Best spells in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, ranked

Elden Ring has a plethora of spells for players who want to try their hand at a caster build. With several Sorceries and Incantations to choose from, it’s difficult to know which spells are worth using. Our ranking should help make those decisions easier.

The 5 best Sorceries and Incantations in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

Spells in Elden Ring are divided into Sorceries and Incantations. If you’re playing an Intelligence build, Sorceries are what you want, while Faith builds use Incantations in battle. Depending on your needs, we have the top five Sorceries and Incantations, including the new additions in Shadow of the Erdtree.

All of these spells can be worked into a build of your choosing.

5) Loretta’s Greatbow and Aspects of the Crucible

These are good to have as secondary spells.

Sorcery: Loretta’s Greatbow

This Sorcery can be acquired fairly early in the game, as soon as you defeat Loretta at Caria Manor. An all-round powerful Sorcery, Loretta’s Greatbow makes short work of distant enemies. This spell is best for melee builds that lack sources of ranged damage or for magic builds that need that extra bit of range to snipe those annoying enemies at range.

As great as this Sorcery is, there are stronger ones yet to come.

Incantation: Aspects of the Crucible

This entry is a special one because it encompasses all of the Aspects of the Crucible Incantations. If you include the new additions in the DLC, there are five Aspects of the Crucible in total and all of them work differently.

• Bloom: Channels a rain of light beams on your enemies.
• Breath: Spews flaming breath dealing Fire damage.
• Horns: Creates a spiked horn that protrudes outwards, dealing damage.
• Tail: Spawns a long tail, sweeping all enemies in front of you.
• Thorns: Unleashes thorns from the caster’s back followed by a rolling attack.

Depending on the situation, you can work any of them into your build, be it melee or caster.

4) Rellana’s Twin Moons and Unendurable Frenzy

These spells are great choices, but they can be outclassed by better options.

Sorcery: Rellana’s Twin Moons

This Sorcery is a better version of Ranni’s Dark Moon from the base game. Its damage is incredibly high, but the long cast time makes its use in battle highly questionable. You can mitigate this effect with Godfrey Icon, but not by much. Finding a convenient spot away from strong enemies is the best way to get this spell off safely.

You might be able to get away with it against slower bosses if you have a summon or a friend who can tank for you, but Rellana’s Twin Moons is much harder to use against faster enemies or in PvP.

Incantation: Unendurable Frenzy

Quite possibly the strongest Madness-based spell in the game, Unendurable Frenzy unleashes a stream of Frenzy Flame, dealing high damage and inflicting Madness. The caster also gains a minor Madness buildup by using this Incantation, so make sure your resistances are high. If the Madness proc doesn’t kill your enemy, the damage is sure to finish them off.

As great as this Incantation is, due to some enemies in the game being immune to Madness, Unendurable Frenzy isn’t effective in every situation.

3) Terra Magica and Golden Vow

The following spells are solid ones to have at any stage of the game.

Sorcery: Terra Magica

A powerful buff to have for any Intelligence build, Terra Magica improves your spellcasting by increasing your magic damage. This buff grants you a 35-percent damage boost to all your magic damage as long as you’re standing in the circle. Terra Magica also applies to your party members, making it a great buff skill for the squad before you fight a tough enemy.

Use this buff before casting any powerful Sorcery, like Comet Azur or Rellana’s Twin Moons, to supercharge them.

Incantation: Golden Vow

While Terra Magica works for magic builds, Golden Vow works for every build. This spell buffs your attack and defense, making it great for boss fights and tough enemies. The attack buff affects every source of damage, including physical and elemental damage. As long as you wield a Sacred Seal, keeping Golden Vow on you will always ensure victory.

Combine this spell with the Flame, Grant Me Strength Incantation and watch your damage numbers skyrocket.

2) Impenetrable Thorns and Death Lightning

The following spells are so good, they can be worked into hybrid melee/caster builds.

Sorcery: Impenetrable Thorns

As a new DLC Sorcery quickly rising up the ranks, Impenetrable Thorns brings out the best of any bleed build and combines it with powerful magic damage. This spell causes blood loss with a full cast and staggers enemies, letting you get a follow-up attack on them or just cast the spell again for more blood loss.

This Sorcery is the best choice for any Arcane build and, with the right talismans, it will make short work of any tanky boss.

Incantation: Death Lightning

This new DLC Incantation makes short work of almost every enemy you encounter. Death Lightning releases an array of Lightning bolts that also cause a buildup of Deathblight. This debuff can instakill almost every enemy in the game and works amazingly well in PvP, making Death Lightning one of the most powerful spells in the game.

Death Lightning doesn’t get our highest spot for one reason, though: Deathblight has no effect on some stronger enemies, especially bosses. With such a limitation, Death Lightning is best used against swarms of lesser enemies if you want to farm runes.

1) Comet Azure and Bloodflame Blade

The following options are the best spells in the game that can be used in every situation.

Sorcery: Comet Azur

No spell in Elden Ring is quite as powerful in the endgame as Comet Azur. With the right buffs and Crystal Tear, you should be able to take bosses down from full health within a matter of seconds. It’s all a matter of finding the right spot to position yourself, before unleashing a beam of destruction so potent that bosses will perish before they can respond.

Comet Azur is the ultimate spell for any Intelligence-based build and, despite several nerfs, has yet to be topped.

Incantation: Bloodflame Blade

Despite the existence of several strong damage-dealing Incantations, Bloodflame Blade is still unmatched in terms of buff potential. Enchanting with Bloodflame Blade will give your weapon two buffs: bonus fire damage and blood loss build-up. These buffs are relevant against almost any enemy, and bosses die quickly to bleed.

Bleed is the most potent status effect and will proc often enough with a good Arcane stat. For enemies immune to bleed, your weapon’s inherent damage will be boosted with Fire damage based on your Faith.