Elden Ring Best Spirit Ashes

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.

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

Updated on March 25, 2025, by Gerardo Molina: Elden Ring is one of the greatest Open-World RPGs of the last 10 years, as it features tons of different weapons and armor sets that players can take advantage of, as well as the innovative Spirit Ash system that allows players to summon a companion to fight alongside them in the most challenging boss battles. While having a Spirit Ash during a boss fight is always welcome, it's undeniable that some can be of great help, whereas others can even turn into a nuisance or an obstacle altogether. There are various ways to obtain Spirit Ashes in Elden Ring. From exploration to combat.

30 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. While tanky, it's not tanky enough to warrant using over any of the mid-to late-game summons, but as an early-game summon it's one of the best.

29 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 actually 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.

28 Skeletal Militiamen

Two of Them Means Twice the Chances to Revive

Like any other Skeletal summon or Skeletal enemy, 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 as the boss will often forget about them after 'killing' them or only focus on one, leaving the other one alone so it can resurrect. 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.

27 Mausoleum Soldiers

Just An Overhwhelming Mass of Headless Bodies

Whereas the Redmane Soldier Spirit Ash summons are amazing, the reasoning for which we'll go into a bit further down this list, the Mausoleum Soldier Ashes are amazing in a similar way, albeit with 5 people instead of just 2. 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/distraction summons.

26 Perfumer Tricia

The 'Go To' Support Summon

Perfumer Tricia is pretty much 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.

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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.

25 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 compared to other similar-costing Ashes, he doesn't excel in any category, and there are just too many other Spirit Ashes that are inarguably better than him.

24 Crystalian

A Pretty Great Tank

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

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

23 Nightmaiden & Swordstress Puppets

Good Choices For Two Different Reasons

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 actually do a pretty fantastic job.

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 incredible if the enemy isn't too mobile. Overall, these two are on the better side of Spirit Ash summons.

22 Cleanrot Knight Finlay

A Powerful Companion With Great Healing Buffs

Cleanrot Knight Finlay is not only a powerful Spirit Ash, but can also be found as a boss in Elden Ring. His ashes can be found in Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree, close to the Site of Grace in the Prayer Room. By using his Cleanrot Knight moveset, he can induce Rot on players’ enemies and also fire projectiles that deal Holy Damage.

One of the greatest things about this Spirit Ash is that it can also cast a 30-second buff that heals players at a rate of 7/HP per second and increases their fire negation damage by 60%. As of Patch 1.13, Cleanrot Knight Finlay will no longer stagger as easily and has increased attack power, as well as improved damage negation against Physical, Magic, and Holy attacks. Unfortunately, summoning him consumes a whopping 127 FP, which can be demanding, especially for players with low FP.

21 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 actually 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 activated. The only thing that even comes close to him in terms of ranged support is the Bigmouth Imp summon from the DLC.