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Best Elden Ring Intelligence build: How to make a Mage or Sorcerer build

Looking to take out enemies with Comet Azur and other OP spells? Here’s how to craft an Intelligence build to carry you through to the late-game in Elden Ring.

Kelsey Raynor avatar
Guide by Kelsey Raynor Guides Writer
Updated on
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Update: Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree is upon us, and with it a whole new realm to test your Intelligence build. We've updated this page with new level recommendations for sorcerer builds in the DLC, as well as new spells to consider when slinging magic across The Lands Between and Shadow Realm. We've also recently added some links to our detailed guides on where to find each item for this build.

Clever players know that magic has always been a fun build path in FromSoftware games, but in Elden Ring, the best Intelligence builds have more options than ever, with over 70 — sometimes incredibly overpowered — spells to play around with.

With the right magic build, you can now tackle tricky bosses with magic alone without feeling too weak. Well, without feeling completely squishy, because let’s be real, it’s hard to not feel weak at the best of times in Elden Ring unless you're considerably over levelled. For a Sorcerer build, you’re going to need to plunge runes into Intelligence stats from the outset and throughout your game. Sooner or later, you’re going to have enough brains to quite literally turn yourself into the moon.

In my experience, the Intelligence build made timely dodges and tactics less crucial as I chipped away at bosses at range. However, you’re still going to want to keep an eye on your use of FP and which spells are best for the boss at hand, especially as late-game enemies, like Malenia, spin and slash around you relentlessly.

For our full list, these are the best Elden Ring builds.

Elden Ring Intelligence Build: Stats

If you want a serious Sorcerer on your hands, you’ll need to prioritise some stats; Intelligence, Mind, and Vigor, plus a little Dexterity.

  • Intelligence is highly important to this type of mage build, as your equipment and spellcasting relies on it. Much of what you use with an Intelligence build will also, hopefully, scale with Intelligence. So, ploughing points into this is how to get the most out of your spells and staffs, or other weapons.

  • Mind is vital, as it is with any type of magic build. As you’ll be focused on casting spells and barraging enemies with your sorceries, you’ll want to have plenty of Mind for them. With a lot of FP on tap, too, you’ll be able to keep attacking for longer before needing to fall back and use a Flask.

  • Vigor is important to most builds, as the last thing you want is for a boss to be able to one hit you with ease. Additionally, you won’t be able to offset damage with heavy armour considering Endurance is not a priority. So, you’re going to need a high HP bar instead.

  • Finally, Dexterity is an underrated stat for sorcerers for one simple reason: high Dexterity speeds up your casting time. This allows you to sling out spells more quickly in the heat of battle.

  • As for your starting class, I recommend picking Astrologer to give you the best headstart with this build. The class starts with higher Mind and Intelligence stats than others, so all you need to do is continue popping points into those and Vigor.

Early Game Stats - Level 30+

As a Sorcerer at the beginning of Elden Ring you need a good spread of stats, which can be difficult. For a while you're a jack of all trades, and can feel a bit squishy, but it's worth it in the end. You need at least 18 Intelligence immediately to wield the Meteorite Staff, which is by far the best early game magic weapon. Then you can make a start on Vigor, Mind and Dexterity, with a bit of Endurance for playability.

  • Vigor: 18
  • Mind: 19
  • Endurance: 12
  • Strength: 8
  • Dexterity: 16
  • Intelligence: 20
  • Faith: 7
  • Arcane: 9
Mid-game Stats - Level 80+

As you progress as a Sorcerer, gradually raise your stats in a relatively even fashion, keeping Vigor and Mind high for plenty of HP and FP, without neglecting your attacking stats with Dexterity and Intelligence. If you want to use the Moonveil katana as a melee weapon, you need 12 points in Strength to wield it one-handed. If you're not bothered about melee, put those points into something else.

  • Vigor: 33
  • Mind: 30
  • Endurance: 18
  • Strength: 12
  • Dexterity: 20
  • Intelligence: 30
  • Faith: 7
  • Arcane: 9
Late-game Stats - Level 120+

As you approach the late-game of Elden Ring, this is where your Intelligence will start to go galaxy brain up towards the soft cap of 60. Make sure your Intelligence gets up to 52, since this is the requirement for some of the best staffs and spells in your arsenal. You only need to buff your Strength to 16 for the Darkmoon Greatsword, otherwise you can leave it at 10 for the late-game staffs and boost your Dexterity and Mind.

  • Vigor: 40
  • Mind: 30
  • Endurance: 18
  • Strength: 16
  • Dexterity: 27
  • Intelligence: 52
  • Faith: 7
  • Arcane: 9
Shadow of the Erdtree Stats - Level 150+

As you take on the tough challenge of the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, you will want to have your key damage stat at the soft cap of 60. Vigor is to absorb some of the massive hits the new enemies can dish out in the Shadow Realm, while you should now have all of the Dexterity you need to cast as quickly as possible. Again you can add in some strength if you want to use an melee weapon alongside the magic, but it's not necessary. You might even want to use a Larval Tear to get rid of the Strength if you're bored of melee and want to go full magic!

  • Vigor: 58
  • Mind: 35
  • Endurance: 20
  • Strength: 10
  • Dexterity: 30
  • Intelligence: 60
  • Faith: 7
  • Arcane: 9

Of course, if you're venturing into NG+ and beyond, it's definitely worth trying to pump even more points into Vigor and Intelligence, allowing you to use the huge boss spells which require more than 60 Intelligence.

You don’t have to commit to these stats either, of course. However, for most of the high-end staffs and heavy-hitting sorceries, such as lunar spells, Comet Azur, and the Carian Regal Scepter, you need Intelligence at 60. But there are viable builds with weaker spells, though, so feel free to tinker with Larval Tears and find the build that suits you best.

You also might not want to rune farm your way to level 180 either, with endgame being doable for those at level 120-150; either way, we recommend prioritising Intelligence, Mind, and Vigor above all else.

To reiterate, you also by no means need to put any additional points into Strength; I have some extra points in each of these, so I can wield one of Elden Ring's best weapons, the Moonveil Katana. The katana isn’t primary to this build, but I found it to be a great weapon for when I got bored with slinging spells constantly. I dive into this a little more below, where I recommend what weapons to equip.

Elden Ring Intelligence Build: Flask of Wondrous Physick

For your Flask of Wondrous Physick, you have three options to choose from. The first and most important, being the Magic-Shrouding Crystal Tear. This will temporarily boost your magic attacks.

Then, it’s worth seeking the Intelligence-Knot Crystal Tear out, especially as you move through mid-game. The Tear will boost your Intelligence temporarily, increasing the damage to your attacks. However, bear in mind that Intelligence is soft capped at around level 80, so the Intelligence-Knot Crystal Tear isn’t so useful as your Intelligence approaches level 65 and beyond.

For late-game, you’ll want to swap the Intelligence-Knot Crystal Tear for the Cerulean Hidden Tear. This Tear will then temporarily negate all FP consumption. So, when trying to use a high-FP spell such as Comet Azur, this will come in clutch.

Elden Ring Intelligence Build: Best Staffs

For this build, you’ll want one of Elden Ring’s many great staffs for casting spells. Some staffs are drastically better than others, and you want to make sure you’ve got the best of the best. I recommend grabbing the Meteorite Staff for the start of your journey across The Lands Between. This staff is accessible from the start of the game and boosts gravity spells, making physical spells like the nearby Rock Sling all the more powerful. It also has an S scaling with INT, which is great.

A little later on, you can try the Academy Glinstone Staff, which has an INT requirement of 28 and B scaling with INT. It's a great, standard staff that can be infused with Ashes of War if needs be, and can be had from Sorcerer Thops in the Church of Irith at the start of Liurnia. But as your INT grows, you'll need something more powerful.

Later into the game, I recommend switching to Lusat’s Glintstone Staff or Azur’s Glintstone Staff. Both require 10 STR and 52 INT to wield, with B scaling for INT. That said, Lusat's Glintstone Staff will deal more sorcery damage at the cost of more FP, so if you've plenty of Mind and don't mind that so much, it's worth opting for Lusat's over Azur's Glintstone Staff.

Lusat's Staff is found in Sellia, Sorcery Town, whereas Azur's is in Raya Lucaria Academy.

For players that reach an INT stat of 69 or above, I highly recommend using the Carian Regal Scepter. It has requirements of 8 STR, 10 DEX, and 60 INT, and will provide Sorcery scaling with 70 INT or higher, while having B scaling for INT as it is. There is arguably no trade off when using Carian's Regal Scepter. It will buff full-moon spells and comes with a weapon skill: Spinning Weapon that can be used defensively or as an attack.

Ultimately, you want to start with the Meteorite Staff, and then move onto the Academy Glintstone Staff. After this, it's worth choosing or alternating between Lusat's Glintstone Staff, Azur's Glintstone Staff, and the Academy Glinstone Staff depending on how much FP your chosen spells are consuming, and the fight you're facing. Once at level 69 INT, however, the Carian Regal Scepter should be your go-to staff.

We explain how to get your hands on all four of these staffs, and more, in our guide here.

Elden Ring Intelligence Build: Best Weapons

When I felt like mixing up my spell casting with a little melee action - which was most of the time - I swapped my Ash of War infused short sword with the Moonveil Katana. This katana can deal both physical and magic damage, causes Bleed buildup, has a weapon skill that deals poise damage, and scales with Intelligence, so your stats will be going to good use.

In the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, there's a new Intelligence-infused katana to track down: the Star-lined Sword. It's an awesome looking weapon with a unique Ash of War that's also quite easy to get. You find it on the southern Cerulean Coast after defeating the Demi-Human Queen.

Another weapon to consider for a more melee-focused build is the Wing of Astel, found in Uhl Palace Ruins in Ainsel River. You'll need to use the teleporter at Renna's Rise to get there. Wing of Astel is less powerful than the Moonveil Katana, but it has the added advantage of firing off magic attacks when you charge heavy attacks - without costing FP. Its Ash of War (which does cost FP) creates a cloud of stars that explode after a few seconds, dealing heavy damage that scales even higher if you're wearing the Spellblade set.

There are other weapons to consider using, too, but I wouldn't necessarily use them for every fight. The Dark Moon Greatsword is a very pretty weapon - and Legendary Armament - that is acquired after finishing Ranni's questline. Requiring 38 INT, 11 DEX, and 16 STR to use, it doesn't have any ridiculous requirements, deals both physical and magic damage, and its skill causes Frost buildup on enemies. It also scales best with Intelligence. Nice.

Elden Ring Intelligence Build: Talismans

As for talismans, the choice is yours outside of the Radagon Icon, and depends on the fight up ahead, but here’s a few that are worth grabbing for any Intelligence build.

  • Radagon Icon - This talisman will come in clutch most of the time, as it reduces the time it takes to cast sorceries. Spells like Comet Azur, full-moon spells, or even Loretta’s Greatbow can take a hot minute, so Radagon Icon helps considerably.

  • Shard of Alexander - If you’re planning on using the Moonveil Katana at any point, it has a handy weapon skill known as Transient Moonlight, that deals significant poise damage. The Shard of Alexander talisman will greatly boost the attack power of your skills! Alternatively, there’s the Carian Filgreed Crest, which lowers the amount of FP used by your skills.

  • Graven Mass - This talisman will boost the potency of all sorceries by 8%. This might feel like a small amount, but for that extra bit of damage as you reach the Intelligence softcap, this can make spells all the more powerful.

  • Dragoncrest Greatshield - If, like me, you hate getting hit or taking damage as you sling spells from afar, the Dragoncrest Greatshield is good against the most hard-hitting of enemies. The talisman grants 20% resistance to physical damage - so, it won’t be useful against magic-using enemies.

  • Moon of Nokstella - Some spells, like Comet Azur, require multiple memory slots to be equipped. As a Sorcerer, you want as many of these as possible. Moon of Nokstella will raise your memory slots by two - so, if you need two more slots to fit that crucial, final spell in, this is the talisman for it.

  • Magic Scorpion Charm - For those who have plenty of VIG, this talisman will increase your magic damage by 12%, but increase any incoming physical damage by 20%. So, not great for those with minimal HP, but for those with plenty of it, this will boost your spells by a significant amount.

  • Stargazer Heirloom - If you’re looking to use staffs or spells with exceptionally high requirements, the Stargazer Heirloom is ideal to use as you level your character up. The talisman provides +5 Intelligence, so you can start using the likes of Azur’s Glintstone Staff at level 47, or Comet Azur at level 55.

Elden Ring Intelligence Build: Spells

There are so many viable spells in Elden Ring that it’s best to simply to equip whichever ones are suited better to the area you’re in or the boss you’re coming up against, rather than having a set roster.

Here are a handful of the best choices for a Sorcerer/Mage Intelligence build in Elden Ring, both for adventuring across The Lands Between and for boss fights.

  • Rock Sling - A nifty spell that can be grabbed early-game and used until late game. This one is particularly useful for damaging enemies who are resistant to magic, due to the fact that it deals physical damage.

  • Glintstone Pebble - This spell is ideal for taking out enemies as you travel around The Land Between. It’s got a good range, so you can often take out weaker enemies without the alerting them first. The Glintstone Pebble isn’t the best spell for boss fights, as I found it simply didn’t deal enough damage, but this is where the other spells come in use.

  • Glintstone Arc - This spell fires out a horizontal magic arc that will spread outward towards enemies. It costs 9FP and can be cast multiple times while moving, making it a decent AoE spell for tackling small hordes of enemies.
  • Great Glintstone Shard - This spell functions a lot like the Glintstone Pebble, but will instead allow you to fire a larger magic projectile at foes. It's a great ranged spell that can come in clutch given it's quick cast time, but we still wouldn't rely on this one during boss fights.

  • Loretta’s Longbow - If you’re able to get a moment to spare against an enemy, Loretta’s Longbow is ideal for dealing a significant amount of damage at a long range. For a similar spell that takes a little longer to charge, Loretta’s Greatbow is another good option that was recently buffed.

  • Stars of Ruin - Stars of Ruin fires multiple comets at an enemy with incredibly good tracking, making it especially useful for late-game enemies who move a lot. See: Malenia.

  • Comet - The simply named Comet is a beefy Glintstone sorcery that will likely be your main attack in the late-game. It's found in Raya Lucaria behind a fake bookshelf just before the Debate Parlor Site of Grace that you can roll into and it disappears.

  • Comet Azur - I’ll be honest, I don’t like this spell all that much, and it was nerfed pretty hard. However, it still can deal a huge amount of damage to an enemy in the form of a laser beam, and it feels wrong to have any sort of 60+ Intelligence build without having used this spell to cheese one of the slower bosses i.e. Rennala. Grab it from Primeval Sorcerer Azur near the Volcano Manor.

  • Terra Magicus - But to boost the power of Comet Azur even more, you can collect Terra Magicus from the Academy Crystal Cave under Raya Lucaria. This casts a buffing circle which increases your attack power while you stand in it, which is perfect for Comet Azur.

  • Meteorite of Astel - If you fought with Astel, Naturalborn of the Void already, I’m sorry to inform you that you basically have to do it again in the Consecrated Snowfield to get this spell. The meteorites that Astel threw down at you during their fight can now be yours to throw down on other enemies; again, they deal high damage, have a large AoE, and are great against larger enemies. Team this spell with your Meteorite Staff for the gravity spell boost, and you can deal huge damage to an enemy.

  • Founding Rain of Stars - It takes a bit of practice to get the timing of this legendary spell right, but it's an incredibly potent force once you do. Founding Rain of Stars creates a large cloud that rains down starry death in a broad area. The projectiles don't always hit, but when they do, they deal heavy damage and keep non-boss enemies from moving.

  • Rennala’s Full Moon, and Ranni’s Dark Moon - These spells quite literally turn you into the moon temporarily before firing that moon at your target. They’ve got great AoE, debuff enemies, and Ranni’s Dark Moon even deals frost damage simultaneously. The only downfall is that these spells obviously use a lot of FP.

Elden Ring Intelligence Build: Armour and Gear

Essentially, you should pick whatever armour allows you to at least medium roll. Preferably, you want the heaviest and most protective armour, but this isn’t the be all and end all in Elden Ring. I personally went for Alberich’s Set, which is a cool looking sorcerer set that you can loot in Leyndell, Royal Capital.

Other viable options for armour, that aren’t the heaviest but fit the wizardly vibe we’re going for with this build, are as follows:

  • Queen of the Full Moon Set - A reward for defeating Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon at Raya Lucaria Academy.

  • Spellblade Set - Loot Sorcerer Rogier’s corpse in Roundtable Hold when he passes away. This happened at the end of Ranni’s questline for us.

Alternatively, take a gander at our Blackflame build, our best Faith build, and our strength build, to see what else there is to try out. We’ve also got a comprehensive guide to The Lands Between in our Elden Ring walkthrough!

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