Marais Executioner’s Sword Build Guide in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

Marais Executioner’s Sword was already a demi-god shredding chainsaw in the base game of Elden Ring. Using its Ash of War felt like you were tearing through bosses with a massive drill rather than a Greatsword. With the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, this weapon has gotten a few new toys to play with that make it an even better deity-destroying armament than it previously was.

If you’ve been looking for a good weapon that can pulverize bosses into ground beef, then Marais Executioner’s Sword is just the weapon you’re looking for. Its Ash of War has a unique blend of mechanics that make it perfect to power up with just the right build. Here’s a guide to show you how to build this weapon so you can tear through bosses without breaking a sweat. .

Pros and Cons of Marais Executioner’s Sword

Marais Executioner’s Sword is a legendary greatsword with a decent moveset behind it, but its real draw is its Ash of War — Eochaid’s Dancing Blade Skill . If you tap the Ash of War button, it’ll quickly send the sword out directly in front of you and spin like a drill. Your Tarnished will then take the weapon back into their hands and swipe at the enemy once. This attack can be charged by holding down the Ash of War button to deal more hits. Since this attack is chargeable, hits in rapid succession, counts as a dance, and deals a significant chunk of magic damage, Eochaid’s Dancing Blade has several different routes to buffits already high damage to reach its infamously boss-shredding potential.

However, despite its mind-blowing damage, there are still a few weaknesses to take into account when you’re building this weapon. The Ash of War must be fully charged to deal the damage you’re building for. This means your Tarnished will be stuck in the same spot during the charge animation and stuck in the same spot while the animation plays out. Against enemy Tarnished, Eochaid’s Dancing Blade will leave you painfully vulnerable if they dodge the drill or interrupt you while you’re charging. You could use the fast version of this Ash of War, but it’s still easy for most opponents to dodge since it only attacks the area directly in front of you. In PvE, standing still for its attack can be problematic since you still have to find the right time and place to charge up the attack without your targets interrupting you.

Despite those downsides, Marais Executioner’s Sword is still a good weapon. If you’re helping a friend fight off an invader, the Executioner’s Sword can still catch an invader off-guard if they get sloppy. High poise, careful timing, and good spacing can also help make up for the long charge time leading into the attack. But this weapon truly shines in PvE where big-bodied, slow enemies will give you plenty of opportunities to let a fully charged drill rip through them.

Best Off-hand Weapon with Marais Executioner’s Sword.

• Greatshield: Makes the most of your high strength stat and provides plenty of defense
• Bleed Iron Greatsword: Power stance weapon that can deal bleed
• Seal or Staves: These two options are primarily used for buffs. Blood-based spells can also be used to take advantage of your high Arcane.
• Madding Hand: Best used for self-inflicted madness buffs like Howl of Shabriri .

There are a few different options to use in your off-hand. If you prefer to stay behind a shield, a Great Shield without an Ash of War is a great option since it gives you the opportunity to block attacks until you see a good opening to use Eochaid’s Dancing Blade.

A second greatsword to powerstance this weapon can also help your damage output if you’re up against a faster enemy, or if that’s your preferred style into PvP. A Bleed Iron Greatsword in particular strikes a good balance of damage and inflicting bleed damage, which you can use for bleed-based buffs like Lord of Blood’s Exultation , or just to get more value out of your high Arcane stat.

The Madding Hand is here just for its ability to buff your damage. Even if you don’t have the stats for it, equip the Madding Hand to your off-hand and use a seal in your main hand. Use Shabriri’s Howl until you’re inflicted with Madness, then swap your main hand back to Marais Executioner’s Greatsword. If you plan on two-handing this Greatsword and investing into a madness build, this is the perfect off-hand weapon to get even more damage out of your build.

Best Stats for Marais Executioner’s Sword

At level 150, you’ll want to focus on reaching 80 Strength and 50 Arcane. This will reach the soft cap for both stats, and you’ll maximize how much damage Marais Executioner’s Sword will deal. If you plan to go over level 150, look for increasing Faith up to 33 so you can use Howl of Shabriri , Black Dumpling , Madding Hand , and Aged One’s Exultation for a massive boost to your overall damage.

If you have any points to spare, having 20 intelligence isn’t a bad idea just to get access to Terra Magica . This is a spell that increases all magic damage dealt in its sigil, including from melee weapons. Since Marais Executioner’s Sword also deals magic damage, this results in a staggering 22.5% increase in your magic damage.

Best Armor for Marais Executioner’s Sword

In Shadow of the Erdtree, Tarnished gained access to the Dancer’s set, a new special armor set that increases the damage of all dancing attacks by 2.5% for each piece worn. You can wear the gloves, boots and chest piece for an 7.5% increase to Eochaid’s Dancing Blade’s damage. For your helmet, wear either the White Mask or Black Dumpling depending on whether you want to try using bleed or madness for an additional damage buff.

If you don’t plan to use bleed or madness, you can use the Rakshasa Helm or the Dancer’s Hood to increase your damage. Rakshasa is better if you want a more general increase to your damage, while the Dancer’s Hood is better if you want to focus on just your Ash of War’s damage.

Best Talismans For Marais Executioner’s Sword

Millicent’s Prosthesis/Rotten Winged Sword Insignia

Both Millicent’s Prosthesis and the Rotten Winged Sword Insignia shine in almost any build that wants to attack quickly and often, it has a particular home with the Marais Executioner’s Sword. Since Eochaid’s Dancing Blade deals so many hits so quickly, it’s fairly easy to activate both of these talismans in a single activation of your Ash of War.

You can only get one of these talismans per game since you can only complete
Millicent’s Quest
once. Getting both requires you to enter New Game+.

Shard of Alexander

This talisman is practically a staple Marais Executioner’s Sword. Since the majority of your damage comes from your Ash of War, Shard of Alexander is a straightforward 15% damage buff for your build.

Godfrey’s Icon

Godfrey’s Icon increases the damage of all charged attacks by 15%. Tor all intents and purposes, this talisman is practically a second copy of Shard of Alexander for Marais Executioner’s Sword. If you’re playing PvP however, this talisman’s slot can be a flex spot since you won’t be landing too many full-charged Ash of War attacks against player-controlled Tarnished.

Aged One’s Exultation

The Aged One’s Exultation talisman is best used with a madness build for huge, chunky damage. Combine this talisman with the Black Dumpling helmet, Madding Hand , and Howl of Shabriri so you can get the biggest buff possible. With all of these items combined, you’ll receive a 55% increase to your damage after inflicting madness on yourself through Howl.

While this talisman and the madness tools are good, this is only useful if you’re willing to put in the faith investment for Howl of Shabriri . Otherwise,this talisman is a subpar choice if you want to use a build that focuses on something else other than madness. In that case, you can replace it with the Lord of Blood’s Exultation if you plan on using Bleed instead, or a Magic Scorpion Charm if you’re looking to increase your Magic damage.

Best Cracked Tears With Marais Executioner’s Sword

• Stonebarb Cracked Tear: Increases your poise damage, allowing you to stagger enemies more easily and link Eochaid’s Dancing Blades into each other
• Thorny Cracked Tear: Acts like Millicent’s Prosthesis and Rotten Winged-Sword Insignia and increases your damage for fast, successive hits
• Magic-shrouding Cracked Tear: Increases your magic damage.