Early Strength Build
BanditA Strength build that cuts straight to Blighttown before clearing Undead Parish, buying the Demon Great Machete from Shiva of the East, and upgrading it to +7 with the Large Ember from the Depths. Power Within provides a pre-boss damage surge, and the Red Tearstone Ring turns low-health situations into a burst window, stacking its +50% attack bonus on top of Power Within's +40% for devastating results.
Damage
Demon Great Machete +7 with Power Within active hits at roughly 1.4x normal output. At <20% HP with Red Tearstone Ring, the combined multiplier reaches approximately 1.9x. One-shots most early and mid-game enemies.
Survivability
Stone Armor with 39 poise prevents stagger from most light attacks. Havel's Ring and Ring of Favor and Protection allow medium rolling in full kit. Power Within's HP drain is the main risk, manageable with Estus and Vitality investment.
Boss
Trivializes early and mid-game bosses. Power Within pre-buff lets you burst most encounters in under 30 seconds. Pinwheel, Capra Demon, and Taurus Demon are particularly easy.
Bandit
Starts at Soul Level 4 with 14 base Strength and a Spider Shield that blocks 100% poison. Both are critical for the early Blighttown dive this build requires. The high starting Strength cuts the leveling cost to reach the Demon Great Machete's two-handed threshold.
Primary weapon and backbone of the build. Two-handed R1 swings one-shot most early and mid-game enemies. Only needs 28 Strength to two-hand, making it accessible long before you'd normally reach this region. Upgrade to +7 or +10 with Large Titanite Shards from the Blighttown swamp and the Depths.
Alternatives
- Demon's GreataxeWiki
How to Obtain
Equipped on your back while two-handing the Machete, providing a passive +10 stamina regen bonus at zero active-slot cost. At only 3.0 weight with 95% physical block, there is no downside to wearing it. Stacks with the Mask of the Child for fast stamina recovery in heavy gear.
How to Obtain
High physical defense with 39 poise, making you extremely difficult to stagger through most of the early game. Found during the Darkroot setup route and grabbed without any boss fight. Heavy at 17.6 units, so Havel's Ring and Ring of Favor and Protection are needed to avoid fat rolling.
How to Obtain
Raises maximum equipment load by 50%. Mandatory from the moment you start carrying the Demon Great Machete (18.0), Stone Armor (17.6), and Grass Crest Shield (3.0) together. Kill Havel the Rock in the Darkroot Basin watchtower basement. He is very slow, so circle-strafe and backstab for a clean kill.
How to Obtain
Combat Strategy
- ▸Cast Power Within at the fog gate or just before entering a fight. It lasts 100 seconds, so time it to overlap with the opening of the encounter.
- ▸Equip Grass Crest Shield on your back and Mask of the Child on your head for stacked passive stamina regen without occupying active equipment slots.
- ▸In Blighttown, swap to the starting Spider Shield to block 100% poison from dart enemies and the toxic swamp.
- ▸Enter fights two-handing the Demon Great Machete with Power Within already running for an immediate +40% damage bonus on every swing.
- ▸Use R1 swings aggressively. The Machete's reach punishes forward-moving enemies cleanly, and most early targets die in one or two hits.
- ▸Let enemies commit to attacks before responding. The Machete's poise damage is high enough to stagger most humanoid enemies mid-swing.
- ▸When Power Within drains HP below 20%, the Red Tearstone Ring activates, adding another +50% attack on top of the existing Power Within bonus for a combined ~1.9x damage multiplier.
- ▸Use this window aggressively on bosses and elite enemies. R1 swings in this state deal close to double their base output.
- ▸For enemies vulnerable to backstabs, swap to the Hornet Ring before landing a critical hit for an additional 30% bonus on the finisher.
- ▸Cast Power Within outside the fog gate, then enter and open with aggressive R1 pressure. Most early bosses die before the HP drain becomes dangerous.
- ▸Let the drain drop you below 20% HP intentionally during a boss's vulnerable phase to activate Red Tearstone Ring for the kill burst.
- ▸For Pinwheel, Power Within pre-buff and two-hand R1 spam ends the fight in seconds. He has very low health and multiple small targets to stagger.
Sources
Verified: 2026-05-04 · All content is original with full credit to original creators.