In this Elden Ring Finger Mage Build, I’m going to be showing you my Maternal Mage Guide. This is a mage build using the new Finger Sorceries that are acquired in the DLC from doing Ymir’s questline.

I’ve been rocking this build for the last day or so, and honestly, I think it’s a fantastic build. It might be one of the better builds I’ve played so far. If you’re struggling with the difficulty of the game, this could be a really good build for you, because I find that a lot of bosses are made easier by having a ranged option.

Elden Ring Finger Mage Build – Maternal Mage

In this Elden Ring Build Guide, I’ll be showing you my finger sorcery build. This is a Shadow of the Erdtree build that takes place after level 150. If you’ve been looking for a mage build for Shadow of the Erdtree burst down enemies then you might want to check this build-out.

• Class: Any
• Flask Spread: Equal Charges
• Main Weapon: Carian Regal Scepter
• Off-Hand Weapon: Maternal Staff
• Shield: N/A
• Armor: High Priest Hat, Finger Robe, Bull-Goat Gauntlets, Bull-Goat Greaves
• Talismans: Crusade Insignia, Blessed Blue Dew Talisman, Graven-Mass Talisman, Godfrey Icon
• Alternate Talismans: Ritual Sword Talisman, Magic Scorpion Charm
• Primary Stats: Intelligence, Vigor
• Secondary Stats: Mind, Endurance
• Skills: N/A
• Spells: Glintstone Nail, Glintstone Nails, Fleeting Microcosm, Cherishing Fingers
• Crystal Tear: Magic-Shrouding Cracked Tear, Opaline Hardtear
• Great Runes: Radahn’s Great Rune

We have over 110 Elden Ring builds. Each one is meticulously crafted to offer unique playstyles, strategies, and experiences, ensuring there’s something for every adventurer in the Lands Between. Whether you seek the raw power of heavy weapons, the finesse of spellcasting, or the versatility of hybrid builds, our collection has you covered. Explore the depths of the game’s mechanics and unleash your full potential with our diverse array of builds.

Elden Ring Finger Mage Build – Spells

First, let’s dive into the sorceries themselves.

Glintstone Nail is your typical ranged projectile that deals 100% magic damage and tracks the target. While its tracking isn’t superb, it can still hit agile enemies occasionally. Charging it up increases the damage, making it effective for picking off individual targets, especially before they notice you.

Glintstone Nails is a multiple projectile version of Glinstone Nail. Although its damage is only about 10-20% higher than Glinstone Nail, it excels in stance damage. Each nail contributes to stance breaking, making it easier to stagger enemies. This is particularly useful in boss fights where the goal is to deal damage quickly rather than conserve FP. However, for weaker targets while exploring or in dungeons, Glinstone Nail might be more cost-effective.

Fleeting Microcosm is a phenomenal spell that summons an orb under the target’s feet or casts it a good distance away if there’s no target. The orb deals a small amount of initial damage when it emerges, then explodes after a few seconds, creating a massive AoE effect. Like the previous spells, it deals 100% magic damage and can be charged for increased damage.

This spell is excellent for clearing enemy encampments and is very effective against groups of enemies. It can also knock down elite enemies, allowing you to chain your attacks. In boss fights, it’s useful as the AoE explosion is hard to evade. However, it might struggle against highly mobile targets. If timed correctly, it can still be effective at close range by rolling into the explosion.

Cherishing Fingers is a unique spell that deals 100% physical damage, unlike the other spells which deal magic damage. It creates an AoE effect around you, dealing decent damage, and can be charged for more damage. It also wards off projectiles, but the fingers need to be fully emerged for this effect to activate, making it tricky to use defensively.

This spell is best suited for aggressive enemies that are close to you or heavily resistant to magic damage. In fights like the one against Rellena, where you need to block waves of magic, it can be particularly useful. It can hit enemies even if they get behind you, making it versatile in certain situations.

Elden Ring Finger Mage Build – Equipment

Let’s focus on the equipment for this build. I have the Carian Regal Scepter in my main hand for casting. This staff is a staple because, at 80 Intelligence, it offers fantastic sorcery scaling. While there are staves with higher scaling, they come with drawbacks like increased FP cost. For example, the Prince of Death’s Staff requires very high Intelligence and Faith to surpass the scaling of the Carian Regal Scepter. I don’t have the attribute points for that.

That’s also why I don’t use the Maternal Staff as my main staff. The Maternal Staff reaches 414 sorcery scaling at 80 Intelligence and 80 Arcane, which is better than the Carian Regal Scepter. However, it would require me to invest 70 points in Arcane to achieve that, or at least 40 points to come close. Instead, I keep it in my offhand for its passive boost to finger sorcery damage by 15%. This way, I cast with the Carian Regal Scepter while benefiting from the Maternal Staff‘s passive buff. If you were playing an Intelligence-Arcane build at a higher level, like 200 or 250, you could use the Maternal Staff as your main staff. To illustrate, at 50 Intelligence and 50 Arcane, the Maternal Staff has 280 sorcery scaling, which is poor for the amount of stat investment compared to the Carian Regal Scepter‘s 373 sorcery scaling with 80 points. This is why I use the Carian Regal Scepter while keeping the Maternal Staff in my offhand for the passive buff.

For my helmet, I use the High Priest Hat mainly for fashion. It also provides +1 Intelligence and +1 Arcane, which is beneficial if you are using the Maternal Staff. On my body, I wear the Finger Robe, which passively increases finger sorcery damage by approximately 8%. You obtain this by altering the High Priest Robe at a Site of Grace.

For gloves and legs, I have the Bull-Goat Set equipped to give me 53 poise. This setup ensures I don’t get interrupted as much when casting spells and provides better protection. The Bull-Goat Set’s armor is not very visible under the robe, so you can use other armor pieces that look better and still maintain 51 poise if you prefer. However, I highly recommend using the Finger Robe for its passive benefit.

Elden Ring Finger Mage Build – Talismans

When it comes to talismans, there are many that work well for this build. First is the Crusade Insignia, which increases your attack power by 15% for 20 seconds after you kill an enemy. This includes enemies that die randomly in the landscape, significantly boosting the power of your spells after each kill. It refreshes with each enemy killed, making it excellent for exploration, though less useful in boss fights since most bosses don’t have adds.

The Blessed Blue Dew Talisman is also fantastic for exploration because it passively recharges your FP at 1 every 2 seconds. While it might seem minimal, over 60 seconds, you’ll regain about 30 FP, enough for 2-3 casts, making it easier to play a mage while exploring. In boss fights, you might want to swap it out, but it can still be helpful.

The Magic Scorpion Charm boosts your magic damage by 12%, but you will take more damage in return. Note that this doesn’t apply to Cherishing Fingers because it deals physical damage. If you use Cherishing Fingers a lot, you might avoid this talisman. It’s generally not recommended for boss fights due to the increased damage you take.

The Graven-Mass Talisman increases the potency of sorceries by 8%, providing a better option than the Magic Scorpion Charm if you use Cherishing Fingers, as it applies to that spell as well and doesn’t have a drawback. Consider using this one to fill your last slot if you’re undecided.

All four of the previously mentioned spells can be charged, making the Godfrey Icon a good choice. This talisman is beneficial for FP management, allowing you to get more damage per spell when you charge them during exploration or boss fights. While charging isn’t always possible in aggressive boss fights, when you can, it significantly boosts damage.

Lastly, the Ritual Sword Talisman increases your damage by 10% when you’re at full health. This talisman, once a staple for mage builds, now feels a bit antiquated. The Crusade Insignia is better for exploration, and boss fights are challenging, meaning you’ll likely take damage, making the Ritual Sword Talisman less effective. Nonetheless, it can still be used if you don’t have some of the other recommended talismans.

Elden Ring Finger Mage Build – Recommended Attributes Distribution

Attribute-wise, I have 50 Vigor, 40 Mind, 25 Endurance, 8 Strength, 12 Dexterity, 81 Intelligence, 7 Faith, and 10 Arcane. You don’t need any Strength, Faith, or Arcane for this build.

The 81 Intelligence is due to the helmet I’m using; otherwise, it would be 80. This level of Intelligence gets you the most damage out of your Carian Regal Scepter. The Carian Regal Scepter isn’t worth using unless you have about 70 Intelligence anyway.

To get more damage out of this build, you might eventually crank Arcane and aim for something like 60 Arcane and 60 Intelligence, then take both to 80. However, this is a huge stat investment. Before making this switch, it’s better to level up Vigor to 60 or 55, Mind higher, Endurance higher, and Intelligence even higher.

For Vigor, 50 is my staple. We have decent protection, and you can take this up to 55 or 60 if you want, but I wouldn’t go higher than that. The 40 Mind is to have plenty of FP, reducing the need to flask often during boss fights. You can increase this to 50 for even more FP, which is a good idea if you plan to take this build to higher levels.

Elden Ring Finger Mage Build – Final Tips

And for Flask of Wondrous Physick, I have the Opaline Hardtear for more protection and Magic-Shrouding Cracked Tear for more magic damage, even though this doesn’t boost the damage of Cherishing Fingers. The other three spells I use more often, so you’ll get a significant damage boost using that. You could also use Terra Magica in this build, even though it was nerfed a little, to gain even more magic damage if you find yourself staying put in fights.

For Great Runes, my recommendation would be to use Radahn’s because it gives you health, FP, and stamina. FP is good because you’re a mage, health is good, and stamina is good—all those things are good. So you could easily go with that and be well off.

So that wraps up the Maternal Mage build. I hope you found this one interesting. I really enjoy these spells, and I find this build to be one of the better ones I’ve made so far in terms of making bosses less difficult. If you’re struggling, consider trying this one. You can get the first two spells by buying them from the NPC in the Cathedral of Manus Metyr, and the third spell, which is the bread and butter of this build, requires finding the Second Bell Bearing. You don’t have to kill any bosses to get the first three spells. If you want Cherishing Finger, the Maternal Staff, and the Finger Robe, you’ll have to kill one boss. Otherwise, you can get almost all the items in this build without killing any bosses, which is great.

As always, let us know if you have questions or other tips in the comments below. We have a ton more builds coming for Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree so stay tuned for those. If you need help finding the spells, items, or equipment in this build, and securing some personal objectives, make sure to check the Elden Ring Map.