade type build like this one for a very long time (Not a fan of juggling between sword and staff). If I may, regarding spells I added ancient death rancor and it work extremely well. It provides opening or can keep an ennemy busy while you are taking care of his friend. That's definetly an investement in faith and require to go high on levels. But I really think it is worth it, and it also give you access to golden vow and some healing spells. Pretty helpful in my opinion. Really enjoy playing his way.
Once built a high int dual katana setup with Moonveil but casting with it always felt weird. This build looks super fun and well synergized. Will try. Great video as always
I really wish that sorceries and incants could be cast with one “catalysts” category. I hate holding an ugly staff, I don’t mind seals they just glow. But I like sorceries too…staffs and seals…hell even rods, wands, weapons, hell even gauntlets could be included.
Very interesting build! I think for those who don't ike impaling thrust (though it's an easy and fast 24 stance damage with a thrusting sword), you could use the Carian Thrusting Shield and put another AOW on it for damage, but you have to keep it on standard otherwise it can't be buffed by Scholar's shield. For talismans, Dagger, Spear, Curved-sword, Shard of Alexander or Greatshield to even reduce the stamina cost of blocking.
i feel like this weapon wouldve been one of the best in the game if you were able to change the ash of war carian sovereignty would've been insane on it
I've turned this build into what I call the carian duelist. I added the main-gauche for it's unique moveset and added carian slicer as my main spell so I can switch between 3 different movesets without switching weapons. It's not the strongest build but it's fun to play a int/dex build for the first time.Navy hood looks fantastic with rellanas armor for the fashion
I really really enjoy this playstyle good defense good offense and so much utility and yes its R1 R2 to do a guard counter with this weapon on xbox as well
Very nice. I will try this build on bosses. For exploration, i will continue to use my warrior mage build. But this us very intriguing, might be very usefull vs bosses.
Carians get so many fun weapons in this game. It’s nice to see builds centered around a bit of cosplay. I think all we are missing is a bonk weapon for Carians 😂
You could try the carian thrusting shield in your left hand which could make the build more interesting on top of the spellsword ill def try this thanks!!
Love that they buffed this weapon. I remember in DS3 Demons scar was on of my favorites. Makes me really wish they made an incantation casting weapon in this DLC too.
I'm a fan of using magic in Souls and with Elden Ring I feel like I wasn't taking advantage of 100% of what the game offered me. But I think that with this build it is possible to make a great balance between ranged and melee combat. Furthermore, with the possibility of carrying a shield, so it is possible to use the shield enchantment and counterblow. Thanks for this build!
Up until this point my spellsword builds has basically been a shield in my left hand and a staff in my right, and using carrian slicer as my "sword" and throwing in some other spells for range. But this is SO hard on the FP it basically forces you to run almost solely cerulean flasks.
A good tip for this sword is to pair it with the Carian Thrusting Shield! Magic infusion on the shield will take it to a great AR for your high Int investment and will fill the place of your heavy attacks with its shield strike L2
I think this weapon is a nice quality of life buff for people who aren't hyper invested in min maxing, I do fumble my controls a lot so appreciate anything that makes it easier to have fun 👍
Another option to run with this build would be run with Rogier's Rapier, or a magic/cold infused rapier and go with dual thrusting swords. Cold/Magic Antspur or Cold/Magic Estoc might be a good option.
Yeah it won’t compare to the carian regal scepter but if you’re a role player or into fashion souls this is awesome 😁 especially because not all builds have to be super optimized to be fun .
I spent some time looking at gauntlets that fit with Rellana's set myself, so just want to drop that the cuckoo knights gauntlets fit so well it looks like it is part of the set.
I like this but I've been struggling to work with it. Mobs I can get through just fine but I've been struggling horrendously with bosses against this. Sword & Sorcery builds are my favorite kind in this game and I wanted to take the opportunity provided by Shadow of the Erdtree to try something different but I haven't found one that suits me the way my pre-DLC build has.
You can use it in your offhand and have a Frozen Needle main hand to access powerstance of thrusting sword while still having a heavy attack (that also throws frozen needles). The spell cast then slot as your ash of war bind.
Yooo. This was my build after playing with the build from the guides in your dlc. The goal was to try parrying and I was able to beat Rellana with this very build.
Some say]id that impaling thrust would made a follow-up r2 slightly faster, I wonder it’ll still be the case in sorcery sword and make the r2 casting slightly faster.
It's honestly sad that they make weapons with such cool abilities like doing the job of 2 weapons and then they decide to make it's stats so bad that noone wants to use it
@@mitchellcarter2799 it needs to be usable in the first place if they want anyone to use it, otherwise it's just better to equip any good sword and get Carian Scepter in second hand
besises from the stats (72 Int and 58 Vigor) and some Talisman Changes (Magic Scorpion Charm, Dragon Crest Greatshield and Greatshield for sure, last is situational) I really like the build. Currently playing with Carian Sorery Sword. But will have to check how Guard Counter on PC works
I’ve been playing with this almost exact build and basically using great blade phalanx and trying to time impaling thrust to hit at the same time and it’s definitely effective for stance break….but it still feels like a worse version of having a claymore with the old glintblade phalanx with the follow up attack, cool build tho, fun to use, you can get creative, Rahdan was an absolute nightmare for this build but he is for about 95% of builds so 🤷🏻
