The Shadow of the Erdtree expansion has a wealth of new armor sets, weapons and talismans that easily outclass their equivalents in the base game, but finding the best spells is a different matter. No one can agree what spells are best in the Realm of Shadow – and lots of the spells are flat-out bad. Future balance patches might make some of the flashy spells useful in the future, but for now we’re going with the current cream of the crop. These are the best spells you won’t want to miss. Here’s how to find the magic we think you’ll want to try.
Obviously, the best spells come with major caveats. Depending on your build, you’ll want to focus more on Sorceries instead of Incantations, or vice versa. We’re going to lump those together here just because the spell selection pool is so shallow. Most spells just aren’t as good as the spells you’ll find in the base game – there’s no reason to replace them. Except for these. And some of these are always going to be useful under pretty strict circumstances. With that in mind, let’s start with one of the all-around best spells.
#1 Pest-Thread Spears
The Pest-Thread Spears are the new giantkiller in Elden Ring. Fully charge this spell and unleash on large enemies like dragons or those annoying Furnace Golems to deal insane damage. The spears will plow through large enemies, dealing damage as they travel through. The bigger the enemy, the more damage they’ll take. Even large bosses don’t stand a chance. You’ll only need 26 Faith to use this spell, but boost that to maximum and watch a giant enemy die in just a few hits.
The Pest-Thread Spears spell is found in the Ancient Ruins of Rauh area on the west side of the map. After defeating the Golden Hippopotamus in the Shadow Keep, navigate the Legacy Dungeon and reach the Specimen Storehouse sub-area. From the normal Shadow Keep lift, you’ll reach the first floor. Go left from the first floor Site of Grace and past the shadow men with fire magic to find a lift. The lift takes you down to a sickening area full of failed Living Jars. Progress through the room to the opposite side – there’s another Site of Grace on the outer walls of the castle. From here you’ll be able to access the Ancient Ruins of Rauh across the giant bridge.
To get the Pest-Thread Spears, progress to the end of the area and reach the boss arena. Rest at the Church of the Bud Site of Grace and backtrack into the cave. Check behind the stairs leading up to the church – the spell is found there, guarded by an enemy. Defeat them and grab it. This is literally one of the best spells in Elden Ring and it’s even better than the normal Pest-Thread spell. That’s already a powerful spell when fighting random giant monsters like dragons on the field. This is a straight improvement and an easy replacement. Never fear Furnace Golems ever again.
#2 Giant Golden Arc
If you’re looking for killer Holy elemental damage, another strong contender is the Giant Golden Arc spell – for when regular golden arcs just don’t get the job done. The Giant Golden Arc is another useful PVE spell that’s great for dealing with large groups of trash enemies. The golden arc really is very big, so you can make short work of clustered monsters – it also launches very quickly, which is kind of a big deal in this DLC. Lots of spells are so slow they’re completely invalidated during some of the hectic boss fights where you’ll only have split second openings to attack. The Giant Golden Arc is fast, strong and clears out mobs from a safe distance. It’s one of the best and getting it is surprisingly difficult.
To find the spell, you’ll need to reach a secret area called the Ruins of Unte. If you haven’t found this location, it’s on the lower path from the Shadow Keep that eventually leads to the Abyssal Forest region. On the walls of the Shadow Keep between the Golden Hippopotamus and the lift leading up to the Specimen Storehouse, there’s an easy-to-miss ladder on the right. Climb down the ladder and turn the corner to find a room with a painting. Reveal the Illusory Wall to the right of the painting to unlock a path leading to a coffin you can ride to the lower level of the map.
After riding the coffin down the waterfall, you’ll appear outside the Ruins of Unte. The main ruin fort is blocked by a seemingly dead Furnace Golem. To get through the gate, you’ll need to throw a Hefty Furnace Pot into the bowl of the golem, relighting its flame and making it wake up. Once it wakes up you can enter the ruins. You can also enter the ruins on the back wall by glitching and hopping onto the tiny lip on the side of a tower. You’ll find the Giant Golden Arc spell and one of the three Stone-Sheathed Sword altars. Grab it and memorize it. This isn’t as strong as the Pest-Threads, but it’s so useful for exploration. Don’t miss it!
#3 Knight’s Lightning Spear
And here’s another Incantation that’s actually good in the Realm of Shadow – too bad you won’t be able to get it until the very end of the DLC. It is possible to blaze through the map and get early – and the Lightning Spear can melt in PVP with the right set of Talismans. Costs a lot of FP to launch and time to charge, but the devastating effect is worth it. You’ll launch a single spear of lightning that generates six additional projectiles when fully charged.
The Knight’s Lightning Spear is in Scorpion River Catacombs in the Rauh Base section of the map. To reach the Catacombs, travel north from Moorth Ruins and through the cave, taking a left to reach the optional Rauh Base Site of Grace.Go south to Temple Town Ruins and then up through the ravine filled with Scarlet Rot pests. On the other side, follow the river full of weird scorpion-spiders to the dungeon entrance. And that’s just the start.
The Scorpion River Catacombs is an evil optional dungeon with statue eyes that infect you with Deathblight whenever they can see you. You’ll need to sprint and take cover, then wait for the build up to dissipate before you can run behind the statue eyes. Reach the second level of the dungeon, then navigate the room to get behind the eyes. You’ll find the spell right past them.
#4 Furious Blade of Ansbach
This is going on our list just because it looks cool – and because it’s so difficult to get, most players will never see it. The Furious Blade of Ansbach is the signature bloodflame attack of Ansbach, the bearded NPC you’ll meet multiple times as you explore the Realm of Shadow. The stately knight will guide you toward a final confrontation with Miquella. His Furious Blade spell summons a blood blade from your wrist and unleashes a series of attacks – it’s really more of an Ash of War than a magic spell, but it looks awesome. It’s only really effective if you charge it fully to unleash the maximum number of attacks, but who’s counting. We’re only using this spell for the style points.
To earn the Furious Blade of Ansbach spell, you’ll need to visit and revisit Ansbach many times. Meet him for the first time at the Main Gate Cross Site of Grace, in the northwest of the starting Gravesite Plains area. Progressing through the story, you’ll want to visit him again after you get a strange message that a Great Rune has been broken. Next, talk to him in the Specimen Storehouse, First Floor room and retrieve the Secret Rite Scroll on the fourth floor. Make sure you do this before the Needle Knight Leda boss fight – if you give him the scroll, he’ll join you for this boss.
After defeating the Needle Knight with Ansbach’s help, he can also be summoned for the final boss. I don’t recommend you summon him, and you don’t need to. After defeating the final boss, Ansbach’s body can be collected in the boss arena. Take his gear and you’ll get this spell.
#5 Land of Shadow
The Incantations got all the love in the Realm of Shadow – and this spell really proves it. This spell generates a barrage of small golden light projectiles after a short delay. It requires a high Faith stat of 56 to use, and it takes way too long to charge up, but it deals equivalent damage. Some players say it’s the better Elden Stars, some say it’s worse. All we know is that it’s a flashy spell that looks cool. That’s enough to get on this list.
To earn the Land of Shadow spell for yourself, you’ll need to drain the flooded Shadow Keep, Church District area. From the statue room in the large cathedral, take the left path instead of right to reach the lever that drains the entire district. With the water level lowered, you can explore the ground level and take the optional path leading to the Scadutree Avatar boss fight. Defeat the boss to collect its Remembrance and trade it in at the Roundtable Hold to get this spell.
#6 Light of Miquella
And we’re choosing another spell based purely on aesthetics. The Light of Miquella is an orbital laser strike you can call down whenever you want – this is the Eldendivers mod without the mod. Pray to Miquella and unleash holy light on your foes, decimating them with a massive energy beam that’s infused with God-like power. It looks amazing, even if it isn’t entirely practical. It also requires a staggering 72 Faith to use, fills two slots and costs 48 FP. While gear that boosts Miquella spells doesn’t help here currently, gear that boosts Dragon Communion spells does. Keep that in mind while you’re calling down fire from the heavens.
The Light of Miquella isn’t really practical for another reason – you can’t use it until you’ve defeated the final boss of the DLC. This is one of the boss weapons you can trade for with the final boss Remembrance in Roundtable Hold. It has insane requirements, takes time to fire and leaves you vulnerable while you float there, casting one of the coolest spells in the game.
#7 Fire Serpent
We’re back to talking about spells that are actually useful. The Fire Serpent spell generates a homing fireball that snakes up and then chases your target, making this an extremely effective PVP spell. It’s also good against basically anything you want to hit without aiming at it – and there’s plenty of gear that specifically improves Messmer fire magic. Messmer’s Helm, the Fire Knight’s Seal and the Fire Knight armor all boost Messmer magical damage, turning an okay spell into a pretty great one.
The spell is found in the Specimen Storehouse upper floors. From the Back Section Site of Grace, climb the tall ladder to the room full of shadows and a Fire Knight. Explore the balcony to find this rare and useful spell.
If you want to enhance the Fire Serpent spell to its fullest, you’ll want to get Messmer’s Helm, the Fire Knight’s Seal and the FIre Knight Armor. Messmer’s Helm is available after defeating the boss at the top of the Specimen Storehouse area. The Fire Knight Armor set is a random drop from defeating any of the red-clad Fire Knights that spawn in the Specimen Storehouse. The Fire Knight’s Seal is a little trickier. Use the lift from the Specimen Storehouse to reach the Shadow Keep – Church District.If the district is still flooded, use the second path from the giant Marika statue room to find the lever. To get the seal, check behind that same giant Marika statue in the giant cathedral. It’s only available after you drain the flooded water.
#8 Rings of Spectral Light
Finally, there’s at least one good Sorcery in Shadow of the Erdtree. This spell generates a swarm of ring projectiles that track and inflict frost buildup. That extra frost is what pushes this spell into the “good” category, and it becomes even stronger if you’re wearing the Gravebird Helm.
The spell is located in Charo’s Hidden Grave, a region that’s accessible by completing the Dragon’s Pit dungeon. After completing the pit, go south to Charo’s Hidden Grave – an area packed with red flora. At the Charo’s Hidden Grave Site of Grace, go and circle around to reach the hills leading up to the top of the steep area directly above the Site of Grace. Up above there’s an area with a giant Gravebird Statue. Loot the item underneath the statue to get the spell. Despite being in the center of the region, it’s really easy to miss. It also requires more Faith – the Sorceries really did get shafted in the DLC. This spell is very useful against large enemies where you can’t easily target their heads. Encounters like Bayle are much easier with this spell, but it’s especially effective against all the big field bosses that roam around the map.
The Rings of Spectral Light don’t dish out the mast damage, but they track extremely well and have long range. If you’re getting summoned to help other players take down bosses, this is a bread-and-butter useful spell you can use to whittle away at enemy health from a very safe distance.
#9 Impenetrable Thorns
We saved the best spell for last. Impenetrable Thorns is a devastating spell that deals high bleed buildup while thrashing bosses – we don’t want to just say this spell is broken, but this spell is broken. It’s also a Sorcery! Too bad it’s a Sorcery that’s strongest for Faith builds.
Impenetrable Thorns summons three trails of thorns that track and strike up from the ground. Spamming this spell is encouraged – and using it with high Faith destroys bosses in seconds. This is bound to get nerfed, but it’s so good we’re guessing Impenetrable Thorns will always be one of the best spells in Elden Ring. The bleed damage is what makes this spell unstoppable, coupled with the low barrier for entry compared to some of the less-than-useful spells we shared earlier. This is a functional spell that’s also way too strong.
To get it, reach the Specimen Storehouse, Seventh Floor Site of Grace. The spell is found on the exterior walkway on the upper levels – on the stone balcony leading to the room with the Marika statue and a golden cross, look over the side of the outside ledge. There’s an area you can drop down with a dead body that’s carrying this spell. It’s really easy to miss, but available relatively early in the DLC if you know where to look for it. After that you’ll be able to destroy bosses in seconds with the best possible build. Dump your stats in Faith and watch enemies melt before your eyes.
