Quick answer
Build Eredrim around Shoulder Bash → Break → riposte → repeat. A full-release test used the Veteran’s Battle Axe as an accessible early pairing and supported the loop with Resolve, riposte and crit-oriented Tarstones. After Balance Patch 1, Axatana is also especially attractive because its light-attack tracking improved and its speed helps refill Resolve between bashes.
Core Shell priority
The build exists to make Shoulder Bash available often enough that bosses spend more time staggered than attacking.
A full-release test highlights three priorities:
- Increase Shoulder Bash effectiveness.
- Reduce the Resolve pressure of repeated Bash use.
- Use ripostes to build Eredrim’s Slaughter benefits while the target is controlled.
The exact passive names/point counts can change in value after balance patches, so follow the function of the node rather than copying an old screenshot blindly.
Weapon option A: Veteran’s Battle Axe
Why it works:
- obtainable in Fainweald without a late Mammon route;
- strong charged attack for punish windows;
- fits the heavy-control identity without being as slow as the heaviest options in the launch test.
This is the “I want the build online early” choice.
Weapon option B: Axatana
Why it works:
- fast light strings refill Resolve quickly;
- heavy behavior still gives you a satisfying punish after stagger;
- Balance Patch 1 improves light-attack tracking.
This is the “I am willing to rush Mammon for a more flexible endgame weapon” choice.
Tarstone direction
The launch Eredrim test used stones supporting:
- attack speed / Resolve generation;
- riposte damage;
- critical chance/damage;
- ranged stagger as a backup tool;
- a weapon-throw style ability for extra pressure.
It specifically called out names such as Thief Stone, Retribution Stone, Auspicious Stone and Headsman Stone in its setup, with additional weapon/sidearm stones around the chosen gear.
Boss rotation
A simple safe loop is:
- Open with Shoulder Bash when the boss is committed.
- Add a second Bash or posture pressure instead of a greedy damage combo.
- Riposte when the Break window appears.
- Use the downtime to rebuild Resolve with quick weapon hits or a safe sidearm action.
- Repeat.
The point is control first, damage second. Once a boss stops completing full attack strings, the build feels much stronger than its paper DPS suggests.
What not to do
Do not invest in a status package just because Eredrim has a passive that mentions it if the required Tarstone/infusion arrives very late or makes the weapon feel worse to you. The launch test specifically avoided forcing a frost plan when the supporting stone arrived too late for the preferred route.