I know that Hexes were a DS2 thing and that Dark magic isn’t called that in DS3, but since Dark magic is spread among all three spell types I’ll be calling them hexes when speaking of them collectively. If I say spells I mean sorceries, and the other two types will be clearly distinguished.

Ok so, I’ve never done a pure hex build. Partially because I’ve never heard anything good about it from the ds3 community, and partially because swapping out from different magic types in combat seemed cumbersome. I mean, ya there are catalysts than can do more than one hex type, but you always lose some potency when you use those - The dual type catalysts excel in convenience but they’re rather lackluster.

I have found that, as others suggested here, you generally only use one hex type and might lean on a secondary for support, but you never need or want all three.

I use spells because the have the most robust selection out of the the hex types. Dark Pyromancy is a big meh, and Dark Miracles are mostly for support rather than offense so I use them occasionally. The miracle I use the most is Life Hunt Scythe, and it’s mostly for intimidation. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great miracle, but again, you rarely want to use more than hex type.

This is because, like all pure casting builds, hexes depend on wearing the right amount of rings. Since I use spells, I rock bellowing dragon and young dragon at all times, and swapping out two rings in combat to get the most out of Life Hunt Scythe is too risky. But when I match a sub-optimal version of that miracle with the weapon art of Sunless Talisman (Unfaltering Prayer), it makes people think twice about rushing me again.

You have to be a little glass cannon’y for this build to work (Dark Clutch ring and Blindfold Mask are a must), but I wasn’t planning to get hit anyway so it’s cool haha

In PVE:

• Many bosses are weak to Dark, but a hex build (Int/Faith) is so versatile that you can just swap out hex types for the bosses that are resistant to Dark. Oh, Oceiros is resistant to Sorcery and Dark, well just grab some lightening for this fight and call it a day

• The vast majority of minor enemies are weak to dark

In PVP:

• No one is expecting a pure hex build these days. Catches everyone by surprise

• A regular spell build catches people by surprise, but people are generally surprised by how well dark spells follow them

• Like regular spells, hexing depends on deception, and that part takes some practice but it’s totally doable

• I can’t trade blows with the chonky STR boys, but if you’re trying to do that on a casting build, you’re missing the point. The big boys are all generally surprised by how much of a punch my hexes have. I can tell because their whole demeanor will switch suddenly - They’ll go from carefully timing their attacks to trying to bum rush me carelessly… which works in my favor cus they generally rush right into an attack

• It only works one on one in pvp. Again, if you’re doing this right you have glass-cannon it, so if you get blindsided by a sunbro you’re almost always going to die with a quickness

It also helps that Hexes look cool as fuck!

This is the most fun I’ve had in this game for a while.

Lmk if y’all want more details on my build