First released back in 2009 as a PlayStation 3 exclusive, Demon’s Souls captured the attention of a cult following and catapulted FromSoftware to the forefront of the action RPG genre. With its punishing difficulty and uncompromising combat, Demon’s Souls marked the beginning of the Soulsborne style of gameplay which led to the release of its many spiritual successors, culminating in the release of the wildly successful Elden Ring.
With the launch of the PlayStation 5 in 2020, the Demon’s Souls Remake reintroduced the world to Boletaria, the fog-shrouded lands plagued by a scourge of soul-devouring beasts. To defeat these monsters, kill The Old One and claim their place as a Monumental, the Slayer of Demons may make use of Soul Arts to heal themselves and hurt anything that stands in their way. This guide will show players how to get their hands on sorcery and miracles, as well as how to use them.
How to Get Magic in Demon's Souls
Magic in Demon’s Souls is separated into two distinct branches, sorcery and miracles. Sorcery focuses mostly on offensive spells, such as Fireball and Soul Ray, which deal fire and magic damage, respectively.
Though there are some defensive spells offered by sorcery, like Cloak and Protection, the best defensive spells are obtained through investment in miracles, which offer useful healing spells, and even the chance to revive oneself after taking fatal damage, Sekiro-style.
Sorcery spells mostly scale with specializing in the Magic skill, so players who want more powerful offensive spells will benefit greatly from leveling it up. Miracle users will want to focus on investment in Faith, as this skill increases the effectiveness of all miracles.
As always, be sure to put a fair number of souls into Vitality and Intelligence to make the most out of spells and save oneself from running out of mana.
Players first starting out on their Demon’s Souls journey will be prompted to choose a class at the beginning of the game. While most builds are viable for magic users, and players can always choose to respec their skill points later in their run, there is one clear choice for players who want to focus their build around Soul Arts.
The Royalty class starts out with 13 points in Magic and 12 points in Faith, making this class the most versatile when it comes to magic; furthermore, Royals begin with all the tools they need to cast sorceries and begin with the fairly powerful Soul Arrow spell. On the other hand, for players specializing more in healing miracles, the Priest and Temple Knight make for good alternatives.
Both sorceries and miracles are primarily obtained by purchasing them from vendors in The Nexus. From the outset, two spell merchants are available; the Disciple of God can be found behind the archstones on the left-hand side of the Nexus (right if players are in Fractured Mode).
He sells basic miracles, providing the player has at least 10 points in Faith. Directly opposite, on the other side of the Nexus, sits Freke’s Apprentice, who sells players basic sorceries when the player reaches 10 Magic.
It's worth noting that not every spell can be purchased in a single playthrough , as many spells require selling the souls of bosses to obtain them.
For more spells, players must find certain NPCs scattered throughout the game world. Perhaps the easiest to reach from the start is Sage Freke, who can be found in the Prison of Hope, in the Tower of Latria.
This is a difficult location, featuring strong enemies who are resistant to magic (but not fire). Players should consider defeating the Tower Knight in the Boletarian Palace and reaching around level 25 before tackling this area. Once liberated from his cell, Freke appears next to his apprentice and sells some higher-level sorceries to the player in exchange for souls.
Saint Urbain may also be rescued fairly early on from the Shrine of Storms, in the area proceeding the boss fight with the Adjudicator. After freeing him, he shows up near the Disciple of God in the Nexus and players can buy high-level miracles from him.
Finally, Yuria the Witch can be saved after the player defeats their first Archdemon, clearing the signature FromSoftware fog wall, which blocks them from progressing further into the Boletarian Palace. Rescuing her requires a bit of exploration and dress-up, and after freeing her, she can be found in the corner nearby Freke and his apprentice.
How to Use Magic
Once obtained, magic can only be used if it is equipped and players are carrying a Talisman or Catalyst. To equip sorceries, visit Freke, his apprentice, or Yuria, and speak to them, selecting Remember Spells; for players to equip more sorceries, they must have sufficiently pumped points into the Magic skill to unlock more Memory Slots.
In order to equip Miracles, visit Urbain or the Disciple and select Remember Miracles; for more Miracle Slots, be sure to invest some points into Intelligence.
As aforementioned, the Royalty class starts with the correct tools for a sorcery user. This includes a Catalyst for casting sorceries, which players must have equipped in either hand for spells to work.
A basic Wooden Catalyst can be found on The Lord’s Path, atop the first tower along the dragon-burnt bridge. Similarly, to cast Miracles, players must have a Talisman equipped; a Talisman of God can be found to the right of the first fog door encountered in The Shrine of Storms.
Perhaps the most useful Talisman in the game is the Talisman of Beasts, which allows players to cast miracles and sorceries without switching between Catalysts and Talismans. This can be obtained by following Mephistopheles’ quest, which requires freeing Yurt, the Silent Chief, from the Tower of Latria, and getting a Pure Black Character Tendency. Otherwise, players may grab it by defeating Black Phantom Scirvir, who only appears after attaining a Pure Black World Tendency in Stonefang Tunnel.
With spells equipped, Catalysts or Talismans in hand, and after investing enough points in Magic, Intelligence, and Faith to use them, players are ready to use and wield spells for as long as they have Focus Points to use.
Demon’s Souls is currently available for PS3. Demon’s Souls Remake is currently exclusive to the PS5.
