In the vast and dangerous world of Elden Ring, weapon choice can significantly influence your success or failure. Among the many unique weapons scattered across the Lands Between, the Bloodhound’s Fang stands out as a fan-favorite for strength and dexterity builds alike. It’s a curved greatsword that packs both power and mobility, making it an attractive option early in the game. Whether you’re facing challenging bosses or clearing out tough enemies, understanding how good Bloodhound Fang truly is can help shape your journey through the game.
Weapon Overview: What Is Bloodhound’s Fang?
Basic Stats and Scaling
Bloodhound’s Fang is a curved greatsword that requires 18 Strength and 17 Dexterity to wield effectively. It scales primarily with Dexterity, making it a solid choice for agile melee builds. However, its strength requirement isn’t too high, allowing hybrid builds to use it efficiently.
- Base Physical Attack: 141
- Dexterity Scaling: B
- Strength Scaling: D
- Weight: 11.5
- Weapon Skill: Bloodhound’s Finesse
With good scaling and respectable damage, Bloodhound Fang is already a viable weapon by the time you obtain it early in the game. Its curved greatsword category gives it excellent reach and sweeping attacks that are great for both single targets and groups.
Unique Weapon Skill: Bloodhound’s Finesse
This weapon comes equipped with a powerful and flashy skill called Bloodhound’s Finesse. It’s a two-part move where the user performs a leaping slash, then flips backward to avoid counterattacks. This skill costs FP but adds a layer of safety and offense in one motion. When used wisely, it helps avoid incoming hits while dealing massive stagger damage to enemies or bosses.
Advantages of Using Bloodhound Fang
High Burst Damage
Bloodhound’s Fang hits hard, especially when leveled up with Smithing Stones. Because of its good Dexterity scaling, players who invest in Dex will find it scales nicely into the mid and late game. Its heavy attacks deal high poise damage, staggering enemies more frequently than lighter weapons.
Bleed Build-Up
One of the weapon’s hidden strengths is its innate Bleed buildup. This passive effect causes Hemorrhage, which deals percentage-based damage once the status meter fills up. While not as fast as dedicated bleed weapons like katanas or daggers, the Bloodhound’s Fang still benefits from this deadly effect, especially against bosses with large health pools.
Mobility and Range
For a greatsword, Bloodhound Fang offers surprising mobility. Its sweeping arcs make it easy to hit multiple enemies at once, while the built-in skill gives players a way to dodge backward while staying aggressive. In Elden Ring, being able to move quickly without compromising power is a rare combination that makes this weapon stand out.
Early Accessibility
Bloodhound’s Fang can be acquired relatively early in the game by defeating Bloodhound Knight Darriwil in the Forlorn Hound Evergaol. If players choose to summon Blaidd, an NPC ally, the fight becomes more manageable. Securing such a powerful weapon early provides a major advantage through the early and mid-game content.
Limitations and Weaknesses
No Ash of War Customization
Because Bloodhound Fang is a unique weapon, it cannot be infused with other Ashes of War. While its built-in skill is strong, the inability to experiment with alternate weapon skills limits its flexibility. Players who enjoy customizing movesets may find this a drawback.
Relatively High Requirements
For players starting with pure caster or low-Dex builds, reaching the 18 Strength and 17 Dexterity needed to wield Bloodhound’s Fang may require significant stat investment. This can delay using the weapon unless you’re building your stats around it specifically.
Two-Handing for Maximum Effectiveness
To fully realize the weapon’s potential, many players choose to two-hand it, sacrificing the use of shields or catalysts. While this approach increases Strength scaling and damage, it also reduces defensive options. This is a trade-off that may not appeal to all playstyles.
How to Upgrade Bloodhound Fang
Using Smithing Stones
Bloodhound Fang is upgraded with standard Smithing Stones rather than Somber Stones. This makes it easier to level up compared to unique weapons that use rarer materials. It can reach +25 at max level, and the increase in damage is substantial at each tier.
Best Stats for Scaling
- Dexterity: Focus on raising Dexterity to increase damage output
- Vigor: Important for survivability since this is a melee-focused weapon
- Endurance: Allows for more swings and heavier armor without fat rolling
While some Strength investment helps with two-handing and weapon scaling, prioritizing Dexterity is key for optimizing Bloodhound Fang’s performance.
Best Builds for Bloodhound Fang
Dexterity-Based Melee Build
The most straightforward build focuses on Dexterity, pairing the weapon with lightweight armor for agility and high damage. Players can use talismans that boost stamina regeneration and physical damage output to complement this build.
Bleed Hybrid Build
Even though Bloodhound Fang doesn’t stack Bleed quickly, combining it with bleed-boosting talismans and status-enhancing gear can make it deadly. Wearing armor that enhances attack power after a status proc, or equipping a bleed-based companion weapon in the offhand, makes this a viable strategy.
Quality Build Option
For those running a balanced Strength/Dexterity build, Bloodhound Fang still performs well. Its scaling benefits both stats, although Dexterity still provides more value. This build is good for players who want to keep multiple weapon options open.
How Bloodhound Fang Performs in Boss Fights
Great Against Mobile Bosses
Thanks to its long reach and quick movement skill, Bloodhound Fang is excellent against fast-moving enemies. The backward flip in its weapon skill allows you to strike and reposition quickly, avoiding punishing counterattacks.
Useful for Staggering
The weapon’s heavy attacks and skill contribute to high poise damage, allowing players to break enemy stances more often. This opens up critical attacks, making it a strong option for boss encounters where stagger windows are crucial.
Bleed Bonus Against Certain Bosses
Enemies susceptible to Hemorrhage will fall faster due to the bleed effect. Combining this with buffs like Blood Grease or Bloodflame Blade (if using offhand magic) further enhances its lethality.
Is Bloodhound Fang Worth Using?
Yes, Bloodhound Fang is absolutely worth using for many builds in Elden Ring. It provides a unique blend of power, mobility, and status buildup that few other weapons offer. It’s easy to acquire, effective throughout most of the game, and satisfying to use thanks to its flashy skill and high damage potential. While its lack of customization and high stat requirements may deter some players, those who commit to wielding it will find it a highly reliable and rewarding weapon from early game all the way to the final boss.