Best Strength/Intelligence Build for NG+ in Elden Ring

This is a guide for a Strength/Intelligence Build for NG+ in Elden Ring. The level of this build is 200 or higher. As you’d expect, this is a very powerful build.

Skills you need to invest in

We’re going to assume that you’ve finished the game now in the endgame section of the game. This is after defeating the two final bosses. Visit Lady Rennala at the Grand Library of the Academy of Raya Lucaria to reassign your skill points. If you’ve already started NG+, you will need to progress to the Liurnia Region in order to meet Lady Rennala again.

Strength

Put 80 points in Strength.

Dexterity

Put 19 points in Dexterity

Intelligence

After investing your points in Strength and Dexterity, you should put all other points in Intelligence. In total, you would have about 50 Intelligence.

Vigour, Endurance and Mind

You will need to decide these for yourself. You can wear almost any type of armour with this build (except the helm), and you must adjust Endurance to be able to wear the armour you choose.

You obviously need a lot of health with any build, not just this. Invest at least 40 points in Vigour. Higher is better.

You will use a staff and the weapon’s Ash of War often, so you will need good FP. But these are only for support and backup, so you don’t need to put as many points in Mind as the other two skills.

Note

Of course, you can adjust the level of these stats to better suit your tastes, if you’re into customising your build. Maybe you’d like to have more Intelligence points than Strength. Feel free to experiment. In fact, I encourage it.

Equipment

Let’s discuss what armour and weapons you should use for this build. Many of these are customisable and you can add or remove the items as you please.

Staff

Check out my Best Staffs in Elden Ring article and choose a high-powered staff from there, if you further upgrade your Intelligence to 60 or higher (which you should do, at higher levels. You’ll be unstoppable by then). The Academy Glintstone Staff is a common but highly effective staff that grants an S scaling in Intelligence when fully upgraded. It’s my choice for this build.

Your Sorceries will be Adula’s Moonblade, Comet Azur, Greatblade Phalanx and Loretta’s Mastery. Adjust and customise as your see fit.

Armament

I chose the Royal Greatsword for this build. It deals very high damage (as you’d expect from an Ultra Greatsword) at +10 level. You can upgrade it with Sombre Smithing stones. Its Ash of War, Wolf’s Assault, is similar to the powerful Lion’s Claw Ash of War, but this is way more powerful. With this weapon skill, you can jump up into the air and slam the greatsword down with great heft. And it also triggers an explosion of Frost damage that will debilitate or even kill many enemies around you. It’s like a shockwave, and it will also knock enemies down effectively.

If you prefer any other armament, make sure that they scale with Strength and Intelligence. Starscourge Greatswords are a good option as well.

Armour

As with many builds that don’t rely on Poise, you can choose whatever armour you’d like for this build. But if you need a little boost to your Intelligence, use the Imp Head (Cat) helm. You can also use the Omensmirk Mask helm to boost your Strength. Be mindful that both of these helms merely boost your stats by two points. You will gain levels as you play with this build, and you can freely discard the helms into something more fashionable. Check out my Most Stylish Armour Combinations article for some unique and good-looking outfits that suit many builds.

Talismans

Use the Stargazer Heirloom to significantly boost your Intelligence.

Use Marika’s Soreseal to substantially boost many Magic-related stats. These include Faith, Intelligence and Mind. It’s nearly essential for this build. Be mindful that this talisman lowers your damage resistance by a small degree. But disregard that because this build is a powerful one that will rarely allow enemies you kill you.

The other two Talismans can be whatever you like. I personally chose Erdtree Favour +2 and Cerulean Amber Talisman +2. The first talisman boosts your HP, FP and Carry Weight, while the second one gives a bonus to your FP. Experiment and find two talismans that’ll best suit you.

Mixed Physick Flask

For the Mixed Physick, choose the Intelligence-knot Crystal Tear which boosts your Intelligence greatly, and the Cerulean Hidden Tear to eliminate all FP Consumption for a time. This flask is to be used in boss fights and against powerful enemy groups.

Ashen Summon

Spirit Ashes aren’t essential for this build, but if you like using everything the game gives you, choose a good summon. I personally like Ancient Dragon Knight Kristoff for this build because he can distract enemies very easily. Be sure to fully upgrade your Ashen summon.

Playstyle

I’m sure by now you’re an experienced player who knows how to surpass many lesser enemies in the field. Let’s discuss our tactics for groups and bosses. First of all, drink your Mixed Physick to boost your Intelligence and Eliminate all FP consumption. Then summon your Spirit Summon to distract the boss. Then use Loretta’s Mastery on the boss. With the Intelligence boost granted by the Mixed Physick, you might even be able to use the Comet Azur sorcery. This is one of the most powerful sorceries in the entire game and it will destroy anyone or anything in your path. It requires 60 Intelligence to cast, however.

Greatblade Phalanx will help you stagger and distract groups on enemies. Adula’s Moonblade is also very effective against groups, and it also inflicts Cold damage.