There are a handful of game-breaking spells available to you in Elden Ring. With the choice given to the player through the remembrance system in Elden Ring, you will often have to decide between a powerful melee weapon or spell. It’s important to know which are worth going after before making that decision, as choosing wrong can make things more difficult down the road.
While melee weapons are a bit more hit-and-miss, Incantations and Sorceries available through this system are almost all worth your while, with a handful being staples for their respective builds. This is every remembrance spell in Elden Ring, ranked.
9 Burn, O Flame!
Burn, O Flame! Is a Fire Giant Incantation that casts a short range burst of fire that deals fire damage (no surprise there). It has a strangely long cast time for such a short-range spell. It has a few variations, one of which is much faster, but it deals less damage.
Most long cast time spells attack from decently long ranges to counteract that, but closer range hitbox and slow cast times make this not ideal in just about every situation. Burn, O Flame! can be obtained after defeating the Fire Giant in Flame Peak, Mountaintop of the Giants.
8 Death Lightning
Death Lightning is a Dragon Cult Incantation that quickly summons death lightning strikes in the caster’s immediate area. The AOE effect isn’t especially large, with the strike dealing lightning damage and the affected areas dealing death blight buildup. The spell can be effective against larger, more stationary targets like the Fire Giant, and in those cases there are much better spells to cheese encounters with stationary enemies.
It does have some better use in PVP for immediate area denial. Sadly, death blight in general is significantly less effective than the other status effects in Elden Ring. Death Lightning can be obtained after defeating Lichdragon Fortissax in the Deeproot Depths.
7 Placidusax’s Ruin
Placidusax’s Ruin is an Incantation that casts a long and wide AOE with big damage to affected enemies. The spell itself leaves the caster pretty vulnerable; it’s easy to get hit, interrupting the casting. The user can’t cancel out of the animation once it has begun. Its difficulty casting makes it a non-starter for most PVP encounters.
In PVE, on the other hand, it can still be effective when casting from distance against bosses who are more dangerous up close. Placidusax’s Ruin can be obtained after defeating Dragonlord Placidusax in Crumbling Farum Azula.
6 Black Blade
Black Blade is an Erdtree Incantation that builds up a large blade into a big overhead swing that deals big damage and applies the destined death effect. The hitboxes for the move are quite finicky, and the spell itself pales in comparison to Maliketh’s Black Blade and its Ash of War, ‘Destined Death,’ which hits multiple times in a much wider spread on top of the same status effect.
Black Blade can be obtained after defeating Maliketh, the Black Blade in Crumbling Farum Azula, although the Maliketh’s Black Blade weapon also obtained here is a far better option in every situation.
5 Bloodboon
Bloodboon is a Blood Incantation that spreads the immediate area around the caster with blood pools, inflicting bleed buildup on affected enemies. It has a very quick casting time and can be great for PVP given both its immediate usage and area denial.
Its best use in PVE is against large bosses that move very little. Its upside is the pools can stack on top of each other, meaning it is one of the better spells for spamming against slow moving enemies. Bloodboon can be obtained after defeating Mohg, Lord of Blood in the Mohgwyn Dynasty Mausoleum.
4 Rykard’s Rancor
Rykard’s Rancor is a Magma Sorcery that casts a big explosion effect at long, forward distances for massive damage. The spells biggest benefits are its insanely large hitbox and its ability to be spammed very effectively. It requires a decent investment into your Faith stat (18), but being able to use the game’s best Magma Sorcery effectively is worth that investment.
As of patch 1.07, the spells FP cost has been reduced significantly as well, meaning you don’t even have to invest too heavily into your Mind stat to best take advantage. Rykard’s Rancor can be obtained after defeating Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy in Mt. Gelmir.
3 Scarlet Aeonia
Scarlet Aeonia is a Servants of Rot Incantation that casts the same giant flower as the second phase of the Malenia fight. The flower explodes and hits affected enemies with scarlet rot. It hits for big damage and virtually guarantees the scarlet rot effect being triggered on every boss in the game for sustained damage over time. The spell is considered great for its huge damage.
While its virtually guaranteed scarlet rot infliction is great, there are many cheaper options to hit that effect without investing a 35 Faith rating. Scarlet Aeonia can be obtained after defeating Malenia, Blade of Miqeulla in Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree.
2 Fortissax’s Lightning Spear
Fortissax’s Lightning Spear is a Dragon Cult Incantation that drops a large red lightning spear that slams the ground and spreads out, then follows up with another spear in similar fashion. The spell is most effective when the spears make direct contact with the enemy.
While the spell does shred enemies within its immediate hitbox, it is very easy to get knocked out in the middle of casting. This makes the spell one of the bigger high risk/high reward spells in the entire game. Fortissax’s Lightning Spear can be obtained after defeating Lichdragon Fortissax in the Deeproot Depths.
1 Rennala’s Full Moon
Rennala’s Full Moon is one of the best spells for Intelligence builds in Elden Ring. It requires a staggering 70 Intelligence in order to use, but is more than worth the investment. When cast, the user fires a moon projectile that negates all Sorceries in its path and reduces the enemy’s magic resistance for a full minute.
No matter what kind of spells you lean on, the ability to cast a long range, tracking projectile that makes your build more effective for almost the entire fight is a huge bonus. Rennala’s Full Moon can be obtained after defeating Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon in Raya Lucaria Academy.
