need tips on build, Sword+Staff - sword will be primarily used. Int/Dex or Int?

[ZiVras]

First time player of Elden Ring. as in title, Sword and Staff combo be better suited for Int/Dex or Int? Sword will be used alot but want strong magic option, whether for damage and/or to buff.
Leaning towards Int/Dex but undecided atm. Assuming Astrologer would be best start for either build,

What would be the optimal end-game stats?
Would having an Int scaling or Dex scaling weapon be better?

All Tips welcome, New player to Elden Ring but skimmed the surface of the Dark Souls series. (Will be AFK so wont be able to reply immediately)

[Alby]

Well if the sword is primarily used, then int/dex is the way to go. Moonveil (katana) is a good option for this build you're going for, despite the haters. It's a perfectly viable, if not common used build that can almost trivialize the game with the correct stats placement.

[Ta'veren]

First you'll need to decide what type of mage you want to be. You can be a "spell blade" using ranged magic supported by a fast hitting sword, or an "enchanted knight" using magic to support a melee magic using style.
Then which type of sword. Straight swords, katanas, rapiers, and great swords all offer options for a sorcerer, but require different builds (slightly different focus on dex vs strength).
There are also some spells (Carian) that turn magic into swords (straight, great and semi-ultra), so you could just use a staff as your primary weapon, and a sword as backup, or not at all.
You get offensive spells very early in the game (vendor in starting area), so you could play ranged and use sword for finishing off enemies pulled by ranged spells.
You will need to search around a bit for the items that let you carry more spells, but that is also obtainable fairly early on.
And spirit ashes add a new dimension to the game, so if you want to play ranged, you can use tanking ashes which allow you stay ranged, or ranged ashes to support if you want to be up close and personal

[Honk1]

I think focusing on int is the way to go. Not too far into the game, you will get the ability to change the scaling of non-unique weapons in such a way that they scale mostly with int. There are also some great unique weapons for int builds which require some str or dex (like the Moonveil katana Alby mentioned), but they also benefit way more from int than from e.g. dex. I don't want to give you unnecessary spoilers, so I won't go into details for that.

At the start of the game, you can just use a standard infused weapon (without int scaling) and cast the Scholars Armament buff that's also available pretty early. Later in the game, you can switch over to magic affinity (= int scaling) weapons or unique weapons with int scaling. A good early game spell that stays strong through the entire game is Carian Slicer.

Your end game stats kind of depend on what weapons and spells you end up using and what playstyle you like. If you do mostly everything in the game while leveling up without grinding, you will end up around lvl 150 after beating the game. A ballpark suggestion for endgame stats might be around 50+ vigor, 60-80 intelligence for damage, enough dex/str/end to use the weapons and armor you want and enough mind to cast a reasonable amount of spells.

Note that you unlock respeccing your stats during the game, so you don't have to plan everything at the start. Just try things out and stick with what you like. I recommend focusing on vigor at the start until you reach 40 vigor because you gain a lot more from that than from damage stats, making the game a lot easier.

[agentkido]

Basically what those 3 said ^
moonveil as an int/dex is the basic go to, astrologer is a strong start for spellblade.
You also have another option of int/faith if you wanted to also cast incantations.

[Ta'veren]

As another option - one of the best weapons in the game is a straight sword that requires investment in intelligence & faith (24 each), but is so worth it.
I don't put that much into vigor (my un-bolstered by talismans) vigor at level 78 is 20.
If you have a shield with 100% physical block and enough stamina you can block any incoming hit.