Fans of From Software's Dark Souls will certainly be familiar with its character-building diversity. Those who were around during the original game's glory days before the release of Dark Souls 2 will surely remember backstab-fishing katana wielders, dark magic spammers, and Giantdads all bent on ruining a player's day.
The diversity of builds is one of the game's major selling points, though, and a huge part of the reason why fans keep coming back to Dark Souls all these years later. The possibilities are limitless, and dreaming up some unconventional, gimmicky, or creative build is always an excellent excuse to start a new playthrough.
Havel Cosplay
Although the PvP meta in Dark Souls generally gravitates towards fast-rolling, high DPS builds, everyone still seems to love Havel -- the enormous, heavily-armored NPC who inexplicably guards an otherwise unremarkable tower. The build is fairly simple: as long as a player has 50 strength, as well as a similarly high level of endurance and vitality, they can sport Havel's armor and weapons with ease.
All of this equipment will have a player rolling and moving very slowly, but with an enormous amount of defense and enough poise to tank most attacks in the game, a player can eat as much damage as they like as they prepare to pulverize their opponent with the Dragon Tooth.
Dual Caestus
Does punching demons to death sound appealing? Of course it does -- who doesn't want to beat down the fearsome enemies of Dark Souls with nothing but their (somewhat) bare fists? For those who seek this path, there's the dual Caestus build.
For a dual Caestus run, a player will need to be an expert at parrying attacks and will want to level mostly strength, vitality, and endurance. They'll also want to focus on upgrading their weapons as quickly as possible to gain a much-needed boost to damage output. Those looking for a more "glass cannon" approach can swap some of their vitality for faith as a means to equip late-game damage buffs like Sunlight Blade.
Strength/Faith + Any Huge Weapon
Strength/faith builds with enormous oversized weapons are a lot of fun, but they also offer the secondary benefit of making DEX levelers realize the errors of their ways, for it's impossible for any self-respecting Dark Souls player to resist bashing their opponents over the head with an oversized weapon, buffed to perfection with Sunlight Blade.
Although there's a good degree of flexibility when choosing which miracles to run with such a build, most players wielding heavy weapons like the Man Serpent Greatsword will opt for melee-ranged options such as Force and Wrath of the Gods, and, of course, Sunlight Blade.
Dex/Faith + Falchion
Also known as Oroboro's "highly skillful" PvP build, falchion wielders in Dark Souls typically exploited a build with around 40 dexterity, 30 faith, and a healthy amount of endurance as well. These stats, coupled with the Grass Crest Shield, Ring of Favor and Protection, and Havel's Ring ensured that a player using this build would have a nearly limitless stamina pool to work with.
That's where the "highly skillful" part comes in. With so much stamina and dexterity, as well as access to buff miracles like Sunlight Blade, a player with this build can simply mash R1 indefinitely past the defenses of players and enemies alike.
High INT Dark Mage
Full sorcery builds are generally not recommended for newcomers to Dark Souls, primarily because they often struggle with damage early on in the game, and also require a healthy amount of game knowledge to acquire the game's most powerful (and viable) spells.
For those with a bit of know-how, though, a full magic build can be a lot of fun, and surprisingly effective in both PvE and PvP. A player will want to heavily focus on intelligence, while at the same time being careful not to neglect vitality and endurance. Most players, once they've reached the suitable level, will opt for high-level Dark Magics such as Pursuers and Dark Bead to fill out most of their damage output.
DEX Ninja
So-called ninja builds have a good degree of flexibility to them. Simply aim for 40 dexterity, and sort extra points into endurance or faith, depending on whether Pyromancy or Miracles are the late-game goals for the character in question, and a character will be flipping across the screen with the grace of an anime character who's achieved their final form.
Essential equipment for any good ninja build includes the Shadow armor set, a katana of the player's choosing, and, most importantly, the Dark Wood Grain Ring. This ring, when worn by a player at below 25% equipment load, unlocks the roll speed colloquially referred to as the "ninja flip," making a player's dodge roll much faster and more efficient.
Smough Cosplay
Although Ornstein cosplay might be more popular overall, there's still a strong case to be made for dressing up as his much larger, slower friend. However, the disadvantages to this equipment are apparent: a player will need upwards of 39 strength to wield Smough's Hammer, equipping Smough's Armor greatly damages stamina regen, and, of course, Ornstein and Smough, considered to be one of the game's most challenging bosses, must be defeated to acquire any of these items.
Still, there are few feelings more satisfying than face tanking a flurry of attacks before pancaking an opponent with a hammer so outrageously large that it clips into half of the objects in the environment and obscures a sizable chunk of the screen.
Dex/Pyro
Dexterity-heavy builds with access to high-level Pyromancy have remained among the more popular character builds in Dark Souls, thanks to their flexibility, simplicity, and frankly outrageous damage output. The typical trifecta of dexterity, vitality, and endurance will allow a player to become a DPS machine with nearly every curved sword in the game.
Of course, no DEX build would be complete without the healthy inclusion of high-level Pyromancies like Great Combustion and Black Flame. These Pyromancies, notably, are designed to be used primarily at melee range, which perfectly complements the damage output and in-your-face playstyle of a maxed-out DEX build.
Dual Bonewheels + Armor Of Thorns
Dark Souls is a game jam-packed with loathed enemies, but most players would likely nominate the Wheel Skeleton as the most infamous, perhaps rivaled only by the similarly-hated Anor Londo Archers. The Wheel Skeleton always seems to roll faster than a player can run, dealing major damage and frustration on impact.
As they say, though, if you can't beat them, join them. Such is the inspiration behind this build, which sees a player equipping two Bonewheel Shields and Armor of Thorns, as well as leveling strength and endurance. The offensive capability of the Bonewheel shields makes them the most "viable" option for a dual-shield run, and the Armor of Thorns adds damage to a player's roll, making them feel just like the hated rolling skeletons.
Giantdad
Considered by many to be the pinnacle of Dark Souls meme builds, the so-called "Giantdad" build remains a fan favorite on account of its imposing stature, and hilarious min-maxing shenanigans. Finding his humble origins in a 2012 YouTube meme video simply titled "HE'S BACK," Giantdad is a fast-rolling agent of chaos who also happens to be one of the most important cultural touchstones of the Dark Souls community.
The build itself is fairly simple. Simply acquire 66 endurance and 48 vitality, equip the classic combination of Havel's Ring and the Ring of Favor and Protection, and then don full Giant Armor save, of course, for the iconic Mask of the Father. Enjoy fast-rolling through life and hacking casuals apart with the Zweihander.