Madness in Elden Ring: A Complete Guide to What It Does and How To Utilize It

Madness is one of the most interesting and deadly status effects in Elden Ring. When inflicted on enemies, it directly damages health while draining focus points used for casting spells and abilities. Understanding madness is key to mastering both PvE and PvP combat in the Lands Between. This comprehensive guide will breakdown exactly how madness works and how to best leverage it as part of your arsenal across the game‘s many challenges.

What Does Madness Do to Enemies?

Madness builds up an invisible "Madness Meter" on whatever target it is inflicted upon, whether a common enemy, elite boss, or opposing player. There are several ways to rapidly buildup this meter which we will cover shortly.

Once full, the following effects immediately trigger:

• Health Percentage Damage: 15% of the target‘s total HP is inflicted as immediate madness damage
• Focus Point Drain: The targets "FP" used for casting spells and abilities is set to zero, preventing any casts
• Stun Lock: Target is stuck in place and unable to move or evade for 5 full seconds

This brutal combination of heavy damage, paralysis, and spell lockdown is what makes madness so deadly, especially against enemy players in PvP.

Madness Mechanics and Resistance

Before using madness to full effect, you must understand exactly how it works mechanically:

• Application Sources: Madness can be built up through weapons, skills, sorceries and incantations
• Build Up: Certain attacks apply more buildup per hit than others as listed below
• Resist: All characters have an invisible "Madness RES" stat that slows buildup based on level

Here are madness resist levels across enemy types to give you context on who will succumb the quickest:

As you can see, basic enemies have little madness resistance. However, legendary main story bosses are almost fully immune! There are exceptions we will cover shortly.

Best Madness Buildup Sources

These are the most reliable methods to quickly inflict madness:

• Vyke‘s War Spear – innate madness + damage
• Rivers of Blood – skill hits rapidly buildup meter
• Dragon Communion Seal – boosts frenzy sorceries
• Frenzied Burst – burst of madness projectiles
• Howl of Shabriri – AoE madness explosion

While the payoff is high, landing full madness requires patience and precision against tougher enemies. Having bonuses like higher Arcane levels will accelerate the buildup meter as well.

Madness Effective Bosses and Enemies

While legendary Shardbearers may be out of reach, these enemies are vulnerable to maddness tactics:

• Field & Dungeon Bosses
• Demi-Humans
• Deathbirds
• Abductors
• Cleanrot Knights
• All Mimics
• Silver Tear Humanoids
• Sir Gideon Ofnir
• Fell Twins

Countering Madness in PvP

If you want to withstand madness assaults in PvP:

• Level Mind for more madness resistance
• Use Clarifying Boluses to reduce buildup
• Cast Law of Regression to reset meters
• Increase immunity with the Stalwart Horn charm

Having at least 20-25 Mind will ensure you have time to react. Swiftly bolusing at 60% meter buildup will then prevent triggers.

Madness Sorcery Focused PvP Build Example

Here is a sample caster build using frenzy sorceries and high Mind investment specifically for PvP madness tactics:

• Astrologer Class
• Primary Stats: Mind, Intelligence, Dexterity
• Weapons: Staff of Loss, Carian Glintblade Staff
• Armor: Cloth robes to maximize cast speed
• Talismans: Radagon Icon, Graven Mass, Graven School
• Spells: Frenzied Burst, Howl of Shabriri, Inescapable Frenzy

The goal is to stay at range while unleashing deadly madness sorceries. High cast speed ensures landing these expensive casts. You can one shot enemies by perfectly timing an Inescapable Frenzy!

Conclusion

While the ins and outs of madness may seem opaque or convoluted initially – take time to truly understand its nuances and you will have mastered one of the most potent status effects against both PvE enemies and even veteran PvP opponents in Elden Ring. A frenzied flame burnETH within us all!

Let me know if you have any other questions as you descend into frenzied madness yourself. This is only the beginning of unraveling the secrets buried in the Erdtree‘s ancient roots!