The Complete Elden Ring Mage Build Guide: Constructing A Mystical Powerhouse - 33rd Square (2024)

Hi there! As a long-time gamer with over a decade specializing in RPG titles, I‘ve come to intimately understand the intricacies and satisfactions of optimizing a powerful magic-wielding character. After multiple journeys across the Lands Between and 100+ hours experimenting specifically with Astrologer mage builds, I‘m excited to share my deep insights on how you can leverage sorceries to eradicate foes and complete Elden Ring with mystical might.

Why Choose An Elden Ring Mage Build?

Before we dive into the specifics, you may wonder – why even play as a magic-focused character in Elden Ring? What are the benefits? Based on my extensive testing, here are the prime advantages:

Huge Damage Potential – Once powered up, sorceries let you utterly obliterate bosses and demolish groups of enemies from long range. The damage exceeds any late game melee build.

Engaging Mechanics – Juggling FP usage, spell combos, timings, ranges and more keeps combat intriguing rather than just simple attacks. You feel like a battle mage!

Unique Playstyle – Magic fundamentally shifts your playstyle toward more preparation, resource management and burst damage rather than direct confrontation.

Build Diversity – Beyond astrologer, you can create distinct magic builds as a prophet, prisoner, even Death sorcerer! Vast customization exists.

Wielding mystical energies to vanquish foes, leveraging complex combat variables and essentially becoming a spell-sword encapsulates why this build delivers fantastically fun gameplay compared to more mundane physical builds. Let‘s get you started!

Choosing The Ideal Origin Class

While alternative magic builds exist across Elden Ring‘s classes, the Astrologer remains the quintessential choice for a mage focused on sorceries. Let‘s examine why:

Highest Starting Intelligence – At 16 Intelligence, no other class allows you to equip more spells this early. Sorceries scale immensely with this attribute.

Intelligence By ClassAstrologer: 16Prophet: 14Prisoner: 14 Confessor: 12Wretch: 10

Glintstone Sorceries – Only the Astrologer and Prisoner begin with glintstone spells. These magic attacks form the backbone of a mage‘s arsenal.

Magic Gear – Wearing the Astrologer garb boosts Intelligence alongside magic protection. The staff empowers all sorceries cast through it.

The Astrologer‘s combination of exceptional Intelligence for increased sorcery damage, actual Glintstone spells to immediately leverage and equipment designed to empower mystical arts makes this undisputedly the best starting class for an Elden Ring mage build.

Leveling Priorities: Mage Character Stat Focus

With your Astrologer created, let‘s examine the crucial stats to focus leveling as you gain runes and prepare to dominate enemies with magic.

Prime Stats For An Elden Ring MageIntelligence - Increases sorcery scaling and magic damage Mind - Expands FP pool to cast more spellsVigor - Boosts health to survive enemy attacks Memory Slots - Equip more spells for greater variety

Intelligence is paramount for a mage, full stop. This governing attribute directly boosts sorcery damage alongside enabling more advanced magic. Push to 80 for end game spells.

However, don‘t neglect Mind for an enlarged FP bar. I recommend 40 Mind minimum so you can chain casts several times over before drinking cerulean flasks.

Vigor also remains critical so you can absorb enemy hits without perishing rapidly. Mages lack robust armor, so have 40-60 to stay alive.

And Memory Slots permit equipping extra spells beyond your starting two. Gain additional slots from divine towers across the Lands Between‘s regions.

Staying mindful of this leveled stat priority early on will properly set you on the path toward mystically obliterating enemies!

Top Spells To Acquire For Devastation

While the Astrologer‘s starter Glintstone sorceries pack a punch, you‘ll seek out new magical arcana to truly maximize destruction potential. These are my top 5 spell choices:

Comet Azur – Primarily for bosses – unleash the full comet beam for immense damage at point blank ranges.

Stars of Ruin – Tracking star barrage that continues pelting mobile or evasive enemies for solid DPS.

Crystal Barrage – Rapid crystal shotgun blasts that quickly shred enemies at closer distances.

Founding Rain of Stars – Call down waves of colliding cosmic boulders to crush groups of opponents.

Ranni‘s Dark Moon – Fires darkmooon projectile that inflicts heavy magic damage & briefly freezes enemies.

This combination covers short, medium and long distance combat with both single target and widespread destruction coverage. You‘ll vaporize enemies and melt bosses!

Best Weapons For Enhanced Magic

Sorceries serve as your main damage source. But when FP depletes in longer battles, having a secondary magic-infused armament fills the gap neatly until refilling flasks.

Carian Knight‘s Sword – Obtained early; scales purely with Intelligence without any stat requirements. Ideal sidearm.

Dark Moon Greatsword – Unleash the weapon skill to fire off a frosty crescent wave that breaks poise and inflicts heavy damage.

Prince of Death Staff – Unique staff strengthens both sorceries & incantations, providing versatility and huge magic attack power when fully upgraded.

Lusat‘s Glintstone Staff – Superb scaling at S rank; best for boosting Comet Azur and other costly end game spells for intense damage.

I always keep a magic sidearm equipped and alternate between the Prince of Death‘s Staff and Lusat‘s Staff depending on current spell loadout needs. This preserves my damage potential when FP depletes in longer conflicts.

Secret Mage Medallion Location

I want to share an obscure but immense magic boosting talisman so you can further empower sorceries: the Magic Scorpion Charm, located in Leyndell, Royal Capital.

This charm enhances all magic damage dealt by a considerable 12% with no drawbacks, stacking with other buffs. Here is the exact location:

Starting from West Capital Rampart Site of Grace:

  1. Exit onto the ramparts and clear the knights
  2. Climb down the scaffolding until reaching a body with an item
  3. Drop down carefully to the structure below and enter the hallway
  4. Defeat the magic wielding knight then loot the chest to obtain the talisman!

With this equipped alongside your other magical boosting gear, all spells will melt enemies even quicker!

Level Up Staves For Maximum Damage

An often overlooked way to push magic damage higher is upgrading your sorcerer staves! Seek out ghost gloveworts flowers and bring the following staffs to Roundtable Hold:

Carian Regal Scepter – Found by defeating Renalla; provides the absolute highest magic attack power when fully strengthened to +10.

Lusat‘s Glintstone Staff – Extremely costly to cast with but boosts staff scaling intensely. Ideal for big one-shot spells.

Prince of Death Staff – Already mentioned; initially lower magic attack but unique scaling provides superb long term damage.

Fully upgrading your sorcery catalysts can tack on an additional +100 magic attack or more alongside further Intelligence scaling, dramatically improving your ability to obliterate enemies with charged casts. Don‘t miss this!

Concocting Mighty Sorcery Potions

Beyond weapons and spells, we can also leverage consumables to temporarily gain the upper hand against deadly foes. Specifically crafting physic flasks with these magic amplifying effects:

Magic-Shrouding Cracked Tear – Boosts magic attacks by 15% for a full 3 minutes! High duration for mass sorcery destruction.

Cerulean Hidden Tear – Restores half your total FP immediately. Perfect for lengthy spell barrages!

Mixing this tear combo applies the long magic damage buff alongside rapidly refreshing your FP to unleash more spellcasts. Time this perfectly against legendary foes right as the fight starts for a tremendous upper hand!

Wrapping Up: Final Mage Tips

If you‘ve followed along this guide building your astrologer, by now you should wield devastating mystical powers! Just a few final pointers:

  • With high Intelligence, also spend time discovering new sorceries from scrolls that suit your playstyle
  • Aside from magic boosting talismans, equip defensive ones like Dragoncrest Greatshield for damage reduction
  • Use ranged spirits like Latenna the Albinauric to distract bosses as you prep huge charged Comet Azurs!
  • Always exploit enemy & boss weaknesses by switching up damage types when needed
  • Most importantly – embrace the awesome feeling of mystical domination through mastering sorcery!

This concludes my deep dive Elden Ring mage build guide. I hope all the tips help you embark on your arcane adventure. May the full moon shine upon your journey across the Realm Between, illuminating each path and battle ahead!

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The Complete Elden Ring Mage Build Guide: Constructing A Mystical Powerhouse - 33rd Square (2024)

FAQs

What's the best mage build in Elden Ring? ›

Elden Ring Best Magic Builds To Use
TierBuildItems
ASlice and Dice Build Class Prisoner Astrologer Stats Primary: Strength Primary: Intelligence Secondary: Vigor Secondary: MindItems Greenburst Crystal Tear
BFrostbite Mage Build Class Prisoner Astrologer Stats Primary: Intelligence Primary: Mind Secondary: Vigor
15 more rows
Jun 19, 2024

What is the strongest magic class in Elden Ring? ›

Astrologer. The Elden Ring Astrologer class is one of the few options built for magic from the start, with an impressive 15 Mind and 16 Intelligence stats. Astrologers will be able to cast many powerful Sorcery spells for single and multiple targets, making it quite a destructive ranged magic class.

How do you get the best mage spell Elden Ring? ›

To get Terra Magica, you'll need to enter and complete the Academy Crystal Cave dungeon, which is found just west of the Raya Lucaria Academy. At the end of the cave there will be an elevator that takes you to a tower in the Raya Lucaria Academy, and you'll find the Terra Magica spell at the top of that tower.

What is the most important stat in mage Elden Ring? ›

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.

What is the strongest character class in Elden Ring? ›

Strongest Elden Ring class

The strongest class in Elden Ring is the Hero Class with a starting strength stat of 16. As such, this is a great option for any melee-focused players who want to start making a strength build.

What are the most overpowered spells in Elden Ring? ›

Sorceries in Elden Ring can deal massive damage with fast-cast spells, while incantations offer utilities like healing and debuffs. Overpowered sorceries like Night Comet, Ancient Death Rancor, and Cannon of Haima provide players with powerful tools to defeat enemies.

Which is better, incantations or sorceries? ›

You'll have to gauge which type of magic to use depending on your character build and the foes you're facing off against. Those who prefer more aggressive and offensive attacks might prefer to use sorceries while those who prefer more support-based spells might be drawn more to incantations.

What great rune is best for mage Elden Ring? ›

1 Godrick's Great Rune

Godrick's is the first of Elden Ring's Great Runes you acquire and provides a rock-solid buff that cannot be ignored. Dropped as a reward for defeating Godrick the Grafted at Stormveil Castle, Godrick's Great Rune gives all your attributes +5 bonuses.

Who is the best magic teacher in Elden Ring? ›

Sorceress Sellen is one of the first NPCs you meet who will be able to teach you magic in Elden Ring, but she also has a lengthy questline spanning most of the game as well.

What to level for mage build? ›

We recommend Arcane for most of your Mage Leveling needs. This is because Arcane does the highest damage while levelling, and has decent kiting capability. Both Frost and Fire are decent leveling specs as well. Especially Frost has an immense amount of kiting potential, since every single spell slows the enemies.

How to make magic stronger in Elden Ring? ›

You should get your Intelligence up to whatever level is needed to cast a spell you want, and then put points into Vigor or other stats to increase your survivability. Increasing intelligence raises the “Sorcery Scaling” attribute listed on staffs as that attribute is affected by the staff's Intelligence scaling.

Is faith better than intelligence in Elden Ring? ›

Yes. Definitely not untrue. INT is more about offense and lacks variety in anything other than doing the most damage in the least amount of time. FTH has a good mix of defensive/support and offensive magic and requires a bit more thought into how your'e going to approach a battle.

Elden Ring: Best Mage Build - Nerd LodgeNerd Lodgehttps://nerdlodge.com ›

The best Mage Buids are within your grasp. However, you need the right recipe to rule the Lands Between. This Elden Ring Mage Build article will guide you in ev...
Magic is one of the best damage sources in Elden Ring. As of recent patches, sorcery was buffed even further overall, making any magic builds quite powerful all...
The Elden Ring Mage Build guide will talk about each of the items, spells, and equipment that you need solid reasons to opt for this build.

What is the best mage rune in Elden Ring? ›

1 Godrick's Great Rune

Godrick's is the first of Elden Ring's Great Runes you acquire and provides a rock-solid buff that cannot be ignored. Dropped as a reward for defeating Godrick the Grafted at Stormveil Castle, Godrick's Great Rune gives all your attributes +5 bonuses.

What are the overpowered Sorceries in Elden Ring? ›

Sorceries in Elden Ring can deal massive damage with fast-cast spells, while incantations offer utilities like healing and debuffs. Overpowered sorceries like Night Comet, Ancient Death Rancor, and Cannon of Haima provide players with powerful tools to defeat enemies.

What is the best seal for mage build Elden Ring? ›

For pure Faith casters, the Erdtree Seal is easily the best seal in Elden Ring, offering excellent Faith scaling and a variety of top-tier healing incantations that benefit from its instant casting.

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