Elden Ring Faith Build - Stats, Weapons, Skills & More

Faith is one of the most versatile attributes in Elden Ring, giving you access to powerful Incantations alongside a large selection of Faith-scaling weapons. A Faith build can function as a dedicated spellcaster, a melee/caster hybrid, or anything in between.

Incantations provide access to several different damage types, including Fire, Lightning, Holy, and even Physical damage. This makes Faith builds highly adaptable, as you can change your equipped Incantations and weapons to take advantage of different enemy weaknesses.

Faith also provides some of the best buffs and utility spells in the game. Incantations such as Golden Vow can improve your overall combat performance, while healing and defensive Incantations can provide additional survivability during exploration and difficult encounters.

The main challenge is managing your attributes. Dedicated casters need enough Mind to comfortably use Incantations, while hybrid builds may also require Strength or Dexterity to meet weapon requirements. Instead of trying to use everything at once, Faith builds are strongest when you choose which weapons and Incantations your build will focus on.

Pros

• Huge variety of Incantations with different damage types and ranges.
• Access to powerful offensive and defensive buffs.
• Excellent selection of Faith and hybrid-scaling weapons.
• Can easily adapt your damage type to different enemies and bosses.
• Supports both dedicated caster and melee/caster playstyles.
• Strong options throughout both the base game and Shadow of the Erdtree.

Cons

• Requires FP management, especially for dedicated Incantation builds.
• Hybrid builds can become stat-hungry when investing in Faith alongside Strength or Dexterity.
• Some of the strongest Incantations have long casting animations that require good positioning and timing.
• No single damage type works against everything, making it important to change spells or weapons against resistant enemies.
• Many of the strongest Faith weapons and Incantations are obtained later in the game.

Faith builds can be built in two very different ways. A Pure Faith build focuses primarily on Incantations and weapons with low physical requirements, while a Faith Hybrid build invests additional points into Strength and Dexterity to access a much wider selection of Faith-scaling weapons.

Both approaches are powerful, so choose your progression based on whether you want Incantations or melee weapons to play the larger role in your build.

Pure Faith / Incantation Build

Recommended Starting Class: Prophet

This progression is designed for players who want Incantations to be their primary source of damage. Faith, Vigor, and Mind receive most of your levels, while Strength and Dexterity remain at their starting values unless a specific weapon requires additional investment.

Early on, prioritize Faith alongside enough Vigor to comfortably survive enemy attacks. Mind becomes increasingly important as you gain access to stronger and more expensive Incantations.

Around level 100, 60 Faith provides excellent Incantation scaling while 40 Vigor and 28 Mind give you a good balance between survivability and FP. By level 150, 80 Faith and 60 Vigor are strong endgame targets for a dedicated Faith caster.

This setup works best with weapons that require little physical investment and Sacred Seals that strongly benefit from high Faith.

Faith Hybrid Build

Recommended Starting Class: Confessor

Faith Hybrid builds sacrifice some Faith and Mind investment in exchange for the Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance needed to use a wider variety of melee weapons.

Early levels should be spent meeting the requirements of the weapon you intend to use rather than blindly following every number in the table. Once those requirements are met, prioritize Vigor and Faith while adding Endurance when necessary to maintain Medium Equip Load.

By level 100, 40 Faith provides strong Incantations and weapon scaling without requiring you to sacrifice your melee attributes. Around level 150, 60 Faith is an excellent target for a hybrid build and still leaves enough levels for 60 Vigor, weapon requirements, and additional Endurance.

Hybrid builds can still use offensive Incantations effectively, but buffs and utility Incantations are especially valuable because they complement your melee weapon rather than competing with it for every combat opening.

Choosing Between Pure Faith and Hybrid Faith

Choose Pure Faith if you want Incantations to be your primary damage source and prefer maximizing your Sacred Seal's Incantation Scaling.

Choose Hybrid Faith if you want to combine Incantations with Faith-scaling melee weapons. The additional Strength and Dexterity investment gives you access to significantly more weapons while still providing enough Faith for powerful Incantations, buffs, and weapon scaling.

Your exact Strength and Dexterity values should ultimately depend on your chosen weapon. There is little reason to continue increasing either attribute simply because the table suggests it once you have already met your weapon requirements.

Sacred Seals are used to cast Incantations, and the best Seal depends on both your attributes and the type of Incantations you use. Some Sacred Seals provide higher general Incantation Scaling, while others provide a passive damage bonus to a specific school of Incantations.

These passive bonuses also apply while the Seal is held in either hand. This allows you to cast with the Seal that provides the highest Incantation Scaling while holding another Seal purely for its passive bonus.

Finger Seal — Best Early-Game Seal

Requirements: Strength - 4 / Faith - 10

The Finger Seal is the most straightforward Sacred Seal for an early Faith build. It scales primarily with Faith, has very low requirements, and provides reliable Incantation Scaling without requiring investment into another offensive attribute.

It doesn't provide a bonus to any particular school of Incantations, but this makes it a good general-purpose option while you're still experimenting with different spells.

Prophets and Confessors start with the Finger Seal, and other classes can purchase it from the Twin Maiden Husks at Roundtable Hold.

Godslayer's Seal — Best Mid-Game Faith Seal

Requirements: Strength - 4 / Faith - 27

The Godslayer's Seal is an excellent option for dedicated Faith builds before reaching the extremely high Faith levels where the Erdtree Seal becomes more effective.

It also increases the damage of Godslayer Incantations by 10%, making it particularly useful when using Black Flame, Scouring Black Flame, or other Incantations from the same school.

Its combination of strong general Incantation Scaling and a useful passive bonus makes it one of the best Seals to progress through the base game with.

Location: Found behind an Imp Statue seal in Stormveil Castle.

Erdtree Seal — Best for High Faith

Requirements: Faith - 40

The Erdtree Seal is the best general-purpose choice for a dedicated high-Faith caster. It has no special Incantation school bonus, instead focusing entirely on strong Faith scaling.

It becomes particularly effective as you approach 80 Faith, making it a natural endgame choice for the Pure Faith progression.

Because it lacks a school-specific passive, you can also cast with the Erdtree Seal while holding another specialized Seal in your other hand to benefit from that Seal's damage bonus.

Location: Found in Volcano Manor, near the Prison Town Church area.

Clawmark Seal — Best for Strength/Faith

Requirements: Strength - 4 / Faith - 10

The Clawmark Seal scales Incantations with both Strength and Faith, making it particularly useful for Strength/Faith hybrid builds that don't want to invest heavily in Faith alone.

It also increases the damage of Bestial Incantations by 10%, including options such as Stone of Gurranq and Bestial Sling.

The Clawmark Seal is less attractive for our Pure Faith progression, but can be an excellent casting tool when a hybrid build already has substantial Strength investment.

Location: Given by Gurranq, Beast Clergyman, after giving one Deathroot to D, Hunter of the Dead, and gaining access to the Bestial Sanctum.

Dragon Communion Seal — Best for Faith/Arcane

Requirements: Faith - 10 / Arcane - 10

The Dragon Communion Seal scales primarily with Arcane alongside Faith and increases the damage of Dragon Communion Incantations by 15%.

It is the natural choice for specialized Dragon Communion builds using Incantations such as Dragonmaw, Dragonclaw, and the various dragon breath attacks.

Because this requires significant Arcane investment to reach its full potential, it doesn't fit either of our standard Faith progressions without modifying their attributes. However, it is one of the strongest reasons to build a dedicated Faith/Arcane character.

Location: Found in the Fringefolk Hero's Grave in Limgrave.

Golden Order Seal — Best for Intelligence/Faith

Requirements: Intelligence - 17 / Faith - 17

The Golden Order Seal scales with both Intelligence and Faith, making it the specialized choice for INT/FAI builds.

It also increases the damage of Golden Order Incantations by 10%, making it particularly effective for characters built around spells such as Discus of Light and Triple Rings of Light.

Like the Dragon Communion Seal, this is not intended for our standard Pure Faith or Faith Hybrid progression. It instead enables an entirely different hybrid archetype for players who want to combine Sorcery-related attributes with Incantations.

Location: Found near the Minor Erdtree Church in the Capital Outskirts.

Choosing the Right Sacred Seal

For a straightforward Faith progression, the Finger Seal → Godslayer's Seal → Erdtree Seal provides a simple path from the beginning of the game into a high-Faith endgame build.

Specialized builds should instead consider a Seal that matches their attributes or chosen Incantation school. The Clawmark Seal favors STR/FAI, Dragon Communion Seal favors ARC/FAI, and Golden Order Seal favors INT/FAI.

A specialized Seal can also be held in your off-hand for its passive Incantation bonus while you cast with a stronger Seal in your other hand, allowing optimized builds to combine high Incantation Scaling with school-specific bonuses.

These weapons are available relatively early in the game and are excellent choices for starting a Faith build. Most of them remain viable well into the late game, making them strong investments even if you eventually switch to another weapon.

Winged Scythe — Best Early Faith Weapon

Requirements: Strength - 16 / Dexterity - 16 / Faith - 24

The Winged Scythe is one of the strongest weapons you can obtain early for a Faith build. It combines excellent Holy damage with innate Blood Loss buildup, giving it strong damage against a wide variety of enemies.

Its Unique Skill, Angel's Wings, performs a powerful leaping slash that also prevents many enemies from using healing effects. The weapon has excellent reach thanks to its Reaper moveset and remains a strong option throughout the base game.

Location: Found inside the Tombsward Ruins in the Weeping Peninsula.

Treespear — Best Holy Spear

Requirements: Strength - 15 / Dexterity - 22 / Faith - 18

The Treespear is an excellent early hybrid weapon for Faith builds that prefer a safer, longer-ranged playstyle. It deals both Physical and Holy damage and has a fast thrusting moveset with excellent reach.

Unlike many unique Faith weapons, the Treespear can also be buffed with weapon buffs and Greases, making it surprisingly flexible for different encounters.

Location: Found in a carriage northeast of the Liurnia Highway North Site of Grace.

Halo Scythe — Best Early Ranged Faith Weapon

Requirements: Strength - 13 / Dexterity - 16 / Faith - 15

The Halo Scythe is one of the best early options for Faith builds that want both melee and ranged pressure. Its Unique Skill, Miquella's Ring of Light, launches a fast Holy projectile that can safely damage enemies from a distance.

Combined with the Scythe's long reach and innate Bleed buildup, it offers a very comfortable early-game playstyle.

Location: Dropped by Cleanrot Knights wielding the Halo Scythe in the Swamp of Aeonia.

Golden Halberd — Best Strength/Faith Early Hybrid

Requirements: Strength - 30 / Dexterity - 14 / Faith - 12

The Golden Halberd is available extremely early and is one of the strongest Strength/Faith weapons in the game. It has excellent Physical and Holy damage alongside the powerful Golden Vow weapon Skill.

Although it requires significant Strength, it's an excellent choice for players following a Faith Hybrid build rather than a pure caster.

Location: Dropped by the Tree Sentinel outside the First Step in Limgrave.

Cipher Pata — Best Pure Faith Early Weapon

Requirements: Faith - 30

The Cipher Pata is one of the earliest weapons designed specifically for a pure Faith build. It requires 30 Faith and no Strength or Dexterity investment, making it ideal for Incantation-focused characters.

It deals pure Holy damage, has extremely fast fist attacks, and its Unique Skill, Unblockable Blade, ignores enemy guards entirely.

Location: Found in Roundtable Hold behind an illusory wall.

These are the strongest weapons to build an entire Faith character around. They include pure Faith weapons, melee/caster hybrid options, and some of the strongest weapons introduced in Shadow of the Erdtree.

Blasphemous Blade — Best Overall Faith Weapon

Requirements: Strength - 22 / Dexterity - 15 / Faith - 21

The Blasphemous Blade remains one of the strongest PvE weapons in Elden Ring. It deals excellent Physical and Fire damage while its Unique Skill, Taker's Flames, launches a powerful wave of fire that heals you whenever it hits an enemy.

The combination of high damage, ranged pressure, healing, and excellent scaling makes it one of the safest and strongest Faith weapons for almost every stage of the game.

Location: Trade the Remembrance of the Blasphemous after defeating Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy.

Euporia — Best Pure Faith Weapon (DLC)

Requirements: Strength - 16 / Dexterity - 16 / Faith - 24

Euporia is one of the strongest pure Faith weapons introduced in Shadow of the Erdtree. It builds Euporia Energy by landing attacks, allowing its Unique Skill to become significantly stronger after repeated hits.

Its Twinblade moveset is fast, aggressive, and works exceptionally well with successive-attack bonuses, making it an excellent option for dedicated Faith builds.

Location: Found in Enir-Ilim near the final legacy dungeon.

Fire Knight's Greatsword — Best Fire Faith Build

Requirements: Strength - 22 / Dexterity - 18 / Faith - 12

The Fire Knight's Greatsword is an exceptional Greatsword for Fire-focused Faith builds. It naturally deals Fire damage and performs extremely well with Flame Art affinity, giving it excellent Faith scaling.

Its moveset is also faster than many other Greatswords, making it feel much more aggressive than most heavy Faith weapons.

Location: Dropped by Fire Knights in Shadow Keep.

Maliketh's Black Blade — Best Holy Burst Damage

Requirements: Strength - 34 / Dexterity - 12 / Faith - 20

Maliketh's Black Blade is one of the hardest-hitting Strength/Faith weapons in the game. Its Unique Skill, Destined Death, deals massive Holy damage while also reducing the target's maximum HP and applying damage over time.

It is particularly effective against bosses with large health pools and rewards aggressive burst damage.

Location: Trade the Remembrance of the Black Blade after defeating Maliketh.

Envoy's Long Horn — Best Boss Killer

Requirements: Strength - 23 / Dexterity - 11 / Faith - 18

The Envoy's Long Horn is infamous for its Unique Skill, Bubble Shower. Against large enemies and bosses, the bubbles can hit multiple times, resulting in enormous damage.

Despite looking like a gimmick weapon, it is genuinely one of the strongest PvE Faith weapons against larger targets.

Location: Dropped by the Large Oracle Envoys in Leyndell and Miquella's Haligtree.

Sacred Relic Sword — Best Crowd-Clearing Weapon

Requirements: Strength - 14 / Dexterity - 24 / Faith - 22

The Sacred Relic Sword is the ultimate weapon for clearing groups of enemies. Its Unique Skill, Wave of Gold, creates an enormous Holy shockwave capable of clearing entire groups of enemies in a single cast.

It is also one of the best rune farming weapons in the game, making it valuable even outside of normal combat.

Location: Trade the Elden Remembrance after defeating the Elden Beast.

Sword of Light — Best Holy Support Weapon (DLC)

Requirements: Strength - 14 / Dexterity - 11 / Faith - 24

The Sword of Light is an excellent Holy-focused weapon introduced in Shadow of the Erdtree. Its Unique Skill creates an area that increases Holy damage, making it particularly useful for builds centered around Holy weapons and Incantations.

It is one of the strongest support-oriented Faith weapons available.

Location: Obtained through the Stone-Sheathed Sword puzzle in Shadow of the Erdtree.

Sword of Darkness — Best Holy Debuff Weapon (DLC)

Requirements: Strength - 14 / Dexterity - 11 / Faith - 24

The Sword of Darkness is the counterpart to the Sword of Light. Instead of buffing Holy damage, its Unique Skill reduces an enemy's Holy resistance, allowing both your weapon and Holy Incantations to deal significantly more damage.

It is particularly strong for dedicated Holy builds.

Location: Obtained through the Stone-Sheathed Sword transformation in Shadow of the Erdtree.

Black Steel Greathammer — Best Strength/Faith Hybrid (DLC)

Requirements: Strength - 25 / Dexterity - 11 / Faith - 17

The Black Steel Greathammer is one of the best hybrid Strength/Faith weapons introduced in the DLC. It naturally favors heavy melee combat while still benefiting from Faith investment.

Its unique Guard Counter interaction makes it especially effective for shield-based Faith builds that want to play aggressively while remaining defensive.

Location: Dropped by Black Knights in Gravesite Plain.

Honorable Mentions

These weapons are still excellent Faith options and can easily become the centerpiece of a build depending on your preferred playstyle.

• Godslayer's Greatsword — A powerful DEX/Faith Colossal Sword with the devastating The Queen's Black Flame Skill. Excellent for Black Flame-focused builds.
• Coded Sword — A pure Faith Straight Sword that deals entirely Holy damage and completely ignores enemy guards with its Unique Skill.
• Magma Wyrm's Scalesword — A strong STR/Faith Curved Greatsword with excellent Fire damage and an explosive magma-based Skill.
• Ordovis's Greatsword — One of the best Crucible Knight weapons, combining excellent Strength/Faith scaling with a powerful charged Holy attack.
• Siluria's Tree — A Great Spear with exceptional reach and a powerful ranged Holy projectile, making it an excellent alternative to the Treespear.
• Devonia's Hammer (DLC) — A unique Great Hammer with excellent Strength/Faith scaling and one of the most satisfying Holy weapon Skills introduced in Shadow of the Erdtree.

Faith builds have access to several powerful Ashes of War that can add Faith scaling, deal elemental damage, or complement a melee/Incantation hybrid playstyle. Sacred affinity generally favors Holy damage, while Flame Art affinity allows Faith-focused builds to deal Fire damage instead.

Flaming Strike — Best General Flame Art Ash of War

Flaming Strike releases flames in front of you before allowing a powerful follow-up attack that coats your weapon in Fire.

It is an excellent choice for melee Faith builds because it provides strong close-range damage while giving your weapon an additional Fire damage buff. When used with Flame Art affinity, it fits naturally into high-Faith builds.

Location: Dropped by a Teardrop Scarab in the graveyard behind Redmane Castle.

Sacred Blade — Best Early Faith Ash of War

Sacred Blade launches a Holy projectile before temporarily coating your weapon in Holy damage.

It is available very early and provides Faith builds with both ranged pressure and additional Holy damage without requiring a unique weapon. Sacred Blade is particularly useful during the early game and against enemies vulnerable to Holy damage.

Location: Dropped by a Teardrop Scarab north of the Third Church of Marika in Limgrave.

Prayerful Strike — Best for Sustain

Prayerful Strike delivers a heavy attack that restores HP when it successfully hits an enemy.

Its combination of damage, stance pressure, and healing makes it particularly useful for tankier Faith hybrids using Great Hammers and other compatible heavy weapons.

It won't provide the highest possible damage, but the healing can make difficult encounters significantly more forgiving.

Location: Dropped by an invisible Teardrop Scarab in Leyndell, Royal Capital.

Black Flame Tornado — Best Against High-HP Enemies

Black Flame Tornado surrounds the player with a spinning vortex of Black Flame before finishing with a powerful attack.

In addition to its direct damage, Black Flame applies percentage-based HP damage, making it particularly effective against enemies and bosses with large health pools.

The long animation requires a substantial opening, but the payoff can be enormous when the entire attack connects.

Location: Obtained after defeating the Godskin Duo in Crumbling Farum Azula.

Flame Spear — Best DLC Flame Art Ash of War

Flame Spear performs a thrusting attack while launching a projectile of Fire ahead of the weapon. Charging the Skill increases its power, giving melee Faith builds a useful ranged option without switching to an Incantation.

It works particularly well with Flame Art setups and weapons such as the Fire Knight's Greatsword.

Location: Dropped by Fire Knight Kood in Shadow Keep.

Flame Skewer — Best Aggressive DLC Fire Option

Flame Skewer performs a powerful forward Fire attack followed by an additional input that coats the weapon in Fire.

It is an excellent option for aggressive Faith hybrids that want their weapon Skill to function as both an attack and a temporary weapon enhancement.

Location: Dropped by Fire Knight Queelign during his invasion encounters.

Aspects of the Crucible: Wings — Best Mobility Option

Aspects of the Crucible: Wings launches the player into the air before performing a diving attack, providing Faith hybrids with an unusually mobile offensive Skill.

It is especially useful on weapons that otherwise lack good gap-closing attacks and fits naturally into Crucible-themed Faith builds.

Location: Dropped by Black Knight Edredd at Fort of Reprimand in Shadow of the Erdtree.

Golden Land — Best Holy AoE Option

Golden Land drives the weapon into the ground, creating a Holy explosion followed by multiple Golden projectiles.

It provides both close-range AoE and additional ranged pressure, making it useful for heavy Sacred Faith builds dealing with groups or larger enemies.

Location: Dropped by a Teardrop Scarab in Deeproot Depths.

Sacred or Flame Art?

Sacred affinity adds Holy damage and Faith scaling, while Flame Art affinity adds Fire damage and Faith scaling.

Neither is universally better. Holy damage can be extremely effective against certain enemy types but performs poorly against several major late-game bosses. Flame Art therefore provides an important alternative that allows a Faith build to continue benefiting from high Faith while dealing Fire instead.

For a general PvE Faith build, keeping weapons or Ashes of War available for both Fire and Holy damage gives you considerably more flexibility.

Faith builds have access to one of the largest and most varied spell selections in Elden Ring. Rather than relying on a single Incantation, you should equip several options that cover different ranges, damage types, and situations.

Some Incantations also perform dramatically better against specific enemy sizes or weaknesses, making it worthwhile to change your spell selection between difficult encounters.

Knight's Lightning Spear — Best General Offensive Incantation

• Requirements: Faith - 36
• FP Cost: 29

Knight's Lightning Spear is one of the strongest general-purpose offensive Incantations in Shadow of the Erdtree. It throws a Lightning spear while additional spears are launched from summoned crests, giving it excellent single-target damage and respectable stance pressure.

The spell can also be charged to summon additional crests and increase its damage. Charged casts benefit from the Godfrey Icon, while the Gravel Stone Seal increases its damage as a Dragon Cult Incantation.

Its combination of range, damage, and reliability makes it an excellent default projectile for high-Faith builds.

Location: Found in the Scorpion River Catacombs in Shadow of the Erdtree.

Catch Flame — Best Close-Range Incantation

• Requirements: Faith - 8
• FP Cost: 10

Catch Flame is available extremely early but remains one of the most useful offensive Incantations throughout the entire game. It produces a fast burst of Fire directly in front of the caster and can be cast repeatedly at close range.

Its low FP cost and fast casting speed make it excellent for punishing short openings where slower, more powerful Incantations would be unsafe.

Despite its simplicity, its damage output at close range makes Catch Flame a legitimate endgame option rather than just an early-game spell.

Location: Prophet starts with Catch Flame. Other classes can purchase it from Brother Corhyn at Roundtable Hold.

Ancient Dragons' Lightning Strike — Best Large Boss Killer

• Requirements: Faith - 26
• FP Cost: 36

Ancient Dragons' Lightning Strike creates multiple waves of Lightning around the caster. Against large bosses, several bolts can hit the same target, allowing the spell to deal enormous amounts of damage.

Its performance is less consistent against smaller enemies, but against Dragons and other large bosses it can become one of the most damaging Incantations available.

The spell can be charged and benefits from the Godfrey Icon, making it particularly powerful when you have enough time to fully prepare the cast.

Location: Purchased after giving the Ancient Dragon Prayerbook to an Incantation teacher.

Pest-Thread Spears — Best Against Massive Enemies

• Requirements: Faith - 26
• FP Cost: 28

Pest-Thread Spears fires two Physical-damage projectiles that travel through their target. Against large enemies, these projectiles can hit multiple times as they pass through the enemy's body.

This makes the spell exceptionally powerful against Dragons and other massive bosses, where each spear can potentially connect several times. The spell can also be charged for additional damage and benefits from the Godfrey Icon.

Because it deals Physical rather than elemental damage, Pest-Thread Spears also give Faith builds another useful option against enemies with strong elemental resistances.

Location: Found in the Ancient Ruins of Rauh in Shadow of the Erdtree.

Giantsflame Take Thee — Best Fire Projectile

• Requirements: Faith - 30
• FP Cost: 30

Giantsflame Take Thee throws a massive fireball that explodes on impact, dealing heavy Fire damage across a large area.

Unlike more specialized boss-killing Incantations, Giantsflame Take Thee works extremely well against both individual enemies and groups. Its explosion can knock many enemies down, giving you additional time to prepare another attack.

It can also be charged for additional damage, making the Godfrey Icon particularly useful for dedicated Fire builds.

Location: Purchased after giving the Giant's Prayerbook to an Incantation teacher.

Multilayered Ring of Light — Best Holy Projectile

• Requirements: Faith - 36
• FP Cost: 23

Multilayered Ring of Light launches a Holy ring that repeatedly damages enemies after making contact. The multiple hits give it excellent damage when the entire attack connects.

Charging the Incantation increases both its initial damage and the duration of its follow-up hits, while the charged version can also benefit from the Godfrey Icon.

It gives pure Faith builds an excellent ranged Holy option without requiring the Intelligence investment associated with several Golden Order Incantations.

Location: Dropped by the Phantom Misbegotten Warrior in Stone Coffin Fissure.

Black Flame — Best Percentage-Based Damage Option

• Requirements: Faith - 20
• FP Cost: 18

Black Flame throws a ball of Godslaying Fire that deals initial Fire damage before applying an additional effect that damages the enemy based on their maximum HP.

This makes Black Flame particularly useful against enemies with very large health pools, while its relatively low requirements allow Faith builds to access it early.

The Incantation can be charged and is further strengthened by the Godslayer's Seal, making it an excellent option while progressing toward higher Faith levels.

Location: Purchased after giving the Godskin Prayerbook found in Stormveil Castle to an Incantation teacher.

Lightning Spear — Best Early Ranged Incantation

• Requirements: Faith - 17
• FP Cost: 18

Lightning Spear remains one of the best early-game ranged options for Faith builds. It has good range, solid damage, and a relatively straightforward casting animation.

Its uncharged version also has the useful property that NPC enemies generally don't attempt to dodge it, making it unusually reliable against evasive humanoid enemies.

Knight's Lightning Spear eventually provides a more powerful alternative, but regular Lightning Spear remains cheaper and is available significantly earlier.

Location: Purchased after giving the Dragon Cult Prayerbook to an Incantation teacher. The Prayerbook is dropped by a Leyndell Knight near the Artist's Shack in Liurnia.

Best Buff and Utility Incantations

Golden Vow — Best General Buff

• Requirements: Faith - 25
• FP Cost: 47

Golden Vow increases all damage dealt by 15% while also providing 10% Damage Negation in PvE for 80 seconds. The effect also applies to nearby allies.

Its combination of offensive and defensive bonuses makes it one of the most universally useful Incantations in the game, regardless of whether your Faith build primarily uses melee weapons or spells.

Flame, Grant Me Strength — Best Physical/Fire Buff

• Requirements: Faith - 15
• FP Cost: 28

Flame, Grant Me Strength increases Physical and Fire damage by 20% in PvE for 30 seconds while also improving Stamina recovery.

This makes it particularly powerful with weapons such as Blasphemous Blade and Fire Knight's Greatsword, as well as Fire Incantations and other builds dealing Physical or Fire damage.

Because it is a Body Buff while Golden Vow is an Aura Buff, the two effects can be active together.

Defensive Fortification Incantations

Faith also gives you access to powerful defensive buffs that can be swapped depending on the boss you're fighting.

Barrier of Gold provides 60% Magic Damage Negation, Flame, Protect Me provides 60% Fire Damage Negation, and Golden Lightning Fortification provides 60% Lightning Damage Negation in PvE.

Against bosses heavily focused on one elemental damage type, using the appropriate defensive Incantation can be considerably more valuable than simply adding another offensive spell.

Faith builds generally don't require a specific armor set to function. Your priority should be maintaining Medium Equip Load while getting enough Damage Negation and Poise for your preferred playstyle.

However, several armor pieces provide unique bonuses to specific Incantations or damage types, making them particularly valuable for specialized Faith builds.

Death Knight Set — Best for Dragon Cult Incantations

The Death Knight Set is one of the best offensive armor choices for Lightning-focused Faith builds. Each piece increases the damage of Ancient Dragon Cult Incantations and certain Dragon Cult weapon Skills by 2%, for a total 8% increase when wearing the complete set.

This makes it particularly useful alongside powerful Lightning options such as Knight's Lightning Spear and Ancient Dragons' Lightning Strike.

The set provides less protection than heavier alternatives, so pure damage builds benefit from the full set while more defensive characters can mix individual pieces with heavier armor.

Location: Found throughout the Darklight Catacombs in Shadow of the Erdtree.

Fire Knight Helm — Best for Fire Faith Builds

The Fire Knight Helm increases maximum HP, Stamina, and Equip Load while also providing a small boost to Faith.

This makes it an excellent single armor piece for Fire-focused Faith builds without requiring you to commit to an entire armor set. It pairs naturally with Fire Knight weapons and Fire Incantations while leaving the remaining armor slots available for heavier defensive pieces.

Location: Dropped by Fire Knights in Shadow Keep.

Rakshasa Set — Best General Offensive Option

Each piece of the Rakshasa Set increases all damage dealt by 2%, allowing the complete set to provide an 8% damage increase.

Because this bonus isn't restricted to melee attacks, it can also benefit offensive Incantations. This makes Rakshasa an excellent general damage option when your build uses several different Incantation schools rather than specializing in a single one.

The trade-off is reduced effective protection compared with more defensive armor of a similar weight.

Location: Dropped by Rakshasa in the Eastern Nameless Mausoleum in Shadow of the Erdtree.

Crucible Armor — Best for Aspect of the Crucible Builds

Pieces of the Crucible Axe Set and Crucible Tree Set increase the damage of Aspects of the Crucible Incantations.

This makes Crucible armor particularly useful for specialized builds using Incantations such as Aspects of the Crucible: Horns, Tail, or Breath.

Unlike many offensive caster sets, Crucible armor also provides substantial defenses and Poise, making it a good choice for Faith hybrids that frequently fight at close range.

The different Crucible sets are obtained from Crucible Knights throughout the Lands Between.

Solitude Set — Best Defensive Option

The Solitude Set provides excellent Physical Damage Negation and very high Poise, making it a strong defensive option for Faith hybrids.

High Poise is particularly useful when using slower melee weapons or Incantations that require you to remain close to an enemy. While the set doesn't directly improve Faith or Incantation damage, surviving an attack that would otherwise interrupt or kill you can be more valuable than another offensive bonus.

Its high weight means you'll need sufficient Endurance to maintain Medium Equip Load.

Location: Dropped by the Blackgaol Knight in the Western Nameless Mausoleum in Gravesite Plain.

Circlet of Light — Best for Miquella Incantations

The Circlet of Light increases Intelligence, Faith, and Arcane by 1 while also strengthening several Incantations associated with Miquella.

This makes it particularly useful for specialized Holy builds using spells such as Multilayered Ring of Light, rather than as a universal Faith helmet.

Because it occupies only the head slot, it can easily be combined with heavier armor for additional defenses and Poise.

Location: Obtained after defeating Promised Consort Radahn in Shadow of the Erdtree.

Mixing Armor Pieces

You don't need to wear a complete matching armor set. Most armor in Elden Ring doesn't provide a set bonus simply for equipping every matching piece, so mixing pieces is often the better option.

A Faith caster can combine an offensive helmet or chest piece with heavier armor for additional protection, while melee-focused Faith hybrids may prioritize Poise and Damage Negation instead.

Always keep an eye on your Equip Load. Medium Load is a strong general target, and sacrificing your normal dodge roll just to equip heavier armor is rarely worthwhile.

Faith builds can benefit from several different Talismans depending on whether you focus on Incantations, weapon Skills, or elemental damage. Dedicated casters should prioritize Incantation damage and casting performance, while hybrid builds can combine these bonuses with Talismans that improve their primary weapon.

Flock's Canvas Talisman — Best Overall for Incantations

The Flock's Canvas Talisman increases the damage of Incantations by 8%, making it one of the best general offensive Talismans for a Faith caster.

Unlike elemental Talismans, its bonus applies regardless of whether your Incantation deals Fire, Lightning, Holy, or Physical damage. This makes it an excellent choice for Faith builds that frequently switch spells depending on the enemy.

It can also be stacked with the weaker Faithful's Canvas Talisman for builds that want to maximize Incantation damage.

Location: Obtained from Gowry after progressing Millicent's questline.

Godfrey Icon — Best for Charged Incantations

The Godfrey Icon increases the damage of charged spells and Skills by 15%, making it extremely powerful for Faith builds using chargeable Incantations.

Several of our recommended spells can take advantage of this, including Knight's Lightning Spear, Ancient Dragons' Lightning Strike, Giantsflame Take Thee, Black Flame, and Pest-Thread Spears.

It provides no benefit when an Incantation cannot be charged, so its value depends heavily on your spell selection.

Location: Dropped by Godefroy the Grafted in the Golden Lineage Evergaol.

Radagon Icon — Best for Casting Speed

The Radagon Icon improves spell casting speed by providing 30 Virtual Dexterity toward casting speed.

Faster casting is particularly valuable for Incantations with longer animations, where reducing the time spent vulnerable can make spells much easier to use against aggressive bosses.

Casting speed reaches its maximum at a combined 70 Dexterity and Virtual Dexterity, so characters that already have high Dexterity gain less value from the Radagon Icon.

Location: Found inside Raya Lucaria Academy.

Old Lord's Talisman — Best for Buffs

The Old Lord's Talisman increases the duration of many spell effects by 30%, making it particularly useful for Faith builds that rely heavily on buffs.

Longer buff durations mean less time and FP spent recasting effects during longer encounters. This can be particularly useful when maintaining several compatible buffs before and during a boss fight.

It doesn't increase the strength of the buff itself, so builds focused primarily on direct-damage Incantations should usually choose another offensive Talisman.

Location: Found in Crumbling Farum Azula.

Lightning Scorpion Charm — Best for Lightning Builds

The Lightning Scorpion Charm increases Lightning damage by 12% in PvE, at the cost of reducing your Physical Damage Negation.

This makes it an excellent offensive choice for builds centered around Knight's Lightning Spear, Ancient Dragons' Lightning Strike, and other Lightning Incantations.

Because of the defensive penalty, it is best used when maximizing damage is more important than survivability.

Location: Found in the Wyndham Catacombs.

Fire Scorpion Charm — Best for Fire Builds

The Fire Scorpion Charm increases Fire damage by 12% in PvE, while reducing Physical Damage Negation.

It synergizes extremely well with Fire Incantations such as Catch Flame, Giantsflame Take Thee, and Black Flame, while also improving Fire damage from Faith weapons such as Blasphemous Blade and Flame Art-infused weapons.

This makes it particularly valuable for Faith hybrids because the same Talisman can increase both their Incantation and weapon damage.

Location: Found at Fort Laiedd on Mt. Gelmir.

Sacred Scorpion Charm — Best for Holy Builds

The Sacred Scorpion Charm increases Holy damage by 12% in PvE while reducing Physical Damage Negation.

It is particularly useful for dedicated Holy builds using weapons such as Euporia, Sacred Relic Sword, Sword of Light, or Holy-damage Incantations such as Multilayered Ring of Light. Holy weapon Skills can also benefit from the bonus.

Like the other Scorpion Charms, its defensive penalty makes it a high-risk offensive choice rather than something every Faith build should equip.

Location: Dropped by Anastasia, Tarnished-Eater, at the Smoldering Church in Caelid.

Shard of Alexander — Best for Faith Weapon Skills

The Shard of Alexander increases weapon Skill damage by 15%, making it one of the strongest options for melee-focused Faith hybrids.

Weapons such as the Blasphemous Blade, Maliketh's Black Blade, Sacred Relic Sword, and many other Faith weapons rely heavily on their Unique Skills for damage.

Pure Incantation casters won't get much value from it, but hybrid builds using their weapon Skill frequently should strongly consider it.

Location: Obtained at the end of Iron Fist Alexander's questline in Crumbling Farum Azula.

Honorable Mentions

• Faithful's Canvas Talisman provides a smaller general Incantation damage bonus and can be stacked with Flock's Canvas Talisman.
• Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman is an excellent defensive option for close-range Faith builds
• Two-Headed Turtle Talisman provides faster Stamina recovery for melee-focused hybrids.

Faith builds are extremely versatile, but getting the most out of them requires more than simply equipping your highest-damage Incantation. Learning when to cast, which damage type to use, and how to combine your spells with melee weapons and buffs will make a significant difference throughout the game.

Adapt Your Damage Type

One of Faith's greatest strengths is access to several different damage types. Incantations can deal Fire, Lightning, Holy, and Physical damage, allowing you to change your setup depending on the enemy you're fighting.

Avoid relying entirely on one element. An enemy resistant to Holy damage may be vulnerable to Fire or Lightning, while Physical Incantations such as Pest-Thread Spears provide another alternative.

Keeping several damage types available makes Faith one of the most adaptable builds in Elden Ring.

Use Buffs Before Difficult Encounters

Faith builds have access to some of the strongest buffs in the game. Golden Vow is an excellent general-purpose option, while other buffs can be selected depending on your build and the encounter.

Applying buffs before entering a boss fight allows you to begin the encounter at full strength without wasting an early opening on preparation.

However, avoid spending excessive time and FP applying several minor buffs when one or two strong effects provide most of the benefit.

Understand Buff Stacking

Not every buff in Elden Ring can be active simultaneously. Buffs are separated into different categories, and applying another effect from the same category will generally replace the previous one.

Golden Vow, for example, is an Aura Buff, while Flame, Grant Me Strength is a Body Buff. Because they belong to different categories, they can be active at the same time.

Learning which buffs stack prevents you from accidentally replacing one effect with another immediately before a fight.

Charge Incantations When You Have the Opening

Many Incantations can be charged by holding the cast button. A charged Incantation will generally become more powerful, but the longer casting animation also leaves you vulnerable.

Against a staggered or distracted boss, a fully charged Knight's Lightning Spear, Giantsflame Take Thee, or Ancient Dragons' Lightning Strike can provide a significant damage increase.

During smaller openings, an uncharged cast may be the safer and ultimately more effective choice.

The Godfrey Icon makes charged Incantations even more rewarding.

Don't Ignore Fast Incantations

The most spectacular Incantation isn't always the best spell for the situation.

Fast options such as Catch Flame can punish openings that are far too short for larger Incantations. This becomes increasingly important against aggressive bosses that give you very little time between attacks.

Your spell selection should include both powerful high-commitment attacks and faster options that can safely punish smaller openings.

Manage Your FP

Incantations can consume FP extremely quickly, particularly when using expensive endgame spells repeatedly.

Don't empty your entire FP bar at the beginning of an encounter unless you know you'll have an opportunity to safely use a Cerulean Flask. Efficient Incantations can often provide better sustained damage than repeatedly casting your most expensive spell.

Dedicated casters should carry more Cerulean Flasks, while melee-focused Faith hybrids can rely more heavily on Crimson Flasks.

Choose the Right Sacred Seal

Sacred Seals aren't interchangeable. Your attributes and Incantation selection determine which Seal will perform best.

A high-Faith caster may benefit most from the Erdtree Seal, while STR/FAI, ARC/FAI, and INT/FAI builds can get better results from specialized options such as the Clawmark, Dragon Communion, or Golden Order Seal.

Specialized Seals can also provide passive bonuses to particular Incantation schools, so changing your Seal can be an important part of optimizing a specific spell setup.

Take Advantage of Off-Hand Seal Bonuses

You don't necessarily have to cast with the Sacred Seal providing the passive bonus you want.

A specialized Seal can be held in your off-hand while you cast with a stronger Seal in your main hand, allowing you to combine higher Incantation Scaling with the passive bonus of the second Seal.

For highly specialized Incantation builds, this can provide a substantial damage increase without changing the Seal used to actually cast the spell.

Don't Force 80 Faith on Every Build

80 Faith is an excellent target for a dedicated Faith caster, but it isn't mandatory for every Faith build.

Hybrid characters also need Strength or Dexterity for their weapon, alongside enough Vigor, Mind, and Endurance to function comfortably.

A melee-focused Faith build may gain considerably more from meeting its weapon requirements and improving survivability than rushing directly toward 80 Faith.

Build around what you actually use rather than treating a soft cap as a mandatory target.

Use Your Weapon and Incantations Together

Hybrid Faith builds are strongest when melee combat and Incantations complement each other.

Use ranged Incantations when enemies keep their distance, fast melee attacks during smaller openings, and powerful weapon Skills or charged spells when a boss leaves itself vulnerable.

Weapons such as the Blasphemous Blade, Euporia, and Fire Knight's Greatsword give you powerful melee options without preventing you from switching to Incantations whenever the situation favors them.

Change Your Setup for Difficult Bosses

Faith gives you an enormous toolkit, so take advantage of it.

If your Holy setup performs poorly against a boss, try Fire, Lightning, or Physical damage. Against enemies dealing large amounts of elemental damage, consider replacing an offensive buff with the appropriate defensive Incantation.

You don't need to respec your entire character whenever you encounter a bad matchup. Often, simply changing your Incantations, Sacred Seal, Talismans, or weapon is enough.

Faith builds reward adaptability. Use your wide selection of damage types, buffs, weapons, and Incantations to build around the encounter rather than forcing the same setup against every enemy.