Best Elden Ring Intelligence build: Important weapons, items, and stats for an Elden Ring Intelligence build
Learn how to make the best Intelligence build in Elden Ring
Looking for the best Elden Ring Intelligence build? Being an all-powerful wizard is always cool, but it's absolutely incredible in Elden Ring. Spells tend to dominate in almost every situation, so this Intelligence build will make you unstoppable in PvE and PvP. It's also one of the best builds in Elden Ring, so you can use it if you're struggling with any of Elden Ring's hardest bosses, such as Malenia, Blade of Miquella.
In this guide, we'll break down how to make the best Elden Ring Intelligence build, covering the weapons, items, and stats that you'll need to become an unstoppable battlemage.
Best Elden Ring Intelligence build
This Intelligence build combines melee and magic to create a Battlemage setup that you can use to tear through every boss in Elden Ring. It uses two of the best weapons in Elden Ring, Lusat’s Glintstone Staff and the Wing of Astel blade, to deal massive amounts of magic damage, which you can then push even further with a few items that we’ll explain later in this guide.
Where to find Lusat’s Glintstone Staff in Elden Ring
Every Intelligence build needs a trusty staff, and Lusat’s Glintstone Staff is one of the best. It increases the damage of all of your spells in exchange for a slightly higher FP cost. To get Lusat’s Glintstone Staff, you must travel to Sellia, Town of Sorcery, in Caelid and defeat the Nox Swordstress and Nox Priest. After you kill them both, you will find a chest nearby that contains the staff.
Where to find the Wing of Astel in Elden Ring
The Wing of Astel is a curved sword that primarily scales with Intelligence. You can find this weapon by taking the teleporter at the top of Renna’s Rise, which you can access after formally starting Ranni’s sidequest behind Caria Manor. This teleporter takes you to the Ainsel River, which you can explore to find the Uhl Palace Ruins. Head South from here and pass through the tunnel to find a statue in a T-pose. Nearby, you’ll find a chest on a platform, which contains the Wing of Astel.
Elden Ring Intelligence build spell list
While this Intelligence build does use a melee weapon as well, spells are incredibly important. Below, we’ll list the crucial spells that you need for this build and where to find them:
Terra Magica
- Stat requirements: 20 Intelligence
- FP cost: 20
Terra Magica places a rune on the ground that you can stand in to increase the power of all magic damage you deal by 35%. This is incredibly useful whenever you’re about to enter combat, as you can quickly cast it and instantly gain a significant increase to your damage. You will find Terra Magica after defeating the Crystalians in the Academy Crystal Cave. Use the elevator nearby to climb a tower in the academy, at the top of which you will find Terra Magica in a chest.
Rock Sling
- Stat requirements: 18 Intelligence
- FP cost: 18
Rock Sling creates three magical rocks and launches them at your enemies. Rock Sling is one of few spells that deals physical damage, making it incredibly useful for dealing with enemies that are resistant to magic damage. It also tends to break poise very easily, so you can use it to stagger most enemies. You will find Rock Sling down some stairs in the Street of Sages Ruins, near where you find the Meteorite Staff.
Swift Glintstone Shard
- Stat requirements: 12 Intelligence
- FP cost: 5
Swift Glintstone Shard might not be the most powerful spell on this list, but it’s still worth mentioning. This spell is simple – it fires a small ranged projectile towards an enemy. It’s also very cheap, while still dealing plenty of damage. Swift Glintstone Shard is perfect for dealing with individual enemies as you explore the Lands Between, and you’ll also find it useful as a cheap spell that you can use to chip away at tough bosses. You can purchase Swift Glintstone Shard from Sellen, a sorceress in the Waypoint Ruins, after giving her the Academy Scroll.
Comet Azur
- Stat requirements: 60 Intelligence
- FP cost: 40
Comet Azur is one of the best spells in Elden Ring, so it’s an obvious pick for this Intelligence build. It blasts out a surge of magic, dealing huge damage to enemies. Comet Azur does cost a lot of FP, making it difficult to maintain the beam for a long period of time. However, you can fix this with the Cerulean Hidden Tear, a Crystal Tear that allows you to briefly cast spells without expending any FP. You will find Comet Azur by following the path South of Fort Laiedd in Mt. Gelmir. Progress past the Magma Wyrm and continue until you find Demi-Human Queen Maggie. After defeating this boss, look around the arena to find Primeval Sorcerer Azur, a crystal figure that you can interact with to get the Comet Azur spell.
Ranni’s Dark Moon
- Stat requirements: 68 Intelligence
- FP cost: 62
Ranni’s Dark Moon is another very expensive spell, but it is incredibly useful. Ranni’s Dark Moon has a range of effects: it deals lots of magic damage, inflicts frostbite, and lowers the target’s magic protection. That last effect makes Ranni’s Dark Moon incredible for this build, as you can use it early in a fight and combine it with Terra Magica to massively increase the damage you deal to enemies. You will find Ranni’s Dark Moon in Chelona’s Rise, a tower that you will find in the Moonlight Altar plateau. Like the Wing of Astel above, you'll need to finish most of Ranni's quest to access this area.
Elden Ring Intelligence build stat requirements
This Elden Ring Intelligence build requires the following stats:
- 10 Strength
- 17 Dexterity
- 68 Intelligence
Intelligence is the most important stat here, as it allows you to use all of the spells listed above. It’s important to note here that while 60 is the soft cap for Intelligence, after which your damage increase with each level is minimal, you will need to reach 68 to use Ranni’s Dark Moon. You’ll also need to get 10 Strength to use Lusat’s Glintstone Staff.
However, you will also need to reach 17 Dexterity, as this allows you to use the Wing of Astel blade. This weapon is crucial for dealing with enemies that can dodge your ranged attacks, so it’s worth putting a few points into Dexterity until you reach the requirement.
Important gear for the Elden Ring Intelligence build
After finding your weapons and spells, you’ll want to find other items that are useful for this build. Below, we’ll explain which talismans and Crystal Tears you should use in this Elden Ring Intelligence build.
- Marika’s Soreseal: a talisman that raises your Mind, Intelligence, Faith, and Arcane stats by 5 levels each. While this does slightly raise the damage you receive from enemies, it also increases your magic damage and FP, making it invaluable for magic builds. You will find Marika’s Soreseal near the bottom of Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree. From the Prayer Room Site of Grace, head northeast and hop down across the rooftops and walkways until you reach the passageway at the bottom. Use a stonesword key to unlock the fog wall nearby and grab Marika’s Soreseal from inside.
- Graven-Mass Talisman: a talisman that increases the damage of all sorcery spells. This stacks with Terra Magica and the effects of Ranni’s Dark Moon, allowing you to push your damage even higher. You will find the Graven-Mass Talisman in the Albinauric Rise tower, located to the East of the Consecrated Snowfield.
- Radagon Icon: a talisman that decreases your spell casting time. Ranni’s Dark Moon takes a while to cast, so the Radagon Icon is essential for this Intelligence build. You will find the Radagon Icon in the upper levels of the Debate Parlor in the Academy of Raya Lucaria. You can access the walkways above by using a ladder found along the outer walls in the main courtyard.
- Cerulean Hidden Tear: a Crystal Tear that temporarily removes the FP cost for every spell. As mentioned above, this allows you to use expensive spells like Comet Azur and Ranni’s Dark Moon free of cost. This makes Comet Azur especially powerful, as you can use the Cerulean Hidden Tear and then cast it in a boss fight to shred through the boss in seconds. You will find the Cerulean Hidden Tear by killing the Ulcerated Tree Spirit at the Mt. Gelmir Minor Erdtree.
- Magic-Shrouding Cracked Tear: a Crystal Tear that that temporarily boosts your magic damage. This is the final item that will increase your magic damage, combining with Terra Magica, Ranni’s Dark Moon, and the Graven-Mass Talisman. You will find it by killing the Erdtree Avatar at the northeast Minor Erdtree in Liurnia of the Lakes.
After finding both Crystal Tears, make sure that you head to a Site of Grace to mix them in your Flask of Wondrous Physick.
That covers everything you need to know to make the best Elden Ring Intelligence build. After finishing this build, test it out by finding the nearest boss with our Elden Ring boss locations guide. If you want to 100% Elden Ring, take a look at our Elden Ring walkthrough and every Elden Ring NPC sidequest. You can also check out every ending in Elden Ring if you want to see how the story can wrap up.