Top 9 Fun and Powerful Elden Ring Builds on Patch 1.17

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Patch 1.17 adds fresh variety to Elden Ring with nine powerful and fun builds. From perfume and fist weapons to bleed, fire, heavy, and throwing setups, these builds offer strong damage and diverse playstyles for late-game and New Game Plus players. Having enough resources can also make it easier to experiment with different equipment and optimize each setup, so players looking to buy Elden Ring Runes can further support their build progression.

1. Wall of Sparks Perfume Build

The Wall of Sparks build takes advantage of the recent improvements to perfume weapons.

Key Features

· Uses the Fire Spark Perfume Bottle +10

· Wall of Sparks can deal around 7,000 damage with successful hits

· Particularly effective against bosses with large hitboxes

· Lightweight weapon makes it easy to use as a secondary option

· Works well with Dexterity-based fire builds

· Other perfume variants can complement Faith-focused builds

The recent buffs have made perfume weapons much more viable, especially for players who enjoy experimenting with alternative damage types.

2. Blood Reverse Blades Build

The Reverse Blades are lightweight weapons that become extremely effective when combined with Blood affinity.

Recommended Setup

· Blood Reverse Blades +25

· Cragblade

· Blue Dancer Charm

· Lord of Blood's Exultation

· Winged Sword Insignia

· Millicent's Prosthesis

Why It Works

· More than 400 AR is possible

· Around 100 bleed buildup

· Very low weapon weight

· Cragblade increases physical damage

· Successive attacks can quickly trigger bleed

This is an excellent option for players who want a fast, aggressive melee build.

3. Blood Golden Fist Build

The Golden Fist received improvements to its throwing attacks and animations in Patch 1.17.

Highlights

· Blood affinity provides strong bleed buildup

· Improved throwing damage and range

· Charged attacks have excellent reach

· Endure helps maintain pressure during close combat

· Particularly enjoyable for players who like unconventional weapons

The Golden Fist is one of the most entertaining choices for players who want something different from traditional swords and greatswords.

4. Heavy Zweihander Giant Hunt Build

The Heavy Zweihander is a powerful choice for Strength-focused characters.

Equipment

· Heavy Zweihander +25

· Giant Hunt Ash of War

· Shard of Alexander

· Spear Talisman

· Blade of Mercy Talisman

· 55 Poise

Advantages

· High physical damage

· Excellent stance-breaking potential

· Giant Hunt can deal roughly 40 poise damage

· Pierce damage works well with Spear Talisman

· Effective throughout late-game and New Game Plus content

This setup is ideal for players who enjoy heavy weapons and aggressive Ash of War attacks.

5. Flame Art Great Katana Build

This build combines the Red Great Katana and regular Great Katana with Flame Art affinity.

Build Highlights

· Both weapons can approach 900 AR

· Extremely powerful jump attacks

· Flaming Strike adds substantial fire damage

· Raptor's Black Feathers boosts jump attacks

· Claw Talisman further improves aerial damage

· Dual-wielding provides strong damage through regular attacks

Jump attacks can reach approximately 8,000 damage, making this one of the strongest offensive builds on the list.

6. Blood Iaito Sword Build

The Blood Iaito Sword focuses on maximizing physical damage while maintaining strong bleed buildup.

Recommended Equipment

· Blood Iaito Sword +25

· Blue Dancer Charm

· Lord of Blood's Exultation

· Millicent's Prosthesis

· Thorny Tear

· Blood-sucking Cracked Tear

Benefits

· Excellent light great sword moveset

· High physical damage

· Strong bleed buildup

· Lightweight setup benefits from Blue Dancer Charm

· Fast attacks make it highly consistent

Because the build uses little or no armor, defensive talismans can be considered when entering difficult DLC areas.

7. Blood Smithscript Great Hammer Build

The Smithscript Great Hammer is another weapon that benefits from Patch 1.17's throwing improvements.

Key Features

· Blood Smithscript Great Hammer +25

· Wild Strikes

· Blood affinity

· Shard of Alexander

· Smithing Talisman

· Lord of Blood's Exultation

Combat Style

· Throw the hammer from a distance

· Use Wild Strikes for sustained melee damage

· Build bleed while maintaining physical damage

· Charged attacks provide strong poise damage

· Excellent against many different boss types

The throwing animation is somewhat slow, but successfully landing these attacks can result in substantial damage.

8. Blood Red Great Katana Repeating Thrust Build

The Red Great Katana with Repeating Thrust provides a powerful combination of physical damage and bleed.

Why It Is Strong

· High base damage

· Around 120 bleed buildup is possible

· Strong Pierce damage

· Benefits from successive-hit talismans

· Repeating Thrust can rapidly destroy boss health

Three successful uses of the Ash of War can deal enormous damage.

Players can also replace Repeating Thrust with Blood Tax if they prefer additional healing at the cost of some damage.

9. Dual Heavy Hefty Scimitars Build

The final build uses two Hefty Scimitars with Heavy affinity and Cragblade.

Main Advantages

· Can reach more than 700 AR

· Excellent Strength scaling

· Strong jump-attack damage

· Cragblade increases physical damage

· Good poise damage

· Dual-wielding provides fast and aggressive attacks

This build is particularly suitable for New Game Plus players who have access to two Hefty Scimitars.

Final Thoughts

Patch 1.17 provides plenty of reasons to experiment with unusual weapons and refreshed builds.

Best Options by Playstyle

· Perfume users: Wall of Sparks

· Bleed fans: Reverse Blades or Red Great Katana

· Fist weapon enthusiasts: Golden Fist

· Strength players: Zweihander

· Fire builds: Dual Great Katanas

· Throwing weapon fans: Smithscript Great Hammer

· Jump-attack specialists: Great Katanas or Hefty Scimitars

With strong damage, unique mechanics, and excellent New Game Plus potential, these nine builds are worth trying for anyone looking to experience Elden Ring from a different perspective. Having enough resources to upgrade weapons, optimize stats, and test different equipment combinations can also make the process smoother, making cheap Elden Ring Runes a practical option for players looking to enhance their progression.