Longtime fans of Dark Souls will remember that staffs and sorceries in the first Dark Souls game were rather weak and underwhelming. Luckily, these memories stay in the past with Elden Ring. Sorceries and magic have come back in a big way with Elden Ring and 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 choosing the right one. These are some of the best in the game for builds primarily focused around sorcery.
Updated March 18th, 2023 by Jerrad Wyche: FromSoftware recently announced that Elden Ring would be receiving a substantial expansion in the near future titled Shadow of the Erdtree. It's unclear what the size and scope of this DLC expansion will be, but given the developer's track record, it's bound to deliver some of the best content in all of Elden Ring.
Due to this announcement players are hopping back into The Lands Between, whether that be in a fresh playthrough of the game, or going into New Game+ with the character they beat the game with during their original adventure.
18 Crystal Staff
In the Academy Crystal Cave, players can find the Crystal Staff behind 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 baseline Crystal Staff doesn'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.
17 Gelmir Glintstone Staff
Like most aspects of Elden 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 the Gelmir Glintstone Staff to be a solid weapon in their hands. In order to acquire it the Man-Serpent Sorcerer in Volcano Manor will need to drop it when fought in the throne room. Its most redeeming bonus is that it makes magma-centric spells fifteen percent more effective.
16 Staff Of Loss
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? The Staff of Loss happens to boost spells that fall in the latter part of that question and it does so to great effect. Elden Ring has 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.
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The Staff of Loss can be found 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.
15 Carian Glintstone Staff
Staff users are often seen as more passive combatants who would rather face foes from a comfortable distance. Some might shame magic-wielders in Elden Ring for this approach, but there's nothing wrong with playing FromSoftware games in whatever way is most fun and engaging.
The Carian Glintstone Staff breaks 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 the Carian 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.
14 Carian Regal Scepter
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 the Carian Regal Scepter is the perfect fit for them. In order 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 the top of the Raya Lucaria Academy inside 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 of Elden Ring.
13 Albinauric Staff
Many people feel as though Glintstone staffs are far and away the best in all of Elden Ring, and the Albinauric Staff falls 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 inside the Volcano Manor, just near the Guest Hall site of grace.
12 Carian Glintblade Staff
In eastern Liurnia players will come across a building called the Highway Lookout Tower. On the top floor of this building sits a powerful Intelligence-scaling staff called the Carian Glintblade Staff. What makes this staff particularly special is that the power of any Glintblade Sorceries the player uses are boosted by fifteen percent.
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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.
11 Prince of Death's Staff
Players who are working with an Intelligence and Faith build will most likely be drawn to the Prince of Death's staff. As its name would suggest it boosts death-based sorceries, with some of those being Ancient Death Rancor, and Explosive Ghostflame, among others. In order to find this staff players will need to go east from the site of grace called The Nameless Eternal City.
Upon finding root ramps they'll come across a tower in which the staff sits. In some instances, based on build allocation, the Prince of Death's staff can outperform the beloved Gelmir Glintstone staff.
10 The Glintstone Staff
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 the Glintstone Staff doesn't have any unique weapon skills or buffs associated with it, it's a good all-around option for players experimenting with sorcery in Elden 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 in the Caria Manor.
9 The Astrologer's Staff
Of the starting class staffs, the Astrologer's Staff is 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 of Elden Ring's dungeons.
8 The Demi-Human Queen's Staff
This staff will likely act as the first major staff upgrade for most sorcerers in Elden Ring. The Demi-Human Queen's Staff can be obtained in the Demi-Human Forest Ruins which can be found on the Weeping Peninsula. Players will have to defeat a small mini-boss in order to get the staff, but it offers a decent upgrade to some early-game staff options.
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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.
7 The Academy Glintstone Staff
For players mainlining the story dungeons and quests, the Academy Glintstone Staff could act as the primary upgrade to either the regular Glintstone Staff or the Astrologer's Staff. This staff can only be obtained from Thops, a rookie sorcerer looking to make his way back to the Raya Lucaria Academy. Players have two ways of getting the staff from Thops.
The first, less heartless way of getting the staff is finding a second Glintstone Key for Thops. Thops will later leave his original location and players can find him outside the Schoolroom Classroom inside the Raya Lucaria Academy. The second way of getting the staff early is for the player to kill Thops inside the Church of Irith and loot his corpse. However, that certainly wouldn't be very nice.
6 The Staff Of The Guilty
This staff can be found much later into the game. This staff is located deep into Mt. Gelmir in Fort Laiedd. The Staff of the Guilty scales with Faith instead of Intelligence and boosts the power of Thorn Sorcery. It is certainly a niche staff for special types of sorcery, but its low required stats and decent buffs make it a solid choice for players looking to rely on Blood Thorn sorcery or players with high Faith and Intelligence scores.
It should be noted however that this staff requires somber smithing stones, which are rarer than regular smithing stones and are also often used to upgrade boss weapons. For flex builds that rely on both a staff and a weapon, there are much better staff options that don't require the precious somber smithing stones.
5 The Digger's Staff
The Digger's Staff doesn't scale as well as the Astrologer's Staff or the Academy Glintstone Staff, yet it stands as one of the better staffs in Elden Ring. This is primarily because it can be found early into the game via the Sellia Crystal Tunnel's Miner enemies. The Miners will be difficult to kill for new players thanks to their high armor and health pool, but the Digger's Staff is a fairly common drop and there are plenty of miners to fight.
This staff is upgraded with normal smithing stones and offers players who did not start with a staff a great option for finding a decently powerful staff early. It also boosts stone digger sorcery spells which aren't gained until later into the game, but it is a nice buff nonetheless.
4 The Rotten Crystal Staff
The Rotten Crystal Staff has one of the higher Intelligence requirements among the staffs in Elden Ring. Players will need 48 Intelligence to wield this staff. While that may seem like a lot at first, players going for pure magic builds should have more than enough by the time they come across this staff. The Rotten Crystal Staff scales well with Intelligence and boosts sorcery power greatly. It also slowly adds the Scarlet Rot effect to foes, which can come in clutch during extended fights.
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Perhaps the staff's greatest benefit is the buff to Crystalian Sorcery. There are plenty of Crystalian sorceries early on and throughout the game that can be buffed by this staff. Some otherwise mediocre spells have much greater potential when cast with the Rotten Crystal Staff. Be warned that this staff requires somber smithing stones though, and they aren't easy to come by.
3 The Meteorite Staff
The Meteorite Staff is arguably the best early game staff in Elden Ring. Players can be transported to the Sellia Crystal Cave very early on via a trapped chest. After securing the Site of Grace in the tunnel, players can fast travel away and still have access to the Sellia Crystal Tunnel anytime they want. After getting access to Torrent, Elden Ring's horse, players with 18 or more Intelligence points should return to the Sellia Crystal Tunnel Grace and then exit the dungeon to explore the Aeonia Swamp.
Here, players should look for the Street of Sages Ruins where the Meteorite Staff is being protected by several flowers that induce Scarlet Rot. If the player can bait the flowers out of position, they can sneak in and grab the staff. This staff has an S scaling with Intelligence and boosts Gravity Sorcery. The Rock Sling sorcery is a very good spell for the early game and mid-game and is boosted by the Meteorite Staff. Keep in mind that this staff cannot be upgraded by any means, so it will begin to drop off and be very weak around level 50-60.
2 Lusat's Glintstone Staff
Boasting one of the best Intelligence scalings in the entire game, Lusat's Glintstone Staff has the potential to carry magic characters to the end of the game. Unfortunately, this staff is nigh inaccessible to flex builds as it has a very high Intelligence barrier at 52 points needed just to wield it. This shouldn't be a problem for dedicated sorcerers though, as they will have been pumping up their Intelligence scores from the early game and onwards.
This staff isn't considered the best for a few reasons. It's locked behind a difficult duo boss fight inSelia, Town of Sorcery. It also is unusable by many players who haven't pumped up Intelligence. It also doesn't have any special buffs associated with it. Many of these negatives can be easily negated or ignored though, as the staff's overwhelming power and incredible scaling make it one of the best pure sorcery items in the game.
1 Azur's Glintstone Staff
Though locked off for flex builds, Azur's Glintstone Staff stands as the best staff in the game for sorcerers. It can be found behind many secret paths inside Raya Lucaria Academy. Players will need to find several hidden walls and go through numerous jumping puzzles before they can finally access it atop the second floor of the Church of Cuckoo. The work is worth it though, as this staff absolutely shreds with its high scaling and massive spell power.
The primary negative of this staff is that it consumes extra FP for every spell. It reduces all casting times but at the cost of extra FP. Full sorcerer builds shouldn't have too much trouble with negating these negatives but the extra FP cost can certainly be tricky to get used to. All in all, Azur's Glintstone Staff acts as the best staff for pure spell casters inside Elden Ring.
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