A Dexterity and Intelligence build in Elden Ring allows you to wield some of the best melee weapons in the game while also making use of some power spells and incantations. This build is fairly balanced in how it allows you to dabble into both ranged and melee combat, allowing you to be extremely versatile when facing multitudes of foes.
In this guide, we’ll explore two very strong builds for Dexterity and Intelligence in Elden Ring. We’ll go over the base stats, level progression, the best weapons, armors, spells, Talismans and much more.
Best Starting Equipment and Incantations for Dex/Int Build
| Equipment | How to get it |
|---|---|
| White Reed Armor Set | Found in the Spiritcaller’s Cave on the Mountaintops of the Giants |
| Uchigatana | Get it from the Deattouched Catacombs in northern Limgrave |
| Inverted Hawk Heater Shield | Found at the Southwest end of Siofra River |
| Greyoll’s Roar | Found inside the Cathedral of Dragon Communion |
| Beast Claw | Obtained by giving Deathroot to Gurang in Caelid |
| Urgent Heal | Purchase it from Brother Corhyn |
Astrologer Dexterity/Intelligence Build in Elden Ring
- Class: Astrologer
- Flask Spread: 2 to 1 ratio of HP and FP
- Weapons: Moonveil Katana and Wing of Astel
- Armor: Spellblade Set
- Stats: Dexterity (Primary), Intelligence (Primary, Vigor (Secondary), and Mind (Secondary).
- Skills: Storm Flame and Blake Flame Tornado
- Spells: Rennala’s Full Moon and Stars of Ruin
Prisoner Dex/Int Build
- Class: Prisoner
- Flask Spread: 2 to 1 ratio of HP and FP
- Weapon: Rogier’s Cold Rapier (2H)
- Armor: Banished Knight Helm, White Reed Armor, Guardian Bracers, Bloodhound Knight Greaves
- Stats: Dexterity (Primary), Intelligence (Primary), Mind (Secondary), and Vigor (Secondary).
- Skills: Storm Flame and Blake Flame Tornado
- Spells: Glintblade Phalanx
Dex/Int Build Stats Level 10
| Stats | Points |
|---|---|
| Faith | 7 |
| Mind | 15 |
| Dexterity | 14 |
| Strength | 8 |
| Endurance | 9 |
| Vigor | 9 |
| Intelligence | 18 |
| Arcane | 9 |
Dexterity/Intelligence Build Stats Level 60
| Stats | Points |
|---|---|
| Faith | 7 |
| Mind | 15 |
| Dexterity | 30 |
| Strength | 18 |
| Endurance | 17 |
| Vigor | 18 |
| Intelligence | 25 |
| Arcane | 9 |
Dexterity/Intelligence Build Stats Level 90
| Stats | Points |
|---|---|
| Faith | 7 |
| Mind | 15 |
| Dexterity | 45 |
| Strength | 20 |
| Endurance | 17 |
| Vigor | 18 |
| Intelligence | 38 |
| Arcane | 9 |
Best Weapons for Dexterity/Intelligence Builds in Elden Ring
The purpose of the Prisoner Dex/Int build will be to give you a fierce combination of melee and magic damage. With the help of this build, you will be able to defeat any boss in the game and take on other players in PvP mode.
With no points in Strength, you will only be limited to smaller weapons. We have chosen to two-hand the Rogier’s Cold Rapier, paired with Glintblade Phalanx. This rapier scales primarily with Dexterity, which works perfectly for this build.
For the Astrologer Dex/Int build, we have chosen the beloved Moonveil Katana as your main weapon. This Katana is one of the best weapons in the game, and it scales with both Dex and Int, so it works perfectly for this build.
For your secondary weapon, we’ve gone with the Wing of Astel. You can shoot magic attacks by charging heavy attacks without using any FP with this weapon. This will allow you to easily deal damage from long-range if the need arrives.
Best Bows for Dex/Int Build in Elden Ring
There are several routes you can go when selecting a bow for your Dex/Int build in Elden Ring. For the early game, both the Composite bow and the Black Bow of Pharis are good choices. The Black Bow works best if you want to snipe your enemies. The Long Bow is an excellent third option, but it does come with a lower range.
Best Shield for Dex/Int Build
While shields don’t scale with Dex, they do have a strength requirement. Since our strength stat for this build will end up at around 20, these are the best shells you can use:
- Inverted Hawk Heater Shield
- Erdtree Great Shield
- Brass Shield
- Great Turtle Shield
Best Sacred Seal for Dexterity/Intelligence Build
Sacred seals help boost your character in various ways. These are the best Sacred Seals for a Dexterity and Intelligence build.
- Frenzied Flame Seal: This Seal scales with both Dexterity and Intelligence along with strength. It enhances frenzies flame weapons and incantations.
- Golden Order Seal: This seal scales primarily with Intelligence and boosts your incantations.
Best Armor for Dexterity/Intelligence Build
For the Prisoner Dex/Int build, the White Reed Armor will work best while for the Astrologer Dex/Int build, we have chosen the Spellblade Set. This armor set will increase the damage of your Wing of Astel weapon while giving you decent protection.
| Stats | White Reed Armor Set | Spellblade Set |
|---|---|---|
| Physical | 19.1 | 8.9 |
| Magic | 21.7 | 25.11 |
| Fire | 21.7 | 22.6 |
| Lightning | 23.6 | 23.5 |
| Holy | 20.4 | 25.1 |
| Immunity | 159 | 86 |
| Robustness | 100 | 44 |
| Focus | 130 | 141 |
Best Spells for Dex/Int Build
The spell you need for the Prisoner Dex/Int build is Glintblade Phalanx. The Glintblade Phalanx spell lets you close in on your enemies quickly and land a fast melee attack by summoning a defensive arc of magic glintblades.
For the Astrologer Dex/Int build, the spells you need are Rennala’s Full Moon and Stars of Ruin.
Rennala’s Full Moon is an amazing AoE attack spell that applies great debuffs to targets. Stars of Ruin fires out comets that track the target and is useful against evasive enemies.
Best Skills for Dex/Int Build
Storm Blade is the best Ash of War to use with a Dexterity/Intelligence build. When slotted into Dexterity scaling weapons, it lays down an extremely powerful ranged attack. However, it is important to note that it can not be used with Affinity upgrades. Black Flame Tornado that summons a black tornado around you, dealing damage in a large AOE.
Furthermore, you can make use of Spirit Summons like Black Knife Tiche and Mimic Tear to give yourself an upper hand in battle.
Best Talismans for Dex/Int Builds
For the Prisoner Dex/Int build, the talismans we have chosen are Erdtree’s Favor, Green Turtle, and Spear Talisman. These Talismans mainly focus on increasing your health and stamina recovery speed.
- Erdtree’s Favor: Raises maximum health, stamina and equip load.
- Green Turtle: Increases stamina recovery rate by 17.7%
- Spear Talisman: Increases thrusting weapon counterattack damage by 15%
For the Astrologer Dex/Int build, the talismans we have chosen are the Shard of Alexander, Radagon Icon,and Moon of Nokstella.
- Shard of Alexander: Boosts attack power of skills by 15%
- Radagon Icon: Reduces the casting time of spells
- Moon of Nokstella: Grants two additional memory slots
