There's no shortage of fun character builds players can craft in Elden Ring, a dark fantasy RPG full of different weapons, armor sets, spells, and damage types a Tarnished character can adopt. One of the more vivid forces in Elden Ring, the crackling lightning of Ancient Dragons, is also one of the hardest damage types for a character to specialize in due to the differing stat requirements for lightning-infused weapons and lightning magic. That said, Elden Ring's DLC could fix this deficiency in several ways, such as introducing new melee weapons to the game, adding new lightning spells players could use in close combat, or giving players new kinds of spell-casting catalysts.
In the Lands Between setting of Elden Ring, jagged, crimson lightning is the signature power of the Ancient Dragons who roost in the sky-city of Farum Azula. Golden lightning, in contrast, is an iconic power of the Dragon Cult in Leyndell, founded by the deceased demigod Godwyn the Golden (before his murder dring the Night of the Long Knives). Dragon Cult lightning magic and lightning-infused weapons can be powerful tools in Elden Ring, but any player who wants their Tarnished to wield both will run into several obstacles (particularly if they don't want their level to go over 125 or 150 over the course of a playthrough).
Elden Ring's Lightning Weapons & Incantations Scale With Different Stats
Like most Incantations in Elden Ring, the Dragon Cult spells of Leyndell scale with a player character's Faith attribute; the higher their Faith rating, the more damage each bolt of lightning will do. Furthermore, the most potent, crimson-colored Incantations of the Dragon Cult - Fortissax's Lightning Spear, Death Lightning, Lansseax's Glaive, and so on - require a Faith rating of 40 or higher to use. If a player wants to truly wreak havoc with lightning Incantations, they need to make Faith one of their primary attributes. Elden Ring contains several melee/ranged weapons that scale off a Tarnished character's Faith, but most of them deal Holy or Fire damage.
None of the "Ancient Dragon" weapons in Elden Ring - the Bolt of Gransax spear, the Dragon King's Cragblade, the Dragonscale Blade, the Dragon Halberd, etc. - scale off a player's Faith Attribute. Most of them, in fact, have excellent scaling in Dexterity (probably to give Dexterity builds in Elden Ring a unique elemental damage type to call their own). This creates a quandary that future Elden Ring DLC should hopefully address: a Dex Build can't get the most damage out of lightning incantations, while Faith builds won't be able to get the most out of any lightning-infused weapons they wield.
There are a few ways for Faith Builds in Elden Ring to acquire decent lightning melee weapons. Weapons with Elden Ring's powerful lightning-themed Ashes of War such as Thunderbolt or Lightning Slash scale with Faith if a player infuses them with the Sacred Affinity (their basic attacks will do Physical and Holy damage, but their special attacks will still do lightning damage). Additionally, the Erdsteel Dagger weapon has innate Faith scaling no matter what Ash of War it's infused with. Finally, Elden Ring players can create a semi-viable "Strength-Lightning" build by acquiring the Clawmark Seal (which scales off Strength AND Faith), equipping lightning weapons like the Dragon Greatclaw that scale well off Strength, and using lightning spells with low Faith requirements.
Alternately, players with hybrid Faith Confessor builds in Elden Ring can wield the Treespear or the Troll's Hammer, the only two Faith-scaling weapons that can be buffed with the weapon enchantment Incantations of the Dragon Cult (Electrify Armament and Vyke's Dragonbolt). A Strength-Faith build can deal physical, fire, and lightning damage with an enchanted Troll's Hammer, while a Dex-Faith build can deal physical, holy, and lightning damage with an enchanted Treespear. The Treespear's fixed weapon Skill, which temporarily buffs the weapon with holy damage, also slightly increases the damage of any spells cast with the player character's right hand, which can prove particularly advantageous in combat.
Even with these loopholes and Elden Ring's wild one-shot builds, there are still a few missing pieces of the puzzle when it comes to creating lightning-wielders in the world of Elden Ring. Tarnished PCs with high Dexterity and weapons carved from dragon body parts could use a way to deal heavy damage with lower-level lightning Incantations. By the same token, "Dragon Cultist" Faith Builds would be much easier to make if players had access to a simple straightforward way of electrocuting enemies in close-quarters combat.
Elden Ring DLC Could Add New A Lightning Weapon With Faith Scaling
Future Elden Ring DLC, whether it's set in the mysterious Badlands or the stained dreams of the Demigod Miquella, could easily introduce a weapon for DnD Cleric-style player characters that have Faith scaling, low Strength/Dexterity requirements, and innate lightning damage. Some possible weapon types could include a jagged dagger carved from a dragon's tooth, used in ancient Dragon Cult rituals, or perhaps a lightning-charred dragon-slaying spear wielded by Elden Ring's Prince of Death, Godwyn the Golden, in his glory days before he was assassinated and became the putrefying Prince of Death.
Elden Ring DLC Could Add New Sacred Seals With Dexterity Scaling
The Clawmark Seal, granted to players by Beast Clergyman Gurranq in the Dragonbarrow region of the Lands Between, is a rare Sacred Seal that scales with both Strength and Faith. Future paid or free Elden Ring DLC could similarly include a Sacred Seal catalyst with good Dexterity scaling as well as Faith scaling. This would let wielders of Dex-scaling lightning weapons in Elden Ring upgrade their Faith to the minimum amount needed to cast certain lightning spells, then pump the rest of their points into Dexterity to get the most damage out of Lightning weapon Skills.
Elden Ring DLC Could Add Dragon Cult Incantations Built For Close Combat
In the current version of Elden Ring, there are a few Glintstone Sorceries and Incantations that function like melee weapons in form. The low-level Carian Slicer spell, for instance, conjures a spectral sword players can chain-cast from their Tarnished's Glintstone staff to carve up foes at point-blank range. Elden Ring's Prophet class, in contrast, starts off with a Catch Flame Incantation, a similarly "spam-able" conjuration of crimson flame within the PC's hand.
To improve the close-range combat power of lighting caster PCs in Elden Ring, FromSoftware could draw inspiration from the spells listed above and add a Dragon Cult melee Incantation to the game's future DLC. Some possible ideas could include: an Incantation that conjures a small blade or stake of lightning (essentially a smaller-scale version of the Lansseax's Glaive spell); an Incantation that lets casters stomp the ground and unleash a short-range explosion of lightning (similar to the Storm Stomp or Hoarfrost Stomp Ashes of War); or an Incantation that conjures red claws of lightning in the wielder's hand (like the lightning claw attacks of Dragonlord Placidusax).
If FromSoftware does add lightning Incantations like these to the next Elden Ring DLC update, they'll need to make these spells cheap to cast, quick to cast, and capable to dealing a decent amount of damage if repeatedly cast in quick succession. Thematically, these hypothetical DLC Incantations should also be visually and mechanically distinct from the Dragon Cult Incantations already in the main game.
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