Str/faith build - Seal question...

[YoloMeister]

Ok so im running a strengh - faith as my first playthrough, and i wanna ask whats the best seal for using spells like golden vow, and howl of shabriri.

is there any that increases the dmg more than the other or it doesnt matter?
Also, if i upgrade the seal will increase the dmg of the buff? (not weapon buff spells)

Btw, so far the build is good, im melting every boss i come across (lol) but i wanna know if i can maximize the dmg even more for the lols.
currently lvl 100
60 strng - 40 faith.


Any advice / info would be appreciated :P

[𝑀𝓊𝑔𝑒𝓃]

The claw mark seal scales with both strength and faith making it optimal for that hybrid setup but body buffs like golden vow and howl of shabriri doesn't scale along with the sacred seals meaning you can use any seal to cast them as long as you have the faith requirement and they will be just as effective

[Mewsha]

Well my first of all my advice would be to invest in Vigor, you want at least 40. The reason for this is you'll stop yourself from getting one-shot, and it's a stat that gives you huge return per point invested until about level 40. That's the first softcap I believe.

Then you want to invest a little in Mind, so you can cast your spells and weapon skills without constantly having to stop and sip mana pots, and a little Endurance for medium rolls with the fashion of your choice.

Claw Mark seal for the majority of your playthrough, maybe even until NG+. Even then in most Strength/Faith builds the Strength stat has the highest point investment. You can use another seal to further buff incantantions (for example, the Gravel Stone Seal boosts Dragon Cult Incantations)

Claw Mark Seal allows you to gradually invest in Faith and put most of your points in Strength up front so that you're not losing out on other stats by splitting too early, which is something that you're doing when you don't really have to because of that seal. Later you'll make the Faith investment to either buff the AR or damage your weapon skill does as well as use some incantations that require a high investment.

Golden Vow isn't buffed further with any seal, and the Erdtree Seal does not buff Erdtree incantations, which is what it's classified as. The Frenzied Flame Seal does not buff Howl of Shabriri either. Buff incantations in general are flat and not effected by the seal you use.

[YoloMeister]

thnx guys ! :)

[Greywander]

Some quick facts about seals:
- Damage incantations scale off the overall incant scaling of your seal.
- Weapon buffs and heals only use FTH scaling, and thus work best with pure FTH seals.
- Other buff incantations (including heal over time) do not scale at all.
- Seal bonuses to specific schools of incantations only affects damage.

Best seals:
1. Golden Order Seal, requires significant INT and FTH
2. Dragon Communion Seal, good at low and high ARC and FTH, drops off in middle
3. Erdtree Seal, strongest pure FTH seal, but only with 70+ FTH
4. Godslayer's Seal, slightly outperforms Erdtree Seal below 70 FTH

Because the Dragon Communion Seal has ARC scaling, spells that inflict bleed, poison, madness, or sleep will scale their buildup with ARC. Bloodflame Blade is not affected, since it doesn't inflict bleed directly, but rather puts a debuff on enemies that causes bleed buildup.

For you right now, the Clawmark Seal is the best option with your stat spread, significantly outperforming other options. Even if you continue investing in STR, the Erdtree Seal will surpass the Clawmark Seal at around 65 to 70 FTH.

[Azael Ijima δ]

Yup Clawmark Seal will outperform any other seal, assuming STR will remain your primary stat and highest than Faith, i have 42 STR and 36 FAI on my SL 140 char, and no other maxed seal come even close to the incant scaling of Clawmark with those stats.
So yours are even better than mine for it.

I highly recommend Stone of Gurranq in your incant list as it's a great projectile with excellent damage/stance damage for the FP cost, quick cast, decent range and can hit multiple enemies when they are packed.
To boost it's damage further you could always put Cinquedea in your other hand.
Otherwise, for other incants, like others suggested, put the seal of that school of incant into the hand you don't use to cast, doesn't even need to be upgraded.

[Kalamir]

Neither of the spells you used have any scaling, so seal is less relevant. Claw mark will give you more power, while a pure Faith Seal if you use hard heals or Weapon buffs.

Having Range options will always come in Handy, Azael's Stone of Guranq suggestion is spot on.

You can also take proper advantage of the Sacred Order AoW, it boost "ALL DMG" you do by 10%, 100% if it's a Skeleton or Death Bird. This includes pots and spells & will prevent Skeletons from Raising again. This is a decent-to-phenomenal Buff in the right situations.

[SoundsOfNight]

Stone of Gurrang and the Bear roar are two great offensive spells for low Fth. And Fire Serpent.

[YoloMeister]

thnx guys! you are amazing <3