In thisDemon’s Souls Build GuideI’ll be showing you mySoul Samurai Build, which is aDexterity Buildthat focuses on high damage using anUchigatanaandBow. If you’ve been looking for a good starter Dexterity Build then you’ll want to check out this one.
Demon’s Souls Builds: Soul Samurai (PvE)
TheSoul Samurai Builduses a combination ofUchigatanaandBowto deal good Slashing in melee combat, and piercing damage from afar. The Bow is an excellent way to pick off tough enemies at a distance while keeping yourself safe, and the Uchigatana has some of the most flashy riposte and backstab animations in theDemon’s Souls Remake. If you want to role play as Samurai then this is theBuildfor you.
Soul Samurai Starting Class
The startingClassI chose for this Build wasThiefbecause it hadArmorthat looks somewhat like Samurai Armor, and is light enough to allow normal rolling from the very beginning of the game. It also comes with a Bow, allowing you to get used to using one from the start. Be sure to select the Providential Ring in order to increase your item drop chance, because you’ll be farmingBladestonewith this Build, and you’ll want to speed that up.
Soul Samurai Stats
The Soul Samurai will need highDexterityto get the most damage from the Uchigatana with the way we will be upgrading it. It’s not necessary early on, but you’ll want to pump it eventually.
SomeStrengthis important to use the Uchigatana with one-hand, but you can two-hand it with only 12 Strength if you wish. It’s also possible to Parry while one-handing it, and then swap to two-hands for the Riposte so that you meet the requirements and deal increased damage. The choice of placing enough points to one-hand it or not is up to you, but I suggest trying it out two-handed first, since it does more damage two-handed and looks cooler. However, you will need 15 Strength in order to use theComposite Longbowanyway, so 3 more points is not that much to spend for the flexibility.
You will also needEnduranceto increase the number of swings you can do before you run out ofStamina, since the Uchigatana uses a fair bit, especially when two-handing it. You’ll want to take this to 40 eventually, but likely won’t get there before NG+.
And lastly you’ll need someVitality. You don’t want to die in one hit, so you’ll need to invest in this as time goes on in order to prevent that from happening. You’ll likely keep placing a few points here through out the game to stay ahead of the curve, rather than a large investment at once. You’re Stat spread should look something like this eventually:
Dexterity: 40
Strength: 18
Endurance: 40
Vitality: 30
You won’t likely reach these numbers in one playthrough, but it should give you an idea where to spend points. You’ll also increase Vitality higher in subsequent playthroughs to keep from being one shot, even though there is diminishing returns from 31 onward.
Soul Samurai Early Game Tips
The first thing you’ll want to do with this Build is learn how and when to use your Bow. It can be a bit clunky to control when you first start using it, and the new triggers of the PS5 actually lock between shots, preventing you from squeezing the trigger again too early. This means you’ll need to learn the rhythm of your bow, and when to start pulling again so you don’t break your controller.
Additionally, there are many different types ofArrowsin Demon’s Souls and they are not all created equal. If you want to increase your damage with Bows, then besides upgrading your Bow, the best way is to buy good Arrows and use them when appropriate.
Upgrade your Shield. Even if you begin the game with theHeater Shield, as you should if you selected the Thief Class, it isn’t that bad of a Shield. It allows you to Parry and has decent Guard Break with 100 percent Physical Resistance. verify to upgrade it with Hardstone to further increase its Guard Break, making Blocking drain less Stamina.
Lastly, practice Parrying. This is a Build that takes very good advantage of Parrying, and they frankly look amazing with the Uchigatana, especially when you flick the blade. Spend some time learning the Parry timing of easy enemies inBoletariaso that you learn to use this mechanic well.
Soul Samurai Equipment
In this section we’ll take a look at what equipment you’ll need in order to play the Soul Samurai Build effectively. Keep in mind that you will likely change this up some depending on what section of the game you are on, but this should serve to give you some idea of what setups you’re looking for. First let’s take a look at early game.
Early Game Equipment
At the beginning of the game you’ll want to pick up and equip theCling Ringas soon as you can to further increase your Health in Soul Form. You’ll likely be in Soul Form a good amount of the time, so this can really help keep you alive.
Be sure to stock up on Arrows so that you can use your Bow whenever you need it without worrying too much about your Arrow count. You can purchase some from Blacksmith Boldwin near the beginning of the game for relatively cheap, and you can always farm some Souls to buy some if needed.
Grabbing and equipping the Thief Ring in theBoletarian PalacebehindOstravacan also be of huge help. It reduces the range that enemies detect you which can just make your life overall easier, especially if you are farming or using your bow from a distance.
Stonefang Tunnel
The first place you’ll want to head after defeatingPhalanxisStonefang Tunnel. Here you will find quite a fewHardstone Shardswhich you will need to upgrade both your Shield and your Composite Longbow (once you have it), as well as be able to purchase some Hardstone Shards from the Filthy Merchant. Additionally, you’ll findSpiderstonein this area which you will need to upgrade your Composite Longbow to aSticky Composite Longbow.
You’ll want to be sure to unlock Blacksmith Ed while you are there, so that you’re able to convert your Uchigatana to aSharp Uchigatnawhen you get it, as well as convert your Composite Longbow into a Sticky Composite Longbow, sinceBlacksmith Boldwincannot do this for you.
Not far after the lift for Blacksmith Ed you will find theGreat Club, which you will need to help you farm Bladestone. Bladestone is what you will need to upgrade your Sharp Uchigatana, but the enemies that drop it are Skeletons and they resist Slashing Damage and are weak to Blunt Damage. This Weapon will allow you to farm them much faster so it is highly recommended that you grab it. Note that you will have to two-hand it with at least 14 Strength, which you should have anyway.
The last thing you will do here is defeat the Armor Spider to acquire aPure Spiderstone, and open up the area afterwards which you’re able to use to farm more Spiderstone. You can farm it when you get there if you want, or you can come back and do it later if you’d rather.
Shrine of Storms
The first thing you’ll want to pick up in theShrine of Stormsis the Composite Longbow, and it can be found laying in the tower next to the lone bowman up and to the left of the first fog gate. You’ll want to upgrade this to +3 using Hardstone Shards once you finish this area, and then begin the Sticky upgrade path at Blacksmith Ed. Note that it must be +3 in order to see this upgrade path, and if you are higher or lower you will not be able to do this.
Next head past theVanguard Demonand pick up the Uchigatana laying on the ground behind him. It’s really easy to find, and you cannot miss it. You’ll want to upgrade this using the Sharp Upgrade path, which requires Bladestone that will be dropped by Skeletons in this area. ensure that you doNOTupgrade it with any Sharpstones or you will not be able to use this Upgrade path.
Next you’ll want to pick up theRegenerator’s Ring, which can be found near the boss area along a cliff path past the Crystal Lizard. This is a great ring for regenerating your health in certain situations, and is a good one to have in your rotation, even though you won’t use it all the time.
After defeatingAdjudicatoryou can use his Archstone to farm the Black Skeleton just before his fog gate for Bladestone. This is the most effective way I’ve found so far, and because of the rapid load times and the Great Club, it takes less than 1 minute per kill, which is extremely efficient. you’re able to get Bladestone Shards, Chunks and Pure Bladestone all from this one guy, allowing you a +5 Sharp Uchigatana extremely early in the game with a little luck.
Be sure to put on theThief Ringwhile farming him so that you’re able to backstab him more easily and then just mash R2 until he’s dead. Then drop back down to the Archstone and reload into the same area, rinse and repeat. Note that I was able to get a Pure Bladestone from him in about 20 minutes using this technique, though I still had to farm awhile longer to get the Chunks I needed. I didn’t have theProvidential Ringon when doing this, but theoretically it should help with your drop rates which is why I recommended taking it as your gift during character creation. Note that you will have higher drop rates at darkerWorld Tendency, so it’s probably worth dying a few times in Body Form in this region to speed up farming, but isn’t absolutely necessary.
Final Tips
TheDark Silver Shieldis not a bad upgrade over the Heater Shield for this Build, since it has comparable Guard Break, but far more Resistances. It’s a lot heavier, and harder to upgrade, but if you find you’re using your Shield for more than just Parrying then you might want to use this. It’s dropped byGarl Vinlandduring his Boss fight.
You can farm Spiderstone from the miners in Stonefang Tunnel, just remember that they are weak to Piercing Damage, so use your Bow or the thrust attack of your Uchigatana to farm them more quickly. There are also a bunch of Crystal Lizards in this area that drop Spiderstone, and they respawn multiple times.
SomeBossesare weak to Magic Damage, and some are weak to Fire Damage. verify to stock up on Fire and Holy Arrows so that you can have the right Arrow for the job. You can absolutely obliterate some Bosses with these Arrows, so it’s worth taking the time to farm some Souls for.
In that same vein, the Sharp Upgrade path for the Uchigatana allows you to buff it withSticky White SlimeorPine Resin, further increasing your damage. This is one of the main reasons I selected it for this Build over Tearing, which cannot be buffed.
Lastly, although the Uchigatana can set theBleeding Status Ailment, it isn’t particularly effective as its damage tick is rather slow, and not all enemies can Bleed. For this reason don’t rely on it in PvE, though it can be very helpful in PvP should you set it on your opponent.
Stay tuned for moreDemon’s Souls Build Guides, as we explore just what kind of Builds you can make. And be sure to check out theDemon’s Souls Wikiif you have specific questions about the game! As always, you can read ourDemon’s Souls ReviewandGetting Started Guideto get going with the game.
