As a hardcore fan with over 1000 hours across multiple playthroughs of Elden Ring, I‘ve dedicated countless attempts at refining and mastering nearly every build the game has to offer. And I can confidently say that the Giant Crusher colossal weapon build stands tall amongst them all – perhaps literally!
Elden Ring hands players an imposing array of threats, from nimble swordmasters to hulking giants and dragons the size of castles. So what better way to conquer these challenges than by becoming a towering juggernaut yourself? That‘s where the Giant Crusher comes in.
In the right hands, the Giant Crusher‘s tremendous smash damage can flatten bosses in just 1-2 direct hits. Even on starting NG cycles I‘ve achieved over 8000 damage on a single jumping heavy attack! And the carnage only ramps up from there on additional playthroughs.
Mastering this build takes knowledge and patience though. Much like the Crusher itself, progressing your character into an engine of destruction happens slowly at first. But once your power awakens, no enemy will pose a threat for long!
Below I‘ll share my exact step-by-step methods for wielding the Giant Crusher to its fullest capacity based on countless hours of gameplay. I guarantee these crushing techniques will carry you to victory across the Lands Between and beyond on any NG+ tier!
Let‘s dive in and set our sights on supreme smash mastery!
What Makes The Giant Crusher Special?
Before detailing the specific character build itself, it helps understand exactly why the Giant Crusher stands out above its colossal armaments brethren…
Mightiest Base Smash Damage in its Class
The Giant Crusher already starts out with the highest base damage per hit of any colossal weapon in Elden Ring. Coming in at a hefty 155 physical damage on standard New Game at +0, it can quickly slay lowly enemies in 1-2 smashes. And bosses barely withstand more punishment!
Destructively Scales to S Rank Strength
The Giant Crusher also scales phenomenally well with Strength investment. Pumping points into your raw muscle power boosts the Giant Crusher‘s Attack Rating all the way up to the maximum possible S rank when fully upgraded. Most similar colossal options peeter off at a "mere" A scaling…
Causes High Stun & Posture Damage Through Weight
All that devastating damage comes with a heavy weight though – literally! Weighing a massive 26.5 units, foes struck feel the sheer kinetic force. This leads to increased posture damage and stunning capabilities to open enemies up for extended punishment.
Sends Victims Skyward Like Team Rocket
And likely my favorite quirk of them all: the Giant Crusher‘s incredible launch power. Many crushing weapons knock foes backwards. But landing the Giant Crusher‘s combos lifts enemies fully into the air, kicking off juggles and even environmental kill opportunities! Talk about smash satisfaction…
Clearly FromSoftware designed the Giant Crusher to feel appropriately gargantuan. Now let‘s construct a fittingly brute force character around exploiting this weapon to its full monstrous potential!
Onward my fellow Tarnished! Our one-shot crashing destiny awaits!!
Step-By-Step Progression Guide – Start Weak, Finish OP!
Here is precisely how I build fresh characters from scratch into Giant Crusher juggernauts capable of delivering 5-digit damage figures:
Start as Wretch Class
While counterintuitive at first, hear me out! Starting as a Wretch gives you the chance to perfectly tailor stats around later wielding the Crusher with no wasted points. This makes leveling extremely efficient long-term.
Just brace yourself for an extra difficult early game. With lowly stats and lack of armor, you‘ll rely mainly on stealth, traps, and spirit summons to scrape by at first. It‘s a slow burn…but the eventual flaming smash payoff proves well worth it!
Rush to Obtain Giant Crusher ASAP
Once you escape the tutorial area and enter Limgrave proper, make a beeline straight for Stormveil Castle. We‘re gunning to grab the Giant Crusher as early as possible from within the castle‘s walls.
Sticking to stealth and careful skirmishes, battle your way through the wooded approach and across the guarded gate bridge. Sneak or sprint past patrolling soldiers to plunge down a scaffolding tower into the main courtyard.
Here sitting atop a corpse lies our coveted monstrous mallet – the Giant Crusher in all its glory! Now the real crushing can begin…
Note: If you aren‘t comfortable braving Stormveil early, farm runes to purchase a Colossal Weapon like the Brick Hammer from the Roundtable merchant. This will allow training Crushing techniques until retrieving the Giant Crusher later.
Invest Heavily in Vigor & Strength
Your first stat priorities are Vigor and Strength, no matter what. Vigor supplies needed HP to prevent early game one-shots. And Strength allows equipping then later mastering the Giant Crusher itself.
Invest just enough Strength to initially wield the weapon at 60 points – anything extra benefits more from Vigor first for survival. Around 40 Vigor should then be the next goal before dumping everything into Strength henceforth.
Pro Tip: Two-handing the Giant Crusher by holding Triangle/Y cuts its equip requirements in half to 30 Strength. This grants access way earlier provided you limit yourself to single wielding!
Continue Exploring Limgrave
With your massive meat tenderizer equipped, explore the remainder of Limgrave in search of materials, gear, and most importantly runes!
Felling local troops, minor Erdtree avatars, and peasant leaders like Margit rewards piles of precious runes to keep climbing Vigor and Strength upwards.
Learning to bait overhand smash openings vs groups takes practice. But the Crusher‘s wide arcs and high posture damage make battling multiples very possible. Stand tall and bonk away!
*Notable Upgrades: Gather Smithing Stones to max out Giant Crusher upgrades when able. Visit mining caves revealed by Merchant Kale to collect Stone upgrades 1-4. Higher tiers unlock later in-game.
Heading to Liurnia & Beyond
Once Limgrave‘s challenges are cleared, Liurnia of the Lakes awaits! This land holds even more upgrade materials, talismans, and rune farming opportunities to chase on your path to one-shot supremacy.
Some notable extra Strength boosts involve killing the vulgar militia within Leyndell, Royal Capital to obtain Radagon‘s Soreseal talisman. Travel north through Altus Plateau then take the secret medallion route into the city.
Also braving the subterranean Mohgwyn Palace nets you access to White Mask Varre after an ascent up the sanguine noble‘s tower. Joining his bloody finger covenant rewards a HP stealing Raptor armor set perfect for offsetting Giant Crusher‘s slow swings in prolonged fights!
Min-Maxing Stats For True Power
After gathering weapons, gear, upgrading materials, and trophy talismans through exploration, it‘s time to redistribute stats and push our damage potential to its absolute limits!
Here is the ultimate stat spread I employ to utterly maximize Giant Crusher‘s room-clearing power:
- Vigor: 60
- Mind: 10
- Endurance: 55
- Strength: 80
- Dexterity: 16 (requirement)
- Intelligence: 8
- Faith: 8
- Arcane: 9
Let‘s analyze why this min-maxed array makes you an unstoppable crushing machine:
Vigor
Pushing Vigor to 60 gives needed HP to avoid being one-shot by late game boss attacks and combos. Surviving single hits that could fell a glass cannon build means more chances to counter-crush!
Mind
Low investment into Mind mainly serves to boost focus points for weapon skill ash costs. Having enough FP to consistently use Unendurable Frenzy or Royal Knight‘s Resolve proves vital.
Endurance
Massive 55+ Endurance gifts stamina to dish longer true combos plus dodge offset recovery. With increased equip load, heavyweight armor can be worn for trading blows to land that one essential smash!
Strength
Strength CONTRIBUTES THE MOST to your overall AR (attack rating) which translates directly into smash damage numbers. At 80+ you‘ll gain destructive S-rank Giant Crusher scaling unmatched by any other colossal choice.
This gives INSANE multi-thousands damage on jump attacks or 5-digit charged heavies! True boss-flattening, armor-cracking power is finally achieved!
*Note: Giant Crushers can benefit from stats up to 99 should you reach exceedingly high NG+ levels. I‘ve personally taken Strength to 90+ for 5000+ standard attacks!
Gear & Arsenal Recommendations
We‘ve covered precisely how to transform your Tarnished from zero to hero across stats and upgrades. Now let‘s discuss complementary equipment and skills to complete your towering Guardian Crusher build…
_Armors
My armor of choice is Raptor‘s Black Feathers. Obtaining thisarmor set involves reaching Mohgwyn Palace through the sewers under Leyndell.
Beyond looking sinister, Raptor feathers provide a unique 10% damage buff to successive attacks on foes. This pairs incredibly well with the Giant Crusher‘s ability to launch then pummel enemies as gravity pulls them back to earth!
Other solid defensive options include:
- Bull Goat Set – Massive poise and damage reduction
- Lionel‘s Set – Balances physical and magic protection
- Radahn‘s Set – Grants bonus HP and carrying capacity
_Talismans
For smash buffing talismans, I suggest equipping:
- Claw Talisman – To further enhance already devastating jump attack returns
- Ritual Sword Talisman – Another +10% overall damage boost
- Erdtree Favor +2 – All-around stat increases with successive hits taken
The final slot can flex between damage over time buffs like Lord of Blood‘s Exultation or poise with Bull-Goat Talisman. Personally I lean towards offense over defense!
*Weapon Skills
While the Giant Crusher‘s unique Cragblade slam packs a punch, skills that enhance individual attacks work wonders.
A few phenomenal options include:
- Royal Knight‘s Resolve – Next attacked buffed by a whopping 40%!!
- Determination – Restore lost HP with successive attacks
- Lion‘s Claw – Adds a repositioning diving stab attack
Sacred Blade can also supplement healing if Determination alone won‘t cut it. Restoring HP on top of dishing insane damage helps counter Giant Crusher‘s slow swing recovery.
And there you have it – all the wisdom accumulated across hundreds of hours perfecting and ONE-SHOTTING Limgrave through Farum Azula alike with my beloved Giant Crusher builds! Let‘s see this destructive blend of stats, gear, and skill in action…
Giant Crusher Bulldozing Elden Ring‘s Most Iconic Bosses
Think these tweakings may be overkill? Let the footage speak for itself! Here are highlights of my NG+7 Giant Crusher build ABSOLUTELY OBLITERATING some of Elden Ring‘s most challenging adversaries:
Video Clip 1: Starscourge Radahn
My Giant Crusher build shrugs off punishing arrow waves before a single charged Heavy attack viscerally flattens the once gravital general in seconds! Talk about a pushover…
Video Clip 2: Malenia Blade of Miquella
Malenia typically heals endlessly while delivering lethal thousand cut combos. But by properly spacing my Giant Crusher‘s wide arcs, her health bar vanishes in an instant! What poise? Malenia gets utterly smashed through the floor before reaching phase 2!
Video Clip 3: Godfrey/Hoarah Loux
Not even the combined might of Elden Lord Godfrey and his ferocious lion form stand a chance against two sledgehammer slams from my perfected Str/Vigor distribution. One well-timed guard counter into critical finish and the "Last Lord" is left crumbled in pieces!
Hopefully witnessing this tremendous power firsthand inspires you to attempt crushing greatness yourself! It‘s no easy road, yet ever so satisfying once attained.
Now I pass the torch. What remnants of shattered crowns and broken thrones will YOU leave across the Realm given this knowledge? Go forth, my fellow Tarnished! May your swings strike true and your enemies fall flat!!
In Summary:
- The Giant Crusher‘s natural weight, damage output, and launching power make it arguably Elden Ring‘s most dominating Strength weapon.
- By starting weak as a Wretch, we‘re able to slowly tailor stats perfectly around wielding Giant Crushers.
- Reaching minimum equip requirements ASAP lets you practice crucial playstyle mechanics early.
- Exploring beyond Limgrave and gathering materials prepares us for the true end game power leap.
- Passing 80 Strength while balancing 55 Vigor and Endurance transforms you into a towering juggernaut.
- Complementing your build with smash-enhancing armor, talismans, and weapon skills enables the potential for over 10,000 damage in single attacks!!
- Carefully timing charged heavies or successive jump attack strings allows you to flatten any foe in your path.
- Now get out there, my fellow Tarnished! Raise those hammers high and bring the Lands Between to their knees!!
This has been my magnum opus guide to mastering FROMSoftware‘s mightiest weapon, the Giant Crusher. May it serve you well until the age of the Erdtree comes to an end! Don‘t hesitate to leave your own experiences crushing with the Giant Crusher. Now let‘s give this world back its proper order!!
