In my opinion, Faith is THE stat to spec into because of all the sweet incantations in Elden Ring. There is an incantation for every kind of damage and coverage in the game (minus Magic, of course). My ranking picks the best spells in the game with single-target damage, giant boss-shredding capabilities, AoE, buffs, and different damage types.
There is an incantation for every Tarnished out there. Let me help you find the one that fits your style. Better yet, once I have convinced you of their power, you can create entire builds centered around these incantations.
7) Flame, Grant Me Strength
Flame, Grant Me Strength is arguably the best body buff in the game. For 30 seconds, it boosts your physical damage by 20%, fire damage by 20%, and increases stamina recovery speed by 11%.
The best part? It only requires 15 Faith, making it accessible to almost any build. If your playstyle relies on physical damage stats like STR or DEX, it’s worth investing 15 points in FAI just to use this buff cause of that significant 20% damage boost and faster stamina recovery.
Since this is a body buff, it stacks with Golden Vow and other healing spells, making it even more powerful. However, if you’re up against a boss dealing heavy damage, damage negation spells (mentioned below) might be the better choice, as they also function as body buffs. But when it comes to raw DPS and damage output, Flame, Grant Me Strength is hard to beat.
The only drawback is its short duration. With just 30 seconds of active time, you’ll need to cast it multiple times during longer fights. Fortunately, the casting animation is quick enough that using it repeatedly in a boss fight is very much possible.
6) Dragonmaw
Dragonmaw can be regarded as the best Dragon Communion incantation in the game, and for good reason. This physical-damage spell hits hard with a powerful lunge and deals 45 stance damage. While the animation might feel a bit long, you gain excellent hyper armor during the cast, and the lunge itself covers a lot of distance.
This lets you stay safely out of harm’s way and treat it like a projectile spell, which is ideal since landing a hit with the actual dragon’s mouth does about 50% more damage. It can absolutely wreck most enemies and bosses, especially smaller ones, often sending them flying.
This spell has gotten even better with the Shadow of the Erdtree, thanks to the Rock Heart Transformation buff, which increases Dragon Communion spell damage by 20%. Although the transformation requires you to be naked and reduces all your stats by 10%, the upside is that your equipment load will be much lower.
This makes the Blue Dancer Charm a great option, boosting your physical damage at lower equipment loads. This is ideal for Dragonmaw’s physical damage output. With everything working right you are looking at ridiculously high damage potential.
At 34 FP, the cost might seem steep, but many other spells use more FP and don’t hit nearly as hard. Plus, it only requires 24 Faith, so if you’re running an Arcane build, speccing into Faith for this is totally worth it, especially since something like Golden Vow already needs 25 Faith. For any Arcane build, this spell is a game-changer.
5) Pest-Thread Spears
Pest-Threads Spears is essentially an upgraded version of the regular Pest Threads, and it’s fantastic for dealing with larger bosses. Pest Threads already had aggressive tracking and ability to hit enemies multiple times, it can land around five or six hits on big targets per cast, melting their health bars quickly.
The upgrade with Pest-Threads Spears does exactly the same thing but hits even harder. It’s also surprisingly effective against smaller enemies, as it staggers them and still deals solid damage, even without needing multiple hits to be effective.
When fully charged, anything even slightly bigger will go down fast. Pair it with Godfrey Icon for extra damage and spam it away, it’s super easy to use. The animation isn’t too long, it has great range, tracks enemies well, and can even be cast on horseback. Plus, you don’t need to be directly facing the enemy for it to work effectively.
Now, Ancient Dragon’s Lightning Strike might deal more damage on paper, but Pest Threads Spears is easier to use because of its tracking and faster animation. It also has a lower Faith requirement at just 26, so if your build doesn’t focus heavily on Faith, this spell is a great fit.
Against almost every large boss in the game, like dragons (for example, Dragonlord Placidusax) and golems etc., this spell will absolutely shred them.
4) Golden Vow
I have placed Golden Vow at number four, but honestly, you could argue it deserves the top spot at the best incantations in Elden Ring. It’s hands down the best aura buff in the game, and if you’ve got 25 Faith, you’d be a fool not to use it.
It’s incredibly practical because it doesn’t require you to invest heavily in your Seal or max out Faith, you just need to meet the minimum requirements to get the full benefits.
Casting Golden Vow gives you a 15% damage boost and 10% damage negation for a whopping 80 seconds, making it invaluable in tough fights.
Plus, since it’s an aura buff, it stacks with other incantations like Flame, Grant Me Strength, damage negation, and healing spells. On top of that, it also buffs your nearby allies, which makes it an essential incantation for co-op.
Whenever you’re about to face a challenging enemy or boss, popping this spell beforehand sets you up with extra damage and defense for a respectable amount of time. This incantation is a no-brainer for FAI builds, and I would go as far as to say that even other builds like INT should incorporate it, too.
3) Catch Flame
Catch Flame really caught me by surprise with how powerful it is. This spell is so good that you could easily skip using any other spell or even a weapon because it shines in almost every situation.
It’s a close-range incantation with its own moveset: you get running attacks, rolling attacks, and jumping attacks, all of which come out super fast. The quick casting speed means you can rapidly chain consecutive attacks, pushing its DPS potential through the roof if you play into its strength.
Plus, each cast only costs 10 FP, making it incredibly efficient. Catch Flame will quickly become your go-to spell if you’re building around incantations.
The only downsides are that it consumes FP (unlike weapons), has limited range, and forces you to dodge enemy attacks up close which isn’t the case with other ranged spells that let you stay safer at a distance.
Also, unlike other spells, there’s no seal that specifically boosts the damage of Catch Flame. However, since it deals fire damage, you can pair it with Flame, Grant Me Strength for a potent boost.
With only a measly 8 Faith requirement, Catch Flame is accessible to a wide range of builds. Whether you’re running an Arcane build with the Dragon Communion Seal or a Strength build with the Clawmark Seal, this spell offers another wild damage option. And if you’re up against enemies weak to fire damage, this spell will obliterate them without unsheathing your weapon.
2) Knight’s Lightning Spear
In my opinion, Knight’s Lightning Spear is the best projectile incantation for single-target damage in the entire game. Sure, against large enemies, Ancient Dragon’s Lightning Strike or Pest Threads might be better, but for smaller single targets, Knight’s Lightning Spear is top tier.
It’s a fast, straight-shot projectile with impressive travel speed and damage. Fully charging it increases both the damage output and stance damage, which is already 27 at base (for comparison, Stone of Gurranq does only 15 stance damage, and it’s known as a great stance-breaking spell).
One of the best features of this incantation is the extra lightning projectiles that surround you when you cast it. These deal additional guaranteed damage, even if you’re interrupted or staggered out of the main animation. Whether you charge the spell or not, four to six lightning projectiles will still fly out and hit your target.
What really sets Knight’s Lightning Spear apart, though, is that enemies don’t seem to dodge it. Similar to Night Comet, enemies don’t input-read it, so it hits them dead-on every time, which is kind of ridiculous. You can repeatedly throw Knight’s Lightning Spear, dealing 27 stance damage and solid overall damage, while enemies just stand there and take it.
The fact that it’s a lightning-based spell adds even more value. Lightning damage is one of the best elemental types in the game, as many enemies are weak to it. Plus, when it’s raining or you’re near water, you get a 20% damage boost.
On top of that, the incantation benefits from boosts to Dragon Cult incantations, especially with the Death Knight Set and Priestess Heart Transformation, which can give you an 8% or 20% damage increase, respectively.
Stack this with items like the Gravel Stone Seal, Lightning-Shrouding Cracked Tear, and Godfrey Icon, and you’re dishing out unparalleled damage.
The only downside is its FP cost, which is 29 on the higher side for a projectile spell. But for sheer damage, versatility, and consistency, Knight’s Lightning Spear is unbeatable. There’s no other projectile spell I’d use over this one.
1) Ancient Dragons’ Lightning Strike
Ancient Dragons’ Lightning Strike was already the best incantation before the DLC, and now, with Shadow of the Erdtree, it’s even stronger.This spell excels in specific scenarios, especially when dealing with large enemies or multiple foes.
Sure, if you’re facing a smaller enemy in a one-on-one situation, this spell isn’t the best choice, there are quicker and more efficient options for that. But when you’re up against anything remotely large or surrounded by enemies, Ancient Dragons’ Lightning Strike just obliterates everything in sight.
The damage is insane. Each lightning strike does significant damage on its own, and if you hit with multiple, it’s practically game over. Pair this with lightning buffs, Godfrey Icon, and either the Priestess Heart Transformation or the Death Knight Set, and you’ll see the crazy damage output on display.
One thing to note is that it requires charging, so it takes a few seconds to set up. If you are up aginst faster eemies, you might opt for something like Pest-Thread Spears, for its swiftness. However, Ancient Dragons’ Lightning Strike’s ability to hit in all directions makes it useful in a wider range of situations. Walk into a room full of enemies, charge this spell, and you can wipe them all out in seconds.
Since it deals lightning damage, you get an extra 20% damage boost in rainy weather or near water. There are plenty of locations in both the base game and the DLC where this environmental bonus kicks in, making it even more powerful.
If you haven’t tried this spell yet, I highly recommend giving it a shot, you’ll thank me later.
Honorable Mentions
Elden Ring isn’t short of incredible incantations. Here are some that missed the cut but are still worth looking into when creating your next build:
- Discus of Light: Projectiles have amazing range, quick cast, extremely cheap, and Holy damage can buffed with multiple sources.
- Frenzied Burst: Sniper of a spell. Spamming is possible if you run to the ends of the arena.
- Dragonice: Dragon spells are already OP, but this one not only deals magic damage but is also a guaranteed Frostbite proc with a single cast (one of the best status effects in Elden Ring). Don’t forget about the range too. Horseback cast is also possible.
- Heal From Afar: The best healing incantation in Elden Ring. It can be shot as a projectile, which can kill those pesky Revenants and heal yourself and your buddies at range.
- All Fortification Spells: These incantations will give you more defense against their respective damage type, up to 35% damage negation for 90 seconds. Whenever you go up against an elemental boss type, just pop that spell and become a tank. Also, they only need 10 FAI to cast. Incredibly handy in Shadow of the Erdtree.
- Magic Fortification
- Divine Fortification
- Lightning Fortification
- Flame Fortification
I got into Faith builds very late and regret not speccing into it earlier. Incantations in Elden Ring cover a wide range of damage types and styles, so you won’t run out of amazing choices. Incantation builds are more equipped to handle the challenge of New Game Plus and the dreaded Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.