As Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is just approaching, I'll cover a perfected Frost Mage build, using the Dark Moon Greatsword to stagger enemies for critical hits and apply Frostbite regularly. We're also combining this build with a Horn Bow for Fire Arrows to remove the Frostbite build once it's triggered to build it up again.
How It Works
The original 2 builds that this hybrid is based on the Mage Knight and Frost Mage builds. The Mage Knight relied on the Moon Veil Katana and capitalized on the potent poise damage of Transient Moonlight. However, there have been some adjustments since then, you now need to engage enemies at much closer range.
I also wanted to make some adjustments to this build and focus more on the Dark Moon Greatsword from the Frost Mage build. Greatswords have received significant buffs since launch. The scaling was adjusted, and improvements were made to their speed, range, recovery time, and guard counter speed. Additionally, the Moonlight Greatsword Ash of War was also buffed.
We're focusing on Frostbite for several reasons. Frostbite is easy to apply and can be reset, which is why we've included a Horn Bow and Fire Pots as secondary options for this build. When you trigger Frostbite on an enemy, you can deal significant damage, but then reset it with the Horn Bow.
The Horn Bow scales with Intelligence and deals magic damage, and using Fire Arrows or Fire Pots resets the Frostbite buildup. This allows you to continually apply Frostbite, which is effective against enemies with high health pools or Frostbite resistance.
Armor
For the armor, you can wear the Snow Witch Hat, which comes from Ranni's Rise, also from Ranni's quest line, and then any medium armor that you have a decent amount of poise with. And for the armor set, I recommend wearing the Blaidd's Set in this build because it does give you above 52 poise so you can tank a couple of hits while still attacking.
Weapons
The added Frostbite benefits of the Dark Moon Greatsword significantly enhance this build. There have been reductions in the FP cost of numerous spells across the board. Consequently, these adjustments collectively bring the Dark Moon Greatsword more in line with the Moonveil Katana.
In this setup, you can wield the Carian Regal Scepter. To acquire this staff, you must obtain the Remembrance of the Full Moon Queen's power and deliver it to Enia at Roundtable Hold. The Dark Moon Greatsword, crucial to this build, is acquired from the Remembrance's quest line as well.
While I'm not utilizing a shield in this configuration, I suggest equipping the Horn Bow in your secondary slot. You can find the Horn Bow near the Siofra River bank side of Grace, just underneath the stairs at the Hallowhorn Grounds. This weapon offers versatility in combat. You can switch to it in your main hand and use Fire Arrows whenever you need to reset the Frostbite effect.
Alternatively, if you prefer not to switch weapons, you can rely on Fire Pots. The Horn Bow provides additional options, allowing you to use arrows with various effects such as putting enemies to sleep or dealing with Magic Damage, which complements this build perfectly.
Talismans
Move to the talismans. You can use the Shard of Alexander to greatly boost the attack power of skills. Besides, I recommend using the Magic Scorpion Charm to raise the magic attack damage and it does lower your damage negation.
But we can mitigate some of those effects with the Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman to increase our physical damage negation. And lastly, you can get the Godfrey Icon to enhance the charged spells and skills, as a lot of these spells can actually be charged, so you can increase their damage overall.
Stats
For your stats, Intelligence is absolutely your primary. You want to get this to around 80. This is also for using the specific staff we're using as well as all the spells we're using, but also because the magic wave of the Dark Moon Greatsword does scale mostly off your Intelligence, same with the weapon itself.
For your secondary stats, like Vigor, you definitely want your Vigor to be around the 50 mark for moving into the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, and then your Endurance at whatever and your Strength will need to be at 16 just for that minimum requirement for your equipment.
