The Bandit is the Best Starting Class for Strength Builds in Dark Souls 2

As a Dark Souls veteran with 2000+ hours across the series, I get asked often – what is the best starting class for strength (STR) builds in DS2? And my answer is always the Bandit.

The Bandit gives you high starting Strength and Dexterity allowing you to wield devastating STR weapons very early. Meanwhile Intelligence, Faith and Attunement start nice and low – saving precious levels for pounding enemies into pancakes with ultra greatswords!

In this post I‘ll analyze why Bandit is the undisputed king for STR builds, backed up by hard stats and weapon data. I‘ll also cover viable alternatives, as well as tips to maximize your powerful Bandit from the start.

So read on to learn why this undead thief is your best first choice on the path to becoming Lord of Drangleic!

Here‘s Why Bandit Crushes as the Best STR Starting Class

Let‘s breakdown why Bandit beats all other starting classes for strength builds:

Highest Starting STR – Wield Powerful Weapons Fast

The Bandit starts with 16 Strength – tied for highest with Cleric. This lets you wield some beefy early game STR weapons:

No wasted levels needed to start bashing enemies with these solid and fast blunt weapons.

The key advantage over Cleric is lower Faith, which we‘ll cover next.

Optimized Stats Distribution

While Cleric equals Bandit‘s 16 starting Strength, several of its points are wasted in Faith.

Cleric starts with 12 Faith, which is useless for a pure melee STR build. Those 4 levels could instead boost Vigor for more health, or Endurance for better armor and rolls.

Meanwhile, Bandit keeps it simple with his stats perfectly min-maxed for STR:

• 16 Strength (highest for melee damage)
• 14 Dexterity (enables more weapon variety)
• 11 Vigor (decent HP)
• 5 Endurance (medium rolls)
• 6 Vitality (light armors)
• 3 Intelligence (perfectly low)
• 6 Faith (perfectly low)
• 5 Attunement (perfectly low)

This optimized distribution focused purely on STR and physical combat is what gives Bandit the edge.

High Starting DEX Too – Wield Greatswords and Greataxes

In addition to its best-in-class Strength, Bandit also starts with a solid 14 Dexterity.

This enables him to two-hand some heavy hitting ultra greatswords and greataxes very early:

No other starting class can touch these deadly stats!

Statistical Comparison – Highest Weapon AR

Let‘s run some numbers to demonstrate Bandit‘s superiority further using the excellent Soulsplanner tool.

Here‘s a comparison of attack rating (AR) for top tier strength weapons at the start between Bandit, Cleric, and Knight:

Across the board, Bandit has equal or higher AR compared to alternatives – proving he‘s optimized for strength!

The Cleric only equals Bandit‘s AR due to same 16 starting Strength. But remember 4 levels wasted in Faith.

Meanwhile Knight has massive Vigor and Vitality, but noticeably lower AR on STR weapons.

Viable Alternatives for STR Starting Classes

While I firmly believe Bandit beats all other starting classes for strength builds, a few alternatives deserve mention:

Warrior

Probably the second best option after Bandit. Starts with 13 Strength and Fire Longsword – an excellent early weapon for PvE.

Has potential too with nice spread across Vigor, Endurance, Dexterity. Just beware starting at soul level 21 delays some matchmaking.

Cleric

As we‘ve discussed – 16 base strength equals Bandit, letting you smash just as hard. But too many points wasted in Faith instead of Endurance/Vigor. Requires stat tweaking early.

Knight

Huge Vigor and high Vitality makes Knight very tanky. Decent strength too. Needs some investing into Endurance. Excellent candidate for heavy STR weapons and tank build.

Tips for Dominating as a Bandit Strength Build

Finally, let me share some tips for all you new thieves out there looking to maximize your Bandit‘s power:

• Rush to 20 Strength so you can two-hand the awesome Large Club. Moveset, stun-lock and damage all top tier.
• Keep leveling VIG early as well. Surviving hits is vital so you can keep smashing!
• Infuse with Raw first for minimal stat investment into massive damage. You can re-infuse Heavy later.
• Grab the Royal Soldier‘s Ring to boost that carry capacity for ultra greatswords!
• Make sure to get the Craftman‘s Hammer – fantastic STR weapon with insane dps.
• Become a Poise Monster with heavy armor like Havel‘s Set and mighty Great Club!

Let me know if this helps you flatten enemies into bloodstains on your path to greatness!

In Summary: Bandit = STR Superiority

To wrap up, I hope I‘ve decisively demonstrated exactly why Bandit is the best starting class choice for Strength builds in Dark Souls 2.

With optimized stats distribution focused purely on heavy hitting physical melee attacks, and the ability to wield some of the most powerful STR weapons very early on, Bandit simply can‘t be beat!

Now get out there, storm Drangleic, and prove why you never should have locked this thief away underground in the first place! Praise the Sun! \[T]/