No Souls game is complete without the obligatory Berserk reference and Easter egg. With Berserk author Kentaro Miura, unfortunately, passing away last year, Elden Ring simply had to crank up the homages to one of its chief inspirations as a Souls game. It finally caved and introduced the most obvious and accessible way to cosplay as Berserk's protagonist, the legendary Guts.

One in-game NPC even resembled Guts and his personality is hauntingly close. With that said, it's not simple to cosplay or roleplay in-game as Guts. The key items are often locked in the game's most complex side quest that spans half the game.

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Still, Berserk fans aren't expected to give up that easily. Fans have endured too much pain and suffering; might as well channel that into rage and motivation. So do not put those foolish ambitions to rest; here's how to fully realize Guts in Elden Ring.

Warning: minor spoilers ahead for side missions

Updated September 19th, 2022, by Sid Natividad: Turns out there are more ways to cosplay as Guts in Elden Ring apart from just Blaidd's armor set. There's no official Guts armor Elden Ring, but with a bit of resourcefulness and improvisation, players can make it work.

It mostly involves mixing and matching other armor sets. However, the Guts look doesn't stop at armor. Players also have to be faithful to Guts' move set and combat style. With that in mind, an update is needed here regarding the Elden Ring Guts armor, along with other additions that complete the "Struggler" cosplay.

Obtain Blaidd's Armor Set (Two Methods)

Elden Ring Blaidd

Arguably the most important step in achieving peak Guts in Elden Ring is acquiring Blaidd's gear. He's Ranni's half-wolf elite bodyguard and point man and also the character that pays too much homage to Guts. The long and sure way to obtain his armor is through Ranni the Witch's side quest.

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Players will have to finish this side quest in order to fight Blaidd and have him drop his armor upon killing him. There is also a short and easy way but involves begging online.

Obtaining The Armor Set Through Ranni's Questline

ranni's rise in elden ring

Now, don't even think about killing Blaidd prematurely or as early as seeing him in the Mistwood Ruins. Apparently, he will only drop his weapon and not his armor if he's killed this way. So make sure to follow these steps to both fulfill Ranni's quest and acquire Blaidd's armor. For a more detailed walkthrough of Ranni's Quest only (up to step 23), go to this guide; otherwise, just follow the simplified steps below.

  1. Clear up Caria Manor north of Liurnia of the Lakes (up to the Royal Knight Loretta boss) to gain access to the Three Sisters towers. This is where Ranni lives.
  2. Go to Three Sisters (western side of Caria Manor) and talk to Ranni in Ranni's Rise (middle tower). Exhaust all dialogue (even the backtracking to Ranni). She'll tell players to head to Nokron to talk to Blaidd.
  3. To go near Nokron, look for the Siofra River Well near the Minor Erdtree north of the Fort Haight Site of Grace in eastern Limgrave.
  4. Go down the Siofra River Well elevator and just unlock everything in the underground area. Look for the Siofra River Bank Site of Grace (it's along the exploration path).
  5. From Siofra River Bank keep heading east and traverse along the eastern edges of the underground area. Blaidd should be standing near the edge of a cliff below some ruined tall pillars.
  6. Talk to Blaidd. He'll tell players to go back to Seluvis in the Three Sisters, specifically in Seluvis' Rise (the southernmost tower). Talk to Seluvis. He'll point the players to Sellen in Waypoint Ruins.
  7. Waypoint Ruins is located to the Southeast of the Agheel Lake North Site of Grace, past the bridge, along the southern road. Clear Waypoint Ruins and talk to Sellen. She'll tell players to defeat General Radahn to the stars he's holding will crash and open up a path directly to Nokron.
  8. Head on over to Caelid, the region east of Limgrave. Follow the big road east of Stormhill Shack Site of Grace. Players will know they're there when the sky starts turning red and the place starts resembling Australia. Everything's out to kill them, even the atmosphere.
  9. In Caelid, keep following the big road, it eventually bends to the southeast and then to the south and then to the east. Players need to follow that path until they see a fork in the road where it diverges to the southeast again. Turn to that path.
  10. Those who turned right and kept going should eventually run into a great bridge along with the Impassable Greatbridge Site of Grace. Near this bridge, there's a teleporter that heads directly to Redmane Castle for the Radahn boss fight.
  11. Head over to the gathering area and talk to the announcer after listening to them. He'll unlock the arena.
  12. Defeat Starscrouge Radahn. It's a tough fight, just keep summoning and re-summoning the NPCs to distract him.
  13. Once the fight is done, a star will fall near the Mistwood Ruins area in eastern Limgrave and will open up the pathway to the city of Nokron. Head over to this area. The huge crater is due east of the Fort Haight Site of Grace, it can't be missed.
  14. Head down there and progress through to Nokron. Look for the Finger Slayer Blade in a chest guarded by Mimics in the Night's Sacred Ground. It's the area to the south of the Ancestral Woods Site of Grace. Players will have to jump down to the ruin and platform a bit.
  15. Take the Finger Slayer Blade to Ranni back in Ranni's Rise. She'll disappear and unlock Renna's Rise. Head to Renna's Rise (northernmost tower in the Three Sisters) and go to the portal at the top.
  16. This will take players to Nokstella, specifically the Ainsel River Main Site of Grace. In there, look around for a coffin in the water and retrieve the Miniature Ranni Doll.
  17. Head back to the Ainsel River Main Site of Grace and keep talking to the Ranni doll until it speaks and gives instructions on what to do next.
  18. Hunt down and kill the Baleful Shadow in Nokstella. It's past the ruined city, near the Lake of Rot area. Ranni will then give players a key that opens a chest. Proceed a bit further into the Lake of Rot area and unlock the Site of Grace.
  19. If players haven't already, they'll have to defeat Queen Rennala in the Raya Lucaria Academy. They'll then get access to the Raya Lucaria Grand Library. There's a chest there near the respec NPC, open it using the key that Ranni gave and collect the ring.
  20. Head back to the Lake of Rot area and beeline straight for huge gate. There's a Site of Grace there. Run past the area again and look for the coffin to the left upon seeing the centipede enemy temple. This coffin will take players to a boss, Astel, Naturalborn of the Void.
  21. Defeat Astel, Naturalborn of the Void. This will unlock the elevator to the Moonlight Altar near the arena.
  22. Head to Moonlight Altar and go northeast, up the hill, to the Cathedral of Manu Celes. Activate the Site of Grace and head down to the hole in the ground near it.
  23. Look for Ranni in this tunnel and put the ring on her finger. Don't forget to record this lovely Tim Burton wedding proposal. Collect any reward she'll give.
  24. Go back to Ranni's Rise and prepare for a tough fight with a maddened Blaidd.
  25. Kill Blaidd and get his armor. The wolf helmet isn't included but is located nearby on some broken walls to the left of Seluvis' Rise's entrance.

That sums up the lengthy Ranni questline. Now here's the easy and much less tiring method of obtaining Blaidd's armor.

Obtaining The Armor Set By Asking Online

Just go online and ask people to donate Blaidd's whole armor set, assuming they have a spare or if they don't want their set. They can drop the pieces in-game in a private game to be picked up and voila, instant, effortless Blaidd armor set. The hard part is getting strangers or even friends to be this generous, especially since obtaining Blaidd's armor requires a lot of time and effort.

Alternative to Blaidd's Armor Set - Night's Cavalry Set

night's cavalry set elden ring

Some will, can, and have argued that the Night's Cavalry armor set is a more fitting apparel. It's blacker than Blaidd's armor and has a tattered black cape to boot. That's true. But it doesn't have the best helmet for a Guts cosplay.

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So players are recommended to don only the body armor piece, the boots, and the gloves from the Night Cavalry set while wearing the Black Wolf Mask/Blaidd helmet. That's the most accurate look. Alternatively, players can ditch the helmet and just style their character in Guts' appearance. For that, players will have to follow this character preset.

To get the Night's Cavalry set, players will need to:

  1. Obtain the two halves of the Haligtree Medallion by following this guide.
  2. Defeat Morgott in Leyndell
  3. Proceed to the Grand Lift of Rold and use the Haligtree Medallions, unlocking the Consecrated Snowfield
  4. In the Consecrated Snowfield area, proceed to this location at night, fight the dual Night's Cavalry bosses:
Where To Find Night's Cavalry Set in Consecrated Snowfield (1)

Once the dual Night's Cavalry bosses guarding the caravan are dead, they'll drop the Night's Cavalry set.

Stat Allocation

elden ring guts build vs malenia

It's not enough to look like Guts, one also has to be built like him too. That's difficult in real life since he's jacked-up with only like five percent body fat and is covered with scars with only one arm and one eye. But in Elden Ring it's feasible. Apart from the character creator, stat allocation is also important here.

Guts is undeniably a Strength build. So here's what his stats would have looked like in Elden Ring:

  • Vigor - 50+
  • Mind - 30+
  • Endurance - 30+
  • Strength - 80
  • Dexterity - As needed for weapons and equipment

Those are the stats that matter. In order to obtain 80 Strength as easily as possible, starting as the Hero class is recommended.

Ashes Of War

These two Ashes of War best represent Guts' combat style while wearing his Berserker armor. Make sure to grab them and put Lion's Claw on the Guts greatsword and a Heavy Misericorde for the Flames of the Redmane.

Lion's Claw

Elden Ring Fort Gael From A Distance

Lion's Claw is obviously inspired by Guts' signature vertical spinning move during his Berserker mode. In Elden Ring, it's a measly flip, but it's close enough. In order to obtain this, players will have to kill the Lion Guardian mini-boss located in Fort Gael in the eastern part of Caelid; the fort's hard to miss.

Flames Of The Redmane

Flames-of-the-Redmane-1

On the way to Fort Gael players will probably hear an invisible Ash of War Scarab rolling around; some might even see traces of their path. This one's important since it drops Flames of the Redmane. Players can equip this on a Misericorde and pretend that it's Guts' hand cannon in the manga.

Grab The Greatsword Weapon

Player wielding the Greatsword in Elden Ring.

One can't cosplay Guts without his signature weapon, which is the Dragonslayer sword. The closest to it in Elden Ring is the mighty Greatsword which is a Colossal Sword that scales off Strength (make sure to meet the requirement of 31 Strength and 12 Dexterity).

Thankfully, players might have already unlocked the path to obtaining this weapon while attending to Ranni's questline in an attempt to get Blaidd's armor. Just head northwest from the Caelem Ruins Site of Grace and look for a caravan. The Greatsword is located in a chest at the back of this caravan. After that, it's time to fire up Susumu Hirasawa's music while killing some Apostles— er, Demigods.

Elden Ring is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and Series S, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and Microsoft Windows.

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