Best Gear & Equipment For A Stance-Breaking Build

أكتوبر 28, 2023

0 0 9 دقائق

[ad_1]

Unlike other ‘builds’ in Elden Ring that are easy to understand and can tear apart some of the more difficult Bosses, such as a Rivers of Blood build or a one-shot build, a Stance Break build is a bit more obtuse, since there’s not really a centralized ‘Stance Break’ build to rely on.

This is simply because, other than abusing very specific attack combinations or item synergies, there aren’t many Gear Sets, Talismans, or Spells/Incantations tailored around Stance Breaking. But, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible, and there is plenty of Equipment in Elden Ring that is meant for one thing but has a side effect of helping with Stance Breaking.

Updated October 28th, 2023 by Jacob Buchalter: While it feels like Soulslike games from other developers are getting closer and closer to being on par with From Software games (with Lies of P being a great example), Elden Ring is still just a few steps ahead of them. This game seems to take all the best aspects from every other From Software ‘souls’ game and blend it all into one, including Sekiro’s Posture system, in a way. In Elden Ring, players have the option of absolutely overwhelming their opponents with such heavy weapons or with so much damage at once that their opponents have their Stance broken. And, as it turns out, there are actually ways for players to focus their entire build around this playstyle.

Armor Recommendations

Elden Ring - Bull-Goat Armor Set Overlaid On Image Of Player Character in Stereotypical Strength Build Armor

Sadly, there’s not much in the way of Armor that really ‘buffs’ Stance Bar damage. But, there is plenty of Gear with Special Effects that can help a player do more damage with their highest Stance Bar damaging attacks or let them unleash more moves uninterrupted. Essentially, instead of helping players deal more Stance Damage, these pieces of Gear should instead help them use the same old Stance Damaging moves with less risk or to a greater effect.

Armor Name	Effect	Reasoning
Bull-Goat Set	Helm = 15 Poise, Armor = 47 Poise, Gauntlets = 10 Poise, & Greaves = 28 Poise which = 100 Poise Total	More Poise = more heavy swings without being interrupted.
Raptor’s Black Feathers	Chest Piece which buffs the damage of Jump Attacks by 10 Percent.	Jump Attacks are one of the higher Stance-Damaging moves in the game.
Omensmirk Mask	Strength +2	The mask used by the Omenkillers in-game. It’s very basic reasoning but more Strength = more Damage.
Fanged Imp Head	Strength +2	It’s very basic but more Strength = more Damage.
Crucible Axe Set	Each Piece of the Crucible Axe Set gives +4 Percent damage to Aspects of the Crucible Incantations, totaling at a +17 Percent buff altogether.	Apsect of the Crucible Incantations are some of the hardest-hitting Incantations in terms of Stance Bar Damage.

Talisman Recommendations

Elden Ring - PNGs of Most Stance Break-Targeted Talismans Overlaid On Character With Ironjar Aromatic Active

Talismans, on the other hand, have a lot more versatility depending on what the player is using for their weapon (with new weapons still being discovered by fans even this far past the game’s release) or what their favorite Stance Break-focused Attack is. A lot of these recommendations might seem basic, but as long as players tailor their Talisman choices to the weapon and playstyle of choice, each and every recommendation should help players Stagger enemies more often.

Talisman Name	Effect	Reasoning
Claw Talisman	+15 Percent Jump Attack Damage	Stacks with Raptor’s Black Feathers Armor.
Axe Talisman	+10 Percent Charged Attack Damage	Fully-Charged Heavy Attacks are incredible for Stance Bar Damage.
Curved Sword Talisman	+20 Percent Guard Counter Damage	Alongside Charged Heavies and Jumping Attacks, Guard Counters are the third incredible Stance Damage attack option.
Hammer Talisman	+40 Percent Stamina Damage Against Blocking Enemies	Very situational, but great for actually managing to Stance Break Crucible Knights.
Twinblade Talisman	+45 Percent Damage to Final Hit in Attack Chain	Heavier Weapons and Colossal-type Weapons especially, have fewer attacks in their combo, meaning this triggers more often on Stance Break builds than one would expect.
Dagger Talisman	+17 Percent Critical Damage	A bit hard to find, but Stance Breaks lead to Critical Hits, so this effect will trigger often. More in line with a Crit build than a Stance Break build though.
Bull-Goat’s Talisman	+33 Percent Poise	When used in combination with the heavier Armor Sets or even the Bull-Goat Set, can lead to some incredibly high Poise.
Radagon’s Soreseal	+5 Vigor, Endurance, Strength, & Dexterity but +15 Percent Player Damage Taken	Useful on just about any Strength-focused build. Plus, because the +5 to these four stats also increases health and defenses, the 15 percent extra damage is basically nullified.

Of course, players can make use of plenty of other Talismans and find more combinations that add small benefits to their Stance Breaking, but these are the ones that seem to have the most wide-reaching effects.

Weapon Recommendations

Elden Ring - Some Examples Of Fantastic Stance Breaking Weapons Overlaid On Image Of Character Using Two Colossals

Unlike the other two sections above, there are just too many Weapons in Elden Ring to list all the ones that work well for a Stance Breaking build, but let’s at least go over three of the more general ‘aspects’ players should keep in mind when looking for their Stance Breaking weapon-of-choice. Keep in mind, that while the Stance Break system has some similarities to Sekiro‘s Posture system, they aren’t the same and Elden Ring’s system works a bit differently:

Name	Explanation
Stance Damage Is Impacted By More Than Just Raw Damage Output	Stance damage is based on a variety of factors, with a Weapon’s Weight, Attack Type, and Attack Used all playing into it. In general, players should try and prioritize Colossal ‘Weight’ Weapons first, then Strike ‘Attack Type’ Weapons, and finally Charge Attacks and Jump Heavy Attacks.
Jumping Heavy Attacks Vs. Charged Heavy Attacks	Dual-Wielding Great Hammers or any sort of Colossal Weapons can be very beneficial. While Dual-Wielding doesn’t allow for Charged Attacks using both Weapons, it does have its own Jumping Heavy Attack that hits with both, dealing some pretty absurd Stance Break Damage.
Weapons With Open Ash of War Slots Are Always Better	General Weapons (ones that use Smithing Stones to upgrade) are generally better than Unique Weapons (ones that use Somber Stones). This is because the Ashes of War system allows players to equip ‘Heavy’ affinity to their Weapons that increase the Strength Scaling by about an entire letter grade (Ex: from B to A).

Incantation & Sorcery Recommendations

Elden Ring - PNGs Of Most Stance Damage Heavy Incantations And Spells Overlaid On Image Of Player Using Beastial Sling

While this guide thoroughly covers the best Stance Breaking Spells and Incantations, it’s worth re-listing the best of the best in terms of cast time, FP usage, Stance Bar damage, and projectile speed.

Name	Type	Reasoning
Beastial Sling	Incantation	By far the most reliable Stance Breaking Incantation with its fast cast-time, low FP cost, and great damage. But, it requires getting close to the enemy and doesn’t show its true colors unless the player gets incredibly close.
Stone of Gurranq	Incantation	A close second place. The only reason this doesn’t beat out Beastial Sling is because it has a longer casting animation, slower travel time, and is a bit more FP costly.
Aspect of the Crucible: Breath	Incantation	All three of these ‘Aspect of the Crucible’ Incantations deal Physical Damage and a large amount of Stance Break damage but have high costs and long animations in exchange.
Aspect of the Crucible: Tail	Incantation	All three of these ‘Aspect of the Crucible’ Incantations deal Physical Damage and a large amount of Stance Break damage but have high costs and long animations in exchange.
Aspect of the Crucible: Horns	Incantation	All three of these ‘Aspect of the Crucible’ Incantations deal Physical Damage and a large amount of Stance Break damage but have high costs and long animations in exchange.
Glintblade Phalanx	Sorcery	Any of the ‘Phalanx’ Ashes of War or Sorceries are great for Passive Stance Damage, since the Glintblade…blades are summoned and will then attack enemies on their own.
Gavel of Haima	Sorcery	A big magic hammer that does great Stance Damage, but has to be used in close range, which can be risky for a caster.
Elden Stars	Incantation	Deceptively bad despite the boss that this Incantation is obtained from, as the damage from this is just awful. But, it auto-homes in on targets and lasts for a good minute or two, dealing a large amount of Stance Damage cumulatively.
Pest Threads	Incantation	Better for raw damage on large enemies than Stance Damage, but because there are so many threads, it still does good Stance Damage as well.

Tons of other Sorceries and Incantations can be useful, if utilized correctly, in a Stance break build, but these are the ones that seem to generally impact a Stance Breaking playstyle the most.

Ash Of War Recommendations

Elden Ring - Most Stance Damage Heavy Ashes Of War Overlaid On Image Of Character Using Flame of the Redmanes

Flame of the Redmanes is the best Stance Breaking Ash of War and might just be the best Stance Breaking…anything in all of Elden Ring. This AoW Stance Breaks most enemies with two or three uses at most, has good FP utility, great damage, and a quick cast time. That said, it can honestly feel a little too broken, and may not match every build permutation, so here are some other options:

Name	Affinity	Reasoning
Glintstone Pebble	Magic	Essentially just an AoW version of the Sorcery of the same name, and therefore useful for all the same reasons.
Square Off	Quality	Incredibly good simply because of how easily it can be acquired in the early game. Remains a great Stance Breaking tool even in the late game as well.
Spectral Lance	Occult	Not only good for Stance Breaking but is also great against blocking enemies and is incredibly helpful in PvP.
Lion’s Claw	Heavy	The Iconic front-flip attack that people associate with Artorias. Very long windup but the Stance Break and just overall damage are well worth it.
Hoarah Loux’s Earthshaker	Heavy	Both this and the standard Earthshaker AoW are great AoE options that can inflict large amounts of Stance Damage on an entire group. Does require beating one of the last Bosses to obtain, which knocks its usability down a bit.

Poisonbone Dart Craftable Item from Elden Ring.

Players might not expect Crafted Items to help out all that much in the art of Stance Breaking, but this complex item crafting system actually has a lot of use for a Stance Break playstyle. Sure, it requires a bit of material grinding, but a few of these, in particular, can easily add one or two more Stance Break opportunities to a boss fight, which makes the grinding more than worth it.

Name	Type	Reasoning
Bone Dart	Throwing Knife	Inflicts a small amount of Stance Damage, but its primary use is in ‘stalling’ the Stance Break bar (aka stop it from emptying) while the player closes the distance.
Crystal Dart	Throwing Knife	The same reasoning as the Bone Dart, but Crystal Darts do more damage overall.
Throwing Dagger	Throwing Knife	The same reasoning as the Bone Dart.
Poisonbone Dart	Throwing Knife	The same reasoning as the Bone Dart, but also builds up the Poison Status Effect.
Kukuri	Throwing Knife	The same reasoning as the Bone Dart, though a bit slower to throw. These also build up the Bleed Status Effect as well.
Fan Daggers	Throwing Knife	The same reasoning as the Bone Dart, but easier to hit as they fly out in a fan formation.
Ironjar Aromatic	Perfume Arts	Very risky to use, especially against Lightning Damage, but allows the player to swing away with little to no interruption.
Bloodboil Aromatic	Perfume Arts	Gives a massive increase in Attack Power which equals easier Stance Breaks, but the increased damage taken is a high risk as well.

Crystal Tear Recommendations

Elden Ring - Looking At The Stonebarb Cracked Tear In The Key Items Menu

The Wonderous Physick actually has a lot of impact on Stance Break Builds and most Elden Ring Builds in general. There are a lot of different Tears to choose from, but these are the ones that help with Stance Breaking the most:

Name	Stat Affected	Reasoning
Greenspill Crystal Tear	Stamina	More Stamina = more swings and more Stance Breaks.
Greenburst Crystal Tear	Stamina	Faster Stamina Recovery leads to faster attacks which give enemies less time to recover Stance damage.
Opaline Crystal Tear	Damage Reduction	Allows players to wind up a gigantic swing right away without fearing for their lives.
Spiked Crystal Tear	Heavy Attack Damage	Synergizes with Charged Heavy Attacks which are great for Stance Breaking.
Leaden Hardtear	Poise	Only lasts 10 seconds but allows the player to play hyper-aggressive without being knocked out of their attacks.
Stonebarb Cracked Tear	Stance Break Damage	One of the few items in the game that straight-up boosts Stance Break Damage, basically a must-use for Stance Break builds.