Best Spellsword Build in Elden Ring

It's Moonlight time!

Carian Knight Set with Dark Moon Greatsword
Screenshot by Prima Games

Elden Ring has an incredible amount of build diversity, and there are plenty of archetypes you can play as. One of the most popular ways to play a magic character is by employing both physical and magic damage, otherwise known as the Spellsword. Here is our best Spellsword in Elden Ring to unlock the weapon’s full potential.

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Elden Ring: Spellsword Build Recommended Weapon

For the Spellsword build, we will be using the iconic Dark Moon Greatsword, which despite some nerfs, is still an excellent weapon that scales well with INT.

It also has an amazing skill called the Moonlight Greatsword which buffs the weapon increasing its magic damage, adding frost build up to attacks, and heavy attacks send out moonlight blasts that deal a fair bit of damage.

You can obtain the Dark Moon Greatsword by completing Ranni’s questline in the base game.

Spellsword Build Recommended Staff

The Carian Regal Scepter is our choice for the staff here for obvious reasons. With its low FP cost, high cast speed, and considering our stats, it’s an excellent choice overall.

Elden Ring: Spellsword Build Recommended Stats

Our focus is to maximize INT and since the fully upgraded Dark Moon Greatsword has a B scaling with INT, we want to bring up INT to around 80. The following stats are for level 150, and you can add more to Vigor as you see fit. The Moonlight Greatsword skill doesn’t take much FP, so we have Mind at 30.

AttributePoints
Vigor50
Mind30
Endurance25
Strength16
Dexterity12
Intelligence80
Faith7
Arcane9
Total Points150

Spellsword Build Recommended Spells

We recommend that you equip the following spells that pair best with this build.

  • Greatblade Phalanx
  • Ranni’s Dark Moon
  • Carian Slicer
  • Adula’s Moonblade
  • Terra Magica

The first two spells are incredibly useful and are more than enough to go with this build.

Spellsword Build Recommended Talismans

The following Talismans pair best with this build.

  • Magic Scorpion Charm: Boosts magic damage, which helps with our build considerably
  • Shard of Alexander: One of the best Talismans in the entire game, which boosts the damage of skills
  • Godfrey Icon: Raises attack power of charged Spells and Skills. Great for our spells and the heavy attacks of the Moonlight Greatsword.
  • Ritual Sword Talisman: This raises attack power when your HP is at max

That’s all there is to our Spellsword Build for Elden Ring that’s viable in both the base title and Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. You can use whatever gear you want, but there are certain sets and set pieces that boost magic damage. However, we recommend going with what looks best because fashion triumphs utility any day of the week.

If magic isn’t your thing, check out the best build for Zweihander, and Eleonora’s Poleblade. For more on Elden Ring and its expansion, make sure to check out our dedicated section.

Ali Hashmi

Ali Hashmi is a games journalist, reviewer, and guides writer with over eight years of experience covering the gaming industry across news, reviews, features, walkthroughs, and technical guides. He currently writes for Prima Games and GTA 6 Bible, and has previously contributed to Dot Esports, WhatIfGaming, GameTyrant, and The OuterHaven. With a background in Computer Science and years spent covering PC gaming, Ali has developed a strong focus on performance analysis, optimization, troubleshooting, and in-depth game coverage alongside traditional reviews and features. A longtime fan of action games, Ali spends most of his time obsessing over stylish combat systems, difficult boss fights, immersive sims, and retro shooters that feel like they were pulled straight out of the late ‘90s. When he isn’t replaying Dark Souls for the hundredth time or climbing Ascension levels in Slay the Spire, he’s usually hunting for the next indie game to recommend to everyone around him. His coverage regularly includes AAA releases, indie games, Soulslikes, survival titles, live service games, and technical PC focused guides.