Last updated: 26 June 2026

Best Spirit Ashes in Elden Ring — Ranked and Explained

Spirit Ashes are one of the most powerful tools in Elden Ring, letting you summon ghostly allies to distract bosses, deal damage, or soak punishment. Picking the right summon — and upgrading it — can turn a brick-wall boss into a manageable fight. Here are the top picks, how summoning actually works, and how to get your ashes to max level fast.

01How Spirit Ashes Work (The Basics)

Before summoning anything, you need the Spirit Calling Bell. Return to the Church of Elleh in Limgrave after Melina gives you the Spectral Steed Whistle — a witch named Renna appears there and hands you the bell plus the Lone Wolf Ashes for free. If you miss her, the bell can be bought from the Twin Maiden Husks at Roundtable Hold for 100 runes.

Spirits can only be summoned near a rebirth monument — a grey gravestone icon that appears on the left of the screen. These are active near almost every major boss fog gate and many open-world areas with tough enemies; you cannot summon in the middle of an empty field.

Each summon costs FP or HP depending on the spirit. Most ashes draw from FP, so levelling Mind helps. The Mimic Tear is the notable exception — it costs HP instead, making it ideal for low-Mind melee builds. The cost never changes as you upgrade; only the summon's power scales.

02How to Upgrade Spirit Ashes

Upgrading dramatically increases HP, damage, and survivability. The process requires Roderika as your Spirit Tuner and the correct Glovewort. Find Roderika at Stormhill Shack, give her the Chrysalids' Memento from Stormveil Castle, and after talking to her and Blacksmith Hewg she sets up shop at Roundtable Hold.

There are two upgrade materials:

• Grave Glovewort (+ Great Grave Glovewort) — used for standard Spirit Ashes (Wolves, Skeletal Militiamen, Jellyfish). Found in catacombs and underground areas.
• Ghost Glovewort (+ Great Ghost Glovewort) — used for elite Spirit Ashes (Mimic Tear, Black Knife Tiche, Lhutel, Latenna). Rarer, found deeper in the game such as Nokron and Nokstella.
• Both can be bought infinitely after giving the matching Glovewort Picker's Bell Bearings to the Twin Maiden Husks — a big late-game quality-of-life upgrade.

Max upgrade is +10 for both tiers. Prioritise upgrading your main summon early — even a +3 or +5 boost makes a huge difference against mid-game bosses.

03S-Tier: The Best Spirit Ashes in the Game

These summons consistently outperform everything else and remain effective through the endgame and into DLC content.

• Black Knife Tiche — widely regarded as the single best summon. Extremely agile, dodges reliably, deals consistent Destined Death damage that bypasses many resistances, and rarely dies. Obtained by defeating Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader in the Moonlight Altar area of Liurnia.
• Mimic Tear — creates an exact copy of your character at summon time, including weapons, armour, spells, and talismans. Costs HP, not FP. Swap to a powerful weapon just before the summon bar fills for maximum effect. Found in Nokron behind an imp fog wall.
• Lhutel the Headless — a tanky, shield-bearing knight who teleports constantly, making her hard to kill, and deals solid physical and cold damage. Found in Tombsward Catacombs, Weeping Peninsula.
• Omenkiller Rollo (DLC) — a late-game powerhouse for pure damage, applying bleed with his cleavers and dealing heavy poise damage.

04A-Tier: Strong Picks for Every Playstyle

Reliable, widely available, and excellent if you have not yet unlocked the S-tier options.

• Dung Eater Puppet — uses the Sword of Milos, applies bleed, and passively debuffs nearby enemies to take more damage. One of the tankiest summons.
• Latenna the Albinauric — a stationary archer who deals enormous ranged damage. Excels in wide, open arenas but cannot move, so she needs protecting.
• Ancestral Follower — fires spirit arrows continuously and is mobile enough to avoid some boss attacks. Useful for casters who want a melee distraction.
• Redmane Knight Ogha — a heavy armoured summon that fires greatbow projectiles for ranged Gravity damage and melees when enemies close in.

05Budget and Early-Game Picks Worth Knowing

These summons carry you through the early and mid game without requiring late-game progression.

1. Spirit Jellyfish Ashes — given by Roderika early on. Surprisingly durable and sprays poison to whittle down tougher enemies. Free and immediate.
2. Lone Wolf Ashes (three wolves) — received with the Spirit Calling Bell. Three wolves create chaos, stagger lighter enemies, and split a boss's attention. Outstanding through the first third of the game.
3. Skeletal Militiamen — found in Summonwater Village; they auto-revive unless the enemy performs a finishing blow, effectively doubling their health.
4. Banished Knight Oleg — a strong early melee fighter from the Fringefolk Hero's Grave who dual-wields swords and deals consistent poise damage.

As a rule: upgrade whichever summon you rely on most, even a budget pick. A +8 Lone Wolf Ashes outperforms an un-upgraded Mimic Tear every time.

06Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Summons

Knowing which summon to use is only half the equation — timing and synergy matter too.

• Summon early in a boss fight, not when you are at 20% HP. Spirits draw aggro best when the boss has full health.
• Swap to your strongest weapon right before the Mimic Tear's bar fills, since it copies your equipment at that moment, then swap back.
• Match the summon to the arena: Latenna and Ancestral Follower shine in open spaces; Tiche and Lhutel work everywhere.
• Stack a co-op phantom via the Furlcalling Finger Remedy in boss arenas to create a three-way brawl.
• Keep summons within ~4–5 upgrade levels of your weapon — fall too far behind and enemy scaling makes them feel useless.