Elden Ring Best Intelligence Build: Spells, Armor, Weapons

This Elden Ring Intelligence Build guide is going to help you achieve the best Intelligence-based build to gain victory!

Elden Ring has so many weapons, spells, Sorceries, and much more in its arsenal, combined with the breathtaking gameplay aspect, immersive combat, exciting storyline, and many other things to uncover. Weapon and character levels will determine how you approach the enemies or play out your first experience in the game. That said, I have curated the Intelligence Build for players who’d love to play as sorcerers.

My Best Elden Ring Intelligence Build

Before I begin, here is a summary of the Best Intelligence Build in Elden Ring:

IntelligenceMindWeaponsArmorSpells
33.020.0- Meteorite Staff
- Carian Glintstone Staff
- Keen Rapier
- Moonveil Katana
- Carian Knight Armor Set
- Spellblade Armor Set
- Glintstone Pebble
- Comet Azur
- Carian Slicer
- Meteorite
- Glintstone Cometshard

You can continue reading the guide or watch our video regarding end-game Intelligence build. 

Build Stats

Intelligence Build Attributes
Attributes

These are the few attributes to focus on while creating an Intelligence-based build. This is an early-game intelligence build for Elden Ring. You can carry this during the mid-game as well. However, you will need to prioritize investing more points in Intelligence and Mind first and then Vigor. 

STATS POINTS
Intelligence 33
Mind 20

In short, Intelligence empowers players to cast sorceries and wield corresponding weapons. Higher Intelligence allows the use of specific weapons effectively.

  • Mind lets players adjust Focus Points, enhancing Sorcery Spells and other skills for combat and character progression.
  • I strongly suggest investing in Mind for more frequent and potent spell-casting.

Best Weapons To Use

Here is a summarized look at the best Intelligence Weapons, along with their stats in Elden Ring:

WeaponTypePhysicalMagicFireLightHolyBoost
Meteorite StaffGlintstone StaffATK: 30
Guard: 28
Guard: 17Guard: 17Guard: 17Guard: 1717.0
Carian Glintstone StaffGlintstone StaffATK: 25
Guard: 25
Guard: 15Guard: 15Guard: 15Guard: 1510.0
Keen RapierThrusting SwordATK: 96
Guard: 45
Guard: 30Guard: 30Guard: 30Guard: 3020.0
Moonveil KatanaKatanaATK: 73
Guard: 31
ATK: 87
Guard: 57

Guard: 26
Guard: 26Guard: 2631.0

Meteorite Staff 

Intelligence build meteorite staff
Meteorite Staff

Attack Stats:

Physical Magic Critical Sorcery
39 0 100 60

Guard Stats:

Physical Magic Fire Light Holy Boost
28 17 17 17 17 17

The Meteorite Staff, a popular Glintstone staff in Elden Ring, excels at casting Sorceries. It scales with Intelligence (S), making it an excellent choice, in my opinion, for Intelligence-based sorcerers, enhancing spell power and Magic Damage.

Carian Glintstone Staff 

Intelligence Build Carian Glintstone Staff
Carian Glintstone Staff

Attack Stats:

Physical Magic Critical Sorcery
25 0 100 163

Guard Stats:

Physical Magic Fire Light Holy Boost
25 15 15 15 15 15

The Carian Glintstone Staff is an excellent choice for an Intelligence build, enhancing Sorceries and overall damage. It’s upgradeable with Smithing Stones, offering significant damage potential, surpassing the Meteorite Staff at +10. In my experience, it provides easy use for Carian Sword Sorceries, and a Sorcery stat of 163 makes players formidable in battle.

Keen Rapier 

Intelligence Build Keen Rapier
Keen Rapier

Attack Stats:

Physical Magic Critical
96 0 130

Guard Stats:

Physical Magic Fire Light Holy Boost
45 30 30 30 30 20

As for the melee option for players, the Keen Rapier is one of the best, allowing for consistent Thrusting attacks, lunging enemies back, and shoving the blade through their guts with ease. It focuses on quick competitive Thrusts against enemies and is an excellent choice to pair with the abovementioned staff. 

  • The main reason that the Keen Rapier has been mentioned in my Intelligence Build is that the critical stat is relatively high on the sword, which allows for increased fused damage.
  • When paired with one of the staff based on Intelligence, it will automatically buff the adventurer, aiding them greatly in battle. 

Moonveil Katana

intelligence build moonveil katana
Moonveil katana INT/DEX build

Attack Stats:

Physical Magic Critical
73 87 100

Guard Stats:

Physical Magic Fire Light Holy Boost
31 57 26 26 26 31

This is another great weapon that scales excellently with Intelligence. However, you will need a little bit of dexterity to wield the weapon effectively. Overall, Moonveil Katana can be the second-best weapon after your primary magic staff.

Armour 

Like any good build, the Intelligence build requires a few specific armors sets that people should look into.

Before I head into more detail, here is a quick look at the comparison between the best handpicked Armor sets for the Intelligence build:

ArmorResistanceDefensePhysicalMagicFireLightHoly
Carian Knight Helmet Immunity: 12
Robustness: 20
Focus: 9
Vitality: 10
Poise: 6

Vs Strike: 3.8
Vs Slash: 4.4
Vs Pierce: 4.2
4.24.44.23.44.2
Carian Knight ArmorImmunity: 28
Robustness: 46
Focus: 21
Vitality: 23
Poise: 19
Vs Strike: 10.8
Vs Slash: 12.3
Vs Pierce: 11.8
11.812.311.89.411.8
Carian Knight GauntletsImmunity: 9
Robustness: 15
Focus: 7
Vitality: 8
Poise: 4
Vs Strike: 2.7
Vs Slash: 3.1
Vs Pierce: 2.9
2.93.12.92.32.9
Carian Knight GreavesImmunity: 17
Robustness: 29
Focus: 13
Vitality: 14
Poise: 11
Vs Strike: 6.2
Vs Slash: 7.1
Vs Pierce: 6.8
6.87.16.85.46.8
Spellblade’s Pointed Hat Immunity: 15
Robustness: 8
Focus: 25
Vitality: 27
Poise: 2
Vs Strike: 0.8
Vs Slash: 1.3
Vs Pierce: 1.3
1.34.53.94.14.5
Spellblade’s Traveling Attire Immunity: 35
Robustness: 17
Focus: 59
Vitality: 63
Poise: 7
Vs Strike: 2.6
Vs Slash: 4.1
Vs Pierce: 4.1
4.112.711.311.812.7
Spellblade’s GlovesImmunity: 11
Robustness: 6
Focus: 19
Vitality: 20
Poise: 1
Vs Strike: 0.5
Vs Slash: 0.9
Vs Pierce: 0.9
0.93.12.72.83.1
Spellblade’s TrousersImmunity: 25
Robustness: 13
Focus: 38
Vitality: 41
Poise: 5
Vs Strike: 2.2
Vs Slash: 2.9
Vs Pierce: 2.9
2.97.36.77.07.3

Carian Knight Armor Set

The Carian Knight set has a Medium weight and allows for a consistent defense against all types of attacks, mainly focusing on Magic and Physical. Players can expect to be protected to the heavens while in combat with the knight set that increases players’ Resistance and will allow negating debuffs from you. 

Carian Knight Helmet 

Intelligence Build Helmet Carian
Carian Helmet

The Helmet boosts overall defense by guarding against Magic, Fire, Light, Holy, Strike Damage, Physical Damage, Slash, and Pierce. It varies for different characters, providing damage mitigation and Resistance.

Here is how much damage the Helmet can negate and how much Resistance it can provide:

  Damage Negation
Physical Damage 4.2
Strike Damage 3.8
Pierce Damage 4.2
Slash Damage 4.4
Fire Damage 4.2
Magic Damage 4.4
Holy Damage 4.2
Light Damage 3.4
  Resistance
Immunity  12
Robustness  20
Focus  9
Vitality  10
Poise  4

Carian Knight Armor 

Intelligence Build Carian Armor
Carian Armor

Wearing the Carian Knight Armor boosts resistance to enemy attacks, offering substantial protection for the torso, shoulders, and elemental damage. It significantly enhances resistance to Strike, Slash, and Pierce damage, as well as physical damage, crucial for preserving HP and survival in battle.

  Damage Negation
Physical Damage 11.9
Strike Damage 10.9
Pierce Damage 11.9
Slash Damage 12.4
Fire Damage 11.9
Magic Damage 12.4
Holy Damage 11.9
Light Damage 9.5
  Resistance
Immunity  28
Robustness  46
Focus  21
Vitality  23
Poise  12

Carian Knight Gauntlets 

Intelligence Build Carian Gauntlets
Carian Gauntlets

The Carian Knight Gauntlets boost Resistance against Magic and Elemental damage for hands and arms. They protect against attacks on exposed arms and hands, albeit with some weight.

  Damage Negation
Physical Damage 2.9
Strike Damage 2.7
Pierce Damage 2.9
Slash Damage 3.1
Fire Damage 2.9
Magic Damage 3.1
Holy Damage 2.9
Light Damage 2.3
  Resistance
Immunity  9
Robustness  15
Focus  7
Vitality  8
Poise  3

Carian Knight Greaves 

Intelligence Build Carian Greaves
Carian Greaves

The Carian Knight Greaves are worn around legs like trousers; they offer the legs and feet excellent protection from Magic Damage, Slash, and other damages. 

  Damage Negation
Physical Damage 6.8
Strike Damage 6.2
Pierce Damage 6.8
Slash Damage 7.1
Fire Damage 6.8
Magic Damage 7.1
Holy Damage 6.8
Light Damage 5.4
  Resistance
Immunity  17
Robustness  29
Focus  13
Vitality  14
Poise  7

Spellblade Set 

The Spellblade set is one of the most popular sets in Elden Ring, with it offering countless benefits to the adventurer. With this Intelligence Build, players will need to invest as much as they can into sorceries, and with the Spellblade set in hand, they will buff their Glintstone Sorcery Skills, allowing them to cast more potent spells. 

Spellblade Pointed Hat 

Intelligence Build Spellblade Pointed Hat
Elden Ring Pointed Hat

While traversing the lands of Elden Ring, you will encounter many enemies, which is where the Spellblade Pointed Hat will allow you to cast powerful spells while also giving you the ultimate protection from enemy spells, which are usually extremely strong and can render you useless. It will also increase your overall defense. 

  Damage Negation
Physical Damage 1.3
Strike Damage 0.8
Slash Damage 1.3
Pierce Damage 1.3
Magic Damage 4.5
Fire Damage 3.9
Light Damage 4.1
Holy Damage 4.5
  Resistance
Immunity  15
Robustness  8
Focus  25
Vitality  27
Poise  0

Spellblade Traveling Attire 

Intelligence Build spellblade Travelling Attire
Spellblade Travelling Attire

The Spellblade Travelling Attire is a piece that is adorned over the torso of the adventurer and provides a buff to enemy damage resistance and personal defense, which gains you an advantage while in battle with your opponents. Spellcasting has also increased significantly, and you can achieve victory quickly. 

  Damage Negation
Physical Damage 4.1
Strike Damage 2.6
Slash Damage 4.1
Pierce Damage 4.1
Magic Damage 12.7
Fire Damage 11.3
Light Damage 11.8
Holy Damage 12.7
  Resistance
Immunity  35
Robustness  17
Focus  59
Vitality  63
Poise  1

Spellblade’s Gloves 

Intelligence Build Spellblade Gloves
Spellblade Gloves

A piece that looks gorgeous from view, the Spellblade Gloves allow for personal protection from enemy attacks launched at the hand, helping lower the chances of damage to your HP and increasing your overall resistance to all sorts of damage, including Magic damage and many more. 

  Damage Negation
Physical Damage 0.9
Strike Damage 0.5
Slash Damage 0.9
Pierce Damage 0.9
Magic Damage 3.1
Fire Damage 2.7
Light Damage 2.8
Holy Damage 3.1
  Resistance
Immunity  11
Robustness  6
Focus  19
Vitality  20
Poise  0

Spellblade Trousers 

Intelligence Build Spellblade Trousers
Spellblade Trousers

The spellblade Trousers protect your legs from enemy launches and help significantly with damage negation, specifically Magic and Holy damage. It is a versatile piece that can benefit you and your party greatly. 

  Damage Negation
Physical Damage 2.9
Strike Damage 2.2
Slash Damage 2.9
Pierce Damage 2.9
Magic Damage 7.3
Fire Damage 6.7
Light Damage 7.0
Holy Damage 7.3
  Resistance
Immunity  25
Robustness  13
Focus  38
Vitality  41
Poise  1

Best Spells 

Here’s a quick comparison of some of the Best Spells that you can use for your Intelligence Build in Elden Ring:

SpellSpell TypeFP CostInt Required
Glintstone PebbleGlintstone Sorceries7.010.0
Comet AzurPrimeval Sorceries40 (10)60.0
Carian SlicerCarian Sorceries4.014.0
MeteoriteGravity Sorceries30 (10)30.0
Glintstone CometshardGlintstone Sorceries17.036.0

Glintstone Pebble 

Intelligence Build Glintstone Pebble
Glintstone Pebble

The Glintstone Pebble is one of your main sorceries for damage. When combined with an Intelligence build, since it requires 10 Intelligence points, players can make ranged attacks to enemies with Glintstone Pebble. Casting speed is incredibly fast, accounting for consistent damage output towards enemies, and it can also be chain-casted

Comet Azur 

Intelligence Build Comet Azur
Comet Azur

The Comet Azur is one of the most popular Spells; with a laser beam aimed at enemies, it pierces through opponents, rendering them useless and buffing players’ damage. Comet Azur’s casting speed is adequate, allowing for proper damage output. It requires Intelligence investment, and players are advised to invest points to Intelligence for the highest damage output. 

Carian Slicer

Intelligence Build Carian Slicer
Carian Slicer

The Carian Slicer casts a sword that will wipe out all sorts of enemies. It requires 14 Intelligence points and can be cast repeatedly, allowing for even more significant damage dealt with foes. The casting speed is pretty fast, and it can also be chain-casted.

Meteorite 

Intelligence Build Meteorite
Meteorite

The Meteorite’s main aim is to cast short but brilliant meteors from atop onto the enemies’ heads, piercing them and causing significant damage. Meteorite does not end until the spell-casting duration is over, and you can cast it repeatedly. It can easily cast over 2 meteorites at any given time. 

Glintstone Cometshard 

Intelligence Build Glintstone Cometshard
Glintstone Cometshard

The Glintstone Shard allows for a singular comet that the shard will launch in the general direction of enemies and can destroy them with significant damage. It requires 26 INT Points and is incredibly handy when dealing with stricter enemies with a lot of HP. The Cometshard will deal increased AoE damage, which makes it a better candidate than most spells.

Intelligence Build Playstyle 

  • With the Meteorite Staff, perform consistent attacks, including Meteorite Spells.
  • Combine it with Carian Slicer for Sweeping Slashes.
  • Adapt attack sequences: switch between normal and charged attacks.
  • For bosses, use Carian Glintstone Staff with Comet Azur for laser beams.
  • Furthermore, consider using the Spellblade set for faster and stronger Comet Azur casting on boss fights.

My Experience Using Intelligence Builds

While I don’t like Magic Builds at all, I tried a hybrid build in Elden Ring, and it was great for long-range and close-range encounters. In my first playthrough, I used dual Uchigatana until I got my hands on Moonveil Katana. Using the weapon was a really fun experience for me, and I used it for a while, even on subsequent playthroughs during my experience. 

obaid save
My Elden Ring save slot

During the setup for the Age of Stars ending, I found Dark Moon Greatsword, which just forced me to shift to a hybrid build. The weapon looked really gorgeous, so I instantly decided to respec and put around 50 points in intelligence. I had the best experience with the build, so I instantly decided to respec and put around 50 points in intelligence. As such, I highly recommend you should try it, too.

Next: Elden Ring Best Weapons

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Community Feedback
Doyle Reeves

Despite the nerfs to Moonveil, this build still works great in 2024 for a newbie thanks!

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Huzaifa is eXputer's Review Editor, who’s all about RPG games. He’s got several years of experience critically judging games and writing his unbiased thoughts on them. You can also find his content published on sites like Twinfinite & GearNuke. Huzaifa has been gaming for 23+ years, during which he managed to amass 400+ hours on Elden Ring! You can follow his gaming activity on his Xbox and Steam Profiles.

Experience: 5+ years || Previously Worked At GearNuke & Twinfinite || Mainly Covers RPG Guides & Latest Games Reviews || Education: Bachelors in Hospitality.

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