Summary
Longtime fans ofDark Soulswill remember that staffs and sorceries in the firstDark Soulsgame were rather weak and underwhelming. Luckily, these memories stay in the past withElden Ring. Sorceries and magic have come back in a big way withElden Ringand players will find an abundance of different spells and staffs to use. Each staff comes with something a little different which helps separate them from each other.
Some staffs buff certain spells while others have incredible scaling. There are even staffs that induce blood loss and scarlet rot effects on foes. With so many staffs to choose from and so many builds that incorporate magic, it can be intimidating to choose the right one. These are some of thebest staffs inElden Ringfor builds primarily focused around sorcery.
Updated May 19, 2025 by Joe Grantham:Elden Ring is one of the most successful games in recent years, and interest in the Game of the Year winner has surged once again with the release of the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion.
Along with an entirely new map, dozens of complex bosses, and plenty of gear, players also have two new glintstone staffs to try out, and one of them even lets players cast incantations, as well as sorceries.
Prisoner Class or dropped by Noble Sorcerers
Passive
N/A
The basic starting staff for the Prisoner class is actually pretty powerful for the early game. This staff can be easily upgraded with regular smithing stones, and its scaling with Intelligence can increase via upgrading.
Though theGlintstone Staffdoesn’t have any unique weapon skills or buffs associated with it, it’s a good all-around option for players experimenting with sorcery inElden Ring. The staff comes by default with the Prisoner class but can also be picked up later in the game by the Noble Sorcerer enemies inthe Caria Manor.
Astrologer Class or Merchant in Liurnia of the Lakes
Of the starting class staffs, theAstrologer’s Staffis the best for players looking to make a pure magic build early on. It has a slightly better scaling score with Intelligence than the Glintstone Staff and improves more with each smithing stone upgrade. The Glintstone Staff is better suited for flex builds while the Astrologer’s Staff is better for full magic builds.
Players struggling to find staffs shouldn’t give up on the Astrologer’s Staff too early either. It can work effectively for a good chunk of the intro and its decent Intelligence scaling can certainly be felt against many of the early mobs ofElden Ring’sdungeons.
This staff will likely act as the first major staff upgrade for most sorcerers inElden Ring. TheDemi-Human Queen’s Staffcan be obtained in theDemi-Human Forest Ruinswhich can be found on the Weeping Peninsula. Players will have to defeat a small mini-boss to get the staff, but it offers a decent upgrade to some early-game staff options.
This staff does have rather weak scaling though, so players dedicating their entire build to magic would be better off sticking with the Astrologer’s Staff during the early game. This staff’s low Intelligence requirement makes it a great starting option for flex builds or players just trying to splash a bit of sorcery into their current builds.
Boosts Crystalian Sorceries
In the Academy Crystal Cave, players can find the staffbehind a fake illusory wall located right before the boss door, in a room off to the right. It may only provide a ten percent boost to Crystalian Sorceries, but that extra boost can mean all the difference in the heat of combat.
Unlike the Rotten Crystal Staff, the baselineCrystal Staffdoesn’t cause any build-up when used as a melee weapon. As an all-sapphire blue staff, it does manage to provide some usefulness outside of pure aesthetics, but potential wielders will need eight Strength and a staggering forty-eight Intelligence to handle it effectively.
Can be dropped by Man-Serpent Sorcerer
Boosts Lava Sorcery
Like most aspects ofElden Ring, the game lets players build their character in a specified way to reflect the style in which they want to approach combat. Focusing on Faith and Intelligence traits isn’t the most common path for FromSoftware veterans, but it is viable in its own way.
For every magic-wielder that walks down this road, they’ll find theGelmir Glintstone Staffto be a solid weapon in their hands. To acquire it the Man-Serpent Sorcererin Volcano Manorwill need todrop it when fought in the throne room. Its most redeeming bonus is that it makes magma-centric spells fifteen percent more effective.
Boosts Invisibility Sorcery
What’s more effective? A powerful attack that enemies can see coming and avoid, or a slightly less damaging attack that’s impossible to predict? TheStaff of Losshappens to boost spells that fall in the latter part of that question and it does so to great effect.Elden Ringhas two specific Invisibility Sorceries called Night Shard and Night Comet, so in a way, the Staff of Loss is tied to these two spells specifically.
The Staff of Loss can befound on a dead body located in Sellia, Town of Sorcery, specifically on the rooftops. Its thirty percent boost to those two spells is rather impressive, but it’s the dual-wielding New Game+ build that doubles it to sixty percent that makes this staff truly shine.
Boosts Carian Sword Sorcery
Staff users are often seen as more passive combatants who would rather face foes from a comfortable distance. Some might shame magic-wielders inElden Ringfor this approach, but there’s nothing wrong with playing FromSoftware games in whatever way is most fun and engaging.
TheCarian Glintstone Staffbreaks the mold in terms of passivity and its fifteen percent boost to Carian sword sorceries lets its wielder unleash ethereal blades at anyone in its path. Those who are approaching the second lift in Liurnia of the Lakes in theCarian Study Hall can find this staff in the possession of a corpse, so it’s not too hard to acquire if one knows where to look.
Boosts Full Moon Sorcery
Sometimes people don’t want to specialize and would like to operate as a jack-of-all-trades, master-of-none type staff user and theCarian Regal Scepteris the perfect fit for them. To acquire it, the Remembrance of The Full Moon Queen must be given to Enia in Roundtable Hold.
This item is obtained by defeating the boss Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon, found at thetop of theRaya Lucaria Academyinside of the library. The Carian Regal Scepter is upgraded with the use of Somber Smithing Stones, and any character with sixty-nine intelligence or higher will wield it as the second-most powerful staff in all ofElden Ring.
Many people feel as though Glintstone staffs are far and away the best in all ofElden Ring, and theAlbinauric Stafffalls right in line with that belief. Though it scales with both Intelligence and Arcane, the latter is the focal point where this staff truly shines.
If the player is willing and able to use sorceries they’ll find that their Arcane-focused build will flourish using this particular staff. It can be upgraded to a point in which the Arcane scaling is an S level, which occurs when the staff reaches plus twenty-five. The Albinauric Staff is rather easy to find as it sits insidethe Volcano Manor, just near the Guest Hall site of grace.
Boosts Glintblade Sorcery
In eastern Liurnia players will come across a building called theHighway Lookout Tower. On the top floor of this building sits a powerful Intelligence-scaling staff called theCarian Glintblade Staff. What makes this staff particularly special is that the power of any Glintblade Sorceries the player uses is boosted by fifteen percent.
Another interesting tidbit is that it shares the same handle as the Staff of Loss, leading to the idea that the two staffs share a history with one another.
