Elden Ring Summoning Guide: How to Evoke Allies and Ash Spirits
Elden Ring, the sprawling open-world RPG from FromSoftware, offers a challenging but rewarding experience. Facing the game’s formidable bosses and exploring its dangerous landscapes can be significantly easier with the help of allies. Elden Ring offers two main ways to summon assistance: cooperative multiplayer and Spirit Ashes. This comprehensive guide will delve into both methods, providing detailed steps and instructions to help you master the art of summoning in the Lands Between.
## Understanding Summoning in Elden Ring
Before diving into the specifics, it’s crucial to understand the fundamental mechanics of summoning in Elden Ring.
* **Multiplayer Summoning:** This allows you to bring other players into your game to assist you. You can summon friends using passwords or allow random players to join your world. Keep in mind that summoning players increases the boss health.
* **Spirit Ash Summoning:** These are ghostly companions that fight alongside you. Spirit Ashes are found throughout the game, and each one has unique abilities and strengths. Unlike player summons, Spirit Ashes don’t increase boss health.
## Multiplayer Summoning: Bringing in Other Tarnished
Multiplayer summoning relies on specific items and network settings. Here’s a step-by-step guide:
### 1. Required Items:
* **Furlcalling Finger Remedy:** This item reveals summon signs left by other players on the ground. You can craft it using two Erdleaf Flowers or purchase it from certain merchants. Erdleaf Flowers are commonly found near Minor Erdtrees and along roadsides.
* **Tarnished’s Furled Finger:** This item allows you to place your summon sign on the ground, making you available for other players to summon. You receive this item early in the game.
* **Small Golden Effigy:** This item sends your summon sign to a summoning pool, increasing your chances of being summoned by players in a wider area. You can find a Small Golden Effigy near summoning pools, which are usually located near dungeons and boss arenas.
* **Small Red Effigy:** This item sends your summon sign to a summoning pool as a duelist, indicating your willingness to engage in PvP combat. This is for players who wish to engage in duels without invading.
### 2. Network Settings:
Ensure your network settings are properly configured for online play.
* **Go to the Main Menu -> System -> Network.**
* **Set ‘Cross-Region Play’ to ‘Perform Matchmaking’.** This allows you to connect with players from different regions.
* **Ensure your online status is set to ‘Play Online’.**
* **Consider using a Multiplayer Password or Group Password:** These passwords restrict summoning to players using the same password. This is ideal for playing with friends. Multiplayer Passwords prioritize connections with players using the same password. Group Passwords offer a less strict system, providing a minor benefit when playing with others who share the same Group Password.
### 3. Summoning a Player:
* **Use a Furlcalling Finger Remedy:** This will reveal summon signs in your area. Summon signs appear as golden symbols on the ground. If you do not see any, try moving to a different location, particularly near boss entrances or Sites of Grace.
* **Interact with a Summon Sign:** Approach the summon sign and interact with it. You’ll be prompted to summon the player associated with that sign.
* **Wait for the Summon to Complete:** The game will attempt to summon the player. This may take a few moments, depending on network conditions.
### 4. Being Summoned by Another Player:
* **Use a Tarnished’s Furled Finger or Small Golden Effigy:** This will place your summon sign in the world or at a summoning pool, making you available for summoning.
* **Wait to be Summoned:** While your summon sign is active, you can continue exploring the world. You’ll receive a notification when another player attempts to summon you.
* **Accept the Summon:** Accept the summon request to be transported to the other player’s world.
### Limitations of Multiplayer Summoning:
* **Limited Summoning Areas:** You can only summon players in areas where the game allows it. Typically, you can summon in open-world areas and near boss arenas. You cannot summon in areas where summoning is restricted, such as certain story-critical locations or isolated dungeons.
* **Boss Health Increase:** Summoning players increases the boss’s health, making the fight more challenging. Keep this in mind when deciding whether to summon assistance.
* **Invasions:** When playing cooperatively, you are vulnerable to invasions by other players. Invaders seek to disrupt your progress and engage in PvP combat.
* **Level Range:** There is a level range for summoning. You can only summon players within a certain level range of your own character. This prevents high-level players from trivializing the game for lower-level players.
## Spirit Ash Summoning: Calling on Spectral Allies
Spirit Ashes provide a single-player alternative to multiplayer summoning. These spectral allies can be invaluable in challenging encounters.
### 1. Obtaining Spirit Ashes:
Spirit Ashes are found throughout the game, often as rewards for defeating bosses, exploring dungeons, or completing quests. Some notable Spirit Ashes include:
* **Lone Wolf Ashes:** These are the first spirit ashes most players obtain. Three wolves fight along side you.
* **Jellyfish Ashes:** A floating jellyfish that inflicts poison damage. Acquired early from Roderika at Stormhill Shack, before she moves to the Roundtable Hold.
* **Skeletal Militiaman Ashes:** Two skeletons that resurrect after being defeated a short time. They are found in the Road’s End Catacombs in Liurnia of the Lakes.
* **Lhutel the Headless:** A powerful, resilient knight that can teleport short distances. Looted from the Tombsward Catacombs in Weeping Peninsula after defeating the Cemetery Shade boss.
* **Black Knife Tiche:** One of the strongest spirit ashes. She has high mobility and deals % based hp damage, making her very powerful against bosses with large health pools. Dropped by Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader, who is the boss of the Ringleader’s Evergaol in Liurnia of the Lakes.
### 2. Equipping Spirit Ashes:
* **Open your inventory and navigate to the equipment screen.**
* **Equip the desired Spirit Ash to your quick item slots or pouch.** Like other items, Spirit Ashes must be equipped before you can use them.
### 3. Summoning Spirit Ashes:
* **Look for the Summoning Sign:** You can only summon Spirit Ashes in areas where the white tombstone icon is present on the left side of the screen, near the bottom. This icon indicates that summoning is allowed in the current area. These areas are typically near boss fights or challenging encounters.
* **Ensure you have enough FP (Focus Points):** Each Spirit Ash requires a certain amount of FP to summon. Your FP bar is the blue bar at the top of the screen. If you don’t have enough FP, you won’t be able to summon the Spirit Ash.
* **Use the Spirit Ash item:** Select the Spirit Ash from your quick item slots or pouch and use it. Your character will perform a summoning animation, and the Spirit Ash will appear to fight alongside you.
### 4. Upgrading Spirit Ashes:
Spirit Ashes can be upgraded to increase their stats and effectiveness. To upgrade Spirit Ashes, you need to find Roderika at the Roundtable Hold and complete her questline. She will eventually become a Spirit Tuner, allowing you to upgrade your Spirit Ashes using Grave Glovewort and Ghost Glovewort.
* **Grave Glovewort:** Used to upgrade ordinary spirit ashes.
* **Ghost Glovewort:** Used to upgrade legendary spirit ashes.
You can find Glovewort throughout the game, typically in catacombs and graveyards. The higher the tier of the Glovewort (e.g., Grave Glovewort [1], Grave Glovewort [2]), the higher the level you can upgrade your Spirit Ash.
### Limitations of Spirit Ash Summoning:
* **FP Cost:** Each Spirit Ash requires FP to summon, limiting how often you can use them, especially early in the game.
* **Summoning Restrictions:** You can only summon Spirit Ashes in areas where the summoning sign is present. This prevents you from relying on them in every situation.
* **Single Summon:** You can only have one Spirit Ash summoned at a time. You cannot summon multiple Spirit Ashes simultaneously.
* **Vulnerability:** While Spirit Ashes can be powerful, they are still vulnerable to enemy attacks. They can be defeated, and you’ll need to resummon them if they fall in battle.
## Tips for Effective Summoning
Here are some tips to maximize the effectiveness of summoning in Elden Ring:
* **Choose the Right Spirit Ash:** Different Spirit Ashes are effective against different enemies. Experiment with various Spirit Ashes to find the best ones for specific situations. For example, the Lone Wolf Ashes are good for dealing with multiple enemies, while Lhutel the Headless is more effective against single, powerful foes.
* **Upgrade Your Spirit Ashes:** Upgrading your Spirit Ashes significantly increases their stats and survivability. Prioritize upgrading your favorite Spirit Ashes to make them even more powerful.
* **Manage Your FP:** Be mindful of your FP consumption when using Spirit Ashes. Consider investing in Mind to increase your FP pool or using Cerulean Tears to replenish FP during combat.
* **Coordinate with Your Allies:** If summoning other players, communicate and coordinate your strategies. Discuss your roles and plan your approach to the boss fight. Voice chat can be helpful for real-time communication.
* **Adapt to the Situation:** Be prepared to adapt your summoning strategy based on the situation. If a particular Spirit Ash or player summon isn’t working, try a different approach. Experiment with different options until you find something that works.
* **Consider Your Build:** Certain builds synergize better with specific spirit ashes. A melee focused build might want a spirit ash that can take aggro, like the Greatshield Soldiers Ashes, while a mage build may want something that deals heavy damage like Black Knife Tiche.
## Overcoming Common Summoning Issues
Here are some common issues players encounter when summoning and how to resolve them:
* **Unable to See Summon Signs:**
* **Ensure you’ve used a Furlcalling Finger Remedy.** This item is required to reveal summon signs.
* **Check your network settings.** Make sure you’re playing online and that cross-region play is enabled.
* **Verify that you’re in an area where summoning is allowed.** Summoning is restricted in certain areas.
* **Restart your game.** Sometimes, a simple restart can resolve connection issues.
* **Failed to Summon Cooperator:**
* **The player may have already been summoned by someone else.** Summon signs disappear quickly as other players attempt to summon the same person.
* **There may be network connectivity issues.** Check your internet connection and try again.
* **The player may have disconnected.** If a summon fails repeatedly, the player may have disconnected from the game.
* **Unable to Summon Spirit Ashes:**
* **Ensure you’re in an area where the summoning sign is present.** Spirit Ashes can only be summoned in specific locations.
* **Verify that you have enough FP.** Each Spirit Ash requires a certain amount of FP to summon.
* **Check your equipment.** Make sure you have the Spirit Ash equipped to your quick item slots or pouch.
* **Summoned Player Disconnecting:**
* **Check your internet connection and theirs.** This is often due to unstable networks
* **The player may have intentionally disconnected.** Sometimes, players disconnect if they are losing or if they are unhappy with the fight.
## Spirit Ashes Tier List (Early to Mid Game)
Here’s a small tier list of Spirit Ashes that can be very powerful in the early to mid-game sections of Elden Ring. Tier placement relies on ease of access, FP cost, and overall power. This is largely subjective and based on general player experiences.
**S-Tier:**
* **Lone Wolf Ashes:** Acquired early from Renna at the Church of Elleh (if you visit at night). Low FP cost, aggressive, and good for distracting enemies.
* **Jellyfish Ashes:** Acquired early from Roderika at Stormhill Shack, before she moves to the Roundtable Hold. Can inflict poison, has decent health, and provides damage buffs.
**A-Tier:**
* **Skeletal Militiaman Ashes:** Two skeletons that resurrect after being defeated a short time. Good for drawing aggro and surviving prolonged fights. Found in the Road’s End Catacombs in Liurnia of the Lakes.
* **Ogha, Redmane Knight:** Can be obtained fairly early, and deals high damage. Acquired after defeating the War-Dead Catacombs boss after defeating Radahn. Requires Somber Smithing Stones to upgrade.
* **Kaiden Sellsword Ashes:** A solid melee fighter with decent health and damage. Obtained in the Murkwater Catacombs.
**B-Tier:**
* **Godrick Soldier Ashes:** Summons multiple soldiers. Can be obtained early, but their damage output is limited. Dropped by a Grafted Scion in the Stormfoot Catacombs.
* **Nomadic Merchant Ashes:** Summons a merchant who throws firebombs. Useful for dealing with groups of enemies. Requires a longer fight to be worth it, and requires knowing where to get him.
* **Fanged Imp Ashes:** Summons two imps who can inflict bleed damage. Can be useful against certain bosses, but they are fragile and hard to acquire. Found in the Impaler’s Catacombs.
**C-Tier:**
* **Rotten Stray Ashes:** Summons a dog that inflicts Scarlet Rot. Requires a more specific setup and enemy type to be useful. The Rot buildup is slow.
* **Commoner Ashes:** Very weak, not recommended.
This list is not exhaustive and is highly dependent on play style and specific encounters. Experimentation is key to finding the Spirit Ashes that best suit your needs.
## Conclusion
Summoning is a powerful tool in Elden Ring that can significantly enhance your gameplay experience. Whether you choose to summon other players for cooperative assistance or rely on Spirit Ashes for solo support, understanding the mechanics and limitations of summoning is essential. By following the steps and tips outlined in this guide, you’ll be well-equipped to navigate the challenges of the Lands Between with the help of your allies.