Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC introduced new boss weapons to the base game. One of the main story bosses’ weapons, Messmer’s Spear of the Impaler, has a powerful skill that can shred groups of enemies. This build will help you empower it even more.
The best Spear of the Impaler build in Elden Ring
The Spear of the Impaler is one of the few Great Spear weapons in Elden Ring. Since it has a long reach, running a build with the Spear of the Impaler as the focal point will require you to invest in Strength, Dexterity, and Faith.
If your stats don’t match up, respec your character before getting started.
| Build parameters | Requirements |
|---|---|
| Recommended level | 150+ |
| Primary stats | Dexterity |
| Secondary stats | Strength, Faith |
| Weapons | Spear of the Impaler Fire Knight’s Seal |
| Armor | Winged Serpent Helm Fire Knight Armor Any armor set pieces (maintain medium load) |
| Talismans | Millicent’s Prosthesis Axe Talisman Two-handed Sword Talisman Shard of Alexander |
| Weapon skills | Messmer’s Assault |
| Additional spells | Fire Serpent Flame, Grant Me Strength |
Stat distribution
With Dexterity having the best scaling of the three, it is best to level it up first. Following that, investing points into Faith for the scaling as well as boosting the power of the Incantations is the way to go. When you have enough damage, invest in your survival by boosting Vigor and Endurance.
This is what your endgame stats should look like:
- Vigor: 50
- Mind: 15
- Endurance: 30
- Strength: 15
- Dexterity: 50
- Intelligence: Base level
- Faith: 40
- Arcane: Base level
The build caps out at around level 180. As you level up, any additional points can be invested into more Dexterity for damage or Faith if you want more effective Incantations. If you find yourself dying too quickly, leveling up your Vigor until you reach the 60 soft cap is the better option.
Gear breakdown
The main weapon here is the Spear of the Impaler. Its powerful weapon art, Messmer’s Assault, unleashes a flurry of flaming swipes and thrusts, with an explosive finale of spears springing forth from the ground. This powerful skill can be used to stagger bosses or wipe out groups of enemies with its mixed physical and fire damage.
On your offhand, equipping the Fire Knight’s Seal to channel your Incantations is ideal. This Sacred Seal scales well with your Faiath stat and also boosts the power of your Messmer Fire Incantations like Fire Serpent, which is best used to take out distant enemies.
Flame, Grant Me Strength is the main buff Incantation for this build because it boosts both physical and fire damage. For best results, you can also throw in Golden Vow for a boost to your attack and defense before a boss battle.
The armor choices for this build require two specific pieces: the Winged Serpent Helm and the Fire Knight Armor. The former boosts the damage of your Messmer’s Assault skill, while the latter increases the power of Messmer Fire Incantations. The rest of your armor is quite flexible, just remember to maintain medium equip load at all times.
Talisman breakdown
Four talismans work perfectly for this build.
Millicent’s Prosthesis is the oneof choice for any Dexterity build that uses consecutive attacks. The power of every successive attack you launch will empower the next, making this talisman synergize extremely well with Messmer’s Assault. The bonus Dexterity stat you gain will also further boost your endgame damage.
The Axe Talisman increases the power of all charged Heavy attacks, including the Spear of the Impaler’s unique Heavy attack. This attack will see you launch the spear at an enemy, causing an explosion of fire damage when fully charged. It increases the attack’s damage by a further 10 percent.
The Two-handed Sword Talisman was introduced in the DLC. It improves the damage of all of your attacks as long as you wield the Spear of the Impaler with both hands. The weapon’s base damage and its skill damage will increase by a flat 15 percent as long as this is equipped.
The Shard of Alexander is the best choice for any build that utilizes a powerful weapon skill. This talisman increases the power of Messmer’s Assault by 15 percent. This bonus stacks multiplicatively with the other damage-boosting talismans and armor pieces, making it useful to keep equipped at all times.
The Spear of the Impaler is found quite late in Shadow of the Erdtree. You will have to defeat Messmer, the Impaler in the Shadow Keep and acquire his Remembrance of the Impaler. Take this item to Finger Reader Enia in the Roundtable Hold and convert it to the weapon.
