When you first begin, obviously picking the Samurai class will get you a good head start on the build, but it isn't necessary, as later down the line you can respec, or you can follow the levelling guide anyway and find the items in the world that you would otherwise start with.
Picking the Samurai class will let you start with the Uchigatana, which is a key weapon due to its powerful skill and bleed effect. You'll also start off with the Land of Reeds armour which is great medium armour that will last you for many hours before it needs swapping out for something stronger. This means equipment-wise, you won't need to seek out other weapons and armours for a good several hours.
As you begin to gain levels, the main stats you are going to want to focus on are Dexterity and Vigor. Dexterity will scale with your Uchigatana, allowing you to do more damage, and as a character that's designed to get in the face of enemies, Vigor is key to staying alive in fights. It's worth putting some points into Mind and Endurance for later but only do this every few levels for the time being.
Once you reach Dexterity 20, you'll want to switch focus to Intelligence for a while, as this stat is key to the build once you gain the Moonveil katana. After you have this weapon, Intelligence and Vigor will be your main stats, and you can stop levelling Endurance at around level 25 as you'll have more than enough stamina by that point. Continue to put the occasional point into Mind as this will allow you to make use of the Moonveil skill, which we'll touch upon later. Carry on levelling this way until you finish the game or decide you want to try something different.
ELDEN RING SAMURAI BUILD: BEST EQUIPMENT
Our Elden Ring Samurai build is designed around a few key pieces of equipment. The Moonveil katana, Carian Filigreed Crest, Assassin's Cerulean Dagger, and a Glintstone Staff of your choosing. For armour, you can stick with the Land of Reeds set through most of the game, and upgrading it at a site of Lost Grace will let you make it a little tougher, but our general advice is that you stick with medium or light armour if you decide to go with something else.
The Moonveil katana is a key weapon and is currently the most powerful katana in the entire game due to its fast attack speed, bleed effect, and its skill - Transient Moonlight. The katana can be found in the Gael Tunnel, which is on the west side of Caelid, and can be earned for defeating the Magma Wyrm boss. It's important to make your way here to earn this weapon as early as you possibly can, but remember that Caelid is a hard region to survive in, so you'll want to be ready.
The Transient Moonlight ability acts mostly the same as the Uchigatana skill, Unsheathe. You'll sheathe the blade before quickly pulling it out for a fast and powerful attack, but with the Moonveil, this also shoots a wave of magic energy in the direction that you swing the sword. It requires levelling with Somber Smithing Stones, and it can't be infused with Ashes of War - but this is fine as you won't want to get rid of Transient Moonlight.
To best make use of the Moonveil and its skill, you'll need two specific Talismans that can be earned within the first twenty or so hours of gameplay. The Carian Filigreed Crest lowers the FP consumption of all skills and can be bought from the blacksmith Iji in front of the Carian Manor by either completing Elden Ring Blaidd's quest or joining with Ranni the Witch.
The second key Talisman is the Assassin's Cerulean Dagger, which can be earned after defeating the Black Knife Assassin in the Black Knife Catacombs in Liurnia. It allows you to restore FP for making critical hits. Using these Talismans in tandem is extremely powerful, as the Carian Filigreed Crest reduces the cost of Transient Moonlight to 15 FP, and getting a critical hit with the Cerulean Dagger equipped will restore 15 FP, letting you be effective in combat for longer.
Later in the game, there are some other Talismans that are effective for this build, such as the Ancestral Spirit's Horn which lets you restore FP for every kill, and the Stargazer Heirloom which grants +5 Intelligence.
As you'll have high Intelligence for this build, you can make use of many of the game's sorceries too. Most of the fighting you'll be doing is going to be melee combat, so you may not make use of these often, but having some ranged spells can really help in some situations. The Greatblade Phalanx, Loretta's Greatbow, and Gravity Well are all top-tier sorceries you can use, with the latter allowing you to pull enemies close and finish them with Transient Moonlight.
That's the breakdown of our Elden Ring Samurai build, and you should be able to replicate this build to create your own powerful magical Samurai.
