The Ultimate Hexer
SorcererA Dark-magic Hexer that rushes the 20 Intelligence / 20 Faith threshold to claim the Sunset Staff from Felkin, then stacks casting speed with the Lion Mage Set and Clear Bluestone Ring +2 to spam Dark Orbs and Affinity at machine-gun pace. Climax consumes banked souls for one-shot bursts on bosses, while Numbness layers a 32% damage reduction that flips the glass-cannon caster into a genuinely tanky one. Endgame target is Soul Level 217 with 75 Attunement for 13 spell slots.
Damage
1,200+ per Dark Orb at endgame. Climax one-shots most base-game bosses at 5,001+ banked souls (6.75x catalyst Dark AR).
Survivability
32% PvE damage reduction under Numbness for up to 90s. Tanky once buffed, glass cannon without it.
Boss
Trivializes most base-game bosses. Clears Sir Alonne and Fume Knight cleanly. Slower against Dark-resistant fights (Darklurker, Velstadt).
Sorcerer
Dark Souls 2's caster starting class, beginning at Soul Level 11 with the highest natural Intelligence (14) and Attunement (12) of any starter. That head start cuts the most expensive part of the leveling curve to reach the 20 Intelligence / 20 Faith threshold required to receive the Sunset Staff. Comes equipped with a Sorcerer's Staff and the Soul Arrow spell, so you can cast from the moment you leave Things Betwixt.
The best Hex-casting staff in the game once Dark-infused, with S scaling in Dark and A scaling in Magic. Felkin gifts it the moment your natural Intelligence and Faith both hit 20, which lets you swing into Hex play far earlier than any other catalyst path. Cast speed is mediocre at base, so the rest of the build is built around stacking casting-speed multipliers on top of it.
How to Obtain
The single most important headpiece for the build. Adds +1 Intelligence and +1 Faith and increases all spell uses by 5% (rounded up), so a single piece both raises your Hex damage and gives you more casts of every spell in your bar. Felkin gifts the full Hexer's Set together with the Sunset Staff at 20/20.
How to Obtain
Boosts offensive Hex damage by 7% at the cost of 30 HP per cast. Keep your healing on hand and you'll never feel the drain, but it can lethal on a low-HP build, so stay above 30 HP at all times. Pairs with the Dark Clutch Ring for the build's biggest single-source Dark damage stack.
How to Obtain
Combat Strategy
- ▸Eat a Brightbug at the fog door for the duration buff to damage and defense.
- ▸Cast Affinity to spawn 3-5 homing orbs that double as opening damage and a defensive shell.
- ▸Cast Numbness for 32% PvE damage reduction. Re-cast as the timer runs out (up to 90 seconds at 61 INT).
- ▸Confirm 5,001+ souls in your wallet before triggering the boss for max-multiplier Climax.
- ▸Lay Lifedrain Patch where the boss will be standing on its first attack.
- ▸Cast Climax through the patch for stacked Dark damage. With the Sunset Staff or Chime of Want, this one-shots most base-game bosses outright.
- ▸If the boss survives, fire your stored Affinity orbs to keep stagger pressure up.
- ▸Spam Dark Orb at range for stagger and consistent damage.
- ▸Switch to Great Resonant Soul to finish enemies that survive the orb spam.
- ▸When the boss closes the gap, drop Dark Hail for a 7-orb shotgun blast point-blank.
- ▸Refill spell uses with Amber Herbs (single spell) or Twilight Herbs (full attunement bar) during long fights.
- ▸Use Souls of a Brave Warrior or Proud Knight from the quick-item bar to instantly bank 5,000 souls and reload Climax to max damage.
- ▸Watch your HP under Abyss Seal. The 30 HP per cast adds up fast in a heated rotation.
- ▸Skip Whisper of Despair. Its -200 defense debuff is physical-only and does nothing for Dark damage.
- ▸Stack Bonfire Ascetics at the Memory of the King bonfire to farm The Rotten repeatedly with the Rapier setup.
- ▸For Dark-resistant bosses (Darklurker, Velstadt) lead with Great Resonant Soul instead of Dark Orb to push past their resistance window faster.
Sources
Verified: 2026-04-27 · All content is original with full credit to original creators.