Summary
In the world ofElden Ring, many sorcerers call The Lands Between home. The magic system inElden Ringis the ultimate form of magic FromSoftware has built over the years, with some of the most powerful magic builds being able to breeze through the main game with few hard counters.
While both the sorceries and incantations can be both high damaging and visually stunning, they can take a while to charge up, and they leave the player vulnerable to counter-attacks from the various enemies and bosses in the game. Therefore, the best magic builds can make use of a fast casting speed, which is scaled with Dexterity, and quick-firing spells to mitigate downtime between casts.
Potential spoilers ahead forElden Ring’s story and the Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC
10Beast Sling
Here, Hold These
Obtained from the Beast Clergyman in Northern Caelid after feeding this mysterious figure its second Deathroot, the Beast Sling incantation proves valuable for starting out players' journeys into the world ofElden Ring’s magic.
The player throws sharp stones forward, causing damage. It’s effective for breaking low-poise enemies at a distance to start. It pairs well with theBlue Dancer Charm talisman, which gives a buff to physical damage with low equip weight. With a very quick cast time and the ability to stack poise damage onto enemies, the incantation has been nerfed a number of times inElden Ring’s PvP environments.
9Carian Greatsword / Adula’s Moonblade
One For The Money, Two For The Show
Both of these Sorceries share the same animation and thus share the same speed. The Carian Greatsword can be purchased at the Roundtable Hold, either from Miriel or theTwin Maiden Husks with Miriel’s Bell Bearing. Adula’s Moonblade can be found after defeating and looting Glintstone Dragon Adula, who is found roaming around Ranni’s Rise in Liurnia.
Though they share the same speed, Adula’s Moonblade has the additional effect of throwing frozen blade projectiles from its slash. Both sorceries are chainable, getting faster on recasts.
8Stone of Gurranq
Between A Rock And A Hard Place
Rewarded to the player after giving the mysterious Beast Clergyman their sixth Deathroot, Stone of Gurranq is a shockingly quick spell to cast. Players summon and hurl a large boulder forward, causing damage.
The spell can chip in some solid damage, havinggreat scaling with Faith, or FTH, and further boosted by the Clawmark Seal, which is given to the player also by the Beast Clergyman. However, there is little to no tracking on the spell whatsoever, making it less effective at medium to longer ranges.
7Carian Retaliation
Defense Is The Best Defense
Sold by Seluvis at the Roundtable Hold, or by the Twin Maiden Husks if the player has Seluvis' Bell Bearing, Carian Retaliation can be a useful tool in any mages' kit.
It’s a defense spell, with anAsh of Warversion too. Casting almost immediately, it absorbs magic and casts a smaller, modified version of Carian Phalanx in retaliation once the shield is hit. It can be very effective against both Mohg, Lord of Blood and Rennala and her Raya Lucaria understudies. But, beyond mages and their pesky ranged spells? The usefulness of Carian Retaliation drops off quickly.
6Bloodflame Talons
Some Nasty Claws
Players who have already fought Mohg, Lord of Blood at this point of the game should be familiar with this incantation. Funnily enough, players obtain this incantation from a fight with Mohg,underneath Leyndell in the secret Subterranean Shunning-Grounds.
The character swipes down with three bright red claws towards enemies, with a small explosion of bloodflame as a finisher for the spell. The incantation also builds up the Bleed status effect, one of the most powerful effects in the game to chunk down HP bars against bosses. Players can get the spell off quickly, and it has some solid damage to boot.
5Miriam’s Vanishing
And For My Last Trick…
Requiring players to have the Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC, Miriam’s Vanishing can be purchased from the Count Ymir at the Cathedral of Manus Metyr, home of a veryinteresting side questfor the player.
Miriam’s Vanishing may seem like a gimmicky spell, but it can provide so much more value. The character becomes invisible for a short time, being teleported a short distance away after casting. The thing is, the spell also makes the player invulnerable while they are teleporting, making it possible in scenarios where the player can avoid a hit altogether from any enemy.
4Electrify Armament / Vyke’s Dragonbolt
Tarnished Uses Thunderbolt!
With the same animation, these two incantations share the same cast speed. Electrify Armament can be obtained a lot earlier on than Vyke’s Dragonbolt, the latter requiring a tough fight against Roundtable Knight Vyke,found in an evergaol on the Mountaintops of the Giants.
The player points their weapon to the sky, a bolt of yellow or red lightning strikes the weapon, adding lightning damage to the weapon. That’s where the improvement ends with Electrify, but Vyke’s Dragonbolt has the added effects of increased max equip load, but lower Lightning damage negation.
3Glintstone Arc
Early Game Enemies Hate This Trick…
Either sold by some of the early game sorcerers players will meet in Limgrave, or given to the player for free if they choose the Astrologer origin, Glintstone Arc is both fast and amainstay for mages just starting out their journeyin The Lands Between.
This spell, when cast, shoots forward a small arc of Glintstone, increasing in size as it moves forward. The spell also pierces through targets, which proves invaluable in larger groups of enemies. Though its FP cost can put a dent in a new player’s FP bar pretty quickly should players spam the spell.
2Wrath Of Gold
Good As Gold
In the Woodfolk Ruins area ofthe Altus Plateau, players will find a pack of Wormface enemies guarding the cellar where Wrath of Gold can be found. The spell also requires a quite hefty investment in the Faith stat to use it.
The player crosses their arms in an X shape, building up, then releasing a large expulsion of light and holy damage, causing humanoid enemies to be knocked down entirely. It is effective in its uncharged state, with the spell being able to be completed very quickly, though it can be charged up for more damage if needed.
1Carian Slicer
Slice And Dice
Once players hand in the Royal House Scroll, which is located in Liurnia Of The Lakes at a camp, they take the scroll to Sellen, Seluvis, or Miriel to learn from. It is one ofthe most useful spellsa player can obtain for damage and quickness.
When casting, the staff’s end becomes a sword, quickly slashing forward. Where this spell gets better is on recast. The sword form stays, and has an even faster animation for slashing, being able to be chained for very little FP. With the FP cost of the spell being so low, and the quickness of it, players can get in some really great damage to enemies as a result.
