Elden Ring: How to Find and Use Incantations
Trust us, you'll need all the help you can get.
Your journey to become the Elden Lord won’t be easy. You’ll need every advantage to safely navigate the treacherous Lands Between and slay the demigods who hold the sacred, shattered pieces of the Elden Ring. Luckily, there are plenty of mysterious powers one can obtain along the way, and unless you’re solely committed to finishing this story “Let Me Solo Her” style, you’d be silly not to buy in.
One of the easiest ways to even the odds is using incantations. These essential magic spells are available soon after you set on your path toward restoring order, so long as you have the runs, and faith required to use them. Luckily, I’m here to give you a quick rundown of how a Tarnished one obtains these powerful aides that’ll make the arduous journey a little simpler.
Where To Find Incantations Early in Elden Ring
The easiest place to find Incantations will be at the Roundtable Hold, available shortly after players reach their first Site of Grace located outside of the starting areas of Limgrave and the Weeping Peninsula, but in the open world. After the ethereal Melina informs you of this haven of restitution, it will be accessible at any time. It’s a place where players can speak and take questions from mostly friendly NPCs, improve their gear, and break tons of barrels. The Roundtable Hold doesn’t immediately unlock until you get to this point in the game, so be sure to make it this far.
At Roundtable Hold, players will spawn at the Table of Lost Grace. In this room, look for an NPC called Brother Corhyn (identifiable by his tattered clothing, eye-obscuring headwear, and wheel around his neck). This unassuming gentleman is actually a practitioner of the art of incantations, one you’ll want to become familiar with.
Corhyn is one of the first incantation trainers players will encounter.
Throughout your playthrough, Corhyn will change his location. After reaching the Great Lift, he’ll relocate to the Atlus Plateau, kicking off a side quest, and bolstering his collection of purchasable incantations. But that’s not something to worry about in the early going.
Incantation Requirements in Elden Ring
In order to use Incantations, you’ll first have to study them, a fancy way of saying “purchase them from a vendor,” like our buddy in bondage, Corhyn.
The incantations aren’t particularly expensive. But you’ll need to take note to have the right attributes to learn them. Each of the spells a Tarnished learns takes a certain amount of Faith to use. Select incantations will also take your Intelligence and Arcane into account.
Once you’ve learned the magic you’ve selected, there’s one more step you’ll need to take before you’re setting enemies aflame to healing allies in the open-world. While in the Roundtable Hold, walk through the doorway on Corhyn’s right, then take right turn past an armored-clad NPC towards the haunted room where the Twin Maiden Husks are seated. Here, purchase a Finger Seal for 800 runes.
These two baddies will sell you the Finger Seal required to cast incantations effectively.
If you’re familiar with Marvel’s Doctor Strange, think of the Finger Seal as a Sling Ring: it's required to channel the magic you’ve studied. In order to use the Finger Seal however, you’ll need to have at least 10 Faith. The item is a great investment for players who will want to create a magic build, as the item will scale to your character’s faith attribute. Like most other weapons in the game, Finger Seals can also be strengthened with Smithing Stones at select merchants.
How To Use Incantations in Elden Ring
Now that you have all of the items and knowledge required for incantations, let’s move on to how to use them. Open up the equipment tab and equip the Finger Seal to one of your hands. Next, visit a site of grace, and select the option to “Memorize Spells.” In this menu, you will see the incantations you’ve purchased from Corhyn (or other NPCs, but more on that in a second). So long as you meet the required Faith, you’ll be able to select the power for use.
Now, when you’re back out into the open world, equip your Finger Seal in your hands, then select the incantation you want to use (up on the D-pad to swap to it), and hit the light button. It’s worth noting that using these incantations will drain a bit of Focus (represented by the blue bar underneath your health points). If you want to specialize in incantations, invest in the Mind attribute or find magic items that bolster your focus.
When faced with horrors like these, incantations can mean the difference between survival and ending up like this poor chap.
Where Else Can You Get Incantations in Elden Ring?
Corhyn isn’t the only person who can teach you incantations. Here’s a quick list of NPCs to keep an eye out for if you’re looking to wizard your way to the endgame. Good hunting.
+ D, Hunter of the Dead - located in Summonwater Village after defeating the boss Tibia Mariner
+ Gowry - located in rundown shanty called “Gowry’s Shack” in Caelid
+ Gurranq, Beast Clergyman - located in the Bestial Sanctum in Caelid
+ Miriel, Pastor Of Vows - located in the Church of Vows in Liurnia
