The Astrologer is one of 10 starting classes in Elden Ring, and it’s ideal for a Mage build. If your goal is to bring an Astrologer to the endgame, you’ve made a great choice. We’ll go over the major milestones of your build.
Best stats for an Astrologer build in Elden Ring
Work toward the following stats on your journey to level 120, starting as an Astrologer, the class with the highest Intelligence class in Elden Ring.
- Vigor: 40
- Mind: 34
- Endurance: 9
- Strength: 12
- Dexterity: 18
- Intelligence: 70
- Faith: 7
- Arcane: 9
When leveling an Astrologer, it’s important to reach an Intelligence threshold of around 30 to 40. This lets you cast most spells in the early game so you can deal significant damage to most foes. Aim to boost your Vigor to 40 and Mind to 20 to 25 by the endgame. This lets you survive hits and continuously cast magic without running out of FP.
We chose to raise our physical stats a little bit. You need some investment in Strength and Dexterity to wield Intelligence-based weapons like the Dark Moon Greatsword and Moonveil while two-handing. Dexterity also improves casting speed, so you can spam spells faster.
Stop at 70 Intelligence because this lets you cast the highest-Intelligence Sorcery in Elden Ring: Rennala’s Full Moon. This spell has an absurd cost and probably isn’t worth it in the long run, but 70 Intelligence means you’ll get excellent scaling out of your staff, so you might as well invest. You can get as high as 80 and still get some value, if you want.
Best weapons and gear for an Astrologer build in Elden Ring
You encounter many different staves, weapons, and shields for an Astrologer over the course of an Elden Ring run. The best items for an Astrologer are the Carian Regal Scepter, Lusat’s Glintstone Staff, Great Turtle Shell, and the Dark Moon Greatsword.
Astrologers should invest in the best-scaling staves in the game. Lusat’s Glintstone Staff is a must-find item, as it gives you incredible damage but makes spells cost more FP. Thankfully, there are some talismans that can offset the cost, and the Cerulean Hidden Tear can negate costs entirely, making this staff a boss-melter.
The Carian Regal Scepter has the best raw Intelligence scaling with no downside. It’s best for when you are traversing the world, since most enemies don’t the extra firepower to take down. Upgrade both this scepter and Lusat’s, since they need different Smithing Stones.
The Great Turtle Shell lets you get some stamina back, which works well for a weapon build. The Moonlight Greatsword is just an example of one of the many fantastic Intelligence weapons in the game, and our personal favorite. Moonveil is another example of an excellent melee weapon for casters. Alternatively, you can hold weapons like the Sacrificial Axe or Sword of Milos in your off-hand for FP regeneration.
Best armor for an Astrologer build in Elden Ring
Astrologers aren’t going to wear the most powerful armor in Elden Ring, as better armor pieces generally require a higher Endurance investment. Thankfully, you can boost your Intelligence or spellcasting with a variety of armor that improve your magic damage, Intelligence, and more. We recommend using Rennala’s Queen’s Crescent Crown and the Spellblade Armor set for most Astrologers.
Intelligence has the widest array of stat-boosting helms in the game. The Twinsage Glintstone Crown, for example, provides a massive plus-six to Intelligence but decreases your HP and stamina. Since this is a dedicated caster build, you don’t need to take the hit to your other stats. Instead, use the Queen’s Crescent Crown, since it gives you plus-three to Intelligence without a downside.
The rest of your armor is really up to you. With an Endurance of nine, you can wear a surprising range of items, though mostly on lighter side. The Spellblade Set, for instance, won’t keep you alive against physical damage, but each piece boosts the magic damage of your Ashes of War and weapon skills, which is great if you use them often.
Best spells for an Astrologer build in Elden Ring
Astrologers benefit significantly from Glintstone and Primeval Sorceries as their primary modes of attack. While you can use nearly any sorcery type—outside of Death Sorceries—these two categories give you a wide array of fast or damaging options.
Unfortunately, like many Dark Souls games, the most basic spell remains one of the best. Glintstone Pebble is an effective enemy muncher, dealing a lot of damage for a cheap cost. Upgrading to spells like Glintstone Cometshard, Rock Blaster, or Cannon of Haima is a good idea if enemies need to die quickly.
And don’t forget to get Terra Magica at the top of the Academy for a huge boost in damage for boss fights. Using Terra Magica, Comet Azur, and a Wondrous Physick with a Cerulean Hidden Tear is a great option for chewing through boss health bars. Just make sure they’re distracted, or you might find yourself eating a ton of damage.
Look for other spells, like Rock Sling and Carian Phalanx, to try for your build. There are options for most playstyles in Elden Ring if basic spells aren’t flashy enough for you.
Best talismans for an Astrologer build in Elden Ring
Your talismans focus on FP generation, magic damage, and defense. Here are a handful of late-game talismans that can help you sling spells easily:
- Graven-Mass Talisman: An upgrade over the Graven-School Talisman that you find behind a false wall in Raya Lucaria, the Grave-Mass Talisman provides an eight percent bonus to all Sorcery damage. You can find this item in the Consecrated Snowfield.
- Primal Glintstone Blade: This talisman reduces HP and FP costs alike. You won’t get this until you reach the Mountaintops of the Giants.
- Magic Scorpion Charm: This talisman improves the damage of all your magic by 12 percent, at the cost of physical resistance. You’ll need to complete Preceptor Seluvis’s quests—a main part of Ranni’s questline—to unlock this item.
- Erdtree’s Favor +2: Any defensive talisman works here, but the Erdtree’s Favor gives you a bunch of health. Perfect for tanking another hit or two.
