FromSoft games are notoriously hard, but if you play their games right, they don't have to be. Elden Ring is no exception. As long as you're in the right mindset and know how to play to your strengths as a gamer you will be able to succeed and have a wonderful time while doing it. There is truly no wrong way to play the game and almost too many right ways. It can be overwhelming to have so many choices!
One of the most helpful tools you'll come across in your journey in The Lands Between are Spirit Ashes. There are dozens of them, and all of them can be useful depending on how you like to play the game. Whether you want a single companion to help you cut through foes, or a group of smaller allies to draw the aggression of your enemies, the game has plenty of options. The ones here comprise the best of the best, ranging from early-game gifts to hard-won conquests.
Updated by Joshua Leeds on July 17, 2023: Elden Ring offers players a wide array of spirit ashes to summon to assist them throughout the game. Many of the stronger ashes are the Legendary Spirit Ashes, which this list has been updated to contain.
15 Lone Wolf
It's likely that the Lone Wolf Spirit Ashes are the first ones you received in the game. Once you've been killed by the Tree Sentinel once, Ranni, introducing herself as Renna, will be at the Church of Elleh with a gift for you. She gives you the Spirit Calling Bell, and the goodest of boys to help you on your journey.
It's possible you didn't use them, or you fell out of using them when you found other Spirit Ashes, but they are actually one of the best allies in the game. If you upgrade them as you continue leveling, these wolves will truly earn the title of "Tarnished's Best Friend."
14 Nepheli Loux
You can meet Nepheli Loux just before the Godrick the Grafted fight, and if you speak to her she'll give you a massive hand taking him down. If you manage to keep her from dying, she'll help you with some other bosses down the line and give you some neat items.
Without spoiling things, Nepheli Loux Spirit Ashes (which are a special puppet type) are one of several possible Ashes, and which one you are able to get depends on who you give Seluvis's Potion to. While she is an incredibly powerful ally if you're attached to her as a character maybe don't give her the potion and instead make her royalty.
13 Aurelia (Jellyfish)
Another early Spirit Ashes, Aurelia (yes, that is her name) is given to you in the Stormhill Shack, which is a decrepit little building right by the site of grace. Roderika gives her to you, hoping you will be a better master to her. Our little jellyfish friend has a small side quest attached to her, so if you're up for having a bit of a cry take a quick trip to Stargazers' Ruins with her.
At first, Aurelia isn't too much help as her attacks take a long time to build up. But once you've leveled her up a bit she is a great partner to have by your side in battle. Her attacks cause poison build-up and are ranged, so if you're a melee build you can draw enemy aggro away from her to let her play to her strengths.
12 Dung Eater
The Dung Eater's Spirit Ashes are another Puppet, which you can acquire through force-feeding Seluvis's potion to the Dung Eater's body. Thankfully, the Dung Eater is a more reprehensible character than Nepheli Loux so you might be more inclined to turn him into a puppet rather than complete his storyline.
He's a powerful Spirit, with his spine sword and large body, and you might get a sick sense of satisfaction in making him do your bidding after all that he's done in the world of Elden Ring. However, getting his Puppet takes a lot of work and keeping track of two different quest lines, so he might not be the right Spirit for you.
11 Stormhawk Deenh
The Stormhawks are encountered as enemies in Stormveil Castle, and you'll have to deal with a bunch of them if you head up the correct (less instant death) way. They've got knives on their feet that cause blood-loss buildup, so if they drop those after death you'll want to hang on to them just in case. Or just summon the whole bird for yourself.
You can find Stormhawk Deenh's Spirit Ashes in the Chapel of Anticipation when you're able to return to that location. It's up high, no surprise, but there are no real hoops to jump through. Once summoned, Deenh will stick close to you and provide aerial backup. No matter what your build is, you can always use a flighted friend.
10 Omenkiller Rollo
Omenkiller Rollo is another offensively focused spirit ash, not having the most amount of health but dealing a high amount of damage to make up for it. This ash wields two large curved swords, attacking in quick combos that can hit small, closely bunched groups of enemies.
This spirit ash also comes with the ability to breathe fire. This ability allows it to branch out its elemental damage while also hitting a wider area of enemies. This ash is best used when the player is taking equal amounts of attention from your enemies, allowing the ash to also deal damage.
9 Bloodhound Knight Floh
This is a powerful assassin-type spirit ash, dashing around a battlefield to quickly take down enemies with powerful bursts of damage. While Floh deals a decent amount of damage, his attacks are easily blocked by enemies with a shield.
Floh is very fast in battle and will more often dash around than run. This dash makes him much more challenging to hit and will see him staying alive much longer than his health bar would suggest.
8 Crystalian
The Crystalian ash summons a Crystalian that many may recognize from field boss battles. This spirit ash summons only a single Crystalian that wields a large circular blade-type weapon.
This boss has an incredibly high poise, much like the boss it's based on. It has very high resistance to most damage types but low health, which will make it quickly fall in the wrong matchup. As long as a boss doesn't hit these ashes weaknesses, it will be able to take quite the beating.
7 Ancient Dragon Knight Kristoff
Many spirit ashes are hard-hitting tanks with few options; for the most part, Kristoff is similar. Unlike many legendary ashes, Kristoff has a slightly lower overall health and damage output but does excel thanks to their additional lightning damage.
This spirit ash deals lightning damage both with its melee attacks and with the incantations it has. Kristoff has the ability to throw lightning, allowing it to damage enemies from a distance and not always be engaged with enemies in melee combat, where it will sometimes fall off.
6 Banished Knight Engvall
Banished Knight Engvall is a fairly straightforward legendary spirit ash. Engvall is able to take a beating, and his large two-handed weapon has a great damage output, even staggering most enemies.
While his summons cost is fairly high, Engvall is able to distract enemies while also fighting. He will rarely be staggered himself and is able to fight through most attacks, even from larger bosses. With some of his later upgrades, his total HP is greatly increased but may not reach the levels of later entries on this list.
5 Lhutel The Headless
Lhutel The Headless is another tank-focused spirit ash, able to keep an enemy's attention and distract them from the player while you do the real damage. Lhutel has a large shield and heavy armor, having her take greatly reduced amounts of damage.
Lhutel also has the ability to teleport short distances and will often do this in combat to avoid being trapped by attacking enemies. Lhutel can teleport out of dangerous situations, mostly using it as an escape. Lhutel does suffer from a lack of damage output but excels in distracting your enemies and allowing the player to focus on damage.
4 Cleanrot Knight Finlay
Cleanrot Knight Finlay is obtained much later in the game, which is understandable when comparing him to the other spirit ashes. Even without any upgrades, this spirit is incredibly tanky and can take a beating from any boss. With further upgrades, Finlay can hold his own against even the game's final boss.
Finlay comes with two weapons with a few different abilities to work with. Whenever you summon this ash, he will cast a buff on the player that will slowly recover HP on the player over the next minute. This buff also reduces the amount of fire damage you receive, making this summon more beneficial to use.
3 Banished Knight Oleg
Using two Stonesword Keys on the imps near the Stranded Graveyard site of grace will grant you access to Fringefolk Hero's Grave. The area is heavily trapped and has a host of ghosts you'll need to fight off in order to get to the botanical boss fight needed to earn these Spirt Ashes.
Oleg has some interesting lore attached to him and is a big beefy boy to call upon in times of trouble. He's got two big swords and full armor, which makes him harder for enemies to take down. He'll cost you 100 FP to summon though, so you'll want to pump your Mind if you're planning on summoning him.
2 Black Knife Tiche
Tiche's Spirit Ashes are in the Legendary Category, and you can find them by defeating her father, Alecto, in his Evergaol in Liurnia. If you're invested in the lore, you might be very interested in having Tiche on your team, as she has a history of taking down big foes.
This knowledge will stand you in good stead when figuring out the best ways to utilize her. She's not one to bring out for breaking through hoards, but if you're tackling a stand-alone boss she's the gal you want with you. Treat her more like an NPC summon and you're on the right track.
1 Mimic Tear Ashes
If you've ever been tackling an area, or a boss, and thought "wow, if only there were two of me," you're in luck. Behind an Imp Statue Door in Night's Sacred Ground lies the Mimic Tear Spirit Ashes, and it is the greatest tool in the game. It costs HP, not FP, to summon and it creates a duplicate of you.
Since the release of the game, the Mimic Tear Spirit Ashes has been nerfed, to put it plainly. But that doesn't mean it's not the strongest Spirit Ashes available. The Spirit will be wearing the same armor, and have the same equipment as you do at the moment of summoning, so you'll be prepared to be double trouble for anything that comes your way.