For Tarnished looking to power up their character and collect rare weapons and armor during a solo playthrough of Elden Ring, the right build is key. In this massive open world, cheap Elden Ring runes and items can be farmed efficiently with the builds outlined below. Each prioritizes different playstyles and reward opportunities to help solo players progress and prepare for the lands between's toughest challenges.
Frostbite Build
The Frostbite status effect is quite useful for farming runes and items in Elden Ring thanks to its ability to boost all damage against afflicted foes by 20%. With this build focusing on weapons and spells that apply Frostbite like Death's Poker or Adula's Moonblade, enemies will take more damage overall, leading to quicker fights and higher rune rewards. Increased damage also means bosses can be defeated more easily for increased item drop chances from their Remembrances.
Some key items to boost this build include:
- Stargazer Heirloom Talisman - Increases damage against foes afflicted with Frostbite, Scarlet Rot, or Bleed by 15%
- Godfrey Icon Talisman - Increases all damage by 5% when HP is full
- Graven-Mass Talisman - Increases damage of spell, bow, and thrown weapon skills by 15%
With these damage boosts and the inherent damage increase from Frostbite itself, enemies fall more quickly for efficient rune and item farming.
Dexterity Build
Dexterity builds have long been effective in Souls games thanks to their fast, agile movesets. This translates well to Elden Ring where reaction times and dodging abilities are crucial for solo runs. Weapons like the Hand of Malenia or Bloodhound's Fang reward precise timing with high damage. Their rapid strikes mean run-of-the-mill enemies can be taken down in just a few hits for quick accumulation of cheap Elden Ring runes.
The mobility also helps avoid danger and better enables clearing large enemy camps without taking damage. By incurring fewer healing item uses, more quest lines and dungeon areas can be explored per play session, increasing long-term rune and item rewards.
Recommended items include:
| Talismans | Effects |
|---|---|
| Prosthesis-Wearer Heirloom | Increases attack power as HP decreases |
| Rotten Winged Sword Insignia | Increases damage against enemies with less than 20% HP by 16% |
| Millicent's Prosthesis | Increases attack rating of Dexterity by 5% and jump attack damage by 15% |
Fire Faith Build
Combining fire damage and Incantations from Faith provides massive offensive power for item farming opportunities. Weapons like the Godslayer's Greatsword deal fire damage with each swing while Black Flame Incantations apply a damaging debuff. Large-area attacks like Flame, Fall Upon Them are perfect for clearing camps of weaker enemies for their item drops. The additional pressure also increases knockdown and stagger rates against tougher foes.
This fast accumulation of cheap Elden Ring runes from weak enemies allows swift leveling up to tackle stronger open-world bosses. Their valuable Remembrance items and unique armor/weapon drops become more obtainable. Key additions include:
- Two Fingers Heirloom Talisman - Increases Faith scaling of Incantations
- Fire Scorpion Charm Talisman - Increases fire damage of Incantations
- Shard of Alexander Talisman - Increases all damage based on maximum HP lost
Blasphemous Blade Build
Centered around Rykard's signature weapon, this build incorporates significant healing capabilities while dealing heavy fire damage. Its Ash of War restores HP with each hit, keeping solo players alive through tough battles. Against large packs, this sustain allows fearless engagement without chugging Crimson Flasks. More time fighting translates to faster rune accrual and improved rare drop odds.
The life drain also improves survivability against field bosses and late-game enemies. Their powerful gear becomes within reach through safe defeats. Useful Talismans include:
- Shard of Alexander
- Fire Scorpion Charm
- Carian Filigreed Crest (increases rune arc discovery)
- Taker's Cameo (increases rune reward from killing foes near summoned NPCs)
Pure Intelligence Build
Considered by many to be the most powerful build type in Elden Ring, high Intelligence yields colossal offensive sorceries along with magic-scaling weapon skills. Spells like the long-lasting Comet Azur or instant Meteorite of Astel shred through crowds with ease. Their massive damage also cuts down most field bosses within moments.
With weak enemies falling in one hit from ranged magic, rune rewards stack up rapidly to outpace other builds. Rare spell drops also come more quickly through earlier access to late-game areas and remembrance owners. Key items include:
- Cerulean Amber Medallion/Magic-Shrouding Cracked Tear (extends FP for Comet Azur)
- Lusat's Glintstone Staff (highest INT scaling catalyst)
- Graven-Mass Talisman ( boosts spell damage)
When optimized, this build steamrolls content at a breakneck pace for maximum rune farming potential throughout any Elden Ring solo run.
