Spirit Summoning is a new feature in Elden Ring that lets solo players have a little extra backup from NPC allies. Spirit Summons use FP, which differs depending on the strength of the summon, and spawn anywhere from one to a handful of spectral NPCs to help you take on difficult content.
If there's a gravestone-like symbol on the left side of your screen, it means that you can summon a Spirit Summon in that location. This is usually an indicator that you are about to enter a challenging area or a boss, and there are few summons in Elden Ring more capable of taking on a group of early-game enemies than the Demi-Humans.
Five Demi-Humans, One Spirit Summon
The Demi-Human Ashes creates five Demi-humans for a pretty steep FP cost – at 69 FP, it's one of the most FP-intensive Spirit Summons in Elden Ring's early game. Each of these Demi-Humans models is taken from other Demi-human enemies out in the world, and their strength varies. The big one, for example, hits hard but slow while the smaller ones are weak but fast.
It's essentially a strict upgrade to the Wandering Nobles Ash, which creates five pathetically weak Nobles for a pretty cheap FP cost. Though it's more resource-intensive, the Demi-Humans that are summoned with these Ashes have a decent HP pool, can move quickly like the Wolves, and are a violent, loud distraction that can handle large groups of enemies well enough that players can often sneak right through the skirmish without drawing attention to themselves.
How To Get Demi-Human Ashes
The Demi-Human Ashes are kept at the end of the Impaler's Catacombs in the northern parts of the Weeping Peninsula. Head to eastern Limgrave and follow the road North until you are almost out of Limgrave. Look along the cliffs next to the edge of the Weeping Peninsula for the large doors that serve as the entrance to this dungeon.
It's not a particularly difficult dungeon, but the end-boss Erdtree Burial Watchdog is surprisingly nimble, especially compared to the one found in the Stormfoot Catacombs. Plus, this one spawns with four allies, so it's a good idea to bring in your own Spirit Summon as a distraction. This Erdtree Burial Watchdog drops the Demi-Human Ashes upon defeat.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S.