Elden Ring Prisoner Class Guide: Warrior Magus (Advanced Build)

Once you have chosen your desired class in Elden Ring and have a particular build in mind, it’s time to further develop it and bring it to the next level with even more intricate parts to enhance its capabilities. Here we will be looking into the Warrior Mage build we did previously and promoting it to higher strata in Elden Ring. If you are confused with what build guide to go with in Elden Ring, we have a complete ranked tier list for the best builds.

The Warrior Mage is proficient at buffing its melee weapons with magic, all the while using various range spells to deal with enemies as need be. This build is for people who like to explore more than one type of role, who wants to get in the action as well as stay behind and let the magic do all the work! This build’s roots are in the Prisoner Class and we have it covered here.

Elden Ring: Advanced Warrior Mage Build

First things first, to begin this guide do keep in mind that the prerequisite of this is the Warrior Mage we have done before. Go read that if you haven’t to get the idea of the basic things needed to start things off and the playstyle that is in focus here. This build utilizes magic with range and magic-based weapons. This Advanced Warrior Mage is the evolution of the said build. With that disclaimer out of the way, let’s get down to the facts.

Another separate type of magic and melee build, that uses spell-based melee attacks rather than actual weapons is the Enchanted Knight (Link this with the approved article) discussed in this article.

Related: How to Get the Pizza Cutter in Elden Ring

Equipment

This build requires this equipment to function most effectively:

• Meteorite Staff or Academy Glintstone Staff (upgraded): Either of these will suffice with their excellent output potential. Meteorite Staff can be found early on and its scaling is S-class but you cannot upgrade it. Academy Glintstone Staff is recommended only when you have upgraded it to surpass meteorite staff, till then stick to the prior staff.
• Rapier: Not any other Rapier, the basic Rapier. This sword has the best Critical damage of 130, so each time you back-stab you will deal massive damage, this build relies very much on back-stabbing and stagger critical strikes.
• Queen’s Crescent Crown: After defeating Renalla, The Queen of Full Moon, she will drop this headgear so switch to it when you get it. This will grant you extra intelligence further boosting your magic power.
• Any armor that keeps you in the Medium Load category and you don’t fat roll will be fine.

In the swamp after near Sellia Crystal Tunnel. Head into the swamp and west until you come across Street of Sages Ruins. The Meteorite staff is on a corpse hanging from a ledge in a small room with poison flowers.

The Rapier can be bought from the Twin Maiden Husks at Roundtable Hold for 1000 Runes.

Talismans

The talismans that best serve this build are:

• Radagon Icon: This speeds up the casting time of spells, perfect for the long animation of buffing of Scholar’s Armament and all the different spells used by this build.
• Assassin’s Cerulean Dagger: This particular build has major staggering potential and this talisman will give FP back each time you do a critical/stagger strike. Perfect for keeping that blue bar filled up without relying on flasks.
• Graven-School Talisman: This just increases the damage of all the spells you will be using in this build.

Both Radagan and Graven-School Talisman are located in Raya Lucaria Academy.

Assassin’s Cerulean Dagger can be acquired from killing the Black Knife Assassin boss in the Black Knife Catacombs.

Related: Is Elden Ring Harder than Dark Souls 3?

Spells

The spells that goes best with this build are:

• Glintstone Pebble: Magical projectile to take out one-off enemies at range, a very reliable spell that you can carry throughout your adventure. Purchased by Sorceress Sellen.
• Scholar’s Armament: This buffs your weapon with magic and the damage escalates, the more intelligence stat and staff upgrade you have the higher the damage will climb. Purchased by Sorceress Sellen.
• Carian Greatsword: A larger version of the Carian Slicer, though it costs more FP it’s perfect for dealing massive damage from a single swing and adding range to melee strikes.
• Use any other spell that you may like especially range ones, the choice is yours beyond the prior three.

Carian Greatsword can be purchased by Miriel, Pastor of Vows at the Church of Vows location for 10,000 Runes.

Ash of War

What makes this build OP in some cases is the Ash of War Glintblade Phalanx. When equipping don’t select the magic option use the standard one, otherwise, Scholar’s Armament won’t work on the weapon. Another thing to consider is that the spell variant of this skill is very costly to use and won’t have the same staggering potential which we will discuss later. The skill is acquired from Rogier’s Rapier after beating Godrick the Grafted and talking to an NPC Rogier. You can remove the skill for the sword and apply it your Rapier.

Stats

The stats that compliment this build style are:

• Endurance: Should be kept on the lower side, 14 is enough to carry that armor and have enough to cast spells.
• Dexterity: This reduces your casting times and scales your particular weapon. 20 at this level is good.
• Intelligence: All your spells rely on this stat so buff it up as much as you can, above 30 is what you should aim for at start.

Playing With The Advanced Warrior Mage

The style that works for this build is that you equip your staff on the left hand and your weapon on the right. And you use them both in tandem according to the situation. Your go-to spell will remain Glintstone Pebble as it can deal with several enemies at range and can easily thin mobs before they reach you.

Carian Greatsword is for large groups of enemies that might swarm you if you don’t deal with them quickly. This build is very powerful for one on one fights, and lacks in dealing with mobs effectively so this takes care of that. Also, it’s perfect for horseback combat especially because of its swing range.

Scholar’s Armament will be your next favorite spell whereby you buff the Rapier in your hand before approaching any fight. This will massively boost the damage of your attacks especially considering the scaling with upgrades to Intelligence, staff and the weapon itself and Dexterity.

The Ash of War Glintblade Phalanx will be used to constantly stagger enemies and critical strike them to gain the FP back with the talisman you have on. This is insane as you develop a spam loop of using the skill and staggering without much cost.