Elden Ring Faith Vs Intelligence: 10 Best DPS Spells

Elden Ring features complex mechanics and some of the best builds, such as the Rivers of Blood build. Like many other FromSoftware games, it also has a magic element in it. Intelligence-based spells come under Sorceries and pyromancies, lightning, and many other elemental kinds of spells fall under Incantations umbrella. 

Here is a summarized look at the comparison between the Best Intelligence and Faith Spells in Elden Ring:

Spell Name	Category	Type	Requirements	Effect	FP Cost
Glintstone Icecrag	Intelligence	Cold Sorceries	15 Intelligence	Fires a vast amount of cold magic from the glintstone.	12.0
Great Oracular Bubble	Intelligence	Claymen Sorceries	25 Intelligence 18 Arcane	The spell launches a large magic bubble	16.0
Meteorite	Intelligence	Gravity Sorceries	30 Intelligence	The spell calls upon small meteors from the sky	30 (10)
Cannon Of Haima	Intelligence	Glintstone Sorceries	25 Intelligence	The spell shoots an explosive magic projectile in an arc shape	38.0
Gavel Of Haima	Intelligence	Glintstone Sorceries	25 Intelligence	This spell attacks using a magic great hammer	22.0
Ranni’s Dark Moon	Intelligence	Full Moon Sorceries	68 Intelligence	This spell incarnates a dark moon and launches it towards the enemies	57.0
Ancient Dragon’s Lightning Strike	Faith	Dragon Cult Incantations	26 Faith	This incantation summons red light that on impact spreads out	36.0
Frozen Lightning Spear	Faith	Dragon Cult Incantations	34 Faith	This incantation stabs from above with an ice lightning spear.	29.0
Lansseax’s Glaive	Faith	Dragon Cult Incantations	40 Faith	This incantation sweeps from above with red lightning glaive.	22.0
Lightning Spear	Faith	Dragon Cult Incantations	17 Faith	This incantation throws lightning spears before the caster.	18.0
Giants Flame Take Thee	Faith	Fire Giant Incantations	30 Faith	This incantation throws a massive ball of raging fire	30.0

Elden Ring Best Intelligence Spells

You can wreak havoc on enemies with proper sorceries making for some really fun and satisfying moments where bosses have absolutely no chance other than getting blasted away. If you prefer sorceries as your way to go, then these are the top five best sorceries in Elden Ring that you must use to be overpowered. 

Of course, there are more than just five spells that are the best in the game. However, each spell comes with a set of pros and cons, uses, and limitations. That is why the spells I have listed below are the ones I think should be the go-to ones for the sorcery class of players in Elden Ring. Also, consider reading our Best Elden Ring Spells guide.

Glintstone Icecrag

Spell Type	Requirements	Effect	FP Cost
Cold Sorceries	15 Intelligence	Fires a vast amount of cold magic from the glintstone.	12

The Glintstone Icerag spell can be acquired by Selvius during his quest line at the three sisters in the region of Liurnia of the Lakes. Selvius has to be alive for you to be able to buy the spell, which costs 7500 runes. You cannot directly obtain the spell from him, but he does give you his bell bearing, which you can give to Twin Maiden Husks and buy the spell from her.

The Glintstone Icecrag is a really strong up-to-scratch replacement of the pebble if you got sick of it or just prefer using this spell. This spell does have a few drawbacks, which seem negligible if you compare it with its benefits. One of them is that it has a high re-caste rate which means that it’s easier to spend this past its initial cast, costing lesser FP.

Great Oracular Bubble

Spell Type	Requirements	Effect	FP Cost
Claymen Sorceries	– 25 Intelligence – 18 Arcane	The spell launches a large magic bubble	16

To acquire this efficacious spell, players would need to defeat the teardrop beetle boss in the Ancestral Woods. Players can make their way over there with the nearby central woods waypoint, following the aqueduct until you reach the lower parts of the lake where an archway would be located. There would be a lot of enemies inside, so go ahead and defeat them and the beetle and you would be rewarded with the Great Oracular Bubble spell.

The Great Oracular Bubble is a very underrated spell and is not even considered in Intelligence vs Faith debates in Elden Ring. Unlike most spells on this list, this one requires about 18 Arcane points to use this spell, but I assure you that it is worth it. 

Meteorite

Spell Type	Requirements	Effect	FP Cost
Gravity Sorceries	30 Intelligence	The spell calls upon small meteors from the sky	30 (10)

Players can obtain this spell from the Alabaster lord encounter just outside of the carrier manor, east of the nearby waypoint. The spell does exactly what it sounds like, and it will cast several meteorites that start falling all over the place in random directions in front of you.

Meteorite covers a pretty large area at a medium distance, but you may ask, what makes this spell so overpowered that it’s among my Elden Ring Intelligence vs Faith list? Well, what makes this spell so OP is that you can keep that button pressed to keep shooting meteorites out of the blue, as long as you still have FP, of course. This means you can turn this into another infinite cast, just like the comet Azure.

Cannon Of Haima And Gavel Of Haima

Spell Type	Requirements	Effect	FP Cost
Glintstone Sorceries	25 Intelligence	The spell shoots an explosive magic projectile in an arc shape	38

If players are looking to do some PvP, these two spells are worth the hassle, and they should unquestionably get the Cannon of Haima and Gavel of Haima spells. The Cannon of Haima fires a Canon-like projectile that quickly turns an entire group of enemies into dust.

This can be used in PvP, where players may need to face multiple enemies at a time, and due to its huge AoE, it is almost certain to hit them. The casting time of this spell is not too long or short, and it is rather mediocre. Players can also charge it by holding it to deal even more damage over a larger AoE. 

However, it is not recommended to do so as it increases the casting time to a dangerous amount, which leaves the caster at a serious disadvantage.

Spell Type	Requirements	Effect	FP Cost
Glintstone Sorceries	25 Intelligence	This spell attacks using a magic great hammer	22

The Gavel of Haima is also a pretty powerful spell when used correctly. It may be slightly harder to use as compared to the Cannon of Haima, which simply casts a projectile to hit enemies at a range. This spell, on the other hand, casts a hammer, which the user slams onto the ground, dealing AoE damage.

The Gavel of Haima also activates faster than any other Glintstone weapon, so if players want to use Glintstone weapons, they can consider this spell. Most people in PvP judge mages and avoid being at a distance, as they would be left at a disadvantage. Therefore, they try to keep things close, and this is where the Hammer of Haima shines, as it surprises them and catches them off guard, leaving lots of openings for the caster to attack the player further.

Ranni’s Dark Moon

Spell Type	Requirements	Effect	FP Cost
Full Moon Sorceries	68 Intelligence	This spell incarnates a dark moon and launches it toward the enemies	57

The spell, as the name suggests, summons a huge moon-like orb that hits enemies and deals immense damage to enemies. The only con to this spell is that it has a very high cast time and consumes a ton of FP. You are good to go if you think you can manage both factors.

In the first few seconds, when the spell is cast, the player can be in danger due to being unable to do anything. However, they immediately get invincible when they are inside the bubble. This spell can easily deal over 3000 damage, even in an unoptimized magic build. This shows how overpowered it is, and no Elden Ring Intelligence vs Faith comparison goes by without mentioning Ranni’s Dark Moon spell due to its nature of dealing immense amounts of damage.

Best Faith Spells In Elden Ring

Unlike sorceries, which require intelligence, Faith spells require the faith stats. Faith users are very versatile and have a variety of options to go through. They can buff their teammates by increasing their damage, they can heal them, or they could take matters into their own hands and go for being offensive. The sheer variability and abundance of tons of different options in a faith build alone give Faith spells an edge in any Intelligence vs Faith debate in Elden Ring.

We have recommended some of the best incantations that will suit a faith build player in Elden Ring. Also, if you are using faith scaling weapons, then using these incantations together will give you an edge in the battle.

Ancient Dragon’s Lightning Strike

Spell Type	Requirements	Effect	FP Cost
Dragon Cult Incantations	26 Faith	This incantation summons red light that on impact spreads out	36

The Ancient Dragons’ Lightning strike is a pretty overpowered faith-based incantation. It summons red lightning that spreads from impact, which results in multiple barrages of smaller lighting in an AoE, dealing insane amounts of damage. The spell is unique in how it functions, and players get surrounded by a fiery star-spreading pattern, which not only deals a ton of damage but also looks cool and aesthetic.

While this spell may not be great against many enemies, just because the lines are very spread out and can be missed if you line it properly against a boss, it can deal 4,000 damage per strike, and there are a total of 15 strikes. It only requires 32 faiths to use, and this alone makes it broken as it deals tons of damage despite having such low faith requirements.

Frozen Lightning Spear

Spell Type	Requirements	Effect	FP Cost
Dragon Cult Incantations	34 Faith	This incantation stabs from above with an ice lightning spear.	29

Frozen Lightening Spear has a great range, so players can cast the spell at a distance that keeps them away from danger. It hits two times, once upon damage on impact and the second time as AoE, which in itself makes it a balanced spell that can be used both against bosses and in PvP or against large crowds of enemies.

While the Frozen Lightning spell may not be as insane as the Ancient Dragon’s lightning strike, it is an option to consider in Intelligence vs Faith.

Lansseax’s Glaive

Spell Type	Requirements	Effect	FP Cost
Dragon Cult Incantations	40 Faith	This incantation sweeps from above with red lightning glaive.	22

If dragon magic is your thing, then Lansseax’s Glaive faith-based incantation is definitely for you. With this spell, the caster summons a glaive which sweeps for immense AoE damage, and it also sweeps lighting forward, adding some range to the spell alongside melee.

While it may not be as strong as the Ancient Dragons Lightning dragon strike spell, it requires only 14 faith to use, making this spell accessible to the majority of the player base. Even on an unoptimized build, this spell easily does around 2500 to 3000 damage, despite its low faith requirement.

Lightning Spear

Spell Type	Requirements	Effect	FP Cost
Dragon Cult Incantations	17 Faith	This incantation throws lightning spears before the caster.	18

The Lightning Spear Faith-Based incantation is a great spell for both the early game and the mid-game. It is fairly easy to obtain as well. It only requires 17 faith to be used, which is extremely good for the damage it deals.

However, although it may not be as good as the other lightning spells, it is certainly the go-to for many casual faith-build players. It does almost the same damage as the Rock Sling sorcery spell. The spells are easy to access, and low requirements make it one of the best choices when it comes to deciding Elden Ring Intelligence vs Faith spells.

Giantsflame Take Thee

Spell Type	Requirements	Effect	FP Cost
Fire Giant Incantations	30 Faith	This incantation throws a massive ball of raging fire	30

Unlike other faith-based spells that belong to lightning I have listed above, Giantsflame Take Thee is a pyromancy incantation that every player who runs with a Pyromancy build should have in Elden Ring. The best part of this spell is that it does massive AoE damage, and it can wipe multiple enemies in just one blow.

Of course, the potency of spell damage also depends on your talismans, sacred seal, and other consumable buffs as well. But Giantsflame Take Thee does not disappoint one bit when it comes to destroying bosses, especially large-sized ones in Elden Ring. 

My Take On The Faith-Intelligence Debate

Generally, I am a little biased toward Intelligence as I love the Moovneil Katana and the Dark Moon Greatsword. However, spells associated with Intelligence aren’t that great. I have tried some as I needed to allocate so many points in intelligence to do more damage with the weapons I like. So, out of curiosity, I tried some spells, and they weren’t that great.

Meanwhile, when I tried the faith spells, they were significantly more powerful. Ancient Dragon Lightning Spell is one of the best spells in Elden Ring, and it shreds bosses that are huge in size. You can also defeat a bunch of enemies with the spell too. Another spell I like the most is Frozen Lightning Spear, as both visually and damage-wise, it is excellent. The Lightning Spear is also great, as you can throw it from a long range. If you are going with a Faith Build, then you must try these spells out as I did over my 200-hour experience.

Conclusion

The Intelligence and Faith spells are perfectly balanced by Elden Ring developers, FromSoftware. Comparing and choosing the winner between Intelligence versus Faith gets boiled down to personal preference. If you ask my favorite side, when it comes to picking one from Intelligence and Faith, I will pick Faith. 

This sums up my Elden Ring faith vs intelligence guide. It is important for players to progress through their journey as the tarnished and enjoy the game and not worry about whether their build is strong enough or not. Please make sure to drop a comment down below to let us know what your favorite spell was.

Next: Elden Ring Incantation Vs Sorcery,