Archer builds have always had their audience in the Souls series, and it’s no different inElden Ring. Even though you’ll never do the same amount of damage compared to practically any other weapon type, the ranger fantasy is still viable in the Lands Between, especially if you’re willing to commit to it and take on the challenge. Here is the best Archer build for Elden Ring to prepare you for the base game and expansion.

TheBlack Bowis easily one of the best bows in the entire game, especially because it acts like a short bow despite being a longbow.

This means you’ll get all the moves of a traditional short bow but with the additional damage and a great skill to boot. So you can jump around and shoot in midair, giving you a lot of maneuverability.

Black Bow Elden Ring

After you hit 40 in both Strength and Dexterity, the damage increase will be minimal which is why we recommend dumping more points into Vigor and taking it up to at least 60. Continue adding more points into Endurance as well because the bow and its skill will drain stamina fast. The build also requires 25 points in Faith, so we can cast a few buffs that make the build worthwhile.

For the Seal, we’re going withClawmark Sealbecause of its low requirements. With this, you’ll be casting the following incantations.

Both of these tremendously boost damage and work well with a large variety of builds. Since we can take the damage of the Black Bow only so far, these become essential for high damage and defense.

Golden Vow and Flame, Grant Me Strength

The following Talismans pair best with this build.

Archer Build Gear Weight Class

Make sure you’re wearinglight armor. This is essential because you’ll be moving around a lot, and the fast rolls are very important. Apart from that, lower stamina consumption means you’ll be able to shoot more arrows.

you’re able to experiment around with different types of arrows, but we recommend you farm or craft the following for maximum damage, and status effects:

With this build, you’ll do tons of damage to regular enemies and take out most with a few shots. You absolutely want to abuse the Barrage skill, especially against bosses.

If bows aren’t your thing, check out the best build forZweihander, andEleonora’s Poleblade. For more on Elden Ring and its expansion, make sure to check out ourdedicated section.

Ali Hashmi

Ali has been writing about video games for the past six years and is always on the lookout for the next indie game to obsess over and recommend to everyone in sight. When he isn’t spending an unhealthy amount of time in Slay the Spire, he’s probably trying out yet another retro-shooter or playing Dark Souls for the 50th time.