Stat Distribution:

VIG: 40   MND: 9   END: 30  STR: 20   DEX: 40   INT: 14   FTH: 15   ARC: 60

Armor:

White Mask,   Raptor's Black Feathers,   Bandit Manchettes,   Bandit Boots

Total Armor Weight: 17   Poise: 9

Talismans:

Lord of Blood's Exultation,   Claw Talisman,   Rotten Winged Sword Insignia,   Viridian Amber Medallion

Tips: Talismans are flexible and based on player preference.

Ashes:

Ancient Dragon Knight Kristoff / Black Knife Tiche / Mimic Tear

Tips: Ashes are flexible and based on player preference.

Recommended Weapons & Ash of War:

1.Weapon: Rivers of Blood   Ash of War: Corpse Piler

   Weapon: Uchigatana

Playstyle: Using this weapon favors either two-handing Rivers of Blood or equipping a Katana with No Skill and leveling Dex and Arcane (the build will work with either a hybrid build or pure Dexterity or pure Arcane).  With the No Skill Katana, Corpse Piler can be cast without having to unequip the off hand weapon.

If you would like to cast Corpse Piler without interruption, we recommend using heavy armor to boost Poise, though points in Endurance will be needed to prevent fat rolling.  Corpse Piler is the bread and butter for this weapon and it will shred through most bosses and is excellent in one-shotting players in PvP.

Keep in mind, however, that bosses that are immune to Hemorrhage will decrease the effectiveness of this weapon.

Imbuing the offhand Katana with the Cold affinity will also work hand in hand with the Fire damage being done with Rivers of Blood, the Fire damage will reset Frostbite (not the Frost buildup) and allow it it be applied again and again for more triggers and burst damage.

2.Weapon: Hoslow's Petal Whip   Ash of War: Bloodhound's Step / White Shadow's Lure

   Weapon: Hoslow's Petal Whip   Ash of War: Bloodhound's Step / White Shadow's Lure

Playstyle: Both these whips have a B scaling in Arcane if infused with the Occult affinity (other whips such as the Thorned Whip or Urumi can be used). With Occult, their scaling will be mainly from Arcane as opposed to infusing them with Keen, Blood, or Cold.

Using L1 will enable combo attacks using both whips and quickly build up blood loss, which helps with burst. Jumping L1 or R1 attacks will stagger weaker enemies and playrs in PvP, which will stunlock if successive attacks are timed correctly.

3.Weapon: Bloody Helice   Ash of War: Dynast's Finesse

Playstyle: Using this weapon favors two-handing Bloody Helice and leveling Dex and Arcane (with scalings of C and B respectively at max reinforcement).  Dynast's Finesse is a great skill used to dodge and counterattack, which can catch another player off guard with a potential one-shot in PvP.

This weapon is favored by speedrunners due to the damage it gives and by also imbuing it with the War Cry effect by holding Bloody in the offhand and a Katana with War Cry in the main hand.

4.Weapon: Scavenger's Curved Sword   Ash of War: Bloodhound's Step / Seppuku

   Weapon: Scavenger's Curved Sword   Ash of War: Bloodhound's Step / Seppuku

Playstyle: Both these swords have a B scaling in Arcane if infused with the Occult affinity. With Occult, their scaling will be mainly from Arcane as opposed to infusing them with Keen, Blood, or Cold.

Jumping attacks with L1 will deal massive amounts of damage to other players in PvP due to the scaling and also the blood loss trigger. Buffs such as Flame, Grant Me Strength or Rallying Standard with the Commander's Standard increases the one-shot potential in PvP, while greatly boosting damage against bosses in PvE.

5.Weapon: Godskin Peeler   Ash of War: Seppuku / Bloodhound's Step

   Weapon: Twinblade   Ash of War: Seppuku / Bloodhound's Step

   Weapon: Eleonora's Poleblade   Ash of War: Bloodblade Dance

Playstyle: Both these Twinblades have a B scaling in Arcane if infused with the Occult affinity. However, infusing them with Blood or Cold will shift their B scaling towards Dexterity, which is also viable for inflicting status effects. To maximize damage, its recommended to have one infused with Occult and the other with Blood or have one infused with Cold and another with Blood for quick status effect buildups.

Jumping attacks with L1 will cause a massive build up of blood loss, which will almost guarantee a trigger if all hits connect. This will chunk bosses for a large amount of HP and if paired with buffs such as Flame, Grant Me Strength, will one-shot low Vigor players in PvP.

Special mention must be said of Eleonora's Poleblade as it can be used as a good substitute when paired with another Twinblade infused with Cold. Due to the flame attacks that come with Eleonora's Poleblade, any Frostbite can be taken away, only to have it inflicted again, resulting in a surprising amount of burst damage, even if the weapon's blood loss buildup is inferior.