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As possibly one of the hardest builds for the early game, Faith builds the most rewarding in New Game Plus. Despite this, there are a few ways to make the most out of the stat early enough in the game, so it isn't a slog to Soul of Cinder.
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Early Game
Starting with the Cleric or Herald class, a Faith build is a challenging one. With the Miracles available, players can enjoy having a reliable source of healing when out of Estus. Finding Irina as quickly as possible and getting Lightning Spear will help tremendously.
- Raw infused weapons can help players avoid dumping points into STR and DEX in favor of FTH.
- Finding the Braille Divine Tome of Carim early on in Road of Sacrifices will give players access to Tears of Denial. The Miracle prevents death by letting the player live on one HP.
- Talismans and Chimes should be left to the player's personal preferences as each will offer different pros and cons.
- The Claymore is a strong choice to use with a Raw gem, but any weapon works well enough.
- The Winged Knight at High Wall of Lothric and the Evangelist at Undead Settlement has a chance to drop a Blessed Gem for players wanting to create Blessed weapons early on.
Players may find themselves wanting to invest in Strength or Dexterity for a hybrid build. Raw, Blessed, Deep, Fire, Poison, and Simple weapon infusions can help fight enemies with various resistances and won't require leveling stats for damage. Finding what is comfortable is the goal initially, and then building upon that is the aim for the rest of the game.
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Strength/Faith Hybrid
Many weapons scale well with both Strength and Faith. It uses some of the strongest weapons in the game to deal with both physical and lightning damage. Using a Talisman or Chime for ranged attacks and healing while keeping the pressure on with a powerful weapon is the aim of this kind of build.
- Morne's Great Hammer,Dragonslayer Greataxe, andDragonslayer Swordspearare good weapons for this type of build. However, any Strength weapon infused with a Lightning Gem will achieve a similar result.
- Tears of Denialis a good choice to run on every build. It's possible to cast this Miracle, unattune it, and still have the effect in place.
- Sacred OathandDeep Protectionprovide an increase in damage and defense.
- Lightning Stakewill provide another means of dealing damage in melee range and has a generous hitbox.Players can use lightning Stormfor players that didn't get the Swordspear from Nameless King's Soul.
- Players can use any Heavy infused weapons and use theLightning BladeMiracle to coat it in LIghtning.
- Ring of the Sun's First BornandMorne's Ringboth increase damage from Miracles.
- Players can use the lightning Clutch Ringto increase all Lightning damage from Miracles and weapons that deal Lightning damage.
- Players can use attack raising rings such as Lloyd's Sword Ring and Red Tearstone Ring to great effect for this build.
- With a combination of Miracle boosting or Physical boosting equipment, this build excels at dealing with either type of damage.
TheWeapon Artof both Dragonslayer weapons deals Lightning damage, making them reliable sources of a large amount of Lightning damage even without any remaining FP. Focusing on Vigor, Endurance, Attunement, Faith, and Strength can spread levels around unevenly, so it is important to pay attention to a weapon's stats. Rings such as theKnight's RingandPriestess Ringcan help to raise levels at the expense of a ring slot.
Full Miracle Build
The strongest Miracle in the game comes from transposing theSoul of the Lords. TheSunlight Spearwill be what players spam for damage in almost every situation. Attunement becomes much more important the more reliant on Miracles the player becomes. Because Miracles are the main source of damage, leveling only Vigor, Endurance, Attunement, and Faith will be required. Players could even argue that Vigor isn't as necessary because of the usage ofTears of Denial.
- Damaging Miracles should include Sunlight Spear, either Lightning Stake or Lightning Storm, Lightning Arrow, and Way of White Corona.
- Defensive and Healing Miracles should include Deep Protection and Sacred Oath, as they both increase attack power and damage absorption, Great Magic Barrier, and Soothing Sunlight.
- Morne's Ring and Ring of the Sun's First Born will boost the damage of Miracles and can be used with the Lightning Clutch Ring to boost the damage of the Sunlight Spear.
Using either theWitchtree Branchor aSage Ringto increase casting speed is highly recommended. Sunlight Spear is the main source of damage and even deals damage twice when fighting at the melee range. Lightning Stake is a quick Miracle to cast but doesn't deal as much damage as either the Sunlight Spear or Lightning Storm. Lightning Storm, however, takes a bit more time and does damage multiple times. Figuring out when to cast these Miracles in each situation will become easier with practice.
Dark/Bleed Miracle Build
This is a relatively simple build that uses both Faith and Intelligence for Dark Miracles and Luck for the Bleed status effect. Miracles that deal Bleed use a fixed value and can't be increased with Luck. Using other Bleed status dealing weapons will use the Luck stat instead, but it is optional.
- Dark Miracles should includeLifehunt ScytheandDorhys' Gnawing.Dead Againcan be used, but it isn't always practical.
- Using other damaging Miracles like Sunlight Spear can be used as normal.
- Players can use healing and buffing Miracles as normal.
- Anything that builds Bleed can be used as a weapon, but theWarden Twinbladeshave the fastest build-up for the status.
- Players can use otherDarkinfused weapons to great effect with this build.
The main idea behind the build is proccing Bleed. Dealing 15 percent of an enemy's HP each time it procs begins to add up with other sources of damage.Luckwill increase how much Bleed weapons will increase the invisible status bar, but it shouldn't be the main focus if players want to use Dark weapons instead.Pyromanciesscale with Faith and Intelligence, making it easy to use for Dark or Bleed resistant enemies.
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Equipment
Various pieces of equipment are suitable for Faith builds. While using them is optional, they shouldn't be overlooked.
Rings
- Lightning Clutch Ring - This ring increases Lightning damage by 15 percent while decreasing Physical damage absorption by 10 percent.
- Morne's Ring and Ring of the Sun's First Born both increase damage of Miracles by 12 and 20 percent respectively.
- Priestess Ring - Increases Faith by 5 points and can be useful at lower levels to reach the requirement needed on some weapons.
- Sage Ring - Any variant of this ring is good as it increases cast speed by a fixed amount.
- Lloyd's Sword Ring - A good ring for every build that increases attack power by 10 percent while at full health.
- Red Tearstone Ring - Another ring for every build that increases attack power by 20 percent while at or below 20 percent remaining HP.
While not a ring, it should be noted that theWitchtree Branchboth increases casting speed more than any variant of theSage Ringand only needs to be in the off-hand to apply the buff.
Chimes/Talismans
Choosing a Talisman comes down to simple preference as each has its strengths and weaknesses.
- Talisman - Deals good damage while retaining good hyper armor.
- Sunlight Talisman - Deals the least damage but has high hyper armor.
- Saint's Talisman - Deals the most damage but has the lowest hyper armor.
Chimes deal more damage but lack the Weapon Art of Talismans that provide hyper armor. The best chime isYorshka's Chimeand deals the most damage of any other catalyst when casting Miracles. When castingDark Miracles, using eitherCaitha's Chimeor theSunless Talismanwill provide the most damage.
Weapons
Many weapons scale with Faith, but any weapon works when paired with a Lightning gem. There are some notable weapons out of the bunch that has innate Lightning damage or high Faith scaling.
- Dragonslayer Swordspear - Deals Physical and Lightning damage with a powerful Weapon Art that can hit enemies from a distance with Lightning.
- Dragonslayer Greataxe - Deals Physical and Lightning damage with an area of effect Weapon Art that is capable of taking out most enemies with one hit.
- Morne's Great Hammer - Deals high Physical damage with a Poise and defense raising Weapon Art that pushes enemies back.
- Any of the Twin Princes' three available swords work well with a Faith build but scale with several other stats as well.
- Wolnir's Holy Sword - A good choice for Strength and Faith builds with an average Weapon Art but good scaling.
- Saint Bident - One of the faster choices for a Faith weapon that deals good damage even uninfused. Lightning Blade over the weapon can achieve higher numbers than buffing with a Lightning Gem.
- Sunlight Straight Sword - Deals great damage while having a Weapon Art that works like the Sacred Oath Miracle.
Being one of the harder builds to get going, Faith builds can feel very rewarding. The beginning is a struggle, but players can opt for other builds and reallocate their stats atRosariainstead. However players decide to go about it, there are many combinations of weapons, talismans, and Miracles to choose from, and they have a great time going through the game.
For more build guides for Dark Souls 3, check out Best Sorcery builds in Dark Souls 3 on Pro Game Guides.
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