Elden Ring allows players to create their own builds based on a variety of primary stats. With so many builds focusing on physical-magical damage hybrid builds, a pure hybrid caster build is rare. This build focuses on creating a build with a blend of Intelligence and Faith.
Here’s everything you need to know about the best Int/Faith build in Elden Ring.
The best Int/Faith build in Elden Ring
Intelligence and Faith are powerful enough that these stats are generally used as secondary stats in hybrid builds. For this Int/Faith caster hybrid build, you will need a specific Staff and Sacred Seal to make the most of these two stats.
Our recommended choices would be the Golden Order Seal because of its Int/Faith scaling and either the Prince of Death’s Staff or the Gelmir Glintstone Staff. Both of the staves scale off intelligence and Faith as well, so it is a matter of personal choice.
Most of the spells used in this build can only be acquired later in the game. Because of this, starting out as a regular Intelligence or Faith caster is recommended until you get to around level 100. Once you have the requirements, respec your character into this endgame build.
Build parameters | Requirements |
Recommended level | 100 to 150+ |
Primary stats | Intelligence, Faith |
Secondary stats | Vigor, Mind |
Weapons | Golden Order Seal Prince of Death’s Staff/Gelmir Glintstone Staff |
Armor | Snow Witch Set/Raya Lucarian Sorcerer Set |
Talismans | Primal Glintstone Blade Ritual Sword Talisman Graven-Mass Talisman Flock’s Canvas Talisman |
Weapon skills | N/A |
Additional spells | Ancient Death Rancor Explosive Ghostflame Rykard’s Rancor Radagon’s Rings of Light, Triple Rings of Light Elden Stars |
The equipment for the Int/Faith build is simple enough to acquire. The real challenge is finding all of the spells necessary for this game. These spells constitute high-level Sorceries and Incantations with high prerequisite stat requirements, most of which are found towards the endgame. First, you will need to know all the stat requirements for this build.
Stat and Skill breakdown
As mentioned earlier, the two main stats are Intelligence and Faith. Leveling them both up simultaneously to about 40 is the way to go. The secondary stats, Vigor and Mind, need to be leveled up whenever you have extra souls. The final build should have up to 30 Vigor and Mind, with Intelligence and Faith scaling up to 50-60 points each.
This is what your endgame stats should look like. Past level 150, leveling up will be tougher because of the Rune requirements per level. These stats should cap out at around level 175 on your first journey or in New Game Plus when you can farm Runes faster.
- Vigor: 35
- Mind: 40
- Endurance: 30
- Strength: Base level
- Dexterity: Base level
- Intelligence: 50-60
- Faith: 50-60
- Arcane: Base level
The Sorceries for this build also scale off Intelligence and Faith. Ancient Death Rancor summons a horde of vengeful spirits that chase your foes down, dealing damage based on Int/Faith. Explosive Ghostflame blows up when the spell collides with an enemy, dealing damage and building up Frostbite over time. Both of these Sorceries are boosted with the Prince of Death’s Staff.
If you prefer using the Gelmir Glintstone Staff, replace Ancient Death Rancor with Rykard’s Rancor, a Magma Sorcery that is boosted by the staff.
When it comes to Incantations, pick up Radagon’s Rings of Light and Triple Rings of Light. Both of these Incantations are boosted by the Golden Order Seal and deal heavy area damage, making them great farming spells. For your ultimate endgame boost, pick up Elden Stars, a powerful Incantation that can shred enemies as far as the eye can see.
Weapon breakdown
Since this build’s weapons don’t use weapon arts, they exist primarily to channel other spells. While the Prince of Death’s Staff does scale off Intelligence and Faith, it also boosts Death Sorceries by 10 percent. Gelmir’s Glintstone Staff is optional and is also an Int/Faith staff, but boosts Magma Sorceries instead if you choose to go down that route.
The Golden Order Seal is the best sacred seal for this build because of its inherent Int/Faith scaling. Leveling up both the primary stats simultaneously will keep this weapon strong all game. This sacred seal also boosts the power of Golden Order Incantations like Radagon’s Rings of Light and Triple Rings of Light by 10 percent, so keep it on at all times.
Armor breakdown
Finding the right armor for a hybrid build is generally tricky. Since the purpose of armor in Elden Ring is to buff certain stats and defenses, if a certain set doesn’t give you what you need, you should swap to individual pieces that boost the stats you need. For this build, the Snow Witch Set consisting of the Snow Witch Hat, Snow Witch Robe, and the Snow Witch Skirt is ideal.
This armor sets scales off Intelligence and Faith with a bonus to Arcane damage negation, offering great defenses for a caster. The damage boost to Cold Sorceries is irrelevant for this build, however, you can include Zamor Ice Storm for coverage as long as you have Memory slots.
The second option would be to equip the Raya Lucarian Sorcerer Set instead for its Int/Faith scaling. The scaling is not as good as the Snow Witch Set, but this set offers increased Intelligence damage negation. Deciding which one to equip comes down to personal preference.
Talisman breakdown
Talismans round up every build and by the time you reach the endgame, you will have four slots to equip the best ones for this build.
The Primal Glintstone Blade is essential for this build because you will be spamming a lot of spells. This Talisman reduces the FP cost of all your spells but also reduces your maximum HP pool. If you plan on using this Talisman, make sure you evade as much damage as possible.
The Ritual Sword Talisman gives you more incentive to maintain high HP and evade damage. Whenever your HP pool is at maximum, your attack power is greatly boosted. This boost affects spells as well, so ensure that your resources are always topped up.
The Graven-Mass Talisman is a powerful endgame addition for any Sorcery-based build. This Talisman greatly boosts the potency of all Sorceries, making sure half of the spells in your arsenal deal even more damage than they normally would.
The Flock’s Canvas Talisman is the Faith equivalent of the Graven-Mass Talisman. This one greatly increases the potency of all Incantations, boosting their endgame power. Getting both of these Talismans will be tricky but well worth it in the long run.
How does an Int/Faith build work in Elden Ring?
The Int/Faith hybrid build in Elden Ring is a pure glass cannon caster build that focuses on Sorceries and Incantations in equal measure. To get the most out of both of these spells, you will need to focus on two primary stats: Intelligence and Faith. Since this build has no physical damage for coverage, we throw in a few spells that add to your physical damage output.
Casters tend to be quite squishy by default. This fact is further exacerbated by caster armor sets being quite light on resistances as well. However, lighter armor means lighter equip load, allowing you to dodge roll faster and consume less stamina with your actions. Just ensure that you keep your distance from danger and you should be fine.
For this Int/Faith build, we pick out a couple of appropriate weapons along with a bunch of the best Sorceries and Incantations that Elden Ring has to offer.