There are quite a lot of different builds inElden Ring.Some of them are tried and true, such as theRivers of Blood Builds,while others are a bit more charm than substance, such as apure Jar Cannon Build. The Envoy Horn build, on the other hand, is the best of both worlds. This is a build of many names, it can go by DootDoot, Bubble Blower, Band Class Tarnished, Brass Section Bubbler, and much more.
But at the end of the day “band practice” is focused on two things, slapping enemies with big brass Horns and killing them with Holy Bubbles. A large part of the community has likely alreadyseen this video by YouTuber Okoii,someone who makes a ton of these wacky builds to mess around in PvP with his friends.
Let’s go over a more realistic way for people to spec into the Bubble Build that should actually carry them throughElden Ring’s hardest bosses pretty easily.
The Actual Stat Priorities
First off, there are two ways to spec the stats of a Bubble Boy,and it’s either Faith or Strength. This all comes down to what players enjoy the idea of more, Stance Breaking enemies with the Jumping Attack from a 1-ton Horn or melting HP Bars (and Stance Breaking) most of the tankier Bosses with a shower of Golden Bubbles.
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If the first option sounds better,Strength will be the primary stat​​​​​​; if Bubbles sound more fun,go for Faith. Either way, they’ll both be leveled pretty high. Players will still need at least 12 Dex and 28 Strength if they want to use all three of the standard, Greathammer,and Colossal variantsof the Envoy Horn for different situations.
Which Horn Should I Pick?
Now let’s move on to the actual Horns. There are three variations:The Envoy’s Horn, The Envoy’s Longhorn,andThe Envoy’s Greathorn.
As far as the innate Ash of War goes, players will primarily be using theLonghorn’s “Bubble Shower”, with theOracular Bubbleof the Envoy’s Horn taking a close second for the more “nimble” enemies.The Great Oracular Bubbleof the Envoy’s Greathorn isn’t awful and hits like a truck, but the long casting animation and slow projectile speed make it much less versatile than the other two Horns.
That said, that doesn’t mean players can’t use the Greathorn as their weapon! Just simply equip the other two horns in the other two right-hand slots and switch between the three whenever the Bubble Shower or Oracular Bubbles are needed.
But, if players don’t want to mess around with all this switching, the best setupon average isDual-Wielding Envoy Longhorns, and here’s why:
The best bet would be to primarily use the Longhorn, switch to the regular Horn when speedy attacks and Oracular Bubbles are really needed, and use the Greathorn when fighting on Horseback, as that Mounted Heavy Attack hits like a truck and sends enemies flying.
Armor Recommendations
The Armor Category is simple since it’s just theEnvoy Crown. Found at the end of a branch near the start of Miquella’s Haligree (which is already a pain to get to),the Envoy Crown increases the damage specifically from the Bubbles created by Envoy Horn, Longhorn, andEnvoy’s Greathornby 15 percent.This is quite literally the only armor that’s sort of “mandatory” for this build, and everything else is the player’s choice.
The only other thing that would even come close to being necessary is theRaptor’s Black FeathersChestpiece, simply because it makes Jump Attacks a bit stronger. Other than those two, just try and aim for higher Poise if possible…because nothing’s worse than getting knocked out of the Bubble Shower animation.
Most Commonly Used Talismans
The Talisman’s category is a bit more variableand open to individual playstyles. Usually, Bubble Lads, especially Faith-heavy Lads, tend to run some combination of:
Of course, these aren’t ironclad recommendations, the only one that really makes a big difference is theSacred Scorpion Charmfor theBubble Showerspecifically. If the player is more focused on the strength side of this build with the Bubbles being an added bonus, survivability Talismans like theDragoncrest Greatshield Talismanor theGreen Turtle Talismanare easy to switch in instead of theOld Lord’s Talisman.
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Buffing Incantations
As far as buffing goes, it’s the same as most other Faith-based builds, just popGolden Vowbefore a Boss fight or possiblythe surprisingly underratedBlack Flame’s Protection.
This is where theOld Lord’s Talismanfinds its use, and the Seal used to cast this doesn’t matter all too much either, though theErdtree Sealis the best choice overall.
What Ash Spirit To Summon
How could a build set entirely around the horrible noise these horns make be complete without anAsh Spirit Summonthat brings four more horns? That’s right, theOracle Envoy Ashes(also found near the Envoy Greathorn Farming spot in Miquella’s Haligtree) brings in four of these adorable little Envoy’s that constantly blowOracular Bubblesof their own.
While actually obtaining them is a pain given the small, medium, and large Envoys blocking the way, the Spirits themselves are more than just a joke summon.They’re assuredly not one of the “best” Summons in the game,but they do a fantastic job pulling the Boss aggro and are very tanky to boot.
Which Crystal Tears To Drop Into The Wondrous Physick
Last up are theCrystal Tearsoptions for the Wonderous Physick, and there’s actually quite a bit that works for this build. Again, it depends on the build for the Bubble Blower player. If they’re a Faith-heavy build, thenHoly-Shrouding Cracker TearandFaith-Knot Crystal Tearare the way to go. If they’re more Strength and Stance Break focused,Stonebarb Cracked TearandStrength-Knot Crystal Tearare the ones to choose.
At the end of the day, being anEnvoy Horn Tarnishedis all about having fun, whether that’s through dropping Demigods to their knees with literal instruments, annoying Hosts in PvP, or melting the HP of Dragons and other large enemies with an endless rain of Golden Bubbles.
Elden Ringis available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
