Madness builds in Elden Ring aim to quickly apply the madness status effect to enemies. When an enemy‘s madness gauge fills up completely, they take a percentage of their max health as damage and have their stats temporarily lowered. This makes madness deadly, especially in PVP.
In this guide, I‘ll share the ultimate PVP madness build for Elden Ring, including the best weapons, spells, talismans and tactics to drive your opponents insane.
Overview
Here‘s a quick overview of the build:
Weapons:
- Vyke‘s War Spear (main weapon)
- Parrying Dagger (for parry to enable ripostes)
Armor:
- Fingerprint Armor Set
Spells:
- Frenzied Burst
- Inescapable Frenzy
- Unendurable Frenzy
Talismans:
- Dragoncrest Greatshield (damage reduction)
- Radagon Icon (faster casting)
- Spear Talisman (more spear damage)
The goal is to use Vyke‘s War Spear to steadily build up madness, then parry the enemy for a riposte to land your high-damage frenzy sorceries. Let‘s look at each component in more detail.
Vyke‘s War Spear
Vyke‘s War Spear is the crux of this build, obtained by defeating the invasion NPC Vyke in Liurnia. It has excellent range and moveset, and its weapon skill, Frenzyflame Thrust, is perfect for applying madness buildup.
When two-handed, the running and rolling attacks cause additional poise damage, making it easier to break an enemy‘s stance. Once their stance is broken, you can riposte them with the Parrying Dagger for big damage.
Here are the key stats for Vyke‘s War Spear:
- Attack Power: 103
- Attributes Scaling: Strength D, Dexterity E, Faith C
- Passive Effect: 65 Madness Buildup
Having 16 Strength, 18 Dexterity, and 20 Faith will meet the minimum requirements to wield this spear. Boost Faith further to increase the madness buildup.
Parrying Dagger
The Parrying Dagger is a small dagger that allows you to parry enemy attacks. Successfully landing a parry enables a devastating riposte attack.
Since ripostes leave the enemy vulnerable for a few seconds, it‘s the perfect time to cast your high-damage frenzy sorceries right in their face.
This dagger has low stat requirements and is obtained from Patches after completing his questline. It scales primarily with Dexterity.
Armor – Fingerprint Set
Wearing the Fingerprint Set armor completes the Vyke cosplay and has useful bonuses:
- High robustness and vitality
- Immunity to poison
- Decent resistance to status effects like frost and bleed
It does lack damage absorption compared to heavier sets, but the resistance to conditions that could slow your madness buildup makes it an ideal choice.
To obtain it, defeat Vyke again in the Mountaintops of the Giants Evergaol.
Frenzy Sorceries
Let‘s discuss the bread and butter frenzy sorceries that quickly apply madness. Each one serves a specific purpose at different ranges.
Frenzied Burst
Frenzied Burst shoots a medium range beam that penetrates armor. It‘s a great poke spell to chip away at the enemy‘s madness meter. With 40 Faith, it can combo into Inescapable Frenzy for max madness damage.
Inescapable Frenzy
This dangerous close range spell latches a frenzy flame onto the target that rapidly builds up madness. It‘s perfect to cast immediately after parrying or to punish enemies who try to heal.
Unendurable Frenzy
At 60 Faith, Unendurable Frenzy wrecks groups of enemies with a barrage of persistent homing frenzy projectiles. Use it to apply pressure and force the enemy to dodge – then punish their panic rolls with your spear.
Best Talismans
Finally, let‘s examine the ideal talismans to boost this build:
Dragoncrest Greatshield
Mandatory for reducing incoming damage by 20% – you‘ll need this survivability in PVP.
Radagon Icon
Faster spellcasting gives you an edge to land sorceries.
Spear Talisman
Increases counterattack damage by 15% with thrusting weapons like spears – extremely potent after parrying.
Tactics and Gameplay
Here are some key tactics to success with the madness build:
- Use the long range of your spear to zone enemies and steadily drain their madness meter.
- After breaking their stance, swap to the Parrying Dagger for ripostes.
- Punish enemy heals or estus with Inescapable Frenzy.
- Buff with Elemental Protection incantations to further boost survivability.
- Free aim Unendurable Frenzy to catch rolls or ambush groups.
Patience is key – avoid overextending and work methodically to drain their health and sanity bar!
Conclusion
And there you have it – everything you need to assemble a potent madness build for PVP domination in Elden Ring.
From the trusty Vyke Spear to the devastating power of frenzy sorceries, you‘ll have all the tools necessary to strike fear and madness into your opponents.
If you have any other suggestions for the build, let me know in the comments! Now get out there, Tarnished, and unleash frenzy on those foolish enough to stand in your way.
