Elden Ring offers players countless ways to approach combat, but few are as satisfying as landing a devastating critical attack. Whether through parries or backstabs, critical hits can melt enemies and even turn the tide of battle in your favor. If you’re looking to dive deep into this mechanic, there’s no better weapon than the Executioner’s Great Axe. This guide will walk you through a critical hit-focused strength build using this unique weapon, detailing setup, strategy, and a few personal tips to enhance your performance.
Why Choose the Executioner’s Great Axe for Critical Hits?
The Executioner’s Great Axe stands out in Elden Ring due to its higher-than-usual critical modifier. While great axes are already known for their sheer power, this one has an edge when it comes to critical attacks. This means that if you can manage to land a successful parry or backstab, the damage output is surprisingly high, often catching opponents off guard.
The fact that this weapon can hit like a truck while offering strong hyper armor during attacks makes it a perfect fit for a build that revolves around landing criticals. If you’re familiar with Elden Ring, you’ll know that landing these hits can be a game-changer in both PvE and PvP.
Stats and Weapon Infusion: Strength is Key
When building around critical attacks, it’s essential to understand the scaling mechanics of the Executioner’s Great Axe. This weapon is a strength-focused one, meaning it scales best when you invest heavily in strength. In this build, the weapon is infused with Fire, as elemental damage tends to perform better on critical hits. This choice also benefits strength builds, making it the go-to for our setup.
If you’re considering using the Executioner’s Great Axe in this manner, it’s essential to allocate points into Strength, as it directly impacts the damage output of the weapon. You’ll also want to invest in Endurance and Vigor, as you’ll often find yourself in close-range fights where tanking hits and sustaining your stamina is key to staying alive.
Armor and Talisman Setup: Maximizing Critical Potential
Armor: The Solitude Set is a great choice for this build. When you’re fishing for backstabs and parries, you’ll often find yourself in dangerous situations, surrounded by multiple enemies. The high defense and poise provided by this set give you the resilience you need to tank hits and land criticals without being interrupted. The added poise also makes a huge difference when you’re trying to withstand stagger and maintain your attacks.
Talisman Setup: Critical-focused builds need the right talisman setup to make the most of their opportunities. The Dagger Talisman is a must-have. This talisman boosts the damage of your critical hits, ensuring that those parries and backstabs hit even harder. To further boost damage, the Radagon’s Scarseal (which increases your strength) is another solid choice. You also want to have Greatjar’s Arsenal to help with your heavy weapon load, as this set-up can put a strain on your equip load. Finally, the Bull-Goat’s Talisman is vital for increasing your poise. It allows you to endure more hits when you’re going for those high-risk, high-reward criticals.
Combat Tips: Landing Those Critical Attacks
With your build set, it’s time to dive into combat. Critical attacks require timing and precision, so you’ll need to practice landing backstabs and parries. The Executioner’s Great Axe excels in these areas, thanks to its reach and stagger potential. Here are a few tips:
- Parrying: When facing off against aggressive opponents, always be on the lookout for an opening to parry. With the Executioner’s Great Axe, a successful parry can be followed up by a devastating critical, especially with the added boost from the Dagger Talisman. Don’t hesitate to use Quickstep to position yourself around your opponent for easier parries.
- Backstabs: Quickstep can also come in handy when you’re looking to land backstabs. With this weapon’s wide range and strong damage output, you’ll want to get behind enemies to deliver a punishing blow. The Executioner’s Great Axe‘s heavy attacks and good stagger rate can make it easier to set up these backstabs, especially when combined with the Bull-Goat’s Talisman to make sure you don’t get knocked out of position.
- Use Environment to Your Advantage: During invasions, positioning can be everything. Utilize obstacles and terrain to trap your enemies or create openings for backstabs. The Executioner’s Great Axe is excellent for dealing with groups of enemies, thanks to its horizontal heavy attacks that can deal with multiple foes at once.
Dealing with Common Threats
While this build is undeniably powerful, it’s not without its weaknesses. Here are a few common threats and how to handle them:
- Fast Weapons and Magic Users: Against faster, more agile enemies (like those wielding Moonveil or Rivers of Blood), you may need to be extra cautious. These enemies tend to have high mobility and quick attacks, which can make landing a parry or backstab more difficult. Focus on dodging their attacks and finding an opening to punish them with a critical.
- Heavy Rollers: If you’re up against heavy armor users who tend to roll slowly, try to bait them into a corner. The Executioner’s Great Axe can make quick work of them with a backstab or parry, but make sure to maintain your distance to avoid getting caught in their attacks.
- Gank Groups: When fighting against multiple opponents, it’s crucial to keep your composure. Position yourself in a way that only one or two enemies can engage you at a time. This is where the Solitude Set and Bull-Goat’s Talisman shine—giving you the durability to take hits while you line up your next critical.
Runes and Where to Buy Them
As with any build in Elden Ring, having the right resources at your disposal is key to your success. Elden Ring runes are essential for leveling up your character and upgrading your weapons. If you’re looking to save time or get ahead, you may want to consider purchasing runes from trusted sources like U4GM. Buying Elden Ring runes can help you unlock the strength you need to fully realize your build’s potential without grinding for hours.
The Executioner’s Great Axe is an excellent choice for players who love to focus on critical attacks, whether through parries or backstabs. With the right stat distribution, armor, and talismans, this build can devastate your enemies with massive damage. By using your poise and positioning to your advantage, you’ll be able to land those satisfying critical hits and become a force to be reckoned with.
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