Highlights

• Elden Ring offers players complete freedom to explore and decide what to do, a departure from previous FromSoftware games like Dark Souls.
• With 64 different Spirit Ashes available, players must choose wisely to enhance their abilities and maximize their chances of success in battles.
• Some Spirit Ashes, like the Mimic Tear, are considered the best options due to their tankiness, high damage potential, and overall versatility.

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 (64 to be exact!), it can be challenging for players to know which one to use.

Updated April 15th, 2024: There are so many different Spirit Ashes the Tarnished can collect throughout their journey in The Lands Between. Elden Ring has a lot of very versatile Spirit Ashes, most of which have their own in-game lore and backgrounds too. Some of these Spirit Ashes are fantastic supports, some are meant to be tanks, and others output shocking amounts of damage on their own. But, there are also an equal amount of Spirit Ashes that are basically worthless on a battlefield. So, to help players avoid bringing the wrong Spirits into battle, let's go over some of their best options.

20 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.

19 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 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.

18 Skeletal Militiamen

Two of Them Means Twice the Chances to Revive

Like any other Skeletal summon, 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. 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.

17 Mausoleum Soldiers

Just An Overhwhelming Mass of Headless Bodies

Whereas the Redmane Soldier Spirit Ash summons are amazing because they do a lot with just two people, the Mausoleum Soldier Ashes are amazing for the exact opposite reason. 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 summons.

16 Perfumer Tricia

The 'Go To' Support Summon

Perfumer Tricia is sort of 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.

15 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, he doesn't excel in any category and just has too many other Spirit Ashes that are inarguably better than him.

14 Crystalian

Just an Absurd Tank of a Summon

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

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

13 Nightmaiden & Swordstress Puppets

Two Summons That Are True to Their Names

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 honestly cover a lot of different areas.

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 pretty good. Additionally, they're also staggered pretty easily which can be extra painful while they're doing their 'cool' walking into the fight animation after being summoned, but overall these two are on the better side of Spirit Ash summons.

12 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 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 activate it.

11 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.

10 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 probably 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.

9 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.

8 Radahn Soldiers

A Dynamic Duo Spirit Ash Summon

The Radahn Soldiers are probably the best 'soldier' summon of all the Spirit Ashes, which is pretty surprising given that only two of them are summoned. However, these two get a whole lot fo 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.

7 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.

6 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 that players can only attack after a light is shone at them.

5 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 makes up for it.

4 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.

3 Black Knife Tiche

A Spirit Ash That Has It All

Perhaps the most controversial Spirit Ash is the Black Knife Tiche since many players find her too OP, especially during boss fights. This Spirit Ash has melee and ranged attacks imbued with Black Flame, which creates a DoT effect on enemies.

Some players have even noticed that the Black Knife Tiche can out-damage them in certain fights, which is why some feel that using her makes Elden Ring too easy. Black Knife Tiche truly does have it all, which is one she's one of the highest-ranked Spirit Ashes on here.

2 Lhutel The Headless

Giving a Spirit Ash a Teleport Ability is Too Strong

Lhutel the Headless has just about everything a person could ask for from their Spirit Ash. She has high damage, good AI, is pretty tanky, and above all has a short-range teleport. This teleport not only constantly allows Lhutel to avoid attacks she otherwise wouldn't be able to avoid, but it also allows her to go in, poke the enemy, and teleport right out to safety.

Lhutel has high survivability, high damage potential, and is by far one of the easiest Spirit Ash recommendations in Elden Ring.

1 Mimic Tear

We All Knew It Would Be Here

The Mimic Tear was always going to be first place on this list, as anyone who has used this Spirit Ash for even an instant will know. This Spirit Ash is the tankiest, the highest damaging, the smartest, and the most versatile summon, hands down.

It's not as good as it originally was when Elden Ring first launched, but the Mimic Tear is still the summon players should use if they want to experience Elden Ring on 'easy mode'.