Dark Souls 2 is a tough game, and it's even tougher for players that came from the first or third in the series. The difference lies in the enemies' tracking and the players' movement. For example, rolling has fewer invincibility frames than it does in the other Darks Souls games, making it a lot harder to evade enemies.

Whether a player comes from another entry in the series or they haven't touched a Souls game at all, chances are players will have a rough time. One way to make the game easier is by using miracles to attack enemies from afar or use miracles to heal.

Updated August 29, 2021 by Erik Petrovich: Miracles in Dark Souls 2 are a bit more useful than in other Dark Souls games, and actually offer a bit of variety to the already diverse builds in this underrated entry. When it comes to the best miracles in the game, there's a lot of options to choose from. Faith builds can be incredibly useful for online play, too, though they aren't as useful when taking on the game by oneself. There's always room for a miracle or two in just about any build. They can provide utility that no other spell can, such as the combat boost given by Sacred Oath.

Miracles & Faith Builds in Dark Souls 2

Dark Souls 2 Best Miracles Faith Builds

Miracle builds in Dark Souls 2 are not great when players spec solely into Faith to be able to cast them. However, when paired with other builds such as a strength-focused build, it turns into a very powerful self-sustain side focus. It's possible to spec fully into faith to get access to the best miracles in Dark Souls 2, but this is usually reserved for players in co-op.

Players looking to pick up miracles on the side should focus on low-requirement self-sustain abilities like Heal, Homeward, Magic Barrier, and Emit Force. Players looking to play the support role with their friends online can afford not to focus on dealing damage at all; instead, the focus is on buffing allies and mitigating damage with Resplendent Sunlight and Sacred Oath.

10 Homeward

Dark Souls 2 Best Miracles Homeward

Homeward is a useful miracle to employ across the entirety of Dark Souls 2. Instead of using a Homeward Bone, the Homeward miracle lets players teleport to the last used bonfire. It doesn't work in some areas, though, so pay attention to whether it's greyed out or not.

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It's not a miracle that will deal lots of damage to enemies, but it can come in handy in a pinch. Plus, it has low requirements and can be picked up after defeating the Dragonrider in Majula. After sending her back, look for Licia of Lindeldt at the bottom of the stairs towards the back of Majula, where she can also open the path to the Huntsman's Copse.

9 Great Magic Barrier

Great Magic Barrier is a miracle widely used by players that use cleric builds. This miracle increases the player's defense against fire, lightning, magic, and dark by 250. The buff lasts 90 seconds, which is more than enough time to finish some challenging encounters, whether those encounters be PVE or PVP.

Great Magic Barrier is a nuisance for players on the other side of it. Its only downside is that it has no resistance to physical attacks, poison, or bleed effects.

8 Heavenly Thunder

Dark Souls 2 Best Miracles Heavenly Thunder

Miracle builds have little access to decent AoE abilities, as most of the game's damaging miracles are single-target. Heavenly Thunder gives a basic close-range AoE to users, as it shoots out lightning bolts in random directions from the caster.

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The lightning bolts do huge damage, but aren't reliable for enemies further than melee distance. It's a great miracle to pair with a melee build, but it's also useful in a pinch for miracle-only builds.

7 Wrath of The Gods

Dark Souls Remake

Wrath of The Gods is the culmination of the miracles Force and Emit Force. Upon using this miracle, the player explodes with force. This miracle does a lot of damage because it scales with faith, and it makes most enemies fall over.

In PVE this miracle should be used to push pesky enemies off cliffs, or simply for the damage. Players in PVP should use this if they're facing more than one player, or they can use it to surprise a player by hiding around a corner. This move is too good to not have on a faith build.

6 Heal, Med Heal, & Great Heal

Dark Souls 2 Best Miracles Licia Heal Med Great

The three basic heals are essential for any miracle user. Heal can be used by just about any build thanks to its low requirements, but Med Heal and Great Heal do need a few more points put into Faith and Attunement.

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All three of the basic heal miracles will heal both the caster and allies who are nearby, typically in melee range. The first two can be bought from Licia of Lindeldt. Great Heal, on the other hand, must be purchased from Cromwell, though a slightly weaker version can be bought from Licia too.

5 Sacred Oath

Sacred Oath buffs the user's (and allies') physical attack damage by 50, and it increases physical damage resistance by 75. It can also be paired with another self-buff like Great Magic Barrier, making the user a tank.

Couple those two miracles with heavy armor, like Havel's, and players can even make bosses tremble. Sacred Oath had to be a good spell, because players only get it toward the end of the game after defeating Velstadt.

4 Bountiful Sunlight

Dark Souls 2 Best Miracles Bountiful Sunlight

While Great Heal is one of the best heals in the game for instant rejuvenation, Bountiful Sunlight keeps players alive over the long term. Instead of healing 850 instantly like similar miracles, it heals 850 over the course of 120 seconds.

In PvP, Bountiful Sunlight works wonders for keeping the fight going against a tough opponent (or opponents). In PvE, it's best to cast it at the beginning of a boss fight to mitigate incoming damage.

3 Sunlight Spear

Sunlight Spear is the final evolution of Lightning Spear. It and its predecessors make many of the bosses easier for players that are good at keeping their distance. Sunlight Spear is one of the strongest projectiles in the game. With a Lightning Dragon Chime +5, a lightning clutch ring, and Sun Seal, players can deal up to 1,400 damage.

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In some cases, the best equipment with this miracle can one-shot a boss and a player. Environments with water are great for this miracle because once it hits water, it has an AoE effect. To get the miracle, players must get to rank 3 in the Heirs of The Sun covenant.

2 Caressing Prayer

Caressing Prayer cures the user and allies (in proximity) of poison and toxic buildup. This spell isn't useful all the time, but when it's needed, it's better than using an item – such as when a player is traversing an area with poison pools like Earthen Peak.

Poison Moss can be used in place of Caressing Prayer for non-miracle users, but it's not a bad idea to switch this spell in for another when faced with lots of poison and toxic damage. What's the point in healing spells if one is poisoned, after all?

1 Sunlight Blade

Sunlight blade is the final piece to any faith build. This spell wraps the users' weapon in golden lightning, dealing lighting damage scaled by the users' faith. Even on the base requirement, players will find this buff significantly boosting their DPS.

Players can find this miracle hidden in the Shrine of Amana between the second and first bonfire. Alternatively, players can buy it from Straid of Olaphis. This miracle is widely used in PVP builds, but it's also great for PVE. It's especially useful in NG+ runs.

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