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. 

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 we have listed below are the ones we 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

The Glintstone Icerag spell can be acquired by Selvius during his questline 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.

Secondly, this spell also provides frostbite build-up, which means you will be able to deal extra damage to your opponents once it takes place. The Frostbite build oftentimes also results in a stagger, which catches your enemies off guard, giving you an opening to take them out. Moreover, this spell also benefits from the 10% bonus increase in frost damage if you plan to use that.

The only downside to using this spell is that it has a slightly shorter range than the pebble spell, which means you would have to cast this spell nearer to your enemies for it to take effect. Moreover, this spell also has a slightly higher FP cost than the pebble spell, but the benefits of using this spell easily outweigh the cons.

Great Oracular Bubble

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 we assure you that it is worth it. 

The Great Oracular Bubble casts a slow-moving bubble that can be charged which will hit enemies as hard as a truck, dealing very high damage. The bubble can be charged to the maximum for even more amplified damage, hitting enemies for well over a thousand damage, and dealing splash damage, even with an average build.

So, presupposing that enemies group up against you, this spell would deal great Area of Effect damage, with the potential to take them all out at the same time.

Meteorite

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 our 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 that you can potentially turn this into another infinite cast, just like the comet azure.

 The Meteorite spell may seem a little similar to the Rock Sling spell, which also hurls meteorites at enemies. However, this spell does a Higher Area of Effect damage meanwhile also consuming FP at a fairly decent amount.

Therefore, making it is pretty useful against large bosses and a huge number of enemies grouped up closely. In these scenarios, The Meteorite spell shines well above any other, as it can be used at its full potential, destroying rows of enemies in a few moments or, at the very least, staggering them.

Cannon of Haima And Gavel of Haima

Players can acquire these two spells by completing a quick puzzle that starts at the Church of Irith, which is located before Godrick’s Castle. Once reaching the Church, players would have to head inside and meet an NPC there.

When you talk to him, he would demand a Glintstone key in exchange for a gesture that you will have to use later to get the Cannon of Haima and Gavel Of Haima spells. Players can give him their key. To do that, they need to head back to the Academy and obtain it from the church.

However, the key would be situated on the top of a Chandelier out of many, which may be a difficult place to reach due to the many swarms of enemies present there.

Upon reaching there, players would have to navigate through many different rooftops until they stumble upon the church area. Once there, players need to spot a broken window and proceed through it. There, they can jump on the second Chandelier and obtain the key.

Once players obtain the key, they next need to simply head back to the Church of Irith and give the key to the NPC. He would then give the “Erudition” gesture, which is needed to proceed to the next part of the quest. After this, players need any of the Glintstone Head, which the players can unlock by killing enemies in the Academy, or they can also grab a few from certain locations.

Once obtained, players should head to the Converted Fringe Tower and perform the gesture given by the NPC, which would give them the two spells.

If players are looking to do some PvP, then 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 nor 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.

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 then further.

Ranni’s Dark Moon

To acquire this spell, players need to complete the Ranni’s questline, after which they will unlock the Moonlight Altar. Once players complete the questline, they should head to the south of Chelona’s Rise tower. There, they need to complete a puzzle, which includes killing three turtles. Also, consider reading our Elden Ring Blaidd Armor guide.

All three of the Turtles can be found near the church itself, and players can locate them after a bit of exploration. Once players are done killing the tree turtles and completing the puzzle, they should head back to the tower, and there would be a chest spawned which they may simply open and obtain the spell.

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. If you think you can manage both factors, then you are good to go.

The first few seconds when the spell is cast, the player can be in danger due to not being able 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 just shows how overpowered it is, and no Elden Ring Intelligence vs Faith comparison goes by without the mention of Ranni’s Dark Moon spell due to its nature of dealing immense amounts of damage.

With keeping all the sorcerer spells in mind, you should check out our guide on Elden Ring Astrologer Build to make sure that you correctly build your Astrologer and use the spells mentioned above effectively.  

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.

Similar to sorcery spells, the pros, cons, uses, and limitations also apply to faith-based spells as well. And there are more spells than just the five we have listed here in our guide. That being said, we have thought this through and have listed some top-tier faith spells players should have if they want to have high FTH 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

To obtain this spell, players would need to head over to Crumbling Farum Azula, and there, they need the book which makes this spell available to buy. Once reaching the Dragon temple, they need to reach the middle hallway. Once reached, they would notice a purple item; just simply picking it up would grant them the book which contains the spell.

Once there, they could hand it over to NPCs, allowing them to buy the spells. They can simply head over to the church of vows and give the book to Miriel, Pastor of vows.

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 very cool and aesthetic.

While this spell may not be great against many enemies, just because the lines are very spread out and can miss if you line it properly against a boss, it can deal 4000 damage per strike, and there are a total of 15 strikes. It only requires 32 faith to use, and this alone makes it broken as it deals tons of damage despite having such low faith requirements.

With a proper build, players can deal a maximum of 14,000 damage per cast, which is alone enough to one-shot most bosses in the game. The mere mention of this spell can deal a serious blow to any Intelligence vs Faith debate.

Frozen Lightning spear

Players can get this spell after defeating the Dragonkin Soldier of Nokstella, who is found in Ainsel River. After that, they need to teleport to the Ainsel river well location and head inside the building. There, they would see an elevator, and they simply needed to head down.

After players have successfully reached the Ainsel River, they should simply head straight until they see some giant ants outside a tunnel. After which, they should head into the tunnel and take a right and be careful not to get hit by the ants. There would be another two tunnels, and they should choose the one on the left and keep heading forward until they reach the Uhl Palace Ruins.

There, they must head inside the building and take another left into another cave and keep heading forward until they reach the boss.

Defeating him would grant them the spell. The Frozen Lightning spear is a very solid choice for mid to end game faith builds. It requires 34 faith and 36 FP cost, which is very decent considering how powerful the spell is. The spell is immensely effective against a big group of enemies, just because of wide its arching is.

Moreover, the spell also has a great range, so players can cast the spell at a distance which 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

To get Lansseax’s Glaive, players would need to defeat a pretty powerful foe, that is the Ancient Dragon Lansseax. The fight features two parts, the first one taking place at the abandoned coffin site. Once players deal a certain amount of damage, he flies over to another place called Rampartside Path, where players are forced to fight him there. Once defeating him, players are then awarded the Lansseax’s Glaive faith-based spell.

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.

With a few buffs, players would be able to easily do more than 4000 damage per cast, which is good enough for both, fighting against enemies in PvP or PvE and fighting against bosses. Do keep in mind it does have a slightly higher spell casting time as compared to other basic spells, which makes the caster initially vulnerable to attacks. However, once the sweep takes place, expect your foes to be decimated to dust.

Lightning Spear

To get the Lightning Spear spell, players need to teleport to the Artist’s Shack. Once there, at a short distance, they would notice a knight in golden armor. Players simply need to defeat him to get a prayerbook. Beware, though, before approaching him, make sure you are all ready and expect a tough fight from one.

Once defeated, simply head back to the church of vows and give the prayer book to the Big Turtle there. After which, players would be able to buy the Lightning Spear Faith-Based incantations. 

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.

You would be happy to know that we have a complete in-depth guide on Elden Ring Holy build that covers everything from what incantations to use and the talismans, weapons, and much more to equip!

Giantsflame Take Thee

Unlike other faith-based spells that belong to lightning we 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. 

Conclusion

Both the Intelligence and Faith spells are made 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 our favorite side, when it comes to picking one from Intelligence and Faith, we will pick Faith. 

This sums up our 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,