The Guides ◆ Elden Ring ◆ Sorcery
The Sorcery Catalog — Schools of Magic Ranked
Every sorcery school in Elden Ring explained — Glintstone, Gravity, Full Moon, Carian, Night, Crystal, Lava, and DLC additions. The best spells, the worst ones, and the hidden interactions.
Patch 1.16 · Covers base game + Shadow of the Erdtree · June 2026
How Sorcery Works
Sorceries are cast with a staff in either hand. Your staff's Sorcery Scaling stat determines how much damage you deal — this scales with your Intelligence. Most sorceries deal magic damage and benefit from INT scaling, Magic Scorpion Charm, Terra Magica's zone, and Graven-Mass talisman. A few deal other damage types (Rock Sling = physical, Magma Sorceries = fire) and don't benefit from magic damage boosts.
Sorceries are organized into schools, each with its own lore tradition and damage profile. Some staffs passively boost specific schools — the Meteorite Staff boosts Gravity sorceries by 30%, the Carian Regal Scepter boosts Full Moon sorceries by 10%. Building around a specific school lets you squeeze significant extra damage out of these bonuses.
School Rankings (Patch 1.16)
| School | Tier | Best use case | Staff bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gravity | S — versatile, physical dmg | General use, magic-immune bosses, stagger builds | Meteorite Staff (+30%) |
| Glintstone | S — abundant, efficient | Everything; the bread-and-butter school with best variety | Academy Glintstone Staff (+10% charged) |
| Full Moon | A — niche but powerful | Magic resist debuff, frostbite priming, DLC openers | Carian Regal Scepter (+10%) |
| Carian | A — unique animations | Close-range burst, poise stagger, moonblade combos | None; good base damage |
| Night | B — situational | Invisible projectiles; good for PvP, less relevant PvE | Albinauric Staff (minor Arcane boost) |
| Crystal / Stonedigger | B — scaling checks | Crystalian enemies; the themed counters within this school | None |
| Lava / Magma | B — fire hybrid only | Enemies weak to fire when you have secondary Faith/ARC | Gelmir Glintstone Staff (+15% magma) |
| Dragon / Cold | B — frostbite setup | Frostbite builds looking for fast application with INT | Cold-infused weapons; no staff bonus |
Glintstone Sorceries — The Academy's Foundation
Glintstone sorceries are the core of the Raya Lucarian tradition — crystalline star-fire shaped by scholars. They deal pure magic damage and cover every range and use case from quick poke attacks to screen-filling nova detonations. All scale with INT.
| Sorcery | FP Cost | Rating | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glintstone Pebble | 7 | A | Starter spell. Low cost, fast cast, reliable projectile. The most FP-efficient sorcery for sustained DPS. |
| Glintstone Cometshard | 12 | B+ | Fires a comet that deals splash area damage on impact. Good against groups; single target use cases prefer Pebble. |
| Glintstone Arc | 9 | B | Horizontal sweep. Only useful for hitting multiple close-range enemies in a line; rarely optimal for bosses. |
| Comet | 19 | A | Larger, slower, harder-hitting Pebble variant. Deals significantly more damage per hit; good for enemies with recovery windows. |
| Comet Azur | 40/s | S | The nuke. Channeled beam. With Cerulean Hidden Tear + Terra Magica, effectively free cast that obliterates boss HP. Found in Altus Plateau. |
| Star Shower | 24 | B | Rains tracking stars. Decent for mobile enemies; outclassed by Stars of Ruin which are stronger and more numerous. |
| Stars of Ruin | 28 | S | 12 homing stars fired in a burst. Near-perfect tracking. Ideal for fast-moving bosses where landing manual shots is difficult. Sellen questline reward. |
| Glintstone Icecrag | 17 | B | Launches an ice boulder that builds frostbite. Pairs with Ranni's Dark Moon for a full frostbite strategy. |
| Founding Rain of Stars | 26 + 18/s | A | Rains stars in a wide area for several seconds. Extremely strong against large bosses that can't dodge; mediocre vs. fast enemies. Found in Heretical Rise, Mountaintops of the Giants. |
Gravity Sorceries — Radahn's Heritage
Gravity sorceries originate from Radahn's research into the stars. The critical property: most deal physical damage, not magic damage. This means they hit magic-resistant enemies (Magma Wyrm, Crystalians, etc.) for full damage when other sorceries deal reduced damage. Pair with the Meteorite Staff for +30% bonus.
| Sorcery | FP Cost | Rating | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Sling | 18 | S | Fires three chunks of rock. Physical damage. Massive poise damage — three hits will stagger most humanoid bosses. THE most important utility sorcery in the game. Found in Street of Sages Ruins, Caelid (same trip as Meteorite Staff). |
| Gravity Well | 12 | B | Pulls the target toward you. Situationally useful for creating openings; works on most non-boss enemies. |
| Collapsing Stars | 22 | B+ | Fires several orbs that expand and draw enemies in. Strong crowd control; moderate single-target. |
| Meteorite of Astel | 30 | A | The signature Astel sorcery — fires a volley of meteorites. Each hits independently. High total damage potential against large targets. Drops from Astel, Stars of Darkness (DLC path in base game). |
| Eternally Frozen in Amber | 20 | B | DLC sorcery. Encases an area in amber that slows enemies. Niche but powerful for boss phase transitions. |
Full Moon Sorceries — Rennala's Legacy
Full Moon sorceries belong to the tradition of Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon. They deal magic damage and uniquely also apply frostbite — a status that reduces enemy defense by 20% for several seconds when it procs. On proc, you get a massive window to follow up with your highest-damage spells.
| Sorcery | FP Cost | Rating | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rennala's Full Moon | 55 | A | Fires a large full moon that reduces the target's magic resistance by 10% for 60 seconds. Fired from Rennala's Remembrance crafting path or drop. High FP cost but the magic resist shred is permanent for the fight duration. |
| Ranni's Dark Moon | 82 | S (DLC) | A cold, dark full moon version — Ranni's variation. Applies frostbite AND the magic resist debuff. The best opener in Shadow of the Erdtree: fire this, wait for frostbite proc (-20% defense), then immediately follow with Comet Azur. Massive burst window. Found at Chelona's Rise after completing Ranni's questline. |
| Lunar Fog | 21 | B | Creates a fog that builds frostbite on enemies. Slow, situational; better options available for frostbite builds. |
Carian Sorceries — Close-Range Cuts
Carian sorceries create blades and formations of glintstone. They deal magic damage at close-to-medium range and are uniquely powerful for interrupting enemy attacks, staggering poise, and creating openings in melee exchanges.
| Sorcery | FP Cost | Rating | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carian Slicer | 4 | S | Cheapest effective melee sorcery in the game — swings a blade of glintstone at 4 FP per hit. With 60 INT on Carian Regal Scepter, each swing deals substantial magic damage at nearly free FP cost. Exceptional for cancelling into after dodging a boss attack. |
| Carian Phalanx | 32 | A | Summons a halo of glintstone blades that auto-fire at nearby enemies. Stays active for ~30 seconds. Set and forget — perfect during extended boss fights. |
| Carian Retaliation | 8 | A (PvP) | Parry mechanic — deflects incoming sorceries and incantations for a window. Mostly used in PvP; less relevant in PvE but can interrupt certain boss spells. |
| Loretta's Greatbow | 24 | B+ | Fires a spectral greatarrow — massive single-target physical magic damage. Slow cast but hits hard. Boss fodder when you need a heavy single projectile. |
| Loretta's Mastery | 46 | A | Fires four spectral greatarrows simultaneously. High FP cost but exceptional total damage vs. large targets. Found in Haligtree (endgame content). |
Night Sorceries and Support Spells
Night sorceries fire invisible projectiles that deal magic damage. They are primarily strong in PvP because human opponents can't see or predict them. In PvE, enemies track you regardless of projectile visibility, so they offer no particular advantage over Glintstone alternatives.
The two support sorceries every mage should have:
| Sorcery | FP Cost | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Terra Magica | 20 | Creates a ground zone that amplifies all magic damage by 35% for 30 seconds. Cast at the start of every significant fight. Found in Academy Crystal Cave, Liurnia. |
| Glintblade Phalanx | 18 | Summons tracking blades overhead that auto-fire. Good when a boss closes in — casts instantly during a dodge, and the blades fire during the next boss attack window. |
| Eternal Darkness | 35 | Creates a black hole that absorbs all projectiles in an area. Exceptional defensive tool for the Elden Beast and other projectile-heavy bosses; absorbs the boss's AoE projectiles while you reposition. |