There’s no denying that Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree expansion is a tough experience. Even after finding all of the DLC’s many Scadutree Fragments to improve your damage and survivability, the bosses in this extra slice of FromSoftware’s popular game can still obliterate you within moments. As such, it’s always nice to find a build that lets you give these challenging foes a taste of their own medicine. That’s where the Lightning Perfumer build comes in.
The Lightning Perfumer build allows you to deal excellent damage by combining a variety of items, buffs, and a killer new Ash of War. It’s extremely effective, and we’ve got the lowdown on how to put it all together.
Note: This build was dramatically nerfed in patch 1.1.23 on July 4, 2024 but can still dish out some solid damage.
Stat distribution
The first thing to note about the Lightning Perfumer build is that in order to shine, it requires a specific stat distribution. We’d recommend being at least level 150 (though higher never hurts) and then applying your stats as listed below:
- VIG: 50
- DEX: 60
- FAI: 60
If you’re level 200 or above, you might consider raising your Dexterity or Faith even higher. Alternatively, consider increasing your Endurance or Mind with those additional points to round your character out a bit more for non-boss encounters.
Required items
You’ll need a variety of specific weapons, talismans, and items to make this build work. Some of these can be found in the base game, while others can be discovered only in DLC areas.
Read More: Zap Bosses Dead With This Shadow Of The Erdtree Perfume Bottle
Due to the synergy between each of these additions, you can’t get away with skipping any of them without drastically decreasing the effectiveness of the build.
Here’s everything you’ll need:
- Primary Weapon: Lightning Perfume Bottle +25
- Catalyst: Finger Seal +25
- Ash of War: Rolling Sparks
- Armor: Rakshasa Set
- Talisman: Perfumer’s Talisman
- Talisman: Lightning Scorpion Charm
- Talisman: Aged One’s Exultation
- Talisman: Shard of Alexander
- Incantation: Golden Vow
- Incantation: Howl of Sabriri
- Flask of Wondrous Physick Crystal Tear: Bloodsucking Cracked Tear
- Flask of Wondrous Physick Crystal Tear: Lightning-Shrouding Cracked Tear
Setup and execution
With everything acquired, make sure to level both the Lightning Perfume Bottle and Finger Seal to +25 back at Roundtable Hold. Check that you’ve applied Ash of War: Rolling Sparks to the Lightning Perfume Bottle.
Equip all of your items and both incantations, then change out your Flash of Wondrous Physick with the two specific Crystal Tears you’ll need. If you have a fairly low Mind stat (20 or less), you’ll likely require at least two Flasks of Cerulean Tears to heal your FP after buffing, so don’t forget to swap a couple of healing flasks for those if needed.
When you’re fully prepared, head to the fog gate of whichever boss you’re looking to tackle. Cast both incantations, drink your Flask of Wondrous Physick, then quickly heal up any necessary HP and FP.
Enter the fog gate and get on the boss as rapidly as you can (dodging any attacks that may come your way in the process). As soon as you’ve closed the gap on the boss, use your Rolling Sparks attack to deal heavy damage.
If you’ve followed the build guide perfectly, you should feel pretty confident against most of the DLC’s bosses, albeit not as over-confident as you might have felt before the nerfing patch. When you’re done with that, you’ll be able to carry this build into a NG+ cycle, too. Just remember to swap the Lightning Perfume Bottle for another Dexterity weapon when exploring, as this build probably won’t help you much during average enemy encounters.
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