The latest in FromSoftware's catalog of incredibly challenging, but wonderfully satisfying games, Elden Ring has finally released. It's been a week since the game released, and hype around the game just refuses to die down, and for good reason to. With so much to explore and discover, Elden Ring is bound to be one of the most talked about games of the year. While this may be arguably FromSoftware's most accessible game, it definitely isn't easy, and newcomers will need to learn a few things before venturing into the Lands Between.
Magic can be one of the most useful tools in Elden Ring, offering some powerful ranged attacks that put plenty of distance between the player and their opponent. However, with a fairly barebones tutorial, many players, especially newcomers to a FromSoftware game, may not have a firm grasp on how to use each of the game's magic types, or why they're so beneficial.
Sorceries
The first of Elden Ring's magic types is Sorcery. These spells are often directly tied to a player's Intelligence, with the more powerful Sorceries requiring a higher Intelligence stat. Sorceries can be cast using a Staff, and can often be distinguished due to their blue color.
Though the Prisoner and Astrologer classes will start with some basic level Sorceries, players will quickly want to head to the Waypoint Ruins in Eastern Limgrave. Here, Sorceress Sellen can be found, who will teach the player new Sorceries at the cost of Runes. These Sorcery trainers can be found throughout the game, with some offering unique spells. Players can unlock new Sorceries by handing over Scrolls to various trainers.
Generally, Sorceries offer some of the best ranged combat in Elden Ring, giving the player some pretty hard-hitting attacks while allowing them to maintain their distance from a deadly foe. Sorceries can also be charged by holding in the attack button, which should deliver a more powerful blow at no extra FP cost.
Some of the most powerful Sorceries in the game are the Glintstone series of spells. According to the lore, these Sorceries harness the kinetic energy of a moving star, and channel them into a powerful, but elegant blast. Glintstone Stars, Pebble, and Arc are currently considered to be some of the best spells in the game, offering fairly high damage along with a deadly homing ability.
Incantations
Where Sorceries harness the energy of the heavenly bodies, Incantations are said to come directly from the Erdtree itself, powered by the initial shattering of the Elden Ring. Incantations are the other type of magic in the game, essentially combining the Pyromancies and Miracles from previous FromSoftware titles, giving players both healing spells, as well as some incredibly powerful fire attacks.
To use Incantations, players will need to get their hands on a Sacred Seal, and will need to have enough points in their Faith stat. For players looking to jump into an Incantation build straight away, then Corhyn is an early-game trainer that has quite a few spells to offer the player. Corhyn can be found in the Roundtable Hold, and can take the player's Prayerbooks in exchange for unlocking more Incantations.
When it comes to support spells, Heal is probably the best bet, allowing players to return a decent amount of HP to them and allies at a reasonable FP cost. Heal can also be acquired very easily at the start of the game, either by buying it from Corhyn for just 1500 Runes, or by having it from the get go as a Prophet class.
Currently, the best offensive Incantations in Elden Ring are probably Beast Claw, which fires five projectiles into the ground in front of the player, and Dragonfire, which conjures a fire-spewing dragon head. However, these Incantations aren't the easiest to find, with Beast Claw requiring five Death Roots to be given to Gurranq, and Dragonfire needing a Dragon Heart to unlock.
Elden Ring is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
