Top 5 Elden Ring 1.16 Best Intelligence Weapons 2024
Intelligence in Elden Ring is a crucial stat that dictates the potency of sorceries, making it the cornerstone of any magic-focused build. This article will break down five powerful intelligence-scaling weapons in Elden Ring patch 1.16, along with strengths and locations.
Top 5 Elden Ring Best Intelligence Weapons 2024 After Patch 1.16
Maximizing the potential of these Elden Ring INT weapons requires careful management of your stats. Prioritize Intelligence up to the soft caps of 60 and 80, then consider investing in secondary stats like Mind for increased FP or Dexterity for improved casting speed. Experiment with different talismans and armor sets to further enhance your build and tailor it to your preferred playstyle. With the right combination of stats, equipment, and strategy, these intelligence weapons can unleash devastating arcane power in DLC and the base game.
1. Wing of Astel
The Wing of Astel is a curved sword that shines due to its versatility. It boasts a fast moveset inherent to curved swords, excellent stance-breaking capabilities, and a unique Ash of War, Nebula. This Ash of War creates a swirling mass of magic that damages and staggers enemies, making it effective against both single targets and groups. While its charged heavy attack doesn't have the range of some greatswords, it fires two projectiles, offering good damage output. Its lightweight nature and relatively low FP cost for Nebula further enhance its appeal. While Patch 1.16 didn't specifically target the Wing of Astel, general balancing changes may have indirectly affected its performance relative to other weapons.
Where and How to Get: The Wing of Astel is found in a chest atop the ruins in the southern Uhl Palace Ruins. To access this area, you need to reach the northern section of the Ainsel River. Follow the river east from the northern Uhl Palace Ruins. Starting from the Nokstella, Eternal City Site of Grace, face east towards the waterfall and proceed forward, climbing a ladder on your right. Go through the door and follow the watery path, keeping to the right wall. You'll encounter an ant enemy. Continue through the tunnel and you'll see a scythe-wielding enemy. Still hugging the right wall, carefully drop down the ledges and follow the path. The chest containing the Wing of Astel is on the walkway behind a Malformed Star enemy. Beware of its spells, which can knock you off the walkway.
2. Dark Moon Greatsword
The Dark Moon Greatsword is an iconic weapon in the Soulsborne series. This greatsword deals substantial magic damage and inflicts frostbite. Its Ash of War, Moonlight Greatsword, further enhances its magic damage and empowers charged heavy attacks to fire projectiles. While Patch 1.16 nerfed its ranged projectile damage, it remains a powerful weapon, especially when used aggressively at close to medium range. Its heavy attacks still deal significant stance damage, and the added frostbite buildup can quickly cripple enemies.
Where and How to Get: Obtaining the Dark Moon Greatsword involves completing Ranni's questline. This is a complex quest with several steps:
Defeat Starscourage Radahn to unlock Nokron, Eternal City.
Retrieve the Fingerslayer Blade from Nokron and give it to Ranni.
Use Ranni's Rise teleporter to access Ainsel River Main.
Interact with Ranni's doll multiple times to start a sub-quest.
Defeat the Baleful Shadow to receive the Discarded Palace Key.
Use the key to unlock the chest containing the Dark Moon Ring in Raya Lucaria Grand Library.
Proceed past where you fought the Baleful Shadow, through the Lake of Rot, and into the Grand Cloister.
Interact with the coffin at the waterfall's edge to fight Astel, Naturalborn of the Void.
After defeating Astel, use the Dark Moon Ring to access the Moonlight Altar.
Finally, find Ranni at the Cathedral of Manus Celes to receive the Dark Moon Greatsword.
3. Death's Poker
Death's Poker is a greatsword that deals physical and fire damage, along with inherent frost buildup. Its Ash of War, Ghostflame Ignition, is its main draw. This allows you to create a ghostflame orb and then detonate it with a light attack for a piercing projectile or a heavy attack for an AOE explosion. The light attack, which creates multiple damaging trails, is particularly potent. However, its effectiveness is hampered against highly mobile enemies who can easily dodge the projectiles.
Where and How to Get: Death's Poker is obtained by defeating a Death Rite Bird field boss found southeast of the Southern Aeonia Swamp Bank Site of Grace. The Death Rite Bird only appears at night.
4. Moonveil
The Moonveil katana is renowned for its high damage output and innate bleed buildup. Its Ash of War, Transient Moonlight, offers a swift, ranged slash attack that deals heavy damage and builds up bleed. It's a versatile weapon effective in both PvE and PvP. While Patch 1.16 didn't directly nerf Moonveil, changes to other aspects of the game might have indirectly affected its overall standing.
Where and How to Get: Moonveil is found in the Gael Tunnel in Caelid. Defeat the Magma Wyrm boss within the tunnel to obtain the katana.
5. Clayman's Harpoon
The Clayman's Harpoon is a spear that naturally scales with intelligence, offering decent physical and magic damage. One of its main advantages is its compatibility with the Ice Spear Ash of War. This Ash of War allows for quick ranged attacks that inflict frostbite. While the harpoon itself isn't exceptional, the Ice Spear Ash of War makes it a viable choice for intelligence builds focused on frostbite.
Where and How to Get: The Clayman's Harpoon is dropped by Claymen enemies found in various locations, including Uhl Palace Ruins, Siofra River, and Ainsel River.
