Best Elden Ring Vagabond build: Weapons, armour sets & stats

If you want to know the best Elden Ring Vagabond build, it's important that you learn which weapons, armour sets, and stats to prioritise when levelling your character, as the game can be difficult for a character that isn't well optimised.

Elden Ring is full of different loot to collect and options to choose from when levelling your character, and whether you're in hour one or hour 100, the options can be overwhelming. It's open enough to let players experience the game however they want, but finding the best gear is a good idea if you want to ace some of the hardest bosses. 

So, take a look at our coverage of the best Vagabond build in Elden Ring, along with how you should level your character.

For more class builds, check out:

• Elden Ring Astrologer build
• Elden Ring Bandit build
• Elden Ring Confessor build
• Elden Ring Hero build
• Elden Ring Prisoner build
• Elden Ring Prophet build
• Elden Ring Samurai build
• Elden Ring Warrior build
• Elden Ring Wretch build

Elden Ring Vagabond build: Starting out

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Your best head start for this Elden Ring build is to choose a Vagabond from the beginning, letting you start with a higher level of Vigor, Strength, and Dexterity, which will be the main stats for your build.

• Vigor is key for raising your health and ensuring you can get right in your enemies' faces
• Strength is essential for using the types of colossal swords and heavy armour this build is designed around
• Dexterity is a useful secondary stat that can be necessary for some weapons

You'll get to start with a decent heavy armour set, along with a sword and shield which we'll quickly be getting rid of. Selecting an extra Stonesword Key can also be useful, but isn't necessary. 

Your armour should do you fine for the beginning of the game, but one of the better heavy armour sets can be earned relatively quickly, which we'll cover in a later section.

• We've also covered all the Elden Ring boss locations, so you know where to find them all

Levelling the Vagabond build in Elden Ring

Our best Elden Ring Vagabond build is focused around 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. 

• We also have some great Elden Ring rune farm methods, if you need to level up quickly

Best equipment for Elden Ring Vagabond build

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There is a lot of key equipment that the best Elden Ring Vagabond build will need to use, some of which can be found quickly, while others will take you a while to acquire. We'll break down the what and why in detail below.

Zweihänder

Firstly, you'll want to 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. This isn't going to be your main colossal sword, but it's the best early game one you can find.

Greatsword

The 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.

• Here are all the Elden Ring Legendary Ashen Remains and where to find them

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. 

Armour sets

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For armour, the Beast Champion Armour is your go-to, it can be found in the first area of Limgrave. Make your way to the Warmaster's Shack 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 heavy equip load, which will make your rolls less effective.

For your late-game heavy armour, the Bull-Goat set is your best choice, providing massive physical and magical damage mitigation alongside a huge amount of poise, ensuring you can tank and remain standing after taking some of the hardest hits in the game.

This set can be acquired after defeating Great Horned Tragoth, which is part of Patches' questline that can be started in Volcano Manor.

Vagabond Talismans

There are a number of Elden Ring 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.

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. 

Another solid choice is the Green Turtle Talisman which increases stamina recovery speed, a great choice when using colossal swords. 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. 

• Want to do some PvP gameplay? Here are all the Elden Ring Colosseum locations

Powerstancing

Once you have the Great Jar Arsenal, your potential powerstance begins. Powerstancing is when you equip two weapons at once, letting you unlock a new set of moves that incorporates them both at once. Due to the weight of colossal swords, and your armour, it will take a lot of strength or the above talisman before this is possible.

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 Grafted Blade Greatsword, Godslayer's Greatsword, or the Ruins Greatsword. 

If you want to combine your sword with a shield instead, this will give you more protection, while sacrificing damage a bit. Some good choices include the Dragonclaw Shield, Visage Shield, or the Jellyfish Shield. 

That's all for our coverage of the best Elden Ring Vagabond build, and now you should be able to follow our build by mastering the colossal swords and heavy armour. You'll also have an idea of some other items you can incorporate into the build to tailor it to your liking. 

For more Elden Ring guides, stick with GGRecon. Alternatively, check out our explainer of the Elden Ring Seppuku ashes and learn why it's one of the best Ash of Wars in the game.