Elden Ring Erdtree Bow Build Guide – Goldeneye

Welcome to my Elden Ring Erdtree Bow Build Guide, where I’ll be sharing my Golden Eye build, a faith-based archer build designed for level 100. If you’re interested in playing a pure faith archer at this level, keep reading to learn how to make it work.

Before diving into the specifics of this build, I want to mention that playing as a pure archer in Elden Ring can be extremely challenging. It requires precision, patience, and a careful approach to combat. While this build can be effective, particularly in cooperative play, soloing as a pure archer can be exceptionally tough in certain parts of the game. It’s not for the faint of heart, but with the right strategy and equipment, you can make it work. If you’re up for the challenge and want to master the art of faith-based archery, this guide will help you get started.

Elden Ring Erdtree Bow Build Guide – Goldeneye

A purely ranged Bow Build that focuses on dealing Holy Damage and Bleed, while casting some Incantations.

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Elden Ring Erdtree Bow Build Guide – Goldeneye: Equipment

The primary weapons for this Elden Ring Erdtree Bow build are the Erdtree Bow and the Black Bow. The Erdtree Bow is key because it scales with Faith, allowing you to capitalize on the Faith points invested in Golden Vow, a spell that increases damage by 15% for 90 seconds.

This buff is critical to boost the build’s damage output. The Faith scaling also enhances the bow’s holy damage, making it a perfect match with golden arrows, which deal holy damage and align well with various aspects of this build designed to boost holy damage. The difference in damage between golden arrows and regular arrows is noticeable when using the Erdtree Bow, much like the difference between magic and regular arrows with the Horn Bow in the Magic Archer build.

The Black Bow is the secondary weapon in this Erdtree Bow build. It’s not a short bow, but it behaves similarly, allowing you to jump and shoot, which is a valuable mechanic in many combat situations. This bow has higher base damage than other light bows, which makes it ideal for this build. It scales with Strength and Dexterity, though the primary focus is on its functionality. You’ll often use it with Ashes of War like Barrage or Rain of Arrows, providing versatility in your attack strategy.

One of the main reasons to use the Black Bow is its compatibility with blood arrows, which are used to build bleed on enemies with Barrage. This strategy is particularly effective against bosses and other high-health enemies, allowing you to inflict significant damage over time. Although you may use other types of arrows, like lightning arrows, blood arrows are generally the most consistent for this bow. This approach provides flexibility, letting you switch between powerful holy damage with the Erdtree Bow and bleed buildup with the Black Bow.

This Elden Ring Erdtree Bow build uses the Erdtree Bow for long-range attacks and the Black Bow for close-range combat. With the Erdtree Bow, golden arrows are the weapon of choice due to their high holy damage, making it easy to pick off enemies from a distance. When you need to get closer, switch to the Black Bow and use blood arrows to build up bleed on enemies. This strategy works well for most encounters, allowing you to deal continuous damage through bleeding.

However, there’s a gap when dealing with enemies that can’t be bled or are highly aggressive at close range. An example is the gargoyles, which are bleed-immune and tend to rush at you. In these situations, you might need to maintain a moderate distance and use different tactics, as the usual bleeding strategy won’t work.

Overall, this build is effective in most scenarios, but be prepared to adjust your approach for bleed-resistant enemies or aggressive bosses. With some flexibility, you can navigate these challenges and make the most of your faith-based archer build.

I’m using the Finger Seal for casting incantations in this Erdtree Bow build. It’s a great choice for faith-based setups and has solid scaling for a level 50 Faith build. If you’re seeking higher scaling, you can swap to the Erdtree Seal or Godslayer’s Seal, which outperform the Finger Seal at higher levels. But it’s not a huge concern, as most of your damage comes from the bow, not the seal.

For armor, I go with the Guardian Armor set. It has a golden aesthetic that fits the build’s theme. Wear the heaviest armor you can while maintaining a mid-roll for the best protection. I also use the Silver Tear Mask in certain situations. This mask gives you eight additional Arcane, which is useful when using the Black Bow with bleed arrows.

The extra Arcane allows you to cast Swarm of Flies, adding extra bleed buildup without investing in Arcane. It does reduce your physical attack damage, but it’s great for boss fights. Afterward, you can swap back to your regular armor to remove the debuff.

Overall, these equipment choices allow flexibility to adapt to various combat scenarios while focusing on the core elements of the build.

Elden Ring Erdtree Bow Build Guide – Goldeneye: Talismans

For talismans in this Erdtree Bow build, I use five, with one swapped out during boss fights. My regular setup includes the Ritual Sword Talisman, Sacred Scorpion Talisman, Arrow’s Sting Talisman, and Arrow’s Reach Talisman.

The Arrow’s Reach Talisman extends your bow’s range, ensuring that you do full damage at longer distances. If you shoot an arrow outside of your bow’s range, the damage decreases the further the arrow travels, so this talisman helps maintain maximum damage at long range.

Arrow’s Sting Talisman increases arrow damage by 10%, a straightforward boost that is always useful.

The Sacred Scorpion Charm boosts holy damage, which complements the Erdtree Bow and the golden arrows, both of which deal holy damage. The Ritual Sword Talisman provides a 10% damage boost when you’re at full health, ideal for an archer who aims to avoid getting hit and stays at range.

The fifth talisman I use is the Green Turtle Talisman, which boosts stamina regeneration. This is crucial in close-range fights, where you need to dodge roll, jump, and shoot in rapid succession. I swap out the Arrow’s Reach Talisman for the Green Turtle Talisman in boss fights or when range isn’t a factor, to keep my stamina recovery high.

Additional talismans to consider for this build include the Warrior Jar Shard or the Shard of Alexander, which increase weapon skill damage by 10% to 15%. You can get the Warrior Jar Shard early by defeating Alexander, or you can follow his quest to receive the upgraded Shard of Alexander later in the game. I didn’t include these in the initial build because they are more endgame-oriented.

The Ancestral Spirit’s Horn is another good option, returning 3 FP after defeating an enemy. This can help offset the cost of Mighty Shot, making it more efficient if you’re aiming to conserve FP.

These talismans give you the flexibility to adapt to different situations and enhance the overall performance of your faith-based archer build.

Elden Ring Erdtree Bow Build Guide – Gameplay and Spells

The typical strategy is to use the Erdtree Bow with Mighty Shot to pick off enemies from a distance. With 30 Mind, you have around 160 FP, allowing for a significant number of Mighty Shots before running out of FP. This build suits a slow, methodical playstyle, focusing on sniping from afar, with minimal risk unless you get ambushed or caught off-guard by close-range enemies.

If this happens, switch to the Black Bow and use bleed arrows to deal with close-range threats. Against bosses, you can equip the Silver Tear Mask for additional Arcane to cast Swarm of Flies, which helps build bleed quickly while using the Black Bow‘s Barrage.

To maximize your damage, keep Golden Vow active, as it boosts damage and defense by 15% for 90 seconds. It’s a useful buff for general exploration, ensuring you have an edge in combat while moving through the landscape. Use Blessing of the Erdtree for healing, especially before a tough fight or boss encounter. It’s an upgraded version of Blessing’s Boon, providing more HP regeneration over time. This is valuable since boss fights can take longer with this build due to its reliance on ranged attacks and bleed buildup, but the healing helps with survivability.

Protection of the Erdtree is another essential buff, providing a 30% damage reduction to magic, fire, lightning, and holy damage, which is crucial in many boss fights. It grants significant protection against elemental damage, allowing you to focus on dodging and dealing damage.

Swarm of Flies, a situational spell, helps build bleed on bosses. Equip the Silver Tear Mask for the additional Arcane needed to cast it, then switch back to your regular gear after using it to avoid the physical damage reduction. It’s useful for initiating fights with bleed buildup or supplementing bleed arrows during battle.

Lastly, Elden Stars is a legendary spell with a high Faith requirement of 50. While its cast time is long, the spell has impressive tracking and lasts for 10–12 seconds. It deals moderate damage but high posture damage, allowing you to stagger enemies while continuing to attack with your bow. This can be especially effective in co-op, where you can pull enemy aggro with one cast, giving your team more breathing room.

This combination of buffs, ranged attacks, and bleed buildup creates a versatile build that excels in both long-range and close-range combat. Keep in mind that the focus is on maintaining distance, using powerful buffs, and applying bleed when needed. This slower, methodical approach is key to mastering the Goldeneye build.

Elden Ring Erdtree Bow Build Guide – Recommended Stats

The attributes for this Elden Ring Erdtree Bow build are 35 Vigor, 30 Mind, 10 Endurance, 12 Strength, 24 Dexterity, 9 Intelligence, 50 Faith, and 9 Arcane. Here’s why each of these attributes is set this way:

• 35 Vigor provides a moderate health pool, which is sufficient because you play at range and avoid direct combat. It’s a bit lower than other builds, but that’s fine given the playstyle.
• 30 Mind is to ensure you have enough FP for Mighty Shot, Barrage, and various buffs. It gives you a large enough FP pool to manage through boss fights and exploration without running out.
• 10 Endurance is enough for this build since you don’t require high equip load or heavy armor. While more stamina would be useful, the focus is on maintaining distance, so you don’t need additional Endurance.
• 12 Strength is not particularly necessary for this build; it’s mostly there due to the chosen class. The actual requirement is around 9 Strength, so avoid investing more than needed.
• 24 Dexterity is crucial because it affects the damage output of both the Black Bow and the Erdtree Bow. The Black Bow requires 20 Dexterity, and the Erdtree Bow scales slightly with Dexterity. This attribute provides a noticeable damage boost.
• 9 Intelligence isn’t needed for this build, and it represents the base value from the class choice.
• 50 Faith is the core of this build, contributing to the damage of the Erdtree Bow and various Faith-based spells. It’s a good balance for the build, allowing you to use Golden Vow and other buffs effectively. Beyond 50, the scaling impact drops, but it’s likely you’ll need to continue increasing Faith as you progress.
• 9 Arcane is there because Swarm of Flies requires 16 Arcane. You can either use the Silver Tear Mask to boost your Arcane to meet the requirement or put 7 additional points into Arcane to use Swarm of Flies without switching gear. I suggest the mask approach, as you don’t use this spell frequently, and 7 extra points might not be justified for occasional use.

These attributes create a balance between survivability, FP pool, and damage output, allowing you to play a faith-based archer effectively. The focus on range and maintaining buffs suits the slower, methodical playstyle while ensuring you have enough resources to tackle bosses and tougher enemies.

Elden Ring Erdtree Bow Build Guide – Final Tips

Here are some final tips for this Erdtree Bow build: Before entering an area where you’ll be using the Erdtree Bow frequently—like when you see a lot of ants ahead—or before a boss fight where you’ll rely on ranged damage, use your Flask of Wondrous Physick with the Holy-Shrouded Cracked Tear. This tear boosts your holy damage for three minutes, providing a significant damage increase.

You can also use other beneficial effects with the Flask of Wondrous Physick. Consider adding a tear that increases your Faith to further boost damage, or one that increases max stamina, giving you more endurance for dodging, jumping, and shooting during boss fights. Extra stamina can be crucial in extended fights where you need to keep moving to avoid getting hit.

Remember to use the Flask of Wondrous Physick strategically. The effects last for three minutes, providing a solid advantage during challenging parts of the game. This can help you deal with tough encounters and improve your survivability, ensuring you’re better prepared for whatever comes your way.

That wraps up the Goldeneye build. 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.