What are the best Lords of the Fallen builds? Many Lords of the Fallen mechanics and concepts will be familiar to soulslike fans; however, the dark fantasy RPG introduces enough of its own ideas around character building to provide a satisfying, if not daunting, experience.
You’ll also be pleased to know that the starting Lords of the Fallen classes are included in our best builds, and we’ll give you a better idea of how each class and build works down below. As every Lords of the Fallen build relies heavily on the type of weapon you have equipped, our guide on Lords of the Fallen weapons and where to find them will also be integral to ensuring you’re not putting yourself at a disadvantage. Now, here are the ultimate Lords of the Fallen builds to work towards.
Lords of the Fallen build types
Here is every type of Lords of the Fallen build:
- Strength build
- Agility build
- Quality build
- Radiance build
- Inferno build
- Wither build
Best Lords of the Fallen strength build
- Starting Class: Hallowed Knight
- Key Stats: Vitality, Strength, Endurance
For those who want to wield massive swords, hammers, and other bone-crushing implements, you’ll be happy to hear that Lords of the Fallen provides all the tools required to make an effective strength-based character. As there are many enemies at any given time, the wide arc of a strength weapon’s attacks makes quick work of most angry mobs, especially those in the Umbral realm.
The best starting class for a pure strength build is the Hallowed Knight; while this starting class does have a wasted point in the radiance stat and a minimum of eight in agility, it still beats the Udirangr Warwolf’s two wasted points in agility. You may also want to spec into radiance later to give your character some magic utility.
For stat allocation, raising both endurance and vitality to 20 before investing in strength will ensure you don’t die too quickly to the many Lords of the Fallen bosses. From there, you should increase your strength to match the strength-scaling weapon you wish to wield: the Crimson Rector Sword, for example, requires 19 Strength, whereas the Faithful Bludgeon requires a whopping 28 – both of which are found early on in a hidden area beneath Skyrest Bridge.
Next, focus on getting your vitality to hit 30 to make sure the mid-game bosses aren’t too punishing if you miss a dodge roll. As this Lords of the Fallen build relies on timing slow, heavy strikes, endurance is a bit less valuable here; however, if you struggle with stamina when using attacks and rolls, be sure to raise it past 20. Otherwise, focus on strength or branching out into radiance for utility.
For armor, you can purchase Pieta, She of Blessed Renewal’s armor set from Molhu in Skyrest Bridge for a great replacement for the Hallowed Knight sets; otherwise, mix and match the highest defensive armor you have while maintaining medium encumbrance.
Best Lords of the Fallen agility build
- Starting Class: Exiled Stalker
- Key Stats: Endurance, Agility, Vitality
Agility builds, known as dexterity builds in other soulslikes, are one of the more versatile ways to play the game. In Lords of the Fallen, agility builds excel at using ranged weapons to pick off tough enemies or thin a crowd before engaging with a flurry of daggers or short swords. What’s more, dual-wielding in Lords of the Fallen is quite powerful, and while any class can do it, the swift strikes of an agility build do it best.
The best starting class for an agility build is the Exiled Stalker, as it has only one wasted stat in strength. Even then, several Lords of the Fallen weapons, including bows, require at least nine strength to wield. The other agility-based class, the Blackfeather Ranger, wastes three points in strength.
With an initial 16 in agility, you’re free to raise endurance and vitality to 20 before leveling your agility once again to increase the damage of your chosen weapon. While the dual Exiled Stalker Daggers will serve you well for quite a while, picking up the Reject’s Blade fists in Pilgrim’s Perch makes for a great alternative. Ranged weaponry, like the Bow of the Convert or the throwing daggers, can thin out enemies before you engage them, especially with how conveniently Lords of the Fallen handles ammunition.
In the mid-game, this build drops off a little, as most powerful weapons require more than just agility. The Bloodletter fists, for example, apply the bleed status and deal holy damage, requiring a minimum of 12 radiance to use. Here, you should think about adding a little strength, radiance, or inferno to this build to make use of more powerful weapons – but just one of the three.
Your armor set depends on how much you value dodgerolls. Equipping the best defensive armor while maintaining medium encumbrance will take you far; however, maintaining light encumbrance helps keep you moving fluidly as you strike quickly before rolling away.
Best Lords of the Fallen quality build
- Starting Class: Udirangr Warwolf, Partisan, Mournstead Infantry, or Blackfeather Ranger
- Key Stats: Vitality, Endurance
Want the best of both physical worlds? A quality build that makes use of both strength and agility weapons is likely the most diverse way to explore Mournstead if you’re not sure what you like. As plenty of weapons scale off both stats – and indeed, some of the best strength or agility-focused weapons require a little bit of the other – you can invest in both until you find a weapon you enjoy, then begin pumping up the stat that it scales best with.
There are four great starting classes for a quality build. The Udirangr Warwolf, Partisan, Mournstead Infantry, and Blackfeather Ranger all have the minimum points invested into radiance and inferno, and the other four stats – strength, agility, endurance, and vitality – you’ll raise higher than the starting values for every single class. It depends entirely on which starting armor set and weapon appeals to you most; however, the Partisan and Blackfeather Ranger do come with strong ranged options.
Like other builds, you’ll want to pump up your endurance and vitality to at least 20 as quickly as possible before raising both strength and agility to match your weapon of choice. There are far too many great quality weapons in Lords of the Fallen, but some standouts in the early to mid-game include Sin Piercer’s Sword, looted from Gentle Gaverus after Pilgrim’s Perch, and Fitzroy’s Sword, found in Fitzroy’s Gorge.
Once again, equipping the best physical defense armor you have while maintaining medium encumbrance fits a quality build well. However, if you want to equip a heavier set for more defense or a lighter one for quicker dodging, this build is completely versatile to your playstyle.
Best Lords of the Fallen radiance build
- Starting Class: Orian Preacher
- Key Stats: Radiance, Vitality, Endurance
If smiting your foes and healing your allies is your thing, then a radiance build will help send all the horrors infesting Mournstead running before you. By far the most accessible type of magic, with much more than simple healing, radiance provides the safest way to keep yourself alive as you explore Mournstead.
The best class for a radiance build is the Orian Preacher. As Radiance builds have no use for agility or inferno, this starting class is the most optimized, even if you may not use the two points in strength to you advantage. This class also comes with a catalyst to cast radiant magic and the Piercing Flare spell, which will help a great deal in the early game.
For stats, raising vitality and endurance to 20 ensures you will stand up to hits from stronger foes and can dodgeroll out of danger while casting. Then it’s a matter of pumping up your radiance skill to 30 to obtain the powerful Blessed Reflection spell by trading in Umbral Scourges to Molhu in Skyrest Bridge after defeating Pieta; furthermore, you can purchase one of the best Radiant-scaling weapons in the game in Pieta’s Sword. That said, when dealing with radiance-resistant enemies, it’s a good idea to have a backup weapon, such as the Orian Preacher’s Hammer, which also deals Physical damage, or investing into strength to wield some of the more powerful weapons you’ll find heading into the mid-point of your journey.
This build does well with medium or heavy encumbrance, as it has a lot of supportive spells to offset a slow dodge roll. As a result, you can mix and match the best armor you have to maintain your preferred encumbrance.
Best Lords of the Fallen inferno build
- Starting Class: Pyric Cultist
- Key Stats: Inferno, Vitality, Endurance
Who doesn’t like hurling fireballs at foes? While not as accessible as radiance magic, inferno magic comes with plenty of utility: buffs to increase damage, mitigate damage, and knock enemies away go hand-in-hand with lava plumes. It does, however, take some time to feel powerful, though plenty of bosses melt before some well-timed fireballs
The only good starting class for an inferno build is the Pyric Cultist. As it’s hard to get inferno spells early on in the game, you’ll find the initial Infernal Orb spell, along with the Inferno Catalyst, to be a necessity. While it’s possible to play one of the previous physical builds before speccing into inferno, you’ll be waiting a while to make use of those sweet fireballs and potentially wasting points in either strength or agility along the way.
Like other builds, hitting 20 vitality and 20 endurance is a must for survival. The game often overwhelms you with enemies, as we mentioned in our Lords of the Fallen review, so not being able to take a hit while casting will spell disaster. The starting class comes with 18 points in inferno at the beginning; however, soon after finishing Pilgrim’s Perch, you’ll speak with a woman named Damarose who will sell you Adyr’s Rage, a great spell that increases physical damage output and requires 22 inferno. From there, you should raise either strength or agility to wield a solid, workable weapon such as the Sin Piercer’s Sword to supplement your fireballs, as the Pyric Cultist’s Staff that the class begins with is somewhat unwieldy to use.
Much later in the game, this build becomes quite powerful after defeating the boss called the Spurned Progeny, as you can then obtain the Magma Surge spell. Also like the other builds, wearing armor to maintain medium encumbrance while mitigating physical damage is of utmost importance.
Best Lords of the Fallen wither build
- Starting Class: Pyric Cultist or Orian Preacher
- Key Stats: Inferno, Radiance, Endurance, Vitality
Wither magic takes a ton of investment before it becomes powerful, but after about 20 hours of patience, it truly begins to shine. Both Wither spells and weapons scale off radiance and inferno, meaning that your stats might not be very high, but they’ll add twice the scaling to your weapons and spells. That said, none of the starting classes have a head start in both casting stats.
Therefore, the best starting classes for a wither magic build are the Pyric Cultist or Orian Preacher. Both will require you to invest heavily into inferno or radiance respectively, yet you won’t get any good wither-based weapons or spells until much later in the game. Therefore, following either the radiance build or inferno build guides until you defeat The Hushed Saint boss, and then investing into the magic skill you haven’t yet, will ensure that eventually you can make the most of wither magic. The Hushed Saint, once defeated, will unlock a powerful wither spell called Latimer’s Javelin that will carry you through to the end of the game.
At around the mid-point of your harrowing adventure, you’ll come upon powerful weapons of all types that have low strength and agility requirements but high radiance and inferno requirements, such as Rosamund’s Sword (13/13/16/16), that stack wither damage. While maintaining enough endurance and vitality, spec toward these weapons before raising your radiance and inferno stats into the 30s. The benefit of this build is that, at any time, you can switch out for radiance or inferno magic.
As for equipment, equipping the best physical damage-resistant armor while maintaining a medium encumbrance serves this build well, unless otherwise in an area with enemies that deal specific damage types. The Angel of the Void armor you’ll find in the Forsaken Fen also fits this class well.
There you have it – a build for each of the key damaging stats in Lords of the Fallen. Keep in mind that as you reach the mid-game and beyond, you can reset your build with a Rebirth Chrysalis purchased from Molhu in Skybridge Rest. That said, you cannot change your starting class’ stats, so choose wisely.
For more on games like Lords of the Fallen, check out our list of best soulslike games and ponder where it might end up. Or, if you’d rather travel through fantastical worlds without so many punishing bosses, our list of best fantasy games on PC is here to help. We’ve also got everything you need to know about Lords of the Fallen multiplayer, as well as a full guide on how to reach the Lords of the Fallen beacons on your adventure.