A good summon turns the hardest bosses into fair fights, but most of the dozens of ashes in the game fall off quickly. This guide ranks the nine best Spirit Ashes in Elden Ring that stay useful into the late game, tells you exactly where each one is, what it costs to summon and which glovewort it needs, so you can decide which ones deserve your limited upgrade materials.
| Best overall | Mimic Tear Ashes (costs 660 HP, no FP) |
| Best for bosses | Black Knife Tiche (132 FP) |
| Best tank | Lhutel the Headless (104 FP) |
| Best early ash | Banished Knight Oleg from Fringefolk Hero’s Grave (100 FP) |
| Cheapest useful ash | Spirit Jellyfish Ashes (31 FP) |
| Upgrades | Roderika at the Roundtable Hold; renowned ashes use Ghost Glovewort, normal ashes Grave Glovewort |
| Summon rule | Only near a rebirth monument, which most boss arenas have |
What are the best Spirit Ashes in Elden Ring?
Our ranking weighs three things: how much damage or aggro the spirit gives you in a late-game boss fight, how hard it is to get, and how much it costs to summon. Upgrade level matters more than the pick itself, so a +10 Oleg will beat a +3 Mimic Tear.
| Rank | Spirit Ash | Cost | Upgrade | Where to get it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mimic Tear Ashes | 660 HP | Ghost Glovewort | Chest behind an imp statue seal in Night’s Sacred Ground, Nokron, Eternal City |
| 2 | Black Knife Tiche | 132 FP | Ghost Glovewort | Beat Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader in the Ringleader’s Evergaol, southwest Liurnia |
| 3 | Lhutel the Headless | 104 FP | Ghost Glovewort | Boss drop from the Cemetery Shade in the Tombsward Catacombs, Weeping Peninsula |
| 4 | Banished Knight Oleg | 100 FP | Ghost Glovewort | Boss drop from the Ulcerated Tree Spirit in Fringefolk Hero’s Grave, Limgrave (needs 2 Stonesword Keys) |
| 5 | Dung Eater Puppet | 118 FP | Ghost Glovewort | Bought from Seluvis for 5 Starlight Shards after you give Seluvis’s Potion to the Dung Eater |
| 6 | Ancient Dragon Knight Kristoff | 108 FP | Ghost Glovewort | Boss drop from the Ancient Hero of Zamor in the Sainted Hero’s Grave, west of Leyndell |
| 7 | Latenna the Albinauric | 74 FP | Ghost Glovewort | From Latenna at the Slumbering Wolf’s Shack in Liurnia; you need the Haligtree Secret Medallion (Right) from Albus |
| 8 | Lone Wolf Ashes | 55 FP | Grave Glovewort | Given by Renna at the Church of Elleh after you get Torrent; also sold by the Twin Maiden Husks |
| 9 | Spirit Jellyfish Ashes | 31 FP | Grave Glovewort | Given by Roderika at the Stormhill Shack when you talk to her until she runs out of dialogue |
Why each Spirit Ash makes the list
- Mimic Tear: it copies your current gear, spells and consumables, so it scales with your build instead of with its own stats. Because it costs HP rather than FP, casters keep their whole FP bar.
- Black Knife Tiche: fast, hard-to-hit and very strong against bosses with big health bars. Her high FP cost is the only drawback.
- Lhutel the Headless: a durable tank that draws aggro for a long time, which gives you free hits on most bosses.
- Banished Knight Oleg: available before Margit and still strong at +10, which makes him the best early renowned ash.
- Dung Eater Puppet: a heavy-hitting greatsword knight; the long questline is the price.
- Ancient Dragon Knight Kristoff: a renowned knight from a late-game hero’s grave who holds up well in long fights.
- Latenna: a stationary archer with huge range for big open boss arenas, but weak if the boss targets her.
- Lone Wolf Ashes: three wolves with separate health bars that split the boss’s attention, the best pick before you have a renowned ash.
- Spirit Jellyfish: very cheap, with a ranged poison attack and plenty of HP for its cost; a good distraction for low-FP builds.
How to get the Mimic Tear Ashes
- Beat Starscourge Radahn so a star falls in Limgrave and opens the crater to Nokron. Our how to get to Nokron guide has the full route.
- Reach Nokron, Eternal City and continue to the Night’s Sacred Ground area.
- Open the imp statue seal there with a Stonesword Key and loot the chest inside for the Mimic Tear Ashes.
- Upgrade it with Ghost Glovewort; the same area is full of it.
How to get the Dung Eater Puppet
- Start Ranni’s quest and meet Seluvis in his tower south of Ranni’s Rise. He gives you Seluvis’s Potion.
- Find the hidden lab under his tower and pick up the free puppet ash there, then use it at least once.
- Follow the Dung Eater questline to the Roundtable Hold and give him the potion.
- Return to Seluvis and buy the Dung Eater Puppet for 5 Starlight Shards.
Do not hand Ranni the Fingerslayer Blade before you buy it: moving her quest past that point locks the puppet away until New Game+.
How to make your Spirit Ashes stronger
Unlock spirit tuning with Roderika as early as possible and pour gloveworts into one main ash rather than five. Our Grave and Ghost Glovewort locations guide lists the bell bearings that make gloveworts unlimited and every Great Glovewort for the final +10. In Shadow of the Erdtree, collect Revered Spirit Ashes too: they raise every summon’s damage and defence in the Land of Shadow on top of its upgrade level.
Related: the Mimic Tear boss guide for the fight in Nokron, and Stonesword Key locations for the keys you need for Oleg and the Mimic Tear.
FAQ
What is the best Spirit Ash in Elden Ring?
The Mimic Tear Ashes for most builds, because it copies your own gear and costs HP instead of FP. Black Knife Tiche is the best alternative if you want a fast damage dealer for boss fights.
What is the best early-game Spirit Ash?
Banished Knight Oleg from Fringefolk Hero’s Grave, right next to the starting area. If you do not have two Stonesword Keys yet, use the Lone Wolf Ashes from Renna.
Does the Mimic Tear cost FP?
No. Summoning the Mimic Tear costs 660 HP and no FP, so heal after you call it.
Can I miss the Spirit Jellyfish Ashes?
Roderika leaves the Stormhill Shack for the Roundtable Hold as the game moves on. Talk to her early and keep talking until her dialogue repeats to be sure you get the ashes.
Source: every location and cost checked against Fextralife’s Elden Ring wiki plus at least one of Dexerto, Game8, Gamer Guides and wiki.gg. The ranking is our own.
Further reading: Spirit Ashes on the Fextralife Elden Ring wiki.