With its rapid attacks and lethal hemorrhaging potential, the dagger has long been a favorite among assassins and opportunistic fighters in the Lands Between. But never before has it been as utterly devastating as with this bleeding-edge build I’m going to walk you through today.
Utilizing the latest patches and most sinister tricks, you’ll be slicing bosses down to size with unparalleled speed and ruthless efficiency. So limber up those fingers and prepare for some extremely bloody knife work. Things are about to get nasty…
Initial Equipment: Start Sinister With The Bloodstain Dagger
When you first spawn in the Lands Between, you’ll want to start racking up bleed as soon as possible. To do so, immediately make your way over to Stormhill Shack to pick up the Bloodstain Dagger.
With an impressive 110 critical rate, innate bleed buildup of 45, and S scaling in Arcane when fully upgraded to +25, this weapon hits brutally hard out the gate. And as an added bonus, it only requires 12 strength and 9 dexterity to wield effectively, making it extremely accessible early on.
At +25, it has a blood loss buildup of 45, which combos with its 110 critical to dish out some serious damage. And with an attack power of 169 and solid physical damage splits, it brings the pain even outside of bleed procs.
Once you defeat the Godskin Noble boss in Volcano Manor, you can return to the Roundtable Hold and purchase the Miséricorde, an even deadlier bleed-focused dagger.
Boasting an astonishing 140 critical and 0.9 attack speed compared to the Bloodstain Dagger‘s 1.0, the Miséricorde narrowly outpaces its early-game counterpart. And you can further fuel its lethal edge with ashes of war, my personal favorite being Assassin’s Gambit for sheer stealth assault effectiveness.
Equip a shield like the Brass Shield in your offhand to help guard yourself and deflect attacks for counter windows. You won’t be able to attack effectively while holding a shield up, so simply block then quickly strike back when you see an opening.
And have a spare Miséricorde with the Assassin‘s Gambit ash ready once you unlock more armaments. This powerful skill turns you practically invisible, silencing your footsteps and allowing you to easily maneuver behind enemies.
With Assassin‘s Gambit equipped on your offhand Miséricorde, open your attack by activating it when engaging enemies to obscure your presence. This allows you to stealthily circle into their blind spot before unleashing a devastating ambush.
Armor Yourself In Blood
What good is a deadly bleed build without some stylish sinister drip to match? My personal favorite armor combination for peerless assassins is the Bloodhound Knight chest and limbs along with the White Mask and Nox Greaves.
The iconic White Mask from Castle Sol is crucial, as it boosts attack power by 10% for a full 20 seconds after triggering hemorrhage on an enemy. So with nearly every dagger strike you‘ll bask in a continuous damage amp buff.
At 53 pounds, it is heavier than I‘d like, but provides 68 robustness and greatly enhances your lethality. And swapping the Bloodhound Knight leggings out for the sleek Nox Greaves both keeps the aesthetic consistently dark while providing better poise at a lighter 42 pound weight.
The Exile Gauntlets offer the highest resistance to physical damage among lightweight gloves. And finally the Bloodhound Knight Armor provides solid physical negation across the board at 48 pounds, while exuding lethal grace.
Experiment between lighter and heavier armors pieces to find your perfect balance of damage mitigation, poise, and equip load based on your endurance level and preference. But I personally love the style and reliability of this dark assassin garb.
Critical Talismans For Slaughtering Foes
This bleed build banks on landing devastating critical strikes, so let‘s further juice this brutal damage with the right talismans.
First is the Claw Talisman, which increases attack power of critical hits by a whopping 17%. This applies to both ripostes and backstabs. At +10, it boosts visceral attacks up massively.
Pair this with the Dagger Talisman for another 15% critical damage bonus on top. This does not stack multiplicatively, but still amplifies your already obscene assassination harming considerably.
Next up is the Green Turtle Talisman for superior Stamina recovery. Being able to attack relentlessly is paramount, so this accessory keeps your pressure tight with over 20% greater endurance regeneration speed once fully upgraded.
Lastly, I highly recommend the Radagon Icon talisman. While bleed status itself doesn‘t scale off of Arcane, blood loss build up does. So juicing your Arcane here makes your weapons apply lethal hemorrhaging much faster for quicker procs.
And the Radagon Icon decreases skill activation time, meaning you can use Miséricorde’s Assassin Gambit more frequently for easier backstabs. Enhancing skill velocity by over 30% at +9 is massive for this build.
If you still find yourself a bit squishy, the Crimson Seed Talisman can be great for restoring lost HP after taking damage. But I prefer to reinforce offense over defense with this hyper aggressive playstyle.
Gauze-Kin‘s Swaddling Cloth For Sustained Savagery
Newly introduced in the 1.09 patch, the Gauze-Kin‘s Swaddling Cloth talisman provides successive attacks restore HP. And when you‘re constantly raining down dagger slashes at an insanely rapid clip, this wrist accessory heals for considerable chunks.
So at +10, you get rewarded with vampiric regeneration of almost 2% HP restored per landed weapon strike. That may not seem massive, but it adds up quick across your surgical flurry of attacks.
This keeps you energized and enduring far longer than relying on flasks alone when engaging mobs or elite enemies. It helps you explore longer and press the onslaught even harder.
And speaking of accessories that reward aggressiveness, the Kindred of Rot‘s Exultation is fantastic for cooperative play. If you or summoned cooperators trigger bleed nearby, this talisman explodes to heal and buff nearby allies. So it creates a brutal snowball effect where the more bleed everyone spreads, the harder everyone hits.
Cracked Flasks for Boosting Blades
When it comes to cracked crystal flasks, I suggest the Thorny Cracked Tear to boost your successive attack damage by another tick. Simply relentless pummeling is your prime directive, and this auxiliary amplifies said savagery.
The effect enhances attack power by 6% initially then increases dramatically to 13% during sustained aggression. Paired with the Clinging Bone shard to extend its duration and this is incredibly effective for fueling your endless eradication.
Combine this with Spiked Cracked Tear for an initial burst of mighty 20% damage then smaller upkeeps after that. Having both these cracked flask boosts active simultaneously results in some downright disrespectful decimation.
Pair that with your standard Crimsonwhorl Flasks for healing, alongside the Greenburst Crystal Flask to keep stamina topped off. Then you have the complete trifecta for ravenous assault capabilities: punishment for damage, regeneration for survival, and vigor for continual pouncing.
I also like to keep a spare Crimson Crystal Tear ready in my physick cocktail to refill all my flasks when needed in longer fights. Having this available 1-2 times per dungeon run saves many trips back to sites of grace.
How To Play This Sadistic Setup
Now with all the right blades and baubles equipped properly, here‘s some tips for truly mastering this relentless dagger build:
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This playstyle rewards aggression, so always be striking when opportunities arise. With the right flasks and Physick, you‘ll heal back most trade damage anyways.
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Manage your stamina carefully between combos. Over-attacking will leave you stranded without evasion capabilities. Strike 2-3 times maximum then evade.
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Favor getting behind opponents for critical damage whenever possible. Use terrain and crouching to obscure yourself and maneuver into position.
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When engaging groups, eliminate weaker enemies first then isolate and shank durable foes. Divide and conquer to control the chaos.
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For shielded enemies, kick then riposte when they posture break. This removes their guard and opens them for massive damage.
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Against stronger single targets, rely more on hit and run tactics. Bait attacks then counterstrike when they‘re recovering. Chip away at openings.
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Jump attacks help close distances rapidly and are still effective at inflicting blood loss. Just be wary of overextending offensively.
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For opponents attempting to create space from you, fling Kukri to halt their movement and force them to block so you can re-engage quickly.
While devastating against common enemies, heavily armored foes can still pose a challenge with this setup due to lower raw physical damage and lack of hyper armor abilities. But a few adjustments can help counter these titans.
Occasionally swap your weapons’ affinity from Blood to Cold Iron. While this lowers base attack power slightly, it reduces enemy damage negation substantially to land much more impactful blows against thicker hides.
Alternatively, adding bloodflame blade or seppuku ashes of war to your offhand Miséricorde enhances base damage alongside scarlet rot procs. However these remove invisibility from Assassin‘s Gambit when active.
And don’t hesitate to exploit spirit summons to draw aggro, inject status effects safely from range, or chip away at larger targets. Let the spirits soak damage and create opportunities while you surgically seek vitals.
Cooperators work fantastically as well by applying even more bleed stacks through distraction and surrounded attacks. Melee builds with frost enhancements work great. And casters provide excellent ranged disruption, healing, and guard counter offense.
Don’t be afraid to use throwables like fan daggers, kukris, andcraftable pots from distance either when outsized or overmatched. Poison and fire boluses both whittle down from safety while barely depleting resources.
Level This Sadism Up Right
Lastly, it‘s important to pump the right attributes to truly elevate this build to its pinnacle of pain delivery. Here‘s what I recommend prioritizing as you accrue precious runes:
Vigor: This governs your health pool and equip load, which are extra vital for surviving trades against beefier enemies. Get it to 25 early, eventually over 50+ in end game. Don’t neglect this!
Endurance: You need ample 120+ stamina to keep your slicing storm sustained. 25 early on is a must, with 40-50 being ideal for relentless combinations depending on armor weight preferences.
Arcane: This accelerates your bleed build up exponentially, causing faster hemorrhaging. Take it over 50+ for merciless application and lethal procs. The arcane soft cap starts seeing diminished returns around 55+.
Dexterity: Scales your critical damage, attack speed, and skill activation pace. 30-50 is fantastic here. I prefer meeting minimum weapon wield requirements first though before pumping dexterity.
Strength: Similar to dexterity, take this to your weapon’s bare wield requirements early on first. 12 for the Bloodstain Dagger is plenty to start. Around 25 later for flexibility is nice. No need to go crazy stacking strength.
Mind: Boosts your FP gradually to utilize more weapon skill moves. But I don‘t find this mandatory to maximize early since you really want stamina first as the crux. Get this to 20-25 eventually.
Starting as a Samurai provides an excellent foundation with Arcane, Dexterity and Endurance to then build upon. Bandit also works great as another offensive finesse option worth considering.
Here’s a solid breakdown of how I prefer evolving this build’s attributes at various gameplay milestones:
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Level 30 Build
- Vigor: 20
- Mind: 10
- Endurance: 16
- Strength: 12
- Dexterity: 18
- Arcane: 23
- Primary Weapons: Bloodstain Dagger +4 / Miséricorde +3
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Level 60 Build
- Vigor: 30
- Mind: 15
- Endurance: 26
- Strength: 14
- Dexterity: 26
- Arcane: 40
- Primary Weapons: Bloodstain Dagger +12 / Miséricorde +11
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Level 90 Build
- Vigor: 40
- Mind: 18
- Endurance: 32
- Strength: 16
- Dexterity: 38
- Arcane: 50
- Primary Weapons: Bloodstain Dagger +17 / Miséricorde +16
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Level 125+ End Game Build
- Vigor: 50
- Mind: 25
- Endurance: 50
- Strength: 25
- Dexterity: 55
- Arcane: 80
- Primary Weapons: Bloodstain Dagger +25 / Miséricorde +25
As you can see, Vigor, Endurance, Arcane, and Dexterity take priority early. While strength and mind lag behind until your offense and survivability are rock solid. This allows you to start doling out devastating bleed with relentless combos immediately!
Conclusion
And with that detailed dossier, you now have all the knowledge necessary to assemble an utter onslaught of a bleed-centric dagger build. This assassination style rewards cunning, positioning, and seizing windows of attack amidst the frantic fracas.
The play is risky but oh so very rewarding once you stick in a well-placed special attack for visceral critical slaughter. Few feelings compare with landing the perfect ambush to utterly melt a towering boss‘s health bar in mere seconds!
I hope all this info helps in your journey to become the absolute terror of boss arenas, invasions and dungeon runs alike! Start with your Bloodstain Dagger kickstarter kit before upgrading to even deadlier bleed-infused Miséricordes down the road.
Then augment them with all the right supporting incantations, talismans and cracked flasks outlined here for pure face-melting pwnage. Feel free to experiment between lighter and heavier armors too in order to achieve your ultimate balance of balance lethality and toughness befitting a master assassin.
Trust me, this dexterous dagger build provides some of the most outright disrespectful damage potential in all of Elden Ring once elevated to its full glory. Enemies will shudder at the mere sound of your rapid weapon skill activation.
Now get out there, my lethal-lunged friends, and start drenching those Lands Between crimson red! There are plenty of worthy marks awaiting our special visit…