How to Play a Moonveil Build in Elden Ring
In this Elden Ring Moonveil build guide, we’ll cover everything from its stat progression to spells, weapons, and more.
This build looks to take advantage of the Ash of War Transient Moonlight to dish out incredibly high stance damage.
It can take some time before you start to hit hard because you need a lot of items and Talismans to set up the build, but once fully acquired, you will be critically striking most bosses after only 2 casts of your skills.
Pros
- Incredibly high stance damage to break boss posture extremely quickly in fights.
- A high intelligence pool that will give access to a variety of unique sorceries.
Cons
- Weak to enemies resistant to magic damage.
- Needs a lot of items and Talismans to come online
Leveling and Stats
For our starting class, we will be choosing the Samurai. This class will give us the most optimal stat distribution in comparison to the other starting classes, as well as a strong early-game weapon.
| Stats | Starting Stats | Level 25 | Level 50 | Level 100 | Level 150 |
| Vigor | 12 | 14 | 30 | 40 | 50 |
| Mind | 11 | 11 | 15 | 20 | 20 |
| Endurance | 13 | 13 | 15 | 20 | 20 |
| Strength | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 |
| Dexterity | 15 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 50 |
| Intelligence | 9 | 23 | 23 | 51 | 60 |
| Faith | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| Arcane | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
The first major breakpoint when it comes to leveling is level 25. At this point, you will meet the requirements to wield Moonveil. The priority will be to get 23 Intelligence as this is the intelligence requirement to wield Moonveil. To meet the Dexterity requirement, you can use the Dexterity-knot Crystal Tear.
The second breakpoint of level 50 will require us to invest many points into Vigor. This will increase our survivability significantly, allowing us to make a few mistakes during boss battles.
The third breakpoint of level 100 is where you will see a sizable increase in your damage. At 51 intelligence, your skills and spells will dispatch bosses extremely quickly.
At the last breakpoint, which is level 150 we put a stop to our Elden Ring Moonveil build. 150 is the perfect level for people who want to PVP, so if you want to do that, avoid crossing level, or it will influence matchmaking.
We will invest more points into Dexterity and Vigor after reaching the soft cap of 60 Intelligence, as going past that point will grant us diminishing returns.
Weapons
Moonveil
Moonveil is a Katana with a unique Ash of War, Transient Moonlight. Transient Moonlight can be used to quickly break an enemy’s posture to crit them.
Both the blade and projectile deal stance damage so it is best to use the Ash of War up close to deal maximum stance damage. It can be acquired by defeating the Magma Wyrm in Gael Tunnel in Caelid.
Requires
- Strength 12
- Dexterity 18
- Intelligence 23
AoW Scaling: Intelligence/Dexterity.
Uchigatana (Cold)
The Uchigatana is a powerful Katana that can be acquired immediately upon choosing the Samurai class. Once you have acquired Moonveil, change the Ash of War to Glintblade Phalanx and infuse the Katana with cold.
This is the strongest option for a power-stance with Moonveil without allocating any stat points unnecessarily. It is acquired as the starting weapon of the Samurai class.
Requires
- Strength 11
- Dexterity 15
Glintstone Staffs
The Carian Glintstone Staff is by far the best option for this build.
What sets the Carian Glintstone Staff apart from other staff in the game is that it boosts the power of Carian Sword Sorceries by 15%. This will boost the destructive power of all the spells we will use in our setup.
You can acquire this staff by picking it up from a body located inside the Carian Study Hall in Liurnia of the Lakes.
Sorceries
While most Sorceries will be accessible with this Elden Ring Moonveil build, I recommend a couple that go especially well.
Carian Sword Sorceries
These sorceries are some of the strongest spells in the game. They also receive a damage boost while wielding the Carian Glintstone Staff.
Here are 2 in particular that I recommend using:
Carian Slicer
Conjures a magic sword and delivers a Swift Sweeping slash. While it may sound underwhelming, Carian Slicer is one of the strongest sorceries in the game. With a quick cast time and fast recovery, you can easily dish out loads of damage to bosses fairly safely.
- It can be acquired by giving Sorceress Selen or Miriel, Pastor of Vows, the Royal House Scroll and purchasing it from their shops for 1,500 Runes.
Adula’s Moonblade
Conjures a cold magic greatsword, then delivers a sweeping blow that launches a blade-like projectile of frost. It is one of the most unique and aesthetically pleasing spells in the game. It’s also very good for dealing damage and applying frostbite.
- Acquired by defeating Glintstone Dragon Adula outside the Cathedral of Manus Celes at the Moonlight Altar in Liurnia of the Lakes.
Buffs
Golden Vow (Ash of War)
This skill increases your damage by 11.5% and decreases the damage you take by 7.5%. Golden Vow is a solid buff used in many different builds and can be utilized almost immediately at the start of a run.
- It is dropped by a mounted Godrick Knight roaming around the cliff above the Deathtouched Catacombs in the North of Limgrave.
Terra Magica
This spell increases the magic damage you deal by 35% while inside the sigil drawn on the ground. The Sigil lasts for 30 seconds. Playing around can be difficult as the sigil does not cover much ground, but it can massively boost your damage if used correctly.
- It is found in a chest at the top of a tower in Raya Lucaria, which can be accessed by reaching the elevator at the end of the Academy Crystal Cave Dungeon.
Flask of Wondrous Physick
Magic-Shrouding Cracked Tear
Boosts magic damage by 20% for 3 minutes. This will be the most important crystal tear for this build and should be a top priority. It can be acquired by defeating the Erdtree Avatar by the Minor Erdtree at the Western side of Liurnia.
Stonebarb Cracked Tear
Boosts stance damage by 30% for 30 seconds. It can be acquired by defeating the Putrid Avatar at the Minor Erdtree in Greyoll’s Dragonbarrow.
Dexterity-knot Crystal Tear
Increases Dexterity by 10 for 3 minutes. This can help meet the stat requirements of Moonveil before hitting level 50. It can be found in a bowl on an island South of Liurnia.
Talismans
Shard of Alexander
Acquired at the end of Warrior Jar Alexander’s questline in Farum Azula.
- Increases skill damage by 15%.
Magic Scorpion Charm
Acquired after progressing Preceptor Seluvis’ questline and giving him the Amber Starlight.
- Increases magic damage by 12%, but increases physical damage taken by 10%.
Carian Filigreed Crest
Purchased from War Counselor Iji after becoming one of Ranni’s servants.
- Decreases the FP cost of skills by 25%.
Assassins Cerulean Dagger
Acquired by defeating the Black Knife Assassin found in the Black Knife Catacombs in Liurnia of the Lakes.
- Crits restore 15 FP.
Ancestral Spirit’s Horn
Acquired by trading in the Regal Ancestor’s Remembrance to Enia at the Roundtable Hold.
- Kills restore 3 FP.
Green Turtle Talisman
Found in a chest surrounded by Turtles in a room sealed by an Imp Statue in Summonwater Village in Limgrave.
- Raises stamina recovery speed by 8 per second.
Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman
It can be found in a chest surrounded by Pests in the building above the Haligtree Roots site of grace in Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree.
- Decreases physical damage received by 20%.
Ritual Sword Talisman
Can be found in a chest after defeating Demi-Human Queen Gilika in the Lux Ruins in the Altus Plateau.
- Increases damage dealt by 10% while at full HP.
Ritual Shield Talisman
It can be found just outside the door to the Colosseum in Leyndell, Royal Capital.
- Decreases damage taken by 30% while at full HP.
Armor
There is one set that pairs especially well with this build, the Spellblade set. The Spellblade set can be acquired from Sorcerer Rogier after progressing his questline.
Each piece of this set increases the damage dealt by Transient Moonlight and Glintblade Phalanx by 2%.
Spellblade’s Pointed Hat
Glintstone Sorcerer Rogier’s Pointed Hat, a sign of a Heretical Practitioner. Strengthens Glintstone Sorcery skills.
Spellblade’s Traveling Attire
Glintstone Sorcerer Rogier’s Traveling Attire graced with Intricate and Aristocratic decoration. Strengthens Glintstone Sorcery skills.
Spellblade’s Gloves
Glintstone Sorcerer Rogier’s Gloves are graced with Intricate and Aristocratic decoration. Strengthens Glintstone Sorcery skills.
Spellblade’s Trousers
Glintstone Sorcerer Rogier’s Trousers are graced with an Intricate and Aristocratic decoration. Strengthens Glintstone Sorcery skills.
Flask Distribution
At the maximum amount of Flasks, I recommend going for a 9 Crimson Flask and 5 Cerulean Fask split. This build revolves around spamming your skills and spells, so having a good number of FP flasks is important.
Summons
Other than the obvious summons, such as Mimic Tear and Black Knife Tiche, I have some recommendations that can go well with this Elden Ring Moonveil build.
Omen Killer Rollo
Omenkiller Rollo summons the spirit of Omenkiller Rollo. This summon is incredibly good at taking boss agro from you as it is very aggressive and deals very high damage. He also has a good amount of HP, so he can take agro for longer while you spam your weapon skills. Although he costs 113 FP, you can summon him using the Cerulean Hidden Tear for infinite FP.
- Can be acquired by defeating the Fell Twins at the Capital Outskirts.
Greatshield Soldier Ashes
Greatshield Soldier Ashes summons five Greatshield Soldier Spirits. These soldiers have very high defense skills and can keep bosses agro very well, as they tend to swarm immobile bosses from all sides. They can even stunlock some smaller bosses with lower Poise. They serve as a good distraction for you to use your weapon skills and Incantations safely.
- Usually found on a corpse in a graveyard in Nokron, Eternal City.
In Conclusion
Thanks for reading our Elden Ring Moonveil build guide! Head to our other Elden Ring build guides here.
