In this Elden Ring Beast Claw Build, I’m presenting my Bloody Beastclaw Guide. You can assemble this build right at the start of the DLC using the Beast Claw weapon, which you can find just southeast of the first Site of Grace by defeating a hostile NPC there. You can find a progression guide on our Shadow of the Erdtree Walkthrough.

Elden Ring Beast Claw Build – Bloody Beastclaw

In this Elden Ring Build Guide, I’ll be showing you my Beast Claw build. This is a Shadow of the Erdtree build that takes place after level 150. If you’ve been looking for a fast build that savagely shreds your enemies into a pulp then you might want to check this build-out.

• Class: Any
• Flask Spread: Equal Charges
• Main Weapon: Beast Claw
• Optional Off-Hand Weapon: Sacrificial Axe
• Shield: N/A
• Armor: Horned Warrior Helm, Horned Warrior Armor, Lionel’s Gauntlets, Horned Warrior Greaves
• Talismans: Two-Headed Turtle Talisman, Lord of Blood’s Exultation, Crusade Insignia, Shard of Alexander
• Alternate Talismans: Rotten Winged Sword Insignia
• Primary Stats: Arcane, Vigor
• Secondary Stats: Endurance, Mind
• Skills: Savage Claws
• Spells: N/A
• Crystal Tear: Thorny Cracked Tear, Greenburst Crystal Tear
• Alternate Crystal Tear: Opaline Hardtear
• Great Runes: Malenia’s Great Rune or Radahn’s Great Rune

We have over 110 Elden Ring builds. Each one is meticulously crafted to offer unique playstyles, strategies, and experiences, ensuring there’s something for every adventurer in the Lands Between. Whether you seek the raw power of heavy weapons, the finesse of spellcasting, or the versatility of hybrid builds, our collection has you covered. Explore the depths of the game’s mechanics and unleash your full potential with our diverse array of builds.

Elden Ring Beast Claw Build – Bloody Beastclaw: Equipment

There are four things I really love about the Beast Claw.

First, it attacks extremely rapidly, allowing you to hit enemies repeatedly and cause them to keep flinching. With many enemies, this prevents them from even attacking because they can’t get a hit off. This doesn’t apply to tougher foes like Black Knights and Horned Warriors, but for many enemies, once you start your attack pattern and don’t get interrupted, they don’t stand a chance.

Second, this weapon has native bleed buildup on hit, enabling us to trigger bleeding. I’ve used the Occult infusion here because, similar to the Savage Slasher build testing the Great Katana, I found that the Occult setting of this weapon is only about 20 attack rating lower than the Heavy scaling. This choice nearly doubles our blood loss buildup in exchange for slightly less damage, allowing us to trigger bleeding more often during boss fights. I also experimented with a Heavy version of this build using Bloodflame Blade, but found that rebuffing during aggressive boss fights is very difficult. With the Occult infusion, you don’t have to worry about buffing, making it much easier.

Third, this weapon pulls you forward as you attack. If you watch the attack chain, it pulls you forward. For mobile enemies that dodge backward or hop around, this keeps you on top of them. However, it’s a double-edged sword. For example, against Rennala, using the R1 combo when she dodges to the side might pull you past her, leaving you open to attacks from behind. Generally, though, it’s more of a positive than a negative.

Lastly, I love that you duck down like a beast when attacking, which causes you to duck under many attacks and even jump over some. This hyper-aggressive playstyle, which I prefer in Elden Ring, often results in dodging attacks accidentally during combos, preventing damage and interruptions.

The Ash of War on this weapon is Savage Claws. This skill executes five or six slashes in quick succession, pulling you forward and hitting the enemy multiple times. It costs 13 FP. What I love about Savage Claws is twofold. First, it has excellent forward momentum, allowing you to start from a safe distance. Even if you miss a few slashes, you’ll still land several hits. Once the first hit connects, many enemies will flinch, making it hard for them to retaliate until your combo finishes. Second, the tracking on this skill is superb. If you find yourself back-to-back with an enemy, Savage Claws will turn you 180 degrees to face and hit the enemy, unlike the R1 combo, which struggles to turn quickly.

Since this is a paired weapon, you can equip something like the Sacrificial Axe in your offhand. The Savage Claws skill often kills enemies in one use, and the Sacrificial Axe helps reduce FP costs, making it a great addition. While I prefer the fashion of this build and don’t often face FP issues, the Sacrificial Axe is a viable option if you want to ease FP management.

For armor, I use the Horned Warrior’s Helm, Armor, and Greaves, along with Lionel’s Gauntlets. This setup gives me 51 poise. If you use the Horned Warrior’s Gauntlets, you’ll only have around 47 poise. The claws cover your hands, so the mismatched gauntlets are not visible, allowing me to focus on poise without compromising appearance. 51 poise is sufficient, and it avoids the need for the Bull Goat’s Talisman, freeing up a talisman slot. Additionally, the Horned Warrior’s Helmet boosts strength by five, which is perfect since I started as an Astrologer with eight strength, meeting the weapon’s requirements without investing further in strength. The downside is that it slightly reduces flask effectiveness, but I haven’t noticed a significant impact.

Elden Ring Beast Claw Build – Bloody Beastclaw: Talismans

For talismans, I use two main setups. The first includes the Two-Headed Turtle Talisman for stamina recovery, which is crucial since the weapon skill consumes a lot of stamina, especially when spammed.

I also use Lord of Blood’s Exultation, which is highly effective due to the frequent bleeding triggers, particularly in boss fights. The Savage Claws skill often activates this buff on one enemy, allowing you to chain it to the next, maintaining high attack power as you clear through groups of enemies.

Additionally, I have the Crusade Insignia, a new talisman from the DLC that increases attack power by about 15% for 20 seconds after killing an enemy. This talisman can be found by defeating a hostile NPC at Belurat Tower Settlement or at a church just outside Castle Ensis.

Lastly, I use Shard of Alexander to boost Savage Claws damage, which is essential given how often I use this skill.

For an alternate setup, I swap out the Crusade Insignia for Rotten Winged Sword Insignia when fighting bosses. This is because the Crusade Insignia’s effect doesn’t last long enough between kills in boss fights, whereas the Rotten Winged Sword Insignia builds up attack power as you strike rapidly. While this talisman isn’t as effective for general enemy encounters due to its shorter buff duration and build-up requirement, it excels in sustained boss battles. For maximum damage, you could drop the Green Turtle Talisman and use the Rotten Wing Sword Insignia, but this might lead to stamina issues unless you have around 40 endurance or equip a Great Turtle Shell on your back.

Elden Ring Beast Claw Build – Bloody Beastclaw: Recommended Attributes Distribution

• Stat-wise, I have 55 vigor because I’m super hyper-aggressive, often trading damage. I don’t want to die, and I’m not using the Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman, which you could use for more defense. In my testing, more damage makes fights easier; the faster you kill things, the less damage you take.
• I have 25 mind to use Savage Claws frequently before needing to flask. You could get away with lower, but I find that when it’s lower, I need to pot earlier, and I don’t want to run out of FP in a fight. 25 mind is a good balance, and you definitely don’t need more.
• I have 30 endurance to maintain a medium equip load, providing plenty of room for heavier armor if desired. If min-maxing, you would wear the heaviest armor for maximum protection, but I also consider fashion in my builds.
• I have 13 strength, the minimum requirement for the claws, and 12 dexterity. Only 11 dexterity is needed, but my class can’t go lower than 12 dexterity.
• The 16 intelligence and 7 faith are not needed; the intelligence is from being an astrologer, so it’s kind of a waste. A different class might have a slightly lower level or more points to allocate elsewhere.
• Lastly, I have 80 arcane to maximize weapon damage and improve blood buildup, triggering blood loss more often. This weapon scales well with arcane. If you wanted a hybrid build, you could put some points into faith and use the Dragon Communion Seal to cast. I haven’t done that here, but it’s an option.

Elden Ring Beast Claw Build – Bloody Beastclaw: Final Tips

For the Flask of Wondrous Physick, I use the Thorny Cracked Tear to increase damage with successive strikes, which is particularly useful in boss fights. I also have Greenburst Crystal Tear for stamina recovery. Alternatively, you can use the Opaline Hardtear to reduce the damage you take. A combination of two out of these three, depending on your preference, works well.

Regarding Great Runes, Malenia’s Great Rune is a good choice for this build due to its hyper-aggressive nature. It allows you to regain health by staying on the offensive. Radahn’s Great Rune is also a solid option, providing health, stamina, and FP. More stamina and FP might allow you to reduce your mind stat and reallocate those points elsewhere, while the extra HP helps with survivability.

So that wraps up my Bloody Beast Claw Build. I hope you enjoyed this one. This is another hyper-aggressive build, which is my preferred play style in Elden Ring. It’s challenging in Shadow of the Erdtree due to the bosses’ high health and hard-hitting attacks, but this build works really well. If you’re looking for a very aggressive build, check this one out.

As always, let us know if you have questions or other tips in the comments below. We have a ton more builds coming for Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree so stay tuned for those. If you need help finding the spells, items, or equipment in this build, and securing some personal objectives, make sure to check the Elden Ring Map.