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Fans ofElden Ring’s Dragon Communion are in for a treat with the new items and incantations available in theShadow of the ErdtreeDLC. Not only does the Land of Shadow have an entire region dedicated to dragons capped with an epic boss battle, but players can nowbecome a dragon themselves. Here are a few ways to use both new and old items to maximize your damage output for your Dragon Communion build.
Elden Ring’s base game provides the main key to this build, theDragon Communion Seal, which can be found in theFringefolk Hero’s Grave. While this seal scales from both Faith and Arcane, upgrading it to +10 with Somber Smithing Stones increases itsArcane scaling to S Tier, which is the highest possible scaling. The additional 15% bonus to Dragon Communion incantations as well makes this an easy choice. verify to pick this seal up to get started on your build.
Elden Ring Dragon Forms: Priestess Heart Vs. Rock Heart
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree introduced two new tools that allow players to turn into a dragon, each with a different unique advantage.
The Best Stats For A Dragon Communion Build
Faith & Arcane Make A Deadly Combination
Stats are always importantin yourElden Ringbuilds. Your primary stat for this build will beArcane, an ability that affects both luck and status buildup. While the boost to luck is a welcome addition, we primarily want to push Arcane for the purpose of status buildup and outright damage from your Dragon Communion Seal. Status buildup increases the rate at which statuses,such as Frostbite, Bleed, or Scarlet Rot, are inflicted upon your enemies. The higher the Arcane stat, themore quickly these statuses pop, allowing you to quickly apply multiple status effects to enemies.
Your next damage stat will beFaith, which affects the scaling of your Seal (though a smaller amount), and also allows you to use more incantations. While it is less important for the Dragon Communion incantations, it can be very useful to level Faithin order to use other incantations, such asGolden VoworFlame, Grant me Strength, to further increase your damage output and mitigation.
For stats, it is important to considersoft capswhile leveling. The first soft caps for bothFaith(incantations) andArcane(Status Effect Buildup) arelevel 60. While the Dragon Communion Seal only requires 10 Faith and 10 Arcane, many of your heavy-hitting spells will need quite a few more levels, and these soft caps get the most bang for your buck.
An unexpected stat to keep in mind for this build isDexterity, though that may seem surprising at first. While Dexterity is primarily used by players looking to use weapon-based builds, it is also important for casting builds because itaffects the casting speed of sorceries and incantations. Putting points into Dexterity will help your Dragon Communion incantations cast faster, which is very important due to the long windup animations of most of these incantations. The benefits cap at Dexterity level 70, so you do not need to add additional points after this.
The last two stats to level areEndurance and Mind, which affect your total amount of Stamina and FP, respectively. Not only do Dragon Communion incantations require a lot of FP to cast, but they also use up more Stamina than most other spells. Ensuring you have plenty to spare is very important, or else your breath attacks will end early. Try to haveat least50 Mind and 30 Enduranceas soon as possible.
Debuff
Greyoll’s Roar
There are manyDragon Communion incantationsto choose from, and your final choices are up to your preferences. However, there are a few rough guidelines that can help make your build more efficient. Dragonmaw and Dragonclaw may seem basic, as theyonly deal physical damage, but it’s not a bad idea to keep one or the other available. In addition to physical damage, both have fairlydecent poise damage, which can help keep smaller foes in check.
Incantations that do elemental damage can be excellent for situations whereenemies or bosses have a weakness to that type. For example, Fingercreepers and Erdtree Avatars are weak to Fire Damage, and Hoarah Loux is weak to Magic Damage. It is recommended to haveat least one elemental damage incantationchosen at any time and swap them out as needed to face certain challenges. you’re able to also further boost this damage usingTalismans or your Wonderous Physickfor your chosen damage type.
If you are using named incantations such as Smarag’s Glinstone Breath and find yourselfrunning out of FB and Stamina too often, don’t be afraid to downgrade to the generic versions of breath attacks, such asGlintstone Breath. While these attacks do a bit less damage, they are still a viable option. Prolonged attacks are better than ones cut short due to running out of resources.
Where this build really shines, though, is with thestatus damage incantations. By focusing on Arcane, players canincrease the rate at which they apply statuses, such as Scarlet Rot and Frostbite, which create damage over time effects and increase damage taken by enemies. Dragonice and Borealis’s Mist are both fantastic openers for any boss fight, as applying the Frostbite conditionincreases their damage taken by 20%. Following up with Rotten Breath or Ekzyke’s Decay to apply Scarlet Rot, which willdeal significant damage over time. Talismans and armor can also be used to increase damage based on these statuses.
Lastly,Greyoll’s Roaris a fantastic, all-around opener for just about any boss battle. While it deals standard physical damage, the roar applies a significant debuff to enemies,decreasing their attack by 15% and defense by 10%for 60 seconds. you may use it at the start of a difficult fight, even before using a Frostbite attack, to further increase damage received from all follow-up attacks. As an additional bonus, this incantation alsodeals a small amount of poise damagewhich can help stagger large groups of smaller enemies, and also deals a hard knockback if their stance is broken.
Did you know that Dragon Communion breath incantationscan be cast midair? Not only can you cast them after jumping, but you’re able to also cast them while dropping off of higher ledges. For some bosses, it’s a good idea to jump before casting breath attacks, as this can help you avoid some hitboxes, especially from stomp and ground AOE attacks. Greyoll’s Roar is the only one that does not work midair.
Elemental Damage
Fire Scorpion CharmMagic Scorpion CharmTalisman of the Dread
The next thing to consider is talismans, such as the Faithful’s Canvas Talisman orFlock’s Canvas Talisman, whichincrease all incantation damage by 4% and 8%, respectively. The Roar Medallionincreases roar and breath attacksby an additional 10% damage, including the Dragon Communion breath incantations.
For an additional boost, theRadagon Iconwill allow you tocast spells even quicker, which can be useful due to the long windup of most Dragon Communion incantations. This works by applying virtual Dexterity, which decreases casting time. However, you can consider upgrading the Radagon Icon to the Beloved Stardust talisman, whichgreatly increases casting speed at the cost of -30% damage absorption. If you plan on slinging spells from afar, this might be a safe choice for you.
Remember that casting speed isonly affected by Dexterity up to level 70. Radagon’s Icon adds +30 Virtual Dexterity, meaning your Dexterity only needs to be level 40 to get maximum benefits. Beloved Stardust grants +99 Virtual Dexterity, so technically no additional levels are needed. Virtual Dexterity only affects casting speed,not level requirements for weapons.
If status afflictions are your style, don’t forget tograb the Kindred of Rot’s Exultationwhich grants you a20% boost to attack power for 20 seconds when in the vicinity of Poisoning or Rot. Additionally, if you are using a bleed weapon or swapping in a few blood spells, such asSwarm of Flies, the Lord of Blood’s Exultation accomplishesthe same boost, but for Blood Loss.
If you want to push your damage to the max, there are a few more ways to increase elemental damage. Thefire,magic, andlightningscorpion charms eachincrease their respective elemental damage by 12%, respectively, though theyincrease physical damage taken by 10%. You should only choose one of these at a time. Ideally, you will only have one incantation slotted for damage, such asAgheel’s Flamefor fire orSmarag’s Glintstone Breathfor magic. In a similar vein, Talisman of the Dreadincreases magma ability damage by 14%, which includes both magma breath attacks and the new incantation,Bayle’s Tyranny.
Status Effect
Mushroom Crown
The best armor for a Dragon Communion build isThiollier’s Set,a new armor setfrom theShadow of the ErdtreeDLC. Both the Mask and the Garb increase Arcane, by +3 and +2 respectively, with no penalties. Besides this set, the Silver Tear Mask grants the highest Arcane boost with a +8, butcomes with a penalty to physical attack powerat -5%. Likewise, the Albinauric Mask increases Arcane +4 whilereducing the recovery effects of your Flask of Crimson Tears.
The Faith armor options come with no penalties, so feel free to use them as you wish. The Circlet of Light, obtained in the DLC,boosts Intelligence, Faith, and Arcane by +1while also increasing the power of Miquella’s incantations. If you opted to haveadditional incantationsslotted that fit this criteria, this may not be a bad option for you. Lastly, the Mushroom Crownraises attack power by 10%when Poison or Scarlet Rot occurs in the area. If you regularly use Rotten Breath or Ekzyke’s Decay, this may be a good option for increasing damage output.
However, you may want to forego armor entirely forShadow of the Erdtree’s newest treat: the reusable item,the Rock Heart. Like thePriestess Heart, this itemrequires the player to remove all equipmentbefore activating. When used, the player istransformed into an ancient dragon warrioruntil their next death. Passively, this item gives a +50 boost to all status resistances and 10% increase in all damage negation. When activated again once in dragon form, it provides a20% damage increase to Dragon Communion incantationsfor 60 seconds.
Overall, Dragon Communion builds are one of the most powerful casting builds inElden Ring, though with the detriment of longer casting times and resource cost. The incantation variety allows players to tailor their build to fit their needs, particularly when it comes to enemy and boss weaknesses. It alsosynergizes well with other successful Arcane and Faith weapons, allowing a sort of hybrid build that has access to buff incantations and strong weapons. Overall, it is a fun, flavorful build that packs a punch.
