On This Page Show
As soon as Elden Ring was announced, fans were greatly anticipating the game’s release. Even though not every piece of information was revealed at the time, it was a no-brainer that it would feature different classes and stats.
Fans of Dexterity, Strength, Vigor, Endurance, and Faith are always ready to find their tank weapons and armor in any Souls game. But what got some people excited were the possibilities of being a Mage in Elden Ring since sorcery and pyromancy have always been a staple of the series.
As soon as Elden Ring was in the hands of the players, they began to experiment with the new types of Incantations and spells that the game introduces. And sure as day, there are many types of Mage builds that players can create in Elden Ring.
Naturally, it takes a lot of time to try out different Mage builds to see which ones are the best. So, we’ve created a ranking of the best Mage builds in Elden Ring that you can create right now and feel like you’re Gandalf on steroids!
Let’s get started.
NEW: Frenzied Burst Elden Ring Location
Elden Ring Best Mage Builds Ranking
Before we get started, it’s worth noting that spells and magic in Elden Ring benefit greatly from how strong your attributes are. So, it’s always a good idea to level them up as much as you can.
That is until you hit the hard cap or decide to conclude your current run.
1. The Freezing Battlemage
After going through countless Mage builds in Elden Ring, Fextralife’s Freezing Battlemage build is arguably my favorite. It has everything that you’d want from a mage build: it looks stylishly cool, the damage potential is insanely high, and the spells used in this alternate between projectiles and melee slashes.
And let’s not forget the fact that this build includes frost damage build-up too, which is wonderful for bosses. The reason why it’s only wonderful for bosses is that it’s far too powerful to not instantly kill lower-powered enemies!
All in all, it’s an amazing mage build that turns you into nothing short of a powerhouse.
- Recommended Class: Astrologer, Prisoner, Warrior
- Core Stats: Intelligence (60), Mind (40), Vigor (40)
- Recommended Talisman: Magic Scorpion Charm, Ritual Sword Talisman, Graven-School Talisman, Graven-Mass Talisman
Mandatory Gear
- Left/Right Hand: Lusat’s Glintstone Staff (Primary), Carian Glintstone Staff (Optional), Jellyfish Shield (Recommended)
- Armor: Snow Witch Hat (Mandatory, everything else up to the player)
- Spells: Adula’s Moonblade, Carian Piercer, Glintstone Icecrag, Freezing Mist, Carian Slicer.
Additional notes: Many things in this build buff your overall damage and you can customize that a bit based on your preferences if you know what you’re doing. For example, some spells might have lower damage if you’re using a certain item, and some might have higher damage due to that same item.
So, it’s all about what you want to do. The Jellyfish Shield provides a buff too for certain spells, so do keep it in consideration.
And lastly, while the playstyle is flexible, the general idea here is to alternate between melee attacks with spells like Carian Piercer and then ranged projectiles with everything else.
2. The Flame Apostle
The Flame Apostle build in Elden Ring is very powerful and is very reliant on spells, which makes you feel like a dark wizard.
The focus is on using both the Black Flame Blade and Bloodflame Blade spells for different situations, which can be both fun and intense when you face powerful enemies.
And when you’re out of FP, it’s time to use a weapon that can inflict the Bleed effect, such as the Uchigatana.
- Recommended Class: Astrologer, Prophet, Confessor, Vagabond
- Core Stats: Mind (30), Vigor (30), Faith (30), Dexterity (25).
Mandatory Gear
- Left/Right Hand: Uchigatana, Rivers of Blood (or anything else with good Bleed build-up)
- Armor: Up to you but preferably of a balance between speed and defense (since you need to be on the move when spellcasting)
- Recommended Weapon Skills: Bloody Slash, Unsheathe
- Spells: Bloodflame Blade, Black Flame Blade, Catch Flame, Black Flame.
Additional notes: Although all of these spells can be used at all times based on your preference, there is a technical reason for alternating between them as well. Some enemies in Elden Ring are immune to the Bleed effect, so using the Black Flame Blade on them will be a much better idea.
And in general, using charged-up Black Flame is a pretty good idea to catch your enemies off-guard before the main fight begins. It’s a very damaging build if used correctly, so you won’t have to worry about anything even against very difficult bosses.
3. Moonveil Build
Moonveil is an amazing Katana that is known for its amazing damage, stylish appearance, and the fact that it scales very well with Intelligence. This build makes use of the Moonveil and pairs it with just the right number of spells which makes it a great combo for a Mage playthrough.
You’ll be using the Transient Moonlight skill with your sword often and you need to level up your Intelligence stats to make the hit worth it.
Meanwhile, you have Loretta’s Greatbow by your side for attacking long-ranged enemies. And then, you can use the other spells that we recommend and even experiment with some of your own.
- Recommended Class: Prisoner, Samurai
- Core Stats: Intelligence (30), Strength (30), Vigor (30), Dexterity (20)
- Recommended Talisman: Radagon Icon, Carian Filigreed Crest, Assassin’s Cerulean Dagger
- Recommended Seal: Transient Moonlight.
Mandatory Gear
- Left/Right Hand: Moonveil
- Armor: Up to the player
- Spells: Carian Greatsword, Glintstone Pebble, Loretta’s Greatbow.
4. Primeval Sorceries Build
The Primeval Sorceries are a group of specific sorceries in Elden Ring and they often get overlooked when it comes to generic Mage builds.
However, once you invest some time into experimentation, it turns out that a build focused on them can be better than you’d expect.
This build is all about magic, so you’ll be alternating between attacking enemies with a lot of spellcasting. And when you throw in Comet Azur to the mix, you’ll be mowing down even some of the most intimidating bosses of the game with the beaming light of power.
- Recommended Class: Astrologer, Prisoner
- Core Stats: Intelligence (60), Mind (50), Vigor (30), Dexterity (20)
- Recommended Talisman: Primal Glintstone Blade, Radagon Icon, Graven Mass Talisman, Magic Scorpion Charm.
Mandatory Gear
- Left/Right Hand: Up to the player, preferably something that scales well with Intelligence
- Armor: Azur’s Glintstone Crown
- Spells: Comet Azur, Stars of Ruin.
Additional notes: This is possibly the hardest build to create and level up on this list – but the atomic damage that it can deal is worth the effort. Once you have everything, simply fight any enemies that you want and use your sorcery from a distance to wipe them from existence.
A very important tip for players is to consider using Spirit Ashes with this build.
If you manage to distract powerful bosses like Malenia with the Legendary Spirits, it gives you a clear window to use something like Comet Azur on them to deal insanely high amounts of damage with ease.
And you mostly won’t need to use a sword with this build, so anything that does not require too much Dexterity would be great.
5. The One Hit Wonder
When it comes to Mage builds, it would be criminal not to use this one. For players who want to destroy most enemies with a single moment of spellcasting, this Intelligence-based build is a great choice. Before you know it, you’ll be a very powerful sorcerer that’s a walking powerhouse.
The difference between number four and this build is that this one’s a bit less calculated and far more flexible. And of course, it’s more of an all-rounder mage build than something specifically centered around Primeval sorceries.
So, if you want to put in less effort but still get similar wizarding goodness, this is the build for you.
- Recommended Class: Astrologer, Wretch, Prisoner
- Core Stats: Intelligence (52), Mind (30), Strength (30), Vigor (30)
- Recommended Talisman: Graven-School Talisman, Primal Glintstone Blade, Cerulean Amber Medallion.
Mandatory Gear
- Left/Right Hand: Lusat’s Glintstone Staff
- Armor: Raya Lucarian Set, Snow Witch Set, Lusat’s Glintstone Crown
- Spells: Comet Azur, Unseen Form (for sneak attacks).
That’s it for our ranking of the best Mage builds in Elden Ring! We hope that you found it useful and are already on your way to working towards becoming the sorcerer of your dreams.
As always, keep in mind that this list is our opinion and it is based on our experiences, as well as what the community generally seems to favor. If a certain build works better for you and isn’t listed here, we’d love to hear about it and respect your opinion!
With that being said, best of luck to you and your time up ahead in the harsh land of Elden Ring. And while you’re still here, don’t forget to check out some of our other helpful and detailed Elden Ring guides too.
