Wow, making builds feels weird. How do you preface them? Last time I could just tout the fact that I'd made the first Dark Souls build on the site. This time... Well, this build is quite near to my heart for me. I've played 3 or 4 variations of it, and it was with one of these variations that I finished the game for the first time. As for the build itself, let's call it like it is. It's a ninja build. I like ninjas. You like ninjas. We all know that From loves the katana's glorious nippon steel. And if you don't like ninjas, perhaps after reading this build you will. And by perhaps, I mean if you don't there will be some avenging in your home.
The shadow of the East? Few know the name of the land he hails from, or how he learnt his unique fighting style. They say he came to Lordran looking for penance. He found none in Velka's Pardoner, but a different lord of sin. Gwyndolin, the Dark Sun, took him in, and granted him magical power. Now he earns his forgiveness by cutting down sinners. His sword is blue fury to them. One prays that they would never have to face it's unearthly glow.
Stats
Class: Wanderer
SL: 125
Vitality: 50
Attunement: 12
Endurance: 30
Strength: 14
Dexterity: 40
Resistance (why does this exist): 12
Intelligence: 11
Faith: 39
Wanderer is actually not the most efficient class for this build. The bandit class would get us these stats for three less levels, but Wanderer fits the baclstory, and its starting stats better reflect the build's gameplay in the early game. Now, Vitality being pumped to 50 may seem strange for a ninja build, and it is, but this build really benefits from the extra survivability it offers. We put one point in Attunement to get us an extra spell slot, and we put Endurance at 30 to give us more swings with our Iaito. Strength is 14, allowing us to wield our Iaito in one hand. We want Faith quite high for extra Magic Adjust.
There are some options here when it comes to stat placement. If you feel the amount of Vitality is unnecessary, you can take some points out of it and put them in Faith for extra damage when we buff our Iaito, or Endurance for more Stamina. Strength can also be reduced to 11, as you'll probably be two-handing your Iaito a lot of the time anyway, so you can just give up holding it in one hand altogether if you wish.
Equipment
Right Hand: Iaito +15, Dark Silver Tracer +5
Left Hand: Darkmoon Talisman, Parrying Dagger
Rings: Dark Wood Grain Ring, Wolf Ring
Armour: Shadow Set
For my primary weapon, I wanted to use a katana of some sort. There are four to choose from in Dark Souls 1, the Uchigatana, the Iaito, the Washing Pole and the Chaos Blade. I didn't take the Chaos Blade because I don't like the health reduction and I also don't like carrying a lot of humanity on me, as often I slip up and lose it. The other three katanas are very similar and it really doesn't matter which one you take. I've listed the Iaito because I used it in the most recent playthrough of this build, but feel free to swap around. I'd be interested to know about any major differences you uncover.
The Dark Silver Tracer and the Parrying Dagger are a bit of a combo set I like to bring out sometimes if I'm facing a particularly slow, heavily armoured enemy to get some backstabs and parries. In those cases, I'll often take the Hornet Ring instead of the Wolf Ring, but I know its possible to ring swap during a parry and have the best of both worlds.
The Darkmoon Talisman is a symbol of our place in the Darkmoons and is simply the best Talisman for this build.
Obviously no ninja build is complete without the flipping goodness of the DWGR, and the Wolf Ring lends us a bit of poise in poiseless armour.
The Shadow Set is an extremely lightweight set befitting the agile nature of this build, and of course is important for the ninja look we are trying to complete.
Miracles
This build revolves around one miracle in particular, the Darkmoon Blade buff. What is there to say about this fantastic spell? It provides your weapon the damage and look befitting a blue warrior of Gwyndolin. That should always be attuned, but we actually have the Attunement to take two spells, and the second is really up to you. If you think you can hit with some kind of ranged miracle like a Lightning Spear or Emit Force, that's your call. Wrath of Gods is also a strong contender, but even so, I tended to go for Great Magic Barrier as it's highly useful against other buffers or spellcasters.
Gameplay
This build is very nimble, as the name suggests. With a fair amount of Stamina and extremely light clothing, we can dodge often, and that's exactly what I'd recommend. Despite our Vitality, I find enemy attacks tend to be pretty hard hitting, and if the Wolf Ring isn't enough to prevent a stun lock, woe is you.
The Iaito has a pretty quick swing, so often with just a single dodge to draw out an enemy attack, you can get in a hit, or even several if they don't have the poise to take it. This is very easy against enemies with slow swings, such as bosses. When we swing, we do a lot of damage too. A fully leveled Darkmoon Blade on a fully upgraded Iaito is a pretty terrifying thing to behold.
Roleplay
- Always invade with your Blue Eye. Cracked Red Eyes are out of the question.
- While the people you invade are merciless sinners, you must not sink to their level. A bow at the beginning and end of a duel is the only way you should conduct yourself. If the enemy lets you buff your Iaito, allow them the same opportunity.
- Do not kill Gwyn. You have done terrible things, horrors that can only be forgiven after an eternity of servitude. Killing Gwyn ends that eternity.
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy the build. Don't forget what I said at the beginning. If you don't like this build, I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you. Let me know if there's anything you feel I left out!
Wow, making builds feels weird. How do you preface them? Last time I could just tout the fact that I'd made the first Dark Souls build on the site. This time... Well, this build is quite near to my heart for me. I've played 3 or 4 variations of it, and it was with one of these variations that I finished the game for the first time. As for the build itself, let's call it like it is. It's a ninja build. I like ninjas. You like ninjas. We all know that From loves the katana's glorious nippon steel. And if you don't like ninjas, perhaps after reading this build you will. And by perhaps, I mean if you don't there will be some avenging in your home.
The shadow of the East? Few know the name of the land he hails from, or how he learnt his unique fighting style. They say he came to Lordran looking for penance. He found none in Velka's Pardoner, but a different lord of sin. Gwyndolin, the Dark Sun, took him in, and granted him magical power. Now he earns his forgiveness by cutting down sinners. His sword is blue fury to them. One prays that they would never have to face it's unearthly glow.
Stats
Class: Wanderer
SL: 125
Vitality: 50
Attunement: 12
Endurance: 30
Strength: 14
Dexterity: 40
Resistance (why does this exist): 12
Intelligence: 11
Faith: 39
Wanderer is actually not the most efficient class for this build. The bandit class would get us these stats for three less levels, but Wanderer fits the baclstory, and its starting stats better reflect the build's gameplay in the early game. Now, Vitality being pumped to 50 may seem strange for a ninja build, and it is, but this build really benefits from the extra survivability it offers. We put one point in Attunement to get us an extra spell slot, and we put Endurance at 30 to give us more swings with our Iaito. Strength is 14, allowing us to wield our Iaito in one hand. We want Faith quite high for extra Magic Adjust.
There are some options here when it comes to stat placement. If you feel the amount of Vitality is unnecessary, you can take some points out of it and put them in Faith for extra damage when we buff our Iaito, or Endurance for more Stamina. Strength can also be reduced to 11, as you'll probably be two-handing your Iaito a lot of the time anyway, so you can just give up holding it in one hand altogether if you wish.
Equipment
Right Hand: Iaito +15, Dark Silver Tracer +5
Left Hand: Darkmoon Talisman, Parrying Dagger
Rings: Dark Wood Grain Ring, Wolf Ring
Armour: Shadow Set
For my primary weapon, I wanted to use a katana of some sort. There are four to choose from in Dark Souls 1, the Uchigatana, the Iaito, the Washing Pole and the Chaos Blade. I didn't take the Chaos Blade because I don't like the health reduction and I also don't like carrying a lot of humanity on me, as often I slip up and lose it. The other three katanas are very similar and it really doesn't matter which one you take. I've listed the Iaito because I used it in the most recent playthrough of this build, but feel free to swap around. I'd be interested to know about any major differences you uncover.
The Dark Silver Tracer and the Parrying Dagger are a bit of a combo set I like to bring out sometimes if I'm facing a particularly slow, heavily armoured enemy to get some backstabs and parries. In those cases, I'll often take the Hornet Ring instead of the Wolf Ring, but I know its possible to ring swap during a parry and have the best of both worlds.
The Darkmoon Talisman is a symbol of our place in the Darkmoons and is simply the best Talisman for this build.
Obviously no ninja build is complete without the flipping goodness of the DWGR, and the Wolf Ring lends us a bit of poise in poiseless armour.
The Shadow Set is an extremely lightweight set befitting the agile nature of this build, and of course is important for the ninja look we are trying to complete.
Miracles
This build revolves around one miracle in particular, the Darkmoon Blade buff. What is there to say about this fantastic spell? It provides your weapon the damage and look befitting a blue warrior of Gwyndolin. That should always be attuned, but we actually have the Attunement to take two spells, and the second is really up to you. If you think you can hit with some kind of ranged miracle like a Lightning Spear or Emit Force, that's your call. Wrath of Gods is also a strong contender, but even so, I tended to go for Great Magic Barrier as it's highly useful against other buffers or spellcasters.
Gameplay
This build is very nimble, as the name suggests. With a fair amount of Stamina and extremely light clothing, we can dodge often, and that's exactly what I'd recommend. Despite our Vitality, I find enemy attacks tend to be pretty hard hitting, and if the Wolf Ring isn't enough to prevent a stun lock, woe is you.
The Iaito has a pretty quick swing, so often with just a single dodge to draw out an enemy attack, you can get in a hit, or even several if they don't have the poise to take it. This is very easy against enemies with slow swings, such as bosses. When we swing, we do a lot of damage too. A fully leveled Darkmoon Blade on a fully upgraded Iaito is a pretty terrifying thing to behold.
Roleplay
- Always invade with your Blue Eye. Cracked Red Eyes are out of the question.
- While the people you invade are merciless sinners, you must not sink to their level. A bow at the beginning and end of a duel is the only way you should conduct yourself. If the enemy lets you buff your Iaito, allow them the same opportunity.
- Do not kill Gwyn. You have done terrible things, horrors that can only be forgiven after an eternity of servitude. Killing Gwyn ends that eternity.
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoy the build. Don't forget what I said at the beginning. If you don't like this build, I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you. Let me know if there's anything you feel I left out!
