Quick Links

Poison in Elden Ring is often considered Scarlet Rot - Lite, and this is a description that is not entirely accurate. Yes, Poison is not as potent as Scarlet Rot, but there are far more toys to mess around with when running Poison, and you can focus on stats other than Arcane for massive benefits.

Related: Elden Ring Build Guide: Scarlet Rot

Poison is a slow-burning damage over time that, when combined with the devastating power of Elden Ring’s katanas, becomes surprisingly powerful. Fast, powerful swings, devastating weapon arts, and multiple ways to deal with large groups lead to a build that is singularly focused, yet still capable of dealing with a wide range of threats.

What Is A Poison Build

What differentiates a Poison build from a Scarlet Rot build, is the sheer number of weapons at your disposal. Not only do you have every Poison-based weapon (and shield…) at your disposal, but nearly every weapon can be infused to be a Poison weapon by going to the blacksmith.

Where Scarlet Rot relies on the overwhelming power of, well, Scarlet Rot, Poison builds upon the best weapons in the game to make something new.

Stats To Aim For

Stats Value
Vigor 60
Mind 20
Endurance 30
Strength 12
Dexterity 80
Intelligence 9
Faith 10
Arcane 8

One thing to note here is that Poison does scale with Arcane - however, we are not going to worry about that with this build. Instead, we are focusing all of our efforts on Dexterity so we can deal tremendous amounts of raw damage, whilst chipping enemies away with damage over time. This means we are packing 80 points into Dexterity and reaching the hard cap.

For our other stats, we are pumping 10 points in Faith to give us access to certain key Incantations whilst keeping our Arcane at 8.

Vigor will be taken all the way to 60 so we have plenty of health to play around with, keeping us alive during harder encounters. Endurance and Mind are as high as we can take them so we have as many resources at our disposal as possible. Endurance also increases our Equip Load, which allows us to use heavier armor.

Poison Samurai - Poison Build

Overview

This build utilizes the immense power of the Uchigatana and the unique traits of the Serpentbone Blade to rapidly build Poison whilst using the incredible moveset of the katana. Dual-wielding katanas open up an entirely new, equally fantastic moveset that can tackle just about any threat. Poison is just the icing on the cake.

Weapons

  • Serpentbone Blade
  • Uchigatana

In our main hand, we will be using a Poison Uchigatana. The Uchigatana is one of the best katanas in the game. It has great scalings, low stat requirements, and a fantastic moveset. This is the core of our build. You can optionally run two Poison Uchigatana if you prefer. This will open up a few Bleed synergies if that’s what you are looking for.

We will be applying the Poison Moth Flight as our Ash Of War, as this not only deals decent damage but rapidly builds Poison. What makes this Ash tick, however, is the bonus damage it deals if the enemy is already Poisoned.

For the off-hand, the Serpentbone Blade is a great choice. It has great scalings, its Poison build-up is high, and it comes with the standard katana moveset. It also looks really cool.

Related: Elden Ring Build Guide: Bleed

Incantations

  • Poison Mist
  • Rotten Breath

This build is not focused on casting, but that doesn’t mean it can’t bring a few tricks to round out the package. For this, Rotten Breath and Poison Mist will be our go-to spells.

Rotten Breath will apply Scarlet Rot in a wide area, giving the build an extra source of damage over time, as well as providing a way to crowd control. Poison Mist on the other hand can quickly build poison on a group of enemies, which can help the build trigger our buffs.

Talismans

  • Kindred Of Rot’s Exultation
  • Lord Of Blood’s Exultation
  • Marika’s Soreseal
  • Erdtree’s Favour
  • Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman
  • Pearldrake Talisman
  • Green Turtle

The big winner here is the Kindred Of Rot’s Exultation. This Talisman will increase your attack when anything is inflicted with Poison or Scarlet Rot. This buff is very welcome and helps power up our basic attacks.

On a lesser note, the Lord Of Blood’s Exultation can also be used to great effect if you are using two Uchigatanas. Every time something Bleeds, you will gain a similar buff to the Kindred of Rot’s Exultation, which further increases our damage.

Another must-take talisman is Marika’s Soreseal. This talisman will boost your Arcane and Faith to levels high enough to use your Incantations. The trade-off is lower Damage Negation, but this can be reversed with other Talismans quite easily.

Outside of that, you can slot in anything that tickles your fancy. Erdtree’s Favor will increase all of your resources, Dragoncrest and Pearldrake will make you much harder to kill, and Green Turtle will increase your Stamina Regeneration, which is always a nice bonus to have.

Armor

  • Mushroom Crown

There is only one armor piece that is required to make this build work, and it is the Mushroom Crown. This helmet works in a similar way to the Kindred Of Rot’s Exultation (it even stacks with it!) and boosts your attack whenever something is inflicted with Poison or Scarlet rot.

For the rest of your armor, equip the heaviest, bulkiest armor you can, whilst still keeping a Medium Roll. You want to be as survivable as possible so your damage over time ticks can do their work.

Flask Of Wondrous Physick

  • Leaden Hard Tear
  • Arcane-Knot Hard Tear

For Tears, you should consider the Leaden Hard Tear and Dexterity-Knot Tear. The Leaden Hard Tear bumps up your Poise, letting you attack through an enemy's offensive. The Dexterity Knot will increase your Dexterity stat by 10 for three minutes, giving you a nice damage boost.

Next: Elden Ring: Complete Guide And Walkthrough