How to Summon Spirits in Elden Ring (and Upgrade Them)

When the majority of bosses in Elden Ring come in the numbers of two or more or choose to summon minions to help them, players need to use any help they can get.

After all, Elden Ring is not fast-food entertainment. Instead, it’s an unforgiving game where players will learn after continuously failing and dying.

This is exactly the role of Spirit Ashes also known as Spirit Summons in Elden Ring, which can be called at the cost of FP or HP, depending on the summon. They are strong allies that help you in combat and each of the Spirit Ashes brings different assets to the table.

In this guide, I will explain how to summon and upgrade spirit summons in Elden Ring, as well as how to unlock them.

Table of Contents

1. How to Unlock and Use Spirit Summons in Elden Ring
2. How to Unlock More Spirit Summons
3. How to Level Up and Upgrade Spirit Summons in Elden Ring
4. Wrapping up

How to Unlock and Use Spirit Summons in Elden Ring

1. Step 1: Unlock Spirit Calling Bell.
2. Step 2: Unlock and equip the Spirit Ashes of your choice.
3. Step 3: Find a place where Spirit Ashes can be summoned (indicated by a white tombstone symbol)
4. Step 4: Use the numpad to summon spirits.

To unlock Spirit Ashes, players first need to get the Spirit Calling Bell. This can be obtained fairly early in the game while visiting the Church of Elleh. There, Renna (aka Ranni) will visit the player and give them the Spirit Calling Bell and the Lone Wolf Ashes.

To use spirit summons in Elden Ring, players do not need to have the Spirit Calling Bell equipped. However, they need to equip the specific ashes they want to summon.

Also, keep in mind that Spirit Ashes can only be summoned near Rebirth Monuments in PvE. As for PvP, Spirit Ashes can only be used in the newly added Caelid Colosseumand are unavailable at the Limgrave and Leyndell Colosseums.

Thankfully, Rebirth Monuments can be found near almost every boss fight in the game.

Also, there are more Spirit Ashes than just the Lone Wolves and each of them has a unique playstyle, optimized for dealing with specific scenarios.

After selecting the Spirit Ashes of your choice and equipping them in your quick slot, press your numpad buttons to summon them.

How to Unlock More Spirit Summons

There are 64 Spirit Ashes in total in Elden Ring, and each of them is unique in its own way. For a preview of all the Ashes available, consider checking out the video below.

Video available from MELOO on YouTube.

Spirit Ashes can be gained in various ways, which include defeating bosses, finding them in the open world, or buying them from specific NPCs such as Seluvis.

While there are many Spirit Ashes available, some that manage to stand out include the Mimic Tear, Black Knight Tithe, Lhutel The Headless, and Ancient Dragon Knight Kristoff.

However, none of the Spirit Ashes is useful unless it’s fully upgraded. Let’s see how to level up your spirits in the game.

How to Level Up and Upgrade Spirit Summons in Elden Ring

The only way to upgrade Spirit Ashes in Elden Ring is through the NPC named Roderika. As you can guess, Roderika is not available from the get-go and players will need to progress her brief questline before being able to interact with her.

**Specifically, here’s what you’ll need to do to unlock Roderika:

1. Find and talk to Roderika at the Stromhill Shack.

2. Collect Chrysalids’ Memento from Stromveil Castle and bring it back to Roderika.

3. Find and talk to Roderika in Roundtable Hold, then talk to Blacksmith Hewg. Talk to them multiple times until you exhaust all dialogue options.

4. Leave and return to the Roundtable Hold and you’ll find Roderika just across Blacksmith Hewg.

5. Interact with Roderika to upgrade any Spirit Ashes.

   
   

As for materials required, Spirit Ashes are spread into two categories: Standard Spirit Ashes and Renowned Spirit Ashes.

Standard Spirit Ashes require Grave Gloveworts equal to the level of the upgrade, while Renowned Spirit Ashes require Ghost Gloveworts equal to the level of the upgrade.

For instance, upgrading Standard Spirit Ashes to +5 requires a Grave Glovewort [5].

Additionally, they require the equivalent Bell Bearing.

• Glovewort Picker’s Bell Bearing [1] - Upgrade Standard Ashes up to +3
• Glovewort Picker’s Bell Bearing [2] - Upgrade Standard Ashes up to +6
• Glovewort Picker’s Bell Bearing [3] - Upgrade Standard Ashes up to +9
• Ghost-Glovewort Picker’s Bell Bearing [1] - Upgrade Renowned Ashes up to +3
• Ghost-Glovewort Picker’s Bell Bearing [2] - Upgrade Renowned Ashes up to +6
• Ghost-Glovewort Picker’s Bell Bearing [3] - Upgrade Renowned Ashes up to +9

As for the +10 upgrade, Standard Ashes require a Great Grave Glovewort, while Renowned Ashes need a Great Ghost Glovewort. Lastly, each upgrade costs Runes, which can be gained by defeating any enemy in the game or by using Golden Rune consumables.

Wrapping up

To sum up, that’s everything you need to know about how to summon and use spirit ashes in Elden Ring, as well as how to find more ashes and how to upgrade them.

For more details regarding the early game of Elden Ring, don’t forget to check our guide on the five best tips for beginners in the game. Starting out can be daunting in such a game, so this guide will make this process easier.

What are your favorite Spirit Ashes to summon in Elden Ring? Have you managed to upgrade them to +10? Let us know in the comments below.