Elden Ring: How to play the Astrologer

One of the most appealing aspects of Elden Ring is the sheer level of customization available when it comes to character creation. From massive sword swipers to defensive shield users to incredibly powerful casting builds, the choices are endless. Players should generally begin the game as the Astrologer class in order to become a spell-casting powerhouse. This allows them to personalize their route to make the most of the game's best sorcery spells.

The Basics

Elden Ring primarily focuses on two schools of magic that operate similarly yet are based on two distinct attributes. Sorcery is your standard fantasy magic, whereas Incantations have a paladin-like flavor to them, frequently involving holy magic, curative, or even terrible dragon skills. However, it is in Sorcery that the Astrologer truly shines, since it naturally begins with high levels in the two most important stats to wield it - Intelligence and Mind. The Astrologer's beginning statistics are as follows:

• Vigor – 9
• Mind – 15
• Endurance – 9
• Strength – 8
• Dexterity – 12
• Intelligence – 16
• Faith – 7
• Arcane -9

Glintstone Pebble (spammable single target spell) and Glintstone Arc (spammable single target spell) are two useful sorceries for the Astrologer to have in the early game (spammable multi-target spell). This class should always have a sturdy staff on hand, but in a pinch, an off-hand weapon that scales with Intellect can be used for some melee jabs.

Constructing an Astrologer

It is totally up to the player how they construct their Astrologer, however, there is a newcomer-friendly construction that is easily accessible. It will provide hours of entertainment in the early game, and if one takes the time to explore and level up, it can completely annihilate bosses in seconds. As fight difficulty increases and bosses become more nimble and aggressive, it will gradually lose its instant win status, but it will retain a high-risk, high-reward playstyle that can continue to defeat the greatest monsters when a window of opportunity opens up in the fight.

The primary rule of spellcasting builds is to stack Intelligence points. This stat boosts spell damage and allow you to employ newly acquired spells and staves. Because the Astrologer is a glass cannon at first, pay attention to the Vigor stat as well. This will boost your HP so you don't get hit by a single bullet. Finally, every few levels, add a point to Mind to improve FP, allowing you to cast more spells before needing to use flasks. To preserve FP throughout combat, Astrologers should use a 2:1 ratio of Flasks of Cerulean Tears to Flasks of Crimson Tears.

Early in the game

Before becoming a destructive beam, players should make it a top priority to earn the Meteorite Staff as soon as feasible. This staff has low stat requirements and S-tier Intelligence scaling, which means that as Intelligence increases, it will deal more damage. It also has the additional benefit of enhancing gravity magic. Rock Sling, an incredible gravity spell, is located near its site. For most of the early bosses, using both of these against them will be highly successful. In the beginning, enemy AI appears to have difficulties avoiding Magic Glintblade spam, which can be purchased at the Church of Vows from the greatest pope ever.

The Boss Destroyer

Comet Azur, the "meme beam" spell, is where the real pleasure in spellcasting lies. Acquiring this will most certainly be achievable once you've leveled up enough to take on the more difficult mid-game sections, but you'll need 60 intelligence to do so. After obtaining it, players can embark on a few more journeys to assemble the necessary components to make it completely destroy bosses.

Terra Magicus is a spell that places a rune on the ground to increase spell damage while standing in it. The Crystalian couple monsters at the end of the Academy Crystal Cave mini-dungeon, immediately west of the Raya Lucaria Acemdy, can be defeated to earn this.

The Flask of Wonderous Physick, which ties everything together, must then be mixed. The Magic-Shrouding Cracked Tear may be obtained by defeating the Erdtree Avatar boss in the Minor Erdtree northwest of the Church of Vows. For a limited time, this will augment magical damage. The Cerulean Hidden Tear, on the other hand, prevents FP intake for 10 seconds. This is obtained by killing the Ulcerated Tree Spirit boss at the Minor Erdtree near Volcano Manor in northwest Mt. Gelmir.

A fully upgraded Lusat's Glintstone Staff is possibly the greatest end-game staff for Astrologers. Improving this to +5 will give it S-tier Intelligence scaling, allowing it to outperform the Meteor Staff while also increasing spell damage at the tradeoff of greater FP costs.

This should be enough to start destroying the boss. Most fights require the player to simply open by placing Terra Magicus on the ground and instantly chugging their Magic-Shrouding Cracked Tear/Cerulean Hidden Tear mixed Flask of Wonderous Physick. After that, quickly target the boss and cast Comet Azur, which will instantly melt the creature. Make sure to keep the button pressed to keep Comet Azur channeling.

Players may need to employ an Ashen Summon to distract bosses and wait for a window to perform this combo while launching other spells as the game develops. Completing Ranni's questline will get you access to the Azure Glintstone Helm, which boosts Comet Azur's damage. Stars of Ruin, a spell gained by completing the Sorceress Sellen quest chain, deals a lot of damage against late-game bosses. Casting this spell while fleeing and keeping a safe distance from Melenia, one of the most difficult bosses, is a solid approach.

Infinite Possibilities

When it comes to building in Elden Ring, the possibilities are unlimited. This is one of the most effective ways to defeat bosses as an Astrologer, and it's simple to learn for newcomers. Experimenting and seeking new ways to conquer problems is part of the pleasure in this game, so there are likely even more ways to have fun while slinging spells around and pouring damage on bosses and adversaries.