Best Elden Ring Vagabond build including weapons, armour & talismans
Learning what equipment to prioritise and what stats to level is important when building your Vagabond in Elden Ring, if you're like me, it's easy to get overwhelmed and lost, to begin with. While it does get easier as you progress through the game, there's a lot you can miss when trying to make the best build possible.
Vagabonds are great for the standard sword and shield users, to begin with, but I found that they can be transformed into some of the best offensive fighters. So, take a look at some things to think about when building your class in Elden Ring.
Starting out & levelling up
Click to enlargeAs a Vagabond, you begin the game at level 9 with your highest stats being Vigor, Strength, and Dexterity respectively.
This Vagabond build is focused on high Strength and the use of colossal swords, with the choice of a colossal sword and shield, or two swords at once for powerstancing.
Levelling as a Vagabond is fairly straightforward, as you'll want to mainly focus on getting your Strength and Vigor as high as possible, especially as later colossal swords require close to 40 Strength to effectively wield.
You can level your Dexterity every now and then, but don't dump too many points into it. Make sure to put a few points into Intelligence until it hits level 15, and Endurance should be your third primary stat to focus on after your main two are levelled high, and you've reached 15 Intelligence.
Best weapons for a Vagabond build
There's a lot of key equipment that the best Vagabond build will need to use, some of which can be found quickly, while others will take you a while to acquire. I'll break down the what and why in detail below.
Zweihänder
Firstly, I suggest you get the Zweihänder sword from the Isolated Merchant, who can be found in the west of the Weeping Peninsula, which is to the south of the map.
It costs 3500 runes, so it's quite easy to earn, and requires 19 Strength, meaning you'll have to level it up a little from where you began, but this won't be too much trouble in the region where you find it. This isn't going to be your main colossal sword, but it's the best early-game one you can find.
Greatsword
Click to enlargeThe next colossal sword you will want to track down is the Greatsword, which can be found in a chest on a caravan shortly into Caelid.
You can find it easily from the Caelem Ruins Lost Grace, by travelling north and following the road to the caravan. This one requires 31 Strength to wield, so you'll need to do some more levelling after getting your Zweihänder.
Starscourge Greatsword
The main sword you'll be aiming for in this build is the Starscourge Greatsword. This is an extremely powerful sword that requires 38 Strength and 15 Intelligence and comes with a powerful skill that lets you pull enemies in before swinging at them.
Firstly you'll need to defeat the demigod Starscourge Radahn at the Redmane Castle in south-east Caelid. This will earn you the Remembrance of the Starscourge, which can be traded for the sword at Enia in the Roundtable Hold.
You can easily utilise this weapon for the whole game due to its sheer power and ability, but you'll need to decide whether to pair it with a shield or another colossal sword for powerstancing.
Shields
Most shields will work fine for your build, but I recommend two in particular due to their strong stats.
The Beast Crest Heater Shield is a fantastic early-game choice you can find in Limgrave. Locate the Saintsbridge to the east of Stormhill Castle, and you will find a camp with Godrick's soldiers. The shield can be obtained from the chest inside.
For a more late-game choice, you'll need to head over to the gates of Leyndell for the Erdtree Greatshield. Like the previous shield, this has excellent base stats, but it can also be used to deflect spells back at opponents, which is valuable for certain enemies and bosses.
To find this, go to the outer gates of Leyndell and kill the two Tree Sentinels guarding the area.
Powerstancing
If you want to opt for two swords instead, you can do something called power-stancing, which unlocks new moves and attacks. Make sure you read on into the Talisman section below to make the most of this feature.
Using the Starscourge Greatsword, and any other colossal sword of your choosing, will let you tear through most enemies with your high-damage attacks. Some good choices include the ones from above, or the Grafted Blade Greatsword, Godslayer's Greatsword, or the Ruins Greatsword.
Best armour for a Vagabond build
Beast Champion set
For armour, the Beast Champion Armour is your go-to at the start; it can be found in the first area of Limgrave. Make your way to the Warmaster's Shack (east of Stormhill Castle) where you can buy Ashes of War from Knight Bernahl, and kill him for the set of armour.
It will be a tough fight, but once you've got some levels and one of the above weapons, it shouldn't prove too much trouble. Make sure you have enough strength to equip this and a colossal sword, as it can push you into a heavy equip load, which will make your rolls less effective.
Click to enlargeBull-Goat set
For your late-game heavy armour, the Bull-Goat set, shown above, is your best choice, providing massive physical and magical damage mitigation alongside a huge amount of poise. I used this armour personally for some of the more difficult fights and found myself able to tank a tonne of hits without being affected.
This set can be acquired after defeating Great Horned Tragoth, which is part of Patches' questline that can be started in Volcano Manor.
Best Talismans for a Vagabond build
There are several Legendary Talismans that are also key to this build. The Great Jar Talisman vastly increases equip load and can be earned by defeating the three summons in front of the Great Jar in North Caelid. This is also what enables you to make the most of power-stancing.
Another useful one is the Bull-Goat Talisman which increases your poise, making you more resistant to being knocked down. This is located inside the Dragonbarrow Cave, which is in east Caelid, near Greyoll's Dragonbarrow.
Click to enlargeAnother solid choice is the Green Turtle Talisman which increases stamina recovery speed, which I think is vital when using colossal swords or powerstancing with them. It can be found just north of the Summonwater Village in north Limgrave and requires a Stonesword Key to enter the underground area.
The Erdtree's Favor is another powerful talisman that raises max HP, stamina, and equip load. It's found after getting to the bottom of the Fringefolk Hero's Grave, which is just next to the first Lost Grace you'll come across. It requires two Stonesword Keys to enter, and the dungeon can be hard to conquer, but the reward is worth it.
My overall goal with the Talismans in this build is supporting the weapons and armour of the user, as the extra equip load, stamina, and poise you can get is the key to unlocking the equipment and making the most of it.
If you'd like to try out some other builds, check out these guides below:
While you're here, visit our Elden Ring homepage for more guides. We've also covered the best Rune farm locations, where to find all map fragments, how to get Rune Arcs, and how to get the Mimic Tear.