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Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC has introduced a plethora of ridiculously powerful and cool new builds to play around with. Today, I'll take you through five of my favorite creations from Shadow of the Erdtree and all of the new toys it's given us to tinker and construct into perfect boss-killing masterpieces. These builds are not only immensely powerful but also extremely entertaining to pilot. Let's dive right in!

1. The Poison Flower Blooms Twice

The Poison Flower Blooms Twice is one of the best new Ashes of War, at least thematically, and is definitely in the running for my favorite one. It's incredibly satisfying to leap into the air, gain loads of hyper armor, grow a little rot needle from your foot, and then slam down on the enemy, injecting them with it. This build allows you to apply Scarlet Rot to any Elden Ring Items weapon without actually needing the status on it, which is incredibly freeing creatively.

The bonus is that if the enemy is already poisoned or rotted, it will do huge amounts of bonus damage. You can hit up to 10,000 damage with a single slam. The natural combination then is a way to apply poison very fast, detonate it, and repeat. I couldn't resist mixing in just a bit of bleed for those extra pops and the extra Attack Rating (AR) building from all your bleed synergy, like Bloodlord's Exultation.

I chose the Venomous Fang because it's shaped like a snake, and its fast moveset lets you apply deadly poison much quicker than other methods, which also goes for the bleed we have mixed in. With the usual trappings and buffs, plus a little bonus poison hand for an extra boost, this setup is one I cannot recommend enough.

2. The Backhand Blades

The Backhand Blades are strong, and everyone knows it by now. With sweet S-scaling with Dexterity, a weapon buff on them, and the joy of Blind Spot, you can ruin bosses with minimal hits. Blind Spot by itself lets you dance around anything and kill it with ease. This build focuses on heavy dash attacks. The heavy dash attack of the backhand blades is a four-hit combo, making it incredibly good for applying blood flame.

Using the new dash attack power boost from the new Talisman and Lea's armor, which both boost running attacks, this build synergizes wonderfully. The multi-hit boost from Rotten Wing allows ultra-powerful heavy running attacks, stacking up blood flame and doing monstrous amounts of damage. Powered by Blind Spot, you can easily execute running heavy attacks from behind the boss, creating a deadly synergy that I adore.

3. The Dance of Rana

Rana's dancing blades are secretly really powerful. Though they lack Poise while performing, you don't need it if you combine it with Iron Jar Aromatic. With this combination, you can ignore the boss's attacks while dancing, thanks to the massive forward momentum of the dance which negates the slow walking nature of Iron Jar. You can outdamage the boss and kill it before you die because you take barely any damage due to Iron Jar.

This build provides a lot of damage from just the first few hits of the dance. Combining multi-hit damage boosters like Rotten Wing and Millicent's Prosthesis, you can enjoy openings of elegance and death. With great scaling, solid AR, and the ability to boost further with armor, this setup turns out incredibly well.

4. The Crucible Wings

Using the Aspect of the Crucible Wings with a twinblade is a fantastic build. The twinblade's many hits quickly stack up damage and status effects like blood flame and bleeding. The new Black Steel Twinblade, which has holy damage, adds another layer of destruction. This weapon's solid moveset and raw damage output are through the roof.

The Crucible Wings provide an extra burst tool or repositioning SL evasion tool that still deals damage on the way past. This build also utilizes backup incantations and buffs to create a very complete build. Wearing the Crucible Armor to boost the Ash of War itself makes you incredibly tanky, enhancing the overall synergy of this setup.

5. The Frosty Savage Lion's Claw

My favorite build in Shadow of the Erdtree is the Frosty Savage Lion's Claw. Wielding two big beefy weapons and using the new Savage Lion's Claw Ash of War, this build delivers monstrous damage. The triple-hit Lion's Claw tracks perfectly and has essentially infinite hyper armor, allowing you to trade hits with bosses effectively.

With high strength scaling and frostbite infliction, you can deliver massive damage even while trading hits. Overloading yourself for extra damage reduction and using Freya's Curved Greatsword to add 10% damage to Redmane skills, you become an unstoppable force. This build allows for room to learn boss movesets and choose the best ways to Lions Claw through their attacks, making it an absolute blast to play.

These five builds are among the most powerful and entertaining setups you can create in Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. Each build offers a unique playstyle and synergy, allowing you to experience the game in new and exciting ways. Don't forget to like, subscribe to P2Pah, and for more updates and guides or buy Elden Ring Runes.