Do Lightning Weapons Scale With Faith in Elden Ring? A Comprehensive Guide

In Elden Ring, the answer to whether lightning weapons scale with Faith is nuanced. Generally, natively lightning-infused weapons do not scale with Faith. They primarily scale with Dexterity for their lightning damage and Strength/Dexterity for their physical damage component. However, there are ways to incorporate Faith into a lightning build to significantly enhance its effectiveness, primarily through incantations and certain Ashes of War. This guide will break down the specifics, explore how Faith interacts with lightning damage in Elden Ring, and provide tips for crafting a powerful lightning-based character.

Understanding Damage Scaling in Elden Ring

Before diving deeper, it’s crucial to understand how damage scaling works in Elden Ring. Every weapon and spell has specific scaling attributes, represented by letter grades (S, A, B, C, D, E). These grades indicate how effectively the weapon or spell’s damage increases as you level up the corresponding stat. For example, a weapon with a ‘B’ scaling in Dexterity will gain more damage from increasing your Dexterity stat than a weapon with a ‘D’ scaling.

• Strength (STR): Primarily affects the physical damage of weapons.
• Dexterity (DEX): Primarily affects the physical and lightning damage of certain weapons, as well as casting speed.
• Intelligence (INT): Affects the damage of sorceries and certain weapons with magic scaling.
• Faith (FTH): Affects the damage of incantations and certain weapons with holy, fire, or lightning scaling (when infused).
• Arcane (ARC): Affects item discovery, bleed/poison buildup, and the scaling of certain weapons and spells.

Lightning Weapons and Scaling

• Native Lightning Weapons: Weapons that inherently deal lightning damage, like the Dragon King’s Cragblade, usually scale with Dexterity for their lightning portion. The physical damage will scale with both Strength and Dexterity.

• Infused Lightning Weapons: Weapons infused with a Lightning Affinity using Ashes of War will primarily scale with Dexterity. This infusion often decreases Strength scaling and increases Dexterity scaling. However, it’s important to note that these weapons will not scale with Faith unless infused with a different affinity.

• Sacred Affinity Infusion: If you infuse a weapon with an Ash of War that has the Sacred Affinity, the weapon’s basic attacks will do Physical and Holy damage. Furthermore, lightning-themed Ashes of War, like Thunderbolt or Lightning Slash, will then scale with Faith. Their special attacks will still do lightning damage.

Faith’s Role in a Lightning Build

While native lightning weapons don’t scale with Faith, Faith is crucial for several reasons:

• Lightning Incantations: Many powerful lightning spells, such as Lightning Spear, Honed Bolt, and Ancient Dragons’ Lightning Strike, scale directly with your Faith stat. Increasing Faith significantly boosts their damage output.
• Electrify Armament: The Electrify Armament incantation buffs your weapon with lightning damage. The amount of lightning damage added scales with the Faith portion of the incantation scaling of your Sacred Seal.
• Buffs and Healing: Faith also grants access to valuable buffs and healing incantations, enhancing your survivability and damage potential. Golden Vow, for instance, increases attack power and defense.
• Weapon Buffs: The Gravel Stone Seal boosts the power of your lightning incantations. This increased damage ensures that you can tear through even the hardest bosses in Elden Ring.

Creating a Lightning Faith/Dex Build

To maximize your lightning damage, consider the following:

1. Stats:

   • Prioritize Faith as your primary damage stat for lightning incantations.
   • Invest in Dexterity for weapons scaling, casting speed, and general combat prowess.
   • Allocate points to Vigor, Mind, and Endurance for health, FP, and stamina, respectively.

2. Weapons:

   • Use weapons that benefit from Dexterity scaling, such as katanas, curved swords, or thrusting swords.
   • Infuse your weapons with the Lightning Affinity to maximize Dexterity scaling, or the Sacred Affinity to allow lightning-themed Ashes of War to scale with Faith.

3. Seals:

   • Use the Gravel Stone Seal to boost Dragon Cult Incantations.

4. Talismans:

   • Lightning Scorpion Charm: Increases lightning damage dealt but reduces physical defense.
   • Radagon’s Soreseal/Marika’s Soreseal: Increases multiple stats, including Faith and Dexterity, but also increases damage taken.
   • Faithful’s Canvas Talisman: Improves incantations.
   • Axe Talisman: Improves charged attacks

5. Incantations:

   • Include a variety of lightning incantations for different situations:
     • Lightning Spear/Honed Bolt: Fast, reliable ranged attacks.
     • Ancient Dragons’ Lightning Strike: Powerful AoE attack for large enemies or groups.
     • Electrify Armament: Weapon buff for increased lightning damage.

6. Armor:

   • The Bull-Goat Set has the highest Poise value in the game as well as the best physical damage mitigation. It also has the best lightning resistance out of all armor.

The Importance of Experimentation and Understanding Game Mechanics

The beauty of Elden Ring lies in its flexibility. Experiment with different weapons, incantations, and stat distributions to find a build that suits your playstyle. Understanding the nuances of scaling and how different elements interact is key to creating a truly powerful character. Also, consider exploring resources and communities like the Games Learning Society at GamesLearningSociety.org to delve deeper into game design principles and mechanics to better understand Elden Ring’s intricate systems.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What Ashes of War are best for a lightning build?

Ashes of War such as Lightning Slash and Thunderbolt are excellent choices. Lightning Slash enchants your weapon with lightning, while Thunderbolt allows you to hurl lightning bolts from your weapon.

2. Does the Gravel Stone Seal only boost Dragon Cult incantations?

Yes, the Gravel Stone Seal specifically boosts the power of Dragon Cult incantations. These are your primary lightning incantations, making the seal essential for a lightning Faith build.

3. How does Dexterity affect lightning incantations?

Dexterity primarily affects casting speed. Increasing Dexterity reduces the time it takes to cast incantations and sorceries. This can significantly improve your responsiveness in combat.

4. Is there a talisman that directly boosts lightning incantation damage?

Yes, the Lightning Scorpion Charm increases lightning damage dealt by your incantations and weapons, but at the cost of reducing your physical defense.

5. Does rain affect lightning damage in Elden Ring?

Yes, rain increases lightning damage dealt by both weapons and incantations. This makes rainy environments particularly advantageous for a lightning build.

6. Can I dual-wield lightning weapons for more damage?

Yes, dual-wielding can significantly increase your damage output. Choose two weapons with good Dexterity scaling and Lightning Affinity to maximize your damage. Powerstancing two weapons of the same type unleashes unique attack combos.

7. Does Arcane affect lightning damage at all?

Generally, Arcane does not directly affect lightning damage unless you are using specific weapons or spells that scale with Arcane in addition to Faith or Dexterity.

8. How do soft caps impact my stat investment?

Soft caps are stat levels where the returns on investment diminish significantly. For Faith, the primary soft cap for incantation scaling is around 80. After this point, the damage increase per level becomes less substantial. Prioritize other stats like Vigor and Mind once you reach these caps.

9. What’s the best starting class for a lightning Faith build?

The Prophet or Confessor are good starting classes because they begin with high Faith. This provides an early advantage for casting lightning incantations.

10. How does poise affect my lightning build?

Poise determines your resistance to being staggered by enemy attacks. High poise allows you to cast incantations without being interrupted. Armor sets like the Bull-Goat Set provide excellent poise.

11. Can I respec my stats later in the game?

Yes, you can respec your stats by using a Larval Tear at Raya Lucarian Grand Library after defeating Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon. This allows you to redistribute your stat points if you want to experiment with different builds.

12. Are dragons weak to lightning damage in Elden Ring?

Yes, dragons are notably weak to lightning damage. This makes a lightning build highly effective against dragon bosses and enemies.

13. Does the Electrify Armament incantation stack with other weapon buffs?

No, Electrify Armament and other weapon buffs do not stack. Applying a new buff will overwrite the existing one.

14. What are some alternative seals for casting lightning incantations?

Besides the Gravel Stone Seal, the Godslayer’s Seal and Erdtree Seal are excellent alternatives, providing high incantation scaling.

15. Does Death Lightning scale with faith?

Death Lightning is an offensive Dragon Cult Incantation and, as such, scales with Faith.

By understanding how lightning damage scales in Elden Ring and incorporating Faith strategically, you can create a devastatingly powerful build that excels in both melee combat and ranged spellcasting. Experiment, adapt, and become the true lightning incarnate!