Best Intelligence Builds In Elden Ring

Summary

Elden Ring offers versatile Intelligence builds, with a focus on Sorceries and unique playstyles.
The Dark Moon Greatsword, Sword of Night and Flame, and full caster builds provide powerful options for different styles.
These builds require specific weapons, armor, talismans, and Sorceries to optimize gameplay.

Elden Ring provides players with a massive arsenal of Sorceries in the game. This can make them incredibly versatile, and give them lots of new spells to try out, provided their Intelligence stat is high enough. Even more of these were added for the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.

These Intelligence builds can provide a wide range of different playstyles when paired with the right weapons, from a full caster to a seemingly contradictory melee powerhouse with numerous points in Strength stat as well. However, all of these only come together once players have all the other necessary pieces of gear in the form of required Armor pieces and Talismans. Here are the best builds for characters looking to make Intelligence their main stat.

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4 Dark Moon Greatsword Build

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Once players hit the soft cap for their Intelligence, they will want to put points into Strength to see better returns for the Dark Moon Greatsword. The Tarnished will be playing at a closer range than a full caster, but they will still be at enough of a range to steer clear of enemies' reach. They can then utilize the Dark Moon Greatsword’s signature ability, the Moonlight Greatsword Skill weapon skill. Players will also want to bring along a Glintstone Staff for casting all the Sorceries they enjoy using.

Being a Greatsword, this weapon can come down very hard with a jump attack that can build up to a stagger, which is even better when paired with the Greatblade Phalanx Spell. Queen's Crescent Crown is a great way to boost Intelligence, and while Olivinus Glintstone Crown has some good defenses, the HP reduction can’t be justified for playing at such a close range. Getting the Dark Moon Greatsword will come late into the game, but it scales best with Intelligence, so there is no need to respec if using a dedicated caster build.

Equipment Type	Items Required
Weapons	Dark Moon Greatsword, Carian Regal Scepter
Armor	Queen's Crescent Crown
Talismans	Shard of Alexander, Godfrey Icon, Magic Scorpion Charm, Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman
Recommended Sorceries	Greatblade Phalanx

3 Sword Of Night And Flame Build

Large Range of Playstyles

One of the most sought-after weapons in Elden Ring is the Sword of Night and Flame. Once players have gotten their hands on this weapon, they will need to put together a build befitting it. Players will also want a Glintstone Staff, and Lusat's Glintstone Staff will benefit from the Strength scaling from meeting the requirements of Sword of Night and Flame. This build will allow a player to enjoy the game with a sword and shield playstyle, while still having access to a wide range of Sorceries. They'll even have some incantations thanks to meeting the Faith requirements.

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This allows a player to truly enjoy every aspect of Elden Ring with a single character. This build gives players options when they encounter a foe that is resistant to Sorceries, while being able to keep Intelligence as their primary stat. Players will want to score critical hits to keep topping up their FP — and their HP if they prefer to have the Assassin's Crimson Dagger also equipped. There is an incredible range of playstyles for players with this build, allowing them to use different approaches to the various bosses using some of the best spells available.

If players are not scoring many critical hits, it might be worth swapping Assassin's Cerulean Dagger for Blessed Blue Dew Talisman.

Equipment Type	Items Required
Weapons	Sword of Night and Flame, Lusat's Glintstone Staff, Carian Knight's Shield
Armor	Greathood
Talismans	Magic Scorpion Charm, Graven-Mass Talisman, Assassin's Cerulean Dagger, Shard of Alexander

2 Full Caster Sorcerer Build

Master Of Elden Ring’s Sorceries

This is the ideal build for anyone looking to play a full caster with Intelligence as their primary stat. While players get other Glintstone Staffs that scale with Intelligence at a rank of "S" when fully upgraded, the Carian Regal Scepter has the highest base Sorcery damage. Players that wish to ignore Faith, Dexterity, Arcane, and Strength for a full-fledged Intelligence caster can’t do better than this — which will be what they need to wield the most powerful Sorceries in the game.

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The ideal charms will be those that can increase the damage of spells, and players will not want to wear armor that is too heavy. The Blessed Blue Dew Talisman is one of the Talismans added in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, and will allow players to recover 1 FP every 2 seconds. This means they will regain 30 FP per minute while they explore, and can allocate the vast majority of their flasks to regaining their HP for tough encounter. Players will want to swap out Blessed Blue Dew Talisman for Primal Glintstone Blade when it is time to face a boss.

Equipment Type	Items Required
Weapons	Carian Regal Scepter
Armor	Queen's Crescent Crown
Talismans	Magic Scorpion Charm, Graven-Mass Talisman, Ritual Sword Talisman, Blessed Blue Dew Talisman, Primal Glintstone Blade
Sorceries	All of them

1 Carian Sovereignty Build

Playing A Powerful Battlemage

Having a battlemage covers everything a player could want from a full-caster set-up, while also being able to go in with a melee weapon. The original base game gave players Ash of War: Carian Grandeur, but the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC added a very similar Ash of War called Ash of War: Carian Sovereignty that does more damage. Putting this Ash of War on a Claymore will allow players to give it a Magic Affinity that will allow for Intelligence damage scaling.

Players can play a full caster while they build up the requirements of this build — and pick up Ash of War: Carian Sovereignty once they get to the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. Players will want to get the Greatblade Phalanx Sorcery to use alongside this Ash of War, as it will be brilliant for stance breaking bosses. Players will also have the option to use plenty of other Sorceries thanks to their high Intelligence stat. This allows players to alternate between being a heavy hitter, or a ranged caster without the need to respec.

Equipment Type	Items Required
Weapons	Claymore, Carian Regal Scepter
Armor	Queen's Crescent Crown
Talismans	Shard of Alexander, Magic Scorpion Charm, Two-Headed Turtle Talisman, Carian Filigreed Crest
Ash of War	Ash of War: Carian Sovereignty
Required Sorceries	Greatblade Phalanx