Skills and Sorceries#

Elden Ring has the richest skill and sorcery system in the series — the three pillars of Ashes of War, sorceries, and incantations offer hundreds of tactical options

Ashes of War Explained#

Ashes of War are items that grant weapons their skills — consumable in form, but freely swappable at any Site of Grace

Top Ash of War Recommendations#

The Sorcery System#

Sorceries need a staff and Intelligence — divided mainly into glintstone, gravity, Carian, and dark moon schools

Mage Stat Thresholds#

Which Glintstone Staff to Pick#

Both glintstone staves only become available after defeating Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon. Azur’s casting-speed boost is a feel-based mechanic — the game never displays a percentage bonus, so don’t interpret it as one. Whichever you carry, pair it with FP-cost reduction or FP recovery, or your sustain will suffer.

Strongest Sorceries Ranking#

The Incantation System#

Incantations need a sacred seal and Faith — divided into fire, lightning, dragon communion, order, and frenzied flame schools

Faith Stat Thresholds#

Strongest Incantations Ranking#

The Talisman System#

Talismans are passive items equipped in four slots — providing all kinds of combat boosts. Every value in the table below has been cross-checked against multiple English resource sites — old entries with unreliable sources for their percentages were removed and replaced with qualitative descriptions.

Top Talismans (Values Verified)#

Locations and Corrections#

• Green Turtle Talisman: In the underground crypt of Summonwater Village in eastern Limgrave — requires a Stonesword Key to open. The old version’s “Limgrave catacombs” location was wrong.
• Radagon’s Soreseal: In Fort Faroth in Caelid — jump down from the roof and pick it up from a corpse along the wooden walkway. The old claim of “+3 to Vigor/Endurance/Strength/Dexterity” was wrong; it is actually +5 to all four. The same-type Radagon’s Scarseal is the weaker version, and the Soreseal and Scarseal cannot be equipped together.
• Dagger Talisman: Behind the fog gate in Volcano Manor — requires two Stonesword Keys to open. The old claim of “+20% attack below 20% HP” mixed in mechanics from low-HP damage talismans like the Red-Feathered Branchsword — the Dagger Talisman’s real effect is critical damage +17%.
• Carian Filigreed Crest: Purchased from Smithing Master Iji — the old “Liurnia merchant” label was wrong.
• Lord of Blood’s Exultation: The old “+20% attack after bleed triggers” was wrong — it is actually attack power +10% while nearby enemies bleed, or +13% when upgraded.
• Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman: In Miquella’s Haligtree — physical damage negation +20%.

Other Common Talismans (Qualitative Notes)#

• Erdtree’s Favor: Raises max HP, max stamina, and max equipment load simultaneously — exact values vary with talisman upgrade level; follow the in-game description.
• Shard of Alexander: Boosts skill damage — the core talisman of skill-focused builds (the old “+15%” claim had no reliable source and has been removed).
• Marika’s Soreseal: The caster version of Radagon’s Soreseal — raises Mind, Intelligence, Faith, and Arcane, with the same drawback of increased damage taken.
• Great-Jar’s Arsenal: Raises maximum equipment load — makes it much easier to keep medium-load roll mobility.

The Memory System#

Memory slots decide how many sorceries/incantations you can equip

Memory Stone Locations#

Skills and Sorceries FAQ#

FAQ#

Sorcery / Incantation Recommendations#

Talisman Recommendations (By Build)#

Advanced Techniques#

1. Sorcery and incantation pairing — Mages should carry Rock Sling (stance damage) + Dark Moon Greatsword (crowd control) + Comet Azur (bosses) + Adula’s Moonblade (frost)
2. Ash of War swap timing — The same weapon can carry different ashes for different scenarios — Bloodhound’s Step for map traversal, Stone Sword or Lion’s Claw for boss fights
3. Adjust talismans by scenario — Don’t fix four talismans for the whole game — swap in the Silver Scarab for platforming, defensive talismans for bosses
4. Stat point planning — Put the first 60 levels into Vigor and your main damage stat, then fill support stats — PvP characters should plan around the community meta of level 125; main stats start losing value sharply near 60, so don’t force them to 99
5. Talisman hot-swapping — You can swap talismans even mid-combat — run kill-heal + rune boosts while traversing, all-offense/all-defense for bosses
6. Passive FP recovery — Carry the Sacrificial Axe on your back + any main-hand weapon — killing enemies restores a small amount of FP
7. Buff stacking rules — Body buffs (Golden Vow) + weapon buffs (O, Flame!) / special buffs (Physick) can coexist — pair them sensibly for maximum benefit
8. Seal upgrades — Sacred seal upgrades also boost incantation potency — max out your sacred seal (or the matching casting catalyst) whenever possible
9. Spell slot expansion — Grab at least 3 memory stones by mid-game — 8 slots let you carry a full set of traversal + boss + utility spells
10. Int/Fai staff — The “Prince of Death’s Staff” scales with both Intelligence and Faith — a strong late-game pick for Int/Fai hybrids; test its strength against your own build
11. Staff and cost reduction — Lusat’s deals more damage and Azur’s casts faster, but both cost +50% FP — pair with the Ancestral Headband and similar FP-cost-reduction tools to ease sustain; add the Magic Scorpion Charm (magic damage +13%) on the offense side
12. All-spells achievement — Collecting every sorcery and incantation requires one full playthrough sweep — keep a spreadsheet to avoid missing any
13. The Meteorite Staff never upgrades — It cannot be reinforced but has excellent early Intelligence scaling — you must switch to the Carian Regal Scepter or Lusat’s Glintstone Staff later

Skill and Sorcery Combat Combos#

Mage Opening Combos#

• Open with Rock Sling to stagger, then finish with Glintstone Pebble to keep stamina costs low
• Against large bosses, cast Comet Azur first, then swap to the Dark Moon Greatsword to finish up close

Bleed Build Combos#

• Dual-wield uchigatanas: first unsheathe to stack bleed, then swap to Rivers of Blood and burst with its skill
• Pair with the Lord of Blood’s Exultation talisman — attack power rises while nearby enemies bleed (+10%, +13% when upgraded)

Faith Build Combos#

• Cast Golden Vow first for the buff, then chip from range with Lightning Spear
• Against dragon-type enemies, open with Ancient Dragons’ Lightning Strike and follow with fire, exploiting elemental weaknesses for massive damage