I'm still very new to ER and could use some build advice please?

[WhateverWorks]

I have played three classes now for about the first 3 hours each. I tried warrior, astrologer, and samurai. I like all three, but none are quite right. Is a katana and staff wielding spell caster viable? Can someone explain the weapon scaling to me so I know what can work and what can't? Katanas scale off strength and dex or just dex? A combination of Astrologer and Samurai is what I want to do, so I'm guessing I'll need to start with a wretch to get it right? Trying to start this tonight so the sooner advice comes the better.

[IT]

1. Light weapon in one hand and spell casting in the other is totally viable.
2. Higher rank the scaling, more additional damage you get based on the relevant stat. You can see the damage of a weapon being x + y, with y being the damage you get from scaling.
3. Katana are mostly quality weapon aka evenly split between str and dex.
4. You can respec and modify scaling of most weapons later in the game so you can always readjust your build later. If you want to be a magical swordsman, you may want to change the scaling of your uchigatana to dex, because you won't be two-handing it anyway.
5. You don't have enough runes early game to diverge your build, stick to either swordsman or mage until you can comfortably diverge runes between your staff, sword, dex and int.

[Erudite Scholar]

Classes don't matter in the long run, so pick whatever you think is the coolest. Try to level vigor to 25 as soon as possible so you don't get deleted by a puff of wind. Early on, weapon levels matter a lot more than weapon scaling. Later on, more than half of your weapon's damage will come from scaling which is determined by your combat stats. Therefore, level up your combat stats enough to wield the weapon and focus on vigor.

Also, the first big boss blocking the way to the castle is tough. Return to him when you're level 25 - 30.

[BenzoSt]

Yes, you can use Katana in R hand and wand in L hand. If you know that you will enjoy using a Katana + wand combo, then the best starting class to pick is Prisoner. Don't worry too much about STR or DEX scaling of your Katana because you will eventually be able to alter it to also benefit from your INT if you want.

Regarding leveling-up, prioritize getting 40 Vigor as quickly as you can.

[WhateverWorks]

Yeah I've already picked up on Vigor being the most important stat, especially early on. Good to know that 25 and 40 are good initial goals. I was honestly imagining basically switching back and forth between spell casting, and two-handing a katana. But I guess two handing it makes it scale off strength? This is a very complex game, I'm not at all complaining there's just a hell of a learning curve. I guess I could go katana right hand staff left hand until I'm late enough to diverge?

I can make katanas scale off of INT? How? Even if it's something I can't do until much later it'd be good to be aware of it ahead of time.

[Murphy]

yes, there are at least 2 int katanas that i know of. The Meteor blade and the other one is that moonveil?

[WhateverWorks]

Also on another note, I can't find a map that shows all cemeteries, anywhere on the internet. I've been using the interactive map on the wiki which is great, but it doesn't show cemeteries. Some can be seen on a map, a lot of them apparently can't and I'd love to have a known route I go through to hit them on new characters.

[Sephylon]

Originally posted by WhateverWorks:

Yeah I've already picked up on Vigor being the most important stat, especially early on. Good to know that 25 and 40 are good initial goals. I was honestly imagining basically switching back and forth between spell casting, and two-handing a katana. But I guess two handing it makes it scale off strength?

most katanas already have str scaling, all 2 handing does is increase the amount the wep benefits from its str scaling by a factor of 1.5. To quote the wiki:

"Wielding an Armament with two hands will multiply your Strength with that armament by 1.5. If an armament scales with Strength, it will deal more damage when used two-handed. In addition, strength requirements can be met by two-handing."

I can make katanas scale off of INT? How? Even if it's something I can't do until much later it'd be good to be aware of it ahead of time.

infuse [eldenring.wiki.fextralife.com] it with an ash of war [eldenring.wiki.fextralife.com] (aow) , assuming you can, and set it to cold or magic, assuming the aow you're putting on can be set to cold or magic, and that you have the glintstone whetblade [eldenring.wiki.fextralife.com]

Originally posted by WhateverWorks:

Also on another note, I can't find a map that shows all cemeteries, anywhere on the internet. I've been using the interactive map on the wiki which is great, but it doesn't show cemeteries. Some can be seen on a map, a lot of them apparently can't and I'd love to have a known route I go through to hit them on new characters.

what do you mean by cemeteries? At any rate these 2 should help

https://mapgenie.io/elden-ring/maps/the-lands-between
https://eldenring.wiki.fextralife.com/Interactive%2BMap

[WhateverWorks]

I've been using the map on the wiki, it's pretty awesome and extremely helpful but doesn't have the cemeteries. The random groups of graves in the outside world that usually have golden runes on them. As for the initial question regarding katanas and mage builds, if you have a katana that scales off of INT, does two handing it also make that 1.5 increase then scale off of INT as well? Sorry if these are overly specific/newb questions for a forum but I want to know I can efficiently use the kind of build I'm thinking before investing a bunch of time in a save for it.

EDIT: The map genie map is way better and can do exactly what I was wanting, thank you.

[Myrmuz [IRL]]

Every weapon has it's own stat requirements and scaling.
Int/Dex is very conventional mage build, as high Dex will decrease spell casting time. For fastest spell casting you will need 40 Dex in combination with Radagon talisman OR 70 Dex. The talisman simulates the extra dex for spell cast speed only.

The Moonveil katana is Int/Dex and has a very strong moveset: https://eldenring.wiki.fextralife.com/Moonveil
The Meteoric Ore Blade is Int/Str and has an interesting moveset but maybe not as easy to use as Moonveil: https://eldenring.wiki.fextralife.com/Meteoric+Ore+Blade

My sorcerer character has 80 Int and 60 Vigor, as well as Magic Scorpion Charm (increase Mag dmg), Godfrey Talisman (increased charged damage on spells + skills), Graven-Mass talisman (greatly increased sorcery dmg) and Radagon's.
For the Physick I use the temporary infinite FP and increased magic damage, mainly for using Comet Azur against bosses.

You might also want to use Ancient Death Rancor at some point, which is a spell that summons multiple floating skulls with great range and tracking but are slow-moving. But for that you'll also need 24 Fth.

How you set up your character is very much up to you though, especially if you are going to do any pvp.

[Myrmuz [IRL]]

Two-handing only affects Str stat by +50% so if the weapon doesn't scale with Str, it doesn't do anything aside from altering the attack animations.
For the Int katanas two-handing would affect Meteoric Ore Blade but not Moonveil.

[WhateverWorks]

Ok, I guess the long term goal is gonna be Moonveil. So a Caelid Dragon? Wonderful, Caelid is a lot like how I imagine certain neighborhoods in Hell are. The dragons are particularly sketchy. Although so is Limgrave tbh. I've snuck my way into Caelid a little bit for the map pieces, everything kills me and is terrifying. Bethesda should really take note of this game, though I doubt they will.

[Sephylon]

Originally posted by WhateverWorks:

I've been using the map on the wiki, it's pretty awesome and extremely helpful but doesn't have the cemeteries. The random groups of graves in the outside world that usually have golden runes on them.

those aren't worth visiting outside the one that has a recipe book on it and the one that has nobles you can farm for their rare drop. Also the'yre marked on the map as is.

As for the initial question regarding katanas and mage builds, if you have a katana that scales off of INT, does two handing it also make that 1.5 increase then scale off of INT as well? Sorry if these are overly specific/newb questions for a forum but I want to know I can efficiently use the kind of build I'm thinking before investing a bunch of time in a save for it.

not sure I understand the question, but the bonus from 2 handing only affects the str scaling. All other scaling remain as is.

[Sephylon]

Originally posted by Myrmuz IRL:

Two-handing only affects Str stat by +50% so if the weapon doesn't scale with Str, it doesn't do anything aside from altering the attack animations.
For the Int katanas two-handing would affect Meteoric Ore Blade but not Moonveil.

moonveil still has str scaling on it, just not as high as meteoric. For that matter magic infused katanas are under that category of barely having str scaling. Cold is slightly better in that regard but not noticeable enough imo

[WhateverWorks]

I guess ultimately the question that matters is "If I build a character that focuses on Katanas and Sorcery, and therefore DEX and INT, will I still be fully capable of doing all content in the game?"

I've watched some videos of the Melenia fight, haven't watched other bosses though. Want the fewest spoilers possible. Her fight reminds me a lot of fighting Sephiroth in the first Kingdom Hearts, or Minerva in Crisis Core. I can't wait to eventually master it, but it'll be really discouraging if doing so with my desired build isn't realistic.

[Meewec]

Originally posted by WhateverWorks:

I guess ultimately the question that matters is "If I build a character that focuses on Katanas and Sorcery, and therefore DEX and INT, will I still be fully capable of doing all content in the game?"

I've watched some videos of the Melenia fight, haven't watched other bosses though. Want the fewest spoilers possible. Her fight reminds me a lot of fighting Sephiroth in the first Kingdom Hearts, or Minerva in Crisis Core. I can't wait to eventually master it, but it'll be really discouraging if doing so with my desired build isn't realistic.

depending upon your skill anything can be used through the entire game. for the average person i'd say nearly everything can still be used but there's some stuff like poison/rot/frenzy and some weapons like the club which you would struggle with.

of all my characters i've started, sorcery seems to be the path of least resistance(except in raya lucaria)

(edit) and to add to that, once you've defeated the boss of raya lucaria you can use larval tears to respec your character if you so desire