There are two flavors of magic in Elden Ring: Sorceries and Incantations. Between these two are several different subcategories, from pyromancies and dragon magic on the Incantaion side to Glintstone and Gravity magic on the Sorcery side. Here’s how you use any of them.
How to Use Magic in Elden Ring
Magic in Elden Ring works similarly to how it has in previous FromSoftware games, as well as any other Souls-likes you may have played. There are a few wrinkles introduced in this latest title, and we’ll go over them all here.
Step 1 to Using Magic: Have the Right Stats & Use a Casting Tool
Before you can even think about using magic in Elden Ring, you need to have the correct stats. Sorceries, and the staves you need to cast them, require that you level Intelligence, so put at least a few points into that to get started. Depending on the type of Sorcery or staff, you might also need to invest in either Faith or Arcane, though those are edge cases. For the most part, if you want to cast a Sorcery, level Intelligence.
Incantations, which encompass other types of magic, including pyromancy, blood magic, dragon spells, or Golden Order spells, use items called Sacred Seals and are baked primarily on the Faith stat. A few Incantations and Seals also take a smaller amount of either Intelligence or Arcane as a secondary stat.
Using Magic Step 2: Have the Spell in your Inventory & Equip It
There are dozens of spells to find in the world of Elden Ring, and while some starting classes begin the game with a few, the best are found in the deepest recesses of the Lands Bewteen. In other words, if you don’t have the spell you want to cast in your inventory, there’s no way to cast it. Once you have a spell, sit at a Site of Grace and select “Memorize Spell,” then equip the spell in an open slot.
The majority of Elden Ring‘s spells, such as the powerful Comet Azur, are out there in the world of the Lands Between, waiting to be discovered. A handful of magic abilities can also be purchased from various NPC merchants, such as Rogier, Corhyn, or Sellen, in the Roundtable Hold or elsewhere. Our best spells guide has the location of some of the most powerful ones, but there are so many more.
Using Magic Step 3: Have the Memory Slots
Unlike in many of the Souls games, there’s no stat in Elden Ring that governs how many spells magic users can equip. Instead, you collect Memory Stones from various locations, sometimes called Rises, scattered throughout the world. Some of these, such as Ranni’s Rise, which you’ll visit during Ranni’s questline, are in Liurnia of the Lakes.
Every Memory Stone you find increases your spell capacity by one, referred to as a ‘memory slot’. There are 10 Memory Stones available and far more magic spells than that to equip. Some spells also require two or even three memory slots to use, depending on their relative power.
Using Magic Step 4: Equip a Casting Tool & Press the Primary Attack Button
If you meet all the above requirements, all that’s left to do to cast a spell is select it in the topmost icon on your quick bar in the menu at the bottom-left of your HUD whenever you’re out in the world. You can also press Up on the D-Pad to change to a new one whenever you like, then hold Up for a couple of seconds to automatically swap back to the spell at the beginning of your memory list.
Once you’ve got the spell you want ready to go, equip your casting tool in either hand, then press the attack button assigned to that hand. The spell will be performed in whatever form it takes. Remember that you can charge certain spells to power them up or simply press the button for the fastest possible cast.
That’s everything you need to know about getting started with magic in Elden Ring. Experiment with as many options as you can find, and be sure to upgrade your casting tool to get the most out of the spells you cast. Find out how to get those upgrade materials with our Bell Bearing guide and look good while you’re casting with our best armor guide. Our Elden Ring guides hub has even more.
