Elden Ring: 24 Best Spirit Ashes, Ranked

Highlights

• Elden Ring provides players complete freedom to explore and tackle challenges in various areas of Lands Between.
• Spirit Ashes in the game offer different strategies and utility against tough bosses, with some standing out for their effectiveness.
• Mimic Tear remains a top choice due to its tankiness, damage output, and versatility, making it a go-to summon for players.

FromSoftware undoubtedly has taken the entire gaming community by storm with the release of Elden Ring, which combines elements from previous games like Bloodborne and Dark Souls. But, one of the biggest differences Elden Ring has compared to prior games is that it gives players complete freedom to decide where and what to do.

So, if a player gets stuck at a difficult World Boss (which Elden Ring has plenty of), they can move on to a different area of Lands Between. Fortunately, Elden Ring has plenty of items to help a player win even the hardest of battles, and one such item is Spirit Ash. But, with so many Spirit Ashes available (84 to be exact), it can be challenging for players to know which one to use.

Updated July 13th, 2024 by Jacob Buchalter: There are 20 brand new Spirit Ashes added to Elden Ring through The Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. These new Spirit Ashes range from tiny little Fingercreepers to pairs of highly experienced warriors. However, for the most part, the summons in this DLC are weaker than the stronger summons of the base game. In fact, this DLC has some of the worst summons to date such as the Spider Scorpion Ashes or the Fingercreeper Ashes. Thankfully, it’s not all bad, as there are a few of these new summons that are actually comparable to powerhouses like the Mimic Tear or Tiche. With that in mind, let’s go over all of the Spirit Ashes in Elden Ring as a whole and pick out the strongest of them all.

25 Spirit Jellyfish

A Great Distraction That Can Apply Poison

Starting off at the bottom of this list are the Spirit Jellyfish Ashes. This may be a surprising first pick, as a lot of Elden Ring players adore this summon (due to her side quest), but it’s not all that great. Granted, there are a whole lot of Spirit Ashes worse than the Spirit Jellyfish, but there are a whole lot better than it is, well.

It’s meant to be a ranged support summon that spews poison from afar, and it’s pretty decent at doing its job. However, if the boss arena it’s summoned in is in any way a bit ‘small’, then the Spirit Jellyfish’s AI goes out the window, and it basically forgets it can use ranged attacks at all. While tanky, it’s not tanky enough to warrant using over any of the mid to late-game summons, but as an early-game summon it’s one of the best.

24 Fanged Imps

Great Bleed Application But Too Wimpy To Show It Off

Fighting against Fanged Imps in Catacombs is one thing, as these little gremlins can be a real pain to deal with in groups. However, as a Spirit Ash summons, Fanged Imps aren’t very scary at all. It’s great that they can apply Bleed/Blood Loss, and their AI is relatively decent, but their damage and health pool is just too puny for it to actually matter.

If players get these Spirit Ashes early, they’ll feel pretty strong. But that utility and strength fall off a cliff as soon as players progress more than even a few hours into the game.

23 Skeletal Militiamen

Two of Them Means Twice the Chances to Revive

Like any other Skeletal summon or Skeletal enemy, the Skeletal Militiamen have the ability to resurrect after being killed if they’re left alone for long enough afterward. On its own, that’s not that great if the Spirit itself is weak.

However, specifically, because there are two Militiamen in this Spirit Ash, they’re actually pretty decent as the boss will often forget about them after ‘killing’ them or only focus on one, leaving the other one alone so it can resurrect. One of the biggest downsides of just about every Spirit Ash is how quickly they get themselves killed. But, because the Skeletal Militiamen usually die in two different locations, one of them will typically get away with reviving, making these summons last longer than most.

22 Mausoleum Soldiers

Just An Overhwhelming Mass of Headless Bodies

Whereas the Redmane Soldier Spirit Ash summons are amazing, the reasoning for which we’ll go into a bit further down this list, the Mausoleum Soldier Ashes are amazing in a similar way, albeit with 5 people instead of just 2. With 5 Spirits, this Spirit Ash can overwhelm almost any enemy incredibly quickly.

Once these headless summons start attacking, they really don’t stop and truly feel like Pirahhna’s shredding through prey. But they’re also pretty weak to AoE damage attacks, and they are primarily used as glass cannons as they don’t function very well as tank/distraction summons.

21 Perfumer Tricia

The ‘Go To’ Support Summon

Perfumer Tricia is pretty much the best option for a support Spirit Ash in the game. She has different Aromatics that she uses throughout being summoned, from Spark to Uplifting Aromatics.

The Uplifting Aromatic is the key reason she’s so useful, especially for strength builds, as she almost always casts this right as she’s summoned and will continue to cast it every now and again while she’s alive. With the Uplifting Aromatic active, players literally do more Physical Damage and take 90 percent less damage on the next hit they take within 40 seconds of the buff being applied.

20 Battlemage Hugues

The ‘Jack-of-All-Trades’ Spirit Ash

Battlemage Hugues is probably the best example of a jack-of-all-trades but master of none Spirit Ash out of the whole bunch. He has a variety of magical and physical attacks, deals great magic damage in general, and his AI is pretty decent.

However, the 122 FP Cost usually isn’t worth it compared to other similar-costing Ashes, he doesn’t excel in any category, and there are just too many other Spirit Ashes that are inarguably better than him.

19 Crystalian

A Pretty Great Tank

Crystalian Ashes have the highest Poise of anything in the game, including boss opponents. Crystalians are basically immune to any attack types besides strike damage. It is a very good defensive summon and only falls short when it comes up against strike damage, which shatters it instantly and makes it incredibly vulnerable. It’s not a damage dealer, just a very effective damage soaker.

However, considering how trivial Crystalians end up feeling as enemies once players understand their gimmick, it’s surprising that the Crysalian Ashes are this useful overall.

18 Nightmaiden & Swordstress Puppets

Good Choices For Two Different Reasons

Next up are the only examples of Selvius’ puppets who actually chose to become puppets: the Nightmaiden and Swordstress. For the FP, these two might not seem worth the summon, but they actually do a pretty fantastic job.

The Swordstress has good damage and a pretty good range with her whip-like sword, and the Nightmaiden uses the Night Mist sorcery, which is incredible if the enemy isn’t too mobile. Overall, these two are on the better side of Spirit Ash summons.

17 Redmane Knight Ogha

A Sniper on the Battlefield, If Placed Correctly

Redmane Knight Ogha is this high on the rankings purely because of his reliability. There are a lot of Spirit Ashes in Elden Ring that, once summoned, it’s impossible to really tell how long they’ll last or how useful they’ll actually be.

But, as long as the Tarnished summons Ogha a good distance away from the boss itself, he stays pretty still and continues to get long shots in on the boss with his gravity magic-infused arrows, which is very helpful. Plus, he also has a rain of arrow attack that players can use on command if they have the War Cry Skill equipped and activated. The only thing that even comes close to him in terms of ranged support is the Bigmouth Imp summon from the DLC.

16 Azula Beastmen

Highly-Aggressive (Almost Too Aggressive) Beasts on the Prowl

The Azula Beastmen Spirit Ashes are great summons for any player looking for some passive Lightning Damage or for any player who is confident they can keep their Spirit Ashes alive. They’re extremely aggressive summons and have good damage output, but that same aggressive nature usually leads them to an early death.

This adds up to making this Spirit Ash Summon pretty inconsistent in its utility, but overall it absolutely qualifies as one of the ‘better’ options across the board.

15 Bloodhound Knight Floh

The Most Iconic ‘Boss’ Summon Example

Bloodhound Knight Floh is an absolute beast of a Spirit Ash in the right circumstances. If the enemy he’s being summoned against isn’t too tanky and is susceptible to Bleed, then Floh can be the MVP of all Spirit Ash summons.

But if the enemy is tanky and resistant against Bleed, it’s almost always better to use a different Spirit Ash. In general, the biggest downside for Floh is his health pool, as every other aspect of this Spirit Ash is actually pretty phenomenal.

14 Latenna The Albinauric

A Painfully Stationary Powerhouse

Latenna is a very unique summon. She can’t physically move and acts more like a turret. Due to her, well, species, players must summon her in strategically viable locations and situations. Latenna uses her bow to fire three arrows at a time.

She can shoot very far and does massive DPS. In general, she’s basically a summonable version of those Albinauric Archers guarding the Ordina Liturgical Town. If placed properly, she can last the entire boss fight while dealing out quite a lot of damage, but if she gets the enemy’s attention, it immediately becomes a battle of trying to keep the boss’ attention so that they don’t immediately wipe Latenna out of existence.

13 Radahn Soldiers

A Dynamic Duo Spirit Ash Summon

The Radahn Soldiers are probably the best ‘soldier’ summon of all the Spirit Ashes, that is until the Messmer Soldier Ashes were added in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. Still, their utility is pretty surprising given that only two of them are summoned. However, these two get a whole lot of work done, with one using a flaming Greatsword and the other using a torch and flaming Longsword.

These two are very tanky, are aggressive but not ‘too’ aggressive, and stagger bosses relatively consistently. There’s not much of a downside to using these guys and while they might not be the best Spirit Ashes overall, they’re one of the most beloved among the community.

12 Banished Knight Oleg

A Knight Who Is Basically A Blender

Banished Knights are among the most fearsome enemies in Elden Ring since they are nimble, hit hard, and have a powerful leap attack that can stagger players. So, as players can expect, its Spirit Ash counterpart is capable of all that and has a better AI than his other Banished Knight counterpart.

At max upgrades, Banished Knight Oleg can actually solo a whole lot of enemies, dungeon bosses, and even complete bosses entirely on his own. While he does struggle against the bigger and tankier bosses overall, Oleg is one of the absolute best Spirit Ash options Elden Ring has to offer.

11 Ancient Dragon Knight Kristoff

A Very Tanky & Versatile Knight to Summon

One of several Legendary Spirit Ashes, Ancient Dragon Knight Kristoff is the perfect companion for Sorcery or Incantation builds with minimal Vigor since he’s quite beefy and can take a beating. Moreover, he has a decent ranged attack where he strikes foes with thunderbolts, plus he also imbues his weapon with Lightning.

Unfortunately, obtaining him can be a challenge, which is why he’s not ranked higher since players will need to pass Leyndell the Royal Capital and then complete Sainted Hero’s Grave. This location is home to Imps, and players can only attack after a light is shone at them.

10 Greatshield Soldiers

Just The Cutest (& Most Unkillable) Little Soldiers

The go-to Spirit Ash for any glass cannon build, the Greatshield Soldiers are nearly invincible, especially at +9 and +10. Moreover, players that have healing-type Incantations to heal them mid-battle too.

Obviously, this means that the Greatshield Soldiers aren’t very good at dealing damage overall, but their survivability and sheer gusto on the battlefield more than make up for it.

9 Omenkiller Rollo

A Straight-Up Terror on the Field

Omenkiller Rollo might as well be a legendary Spirit Ash because he has all the charisma and stats of one. He has a wide range of different attacks, such as a fire breath attack, attacks that are better at staggering, and attacks that build up Bleed pretty easily. His FP cost is pretty high, but Rollo is one of the rare cases where his FP cost actually feels too cheap for the amount of utility the summon has.

Omenkiller Rollo just absolutely goes to town whenever he’s summoned, and he can actually carry players through entire boss fights on his own.

8 Ancient Dragon Florissax

Glass Cannon Incantation Caster

Despite the fact that figuring out how to get the Ancient Dragon Florissax Spirit Ashes on your own is such a nightmare, once they’ve actually obtained this summon is pretty amazing. She uses the Flowerstone Gavel as a weapon, complete with the Flower Dragonbolt Skill. Not only does this weapon deal a decent amount of damage, but the Dragonbolt is pretty amazing and also makes the opponent more vulnerable to lightning damage as a whole.

The main downside with Florissax is how squishy she is. For those expecting this summon to solo the boss, it’s better to look elsewhere. However, if the player keeps most of the aggro on them, the damage that Florissax can output is actually pretty staggering.

7 Black Knight Commander Andreas

Great Tank With a Weird ‘Tongue Attack’

Any Spirit Ash summon that has a shield and actually uses it already cements itself as pretty useful. While a summon that deals a lot of damage is nice, one that stays alive longer will always be more beneficial. And, Black Knight Commander Andreas is a great pick because of this.

Not only does he actually use his greatshield pretty often to tank damage, but he also does quite a bit of physical and holy damage all on his own. The only really ‘off’ thing about this Spirit Ash is the odd tongue attack that he has, but that’s only from a visual standpoint. Mechanically this tongue attack is fine and overall he’s one of the most ‘solid’ Spirit Ash choices of them all.

6 Messmer Soldiers

One of the Best Duo Spirit Ashes

It might be surprising to see such basic soldier summons this high on the list, but anyone who has actually fought the Messmer Soldiers in the Lands of Shadow knows how scary they can be. These guys put out some shocking damage numbers and are pretty great at staggering enemies.

Not only that, but this summon in particular seems to keep; the pair together a lot more often than most of the other duo summons do, which leads to more situations where the Messmer Soldier attacks overlapping keep the opponent in question constantly recoiling. Overall this summon can just output a lot of damage, take a lot of damage, and is a pretty amazing distraction for not a lot of FP Cost.