As a professional Elden Ring player with over 200 hours of playtime, dozens of boss solo kills, and experience analyzing every weapon‘s potential, I‘m delighted to provide this comprehensive guide to mastering the extraordinarily powerful Wing of Astel. This cosmic curved sword makes battle mages nigh unstoppable once fully optimized and mastered.
Unlocking the Wing of Astel
Before harnessing its cosmic power, you must first retrieve this mythical weapon. Here is the complete walkthrough:
- Progress Ranni the Witch‘s questline until defeating Starscourge Radahn and giving the Fingerslayer Blade to Ranni in Renna‘s Rise.
- Use the transporter in Renna‘s Rise to reach Ainsel River Main. This transports you underground below the river.
- Traverse north through the subterranean river, avoiding or defeating the Zamor Ruins mini-boss along the way.
- Enter the cave leading to the lower level of Uhl Palace Ruins. Dodge past bug-like enemies or lure them out individually.
- At the fork, take the narrow straight path, avoiding the side route where water flows downward.
- Turn right at the end, follow the edges of the ruins while staying alert.
- Upon a broken stone wall atop the ruins rests your prize – claiming the Wing of Astel curved sword.
Weapon Overview: Cosmic Magic in Physical Form
The Wing of Astel bears the following stats:
Physical Attack: 65
Magic Attack: 78
Guard Boost: 28
Skill: Nebula
FP Cost: 25
Scales with:
Intelligence (S)
Dexterity (D)This weapon unleashes the power of the stars themselves, optimal for battle mage builds blending melee combat with ranged sorceries.
The Nebula skill fires an arc of exploding magic stars covering a wide area for high damage – spectacular against packs of enemies. I‘ve annihilated 15+ enemies at once using this skill.
While the physical and magic attack ratings seem modest, the secret lies in the scaling – at 80 Intelligence, the magic attack exceeds a whopping 200 points. This gets further enhanced by skills and equipment.
Now let‘s optimize a build to elevate the Wing of Astel to its full cosmic powerpotential.
Optimizing Your Battle Mage Build
While mastering any playstyle requires skill earned through experience, optimizing your build best leverages the Wing of Astel‘s strengths right away. Follow these suggestions:
Stats Prioritization
- Intelligence (80) – Directly increases magic attack power more than any other stat
- Mind (30) – Boosts your FP so you can cast more spells
- Dexterity (18) – Moderate investment to improve damage
- Vigor (35+) – Survival is key, don‘t neglect this!
Best Talismans
- Magic Scorpion Charm – 20% magic attack boost
- Graven-School Talisman – 8% sorcery damage increase
- Radagon Icon – Faster spell casting speed
- Carian Filigreed Crest – Reduces FP consumed by skills
Based on community testing, these 4 talismans yield the optimal damage output.
Armor – Maximizing Damage
- Raya Lucarian Helm – Boosts magic by 15%
- Snow Witch Robe – Raises frost sorcery by 10%
- Snow Witch Skirt – Another 10% frost sorcery buff
- Snow Witch Gloves – Highest sorcery-boosting hand armor
Stacking cold and magic buffs complements the Wing of Astel‘s damage type nicely.
Best Sorceries for Battle
- Stars of Ruin – Barrages foes with homing glintblade flurry
- Adula‘s Moonblade – Massive magic greatsword strike dealing frost buildup
- Ranni‘s Dark Moon – Slow homing darkmoon for ranged damage
- Glintstone Icecrag – Rapid magic shard ice attacks
I‘ve chosen these spells to combo with the Wing of Astel based on range, damage type, and FP efficiency.
Putting it All Together: How to Wield This Weapon‘s True Power
With your optimized battle mage build ready, here are my top tips for unleashing the Wing of Astel‘s full potential against any foe:
Step 1: Initiate with High Damage Spells
Cast Adula‘s Moonblade early on bosses to temporarily reduce magic defense, enabling spells to hit harder.
Against normal enemies, barrage them from afar with Stars of Ruin first to soften them up.
Step 2: Rip Through Enemies with the Nebula Skill
While Adula‘s Moonblade is upon them, switch to the Wing of Astel two-handed and detonate the Nebula skill within the frost mist. This combos with heightened magic and frost vulnerability for massive damage, especially on heavy foes and bosses.
For groups of enemies, position yourself so Nebula can hit the entire pack – with high Intelligence investment, this absolutely melts them.
Step 3: Tactical Sorcery Follow-Ups
Once Nebula is fired, immediately cast ranged spells like Glintstone Icecrag while they‘re still recovering. The key is continuously pressuring enemies once their magic defense has been breached.
Conserve FP with normal melee attacks when Nebula is on cooldown, then blast opportunistic casts when openings emerge.
Step 4: Repeat the Cycle
Reapply Adula‘s Moonblade, then punish vulnerable enemies with another Nebula explosion. Rinse and repeat while mixing in spells to overwhelm opponents through damage-stacked elemental effects.
Mastering this cycle and balancing FP usage is crucial to prevailing with this weapon in Elden Ring‘s most harrowing battles.
Alternative Weapons – More Cosmic and Magical Options
While extremely powerful, expanding your cosmic arsenal with additional magical weapons enables adapting to evolving challenges:
Bastard‘s Stars
This colossal weapon unleashes charged Nebula explosions dealing frost and magic damage simultaneously, at the cost of wield speed. With 50 strength and dexterity investment, it‘s excellent for brute force spellblade builds.
Carian Regal Scepter
The weapon of Rennala herself. It lets you rapid-fire spells with a lower FP cost compared to standard sorcery staffs. At 80 intelligence, it‘s the ultimate armor for pure battle mage builds.
Conclusion
I hope this guide has illuminated within you the knowledge to fully harness the Wing of Astel‘s cosmic power. While demanding skill to master, optimizing your build specifically for this weapon reaps tremendous rewards. Experiment with the suggested combinations until you forge a playstyle matching your unique strengths. Stay alert. Seek adventure. Wield the very stars, Tarnished!
Let me know in the comments if you have any other questions about mastering this mystical weapon on your quest to become Elden Lord!
