Elden Ring: Best Gear & Equipment For A Stance-Breaking Build

Elden Ring

By Jake Buchalter

Updated Jun 18, 2024

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Elden Ring

This article is part of a directory: Elden Ring Guide Hub: Weapons, Items, Tips, Tricks, Bosses, & Builds

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Unlike other 'builds' in Elden Ring that are easy to understand and can tear apart some of the more difficult Bosses, such as a Rivers of Blood build or a one-shot build, a Stance Break build is a bit more obtuse, since there's not really a centralized 'Stance Break' build to rely on.

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This is simply because, other than abusing very specific attack combinations or item synergies, there aren't many Gear Sets, Talismans, or Spells/Incantations tailored around Stance Breaking. But, that doesn't mean it's impossible, and there is plenty of Equipment in Elden Ring that is meant for one thing but has a side effect of helping with Stance Breaking.

Updated June 18th, 2024 by Jacob Buchalter: With the release of Elden Ring's highly anticipated DLC, the Shadow of the Erdtree quickly approaching at the time of writing this, the game is incredibly popular at the moment. From Software has made it clear that the DLC is meant for late-game builds, and only continues to increase in difficulty the further you progress through it. So, with that in mind, tons of people who sunk their lives into Elden Ring around the game's initial release are coming back for a 'refresher course' of sorts so that they don't go into the DLC all rusty. And, anyone returning to Elden Ring is likely quickly reminded just how powerful Stance Breaking is in this game in general. So, with that in mind let's go over exactly what you should look for if a Stance Breaking build at all sounds interesting to you.

Armor Recommendations

Basically, Which Armor Gives the Most Poise

Elden Ring - Bull-Goat Armor Set Overlaid On Image Of Player Character in Stereotypical Strength Build Armor

Sadly, there's not much in the way of Armor that really 'buffs' Stance Bar damage. But, there are plenty of Gear pieces with special effects that can help you do more damage with your highest Stance Bar damaging attacks or let you unleash more moves uninterrupted. Essentially, instead of helping you deal more Stance Damage directly, these pieces of Gear should instead help you use the same old Stance Damaging moves with less risk or to a greater effect.

Armor Name	Effect					Reasoning
Bull-Goat Set	Helm: 15 Poise	Chestpiece: 47 Poise	Gauntlets: 10 Poise	Greaves: 28 Poise	Total Poise: 100	The more Poise you have the more you can swing without being interrupted.
Raptor's Black Feathers	The Chest Piece buffs the damage of Jump Attacks by 10 Percent.					Jump Attacks are typically the highest Stance-Damaging move for most weapons.
Omensmirk Mask	Strength +2					More Strength = More Damage. Basic, but true.
Fanged Imp Head	Strength +2					Same reasoning as Omensmirk Mask
Crucible Axe Set	Each Piece of the Crucible Axe Set gives +4 Percent damage to Aspects of the Crucible Incantations, adding up to a +17 Percent buff altogether.					Apsect of the Crucible Incantations are some of the hardest-hitting Incantations in terms of Stance Bar Damage.

Talisman Recommendations

Pick Whichever Buffs Your Weapon/Playstyle the Most

Elden Ring - PNGs of Most Stance Break-Targeted Talismans Overlaid On Character With Ironjar Aromatic Active

Talismans, on the other hand, have a lot more versatility depending on what you are using for your weapon (with new weapons still being discovered by fans even this far past the game's release) or what your favorite Stance Break-focused Attack is. A lot of these recommendations might seem basic, but as long as you tailor your Talisman choices to the weapon and playstyle of choice, each and every recommendation should help you Stagger enemies more often.

Talisman Name	Effect	Reasoning
Claw Talisman	+15 Percent Jump Attack Damage	Stacks with Raptor's Black Feathers Armor. More incentive to use Jump Attacks which deal a lot of Stagger damage.
Axe Talisman	+10 Percent Charged Attack Damage	Fully-Charged Heavy Attacks are incredible for Stagger damage.
Curved Sword Talisman	+20 Percent Guard Counter Damage	Alongside Charged Heavies and Jumping Attacks, Guard Counters are the third incredible Stagger damage option.
Hammer Talisman	+40 Percent Stamina Damage Against Blocking Enemies	Very situational depending on the enemy you're fighting, but great for actually managing to Stance Break Crucible Knights, which is typically pretty difficult to do.
Twinblade Talisman	+45 Percent Damage to Final Hit in Attack Chain	Heavier Weapons and Colossal-type Weapons especially, have fewer attacks in their combo, meaning this effect will trigger more often on Stance Break builds that use these weapon types.
Dagger Talisman	+17 Percent Critical Damage	Stance Breaks often lead to Critical Hits, so this effect will trigger often. More in line with a Crit build than a Stance Break build, but still relatively useful here.
Bull-Goat's Talisman	+33 Percent Poise	When used in combination with the heavier Armor Sets or even the Bull-Goat Set, can lead to some incredibly high Poise, making your attacks incredibly difficult to interrupt.
Radagon's Soreseal	+5 Vigor +5 Endurance +5 Strength +5 Dexterity +15 Percent Player Damage Taken	Useful on just about any Strength-focused build. Plus, because the +5 to these four stats also increases health and defenses, the 15 percent extra damage is basically nullified.

Of course, you can make use of plenty of other Talismans and find more combinations that add small benefits to your Stance Breaking, but these are the ones that seem to have the most wide-reaching effects.

Weapon Recommendations

Which Gigantic Weapons Apply the Most Stagger Damage

Elden Ring - Some Examples Of Fantastic Stance Breaking Weapons Overlaid On Image Of Character Using Two Colossals

Unlike the other two sections above, there are just too many Weapons in Elden Ring to list all the ones that work well for a Stance Breaking build, but let's at least go over three of the more general 'aspects' you should refer to when looking for your Stance Breaking weapon-of-choice.

Keep in mind, that while the Stance Break system has some similarities to Sekiro's Posture system, they aren't the same and Elden Ring's system works a bit differently:

Tip	Explanation
Raw Damage does NOT directly equal Stance Break Damage	Stance damage is based on a variety of factors, with a Weapon's Weight, Attack Type, and Attack Used all playing into it. In general, you might want to try and prioritize Colossal 'Weight' Weapons first, then Strike 'Attack Type' Weapons, and finally Charge Attacks and Jump Heavy Attacks. To simplify even further, in terms of priority it goes Weight, Attack Type, and then specific types of Attacks.
Using Jumping vs Charging Heavy Attacks	Dual-Wielding Great Hammers or any sort of Colossal Weapons can be very beneficial and are worth the stat investment for Stance Breaking builds. While Dual-Wielding doesn't allow for Charged Attacks using both Weapons, it does have its own Jumping Heavy Attack that hits with both, dealing some pretty absurd Stance Break Damage.
General Weapons vs Unique Weapons	General Weapons (ones that use Smithing Stones to upgrade) are generally better than Unique Weapons (ones that use Somber Stones). This is because the Ashes of War system allows you to assign the 'Heavy' affinity to your Weapons which increases the Strength Scaling by about an entire letter grade (Ex: from B to A).

Incantation & Sorcery Recommendations

Surprisingly There Are Some Magic Options for Stance-Breaking

Elden Ring - PNGs Of Most Stance Damage Heavy Incantations And Spells Overlaid On Image Of Player Using Beastial Sling

While this guide thoroughly covers the best Stance Breaking Spells and Incantations, it's worth re-listing the best of the best in terms of cast time, FP usage, Stance Bar damage, and projectile speed.

Name	Type	Reasoning
Bestial Sling	Incantation	By far the most reliable Stance Breaking Incantation with its fast cast-time, low FP cost, and great damage. But, it requires getting close to the enemy and doesn't show its true colors unless you get incredibly close.
Stone of Gurranq	Incantation	A close second place. The only reason this doesn't beat out Beastial Sling is because it has a longer casting animation, slower travel time, and is a bit more FP costly.
Aspects of the Crucible: Breath	Incantation	All three of these 'Aspect of the Crucible' Incantations deal Physical Damage and a large amount of Stance Break damage but have high costs and long animations in exchange.
Aspects of the Crucible: Tail	Incantation	All three of these 'Aspect of the Crucible' Incantations deal Physical Damage and a large amount of Stance Break damage but have high costs and long animations in exchange.
Aspects of the Crucible: Horns	Incantation	All three of these 'Aspect of the Crucible' Incantations deal Physical Damage and a large amount of Stance Break damage but have high costs and long animations in exchange.
Glintblade Phalanx	Sorcery	Any of the 'Phalanx' Ashes of War or Sorceries are great for Passive Stance Damage, since the Glintblade...blades are summoned and will then attack enemies on their own.
Gavel of Haima	Sorcery	A big magic hammer that does great Stance Damage, but has to be used in close range, which can be risky for a caster.
Elden Stars	Incantation	Deceptively bad despite the boss that this Incantation is obtained from, as the damage from this is just awful. But, it auto-homes in on targets and lasts for a good minute or two, dealing a large amount of Stance Damage cumulatively.
Pest Threads	Incantation	Better for raw damage on large enemies than Stance Damage, but because there are so many threads, it still does good Stance Damage as well.

Tons of other Sorceries and Incantations can be useful, if utilized correctly, in a Stance break build, but these are the ones that seem to generally impact a Stance Breaking playstyle the most.

Ash Of War Recommendations

Special Moves That'll Knock Your Enemies Flat

Elden Ring - Most Stance Damage Heavy Ashes Of War Overlaid On Image Of Character Using Flame of the Redmanes

Flame of the Redmanes is the best Stance Breaking Ash of War and might just be the best Stance Breaking…anything in all of Elden Ring. This AoW Stance Breaks most enemies with two or three uses at most, has good FP utility, great damage, and a quick cast time. That said, it can honestly feel a little too broken, and may not match every build permutation, so here are some other options:

Name	Affinity	Reasoning
Glintstone Pebble	Magic	Essentially just an AoW version of the Sorcery of the same name, and therefore useful for all the same reasons.
Square Off Skill	Quality	Incredibly good simply because of how easily it can be acquired in the early game. Remains a great Stance Breaking tool even in the late game as well.
Spectral Lance Skill	Occult	Not only good for Stance Breaking but is also great against blocking enemies and is incredibly helpful in PvP.
Lion's Claw Skill	Heavy	The Iconic front-flip attack that people associate with Artorias. Very long windup but the Stance Break and just overall damage are well worth it.
Ash of War: Hoarah Loux's Earthshaker	Heavy	Both this and the standard Earthshaker AoW are great AoE options that can inflict large amounts of Stance Damage on an entire group. Does require beating one of the last Bosses to obtain, which knocks its usability down a bit.

Tools & Crafted Item Recommendations

Consumables That Are Actually Useful

Poisonbone Dart Craftable Item from Elden Ring.

You might not expect Crafted Items to help out all that much in the art of Stance Breaking, but this complex item crafting system actually has a lot of use for a Stance Break playstyle. Sure, it requires a bit of material grinding, but a few of these, in particular, can easily add one or two more Stance Break opportunities to a boss fight, which makes the grinding more than worth it.

Name	Type	Reasoning
Bone Dart	Throwing Knife	Inflicts a small amount of Stance Damage, but its primary use is in 'stalling' the Stance Break bar (aka stop it from emptying) while you close the distance.
Crystal Dart	Throwing Knife	The same reasoning as the Bone Dart, but Crystal Darts do more damage overall.
Throwing Dagger	Throwing Knife	The same reasoning as the Bone Dart.
Poisonbone Dart	Throwing Knife	The same reasoning as the Bone Dart, but also builds up the Poison Status Effect.
Kukuri	Throwing Knife	The same reasoning as the Bone Dart, though a bit slower to throw. These also build up the Bleed Status Effect as well.
Fan Daggers	Throwing Knife	The same reasoning as the Bone Dart, but easier to hit as they fly out in a fan formation.
Ironjar Aromatic	Perfume Arts	Very risky to use, especially against Lightning Damage, but allows you to swing away with little to no interruption.
Bloodboil Aromatic	Perfume Arts	Gives a massive increase in Attack Power which equals easier Stance Breaks, but the increased damage taken is a high risk as well.

Crystal Tear Recommendations

Something Most Players Don't Consider Enough

Elden Ring - Looking At The Stonebarb Cracked Tear In The Key Items Menu

The Wonderous Physick actually has a lot of impact on Stance Break Builds and most Elden Ring Builds in general. There are a lot of different Tears to choose from, but these are the ones that help with Stance Breaking the most:

Name	Stat Affected	Reasoning
Greenspill Crystal Tear	Stamina	More Stamina means more opportunities to attack, which means an easier time Stance Breaking.
Greenburst Crystal Tear	Stamina	Faster Stamina Recovery leads to faster attacks which give enemies less time to recover Stance damage.
Opaline Hardtear	Damage Reduction	Allows you to wind up a gigantic swing right away without fearing for their lives.
Spiked Cracked Tear	Heavy Attack Damage	Synergizes with Charged Heavy Attacks which are typically great for Stance Breaking.
Leaden Hardtear	Poise	Only lasts 10 seconds but allows you to be hyper-aggressive without being knocked out of your attacks.
Stonebarb Cracked Tear	Stance Break Damage	One of the few items in the game that straight-up boosts Stance Break Damage, basically a must-use for Stance Break builds.