The Himbo’s Guide to Playing Astrologer in Elden Ring

When I started FromSoft’s latest, Elden Ring, I texted a friend more experienced in the Souls games which class I should start with. He recommended the “one in the white robe,” which after scrolling through the different options I determined must be the Astrologer. Beginning with this class is the most powerful I’ve ever felt starting out in any of the few FromSoft titles I’ve dabbled in so far. The magic really did feel overpowered in the tutorial area and that was exciting to me. Until I left and got absolutely stomped by the Tree Sentinel. 

I managed to make progress by exploring and playing with a friend, but I eventually hit a wall with how my character moved and played. Turns out, I was making some rookie mistakes and missing some solid equipment. Considering the wild sales record of this game so far, I figure I probably won’t be the only person who’s not super well-versed in the Souls series picking Elden Ring up. So I decided I might as well compile everything I learned through asking smarter, more experienced friends, reading guides, and my own observations while playing to make Astrologer feel more comfortable going into the game’s first major boss fights. 

Vital starter equipment

Astrologer is a bit funky in terms of what equipment you can actually use effectively in the early game. Because this class’ main focus is Intelligence, there aren’t many melee weapons that scale along with them. There also aren’t many staff options early on, so feeling properly armed can be a bit daunting at first.

The two weapons that were recommended to me are the Meteorite Staff and Moonveil (this is a katana that scales with Int). Getting both of these, along with the Rock Sling spell, was well worth the effort. Which, trust me, it’s a good bit of work to get these, especially the sword. I’m not ashamed to admit that I used guides to grab these weapons, and I’d definitely recommend using co-op to take down the boss you get Moonveil from. Oh, it’s also probably worth getting the Flamedrake Talisman before you try to get this sword; you’ll want the fire resistance. 

Anyone looking to grab Moonveil should also note that it has a pretty high Dexterity requirement to use effectively, so you may want to level that before taking on the dungeon to get it. 

The other side of equipment in this game is how much it weighs and how its more vague stats can impact you.

Load size and Poise

Being an anxious person, I like to be prepared, both in life and in these kinds of games. As soon as I had gotten some heavier armor, I equipped it, not wanting to get crushed by the next passing giant guy on a horse. Beyond that, I made sure I had plenty of weapon and shield options for both of my hands. I thought this would give me the versatility to take on The Lands Between. In reality, it made me slower than frozen syrup. 

After getting my ass handed to me several times in encounters I really felt I should be winning, I asked a (different) friend about the weight of my equipment. He explained to me that Astrologers and other casters shouldn’t go past a Medium weight for their equipment load, and that everything you have equipped in your hand slots counts towards your overall load, even if you’re not currently holding them. 

The fix was to unequip almost all of my weapons and switch back to my old Astrologer’s robe. This immediately improved my too-slow rolls and inability to create space for myself, but it still wasn’t quite enough. But while reading through a guide of Stormveil Castle, I learned about what the Poise stat actually does. 

I may be botching the terminology a bit, but basically Poise determines how well you can take a hit. If your Poise is low, you will get crushed by the heavy hitters patrolling Godrick’s castle if they land a blow. The nice thing is that a lot of the Exile enemies here will drop their own armor when they die, which is both light and has a really good Poise stat. You may have to redistribute your weight a bit to make the armor work, but it’s worth it to get through the castle, in my experience. 

Fighting style

As yet another friend of mine put it: You should not be melee fighting unless someone gets too close or you’re trying to save FP. Put another way, the Astrologer is a magic user first and foremost, so you should always be focused on carving out space for them to cast spells during combat. 

I’ve found that one of the best ways to do that, especially in the more contained story areas like Stormveil, is to be willing to run. I don’t mean running away or past enemies, but rather purposefully luring powerful ones or members of large groups towards you and then running to get enough space to sling spells freely. Doing that can be a bit time consuming, but it absolutely rules to be able to rain rocks down on a giant knight that tried chasing you up a ladder. 

Another way to maximize this space is to keep projectiles (and a crossbow, if you can swing it with your weight) on hand at all times. Fire pots, various bone darts, knives, kukri, etc. all are great to have with you in a fight. Throwing them from afar can help you lure enemies to you, or take them out before they even have the chance to close the distance. They’re also a last ditch option if an enemy is low on health but you’re low on FP. Like any other FromSoft game, the odds are usually stacked against you in Elden Ring, so it’s important to take advantage of any tools it does give you.

The same goes for Ash Summons. These can come in handy in a myriad of ways, depending on what you need. Mainly, though, they’re great for drawing enemy attention and aggression so you can safely cast spells from afar. I like to bring the especially beefy ones with me to serve as a tank in most boss fights. I didn’t realize at first, but almost all boss chambers allow you to summon Ashes, so you shouldn’t really have to go it alone. 

There is one exception to the “no melee” rule, and that’s backstabs. Being able to deal this kind of critical damage is often necessary in boss fights, and being able to quickly dispatch run of the mill enemies from stealth can make traversal significantly easier. Learning the right positioning and timing can be a bit tricky, but it’s another advantage you’d be silly not to take advantage of. 

Doing all of the above (along with using the aforementioned guides) helped me make it through Stormveil Castle and take down its big boss. Hopefully collecting it all here can help save you some time figuring it out on your own. Good luck, Tarnished!

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