How to Upgrade Ashes in Elden Ring (Spirit Summons)

Elden Ring is an incredibly challenging game, but players can utilize Spirit Summons to aid in their survival in the Lands Between. One important aspect of using Spirit Summons is upgrading the Ashes that power them. In this guide, we’ll cover the steps for upgrading Ashes in Elden Ring, including the best Ashes to use and what is required to fully upgrade them. Stick around as we will discuss how to upgrade Ashes in Elden Ring in detail.

For more guides, you can read our Best Elden Ring Dex Weapons list.

What Are Spirit Summons in Elden Ring?

Spirit Summons, or more accurately Spirit Ashes, are Elden Ring’s version of Pokémon. Yep, this is a thing. They’re summoned by an item called the Spirit Calling Bell that’s given by Ranni the Witch in her guise as the witch Renna. To get the item, go to the Church of Elleh on Limgrave after getting Torrent from Melina. Once there, make sure to wait until nighttime to see her sitting down on the ruined walls.

If you didn’t manage to see Renna in the Church, or if you didn’t know about it, she’ll stop appearing in the Church eventually. Once that happens, go to the Twin Maiden Husks on Roundtable Hold to buy the Spirit Calling Bell for 100 runes. You can also get the Lone Wolf Ashes there.

How to Upgrade Spirit Ashes in Elden Ring

So, now let’s go ahead and discuss how to upgrade Spirit Ashes in Elden Ring.

To upgrade Spirit Ashes you need to do a few things. First, you need to have the Spirit Calling Bell to even use Spirit Ashes. The 2nd, you need a specific NPC by the name of Roderika.

To find Roderika, the player needs to go to Stormhill Shack. Right on the road past the gatefort on Limgrave. Make sure to exhaust her dialogue and get the Spirit Ash that she’ll give you (Spirit Jellyfish Ashes). Once you’ve done this, go and do your usual Tarnished stuff, then immediately go to Stormveil Castle once ready. Here, you need to go to the hall with the Grafted Scion in it. You need to fight that guy to safely pass through. Either that or run like hell to a door on the left.

In said door will be a pile of dead and decaying bodies with 2 dogs standing guard. Specifically, they’re guarding an item by the name of Chrysalid’s Memento. Give this to Roderika and exhaust her dialogue once again, where she’ll tell the player she’s going to Roundtable Hold.

Once there, talk to Roderika, then to Master Hewg. Hewg will tell the player that Roderika has a talent for Spirit Tuning. Talk to Roderika again to tell her about this, then back to Hewg, and ask the crotchety old smith to watch over the poor lass. Reload Roundtable Hold and go to Hewg’s area, where you’ll find Roderika ready and willing to tune your Spirit Ashes. After you find the appropriate Gloveworts of course.

Now that we’ve talked about how to upgrade Ashes in Elden Ring, let’s talk about the requirements and what Spirits to upgrade.

What Will You Need to Upgrade Elden Ring Spirit Ashes

To upgrade Spirit Ashes the player needs to find Glovewort. Specifically, 2 kinds of Glovewort: Grave Glovewort and Ghost Glovewort. The former is for common Spirit Ashes like the Skeletal Bandit and Albinauric Ashes. The latter is for Elite Spirit Ashes like Latenna the Albinauric, Omenkiller Rollo, and Black Knife Tiche.

Finding them is also pretty easy. If you’re partial to dungeon and cave delving. After all, both Grave and Ghost Glovewort are found in Catacombs and Hero Graves. However, higher-level variants appear more in late-game Dungeons.

You need Grave and Ghost Glovewort [1] to [9] to get to levels 1 to 9 on your Spirit Ashes. Finally, you need to get Great Grave/Ghost Glovewort to reach level 10, a Spirit Ash’s max level. However, if you’re not keen on dungeon delving, there’s an… Alternative solution: Bell Bearings. Specifically, 6 Bell Bearings: Glovewort Picker [1] to [3], and Ghost-Glovewort Picker [1] to [3]. These will help reach your Spirit Ashes from level 0 to level 9 if you have the Runes to buy them from the Twin Maiden Husks.

One thing to note though is that you can’t buy Great Grave/Ghost Gloveworts from the Twin Maiden Husks. Even if you have all 6 Bell Bearings. The player will need to get them on specific areas of the map.

• Great Grave Glovewort: Giant-Conquering Hero’s Grave/Consecrated Snowfield Catacombs/Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree/ Crumbling Farum Azula.
• Great Ghost Glovewort: Ainsel River/Nokstella, Eternal City/Night’s Sacred Ground/Mohgwyn Palace.

Where to get the Glovewort Bell Bearings

• There are 6 locations the player needs to go to get all Glovewort Picker bell bearings. These are:
• Glovewort Picker’s Bell Bearing [1]: Go to the Wyndham Catacombs and defeat the Erdtree Burial Watchdog boss at the end. It’ll drop the Bell Bearing.
• Glovewort Picker’s Bell Bearing [2]: Go to the Giants’ Mountaintop Catacombs and defeat the Ulcerated Tree Spirit boss at the end. It’ll drop the Bell Bearing.
• Glovewort Picker’s Bell Bearing [3]: Last for the OG Glovewort Picker Bell Bearings is on Crumbling Farum Azula. Specifically, its located underneath a gazebo on a small marshland area guarded by Wormfaces. A few of them. God the horror.
• From the Tempest-Facing Balcony. Go to a southwest structure from the balcony and exit it on the opposite side. The player will find an elevator that sends them down. Look southeast to find the gazebo in question.
• Ghost-Glovewort Picker’s Bell Bearing [1]: This allows players to upgrade Elite Spirit Ashes from 1 to 3. It’s located in a corpse underneath a gazebo on Nokron, Eternal City.
• Ghost-Glovewort Picker’s Bell Bearing [2]: The 2nd one is found in Nokstella, Eternal City. Start in the city’s Site of Grace, then head up some stairs to the player’s west. At the top, on the player’s left is a building with a few shielded Silver Tears. Defeat them and go inside where a chest with the Bell Bearing is found.
• Ghost-Glovewort Picker’s Bell Bearing [3]: The 3rd one is located in Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree. From the Haligtree Roots Site of Grace, take the elevator up, then go for the exit in the opposite room, then head left. It’s located on a cemetery’s furthest cliff. With several Kindred of Rot guarding it.

5 Best Normal and Elite Spirit Ashes to Upgrade

Now that you know how to upgrade Spirit Ashes let’s talk about which Spirit Ashes to upgrade. There are a lot of them in Elden Ring, and it’s usually a good idea to go for Spirit Ashes which can help you in your current playstyle. Ergo, here are some Spirit Ash choices to consider for a myriad of playstyles in Elden Ring. We also added 2 Honorable Mentions for your consideration.

Omenkiller Rollo Ashes

Omenkiller Rollo’s Ashes is one of the most underrated Spirit Ashes a player can use in Elden Ring. It can be found by defeating the Fell Twins bosses located on the Capital Outskirts. They’re an optional field boss that gives an utterly nuts Spirit Ash if you dedicate resources to him.

Anyhow, once the player gets Omenkiller Rollo and equips his Spirit Ash, they’ll need around 113 FP to summon. Overall, pretty hefty. But given the sheer destruction and tankiness that Rollo can dish out and has, that 113 FP is a price well paid. The main reason for this is his dual cleavers which deal good bleed damage. The sheer amount of pain that Rollo can dish out is so much that he can obliterate bosses when he’s maxed out in the 1st playthrough.

If that’s not enough, he can also breathe fire, dealing good amounts of fire damage while also functioning as a getaway tool. This is because he walks backward after belching a fiery one at the unfortunate individual he’s currently flambéing. If that’s not enough of an incentive, Rollo’s also very hard to stagger, requiring multiple hits by enemies and bosses before he even flinches.

Overall, get Omenkiller Rollo. He’s pretty easy to get in the Capital Outskirts and he pays dividends when used. If you’re a ranged/mage build, Rollo can make sure that enemy aggro isn’t on your face and allow you to use your spells. Oh, and he can stagger Malenia out of Waterfowl Dance. That info alone is enough reason to use this Spirit Ash.

Mimic Tear Ashes

Next is the Mimic Tear, which got some pretty nasty nerfs from its Day 1 destruction of the game. However, it’s still a decently powerful Spirit Ash that duplicates you, the player character. Not much to say for this Spirit Ash other than the fact that it’s great for both melee and ranged playstyles. After all, if you have 2 of you, you can deal twice the damage with twice the shenanigans.

Oh yeah, you can find the Mimic Tear ashes in Night’s Sacred Ground. It’s on a chest-locked behind an Imp Statue Door. Also, the Mimic Tear costs 600 HP to use, so make sure to immediately drink your flask to regain the HP lost.

Black Knife Tiche Ashes

Following the awesomeness of the Mimic Tear and the sheer strength of Rollo, we have Black Knife Tiche.

You can get Black Knife Tiche by progressing through Ranni’s questline. Eventually, an Evergaol will appear northeast of the Moonlight Altar Site of Grace. This Evergaol holds Alecto, Black Knife Ringleader, and she’s a beast. Incredibly aggressive, agile, and difficult to hit if you’re not aiming your shots correctly. Once defeated though, she gives one of the best summons in the game alongside Mimic Tear and Rollo.

Black Knife Tiche is unique in that she’s busted against bosses but complete crap against fodder enemies. This is for a few reasons. 1, her damage in general is low. 2nd, the more HP the opponent has, the more damage Tiche deals. This is because she constantly attacks enemies with a devastating DoT (Damage over Time) attack called the Blade of Death. An attack that steadily drains HP the more Max HP an enemy has if it hits. Also, it passes through enemies, so 2 boss enemies will get their HP drained all the same.

At +10, Black Knife Tiche can decimate bosses. Enemies like Radagon and the Elden Beast just melt against her if you draw their aggro. Overall, if you’re not looking for a tanky boss and just need the Spirit Ash to destroy that boss that stonewalled you, get Black Knife Tiche. She’s well worth the effort to get. Also, you can do Best Girl Ranni’s questline, so even more benefits.

Crystalian Ashes

Following Rollo, Tiche, and the Mimic Tear we have the Crystalian Spirit Ashes. This is different compared to the first 3 Spirit Ashes in that the Crystalian is the 1st Normal Spirit Ash on this list. Not that the other Normal Spirit Ashes aren’t great, but they tend to not have the sheer shenanigans of the Legendary Spirit Ashes.

Anyhow, Crystalian is great for 1 thing and that is how tanky it is. For those that know, Crystalians are hard to kill if you don’t have a hammer or flail weapon. AKA something that can crush enemies to death. Usually, the crystal armor that a Crystalian has will degrade after enough hits. The Crystalian Spirit Ash on the other hand? Nope, no degradation.

This turns the Crystalian into an absolute damage sponge against enemies without any strike damage. To the point that they can sometimes solo bosses without any fanfare. Yes, their damage is poop in comparison to our first 3 options. However, the fact that you can pepper enemies in range while this thing whales at them with chip attacks is enough to get the Crystalian on this list. His aim is absolute ass though.

Stormhawk Deenh/Warhawk

The last on this list that’s not an honorable mention is a bit of a twofer. Mostly because they do similar things with just moveset differences: The Warhawk and Stormhawk Deenh.

You can find the Warhawk after finding the location the Prophecy Painting is painted from. Stormhawk Deenh on the other hand is located in the Chapel of Anticipation’s right wing. It’s on the roof, behind a door with a few wooden platforms. In the end, you’ll find Stormhawk Deenh’s spirit ashes.

The main reason for this entry is verticality, in that for some odd, mystical reason, enemies have a hard time hitting these 2 Spirit Ashes. They’re nimble, fast, and can hit hard if given enough Glovewort. In addition to this, the Warhawk has some pretty nifty attacks with its talons and a surprise fire attack for extra spice.

However, the biggest and meanest of the 2 is Stormhawk Deenh. The reason for that is the fact that he periodically applies a 20% Physical, Stamina, and Poise Damage buff that lasts for 30 seconds. This… is kinda nuts for melee builds, as their weapons won’t only hit harder, but stagger more often.

All in all, if you get the chance, go for the Warhawk and Stormhawk Deenh. The former is a great ally and dangerous birdy. The latter gives a periodic buff that can kill enemies faster for melee builds.

Honorable Mention: Perfumer Tricia

Moving up to the Honorable Mentions we have Perfumer Tricia, who made it in the honorable mention for 1 very good reason: incredible defensive buffs. She has a bubble shield that she’ll cast on the player every few seconds that gives you a 70% damage reduction for a single attack. This can mean the difference between living through a fight or dying like a dog, especially in boss fights.

The one thing that’s not cool about this Spirit Ash is the fact that she doesn’t attack that often. Her main goal is to debuff enemies and buff you with the defense bubble when you need it. However, the latter thing alone is enough to land Perfumer Tricia at least an honorable mention on this list. Especially if your character is melee focused. After all, having a 70% damage reduction bubble is a great way to not get flattened by a melee attack from a powerful boss.

To reiterate, the 70% damage reduction bubble that Tricia gives the player is a rare thing. An example of this that’s available to the player is the Opaline Bubbletear, in which the player puts on the Wondrous Physik flask. Sadly for the player, said flask can only be used once before you need to recharge at a Site of Grace. Tricia though? She can apply that defense reduction buff so long as she lives, making a melee fight against bosses that hit hard that much easier.

Oh, and you can get Perfumer Tricia after defeating her boss and fight alongside a Misbegotten Warrior in the Unsightly Catacombs.

Honorable Mention: Rotten Stray

The last honorable mention on this list is the Rotten Stray. Now, the Rotten Stray as a summon is pretty lackluster. After all, it’s just a sicklier dog, how much damage can he do?

Well… You know Scarlet Rot, yes? Well, Rotten Stray can proc it, and it procs the debuff fast. The main reason why the Rotten Stray is on this list is due to that fact, and the fact that the player can get this Spirit Ash early in the game. Specifically, if you use a certain teleporter chest, you can easily get the Rotten Stray Spirit Ash on Caelid.

Once you get this thing, it’s pretty much GGs for every boss on Limgrave. After all, none of them have Scarlet Rot resistance. Simply summon the Rotten Stray, make sure you have the aggro, and watch as the moment Scarlet Rot procs, the boss HP will steadily drain until it’s 0.

Do note that the Rotten Stray wouldn’t be as useful in the late game though. But on the early to midgame? Yeah, Rotten Stray is nuts.

Final Word: How to Upgrade Ashes in Elden Ring

Anyhow, this is how to upgrade Spirit Ashes as well as a list of some Spirit Ashes to use in Elden Ring. Hopefully, this will be useful to players who want to explore the Lands Between.