Elden Ring Fists Build – Black Guard Guide (All Game Build)

In this Elden Ring Fists Build, we’ll explore the Blackguard Build that uses the Clinging Bone fist weapon. This setup is versatile, usable throughout the entire game, and can be initiated early on, thanks to the swift acquisition of the necessary weapons and armor. While obtaining certain talismans may require a bit more time, the core components can be obtained relatively quickly.

Elden Ring Fists Build – Black Guard Guide

This is an All-Game build that takes place after level 150. If you’ve been looking for a fists build that attacks fast and can drain the enemies’ HP then you might want to check this build out.

• Class: Any
• Flask Spread: Equal Charges
• Main Weapon: Clinging Bone
• Alternate Weapon: Maria’s Executioner’s Sword or Regalia of Eochaid
• Shield: Scorpion Kite Shield or Jellyfish Shield
• Armor: Greathlem, Royal Remains Armor, Lionel’s Gauntlets, Royal Remains Greaves
• Talismans: Ritual Sword Talisman, Millicent’s Prosthesis, Rotten Winged Sword Insignia or Winged Sword Insignia, Shard of Alexander or Warrior Jar Shard
• Alternate Talismans: Axe Talisman, Magic Scorpion Charm, Dagger Talisman, Godfrey Icon
• Primary Stats: Faith, Vigor
• Secondary Stats: Mind, Endurance
• Skills: Lifesteal Fist, Eochaid’s Dancing Blade
• Spells: Golden Vow, Flame Grant Me Strength
• Crystal Tear: Greenburst Crystal Tear, Thorny Cracked Tear or Spiked Cracked Tear
• Great Runes: Godrick’s Great Rune or Radahn’s Great Rune

We have over 110 Elden Ring builds. Each one is meticulously crafted to offer unique playstyles, strategies, and experiences, ensuring there’s something for every adventurer in the Lands Between. Whether you seek the raw power of heavy weapons, the finesse of spellcasting, or the versatility of hybrid builds, our collection has you covered. Explore the depths of the game’s mechanics and unleash your full potential with our diverse array of builds.

Elden Ring Fists Build – Black Guard Guide: Equipment

This build focuses on the Clinging Bone weapon, which I thoroughly enjoyed using in our fists video. Here’s what makes it special and how to acquire it quickly.

To get the Clinging Bone, head to the Village of the Albinaurics in Liurnia of the Lakes. Pick up the Haligtree Secret Medallion (right half), then return to Roundtable Hold, where you’ll be attacked by Ensha. Defeat Ensha to obtain the Clinging Bone and several pieces of the armor set used in this build. This process is quick once you have access to Roundtable Hold. The fastest way to access Roundtable Hold is to reach Margit and let him defeat you. After resting at the Site of Grace, you’ll be teleported to Roundtable Hold. Alternatively, you can ride to Caelid for access.

The Clinging Bone deals physical and magic damage, primarily scaling with Dexterity but also benefiting from Arcane. Among Elden Ring weapons with Dexterity and Arcane scaling or Strength and Arcane scaling that deal physical and magic damage, only two others exist: the Regalia of Eochaid, which is an alternative weapon in this build, and the Marais Executioner’s Sword.

This suggests a connection between these weapons. The Marais Executioner’s Sword seems infused with Eochaid magic from Elemer of the Briar, while the Regalia of Eochaid originates from Eochaid. The Clinging Bone, with its similar damage types and scaling, may also be tied to Eochaid. Notably, Elemer of the Briar uses the Lifesteal Fist attack, hinting that the Clinging Bone might belong to a significant figure from Eochaid.

Now, let’s dive into what makes the Clinging Bone an excellent choice for this build.

What I love about Lifesteal Fist, discovered during my research for the Fists video, is its effectiveness against humanoid enemies. This skill grabs onto a wide range of enemies, bypassing blocks with a short cooldown of two to three seconds, making it useful but not spammable.

Lifesteal Fist is especially effective against tough enemies like Cleanrot Knights, Banished Knights, and Crucible Knights. It deals significant damage and heals you for 30% of your max health with each successful grab. Each tick of damage from Lifesteal Fist also contributes to triggers like Rotten Winged Sword Insignia, maintaining your buffs during the skill’s animation.

The standout feature is its predominantly magic damage—about 80-90%—with the rest being physical. This contrasts with the weapon’s usual physical damage output. Using items like the Magic Scorpion Charm can boost Lifesteal Fist’s damage, though it won’t enhance regular attacks much. The Magic-Shrouded Cracked Tear can also increase Lifesteal Fist’s damage, but it’s less useful in regular gameplay since Lifesteal Fist isn’t often used against bosses. The Shard of Alexander can increase the weapon skill’s damage without the drawback of increased incoming damage from the Magic Scorpion Charm.

This weapon allows for various play styles. You can dual wield it for rapid attacks, effective against some bosses, or use it with a shield for block countering, as Fist weapons deal significant stance damage, allowing you to stance break enemies regularly. In boss fights, stance breaking can enable switching to dual wielding for a flurry of attacks or to the Regalia of Eochaid for its Corkscrew attack, dealing massive damage. This build offers incredible flexibility, letting you block counter, dual wield, use Lifesteal Fist on susceptible enemies, and switch to the Regalia of Eochaid for bosses where Lifesteal Fist isn’t effective, thanks to the similar scaling of both weapons.

For shields, I use the Scorpion Kite Shield due to its low Strength requirements, aligning well with our build’s minimal Strength investment. It also matches the Blackguard theme and looks fantastic. Alternatively, you can use the Jellyfish Shield. Though it requires more points in Strength, it buffs your damage when using the one-handed Clinging Bone or Regalia of Eochaid. You can then switch to dual-wielding for Lifesteal Fist, gaining extra damage with your one-handed attacks. Ultimately, any shield with manageable Strength requirements can work, as using one with high Strength needs would hinder your melee damage.

For armor, I use the Royal Remains set, but I mix in a few pieces to exceed the 51 poise breakpoint, as the full set only offers around 44 poise. This adjustment helps avoid the need for the Bull-Goat’s Talisman, which is essential to prevent interruption during the frequent attack chains in this build. Given the build’s reliance on multiple talismans, freeing up a talisman slot by achieving the poise breakpoint through armor adjustments is crucial. This way, I can leverage the many beneficial talismans available for this build without compromising on poise and getting interrupted mid-combat.

Elden Ring Fists Build – Black Guard Guide: Talismans

For talismans, I use the Ritual Sword Talisman, which is excellent for this build, even though you might trade damage occasionally. Lifesteal Fist replenishes 30% of your health, making it easy to top off and maintain full health for extra damage.

Another key talisman is Millicent’s Prosthesis, ideal because our primary weapons scale with Dexterity. It boosts Dexterity and increases attack power with successive hits, benefiting both weapons.

The Winged Sword Insignia or Rotten Winged Sword Insignia are also great choices, as they boost attack power with rapid attacks, particularly useful with two-handed attacks or the Corkscrew weapon skill of Regalia of Eochaid.

Additionally, I use Shard of Alexander or Warrior Jar Shard, depending on game progress, to boost the damage of Lifesteal Fist and the Corkscrew attack of Regalia of Eochaid.

There are several alternative talismans that you can use based on your play style. The Axe Talisman is beneficial if you one-hand the Clinging Bone frequently, as it provides extra damage on charged heavy attacks.

The Magic Scorpion Charm increases the damage of Lifesteal Fist and the Corkscrew attack of Regalia of Eochaid, though it comes with the downside of receiving extra damage.

The Dagger Talisman boosts critical damage, which is helpful when block countering and stance breaking enemies.

The Godfrey Icon is useful when you plan to use Regalia of Eochaid’s weapon skill in a boss fight, as it provides a boost to charged attacks.

The talismans offer flexibility and can be swapped based on the situation. For enemies like Crucible Knights, leaning into Lifesteal Fist is advantageous, making Shard of Alexander beneficial. For other enemies, like Black Blade Kindred, where Lifesteal Fist isn’t used, Shard of Alexander isn’t necessary unless you’re using Regalia of Eochaid. Adjust talismans on the fly to maximize effectiveness in different combat scenarios.

Elden Ring Fists Build – Black Guard Guide: Recommended Attributes Distribution

For this build, the attribute distribution is as follows: 50 Vigor, 20 Mind, 30 Endurance, 12 Strength, 15 Dexterity, 16 Intelligence, 7 Faith, and 50 Arcane. Note that you don’t need any Faith or Intelligence for this build. However, if you plan to take this build further into New Game Plus or New Game Plus Plus, consider investing some points in Faith to utilize Golden Vow and possibly cast some incantations. Given the high Arcane, using the Dragon Communion Seal effectively becomes an option.

Increasing Vigor in New Game Plus is advisable because Lifesteal Fist restores 30% of your max health, meaning more health translates to more healing. Since you frequently trade damage with your fists, having more health is beneficial. The build features a low amount of Mind as Lifesteal Fist and Regalia of Eochaid’s weapon skill aren’t used frequently, so a high Mind stat isn’t necessary. You can also skew your flasks more toward FP, relying on Lifesteal Fist for healing.

Endurance is set to 30 to allow for a decent armor set, the ability to carry a shield, two weapons, and the Talismans, while also ensuring you have enough stamina to avoid running out when dual-wielding the Clinging Bone and spamming attacks. The 12 Strength is to meet the requirements of the Scorpion Kite shield. If you opt for the Jellyfish shield, you’ll need 20 Strength. Different shields will require different Strength levels, such as 14 for the Brass shield.

Dexterity and Arcane are both crucial for this build, with Dexterity set at 55 and Arcane at 50. Both stats scale roughly the same for the Clinging Bone, with Dexterity slightly ahead. However, Arcane is essential for Lifesteal Fist damage, whereas Dexterity is more focused on melee damage. Prioritizing Arcane is beneficial, especially if you plan to add some Faith and cast spells. This way, you’ll get the best of both melee and Lifesteal damage.

Elden Ring Fists Build – Black Guard Guide: Final Tips

For the Flask of Wondrous Physick, you have several viable options. Using the Magic Scorpion Charm will boost Lifesteal Fist damage, but it’s not particularly useful during boss fights where magic damage is limited. While it’s beneficial for the weapon skill of the Regalia of Eochaid, it’s generally better to use the tier that increases damage with multiple hits, which is effective regardless of your setup. Stamina Recovery is another good choice, as this build tends to consume a lot of stamina. Additionally, enhancing Charged Attacks can be beneficial since you will use Clinging Bone’s Charged Heavy Attacks to stagger bosses before switching to dual-wield attacks.

For Great Runes, Godrick’s Great Rune is fantastic for this build. It boosts six of the eight stats you need, allowing you to potentially reduce Strength or use a better shield. Radahn’s Great Rune is also a good option, providing more FP, HP, and Stamina—all valuable for this build.

So that wraps up our Blackguard 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.