Skip To...
You don’t need magic and maidens in Elden Ring, not when you have a holy sugar daddy (or mommy) who will smite your enemies with the fury of a thousand suns if you ask them nicely. That’s Elden Ring Incantations and Faith builds in a nutshell. But there are so many ways to ask your deity to punish heretics in your prayer book and that’s something we can help with using our tier list for all Incantations in Elden Ring.
S-Tier – The Best Incantations in Elden Ring
These are the best ways to prove your god exists– through wrath. Whether it’s raining dragon lightning from the skies or raining madness and pestilence upon them, these are the Incantations you want to invoke.
| Ancient Dragons’ Lightning Strike | Burn, O Flame! | Frenzied Burst |
| Giantsflame Take Thee | Lightning Spear | Pest Threads |
If you want something that works well regardless of your stage in the game and is too fast for enemies to dodge, then our money’s (or Rune’s) on Lightning Spear and Frenzied Burst. Frenzied Burst, for example, is so fast that even Malenia can’t evade the projectile.
Meanwhile, Ancient Dragons’ Lightning Strike is a shockingly good lightning nuke while Giantsflame and Burn, O Flame do the same thing with a fiery flavor. Pest Threads, meanwhile, is glorious for both PvE and PvP due to the numerous homing projectiles.
Never go out in the Lands Between without these.
A-Tier – Great & Meta Incantations
While not something you can consider overpowered or exceptionally effective compared to the S-tier offerings above, these are still solid components of Elden Ring‘s meta. Each of them is no doubt powerful in their own right and you’d still be missing out by ignoring them depending on your build.
| Aspects of the Crucible: Horns | Black Blade | Black Flame’s Protection |
| Black Flame’s Ritual | Catch Flame | Dragonmaw |
| Erdtree Heal | Flame, Grant Me Strength | Frozen Lightning Spear |
| Golden Vow | Lightning Strike | Lord’s Heal |
| Protection of the Erdtree | Rejection | Rotten Breath |
| Stone of Gurranq | Swarm of Flies | Triple Rings of Light |
| Unendurable Frenzy |
If you want some of the most universal Incantations in Elden Ring for this tier, then Golden Vow and Flame, Grant Me Strength are indispensable for a lot of builds. They are two of the most prevalent buffs in the game, even if they only last around 60 seconds.
Aspects of the Crucible: Horns, are also surprisingly potent, especially in boss fights where you need to stagger or stun the targets. Meanwhile, breath attacks like Rotten Breath or Swarm of Flies can easily outclass other damage-over-time Incantations.
B-Tier – Good Elden Ring Incantations
They might not amaze you or your friends (or enemies,) but they’re still useful and they get the job done with finesse.
| Aspects of the Crucible: Breath | Aspects of the Crucible: Tail | Barrier of Gold |
| Beastial Sling | Black Flame Blade | Bloodflame Blade |
| Bloodboon | Borealis’ Mist | Dragonclaw |
| Ekzykes’ Decay | Flame, Fall Upon Them | Flame of the Fell God |
| Flame, Protect Me | Flame Sling | Fortissax Lightning Spear |
| Golden Lightning Fortification | Great Heal | Honed Bolt |
| Law of Regression | Placidusax’s Ruin | Radagon’s Rings of Light |
| The Flame of Frenzy |
You’ll notice that some of these are too hard to obtain early in the game– such as Placidusax’s Ruin, and once you’ve had them, they aren’t really that powerful compared to the A-tier and S-tier Incantations. That’s why you should consider some of these as side-grades to your workhorse Incantations.
Still, there are some meta options here, such as Law of Regression which is useful in PvP and in boss fights with status effects.
C-Tier – Averagely Effective Elden Ring Incantations
These Incantations in Elden Ring aren’t particularly notable or memorable, but you can still make them work with enough knowledge and perseverance.
Do note that they’re easily outclassed by the Incantations above, and if you’re looking for serious firepower (or lightning power), then you’re better off with the higher-tier options.
| Agheel’s Flame | Ancient Dragons’ Lightning Spear | Beast Claw |
| Bestial Constitution | Bestial Vitality | Blessing of the Erdtree |
| Bloodflame Talons | Death Lightning | Discus of Light |
| Dragonbolt Blessing | Gurranq’s Beast Claw | Heal |
| Law of Causality | Lightning Fortification | Litany of Proper Death |
| Noble Presence | Smarag’s Glintstone Breath | Whirl, O Flame! |
Again, there’s a similar issue here where some of these are only obtainable via boss fights. Even so, the strength of these Incantations doesn’t hold a candle to the ones above, especially if you’re considering the FP-to-performance ratio.
D-Tier – Situational Elden Ring Incantations
These Incantations in Elden Ring still have their place, but they can be either too niche or too situational and you’re better off reserving them for when you actually need them. You can even go about the game while ignoring them and you won’t miss much.
| Assassin’s Approach | Divine Fortification | Dragonfire |
| Dragonice | Elden Stars | Electrify Armament |
| Flame Fortification | Glintstone Breath | Greyoll’s Roar |
| Magic Fortification | Poison Mist | Scouring Black Flame |
| Surge, O Flame! | Urgent Heal | Lord’s Aid |
Assassin’s Approach is a questionable one though you can find it more functional in PvP. Meanwhile, the Fortification Incantations aren’t really that useful if you have armor to boost those resistances.
We feel like we need to single out Elden Stars since it’s the final reward you can reap from your victory against Radagon and the Elden Beast. But its power isn’t proportional to the effort of obtaining the Incantation.
F-Tier – Vastly Outclassed/More Trouble than They’re Worth
If you use these, you’re not just wasting FP, but you might also be putting yourself in more danger by casting them. That’s why we recommend avoiding these. They aren’t worth the risk or the limited Memory Slots.
| Blessing’s Boon | Cure Poison | Darkness |
| Fire’s Deadly Sin | Immutable Shield | Inescapable Frenzy |
| Magma Breath | O, Flame! | Order Healing |
| Order’s Blade | Poison Armament | Scarlet Aeonia |
| Shadow Bait | Theodorix’s Magma | Vyke’s Dragonbolt |
| Wrath of Gold |
Some, like Scarlet Aeonia, should’ve been more powerful especially since you have to defeat Malenia for that Incantation. Meanwhile, Incantations like Cure Poison or Shadow Bait are hilariously unnecessary. Ending on a lighter note, these are good for a challenge run where you only use the weakest Incantations in Elden Ring.
