Highlights
- Key Takeaways:
- The right build is crucial for success in Elden Ring, as it prioritizes specific stats and weapons.
- Weapons with intelligence scaling are important for sorcerer builds, as they enhance magical damage output.
- Each weapon has unique skills and abilities that can be utilized strategically in different situations, making weapon selection critical for different playstyles.
Elden Ring is clearly one of the break-out releases of 2022. As for any Dark Souls style game, picking the right build is the key to an easier time. Finding one build to prioritize your stats will quickly set your character ahead of the rest.
When playing as a sorcerer build, not only is the right spell selection a must, but the right Intelligence-scaling weapon is the key to completing the character. In this list, you'll see which weapons are the best for Intelligence scaling.
Updated By Joshua Leeds On January 10, 2023. Elden Ring has a wide array of weapons for players to choose from, and since the game's release, the creators have continued to patch these weapons and change their stats. With these patches, some weapons are more powerful, while others have been knocked down in usefulness.
20 Horn Bow
This weapon is rare simply because it allows intelligence builds to deal ranged magic damage without casting spells. This additional magic damage may be low but can be added on top of the additional effects of whatever arrows you're firing.
This weapon comes with the skill Mighty Shot but can be infused with other ashes of war to something more useful. This bow also has low requirements to use, making it a great option for those who are just dabbling with intelligence on top of their build.
19 Lazuli Glintstone Sword
This sword brings a great mix of both physical and magic damage, with an emphasis on its greater magical damage. This weapon comes with incredibly high base magic damage, only to further scale from your intelligence.
This weapon also comes with the skill Glintstone Pebble and cannot be infused with other ashes of war. While glintstone pebble may be a weaker spell, its addition as a weapon skill allows you to have it as a backup spell without it taking a memory slot.
18 Onyx Lord's Greatsword
Being a greatsword, this massive weapon deals a large amount of mostly physical damage with a great amount of additional magic damage. This weapon will need a healthy mix of both strength and intelligence, limiting its users with many builds.
This weapon comes with the unique skill Onyx Lord's Repulsion, which causes a small explosion of gravity magic, pushing nearby enemies backward. This spell is great when being overwhelmed and can easily make an opening for you to reposition yourself or escape.
17 Death Ritual Spear
The Death Ritual Spear does a decent amount of magical damage on top of its usual pierce damage. While its Intelligence scaling doesn't naturally increase, it scales great from Dexterity, and the added magical boost will help branch out your damage types to affect more enemies.
This weapon comes with the unique skill: Spearcall Ritual, which cannot be switched out with other Ashes of War. This skill is incredible, having a wide area of effect, firing spears from the sky, and scaling off your Intelligence. This skill costs 20 FP to cast and is what makes this weapon so efficient for Intelligence builds.
16 Fallingstar Beast Jaw
This weapon starts off with only a tiny scaling potential from your Intelligence. This weapon predominately benefits from Strength and Dexterity, but its high base damage makes the lower scaling still reach a very acceptable damage output on most enemies.
Where this weapon truly excels is its unique skill: Gravity Bolt. This weapon also cannot be infused with an Ash of War. While this ability scales the same as the regular weapon, only some damage is from your Intelligence. Despite that, this ability can be cast in quick succession, allowing for very quick and high bursts of damage.
15 Death's Poker
Death's Poker may not seem like a stand-out weapon from its base damage alone, but it really begins to stand out when you factor in its added frostbite build-up. This weapon has a very good frostbite buildup, adding more damage and the frostbite status effect on enemies hit in quick succession.
This weapon also comes with the unique skill: Ghostflame Ignition, which scales purely off of your Intelligence. This weapon cannot be infused with an additional Ash of War. After preparing the Ghostflame, you can choose between one of two attacks, both dealing high amounts of magical damage with frostbite and each having their own area of effect depending on your situation.
14 Wing Of Astel
The Wing Of Astel can quickly be upgraded to increase its Intelligence scaling and see its magical damage outclass its physical damage. Its heavy attack casts a small ranged magical attack that does not cost any FP. This attack is excellent for giving sorcerer builds an infinite cast spell without worrying about FP.
This weapon has a unique skill, Nebula, shared only with the Bastard's Stars. This skill unleashes an arc of stars in front of the caster, which will quickly explode after the caster has completed creating the arc. This skill deals magic damage and will further scale off of your Intelligence.
13 Rotten Crystal Sword
Crystal weapons in Elden Ring are relatively basic weapons that scale off of your intelligence instead of the usual strength or dexterity. While these weapons are usually basic, they tend to fall off later in the game, but the Rotten Crystal Sword does a bit more than usual to help it stay strong over time.
On top of your intelligence scaling and magic damage, this sword naturally deals Scarlet Rot build-up, giving it two different damage affinities and a status build-up. This helps widely diversify your damage and significantly damages those without the proper resistances.
12 Carian Knight's Sword
The Carian Knight's Sword is a perfect early game and easy-to-use sword for any player. It can be the perfect stepping stone for someone who is still figuring out where to take their build in the late game. With only 10 Strengths and Dexterity required, it can be picked up and used by any sorcerer build.
Its unique heavy attack allows players to briefly block attacks as long as they have the stamina to stay in the stance. While many sorcerer builds have weak armor and low health, an extra block coming from their weapon helps add another defense option.
11 Ruins Greatsword
While this is a massive greatsword that deals incredible strength damage, its added magical properties can't be ignored. Many pure strength builds suffer from the lack of damage properties, and the lower intelligence requirements for this weapon help it to be incorporated into most heavy strength builds.
This weapon's unique heavy attacks do an AOE gravity damage attack. This heavy ability does not require an FP to cast, instead using stamina. Giving a magic attack that costs stamina makes this weapon perfect for builds looking to add magic damage to a magicless build.
10 Crystal Knife
While this knife would be a lower choice for a dexterity build, it makes up for its lack of critical chance with its magic damage. After being fully upgraded this knife gets the "B" scaling with intelligence, at 250 base magic damage. With minimal requirements to wield, it is an easy addition as either a small primary or solid backup weapon.
It's Ash of War, Quickstep, further helps squishier sorcerer builds. This ash gives you the ability to quickly jump around immediate danger and reposition to give you a quick counterattack or escape option.
9 Glintstone Kris
Daggers are often used by quick assassin-type characters, trying to take down their enemy with as few attacks as possible. Without a dexterity build, this is difficult, but this dagger helps make up for that lack of instant damage with relatively good magic scaling, and it's Ash of War.
The Glintstone Dart Ash only costs 10FP to cast. Without having to switch to a Staff, this dagger becomes the catalyst and fires off a Glintstone dart at your selected enemy. After the initial spell is cast, this dagger has a follow-up magic lunge helping you get closer to your enemy.
8 Scepter Of The All Knowing
This scepter is the personal weapon of Sir Gideon, dropped after defeating him a bit later in the game. Despite its intelligence scaling and magic damage, this weapon still does a very large amount of physical damage.
This weapon also comes with the unique skill Knowledge Above All, which lowers magic and holy damage negation. This skill will also affect the caster but guarantees a boost in your own damage from the additional magic damage from this weapon.
7 Starscourage Greatsword
The weapon wielded by Radahn himself and gained by trading his remembrance at the Roundtable Hold. This weapon doesn't have a usual two-handed ability, instead allowing you to dual-wield the weapon. Despite now wielding two weapons, the bonus strength benefits are still applied when fighting in this option.
This Ash of War, Starcaller Cry, is perfect for AOE and controlling a battlefield. This ability thrusts a sword into the ground, using gravity magic to pull in enemies around the player. If you further hold the ability, the second sword causes an explosion damaging the recently pulled enemies.
6 Crystal Sword
This straight sword is also able to be found early after Godrick. This is perfect for early builds that know where they want to go. The Crystal Sword scales heavily with physical damage and decently with magic damage as it is upgraded.
It's Ashe of war Spinning Strike, which is perfect for long physical damage combos. This Ash can not be switched off this sword. Spinning Strike is perfect for crowds of enemies, which Elden Ring provides often.
5 Sword Of Night And Flame
This weapon deals physical, fire, and magic damage, scaling off of your Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Faith. With this wider range, this weapon is almost always guaranteed to do decent damage to an enemy. You can also upgrade this weapon to scale greatly off your Faith and Intelligence.
This weapon comes with the unique skill: Night-and-Flame Stance, allowing players to switch between the two depending on their build or situation. The Night stance scales off Intelligence and has the player cast comet azur from the sword. The Flame stance scales off your Faith and makes a sweeping flame attack on enemies in front of the caster — both attacks deal massive damage.
4 Royal Greatsword
While greatswords such as these have slow attacks, their incredible attack power makes every long animation worth it. This sword has a very high base attack damage. Its upgraded scaling bonuses make its total damage even higher late game. This weapon is perfect to round out a build and is a great late-game weapon.
It's Ash of War, Wolf's Assault is great for closing gaps and quick movement. Infused with frost, this weapon causes an explosion wherever the player lands. Greatsword builds are usually plagued by slow movements and animations. This Ash of War helps make a mobile greatswords build, which is a sight to be seen.
3 Meteoric Ore Blade
If you know about Dark Souls, you know Katanas have always been on a different level. This Katana mixes quick attacks with high base damage and further adds magic damage into the mix. This weapon also causes blood loss, which is by far one of the strongest status effects you can apply to an enemy.
This Ash of War, Gravitas, pulls enemies into a well right in front of the player. These damage enemies and set them up perfectly to be hit with follow-up attacks with this katana's painful combos.
2 Moonveil Katana
This Katana has some of the highest damage you can have with a katana's quick attacks. With heavy magic scaling, this weapon's magic damage begins to outclass its physical damage in its later upgrades. Adding on the Blood Loss effect, this Katana makes quick work of any foe.
Its unique Ash of War, Transient Moonlight gives the player the ability to fire blades of magic at a distance toward enemies. Firing either horizontally or vertically, this offers the player options depending on what the situation calls for. The sword and magic arc it releases also act as two different attacks, meaning close enemies will get hit twice with this ability.
1 Dark Moon Greatsword
While this weapon requires you to finish Ranni's quest to obtain it, it is more than worth the work. This weapon boasts heavy and physical base damage, with an added bonus of frost damage. After getting to the later stages of upgrades, the intelligence scaling eventually reaches "B" on top of its other scaling and base damage.
This weapon's unique Ash of War, Moonlight Greatsword, makes this weapon nearly unstoppable. Boosting the magic damage and frost damage, this weapon now has an infinite use spell for a short time. Heavy attacks now launch a blade of magic, as many times as the player can attack before the Ash wears off.