As a battlemage at heart, I fell in love with the Confessor class in Elden Ring from first sight. Its elegant garb covering enchanted chainmail, the finesse with which it wielded steel and spells alike – this was the perfect hybrid warrior.
Yet its balanced start belied the true power I would slowly unveil over 100+ hours perfecting my own Confessor build. Through painful lessons across the Lands Between, I transformed from feeble preacher to nigh-unstoppable force of mystical warfare.
In this guide, I share my journey discovering the pinnacle of Confessor builds to master Elden Ring PVE. Follow along and you as well can attain similar greatness. There are always gains to make with more Faith!
The Fundamentals: My First 30 Hours
I began my quest through Stormveil Castle using the fundamentals taught at Roundtable Hold. With a Lordsworn Straight Sword in one hand, sacred seal in the other, I battled foes up close while unleashing basic dragon cult spells from range.
The early hours were brutal – every misstep punished by dead soldiers and banished knights alike. Like most Tarnished I clung to the first weapon and armor thrown my way, optimizing nothing.
But gradually patterns emerged and fundamentals solidified:
- Guard Counters – My lifeline in early melee scraps
- Urgent Heal – Keeping my sorry skin intact
- Glintstone Breath – Punishing small mob groups
- Rotten Breath – Cheesing lone archers and beasts
I had tasted basic build crafting – and yearned for more. But Stormveil would soon humble that arrogance…
The Wall: Margit Forces Specialization
After 20 hours I floated onto the ramparts before Margit with brazen confidence. Then proceeded to have my face pummeled in for 5 straight hours.
As I banged my head against Margit‘s impenetrable guard, a humbling revelation emerged – I could no longer play sloppy. This demigod demanded specialization.
In response, I travelling deep underground to the Raya Lucaria Crystal Tunnel in search of the Dragon Communion seal. This specialized seal boosted dragon cult spells to terrifying degrees at the cost of fundamentalist incantations.
Against Margit and his relentless aggression, range and spacing were vital. Thus I dove fully down the path of ranged dragon spam with complementary melee skills:
- Agheel‘s Flame – Superior range and damage
- Rotten Breath – Rapid build up CC
- Ekzykes‘s Decay – Roll catch burst potential
- Bloodhound Step – Mobility to evade chains
I clung to my guard counters in melee range while unleashing rot explosions from safety. Eventually Margit fell, and my eyes opened to the nuances of advanced class specialization. I would never again face a wall without intense study of weaknesses.
With my dragon communion build complete, I ventured beyond Stormveil hungry to test its destructive potential…
The Age of Madness: Discovering Broken Mechanics
Have you heard of those broken PVE builds that utterly break the game‘s balance? Well in my arrogance, I vowed to seek out and master such power on my Confessor as well.
And master I did – combining mechanics with an ethics questionable outside of fiction. What emerged was my bleed frenzy chickage build…
I speak not of its terrifying powers for your own sake, dear reader. But know that Arcane‘s secrets paired with the powers of Death itself birth mechanics so broken that no boss survives more than 30 seconds.
This build forged during my "Dynasty Warrior" era cruising through NG+ taught me secrets both alluring and perhaps better left alone. We all endure our ages of madness when power corrupts.
Eventually I returned to my roots after tiring of effortless victories. But with my curiosity sated and mechanical ceiling expanded, I was ready for new challenges with greater wisdom. The best builds blend both flavor and function in harmony rather than singular focus on destruction.
Refinement & Mastery: My Current Build
Today as a battle-hardened guru, my Confessor has stepped back from the fringes of imbalance towards more refined themes:
Core Spells
- Aspects of the Crucible: Breath – Tail / Horn magic CC
- Stone of Gurranq – Beast claw ranged impact
- Pest‘s Threads – Death sorcery DOT specialist
Defining Gear
- Twinned Armor Set – Balanced holy warrior garb
- Clinging Bone – Unique off-hand weapon for cruel combos
Stats
This frost-focused death mage combines my love of warrior mystics with deadly tricks up many sleeves. Let‘s analyze the strengths…
High Vigor & Endurance
Survivability matters immensely now in NG+2 and beyond. 60 Vigor brings me safely outside one-shot range of most enemies even through heavy armor. 25 Endurance maintains a smooth sub 70% equip load crucial for mobility.
Minimum Strength
Just enough to wield my arsenal of bone weapons and sacred seals. No wasted points in non-scaling stats.
Balanced Dexterity & Arcane
30 Dexterity speeds up spell-casting and scales frost builds. 20 Arcane improves status build up across both frost and death abilities for dangerous combos.
Maxed Faith
At 80 Faith I gain access to the strongest death and beast incantations in the game. This raw magical power balanced by slower casting speeds defines my build‘s elite tier potential late game.
But enough numbers – let‘s see what makes this build lethal in action against the mightiest foes…
Countering Bosses with Confessor Tricks
Over countless boss victories, I‘ve refined specific Confessor techniques to counter every major archetype:
vs Runebears
- Punish charge attacks with guard counters
- Retaliate combo chains with Urgent Heal
- Frost reduces damage + attack speed
vs Draconids
- High lightning armor absorption
- Guard counters open up head shots
- Expose recovery windows after dive bombs
vs Knights
- Bait overextensions for backstabs
- Reaction roll catch with Stone of Gurranq
- Guard counters into status procs
vs Giants
- Effortlessly rotate legs with Pest‘s Threads
- Tank non-lethal hits to land Breath counter damage
- Delay dodges against deceptively fast chains
vs Humanoid Duos
- Separate with ranged Aspect spells
- Escape input read chains with Bloodhound Step
- Heal windows after disengaging space control
vs Mobile Fighters
- Pre-emptive zone control with delayed Breaths
- Catch dashes directly with Stone of Gurranq
- Free aims on extended attack commitment
Simply put – no two bosses can be tackled identically. Adaptability remains key even within focused specialization. Memorize dangerous patterns, customize gear for counters, and patiently evaluate each unique moveset.
This cerebral, reactive approach has helped me defeat every boss through NG+ without respecing once. Hopefully the above examples illustrate battles from a strategic lens – now let‘s dive deeper into advanced tactics…
Advanced Tactics: Tips from 100+ Boss Victories
After defeating over 100 major bosses with my Confessor, here are some universal advanced tactics for tackling any colossal foe:
1. Master Delayed Spell Chains
Catch rolls or movement with staggered spell chains for massive damage. For example:
This delay catches enemies mid-action while chaining Frostbite + Deathblight + direct damage. Adapt chains to align enemy movement windows.
2. Reaction Cancel Recovery Frames
Many boss combos have delayed final hits to catch panic rolls. Cancel recovery with Bloodhound‘s Step instead:
This avoids delayed final hits without panic rolling. Master these reactive cancels to create space safely.
3. Maximize Talisman Synergy
Your four talisman slots are invaluable. Coordinate effects for exponential benefits:
Example Talisman Combo
- Millicent‘s Prosthesis
- Rotten Winged Sword Insignia
- Kindred of Rot Exultation
- Lord of Blood‘s Exultation
This set synergizes % buffs on successive attacks while boosting damage against rotted enemies you just procced. Optimize for your playstyle.
4. Punish Commitments with Free Aim Spells
Enemies cannot block spells when attacking. Track motion and manually free aim:
This punishes extended attack animations safely from range. Free aiming takes practice but delivers high damage.
Use these advanced techniques to push your skill ceiling higher against any enemy. Mastery arrives through analyzing movesets, sequencing skill chains, and maximizing opportunity windows. Study, refine and emerge victorious.
Now let‘s finish with fundamental principles to cement key lessons…
General Principles
Learn these universal guidelines holds across all specializations:
Mind Fundamentals Over Temptation
Focus first on survival fundamentals before advanced techniques. What use is fancy magic if basic spacing fails? Respect every enemy‘s capability to kill you in seconds if disrespected. Let ego neither undermine danger nor wisdom.
Specialize, Don‘t Hybridize
Hybrid builds seem appealing but perform worse in difficult end game scenarios. Commit to a specialization direction and optimize every gear choice towards those strengths rather than hedging.
Analyze, Don‘t Assume
Study every enemy moveset with patience devoid of assumption. Map every animation frame to NN inputs rather than relying on instinct. Defeat emerges from informational completeness.
Customize, Don‘t Copy
My exact build likely doesn‘t suit your strengths and preferences. Use guides for principles, not blind copy-pasting. Tailor stats, gear and spells around your skillset.
I cannot promise you godhood, dear reader. But walk this path with focused patience and in time you as well shall conduct masterclasses in spell-bladesmanship with elegant fanfare.
May we cross paths one day upon the sky islands of tempestuous battle and peerless views. Scaled armor gleaming radiant as spells fly free towards the great unknown.
Conclusion
And with that, we conclude my journey discovering the pinnacle of Elden Ring‘s Confessor class. This mystic battle mage demands great skill yet rewards unmatched as well in fluid melee/spell gameplay.
I hope these principles, tactics, stat guides and more help accelerate your own journey to mastery. Fear no wall nor enemy champion – with balancing fundamentals and relentless specialization, you shall shatter limits once deemed impassable.
Stay strong on the path and may grace guide your way, dear Confessor.
