Most builds in Elden Ring tend to revolve around a specific weapon or a powerful spell. This build utilizes a piece of armor, the Raptor’s Black Feathers, to turn a simple build into a jump-attacking menace. This is how you build around the armor.
The best Raptor’s Black Feathers build in Elden Ring
The Raptor’s Black Feathers is the chest armor piece of the Raptor’s Set in Elden Ring. Equipping this armor grants a 10 percent boost to your jump attack damage. This effect stacks completely with the Claw Talisman and works great with weapons with high damage per hit. Several different new weapons fit the bill in Shadow of the Erdtree and this is what we chose.
This is a new DLC build that uses the recently added Great Katana weapon type. As such, it will primarily be a Strength/Dexterity build. If you currently use different stats, it would be best to respec your character before getting started.
| Build parameters | Requirements |
|---|---|
| Recommended level | 150 or more |
| Primary stats | Strength, Dexterity |
| Secondary stats | Vigor |
| Weapons | Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana |
| Armor | Raptor’s Black Feathers Rakshasa Set |
| Talismans | Claw Talisman Godfrey Icon Shard of Alexander Two-handed Sword Talisman |
| Weapon skills | Dragonwound Slash |
| Additional spells | N/A |
Stat distribution
The main stats of the build are Strength and Dexterity, so getting them both to 40 is the way to begin. Next, invest points into Vigor up to 40 for survivability and Endurance to 30 for stamina. Since there are no other stats required for scaling, invest your leftover points evenly across Strength and Dexterity until they hit soft caps.
This is what your endgame stats should look like:
- Vigor: 50
- Mind: 15
- Endurance: 30
- Strength: 50
- Dexterity: 50
- Intelligence: Base level
- Faith: Base level
- Arcane: Base level
Any additional points beyond this level can be invested into Vigor for more survivability or Str/Dex for more damage. If you need more FP to cast your weapon skill more often, a few points allocated towards Mind will come in handy.
Crystal Tear concoction
The best Crystal Tear for any endgame build is the Bloodsucking Cracked Tear. This effect lasts for three minutes and boosts your overall damage output by 20 percent. This includes attacks made from your regular slashes as well as your weapon skill. However, you will suffer a gradual health drain as this effect is active, so ensure you have enough healing flasks.
The other Tear for this build is the Greenburst Crystal Tear. Since this is a physical-heavy melee build, it will use a lot of stamina for attacking and dodge-rolling. Using the Greenburst Crystal Tear will ensure that you will always have that little bit of stamina to launch that final attack against an enemy or get yourself out of a bad predicament.
Gear breakdown
The main weapon of this build is the Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana. This weapon scales off your Strength and Dexterity stats while dealing purely physical damage. It also has an inherent bleed buildup that will proc with enough attacks. Its weapon skill, Dragonwound Slash, launches a jumping charged attack that deals high physical damage.
If you run low on FP frequently, incorporating a Sacrificial Axe into this build would mitigate some of that. Equipping your main weapon with both hands while the Sacrificial Axe stays on your back will still grant you its passive four FP restoration per kill effect.
The main piece of gear in this build is the Raptor’s Black Feathers. Since Dragonwound Slash is a leaping attack, you will benefit from the damage boost that this chest armor provides. For the rest of your set, use pieces from the new DLC Rakshasa Set for a small increase in your overall damage output.
Talisman breakdown
Four talismans work perfectly for this build:
- The Claw Talisman is a key part of this build because it boosts your jump attack damage. This effect stacks fully with the Raptor’s Black Feathers, so use your jump attacks often.
- Godfrey Icon reduces the charge time of your Dragonwound Slash, allowing it to land faster than it normally would. The virtual Dexterity you gain from this talisman stacks with your already high Dexterity to launch the attack much quicker.
- The Shard of Alexander boosts your skill damage, directly increasing the damage output of your Dragonwound Slash by 15 percent. This damage boost is further increased by the Claw Talisman and the Raptor’s Black Feathers.
- The Two-handed Sword Talisman is a new talisman added in the DLC. It boosts your weapon damage by 15 percent as long as you’re wielding it with both hands.
