Dark Souls 3: A Comprehensive 2400+ Word Guide to Faith Builds

As a passionate Dark Souls 3 player with over 200 hours across 5 playthroughs focused on Faith builds, I‘m excited to share everything I‘ve learned about making them awesome. This mega guide covers deep dives into stats, weapons, spells, strategies, and playstyle recommendations so you can obliterate PvE and lay down holy lightning in PvP with Faith builds!

What Makes Faith Builds Unique?

Faith builds rely on miracles for major damage dealing instead of traditional weapons. This gives them a unique playstyle focused on:

• Casting deadly lightning spells from range
• Buffing weapons with bonuses
• Access to useful healing and utility miracles
• High damage potential in late game

Miracles scale very well with investment into the Faith stat. Going to high values like 60 Faith grants enormous damage potential.

The key weaknesses to manage are:

• Difficult early game before finding spells
• Managing Focus Points (FP) for casting spells
• Less damage than dedicated strength or dexterity builds early on

Once you gather some powerful offensive lightning and weapon buff miracles, you really start to unlock the potential of faith builds. Definitely stay the course in the early game!

Best Starting Class and Gift for Faith

Based on the fundamentals above, the best starting class for faith builds is the Pyromancer. Here‘s why:

• Starts with 14 Intelligence AND 14 Faith. Enables decent fire and magic options.
• Allows weapon infusion and use of basic miracles very early.
• Solid starting HP and stamina to wield shields and dodge.
• Good distribution for leveling faith and necessary stats quickly.

As a new player, I‘d recommend the Life Ring as your starting gift – the extra HP early really matters.

For experienced players seeking more challenge, the Bonfire Ascetic allows you to respawn early bosses for unique rewards.

Now let‘s examine our leveling and stat priorities…

Leveling Tips and Stat Allocation

Here is the guidance around stat investment as you level your Pyromancer into a powerhouse Faith caster:

Early Game Stats (SL 1- 40)

• Vigor: First stat maxed. Prioritize until 20 initially, then 30 Vigor.
• Endurance: For better armor. 15 is sufficient early, 25 later.
• Attunement: Rising source of FP for spells. Rush to 18.
• Strength/Dex: Meet minimums to try weapons.
• Faith: Core damage stat. Invest steadily each level to 25 Faith.

Aim to have 18 Attunement for 2 spell slots and 25 Faith for some serious damage by level 40.

Mid Game Progression (SL 40 – 70)

• Vigor: Bring to 30 first for survivability.
• Attunement: Hits 24 for 3 slots and more FP.
• Endurance: Lets you wear heavier armor sets.
• Strength: Only if required for desired weapons.
• Dexterity: Slow leveling for faster casting/requirements.
• Faith: Keep pouring points until 50 Faith. Spells hit very hard now.

You‘ll gain access to highly damaging spells like Great Lightning Spear around 50 faith. I suggest taking either Strength OR Dexterity higher if you want more physical damage, while keeping the other just high enough for weapon requirements.

Late Game (SL 70 – 100)

• Vigor: Bring to 35-40 for late game content.
• Attunement: Raise to 30 for max 4 attunement slots.
• Endurance: 30-35 lets you wear heavy armor.
• Strength/Dexterity: For desired weapon criteria.
• Faith: Maxing this makes miracles incredibly potent. Peak spell damage at 60 faith.

At 60 Faith, both your weapons and spells will hit VERY hard. With good rings and equipment, you can one or two shot most enemies.

Here is a quick stat overview table:

Adjust to whether you want more Str, Dex, or Faith focus of course.

Let‘s continue…

Best Rings for Faith Builds

Rings provide major boosts. These are ideal:

• Ring of Favor: HP/Stamina/Equip Load. Use always.
• Morne‘s Ring: +12% miracle damage. Huge for nukes.
• Sun‘s First Born Ring: Further +20% miracle damage! Must have.
• Sage Ring: Essential for faster casting speed.
• Darkmoon Ring: Adds 2 attunement slots for more spells.
• Ring of the Evil Eye: Restores HP on kills. Great sustain.

I definitely recommend Sage Ring + Morne‘s Ring / Sun‘s First Born Ring for massive damage bonuses. Sage Ring is what enables effective high damage spell casting – it makes a giant difference in cast speed.

Best Early Game Weapons for Faith Builds

Early game is the biggest challenge with faith builds. You don‘t yet have strong offensive miracles or great weapons. Here are 5 excellent early options:

1. Long Sword Infused Raw: Easily available, scales well when raw infused for pure physical damage. Can add resins.
2. Fire Dagger: Amazing critical damage for backstabs and parries. Fire scales purely off weapon upgrade level.
3. Mace Infused Fire: Strike damage wrecks armored enemies fast. Infuse fire to ignore stat scaling.
4. Canvas Talisman: Very early game talisman for unfaltering miracle casting with Poise.
5. Lothric Knight Sword: Drops from an early game knight. Can take raw infusion and has nice moveset.

These let you transition smoothly while stacking faith thanks to strong base damage from Raw and Fire infusions not needing Int/Faith scaling. Look for the Claymore, Broadsword, or Astora Straight Sword to carry you further.

Mid Game Spells, Weapons, and Catalysts

Expanding your power mid game comes from offensive miracles and better talismans.

For Catalysts:

• Yorshka‘s Chime: Highest spell buff once acquired. Buffs miracle damage by 12.5% at 50 faith.
• Sunlight Talisman: Very high poise, enabling uninterrupted casting. Great in combat.
• Talisman of Ancient Dragon: Alternative with high poise and decent spell buff.

Make sure to attune:

• Lightning Stake: Close range high damage Area of Effect (AOE) attack. Melts groups and bosses.
• Great Lightning Spear: Extremely effective against Nameless King and good range.
• Lightning Blade: Melee buff for big weapon damage. Goes well with Heal spells.

Weapons:

• Wolnir‘s Greatsword: Holy aura wrecks skeletons. Inbuilt self buff.
• Dragonslayer‘s Axe: Lightning axe with weapon skill buff. Strength + faith scaling.
• Defender‘s Greatsword: Fast attacker with lightning damage skill. Buffable too.
• Lothric Knight Greatsword: Natural lightning damage plus great moveset and damage.
• Saint‘s Bident: Spear with good reach and innate faith scaling. Found early.

Having a buffable backup weapon helps for crowd control when enemies rush you. Use your range and bait them into Lightning Stakes!

Late Game Weapons to Strive For

Eventually you‘ll gain access to improved spell damage, buffs, heals and weapons like:

Catalysts

• Canvas Talisman – Best Poise for hyperarmor casting
• Sunlight Talisman – Alternate high poise option
• Yorshka‘s Chime – Highest spell buff

Weapons

• Lothric Knight Greatsword – S faith scaling and lightning base damage
• Dragonslayer‘s Greataxe – Massive lightning AOE weapon art
• Wolnir‘s Holy Sword – Wrecks groups with holy aura
• Rose of Ariandel – Strong special: boosts weapon damage
• Yorshka‘s Spear – Long reach, S faith scaling spear
• Morne‘s Great Hammer – Giant mace with S faith scaling + buff

Here is an example image of excellent high level Faith gear:

Having 50-60 faith also unlocks extremely powerful offensive miracles…

Raw Damage Miracles and Spells

These offensive spells hit incredibly hard with high faith scaling:

• Sunlight Spear – Long range high damage nuke. Deletes bosses. High FP cost balanced by insane damage. Available at 60 faith.
• Lightning Arrow – Fast firing spear of lightning. Roll catch people in PvP.
• Lightning Stake – Close range devastating lightning AOE explosion miracle. Melts packs and staggered bosses.
• Lightning Storm – Create an expanding AOE lightning storm. Very high Damage over Time. Slow cast so high risk.

I definitely rely on Lightning Arrow for efficient trading and then bait enemies into a one shot kill with Lightning Stake or Sunlight Spear.

Here is a comparison of damage across some popular lightning miracles at different faith levels:

As expected, Sunlight Spear comes out head and shoulders above the rest thanks to very high faith prerequisites and scaling. But don‘t underestimate Lightning Stake‘s damage, especially against large or clumped enemies!

Defensive Miracles & Support Spells

While raining lightning is fun, faith also provides strong buffs and emergency spells like:

• Tears of Denial – Survive lethal blows with 1 HP. Clutch miracle.
• Blessed Weapon – Applies bonus faith scaling + regen to equipped weapons
• Magic Barrier – Greatly increases magic damage resistance. Helpful in DLC areas and caster heavy zones
• Bountiful Light – Area of effect healing over time for self and allies. Saves Estus Flasks.

Replenishment, Caressing Tears, and Project Heal are also extremely handy for passive healing between battles, curing buildup statuses like poison/frostbite, and quickly restoring HP.

Don‘t overlook Vow of Silence either – this disables ALL enemy spells in range for a long duration, which will really ruin boss fights for magic spammers in PvP too!

Favorite Combos and Tactics

After countless hours utilizing the full arsenal above, here are some particularly enjoyable faith combos:

• Sunlight Spear and Lightning Storm make a powerful pair – Spear to dash in, deal massive damage, then finish them with Storm‘s sustained high damage AOE if they flee.

• Vow of Silence into Melee Range – Shut down enemy casts so you can close distance and unleash melee combos safely.

• Lightning Arrow into Lightning Stake – Snipe with Arrows, then catch runners with a hard hitting Stake as they approach.

• Magic Barrier + Blessed Weapon – Become an immortal holy warrior in long co-op sessions!

Don‘t be overly reliant on spells either – having strong melee options or ranged harass abilities enables you to handle fast, mobile enemies and preserve FP. Make them come to you!

Co-op and PvP – Making an Impact

Here is my guidance around excelling in multiplayer modes:

Co-op – Faith builds truly shine by buffing and enabling teammates:

• Sacred Oath applies major combat buffs to nearby allies
• Projected Heal and group heals keep team healthy
• Vow of Silence disables enemy casters & magic bosses
• Lightning Storm and Stake decimate mob packs

Sunlight Straight Sword and Rose of Ariandel are also nice support weapons from a faith perspective. Use their buffs + Sacred Oath on your group!

PvP – The key is landing high damage spells:

• Free aimed Lightning Spear and Stake roll catch well
• Choose Sage Ring for fast casting
• Prey on other faith users with Vow of Silence
• Out space and trade using Sunlight Spear
• Use Lightning Storm to punish groups

A major benefit in PvP is having ranged threat while still hitting like a truck in melee. Punish other squishy casters!

Final Tips for Success with Faith Builds

If you‘ve made it this far, thank you for sticking with my very extensive guide! Here are my closing tips:

• Stay vigilant early until you gain spells, talismans and good weapons
• Stock up on supplies – lightning urns, resins help until miracles come online
• Infuse raw first if needed, then lightning or blessed infusion later
• Attune a mix of damage spells and utility miracles
• 60 faith is the pinnacle for spell damage, but stop leveling earlier if desired
• Don‘t spam miracles! Be patient and maximize damage windows for efficiency
• In coop – buff allies and pull agro to enable rookies 🙂

Let me know if you have any other questions! Time to go smite some enemies with the power of the gods!

\[T]/ Praise the Sun!