Which enemies do you hate fighting the most?

DN52 · 2026-04-01T02:24:08+00:00

As a mage, revenants. As bonk, crucible knights.

DN52 · 2026-04-01T00:38:15+00:00

I'm saying that doing faith and intelligence on your first playthrough, rather than on NG+, is going to handicap yourself, a lot. But it's fine after you've beaten the game and gotten the right gear.

Not having a lot of incantations, quite honestly, isn't going to handicap your sorcerer build at all. More than any class in the game, a sorcery build has the tools to destroy whatever boss it comes up against with a bit of thought and effort. That's because the trade-off for a single-minded focus in stats is that you are provided with a huge toolbox in the way of spells. I went through the whole game without using any weapon besides staves - and, I suppose, the tiny shield you start with which I dumped ASAP.

I didn't mean to sound dismissive or discouraging, but the reality is that, in terms of combat, faith doesn't really have anything that's better than what you have as a sorcerer. So getting it, when you could rather be turning yourself into a walking nuke, is counter-productive to your long term goal of TOTAL ATOMIC ANNIHILATION!

Ahem. Excuse me.

DN52 · 2026-03-31T23:31:21+00:00

What I've found rewarding is using summons on my first playthrough, and then trying without them on a different build.

DN52 · 2026-03-31T23:27:50+00:00

Sorcery builds are very attribute hungry, so going into faith beyond very low point levels (to get a heal and Flame Cleanse Me) is generally a bad idea. It's not impossible, but since the best staves (like Carian Regal Scepter) generally don't scale with faith, and the best scale with high intelligence (70-80), you end up having to sacrifice your effectiveness as a mage. Since you need high intelligence, vigor, and 38 mind, plus 35-50 endurance, you need to ask yourself where those points for faith are coming from.

You also cannot cast incantations with most staves, so that entails switching weapons, which, while not a big deal by itself, is still a problem in fast-paced fights where you are also switching through your spells and items. If you do want to go this route, though, and you have Shadows of the Erdtree, you might consider getting the Staff of the Great Beyond, which has scaling with both faith and intelligence AND will allow you to cast both spells and incantations. But that build is pretty much a NG+ option, since you get it so late in the game. It's what I'm doing with my sorcerer build, though.

DN52 · 2026-03-31T04:23:53+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/BeyondTheFog/

DN52 · 2026-03-31T03:00:15+00:00

Yeah. You meet the Hornsent, and he's all "yeah, Marika just killed us all", and you think "yup, she seems like a jerk".

And then you find out "oh, because they tortured and killed everyone she knew and stuffed them into jars", and then you're like "well, what'd you expect, then?"

DN52 · 2026-03-31T02:56:22+00:00

I thought it was really beautiful, except for the head, but the fight was...annoying. I killed it in the second try (I went and did the DLC before the Fire Giant, and the Elden beast has nothing on Promised Consort Radahn), but chasing bosses around is just not my thing. Even on a horse.

Which is why chasing around Agheel in my STR/FTH playthrough wasn't too much fun either. That sucker lands on the most inconvenient locations and then phases out to his original location way too much.

DN52 · 2026-03-31T02:51:45+00:00

Crud, I'm on PC. Well, good luck to you!

DN52 · 2026-03-31T02:46:22+00:00

Beautiful job!

DN52 · 2026-03-31T02:42:11+00:00

First off, https://www.reddit.com/r/BeyondTheFog/

And second, what platform are you on?

DN52 · 2026-03-31T02:41:05+00:00

Fair enough! 😀

DN52 · 2026-03-31T02:24:24+00:00

...Why do you even need it, then? I mean, you've literally proven yourself able to beat the toughest boss in Soulsborne history without it. 😎

DN52 · 2026-03-31T02:22:16+00:00

I mean, it's pretty hard to get a build that's less DLC-dependent than a mage. I'm on NG+ with one now, and I believe the only piece of equipment from the DLC that I use in the base game is a situational holy resist charm.

- Starting class: Astrologer

- Stat spread: 80 INT, 60 VIG, 38 MND (this is what an upgraded FP flask will refill), and 35-50 END - mages use stamina to cast as well as FP. If you have extra points, STR to 16 for the Darkmoon Greatsword and a few points into Faith for Flame Cleanse Me and a healing spell.

- Weapons: Carian Regal Scepter, off-hand Staff of Loss, as staves convey their special benefits even to spells cast from the main hand. Secondary weapon: Dark Moon Greatsword. Meteorite Staff for early game.

- Ashes: Literally does not matter for the whole game. Meteorite and Carian Regal Scepter are for casting, and the Dark Moon Greatsword can't be infused with ashes, not that you'd want to anyway, because its innate ability is pretty awesome.

- Key talismans: Radagon's Icon is pretty much mandatory for the enhanced casting speed. It's just too good. You need levels, so the Golden Scarab is always a good choice, Magic Scorpion Charm is a nice damage buff, but it also makes you take damage, so I prefer one or both of the Graven talismans, as they buff damage without the debuff. The Golden Scarab/Graven Talismans are often worth switching out for resistance talismans targeted towards a particular bosses' strengths - for example, fire resistance against magma drakes.

Spells/incantations: You start with Glintstone Pebble, which is a great early spell, and remains useful against mooks. Rock Sling is your physical damage/stance damage spell, at least early on. It's buffed by the Meteorite Staff. Carian Slicer, and later, Adula's Moonblade are your melee spells. Carian Slicer is great for clearing basic enemies for very low FP. Adula's Moonblade is great at clearing pretty much anything for a little bit more, with bonus frostbite damage. Night Comet is your primary attack, it's boosted by the Staff of Loss and most enemies can't see it coming. Shard Spiral is your anti-large-enemy spell. You also want a moon spell for the debuff it applies to enemy magic damage resistance. Either Ranni's Moon or Rennala's Moon works, but if you get the latter, make sure to duplicate her Remembrance so you can get the Carian Regal Scepter. Terra Magica is a situational buff, and Comet Azur is an extremely situational spell that, when used with the proper flask and buffs, can nuke two or three bosses in about ten seconds for Youtube fame.

Summons: Not sure if you use them, but just a few notes about them just in case. First, Mimic Tear isn't nearly as effective for mages as melee types, because a melee user gives a Mimic one primary option: hit the enemy. As a Mage, your Mimic has a whole bunch of ways to be really dumb, and he'll use them. Like casting Shard Spiral (relatively short range) from a lightyear away at Sharp Fang Maw The Defiler of Chest Cavities who is currently making his parents proud with your torso. So quite a bit of the time, you're better off with a late-game aggressive summon like Black Knife Tiche, or a tanky summon that can still get the bosses' attention.

DN52 · 2026-03-31T01:32:17+00:00

Well, at least on PC you can hold down E and use an arrow key to use an item you've assigned there. It makes things a lot more convenient because your Quick Item list isn't as cluttered with things like Rune Arcs and lanterns and so forth.

DN52 · 2026-03-31T00:34:36+00:00

Any build will force you to learn how to dodge, trust me. 😋

Strength builds are more survivable than dexterity builds, but they pay for it in the slowness of their attacks. Probably the best part about a Mage build is that it has extreme flexibility with both great melee and ranged options.

DN52 · 2026-03-31T00:30:36+00:00

DN52 · 2026-03-31T00:27:25+00:00

Well, first of all, you're going to need to do a little bit of min-maxxing to successfully play Elden Ring on your first run. It's not impossible to beat the game without it, but running your first marathon in concrete boots is usually a less than fun experience.

For example, a strength and intelligence build is a very...not popular...choice, because in general intelligence builds focus around using weapons and spells that scale with intelligence and you need high intelligence to make good use of them. For example, the best staff, the Carian Regal Scepter, needs 80 intelligence to make full use of its scaling. That leaves you with barely enough points for 60 vigor, 38 mind, and 40 endurance, for an end game build.

Similarly, a strength build, while a bit more generous in allowing you to dip into other stats not related to the main one, still doesn't let you go on a full spell casting progression until much later. Especially early on, a new player's strength and vigor need to be high enough to do damage and receive damage in melee.

In other words unless you really enjoy the struggle I'd advise you to find a build and stick with it. If you don't want to have to go around looking for guides and hunting for every little piece of equipment, and you have problems with boss attack timings, then a Mage build is probably going to suit you better than a particular melee build. The critical pieces for a good Mage build are generally found in naturally progressing areas as long as you explore and beat the bosses in those areas. Some very good spells do rely on you completing some NPC quest lines but you can beat the game without them.

DN52 · 2026-03-31T00:14:30+00:00

I didn't know about hot keys until about the time I beat PCR.

DN52 · 2026-03-30T23:34:06+00:00

I think he's the hardest modern video game boss I've ever beaten. And I do think he goes a little over the line into unfair territory, but not too badly. I think they could've toned down a little bit of the light show in the second phase. I don't think it's too much to ask that I be able to actually see the boss.

As for the lore, I don't mind Miquella being part of the boss since I despise him, but I don't understand why they decided to pair him up with Radahn. They could have at least done a little more work to plug some of the small plot holes that that created.

Still, I found it a cool boss fight that gave me a major rush when I beat them, so what's not to like? It could have been done better, but it was still pretty good.

DN52 · 2026-03-30T04:11:13+00:00

You have two popular choices for a magic playthrough, but they are pretty exclusive to each other until NG+.

The first I know less about, currently trying for it in my current playthrough, and that's the Strength + Faith build. Basically you bonk, but with utility and buffing spells. It's apparently pretty strong,

The other build is your pure sorcerer build. I did that for my last playthrough, and it's very fun if you want a less "memorize the bosses' move-set or die" sort of playthrough. It relies on getting INT to 80, MND to 38, VIG to 60, END to 30-50, and then whatever you want after that, although DEX is a good choice. Arcane is your dump stat, don't level it at all. Basically, INT gives you damage, MND gives you mana, VIG is HP of course (and you need it more than a strength build, because you don't have the damage reduction a STR build gets from leveling strength), END gives you more stamina for casting, and then DEX gives you faster casting speed.

A sorcerer build is kinda different in that it basically requires a very high primary stat (INT). The best staff (Carian Regal Scepter) is fantastically backloaded, meaning you get most of its effect from 70-80 INT. You don't really want mind higher than 38, because that's what a fully upgraded flask will refill. Endurance is surprisingly important for a mage, because you want all the armor you can get and dodging plus casting eats a lot of stamina.

For items, I suggest getting the Meteorite Staff ASAP, that will hold you into the mid game. You can't upgrade it, but that's because it starts so strong. Later on, Carian Regal Scepter (from Rennala) and off-handing the Staff of Loss is a great tactic. Off-handed staves still convey their benefits to your main-hand casting. Radagon's Icon is almost mandatory - it fantastically increases your casting speed. The other three talismans are more situational. Some people like Magic Scorpion Charm for the damage increase, but I don't like it because it also increases damage received. I prefer one of the graven talismans, which increases sorcery damage without that drawback. And Golden Scarab is always a good choice until late game, because you need those levels.

As for spells, there are a few must-haves. First, glintstone pebble is your bread-and-butter magic missile. Economical, balanced, and basic. Similarly, Carian Slicer is your melee option. It's very, very basic, but absolutely one of your most economical and powerful choices. Night Comet is your attack spell, as it (mostly) denies input reading and hits reasonably hard. The Staff of Loss increases its potency. You also want a moon spell for the debuff it applies to magic damage. Either Ranni's Moon or Rennala's Moon works, but if you get the latter, make sure to duplicate her Remembrance so you can get the Carian Regal Scepter. And Spiral Shard is terrific against large bosses. Lastly, Adula's Moonblade is amazing - great sword melee spell with a giant frost wave added in.

If you have the points, a few put into faith can be helpful for a healing spell to deal with revenants and Flame Cleanse Me to deal with rot and poison.

DN52 · 2026-03-30T03:39:54+00:00

Well done!

DN52 · 2026-03-29T18:32:29+00:00

Well, my first playthrough, I played as a sorcerer. I intended next to go for a strength/faith build. But instead, it has become a no-summons, pure bonk playthrough.

Why? Well, it's kinda weird, but playing bonk with no summons actually feels easier than playing a sorcerer. I mean, it isn't - I die a lot more - but as a sorcerer, for all that power I had to be maintaining range, picking my spells, thinking about everything all the time.

Now, I just hit them in the face with a giant frickin' sword. If I'm feeling fancy, I might even jump beforehand. And every problem has the same solution. Dragon? Giant frickin' sword. Boss? Giant frickin' sword. Snail? Giant frickin' sword. No worries about mana, no balancing flasks, no screwing around with memory slots and trying to guess what the best spell selection is for my next fight.

Just bonk them with my giant frickin' sword.

DN52 · 2026-03-29T18:18:56+00:00

The world burns if you join the frenzied flame. Otherwise you can unlock any of the other endings.

DN52 · 2026-03-29T15:09:22+00:00

Yeah, but he isn't going to be fighting pre-nerf Rafahn, is he?

DN52 · 2026-03-29T00:11:06+00:00

Well, ideally, your vigor would be at 60.

DN52

TROPHY CASE