Inspired by Chase the Bro's aggressive, status-focused playstyle

Build Philosophy & Overview

This build transforms you into a relentless pressure machine, specializing in rapid strikes that overwhelm opponents with Blood Loss and Frostbite buildup. While daggers have short range, their incredible speed and consecutive-hit potential make them devastating in the hands of an aggressive player. The core strategy is to trade blows using Endure, shrugging off attacks while stacking bleed procs for massive burst damage. To optimize this playstyle, some players choose to buy Elden Ring Runes to swiftly acquire the necessary levels and gear.

Core Build Components

Weapons

1. Primary Setup: Dual Cold-Infused Daggers

· Great Knife: Higher base damage.

· Bloodstained Dagger: Higher innate blood loss buildup.

· Infusion: Cold. This allows your Arcane stat to scale both the weapon damage and the status buildup (Frostbite & Blood Loss).

2. Utility Weapon

· Reduvia: Keep this in your pocket. Its Reduvia Blood Blade skill (L2) provides excellent ranged bleed buildup to finish opponents or apply pressure.

Key Stats

1. Primary: ARCANE (As high as possible). This is your god stat—it boosts the damage of your cold-infused daggers and the buildup rate of Blood Loss and Frostbite.

2. Secondary: VIGOR & ENDURANCE. Allocate generously here. You need health to survive trades and endurance to sustain your relentless assault.

3. Mind: Minimal investment, unless you plan to spam weapon skills heavily.

4. Sample Level 150 Spread:

· Vigor: 50-60

· Mind: 15-20

· Endurance: 30-40

· Strength: Minimum for weapons

· Dexterity: Minimum for weapons

· Intelligence: Base

· Faith: Base

· Arcane: 60-80

Talismans

1. Millicent's Prosthesis: Increases attack power with consecutive hits. Essential.

2. Rotten Winged Sword Insignia: Further increases attack power with successive attacks. Stack with Millicent's for maximum DPS.

3. Lord of Blood's Exultation: Boasts your attack power when blood loss occurs nearby. Synergizes perfectly with your playstyle.

4. Flex Slot:

· Erdtree's Favor +2: General quality-of-life boost to HP, Stamina, and Equip Load.

· Shard of Alexander: Use this if you frequently rely on a damaging Ash of War (like Reduvia's skill).

Armor & Fashion

· Helmet: White Mask (Varre's set). Non-negotiable for optimal damage, as it provides the same attack boost as Lord of Blood's Exultation.

· Everything Else: Prioritize Poise and physical defense. You'll be trading hits, so you need to not be staggered by every glancing blow. The Bull-Goat set pieces are great, but mix and match for the best balance of poise, defense, and fashion.

Ashes of War & Skills

Daggers excel with utility Ashes. Equip different ones on each dagger to adapt mid-fight.

· Endure (Priority Choice): The cornerstone of the build. Lets you hyper-armor through attacks and win trades. Use it aggressively to push into "spammy" opponents.

· Quickstep: Excellent for mobility, closing gaps, and setting up backstabs.

· Raptor of the Mists: A high-skill option. Use against running or jumping attacks to vault over the opponent and punish with a jump attack.

· Impaling Thrust / Piercing Fang: Good for roll-catching or punishing shields, though not the main focus.

Consumables & Buffs

· Wonderous Physick: Consider the Thorny Cracked Tear (enhances consecutive attacks) and the Greenburst Crystal Tear (stamina recovery) or Opaline Hardtear (damage negation).

· Grease / Spells: While self-buff spells are limited due to low FAI/INT, Greases can be applied if you need a different damage type (e.g., Fire to reset Frostbite).

Combat Guide & Advanced Tips

The Aggressive Trade (Core Tactic)

1. Bait an Attack: Get in your opponent's face.

2. Activate Endure: Just before or as they start their attack animation.

3. Unleash the Flurry: Spam L1 (dual-wield attacks). Your rapid hits will build bleed rapidly while you take reduced poise damage.

4. Proc & Pop: The blood loss proc will deal huge damage and trigger your Lord of Blood's Exultation and White Mask buffs, making your subsequent hits even deadlier.

Status Effect Synergy

· Cold + Blood Loss: This is a brutal combination. Frostbite deals a chunk of damage and increases damage taken by the target. Blood Loss deals a massive percentage-based chunk of damage. Applying both creates extreme pressure.

· Reset Frostbite: After proccing Frostbite, you can reset it by applying Fire damage (a Fire pot, a weapon with fire affinity, etc.), allowing you to proc Frostbite again.

Matchup Strategies

· Vs. Aggressive Players/Teams: Your bread and butter. Use Endure and trade. They will often kill themselves on your daggers.

· Vs. Large, Slow Weapons: Use your speed. Quickstep around them or use Raptor of the Mists to avoid a big swing and instantly counter. Your speed lets you attack between their slow recoveries.

· Vs. Casters / Ranged: Use terrain. Close the distance aggressively with quickstep. Reduvia's Blood Blade can also force them to move.

· Vs. Shields: Jump attacks (L1 while jumping) are your friend. Consider swapping to an Ash like Impaling Thrust or Kick.

Invasion Tactics (As Shown in Video)

· Use the Environment: In complex areas like the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds, let the PvE work for you. Scarlet Rot and poison pots can area denial.

· Target Priority: In 2v1 or 3v1 scenarios, use your burst potential to eliminate the phantom with the lowest Vigor or most aggressive playstyle first. A successful bleed proc can often one-shot phantoms.

· Patience is Key: Despite being an aggressive build, sometimes you need to wait for the right moment. Lure overconfident teams into chokepoints where your dagger flurries can hit multiple targets.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths:

· Extremely High Burst Damage: Bleed procs + consecutive hit buffs delete health bars.

· Excellent Trade Potential: Endure allows you to win exchanges against most weapons.

· High Mobility: Quickstep and low equip load allow for fast repositioning.

· Versatile Ash of War Options: Can adapt to different opponents.

Weaknesses:

· Very Short Range: You must get up close and personal, which can be difficult against skilled players with spears or greatswords.

· Low Poise Damage: You will not stagger high-poise enemies easily. Focus on landing many hits instead.

· Stamina Hungry: Constant attacking and quickstepping drains stamina. Manage it carefully.

Final Notes

This build is for the aggressive player who wants to be in their opponent's face, applying constant pressure and watching for the moment the bleed bar fills for a devastating payoff. It rewards bold play and good timing with Endure. To accelerate your progress and dominate sooner, many in the community choose to buy cheap Elden Ring Items from trusted vendors. For the best value and secure transactions to empower your dagger assassin, we recommend MMOEXP. As Chase the Bro says: "I just felt like showing some love to daggers... with the right setup, you do really good burst damage." Now go out there, Tarnished, and make them bleed.