Lords of the Fallen: Best Dark Crusader Build

The Dark Crusader is one of the possible starting classes in Lords of the Fallen that’s available immediately for Deluxe Edition owners, though it can be unlocked during the first playthrough as well. It boasts the highest starting level out of the other default starting classes, and it makes for the perfect base for a melee-focused paladin build.

The following is a build guide that aims to turn the Dark Crusader in Lords of the Fallen into an indomitable juggernaut of faith, cutting down demons and monsters with holy light while raining down the wrath of Orius to anything that its blade can’t touch.

Updated May 26, 2025 by Marc Santos: Lords of the Fallen’s 2.0 update brought about major changes to the responsiveness of player movement and controls, making it feel less clunky than before. Heavy weapons in particular should feel much better than before, and as such, we’ve updated this Lords of the Fallen Dark Crusader to include an alternate build featuring a Grand Sword. This build leans more towards Strength, and it’s great for those who want a heavily-armed and armored Paladin theme for their character.

Lords of the Fallen: Radiant Dark Crusader Build

As mentioned, this build will focus heavily on Radiance with a helping of Strength. It’ll make gratuitous use of both melee combat and ranged spell slinging while also taking advantage of the powerful buffs from the Radiance magic school in Lords of the Fallen. Here’s a full overview of the build on a Level 72 character (that started as a Condemned), including the most ideal equipment per slot.

Unless you picked the Dark Crusader as your Lords of the Fallen starting class, you’ll have to level up until you reach a minimum of 25 Radiance. This much is needed to wield Pieta’s Sword, a short sword that deals Holy damage and scales exclusively with Radiance. Players must purchase this from Molhu with 40 Umbral Scourings.

Before getting Pieta’s Sword, Paladin Isaac’s Sword (or any other starting weapon) will be more than enough to beat everything the game throws at players. Make sure to purchase Radiant Weapon from Exacter Dunmire as soon as possible, as this will greatly boost the player’s damage output when active.

Piercing Light is an improved version of Radiant Flare that pierces through enemies. It does cost more mana, however, and its piercing capabilities may not always be valuable, so consider sticking with Radiant Flare if mana conservation becomes an issue.

Blessed Reflections is another Remembrance item from Pieta that spawns two clones of the living saint to attack enemies. It deals heavy damage from a distance, though it takes a while to cast. This can be replaced with other Radiance spells like Briar Storm, Lucent Beam, or Orius’ Judgement.

The Dark Crusader’s default armor is more than enough to carry players to the end of the game. However, those who prefer an extra bit of physical protection (or a completely different look) should get the Vanguard Armor instead. This can be purchased from Exacter Dunmire after giving him Vanguard Baross Rosary, which is found in the Forsaken Fen. The stat difference between the two sets is marginal, and players don’t need to wear the Vanguard set if they don’t want to.

As for accessories, the Empyrean Pendant and Ring of Eternal Faith significantly increase the damage output of all holy attacks. The former can be purchased from Exacter Dunmire while the latter is sold by Captain Stomund at the Abbey of the Hallowed Sisters. Feel free to use whichever amulets and rings before these ones become available.

Pieta’s Sword deals very high DPS thanks to its high damage and good Radiance scaling, especially when fully upgraded. It can scale even harder with the Devoth and Orimon weapon runes. Players who prefer heavier swords can opt for the Bloody Glory, a grand sword found deep within the caves of Pilgrim’s Perch. Lords of the Fallen players can get Bloody Glory by going past the door to the Bellroom near the Vestige of Blind Agatha and exploring the tunnel network inside the mountain.

This build is very strong in all combat scenarios, especially against enemies that are weak to Holy damage. It can deal with ranged enemies as well thanks to the offensive Radiance spells. Weapon options will be somewhat limited though, as there are few weapons in the game that scale with Radiance.

Players should keep a Rebirth Catalyst handy in case they want to experiment with other weapons. Reaching 40 Radiance is recommended but ultimately not required.

Playing as a Dark Crusader

In Lords of the Fallen (and the majority of other Soulslike games), your stats and gear are the ones that dictate how you play. The class you pick at the beginning only affects your starting equipment and stat distribution. You can still end up looking and playing as a Dark Crusader later as long as you make the necessary adjustments.

If you’re playing this character archetype, here are some tips to help you really get into the role:

Radiant Weapon is your friend. This spell greatly buffs your damage output, especially if you’re using a weapon that has a high RAD scaling.

Use spells liberally. The Dark Crusader is built for melee and magic, so sling those spells whenever you can.

Always upgrade your catalyst. While you’re leveling up or exploring, make sure to also upgrade your catalyst so your spells don’t fall off.

Lords of the Fallen Dark Crusader Build — Grand Sword Variant

If swinging a lightsaber made of holy power isn’t your thing, and you’d rather lug around a huge lump of steel as your main weapon, then you can tweak the build above to accommodate the use of certain Grand Swords. You’ll be a bit more sluggish when attacking, but every swing will hit like a truck.

All you need to do is respec your stat points and go with 30 STR and 30 RAD. Move some points away from other stats if needed, or just farm until you can level up enough times. These stat breakpoints are needed for our new preferred weapon: Ravager Gregory’s Sword.

Your playstyle won’t change much from the build above, though you’ll need to do a lot of compensating for how heavy your new sword is. Ravager Gregoy’s Sword starts with a scaling for both STR and RAD, so you can level up either of these stats and still get good performance out of this weapon.

Getting Ravager Gregory’s Sword

Players can get Ravager Gregory’s Sword by first getting Ravager Gregory’s Rosary in Lower Calrath, the same level where you face the Spurned Progeny at the end. The rosary is on an impaled corpse on the roof of the building containing the Vestige of Lydia the Numb Witch.

To get it, explore the level until you reach a tower that leads to the boss fight — you’ll know you’re there when you see the greatsword-wielding Proselyte guarding the tower’s entrance. Enter the Umbral or use your lantern to pass through one of the large wooden doors just past the Proselyte. This is a shortcut that leads back to the Vestige of Lydia. Here, there’s a ramp that leads to the roof hiding Ravager Gregory’s corpse.

Once you get the rosary, go back to Exacter Dunmire and give the rosary to him. He’ll sell you Ravager Gregory’s Sword and armor set afterward. If the items don’t appear, rest at the Vestige and speak with him again.