Elden Ring Carian Grandeur Build Guide - Carian Spellknight
May. 10, 2024Elden Ring Carian Grandeur Build Guide – Carian Spellknight
In this Elden Ring Carian Grandeur Build Guide, I’ll be showing you my Carian Spellknight. This is a level 150 build that sits somewhere between the Enchanted Knight and the Spellblade as it uses styles of play that are found in both of them. Carian Grandeur and Carian Greatsword have been substantially buffed, so they perform very well for this build.
An Intelligence Build that uses the Carian Grandeur to one shot difficult tough enemies and some Bosses.
We have over 110Elden Ring Buildsnow, for all classes and playstyles. This build is recommended for level 150.
The weapon I’m using for this Build is aLongswordthat I have infused with theCarian GrandeurAsh of War. I put it on the Magic affinity, as there are a couple of reasons for that. Carian Grandeur will deal more damage if you’re set to the magic affinity than if you set it to cold or a different one. You’re going to get a little bit more damage, although not significantly more than the cold one. Also, the INT scaling goes from C to B, and since we’re increasing it to 80 to increase our damage, it’s a better fit. You could go for Cold infusion if you want, but it would be better if you were splitting your attribute points between Strength and Intelligence.
I’m also using theCarian Regal Scepterhere because we have 80 Intelligence. This staff really shines at that point, it’s basically the best staff you can have besidesLusat’s Glintstone Staff. Lusat’s Glintstone Staff increases the cost of your spells by 50%, so I wouldn’t recommend using it. We use all different types of spells, so there isn’t a specific type of incantation we’re focusing on.
For our shield, we’ll be using theCarian Knight’s Shield. We don’t have a lot of points in Strength, so we can’t use the ones that are Strength-heavy. This shield requires Intelligence, and it has 60 Guard Boost when fully maxed out, which isn’t terrible. You don’t do a lot of blocking with this Elden Ring Carian Grandeur build, but it does come in handy for block counters. It also has good physical protection at 100%, while magic protection is at 71%. If you buff this withScholar’s Shield, it’ll get almost 100% magic protection as well, which is fantastic in some fights. I have no skill set on this in order to be able to use Carian Grandeur while I have my sword and shield out, but you could put a skill here if you want.
When it comes to the helmet, I’m using theCarian Knight Helmpurely for cosmetics. If you want to use a helm that increases your Intelligence, that would probably be a better idea. There are some helmets that have a negative effect, I wouldn’t recommend those that reduce your health or stamina, as these are already pretty low for this build.
For the rest of the pieces, I’m using theSpellblade Setwhich you’ll obtain fromRogier. This increases the damage thatCarian Grandeurdoes by 2% per piece, for a total of 6%. You could also use its helmet for a total of 8%, but I like the look of the Carian Knight Helm so I’m using it. One good thing about the armor is that you don’t have to invest any points into Endurance, so we can get the most out of Intelligence.
The talismans we’ll be using for this Carian Grandeur build are:Shard of Alexander,Magic Scorpion Charm,Godfrey Icon, andDragoncrest Greatshield Talisman.
Shard of Alexanderis just fantastic for increasing your Ash of War damage. It’s probably one of the best talismans in the game and increasing Carian Grandeur’s damage even more is great. This skill already hits hard, so you get really good mileage out of this one.
Magic Scorpion Charmis another good talisman for this build. If you don’t have it, I would suggest usingRitual Sword Talisman. This talisman is really important because Carian Grandeur does 100% magic damage, which means you’re getting a 10% damage increase to it. A lot of the spells you’re going to use deal magic damage, so you’re getting the most out of this talisman with this build.
Godfrey Iconis there to increase the damage of charged spells and weapon skills. You can charge Carian Grandeur up to two times, so it’s going to boost the damage of that when you use it. There are some spells you can use that can be charged, likeLoretta’s Greatbow. You could replace this talisman with Ritual Sword Talisman as well if you want.
Dragoncrest Greatshield Talismanis there because you’re wearing paper-thin armor. You’re going to need more protection. Also, since you’re using Magic Scorpion Charm, you’re going to have even worse protection. This talisman is a must-have for this build.
Generally, how this Elden Ring Carian Grandeur build works is that I’ll run around the landscape with my sword and shield out, try to block counter regular enemies. Usually, I can stagger them in one block counter and finish them off with a critical strike if they’re not too grouped up. Otherwise, I’ll use something likeFounding Rain of Starsto kind of AoE the enemies or try to pull one enemy at a time to useGreat Glintstone Shardon them.
When I’m fighting difficult enemies, I’ll throw upGreatblade Phalanxso that when enemies come at me, those blades will hit them, hopefully staggering them. If not, I’ll be usingCarian Grandeurto hit them at the same time. These attacks will usually kill them. If not, it will stagger them, allowing you to follow-up with another Carian Grandeur. You don’t really need to do critical strikes, but you could do it when fighting weak enemies to save FP.
Depending on the circumstance, I will put upGreatblade Phalanx, then useLoretta’s Greatbowto try and pick an enemy off from a distance. You can get multiple shots of this off, and Greatblade Phalanx will be there to protect you when enemies get close to you. You can also charge Carian Grandeur for enemies that are coming at you. Hopefully, you’ve damaged them significantly with Loretta’s Greatbow or Greatblade Phalanx, so you’ll stagger or finish them off with Carian Grandeur.
I also want to mention thatTerra Magicaplays a huge part in this build, and learning to play with it will pay off as it boosts your magic damage by 35%. Almost all the spells we use here are magic damage, so Terra Magica will be crucial for increasing your damage. You can use Loterra’s Greatbow or Greatblade Phalanx, then using Carian Grandeur will wipe them out. Make sure to put this down if you’re fighting and try to stay inside of it.
We also haveScholar’s Shieldin this build which buffs the Guard Boost and damage reduction of your shield for a little bit of time, although I don’t use it often. It’s good to get extra Guard Boost on this build because the shield is at 60, which isn’t a lot. I don’t always block, so it depends on what you’re fighting. You should buff with this before going into a boss fight if you plan to do some blocking.
The attributes I have for this Carian Grandeur build are: 50Vigor, 38Mind, 10Endurance, 12Strength, 12Dexterity, 80Intelligence, 18Faith, and 9Arcane. You can disregard Strength, Dexterity, and Arcane for this build. These are their numbers because I started out as aConfessor.
50 Vigor is there because you’re going to trade blows because you’re a melee character. You’re wearing very thin armor, although you have the Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman equipped. You want to be able to stay alive when trading hits, so we have a good amount of Vigor.
38 Mind is there because this is a caster-melee hybrid. This is going to allow you to cast spells or use your Ashes of War at will, which is fantastic.
10 Endurance is there because the weight of the armor is so light, you don’t need any Endurance at all. Also, even though you’re going to block with this build, you’re not going to do it all the time.
80 Intelligence is not only there to make your sorceries hit like a truck, but also to increase the damage of Carian Grandeur as well.
18 Faith is simply there to meet the requirements for Rykard’s Rancor. If you aren’t using that spell, you don’t need to put any points into Faith.
The difference between Carian Greatsword and Carian Grandeur is its FP cost and damage. Carian Greatsword costs 16 FP to use while Carian Grandeur costs 26 FP. Also, Carian Greatsword deals more damage and can only be charged once. However, Carian Grandeur charges faster than Carian Greatsword, so you can get that attack off much faster. That’s the difference between landing that hit or getting staggered out of it, so even if Carian Grandeur costs more FP, you’re going to use it more reliably.
Lastly, if you’re using theFlask of Wondrous Physickfor a boss fight, I suggest usingMagic-Shrouding Cracked Tearin order to increase your magic damage. The duration lasts for three minutes, which will last the whole time you’re fighting. Also, you can use theGreenburst Crystal Tearfor your stamina recovery. You don’t have much Endurance here, so this can be pretty helpful. You could also use Intelligence-knot Crystal Tear to increase your Intelligence to boost your damage.
That’s it for our Carian Spellknight Build Guide! 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 andShadow of the Erdtreeso stay tuned for those. If you need help finding items, and securing some personal objectives, make sure to check theElden Ring Map. Happy building!
Castielle
Senior Editor at Fextralife. I enjoy gaming, playing and watching sports, cooking yummy food, watching a good movie and hanging out with Fex.
