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Pure Intelligence builds have their niche in Elden Ring, but some of the most fun builds are hybrid creations. Intelligence/Dexterity hybrids are some of the strongest builds in all of Elden Ring thanks to a staggering number of amazing weapons and spells that require them.
Whether you want to run a katana, some galaxy-destroying insect wings, or prefer flails made from literal planets, there is something suited for you. Throw in a couple of spells for good measure, and you can dominate the battlefield at any range, and look good whilst doing it.
Updated July 16, 2023 by Andrew Scariati: A powerful Elden Ring Intelligence build often focuses on magic, so augmenting this with high Dexterity for close-range combat is prudent. While there are some incredibly powerful sorceries to utilize, there are few substitutes for a good katana. Luckily, due to several balance changes that have improved sorceries, Elden Ring's Dex/Int build finds itself with several powerful tools that offer unrivaled power and versatility.
What Makes An Intelligence/Dexterity Build?
Intelligence/Dexterity builds are hybrid builds that allow you to mess around with more of the Elden Ring toolbox, whilst remaining painfully effective in combat.
Instead of pumping Intelligence to the max and then filling in the rest of your stats, you will be splitting your stats between Intelligence and Dexterity, maximizing your damage at all ranges.
Stats To Aim For
Stats | Value |
|---|---|
Vigor | 50 |
Mind | 20 |
Endurance | 21 |
Strength | 12 |
Dexterity | 50 |
Intelligence | 60 |
Faith | 7 |
Arcane | 9 |
For this build, an Intelligence/Dexterity split of 60/50 is highly recommended.
This puts you close to soft caps for both stats, which will maximize your damage output on any weapon with split scaling.
Vigor is at 50, but could even be dropped to 45 if you wanted to invest those five points elsewhere. Mind is at 20, which is a tad low, but you can fix that later with equipment such as the Cerulean Amber Medallion.
Finally, Endurance is at around 20 (based on starting class). Since you're using light weapons, your Stamina and Equip Load shouldn’t be impacted too much by this. If you prefer heavier armor whether for the stats or the drip, invest more.
Leveling Plan
Since you're building towards high numbers in two different offensive stats, Intelligence and Dexterity, exactly how you level up will make a big difference to your gaming experience.
This isn't really a factor if you're just re-allocating stats via Rennala, but if you're dedicated to the Intelligence/Dexterity lifestyle from the get-go, you'll want to follow a leveling plan that resembles this:
- Enough Strength to wield the Moonveil Katana, which is 12. Substitute this for whatever main weapon you'll be aiming for.
- Enough Dexterity to wield a decent weapon that scales well with Dexterity, preferably a Katana. The Uchigatana requires only 15 Dexterity.
- Enough Intelligence to cast some spells. 17 Intelligence gets you access to many great low-level spells.
- Get your Vigor up a bit here to become bulkier - at least 20 to survive early bosses, 25 to have a little more breathing room.
- You might take a detour here to boost your Dexterity and Intelligence a little to equip any great Intelligence/Dexterity weapons to serve as a stopgap between the Uchigatana and the Moonveil. Rogier's Rapier infused with sorcery, a Carian Knight's Sword, or Crystal Spear would be good weapons that scale with both stats.
- Now is the time to build your Intelligence to 23 and then keep building it. Moonveil has better scaling with Intelligence than Dexterity, so pump that up first.
- Build your Intelligence and Vigor alternately, building toward 50 and 40, respectively. Once you hit 40 Vigor, start pumping into Dexterity.
- Get your Intelligence to 60, and then your Dexterity to 50.
- Finish off by topping your Vigor up.
As for Mind, Endurance, and any other stats you might want to boost, do so when you feel they are required. You should start to become aware of when you need little boosts, as you'll either need more equipment weight or need more FP to cast spells.
Moonveil Katana Build - Still Fantastic Post-Nerf
Overview
This build focuses on mixing the Moonveil Katana with some of the best spells in the game to make a build capable of downing even the mightiest enemy in close combat or at a distance. This build is fast, deadly, and extremely fun to play.
Weapons
- Moonveil Katana
- Carian Regal Scepter
The core of his build is the wonderfully powerful Moonveil Katana, which deals incredible damage and has one of the best Weapon Arts in the entire game. Not only that, but it has perfect stat scalings, landing on that excellent, B/B split.
These scalings allow you to push its Physical and Magic damage to incredible heights. The only downside to the split is that your Weapon Art won’t be as powerful as a flat 80 Intelligence build.
For your spell casting, use the Carian Regal Scepter which is one of the best staves in the game, and the reason your Intelligence is slightly higher than your Dexterity.
Alternatively, you could run Lusat’s Staff for slightly more damage, in exchange for a 50 percent increase in the cost of your spells.
Main Spells
- Glintstone Pebble
- Rock Throw
- Comet Azur
- Loretta’s Great Bow
- Terra Magica
Glintstone Pebble is your go-to basic enemy killer. It has great damage, a low cost, and can be endlessly spammed.
You could swap this for something like Glintstone Icecrag, or Glintstone Cometshard if you wanted a bit more damage.
Rock Throw is your first utility spell and is one that will carry you through most large-enemy encounters.
It deals great physical damage (not magic), it staggers just about everything, and when targeting large enemies and bosses, it will quickly open them up for a Critical Hit. Cheap and effective.
Loretta’s Greatbow is another powerful utility spell. You won’t be using this in combat at all simply because it takes too long to cast. It’s also very inefficient in terms of FP consumption.
All of that being said, it’s the longest-ranged spell in all of Elden Ring, making it ideal for sniping enemies you don’t want to fight.
Comet Azur is your cheese spell capable of killing many bosses in Elden Ring simply by casting from a distance and watching their health melt.
It can stagger, it deals ludicrous damage, and with the right Flask of Wondrous Physick combination, it can be cast for free for a short time.
The final spell to consider would be Terra Magica, which is truly outstanding.
It will increase all of your Magic damage (including weapons that deal Magic damage) by 35 percent providing you are standing on the glyph it conjures. You can start just about any fight by casting this and you’ll be golden.
Talismans
Talisman | Effect |
|---|---|
Graven Mass Talisman | Greatly raises the potency of sorceries by eight percent |
Magic Scorpion Charm | Increases Magic Damage by 12 percent, but increases Physical Damage taken by ten percent. |
Erdtree’s Favor | Raises HP, Stamina, and Equip Load by a maximum of four, ten, and eight percent, respectively (using Erdtree's Favor +2). |
Dragoncrest Greatshield | Enormously reduced Physical Damage taken by 20 percent (five percent in PvP). |
Pearldrake | Reduces Elemental Damage taken by a maximum of nine percent (using Pearldrake Talisman +2). |
Your stats will take advantage of the Moonveil Katana, but that doesn’t mean you can’t push even further equipping some powerful talismans.
Firstly, the Graven Mass Talisman increases all spells' damage, an essential boost if you're leaning into Intelligence.
Following on from that is the Magic Scorpion Charm which increases all Magic damage, including for weapons like Moonveil, making it incredibly versatile.
Erdtree’s Favor bumps up your HP, Stamina, and Equip Load, which makes up for your lower-stat investments.
If you are fine with your base resources, then you could swap this for Radagon’s/Marika’s Soreseal or the Prosthesis-Wearer Heirloom.
The Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman and Pearldrake Talisman massively increase your Damage Reduction, and equipping one and then swapping it out when needed can make this build very hard to kill.
Armor
- Queen’s Crescent Crown (Optional)
- Okina Mask (Optional)
As is always the case, you want to have as much Damage Reduction and Poise as you can, whilst still keeping to a Medium Roll.
If you want to bump up your stats, then the Queen’s Crescent Crown or Okina Mask is the way to go.
Flask Of Wondrous Physick
- Cerulean Hidden
- Magic-Shrouding
- Dexterity-Knot
The three main Tears for this build are the Cerulean Hidden Tear, Magic-Shrouding Tear, and Dexterity-Knot Tear.
Swap out the Cerulean Hidden Tear for basic exploration and slot it in when you are fighting bosses that require Comet Azur.
Magic-Shrouding and Dexterity-Knot are here to boost the build’s damage.
Dexterity Knot brings your Dexterity to 60 for three minutes, which is the soft cap.
Magic-Shrouding increases all of your magic damage (including weapons) for three minutes.
When combined with your Talismans and the Terra Magica sorcery, your damage will skyrocket.
Alternative Dexterity/Intelligence Build Ideas
The build outlined above is just one build for Intelligence/Dexterity, but there are alternatives you can use to suit your tastes.
- Any weapon, as long as it has good scaling with Intelligence and, to a lesser extent, Dexterity, will work really well for you. Along with the weapons listed in the Leveling Plan above, consider the following weapons:
- The Rotten Crystal Sword has bad scaling with Dexterity but good scaling with Intelligence and inflicts Scarlet Rot.
- The Noble's Straight Sword is a rare drop that excels when infused with sorcery via a Whetstone.
- Loretta's War Sickle requires more investment in Strength but is very fun to use.
- The Wing of Astel is a curved greatsword, providing a satisfying, chunky moveset.
- This build assumes that your playstyle is an even mix of spellcasting and melee combat. A spellcaster should do fine with this build's leveling plan, but a more melee-focused Tarnished should pump Dexterity first and foremost, making Intelligence the secondary offensive stat.