INT build tips and favorite weps

[Toastless]

Hey guys, back again for some more build advice. I love how there's still such an active and helpful community on a game that's a few years old now.

I've been playing with different builds, like faith, pyro and pure strength, and I've never given INT a try. What's your guy's favorite weapon/castings to use?

*Note: the build would be PvE for the most part until I get to an appropriate SL, when I'd probably start doing forest invasions

[Hey! It's me, Nana!]

Originally posted by Mister Grimm:

Hey guys, back again for some more build advice. I love how there's still such an active and helpful community on a game that's a few years old now.

I've been playing with different builds, like faith, pyro and pure strength, and I've never given INT a try. What's your guy's favorite weapon/castings to use?

*Note: the build would be PvE for the mosst part until I get to an appropriate SL, when I'd probably start doing forest invasions

The most effective (Probably not the most fun, it DESTROYS in PvE though.) would be two Soul Spears, a Crystal Soul Spear and Pursuers, and with weapons it's your choice between MLGS and Enchanted Claymore +5. Or, if you have high int get something like a CLaymore and do Quality-int., and have Crystal Magic Weapon or something similar.

[Dame Arstor]

Moonlight Greatsword and Moonlight Butterfly Horn is a good Int build weapon.Be warned though both of them deals Magic damage only(yep no physical damage at all)so if you fight a guy that uses Great Magic Barrier both weapons will do ♥♥♥♥♥♥ damage to them.Make sure that you have a backup weapon that does not deal magic damage(Lightning,Chaos,Fire,etc if you have low dex and strength)if you have high dex(30+ in dex)use normal +15 upgrade path weapon
Note:This advice applies only for PvP.Well,sometimes in PvE if you fight against enemies with high magic resistances

[The Kal]

If you plan on going DexInt, Velka's Rapier is a fun and stylish option

[AnKalameet]

Depending on what you pair your int build with (strength, dex, or just tons of vit. and end) you'll want to go different routes. The only time I'd suggest going with the MLGS and MLBH is if you don't get another offensive stat to the soft cap. If you do, Crystal Magic Weapon on your +15 weapon of choice. If you can wield the MLGS, do it, it's a great weapon. If you go dex instead, Velka's is a very nice choice (and get's extra bonus damage when riposting Silver Knights, Black Knights, and Gwyn). The MLBH is a nice choice if you find yourself in a situation where you need a spear, but otherwise I'd ignore it. As for spells, Crystal Soul Spear is probably the most useful and powerful ranged attack you can go for. White Dragon Breath is strong but requires 50 int and isn't necessarily worth it. Pursuers can wreck house in PvP, along with Dark Bead. Dark Bead's actually a shortrange spell, a sort of shotgun. Hidden Body can let you sneak by enemies you don't want to fight, and Cast Light's a must for the Township and Tomb of the Giants. Crystal Magic Weapon, as I mentioned, is a must if you get dex or strength to the soft cap. Other than that, all the other spells aren't really worth mentioning.

Some strength/int weapons to look at are the Stone Greatsword and Titanite Catchpole. They don't scale that well with int., but they can still be interesting (especially the Stone Greatsword. 2hr2s for days.) The Channeler's Trident is also interesting for the added buff (and can be a nice alternative as a spear to the MLBH.)

[Shifty Mario]

several int builds:
-pure int: Use pyro if against GMB
16/14 str/dex and uses elementals for melee. Moonlight greatsword is usually preferred. Can use gravelord sword if needed to.
Velka, str/dex is set to only use velka's rapier for melee
You can also go 20/16 if you need another physical weapon.
16/16 will allow you to use channeler's trident
-str/int: Get to use both int and str playstyle. Doesn't mix well. Str weapons are usually heavy so extra endurance is needed.
-dex/int: Dex increases cast speed. Light weapons work well with weapon buffs since buffs only rely on magic adjust.
-int/fth: Pure caster. Can actually mix up spells. WoG works very well. Rely on velka talisman for miracles since fth requirements are low.

For PVE, pure int will destroy everything. Just gather the magic boost item and start wrecking everything. Enchanted > Magic path all the time.

[Fnarr]

Make sure you use crown of dusk and the bellowing dragoncrest ring, if paired with power within you will obliterate ever boss with a few crystal souls spears. You can also use pyromancy for enemies resistant to magic, pyromancy will benefit from both those items. For melee, pick up the moonlight greatsword and stock up on repair powders and go to town with the strong attacks - so much fun.

[Fashionbeast]

BC: Pyromancer or Wanderer (Sorcerer would be the same , but lower resistance)

INT 44: should be desired for CSS
STR 16/ DEX 16 : For some weapon variety (Moonlight Greatsword, Moonlight Spear, Channelers Trident, Velka's Rapier (performes decent with INT build)
ATT 16 - 23 : All the magicks..
FTH : NO
VIT and END as you see fit

This is some kind of dedcated INT build with lots of weapon options and SL 125 meta in mind.

[troylights]

Don't underestimate your starting weapon, the humble dagger. It has a pretty high crit bonus and low stamina usage. Buffed with gold pine resin, it can take out Taurus demon in seconds.

Of course you'll want to get some weapons with better range, too. Depending on how you level your stats, you can take some weapons up the magic or enchanted paths, but you will want a divine weapon for the catacombs and a fire weapon for enemies resistant to magic.

My favorite sorceries are the homing soulmass. Buy it from both Big Hat and Griggs so you can attune 20 homing soulmass at a bonfire. You should be able to take on O & S easily by yourself before level 50.

Be sure to get the Bellowing Dragoncrest and Lingering Dragonquest rings. Dusk's crown is also useful for boosting sorcery power. As much as I like the ring of FaP, it's often quite useful to have both ring slots free, so chose wisely.

[SundownKid]

My int build can easily blow through the game on any NG level.

Basically it just consists of Moonlight Greatsword +5, 50 int, bunch of Attunement slots filled with only Crystal Soul Spear and Dark Bead. Bellowing Dragoncrest Ring and Crown of Dusk if you want to one shot bosses.

For early on in your playthrough before you get Moonlight Greatsword I suggest an Enchanted Halberd or Gargoyle Halberd. It only requries 16/12 in physical stats. And you'll want 16 for the shields anyway.

[Toastless]

Wow, tons of great feedback, thanks guys! As a sidenote, are there any notable PvE enemies who are immune (or at least highly resistant) to magic damage? I ask to help me decide between weapons, and the MLGS is pure magic dmg

As a side discussion, do you find it's worth it to go to 50 INT, despite the diminishing returns?

[Fashionbeast]

50 INT gets you one spell, which isn't used often in pvp and is not very useful in general.
Its a bit more useful than the FTH 50 spell, but not many cookie cutter SL 125 meta builds go for it...
Like many said, a pyromancy flame and a chaos weapon are handy in some situations.

[Hjelpmooglene]

You can easily make a medium roll int build with a mix medium and heavy armor. For dlc bosses, crystal soul spear and soul spear will work wonders until higher ng+'s. At that point you might have to finish them off with a physical weapon. As for normal game, dark bead/pursuers destroys most bosses and the magic resistant bosses can be taken out with pyromancy.

[Washing Machine]

Feck backup weapons, if people GMB when they see your MLGS, just run laps around a tree until it runs out.

[AnKalameet]

Better yet, equip the Lingering Dragoncrest ring and wait for their buff to run out before yours does and then rekt them while they try to rebuff.