Quick answer: The Idus Knight is one of two new starting classes added to Elden Ring in Patch 1.17 with the paid Tarnished Pack (and included by default in the Switch 2 Tarnished Edition). It begins at Level 7 with Dexterity 15, Strength 13, Mind 12 and Faith 11, which makes it the game's cleanest opener for a Dexterity/Faith "quality paladin" — a fast melee fighter who also casts buff and healing Incantations. Its secret weapon is a starting Arcane of just 6, the lowest of any class, so if you later respec, no points are wasted on the one stat a Faith build never touches. Level Vigor → Dexterity → Faith, start with the Winged Scythe or a Sacred-affinity weapon, and graduate into the Blasphemous Blade once you can meet its 22 Strength / 15 Dexterity / 21 Faith requirement.
This guide applies to Elden Ring base game Version 1.17 (live since August 28, 2026). The Idus Knight is a base-game class — this is not an Elden Ring Nightreign guide, and none of the Nightreign systems (Nightfarers, Relics, Expeditions) apply here.
What is the Idus Knight in Elden Ring?
The Idus Knight is a starting Class added by Patch 1.17 alongside the Tarnished Pack DLC. Bandai Namco's official class description reads: "A knight of the land of Idus, famed for their lightweight attire and weaponry, which they wield with ample dexterity." That single line tells you the whole design: light armor, a fast sword, and Dexterity as the headline stat.
A few facts worth pinning down before you build, because this is the topic writers get wrong:
| - The Idus Knight is available on all platforms through the Tarnished Pack (PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X | S, Xbox One and PC), and is included by default in Elden Ring Tarnished Edition on Nintendo Switch 2. |
|---|
- Like every Elden Ring class, the Idus Knight only decides your starting stats and gear — there are 12 classes total, and after Rennala you can respec into anything. Your starting class biases the early game, not a permanent ceiling.
- You do not need the Tarnished Pack to use Idus Knight gear. Only the selectable starting class is Pack-gated; the class's equipment can also be bought from merchants or found in the world by anyone on Patch 1.17.
Idus Knight starting stats
The Idus Knight starts at Level 7 with 86 total attribute points. Here is the full stat line:
| Attribute | Idus Knight |
|---|---|
| Vigor | 10 |
| Mind | 12 |
| Endurance | 11 |
| Strength | 13 |
| Dexterity | 15 |
| Intelligence | 8 |
| Faith | 11 |
| Arcane | 6 |
| Level | 7 |
For context, the tankier Tarnished Pack class, the Heavy Knight, starts at Level 10 with 17 Endurance and 15 Strength — a Strength/greatshield bruiser. The Idus Knight is the opposite number: lighter, faster, and Dexterity-forward, with enough Faith (11) to lean into Incantations that the Warrior and Samurai simply cannot reach early.
Idus Knight starting equipment
Its starting kit matches the light-and-fast fantasy:
- Idus Sword — a lightweight, quick straight sword. It one-hands smoothly and can be power-stanced with a second copy if you find one.
- Silver Grooved Shield — a medium shield to complement the fast weapon.
- Silver Grooved Set — Helm, Armor, Gauntlets and Greaves, all deliberately light so you keep a fast dodge roll.
Is the Idus Knight a good starting class?
Yes — and its best trait is the one nobody notices on the character screen: Arcane 6, the lowest starting Arcane of any class in the game.
Arcane is the single stat a pure Dexterity or Faith build never spends points on. Every other stat on the Idus Knight (Vigor, Mind, Endurance, Strength, Dexterity, Faith) is one you will invest in on a melee-caster hybrid. So at high levels — 150 and up — the Idus Knight "wastes" fewer starting points than almost anything else for a Dexterity/Faith or Golden Order build. That is the entire reason it has become a popular min-max opener since Patch 1.17: the community consensus on the Elden Ring build subreddits is that its low Arcane plus balanced Str/Dex/Faith makes it "one of the most flexible starting classes in the game."
The flip side is that the Idus Knight is a jack-of-all-trades, not a specialist. If you want the absolute purest Dexterity opener, the Samurai still edges it on early Dexterity; if you want the purest Faith opener, the Prophet starts with more Faith. The Idus Knight wins when you want both — a dex weapon in hand and a Faith buff running.
Best Idus Knight build: the Dexterity/Faith quality paladin
The build the Idus Knight is made for is a Dexterity/Faith "paladin" — swing a fast, holy- or fire-scaling weapon, self-buff with Golden Vow and Flame, Grant Me Strength, and top your health back up with a healing Incantation instead of burning flasks.
Here is a clean level-up priority. These are targets for a roughly Level 125–150 character (a common PvP-legal ceiling); adjust down for a pure PvE run.
| Priority | Attribute | Target | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vigor | 40 (→ 60 late) | 40 is the main survival soft cap; every Souls veteran will tell you Vigor is not optional. |
| 2 | Dexterity | 40 | Physical scaling plus casting speed — 40 Dex with the Radagon Icon talisman hits the casting-speed cap. |
| 3 | Faith | 25 → 45 | Unlocks and scales your Incantations. Faith scaling soft-caps around 30, then again near 45–60. |
| 4 | Endurance | 25–30 | Keeps you in medium load for a fast roll while carrying the Silver Grooved Set and a shield. |
| 5 | Mind | 15–20 | Enough FP to keep buffs up and cast healing between fights. |
| — | Strength | 15–22 | Leave at ~15 for most weapons; push to 22 only if you commit to the Blasphemous Blade. |
Two things make this build sing on an Idus Knight specifically. First, the starting Dexterity 15 already meets the Dexterity requirement of several key Faith weapons on day one. Second, the class is light enough that you can wear the starting armor, carry a shield, and still keep the sub-70% equip load that gives you Elden Ring's fastest dodge roll.
Best weapons for an Idus Knight build
Because the Idus Knight scales into Strength, Dexterity and Faith, your weapon options are unusually wide. Pick based on where you are in the game.
Early game — Winged Scythe. A Reaper found in a chest at Tombsward Ruins in the Weeping Peninsula, reachable within the first hour or two. It scales with Dexterity, Strength and Faith and deals innate holy damage, and Fextralife flatly calls it "a great early game weapon for Faith builds, especially DEX/FTH builds." Its requirements are 16 Strength / 16 Dexterity / 24 Faith, so it asks for a real early Faith investment — treat it as the weapon you grow into over your first few Faith level-ups. Its skill, Angel's Wings, even locks enemies out of their healing flask for 30 seconds, which is brutal in duels.
Any game stage — Sacred affinity. The most flexible route is to take a fast infusable weapon (Uchigatana, Nagakiba, a curved sword) and apply the Sacred Ash of War affinity. Sacred adds Faith scaling and holy damage to the weapon, turning your Dexterity mainhand into a Faith weapon without changing your moveset. This is how you keep a Dexterity weapon relevant while your Faith climbs.
Endgame payoff — Blasphemous Blade. The signature Faith/quality greatsword. You get it by trading the Remembrance of the Blasphemous (from Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy at Volcano Manor) to Enia at the Roundtable Hold. It scales with Strength, Dexterity and Faith and adds fire damage, its requirements are 22 Strength / 15 Dexterity / 21 Faith — and notice that 15 Dexterity is exactly what the Idus Knight starts with. Held, it heals 4% of your max HP plus 40 flat on every enemy kill; its skill Taker's Flames heals 10% of max HP plus 150 on hit while dealing pure fire damage. It is the closest thing Elden Ring has to a self-sustaining Faith bruiser weapon. The only cost is the 22 Strength requirement, which is why Strength is the one stat you push late on this build.
Pure Dexterity alternative — Bloodhound's Fang. If you prefer raw physical damage over holy, this Strength/Dexterity Curved Greatsword (from the Bloodhound Knight Darriwil in the Forlorn Hound Evergaol) is one of the strongest early quality weapons in the game and fits the Idus Knight's Str/Dex spread perfectly.
Best Incantations and seal
You do not need a huge Faith pool to make the paladin fantasy work — the buffs and heals below are the backbone:
- Golden Vow — raises your attack and defense and your allies'. The single best buff in the game for a melee build.
- Flame, Grant Me Strength — a big, cheap attack boost that stacks with Golden Vow.
- Blessing's Boon / Erdtree Heal — health regeneration and burst healing so you save flasks for emergencies.
- Lightning Spear or Discus of Light — ranged options to poke bosses and clear ranged enemies.
For your Sacred Seal, the Finger Seal carries you early; graduate to the Erdtree Seal once your Faith crosses 25 or so, since it scales Incantation power hardest with Faith. If you commit to Golden Order Incantations specifically, the Golden Order Seal scales with both Intelligence and Faith — but that pushes you toward a caster hybrid rather than a pure paladin (see the FAQ below).
Best talismans
- Radagon Icon — grants casting speed equal to +30 Dexterity, letting 40 Dex reach the casting-speed cap. Snappier heals and buffs are worth a slot.
- Shard of Alexander — boosts the damage of weapon skills, ideal if Taker's Flames is your main tool.
- Flock's Canvas Talisman / Faithful's Canvas Talisman — raise Incantation damage directly.
- Great-Jar's Arsenal / Erdtree's Favor — equip load and all-round stat boosts to keep you in a fast roll.
Can the Idus Knight do a Golden Order "paladin" build?
This is the exact question Elden Ring build players are asking, and the answer is yes — and the Idus Knight is arguably the best base class for it.
A Golden Order caster leans on Intelligence and Faith (Golden Order Incantations scale with both), which is a demanding stat spread. The Idus Knight's balanced start and, again, its Arcane 6 mean that when you level up to 150+ you are spreading points across Vigor, Mind, Endurance, Dexterity, Intelligence and Faith — every stat except the one it starts lowest in. There is no wasted starting Arcane dragging your total down. If you keep the Golden Order fantasy melee-first (a Sacred weapon plus buffs, minimal Intelligence), it is even easier, and the class's Dexterity 15 keeps your weapon options open the whole way.
The trade-off is level count: a hybrid caster needs more attributes than a pure build, so expect to do a little extra rune farming to hit your targets. That is the only real cost.
Leveling, soft caps and respec
Two mechanics govern how far to push each stat:
- Casting speed improves with Dexterity up to a hard cap of 70. You almost never level that high just for cast speed — instead, run the Radagon Icon talisman (worth +30 Dex to cast speed) and stop Dexterity around 40, which reaches the cap in practice.
- Physical Dexterity scaling soft-caps in stages (roughly 16, then again near 60), so 40–55 Dexterity is the sweet spot for damage before returns fall off hard.
If you outgrow your starting stats — or want to convert the Idus Knight into a pure caster — you can respec by giving a Larval Tear to Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon at the Academy of Raya Lucaria after defeating her. Because the Idus Knight starts so balanced, its respecs are efficient: you rarely have to "undo" a heavily specialized starting spread.
FAQ
Is the Idus Knight worth using over the Samurai or Warrior? For a pure Dexterity build, the Samurai still starts with a slightly better Dexterity spread and a superior starting weapon (the Uchigatana). The Idus Knight wins when you want Dexterity and Faith together — it starts with 11 Faith, far more than the Samurai (8) or Warrior (10), so you can run Incantations from early on without respeccing.
Do I need the Tarnished Pack to build an Idus Knight? You need it (or the Switch 2 Tarnished Edition) to select the Idus Knight at character creation. You do not need it to build the same character — any player on Patch 1.17 can level a Dexterity/Faith quality build with the exact same stats using a different starting class, and the Idus Knight's gear can be bought from merchants or found in the world by non-owners.
What is the best weapon for an Idus Knight? Early, the Winged Scythe (Dex/Str/Faith, holy damage) once you can meet its 24 Faith requirement, or a Sacred-infused fast weapon before then. Late, the Blasphemous Blade (22 Str / 15 Dex / 21 Faith) is the standout — it heals you on every kill and on hit, and the Idus Knight's starting 15 Dexterity already meets its Dexterity requirement.
Why does the Idus Knight's low Arcane matter? Arcane is the only major stat a Dexterity/Faith or Golden Order build never invests in. The Idus Knight starts with just 6 Arcane, the lowest of any class, so at a high target level almost none of its starting points are "wasted," making it an efficient min-max opener for those builds.
Is the Idus Knight the same thing as a class in Elden Ring Nightreign? No. Elden Ring and Elden Ring Nightreign are two separate games. Nightreign uses fixed characters called Nightfarers, not starting classes. The Idus Knight is a base-game Elden Ring class added by Patch 1.17 and has nothing to do with Nightreign.
What version of Elden Ring added the Idus Knight? Base-game Version 1.17, which went live on August 28, 2026 with the Tarnished Pack. Before 1.17 the current version was 1.16.1 (August 2025), which did not include the new classes.
More Elden Ring guides on timesaver.gg:
- Elden Ring Heavy Knight Build: Best Stats, Weapons & Ashes of War (Patch 1.17)
- Best Starting Class in Elden Ring: All 12 Classes Ranked by Stats (2026)
- Elden Ring Tarnished Pack New Classes: Heavy Knight and Idus Knight Explained
- Elden Ring Patch 1.17 Patch Notes: Full Balance Changes, New Classes & Torrent Skins
- How Much Vigor Do You Need in Elden Ring? Soft Caps, HP Breakpoints & Best Level
