The Best Weapons For An Intelligence Build

Magic is a powerful option in Elden Ring and is as good as it has ever been in a Souls game. Intelligence fuels one of Elden Ring’s primary forms of magic: sorcery. It also builds a lot more than just spell casting, and it directly scales with the magic damage to many weapons throughout the game. Players building Intelligence have near limitless options open to them when it comes to selecting a primary weapon.

There are all sorts of weapons that scale well with Intelligence. There are plenty of quick-hitting swords and daggers open to Intelligence builds and there are even a few powerful colossal weapons that scale well with Intelligence. While an Intelligence build will typically want a Glintstone Staff of some sort, their main weapon all comes down to personal choice, and there are a few that stand above the rest for the best Intelligence builds.

Updated September 26, 2024, 2024 by Erik Petrovich: When looking for the best intelligence weapons Elden Ring players don’t have a terribly high number of options. There are few great weapons that scale with Intelligence, and fewer Staffs that are actually worth using over others. In the DLC, we got two new powerful weapons for an Intelligence build: the Star-Lined Sword, and the Staff Of The Great Beyond. The Star-Lined Sword is an amazing melee backup for a ranged spellcaster, while the Staff of the Great Beyond allows Intelligence-users to cast Incantations, too, without taking up another weapon slot. This guide has been updated with information on these two new best Int weapons Elden Ring offers in the DLC.

12 Star-Lined Sword

An Elegant Weapon, From A More Civilized Age

The Star-Lined Sword is one of the best Intelligence build weaponsElden Ring players can get for two reasons: its Ash of War is surprisingly powerful in close quarters, and it makes you really feel like a Jedi. It’s the same weapon that’s wielded by Demi-Human Swordmaster Onze, who many players believe is a reference to Yoda – especially when he starts his flurry of attacks.

This weapon has decent Intelligence scaling, but its better to use as a backup for your long-range spellcasts if anything gets too close. The Ash of War comes out fast for a lot of hits, and because the weapon procs Bleed buildup, there’s a good chance one or two uses of this skill will kill most enemies.

How To Get The Star-Lined Sword in Elden Ring

The Star-Lined Sword location is actually not from Demi-Human Swordmaster Onze, but rather from a nearby Demi-Human Queen. From the Cerulean Coast West site of grace in the Realm of Shadow, head northwest until you come to an area filled with Demihumans. Defeat Demi-Human Queen Marigga in this area to get the Star-Lined Sword.

11 Staff Of The Great Beyond

Casts Both Incantations And Sorceries

The Staff of the Great Beyond is one of the best Intelligence weapons in the Elden Ring DLC, not necessarily because it boosts your Spells or scales particularly well with Intelligence, but because it unlocks the other half of spells in Elden Ring. With this equipped, you can slot Sorceries and Incantations and cast both without swapping your weapon out.

Though players could always equip a Sacred Seal in their other hand to effectively achieve the same effect, this allows you to have a shield or a regular melee weapon equipped. Plus, you won’t have to worry about swapping to the right weapon slot – and its Incantation and Sorcery scaling values aren’t too bad at max upgrade level.

How To Get The Staff of the Great Beyond in Elden Ring

The Staff of the Great Beyond can be acquired after defeating Metyr, Mother of Fingers, at the end of the Manus Metyr questline (which begins with Count Ymir, Mother of Fingers). After getting her remembrance, bring it to Enia at Roundtable Hold to trade it for the Staff of the Great Beyond.

10 Meteorite Staff

Boosts Gravity Magic, But No Upgrades

The Meteorite Staffis one of the most useful staffs in Elden Ring for a number of reasons. For starters, it only requires a paltry 18 Intelligence to be equipped, giving just about every starting class and build a chance to delve into Sorceries. And even though the staff cannot be upgraded, its Sorcery Scaling is nothing to sneer at, and even outclasses some fully-upgraded staffs.

The Meteorite Staff gives a 30% boost to Gravity-type spells, including the physical-damage-based, staggering, fan-favorite Rock Sling. Its low requirements and relatively high scaling mean it remains a powerful staff through most of the game, but it can be quite a pain to acquire it.

How To Get The Meterorite Staff in Elden Ring

Head south of the Caelem Ruins and into the Swamp of Aeonia to find this staff sitting inside a ruin. You will need to navigate the swamp while riding atop Torrent to avoid the Scarlet Rot buildup. The item should glow purple on the ground, and is tucked neatly into an alcove in these ruins,

9 Horn Bow

A Rare Intelligence-Scaling Bow in Elden Ring

Mages in Souls games often have staffs and spells that offer fantastic ranged options in a fight. Elden Ring offers players a different way of delivering magical punishment with the Horn Bow. The Horn Bow is by far the best bow for intelligence builds that the game has to offer.

Because it isn’t a boss weapon, it can be upgraded 25 times with regular smithing stones, which are often easier to come across than the somber smithing stones used for boss weapons.

How To Get The Horn Bow in Elden Ring

Head to the Hallowhorn Grounds of the Siofra River, the large acropolis-like structure near the Siofra River Bank Site of Grace. Jump down onto a ledge beneath and head underneath the structure to find the Horn Bow on a corpse behind two pillars.

8 Moonveil

Arguably The Best Katana For Mages

Widely considered to be one of the best weapons in the game for both PvE and PvP, Moonveil is a great weapon to pick up early and level for Intelligence builds. It is primarily a Dexterity/Intelligence scaling katana. Moonveil is one of the best Dexterity weapons in Elden Ring, and just so happens to be one of the best Intelligence weapons as well.

Moonveil also has one of Elden Ring‘s best unique weapon skills in Transient Moonlight. This high-damage beam of magical energy is sure to easily slice through even the heartiest foes, and it’s a fantastic option for staggering bosses. It’s not too shabby in PvP either, though Tarnished should be wary, as many players are learning how to easily dodge Moonveil’s special attacks thanks to its overwhelming prevalence in PvP.

How To Get The Moonveil Katana in Elden Ring

Get to the end of the Gael Tunnel, a cave that can be accessed from the bottom of the western Caelid cliffs, and beat the Magma Wyrm to get Moonveil. This tunnel also connects to Limgrave, though the door cannot be opened until you access it from the Caelid entrance.

7 Lusat’s Glintstone Staff

Increases FP Cost & Damage of Spells

There are many staves in Elden Ring, but Lusat’s Glintstone Staff often ranks among the best to most Intelligence builds. It has some of the best sorcery scaling in the game and can transform already powerful magic into boss-slaying material.

Now, not all Intelligence builds necessarily need to cast sorcery, but it is certainly a helpful and powerful addition to an Intelligence build.

How To Get Lusat’s Glintstone Staff in Elden Ring

Lusat’s Glintstone Staff can be located in Selia, Town of Sorcery after defeating the hidden boss. Light all the braziers in Sellia, defeat the Nox Swordstress & Priest, and look in a chest outside the boss arena to find Lusat’s Glintstone Staff.

6 Death Ritual Spear

Unique Weapon Skill & Melee Reach

Players looking to build a melee-focused mage should consider trying the Death Ritual Spear. It is the best intelligence-based spear in Elden Ring and offers high physical and magical damage once upgraded. Spears might not be as fast as other weapons in the game, but they can offer good melee damage from a semi-safe distance against most enemies.

The Death Ritual Spear also comes with a powerful Ash of War called Spearcall Ritual that is unique to the weapon. This ability causes multiple spirit spears to fall from the sky on foes, making it a nice addition to spells that are possibly being used already.

How To Get The Death Ritual Spear in Elden Ring

Defeat the Death Rite Bird open-world boss, which only spawns at night, just southwest of Castle Sol in the Mountaintops of the Giants. If you die while trying to fight this boss, the time may reset to day. Be sure to choose to spawn back at a Site of Grace to make sure the time is correct before making another attempt.

5 Scepter Of The All-Knowing

A Heavy Weapon For Beefy Wizards

When it comes to the best Intelligence weapons, the Scepter of the All-Knowing isn’t the most physically damaging. This is mostly because it is classified as a hammer in-game, and while hammers might be a little slower and weaker physically, they are fantastic for staggering foes and dealing lots of damage via heavy attacks. Blunt damage is also particularly powerful against the game’s many mine-dwelling foes.

This hammer scales well with Dexterity and Intelligence. It can be found in the mid to late game, but players should still have plenty of time to upgrade it. As it is an Intelligence-based weapon, it will deal heavy amounts of magic damage alongside its physical damage. It attacks faster than a colossal weapon but be sure to still keep an eye on the stamina gauge when wielding this mighty weapon.

How To Get The Scepter of the All-Knowing in Elden Ring

The Scepter of the All-Knowing is rewarded to players after defeating Sir Gideon Ofnir in the Ashen Capital. Sie Gideon Ofnir is the third-to-last boss of the game, so it can take a while to get one of these without trading with other players.

4 Rotten Crystal Sword

Scarlet Rot And Intelligence Scaling

The Rotten Crystal Sword is one of the most powerful intelligence weapons in the game. Unfortunately, it is found quite late in the game, so players won’t get as much use out of it as other weapons in the same category. As a result, this weapon is a great option for players looking to start a new game plus run, as weapons and armor from the previous playthrough will carry over to new game plus.

The Rotten Crystal Sword builds scarlet rot on top of its other damage values. The damage over time from the scarlet rot will be great against tanky foes and once completely upgraded, the Rotten Crystal Sword is truly a force to be reckoned with.

How To Get The Rotten Crystal Sword in Elden Ring

Deep in Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree, players will find a group of three Crystalians guarding an item on the ground. From the Elphael Inner Wall Site of Lost Grace, head into the building and turn left to find the group just past a pile of rubble. You don’t need to defeat them – just run in, grab the Rotten Crystal Sword, and run back to the Site of Grace.

3 Azur’s Glintstone Staff

Increases FP and Reduces Cast Speed of Spells

Azur’s Glintstone Staff is one of the best staffs in the game, and is a must-try for Intelligence builds also looking into sorcery. This staff can be found in the Raya Lucaria Academy in the upper section of the Church of Cuckoo, but it is quite difficult to reach. Players will have to go through a series of jumping puzzles and hidden areas to reach it, but Azur’s Glintstone Staff is absolutely worth the time.

What sets this staff apart from the other staves in the game is the fact that it reduces the casting times for all sorceries. This, combined with its fantastic sorcery scaling, makes it one of the best staves for sorcerers in the entire game. It doesn’t achieve the same scaling as Lusat’s Glintstone Staff, but the reduced casting time means that more spells will be coming out and enemies will be under a lot more pressure.

How To Get Azur’s Glintstone Staff in Elden Ring

Azur’s Glintstone Staff is found in the Academy of Raya Lucaria. On the second floor of the Church of the Cuckoo, a hallway leads to an offshoot room, guarded by a Page with explosive crossbow bullets. Get past the Page to find Azur’s Glintstone Staff resting on a pile of crystals, next to a dead Graven School.

2 Fallingstar Beast Jaw

A Great Reward From A Tough Boss

The Fallingstar Beast Jaw does incredibly high physical damage and magic damage at the cost of attack speed, weight, and stamina cost. As with the colossal weapons in the game, it takes a different play style to effectively wield this mighty weapon.

This might be the second time players encounter this tough world boss, but this boss arena is a lot easier to fight in than the first time around. Upon its defeat, the Full-Grown Fallingstar Beast will drop this powerful weapon which can be upgraded and used to the very end of Elden Ring‘s story.

How To Get The Fallingstar Beast Jaw in Elden Ring

The Fallingstar Beast Jaw can be found atop Mt. Gelmir after defeating the Full-Grown Fallingstar Beast open-world boss. The boss can be skipped, if players are fast, but it must be defeated to acquire this best Intellect weapon Elden Ring players can get.

1 Dark Moon Greatsword

FromSoftware’s Classic Greatsword

One of the coolest weapons in From Software’s lineup is the Moonlight Greatsword. In Elden Ring, the Dark Moon Greatsword is the iteration of the Moonlight Greatsword. It has appeared in every Souls title in some way, and is often a powerful option for players to wield. The Dark Moon Greatsword proves that Intelligence builds are truly spoiled with options, as it is a Greatsword that scales well with Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence.

It deals massive damage which makes up for its slower attacks. It also causes frost buildup in foes eventually leading to frostbite. Frostbitten foes suffer more damage from every source, which just means that the Dark Moon Greatsword is going to hurt even more.

How To Get The Dark Moon Greatsword in Elden Ring

The Dark Moon Greatsword is given to the player upon finishing Ranni’s entire questline, under the Cathedral of Manus Celes in the Moonlight Altar. The Moonlight Altar can only be accessed by progressing through the Lake of Rot and defeating the Astel boss at the end of the Grand Cloister.