Arcane builds in Elden Ring have gained immense popularity due to their ability to harness both the power of Blood Loss and devastating Dragon Incantations. As someone who has experimented extensively with various playstyles across multiple playthroughs, I’ve found that Arcane-focused builds not only feel dynamic and thrilling to use, but they also offer incredible versatility for PvE and PvP alike. Whether you're trying to inflict hemorrhage damage or breathe scarlet rot onto your enemies, these builds can make you a true force on the battlefield.

Here are my top 5 Arcane builds tailored for Blood and Dragon Incantations, all based on personal testing and practical gameplay experience.

1. Blood Dragon Apostle

Core Focus: Bleed & Rot Hybrid

This build combines the high Bleed potential of Arcane with the Dragon Cult's Rot and Fire incantations. I personally found this setup extremely effective against tougher bosses like Malenia, where applying both Hemorrhage and Rot made the fight far more manageable.

Key Weapons:

• Dragon Communion Seal

• Rivers of Blood or Mohgwyn’s Sacred Spear

Essential Incantations:

• Rotten Breath

• Ekzykes’s Decay

• Swarm of Flies

Why It Works: Arcane boosts the scaling of Dragon Communion incantations and synergizes perfectly with Bleed effects, allowing you to melt both health bars and poise.

2. Pure Dragon Cultist

Core Focus: Full Dragon Communion Power

If you're obsessed with Dragon Incantations like I was during my third playthrough, this build is for you. It maximizes the use of all Dragon breaths, dealing massive elemental damage with decent crowd control.

Key Weapons:

• Dragon Communion Seal (two-handed for max scaling)

Essential Incantations:

• Borealis’s Mist

• Glintstone Breath

• Placidusax’s Ruin

Why It Works: With high Arcane and Faith, Dragon breaths do substantial damage. Pair this with items that boost incantation damage, and you become a walking apocalypse.

3. Blood-Flame Executioner

Core Focus: Bleed with Fire Infusion

This build became one of my favorites due to its simplicity and effectiveness. It merges Flame and Bleed for a high-pressure, aggressive combat style, especially effective in tight PvP duels.

Key Weapons:

• Nagakiba with Bloodflame Blade

• Seppuku Ash of War for fast bleed buildup

Essential Incantations:

• Bloodflame Blade

• Flame, Cleanse Me (to purge rot or poison)

Why It Works: Arcane and Fire effects together are a deadly mix. When facing enemies with high health pools, this build applies constant pressure through DoT (damage over time).

4. Mohgwyn Disciple

Core Focus: Blood Lord Scaling

Inspired by Mohg, Lord of Blood, this build thrives in dealing AoE Bleed damage. I used this build during my NG+ and found it absolutely devastating in mob-heavy areas.

Key Weapons:

• Mohgwyn’s Sacred Spear

• Dragon Communion Seal

Essential Incantations:

• Bloodboon

• Bloodflame Talons

Why It Works: With high Arcane, Mohg’s spear synergizes perfectly with incantations to create layered AoE damage, ideal for clearing rooms or breaking enemy formations in PvP.

5. Hybrid Caster Knight

Core Focus: Balanced Weapon & Spell Damage

This build offers a well-rounded Arcane approach, combining melee and ranged damage with Dragon breaths and a fast-striking weapon. It's what I used during my first Arcane experiment run, and it struck the perfect balance between power and survivability.

Key Weapons:

• Serpent-God’s Curved Sword infused with Bleed

• Dragon Communion Seal

Essential Incantations:

• Smarag’s Glintstone Breath

• Dragonice

• Swarm of Flies

Why It Works: You won’t be as glass-cannon as other caster builds. Instead, this setup allows for fluid switching between melee and ranged combat, making it highly adaptive in chaotic battles.

Final Thoughts & Rune Recommendation

All these builds are Arcane-focused but tailored to different playstyles—whether you want to play as a fire-breathing dragon priest or a bloodletting duelist, there’s something here for you.

To bring these builds to life, you’ll need a large number of runes for leveling, gear upgrades, and spell purchases. I personally found the grind time-consuming, especially when testing multiple setups. That’s why I recommend players looking to save time consider options to buy Elden Ring runes from trusted vendors like U4GM. Their service has helped me skip tedious farming and focus more on experimenting with high-level builds.

If you’re looking to dive in quickly, Elden Ring soul runes buy now services are also available to give your Arcane character the jumpstart it needs.

Expert Opinion: Elden Ring Rune-Rich Content Hidden in Art Design: 4 Areas to Explore for Hidden Secrets