Using a Paladin build to tank in Elden Ring throughout the entire game. Below you can check out the Elden Ring Paladin build 1.08 guide with stats and setups for early, mid, and late-game. 

Elden Ring Paladin Build 1.08 Guide - How to Tank in Elden Ring (Early, Mid & Late-Game)

This guide will show how to tank in Elden Ring with a Paladin build after Patch 1.08 by FistTruck, along with the setups for early-game (level 30), mid-game (level 70), and late-game (level 125). 

Elden Ring Tank/Paladin Build Early Game (level 30)

For stats, starting with endurance 19 will give us enough equip load that our legs don't just crumble, our strength is 30 because we need that in order to wield this shield and lastly our vigor will be 16 because there are two levels left over to be level 30.

After picking the class, the first equipment step is to buy the Greathelm for 1800 Elden Ring Runes, then the weapon choice is going to be the Great Mace, you are gonna need 28 strength to use it, and the next step is to get the Green Turtle Talisman, the moment you go over a 70 equip load and your stamina regen gets gimped. We're also gonna be getting the Golden Vow Ash of War because it's very good for a Paladin build and offers the Sacred affinity. And the armor set for the early game is going to be the Chain set, which is easy to get for a new character and not too expensive to purchase. Then get the Curved Sword Talisman that increases the guard counter damage by 20%. The next step is getting the Iron Whetblade to be giving our great maze to heavy infusion. The last item to get is Manor Towershield, this is the best option for an early-game great shield which has 100 blocks and really high guard boost. 

Stats

- Endurance 19

- Strength 30

- Vigor 16

Gear & Items

Greathelm 

Great Mace

Green Turtle Talisman

Ash of War: Golden Vow

Chain Set

Curved Sword Talisman

Iron Whetblade

Manor Towershield

Elden Ring Tank/Paladin Build Mid Game (level 70)

For mid-game stats, vigor will be 40 and mind will be 20, this is more for the future, endurance will be 20, then the strength is going to be at 34 to accommodate for the shield. 

Step one in the mid-game stage is to get the Leyndell Knight Armor, which can be dropped from Leyndell Knights, you can choose the easiest one to fight with. In order to be a Paladin, you need to have the helm in this set, this is the most essential part of this build. The Golden Greatshield is the shield we are going to be getting, this requires 34 strength to use, and it has a bit more guard boost. The next step is to get Greatshield Talisman, it seems this gives us more guard boost and this talisman will be sticking with us for the rest of the game. Then we are going to buy Finger Seal from Twin Maiden Husks at the Roundtable Hold. The last step, we'll be getting Radahn’s Great Rune, to acquire it, you need to defeat Starscourge Radahn.

Stats

- Vigor 40

- Mind 20

- Endurance 20

- Strength 34

Gear & Items

Leyndell Knight Set

Golden Greatshield

Greatshield Talisman

Finger Seal

Radahn’s Great Rune

Elden Ring Tank/Paladin Build Late Game (level 125)

Starting with our vigor which will be 50, the mind is still staying at 20 because we're not really casting all that much unless it's a boss fight, endurance will be at 29 because that's the exact amount that you need to not be over-encumbered, then strength is gonna be at a nice round 40 to make sure that we get the most out of our heavy infusion, lastly, the faith is going to be at 32, this is what you need to cast a Wrath of Gold.

Step one, we’ll be getting the Tree Sentinel armor from the Auriza Hero's Grave, this armor is golden, we are not changing the helmet. Next, we’ll get the Holy Ground Ash of War for the shield. Then to get the Great Heal, which is sold by Brother Corhyn, and this costs 9000 runes. The next step you need to get Golden Vow incantation to replace the Ash of War. For the new Ash of War, we’ll be getting the Prayerful Strike, this can heal 30% of max HP per enemy hit. Another incantation choice is Order’s Blade in order to get holy on our weapon. We’ll also use Wrath of Gold, it produces a golden shockwave that knocks back foes. Moving on to the next step, we’ll get Old Lord's Talisman which can be obtained in Crumbling Farum Azula, it gives us a nice boost to the duration of our buffs. Step nine and probably the last important step we'll be getting the Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman because this gives us almost as much defense as our armor does.

Stats

- Vigor 50

- Mind 20

- Endurance 29

- Strength 40

- Faith 32

Gear & Items

Tree Sentinel Set

Ash of War: Holy Ground

Great Heal

Spell: Golden Vow

Ash of War: Prayerful Strike

Order’s Blade

Wrath of Gold

Old Lord's Talisman

Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman

Game Giveaways