How to summon and upgrade spirits in ‘Elden Ring’

Elden Ring has been touted as a more accessible title than FromSoftware’s previous Souls games. The game gives you a proper tutorial area to learn the mechanics, a comprehensive help option that describes everything in your stats screen, a golden trail to point you in the right direction, and the items that let you summon other plays for co-op are very easy to craft.

But perhaps the biggest crutch is letting you summon “Spirit Ashes,” ghostly A.I. helpers that fight alongside you and are invaluable in distracting and defeating enemies. Perhaps the only hurdle is that actually unlocking and using the ability is possible to miss entirely if you’re not paying attention.

How to get the Spirit Calling Bell

First up, you need to meet Melina and have received the ability to summon your spectral mount Torrent, which will happen very early in the game as you reach your third Site of Grace. Once you have Torrent, travel to the Church of Elleh just north of where you began the game. Here you’ll find the ethereal witch Renna, who will imbue with you the Spirit Calling Bell and the Lone Wolf Ashes.

Once you’ve got a summon, simply equip it as an item and use it. Your character will ring a bell and the spirit will materialize and do its thing.

There are a few limitations. Spirits can only be summoned near a “rebirth monument.” These are mercifully common and found in almost every boss arena and key area of the game. You can tell when you’re near one, as a glowing white icon will appear on the left side of the screen, indicating that they’re ready to use. Spirits can also take damage and once they’re out of the fight, you can’t summon them again until you either die or rest at a Site of Grace.

Some particularly powerful spirits have high FP (mana) requirements, meaning they’re intended for characters specced hard into “Mind,” though from my experience, most of the early spirits you’ll obtain can be used with a non-magically focused character.

Unlocking Spirit Ash upgrades

A little further into the game, you can also upgrade your summons. On the way to Stormveil Castle, you’ll spot a girl in a red hood ⏤ Roderika ⏤ hiding in a shack near a Site of Grace. Exhaust her dialogue options and she’ll gift you a Jellyfish Spirit Ash (which is more useful than you might think!).

Later, once you’re exploring the castle, you’ll find the “Chrysalid’s Memento” atop a pile of corpses. Head to the Roundtable Hold where Roderika should be in the central room, then speak to Blacksmith Hewg about her. Exhaust both their dialogue options and she’ll set up a stall devoted to upgrading Ashes near Hewg.

Some of the Spirits are practically game-breaking and can make certain bosses ridiculously easy, so if you want an smoother ride (relatively speaking…) through the Land Between, be sure to focus on using your Spirits as much as possible.