For more Faith-based builds, you can check out our guide on how to use Incantations in Elden Ring.
What Is Sorcery in Elden Ring?
Sorceries are one of the two magic types available for players in Elden Ring. In the case of Sorceries, the various spells require the Intelligence attribute and have several effects and abilities. Magic projectiles are obvious, a bit of blood magic here and there, and gravity magic as well. Some spells give the player various buffs that are used to do amazing effects and a Kamehameha spell. Overall, pretty diverse. To use Sorceries, players need to have a Glintstone Staff, which can be found in various places around the Lands Between. To get spells for use, you have to go around the world and find them in various corpses or buy them from trainers. Some sorceries can be charged by holding down the cast button to fire off a charged-up version. This does consume more Focus Points and delays the spell’s cast time. Some spells will consume a part of a player’s stamina upon use as well.
What Is Sorcery Scaling?
Sorcery Scaling is a bit of a weird stat. It’s not mentioned as much as other scaling types and is a bit obscure. However, the gist of it is that every Glintstone Staff you’ll find has sorcery scaling that corresponds to the player’s Intelligence. The more Intelligence you have, the more damage you’ll deal with Sorceries. It’s a bit difficult to calculate properly though, but someone did make a calculator for players to use to help tweak their characters found here.
7 Best Sorceries In Elden Ring
Now that we’ve talked about what Sorcery and Sorcery Scaling are, let’s talk about the best Sorceries you can get in Elden Ring. We’ll start with the ever-reliable Rock Sling. Followed by Comet Azur, Stars of Ruin, Ranni’s Dark Moon, Terra Magicus, Adula’s Moonblade, and Loretta’s Greatbow. Do note though that these are personal picks for our best sorceries. There are tons of other sorceries out there that a player would prefer compared to others. These are just our picks on sorceries that we’d go for when we do a Sorcery build. Let’s begin.
Rock Sling
The first sorcery we’ll talk about is the Gravity Sorcery by the name of Rock Sling. This spell can be found in an underground cellar north of the ruins of the Street of Sages and requires 18 Intelligence to use. You might have to fight off some enemies here and there to obtain the spell but it’s well worth it. Now you might be wondering, what sort of ultimate power does Rock Sling give to land a spot here? Well, it throws rocks. That’s it. However, these rocks have great tracking, require a small pitter of FP to use (18 to be exact), and deal both physical and magic damage. In addition to this, the rocks deal stagger damage due to having a physical component to their damage. This means that once you hit enemies enough times with the rocks, they’ll immediately stagger. Meaning you can get either healing, FP regen, or even cast some big ticket spells like Terra Magicus + Comet Azur. All in all, very versatile sorcery that can be used on any build. Get this when you can.
Comet Azur
The next sorcery on this list is an obvious one, the Comet Azur. This sorcery is one of the legendary sorceries in the game and is made by a primeval sorcerer by the name of, you guessed it, Azur. Players require a whopping 60 Intelligence, 3 Spell Slots, and 40 FP to use this spell. You’ll also need to fork over an additional 10 FP per second if you want to do the spell. See, Comet Azur’s requirements are indeed exorbitant and very FP-heavy. However, there is a way to use this spell without consuming any FP at all. At least for a time: the Cerulean Hidden Tear, which waives all FP cost once you equip this and drink from the Flask of Wondrous Physick. Players would usually cast Terra Magicus first to increase the damage, drink the Flask of Wondrous Physick to waive the FP cost, then cast Comet Azur continuously. After that, they’ll watch as the enemy that they aimed Comet Azur on has their HP practically disappeared in moments. There are risks to this, though. After all, you’ll be standing still for around 10 to 15 seconds to set up and cast both Terra Magicus and Comet Azur. Then, you’ll need to hope that the spell itself is enough to kill the damn thing you’re using the hyper-beam on. However, if done correctly, and with enough buffs (Magic damage boosting Talisman, more Intelligence, et cetera), this spell can shred enemies. Just make sure to have a backup plan if the enemy in question still has some HP left. Get a melee weapon or other spells just in case.
Stars of Ruin
Next on the list is Stars of Ruin, one of the best PvP sorceries you’ll ever find, and one of the legendary sorceries in the game. You get this by interacting with Master Lusat located in Sellia Hideaway. Specifically, he’s behind an arcane ward in the hideaway’s 2nd pit, and you’ll need a specific item to unlock said ward. Requirements-wise, you need 43 Intelligence, 1 Spell Slot, and 32 FP to cast. Now Stars of Ruin isn’t that strong in PvE scenarios. Its range is short compared to similar spells like Glintstone Stars or Star Shower. It costs a good chunk of FP, and its tracking was just nerfed recently. However, on PvP, this sorcery can do some heavy lifting. This is because even if its tracking was nerfed, that doesn’t mean that it’s not effective. Not even roll spam can stop the enemy player from being tagged at least 4 times by the projectiles. In addition to this, Stars of Ruin can do poise damage, which is a godsend for stagger attacks. Overall, a strong pickup for PvP while also being useful in PvE scenarios. A great recommendation overall.
Ranni’s Dark Moon
Next is Ranni’s Dark Moon, which is located on Chelona’s Rise, found on Southwest Liurnia’s Moonlight Altar Plateau. You’ll need to finish Ranni’s questline to gain access to the chest that contains the spell and it requires 68 Intelligence and 2 spell slots to equip. However, Ranni’s Dark Moon is a pretty good spell to have in your repertoire. Why? Because it does 3 things: It deals Frostbite, has AoE, and it reduces Magic resistance on enemies that this spell hits. The more magic-resistant an enemy, the better the magic resistance reduction, pretty great. The main downside of Ranni’s Dark Moon, and its counterpart, Rennala’s Full Moon, is the long cast time. Thus, it’s a good idea to use the spells only during boss fights or against staggered enemies. Still, the additional frostbite proc and magic resistance reduction is enough of a draw for Ranni’s Dark Moon to be included on this list.
Terra Magicus
Then we have Terra Magicus or Terra Magica. It’s a bit confusing but it’s either of the two when it comes to this spell’s name. Anyhow, this is one of the more broken sorceries you’ll ever find in Elden Ring. It requires 1 spell slot and 20 FP to cast, and you get it after completing the Academy Crystal Cave dungeon. You’ll need to take an elevator that’s right behind the 2 Crystalians you fight in the boss arena, where you’ll be led to a tower. Ascend to the top and get your prize, Terra Magicus. Now, Terra Magicus doesn’t do any damage. However, what it does do is increase magic potency when you’re inside its AoE by 35%. This means that all of your spells will deal even more damage against all your enemies. When combined with some incredibly nutty spells and Crystal Tears like Comet Azur, the Cerulean Hidden Tear, and the Magic-Shrouding Cracked Tear? Well, you’ve already seen several videos where magic-using players have obliterated bosses with 1 or 2 casts of Comet Azur while buffed. Overall, Terra Magicus is one of the most powerful buff sorceries you can get for a Sorcery build, but it’s not a be-all, end-all. After all, you might not need its power when fighting against normal mooks. But against bosses that take their time in their arrogance at your powerlessness? Well, best do as Emperor Palpatine does and Unlimited Power them to oblivion.
Adula’s Moonblade
Next is Adula’s Moonblade, which can be obtained after beating Glintstone Dragon Adula on the Moonlight Altar. She’s pretty prominent, as she’s guarding the Cathedral of Manus Celes. Beat her, and you can enter the cathedral, and get the spell, which needs 32 Intelligence and 1 Spell slot. Adula’s Moonblade is great at defeating massive bosses and groups of enemies without a target lock. After all, it’s a giant greatsword that fires an arc of frost energy with massive AoE. It deals a hefty chunk of damage as well as frostbite, and it’s spammable, which is a huge advantage. However, it has a shorter range compared to its Glintstone version and has a longer windup time. This makes Adula’s Moonblade riskier to use against faster enemies. Overall, Adula’s Moonblade is a great way to deal with enemy groups or against bosses weak to frostbite. However, don’t overreach, and don’t get greedy. You’re not someone who can 1v1 an enemy and live. Stick to long-range and keep poking, but also use Adula’s Moonblade whenever you can. After all, it’s a great spell to have in a jiffy or when you need someone’s balls frozen.
Loretta’s Greatbow/Mastery
Last but not least is Loretta’s Greatbow/Mastery, widely considered to be great sorceries for pure stopping power. The Greatbow variant specifically. Mastery is a bit on the weaker side but is still a strong contender. Greatbow requires 26 Intelligence, costs 24 FP, and 1 spell slot. Meanwhile, Mastery requires 46 Intelligence, 39 FP, and 1 spell slot. You can get Loretta’s Greatbow on Caria Manor after defeating Royal Knight Loretta. The Mastery variant is obtained by defeating Loretta, Knight of the Haligtree on Miquella’s Haligtree. Overall, both spells are great for defeating enemies in range and can be charged for more damage. Mastery does fall off a bit when compared to Greatbow, but having both gives options. If you’re going for completionist’s sake, you might as well get both variants and utilize them.
Best Sorcery Builds in Elden Ring
Now that we’ve talked about the best sorceries you can get on Elden Ring, let’s talk about Sorcery builds. We’ll start with Comet Azur, followed by the usual caster spell spam, and last but not least, Frostbite. Lots of Frostbite.
Comet Azur
Comet Azur shenanigans are a pretty obvious shoo-in on this list for good reasons. After all, if you can spam sorcery like Comet Azur to obliterate a boss’ HP, you’re definitely on the broken side of the Force. However, this requires a lot of preparation and grinding to obtain Unlimited Power. For one, you need to find Comet Azur itself, in addition to Terra Magicus, which we’ve already talked about. After that, you need 2 specific Crystal Tears, the Cerulean Hidden Tear, and the Magic-Shrouding Cracked Tear. Once mixed, and when you get good staves and Intelligence/magic damage boosting talismans (Marika’s Scarseal/Soreseal, Stargazer Heirloom, Graven-School/Mass Talismans, Primal Glintstone Blade), you’re pretty much good to go. Simply go to a boss, use Terra Magicus, drink your Flask, and let ‘er rip.
Caster Mage/Spell Spam
Next on this list is your usual Caster build, which focuses more on the general play. A player can swap between Comet Azur usage and back to general Caster builds on the fly though. After all, you’re just using the same Attribute for both builds, just with different sorceries and maybe armor and staves. Sorceries-wise, you got your pick of the litter. Rock Sling, Stars of Ruin, maybe Ranni’s Dark Moon, and Adula’s Moonblade for starters (The latter can be used on the Frostbite build as well). Overall, this build is your general caster build and is used for exploring the Lands Between to search for interesting places and good loot. You’ll need to get more Cerulean Tear flasks though, you’ll need the extra FP for all the sorcery spam.
Frostbite
Last but not least is Frostbite builds, specifically, sorceries that proc the Frostbite status effect. This is a bit niche, but one that combines melee and sorcery shenanigans to create something unique and terrifying. After all, Frostbite is one of the best status effects in the game other than Bleed for killing enemies. This build is also the most versatile, as you can mix up long-range, mid-range, and short-range with your weapons. For example, you can have a melee weapon like the Clayman Harpoon with the Ice Spear Ash of War for midrange. Meanwhile, for anyone that gets close, you can swap to Adula’s Moonblade on the fly to send them away, or use Freezing Miss to CC. If they’re far off, simply spam Glintstone Icecrag to harass them. Overall, a good build, if a bit on the wacky side. You’ll have to pair this build with other sorceries though, as Frostbite spells are a bit scarce on Elden Ring. Hopefully, this will be remedied in future DLCs.
5 Best Elden Ring Sorcery Weapons
Now that you know what spells and builds to go for, let’s talk about staves. Specifically, 5 of the best staves to get in Elden Ring. Let’s get into it.
Meteorite Staff
The first staff on this list is the Meteorite Staff, which can be obtained on the cesspit called Caelid. Why Miyazaki’s obsessed with poison swamps we don’t know, but by God, he needs to stop. Anyhow, the Meteorite Staff is one of the only weapons in the game that has an S scaling on its chosen attribute, AKA Intelligence. This makes the Meteorite Staff one of the best staves to get in the early game. Mostly because of its high damage scaling against the early enemies you’ll encounter. Gravity spells like Rock Sling (Which you also find on Caelid) are also boosted when you use Meteorite Staff, which adds to its usage. However, the one thing that’s bad about this weapon is the fact that you can’t upgrade it. Ever. This means that the Meteorite Staff will quickly fall off against other staves on this list. But if you don’t want to spend your precious smithing stones on the basic staves? Yeah, the Meteorite Staff is the go-to. Think of the Meteorite Staff as a 1.5 staff to get you to your preferred staff weapon.
Albinauric Staff
Next on the list is the Albinauric Staff, which is a double whammy that scales with both Intelligence and Arcane. It’s a really good staff for those that want to do a mixed Arcane/Faith/Intelligence build with the Dragon Communion Seal. Combine those with Rivers of Blood spam or Eleonora’s Poleblade shenanigans and you can do some disgusting things. Overall, the Albinauric Staff is great for those that want options on what spells they want to fling into their enemies. Mostly because they’ll need to put levels on Arcane and Intelligence to make use of this weapon properly. Definitely a unique weapon to use for sure. The weapon is located in Volcano Manor, specifically, it’s near the Guest Hall site of grace.
Carian Regal Scepter
Next on this list is the Carian Regal Scepter, which is widely considered to be the 2nd most powerful staff in Elden Ring. It requires a hefty 60 Intelligence to even use and requires the player to defeat Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon to get her Remembrance. Once done, go to Enia in Roundtable Hold to get the scepter. Overall, this staff is great for general-use sorceries and is an awesome option to go for overall. For additional spice, it also boosts Full Moon Sorceries, of which there are only 2: Rennala’s Full Moon, and Ranni’s Dark Moon. Both reduce magic resistance to those that get hit by them though, so they’re well worth it. Overall, a really good staff weapon for all-purpose sorcery builds in Elden Ring.
Lusat’s Glintstone Staff
The next staff is Lusat’s Glintstone Staff, which can be found in Sellia, Town of Sorcery. Which is located in Caelid. Requirements-wise, you’ll need 10 Strength and 52 Intelligence to use this staff fully. Lusat’s Glintstone Staff is a late-game staff and it shows, given that it gets an S scaling in Intelligence at +3 upgrade. Overall, this staff is one of the best for Sorcery builds, and it should be a priority to get Lusat’s Glinstone Staff just for the scaling alone. It’s a great late-game weapon if you don’t have the Carian Regal Scepter.
Azur’s Glintstone Staff
Last but not least is Azur’s Glintstone Staff, which can be obtained at the Raya Lucaria Academy. You’ll need to get the ladder on the Church of the Cuckoo’s 2nd floor though. Warp to the site of grace in that area and climb the ladder. Go to the east side and look for the arch doorway. Once there, you need to kill a High Page enemy before looting the staff. Azur’s Glintstone Staff is a complete monster, kind of like Lusat’s Glinstone Staff, but different in that it reduces cast time on all sorceries. It does have the downside of increasing FP cost but if you’re going for the Comet Azur build, it’s a non-issue. After all, your main goal is to make sure your Comet Azur Kamehameha will hit your enemy first. In short, it depends on what you want out of your Sorcery Build. If you want high damage, get Lusat’s Glintstone Staff. If you want to throw sorceries faster, go for Azur’s Glinstone Staff.
Best Sorcery Talismans in Elden Ring
Now that we’ve talked about the best sorcery staff weapons to get for a sorcery build, let’s go over talismans. You mostly want 4 of these specific ones, but we’ll go over them in order.
Graven-Mass/Graven-School Talisman: Both increases sorcery potency, 8% for Graven-Mass, and 4% for Graven-School. You find the former on Albinauric Rise, eastwards of the Consecrated Snowfield on a Chest. The latter is at Raya Lucaria Academy. Marika’s Scarseal/Soreseal: Scarseal increases Mind, Faith, Intelligence, and Arcane by 3, and Soreseal increases said attributes by 5. The former is found on the Siofra River, while the latter is located on Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree. Primal Glintstone Blade: Reduces spell FP cost by a whopping 25%, while also reducing maximum HP. This talisman is located on the Mountaintop of the Giants’ Stargazer Ruins. Specifically, the really sad place with the talking jellyfish looking for her sister. Simply summon the Spirit Jellyfish Spirit Ash you got from Roderika and the seal holding Primal Glintstone Blade will unlock. Old Lord’s Talisman: Increases Spell Duration by 30%. Can be found on Crumbling Farum Azula on one of the balconies defended by beastmen. Do note that if you’ve defeated Rykard, Recusant Bernahl will invade the walkway leading to the talisman. Godfrey Icon: Increases charged attack damage of sorceries, skills, and incantations. Obtained after defeating Godefroy the Grafted on the Golden Lineage Evergaol.
Pros and Cons of Sorcery Builds in Elden Ring
Now that we’ve gone over the things you need to get for a Sorcery build, let’s go over the pros and cons of going for one. There are a lot of good reasons why you should go for a Sorcery Build on Elden Ring. The first is that you’re spoiled for choice when it comes to spells. For example, you have a spell for melee range, a spell for long range, and a spell for medium range. In addition to this, you get one of the most broken combos in Elden Ring with the Comet Azur shenanigans. Last but not least, you’re guaranteed great damage no matter the spell so long as you know what you’re doing. However, this is counterbalanced by the fact that you’re very dependent on your FP. If you don’t have FP, you’re screwed. This usually means you’ll allocate your Tear Flasks to Cerulean instead of Crimson. However, this also means that you’ll have less healing. All in all, Sorcery Builds are great at killing enemies quickly with high-powered sorceries. However, always keep an eye on your FP bar and your Cerulean Tear Flask usage. If you run out, you’re screwed. Always have a backup weapon that doesn’t need FP like a melee sword to help during times of low FP. If you’re in the overworld, there’s always the option of running away with Torrent. You’re out of luck during boss fights though.
Final Word on Elden Ring Sorcery
Hopefully, you now know what you need to do to create the spellcasting sorcerer of your dreams in Elden Ring. do you want to destroy bosses in 1 go with Comet Azur? Go for it. Want to do gravity magic shenanigans? You can do it. Sling magic arrows and magic greatswords? Very possible. The Lands Between is your oyster, and everyone in that world is target practice. Go and live your best life, Tarnished, and become Elden Lord in the process.
