Last updated: 11 October 2026

Best Sorceries in Elden Ring

Sorceries are Elden Ring's Intelligence spells, and a good one carries a whole build. The best sorceries are Comet Azur and Founding Rain of Stars for raw power, Carian Slicer and Glintstone Pebble for cheap early damage, and Impenetrable Thorns and Gravitational Missile from Shadow of the Erdtree. This guide lists the picks that survive across several guides, with Intelligence requirements, memory-slot cost and where each one is found. Numbers that differed between sources are left out on purpose, so cross-check the in-game description for your patch.

01How Sorceries Work (Quick Basics)

• Intelligence requirement. Each sorcery lists a minimum Intelligence. Below it you cannot cast, and the weak ones start at 10 while the legendary ones ask for 43 to 60.
• Memory slots. You memorize spells at a Site of Grace. Big spells take more than one slot: Comet Azur takes three, Founding Rain of Stars two, Stars of Ruin one.
• FP. Cost is the real limit. Sorceries use FP, and several spells charge more FP the longer you hold the cast.
• A staff. You cast with a glintstone staff, so the staff you choose scales every spell. Staff picks are covered in the best builds guide.

02Best Early and Budget Sorceries

These are cheap in Intelligence and FP, so they work from the first hours and stay useful as filler:

• Glintstone Pebble: 7 FP, 1 slot, 10 Intelligence. The Astrologer starts with it. It fires quick projectiles and can be cast while moving (eip.gg). A reliable way to chip away without spending much FP.
• Carian Slicer: 14 Intelligence, 4 FP for the first cast, 1 slot. It is a fast sword sweep that you can cast straight after another action (eip.gg). Guides call it one of the most FP-efficient sorceries in the game. You buy it by bringing the Royal House Scroll to Sorceress Sellen in the Waypoint Ruins (eip.gg, Fextralife). Cost is 1,500 Runes per Fextralife.

03The Legendary Sorceries

Legendary sorceries are the main reason to commit to Intelligence. Three picks stand out:

• Comet Azur: 60 Intelligence, 40 FP to start (rising while held), 3 slots (eip.gg, Fextralife). A continuous beam that can strip a lot of a boss's health bar. You learn it from Primeval Sorcerer Azur in the Mt. Gelmir area, near Hermit Village (Fextralife, PowerPyx). It is covered in the Intelligence build section and the Mohg guide.
• Founding Rain of Stars: 52 Intelligence, 2 slots (eip.gg, Fextralife). It rains a cloud of stars and can be cast while moving. It is in a chest at the top of the tower at Heretical Rise in the Mountaintops of the Giants; cross the invisible bridge to reach it (PowerPyx, eip.gg).
• Stars of Ruin: 43 Intelligence, 1 slot (eip.gg, Fextralife). It fires twelve homing stars and can be cast while moving. It comes from Primeval Sorcerer Lusat in Sellia Hideaway, via Sorceress Sellen's quest (PowerPyx, Fextralife).

Other legendary sorceries exist, including Ranni's Dark Moon at Chelona's Rise (PowerPyx, Fextralife) and Rennala's Full Moon from the Remembrance of the Full Moon Queen (Fextralife). Their requirements are steep, so they are late-build goals rather than early picks.

04Best Shadow of the Erdtree Sorceries

The DLC added 14 new sorceries (NoobFeed). Rankings vary, but a few appear near the top in several lists:

• Impenetrable Thorns: 15 FP, 1 slot. It summons the Scadutree's thorns from the ground and builds bleed. Unlike the other picks it needs 24 Faith and no Intelligence, so it suits a Faith build. NoobFeed ranks it first, TheBackDash ranks it first as well. TheBackDash puts it in the Shadow Keep, reached from the Storehouse Seventh Floor Site of Grace by pulling the lever and dropping from the ledge outside. NoobFeed expected a nerf, so check your patch.
• Gravitational Missile: a crowd-control spell that pulls enemies together before a heavy detonation. It drops from the Fallingstar Beast in the crater at Fingerstone Hill (TheBackDash). Both lists rate it highly for groups, though NoobFeed notes mobile enemies can escape the delayed blast.
• Rings of Spectral Light: frostbite build-up (it does not stagger, only stance damage), found near the bird statue at Charo's Hidden Grave (TheBackDash, Game8). It needs Faith as well as Intelligence (Game8, NoobFeed), so it suits Int-Faith hybrids.
• Rellana's Twin Moons: 47 FP, 2 slots (Game8, NoobFeed), unlocked by trading Rellana's Remembrance (Remembrance of the Twin Moon Knight) to Enia. Opinions split: TheBackDash praises its damage while NoobFeed ranks it twelfth of fourteen for short range. Note that Rellana herself resists Magic damage (see the Rellana guide).

05Which Sorcery Should You Pick?

• Early game, low Intelligence: Glintstone Pebble and Carian Slicer. They are cheap and need almost no investment.
• Mid game, around 43 to 52 Intelligence: Stars of Ruin, then Founding Rain of Stars. These are where a caster starts feeling strong.
• Late game, 60 Intelligence: Comet Azur for boss damage, with Founding Rain or a Shadow of the Erdtree spell for groups.
• Against magic-resistant enemies: consider a non-magic option. Impenetrable Thorns uses bleed, and Rellana in particular resists Magic damage.

Pair the build with the right talismans from the best talismans guide (Graven-Mass Talisman raises sorcery power), and plan your levels with the stat soft caps guide.

06Where Sources Disagree

• FP costs. Databases list different FP for the same spell (Rings of Spectral Light is 12 FP on one list and 14 FP on another; Founding Rain of Stars and Stars of Ruin differ widely between two databases). We only print FP where two sources agree.
• DLC rankings. Lists disagree on the order, and balance patches move spells around.
• Carian Slicer vendor. After you hand over the Royal House Scroll, Sorceress Sellen, Miriel and Preceptor Seluvis can all teach it (Fextralife); we mention Sellen because she is in Limgrave.
• Version. None of the guides we used state a patch number. Cross-check the official wiki or the in-game description for your version.