I wish I saw this before skipping back and forth through the whole thing, trying not to spoil too much. I wanted to see if the wolves were on the list and no. I've already them behind for the marionettes and the demo-humans.
Fun fact: give your mimic the triple shot crossbow with rot tips, he won't run out of ammo and will keep the boss rotted up even through multiple phases
A lot of people don’t know this too but if you use the art of war: War cry, with Ogha the red mane knight they will do the crazy rain of arrows on the enemy but only once per summon. (I know this says this on the spirit on itself but it can be missed)
The nightsister and swordstress are pretty badass and I'd recommend anyone give em a try. They have a ton of hp and although they don't do a ton of damage they make up for it in utility. The swordstress will barely ever get hit cause she stays back and hits people with her shotel whip from a mile away, it also constantly staggers enemies. And the nightsister stuns enemies for like 6 seconds, she just walks up to them and pushes them over like a bully. I tell you there is nothing better than watching some dark priestess cat girl walk up and shove melania on the ground like she is going to take her lunch money.
@@realfnneato3111 damn, that's rough. I had them at +10 when I used them on him and I don't believe they died. Commander Nial hits like a truck though, especially if you stand in his frost aoe which AI seems to love to do so I don't doubt it lol.
@RealFNneatO yeah, for me I just don't want my summons being a total damage sponge and keep the boss distracted the entire fight. The games already easy enough imo
Tip: Since the mimic tear uses your items as well, be aware of what you have on your bar. Sometimes it will spam items you really don't want it to, like warmth stones. Most importantly though, since spirits don't get poisoned, putting those healing flesh things that poison you when you use them gives the mimic tear 3 additional heals beyond the flask. :)
@@virtueofabsolution7641 yeah I did it yesterday he does use them randomly though tossed like 4 of them under Melanias flower attack and solod her before she recovered
The skeletons are kind of nice, they have the potential to just keep on reviving if nothing attacks them while they're doing so, but their damage isn't all that great, and they greatly struggle against lingering hitboxes like flame breaths. Edit: I should probably also mention they're very slow and don't have any ranged attacks, so they will struggle against bosses that move a lot, or fly or something, and large bosses because any movement they make moves their legs to the other side of the map
I've noticed, especially in boss fights, the enemies will try and finish the skeletons off immediately. Gotta swoop in and give them cover till they get up
For bosses that don’t have ridiculous hyper armour the Kaiden Sellsword is insane. I summoned him for the twin fight between Misbegotten Dude and Crucible Boy and we both just took turns charged heavying until the horse we were beating was mushed into the floor. Beautiful
I'm only in the mid game at the moment, but I've been loving the Skeletal Militia just for aggro holding purposes. The ability to endlessly resurrect can be extremely strong in certain circumstances
Where would I go about finding them? I'm a faith dex build and only a level 41 or so, but I would like something better than the wolves that I have been using for the most part...am willing to travel, grab and run.
@@danabernathy6179 Oh ok I think I remember seeing him at some point, just to be sure there isn't more than one boss that looks like that is there? I thought I saw him on a pond/lake place. It would be my luck to go get my ass killed a bunch of times only to find out I finally killed the wrong guy....and then he wouldn't drop anything not even a damn rune..😆
I ended up using the Jellyfish against Astel Star of Darkness. All my melee summons died rather quickly. But the jellyfish survived the whole encounter and held aggro quite a lot.
I've used Latenna the Albinauric against both Astels. Worked like charm against these slow but hard to hit space-caterpillars. She showered them with magic arrows non-stop. She is total niche but works great in large arenas
Can confirm, she just basically made the Margit fight a cakewalk. Not only did she make a good job at distracting him but she also poisoned him whoch made it even easier to kill him on the first try.
As a mage, I can also recommend if you’re going for a relatively early-mid game summon, the Mad Pumpkin Head can take a LOT of damage and hold aggro; the only issue is that it doesn’t have that many ranged options and is pretty slow.
I'd recommend (can't remember the exact name) but the 5 greatshield soldiers. They soak up so much damage and aggro that if you're a ranged character you can get a LOT of heavy hits in
Have you tested the talisman that makes you draw aggro constantly? I'm not sure how it works, but could be interesting to see if it takes away aggro from the ranged in boss fights.
Personally, I love the spirit ashes! It gives a way for people who play offline to get some extra help if they need it. I love the fact that they are all enemies you encounter in the game too. Now I can have the asshole on my team! Also, they really don't match up in power compared to the player so they really are just meant for backup.
@sicthemutt no, the devs put them into the game for a reason. That's why there are a variety of them that excel in different types of combats and terrains.
I’ve used the great shield soldiers. They can tank really well. There’s like 5 of them and they all have shields. As they tank, I use comet azur and wreck most tough enemies lol
Shocked the Greatshield Soldiers weren't mentioned at all. I've seen a different compilation video of summons vs a single boss. These did the best of all of them as far as both damage and durability, and I imagine they'd be decent with groups of enemies as well. Too many single summons in his list, in my opinion.
@@malogor2127 - In my opinion, part of what makes a spirit summon "top 10" material is its ability to do damage and survive. Who cares if it's 5 on 1 if it did the job best? I think you missed the point of the video. It's clearly about "best" summons, not the "strongest" summons.
@@navdragoni yes this is true however sometimes 3 or 2 of mine are farther back throwing spells or just guarding so they last a bit for me to do some damage
Tip for Mimic Tear: Adapt it to the fight you need. If you need a tank, equip heavy armor and a shield, etc. It also uses your equipped inventory itens without using charges, so have equipped the Perfume that buffs the Attack and Damage (it is an AoE buff and have a lasting aoe effect. So if it uses the perfume far from you, you can run close to the spores and get the effect.), Starlight, and other buffs, will allow it to be even stronger.
I've been using Latenna the Albinauric in certain situations. She's a magic arrow spamming turret. So if you can keep aggro and your nerve, she'll pelt the enemies!
I summuned Latenna instead of my mimic in a panic when I accidentally stumbled on the Fire Giant near the Forge. She sat on a rock hailing the Giant with arrows from great range and all I ad to do the whole fight was occasionally get some swings in to pull aggro and ride around on the horse. She basically single handedly took out the fire giant. If you are a tanky build and dont mind being the aggro for your summon to dish the damage (normally it's the other way round with most other summons) then you are missing out on Latenna if you dont have her.
She's good to a point. She helped me wreck astel when I got there, she was +10, but starting in the snow areas she was dying way too fast for any boss, unfortunately. Useless agains all late game bosses. She lasted 5 seconds against Malenia.
@Thiago Navarro Dragoni she killed the fire giant badically on her own. In a large open room that you can keep aggro in, she's still awesome in late game. I personally would not deploy her against malenia.
One thing that makes Ancestral Follower great for group fights is that, as enemies die, he gains health back! You'll see a red glow go into him as they cack it, the same type as you get when having the Red Assassin trinket equipped.
I think Oleg the banished should be ranked higher if only for the fact that he can completely shut down Malenia. He attacks so rapidly that he can regularly stun lock her
Id probably say the best spirit (for me) is the Latenna albunauric bow one, she just deals tons of damage, she manages herself well to dodge, and pretty durable, she carried me through the whole elden ring
You should have mentioned the different behavior that some of the summons have. Redmane Knight, Radahn Soldiers and Bloodhound Knight all instantly start attacking without you having to draw agro first. They are very useful when you don't want to be the first into combat. I'm sure there are more but those are the only 3 that I know of that attack immediately after being summoned.
Always happy to see my boy Oleg here. I use him a tooooooooon. Decided to try the mausoleum soldiers (I'm a Faith/Dex) with some of the incantation buffs+aoe heals. Ooooohh myyyyy.
Lhutel the Headless for me. On with wiki, it's the only one rated God-tier. It has a huge health pool, it blocks everything with that great shield, it's basically the perfect companion. It has really good damage as well. If I let it, at +10 it can take on most bosses by self. It's one weakness is that it seems really susceptible to AoE attacks.
@@Atakir1984 Honestly, I haven't tried Finlay. I intend to do more testing, I just the Ghost Gloveworts just sitting in my inventory. I basically worked off the Wiki to kind of figure out how I wanted to solo the game. I got a little tired of cooping with people who just die right away and leave me to fight a boss with a much larger health pool than if I was by myself.
There are a couple others that are definitely worth mentioning: The giant rat ashes - free to upgrade and cast, summons 5 at level 10, they also come out of the shadows instead of right beside you so they usually catch enemies off guard. The skeletal militiamen - summons 2, decent damage, like other skeletons they resurrect with full health unless their body is killed. Warhawk Deenh - Buffs your attack, flies so it usually stays out of range of enemies
Great to see someone else who appreciates Stormhawk Deenh, the rallying cry buff is so strong that if you're aggressive and good at a fight its arguably the best summon in the game
On a roleplaying perspective my go-to summons until endgame were the skellies from the Limgrave mariner. I even have my own headcanon backstory about them and as much as possible we end the boss fight all present. Besides, they embody the persistence I need to get through- you die, you rise and go at it again.
Probably the mimic tear is the only one that can actually assimilate an easy mode in the game, as a souls veteran I prefer fighting the bosses by myself, and I don’t think people are bad just because they use this summons to fight bosses , at the end of the Day is a mechanic from the game, and I actually had to use it against malenia , if it wasn’t for the mimic I’ll probably never beat her.
I've found for 90% of the bosses nox priestess and swordstress preform nearly same minus the bleed stacking etc. Just as tanky, and there's 2 of them, the whip one also has an easier time getting aggro than mimic most of the time
However the mimic dose have a big weakness is it decides to be dumb grab attacks sometimes the mic just won’t move and get caught this is a problem since during grab animations boss are immune to damage
Imps are op af. Its sad ppl dont know how to use them properly. I've used the imps ever since i took them has a starting item. They're like the mausoleum soldiers. They throw little bombs that will immediately grab a boss attention off you. If you like going in and smashing a boss up front, the imps are the best distraction. Imagine 2 6 year olds after a bag of sugar each.
Little side note for anyone who needs some help with the game. Go to the round and get the faith spell heal. It'll heal a huge chunk of any one of your summons making them last significant longer. Also if your going a melee build. You can cast the golden vow which increases any companions abilities by about 20%.
I tried Lord's Heal on my Lhutel, but it only heals maybe 1/10 or less of her bar and is fairly expensive to cast. Probably better for the group summons since you could potentially heal all of them in one go.
Yes. You can also use Golden Vow as an Ash of War on a light weapon right hand (say a dagger) and a No Skill shield. Avoids the faith requirement and buffs you and your spirit or allies!
I love how you went from a shirtless dude with a club to what looks like Cruella Deville's twisted cousin. It's also nice to see the wide variety of Spirits and playstyles they accommodate in this game. While "souls" games aren't my thing, it's great to see a new title doing well and not be a complete trashfire.
The Marionette soldiers have been invaluable for me, especially against invisible assassin enemies. The Marionettes barrage of arrows helps you find them quickly, keeps them pinned down with suppressing fire, and if they get hit they go into their Futurama Killbot, "SOMEONE SAID HOWITZER!" mode just laying down that aoe of arrows.
@@electroeel148 I found that torch for sale from the Merchant in the Merchant's Shack near the graveyard in the Atlas Plateau. I discovered that after I had to face one of those assassins as a cave boss. It did come in handy for the one in the capitol though.
The mimic can be pretty inconsistent. I've had time where it's used my abilities to demolish bosses, and I've had time where it's just stood in lava and tried to poke stuff with a stick
I had one that kept spamming a weapon art for no reason and I thought it was absolutely hilarious. Though I've had some wierd bugs occur with the mimic where it just disappears right after being summoned.
Lol I put erdtree heal on it and it literally spams it. I walk over get free max health and it never dies.I’m also pretty sure it scales with your health too. I remember summoning it against the boss that has the crazy anime sword and it died fairly quickly I went back with 60 vigor and it tanked the whole fight and kept healing in between.
I think all your viewers can relate to the moment when a boss has just ended your Spirit Ash, looks right at you, and you realize, as you noted, "how screwed [you] are." I'm glad to know I'm not the only one! Thanks for your high quality content; it's both entertaining and informative. Thank you.
Mimic tear is absolutely insane providing you put certain weapon arts on it, equip warming stones, just absolutely insane possibilities, I'm looking forward to doing a complete no summon no ash of war playthrough though, I cheesed way too many bosses
I don't consider it cheating. I just find it very satisfying to get the ennemies you defeated as companions, and to have access to such a variety. Mimic tear is the only one that could legitimately be considered overpowered.
Although it’s a bit harder to obtain and cost 106 fp one of the best summons i found is the crystalian. She has many attacks and has reduced slash damage so she’s very tank against tough bosses.
Surprised it took so long to find someone mention her! She’s basically invincible! It’s not just slash damage she resists too- all physical damage is VERY heavily reduced except strike damage. I basically never need to fight an enemy alone bc of her
i really loved the undead spearmen in my run, they dont do any damage but they just constantly revive themselves, which kind of makes them the best tank spirits
Surprised latenna wasn't on this list. She's great in giant boss rooms where you can park her in a corner and all you have to do is hold aggro and she will fire volleys of arrows. Great against dragons
Latenna Carry me through entire boss in nokron, she is a great ashes you have in early-mid game. She can shoot from the corner of the boss chamber like a charm. Downside is, she cant walk lol
The headless knight is the best for me. They can literally tank Malenia and her stupid combo. I don’t think I would’ve beaten Malenia so easily without them.
@@limbokillah1397 don’t stroke your ego too hard by being an elitist who brags because he didn’t use an intended game mechanic. Some people beat the whole game with their fists and without leveling up. That’s fine. Self imposed challenges are fine. But don’t act like a player isn’t good just because they used an intended game mechanic. If you beat every boss without summons, good for you. I’m proud of you. Yeah I guess maybe you’re better than me. But no need to shame anyone for using a mechanic that the devs put into the game and clearly expected people to use. The summon ashes are a big part of the game. As long as someone isn’t hacking, it doesn’t matter how they beat a boss. We are all fans just trying to enjoy a game. Let’s not pit ourselves against one another and act elitist all because we choose to play the game in different ways, ya know? Let’s just all enjoy it how we want to enjoy it and encourage one another to have a good time, regardless of play style. I see so much toxicity in regards to things like summoning and sorcery and stuff and it’s so silly. No need to degrade people for choosing a different play style than you. If it’s a mechanic in the game then it’s a viable strategy. Feel free to brag if you beat the game without summons but don’t put people down who do use them
I like those small imp guys with fireballs and staff that are spinnin around when I fight vs lot of enemies, and for bosses I just love Kaiden and Pumpkin Head, but Kaiden Sellsworn is my boy :D
If you want a fun one, do Dung Eater and Seluvis' quests. First get the potion from Seluvis, now complete Dung Eater's questline. When you get to Dung Eater in the gaol for the 2nd time give him the potion instead of the seedbed curse. Now go back to Seluvis and speak to him, he'll thank you for drugging "Nepheli." Now grab starlight shards, find his puppet room and read the message in there. Go back to Seluvis and talk to him about his puppet room, now he'll let you buy puppets. Buy Dung Eater for five Shards and you can now summon him whenever. He's not the best summon, but he's decently tanky, very aggressive, and his sword does bleed which adds up over time if a boss stays aggroed to you.
I think Mimic Tear is god tier at +10, it can tank damage that would one shot me. He also deals decent damage depending on what playstyle you give it before summoning. I leveled up Faith to 50 and use the dragon seal, he does really good damage to hard bosses
I have a soft spot for the Marionette Summon. Theyre not very tanky at all but I like thinking of them like the Elden Ring version of a Sentry Turret. They just stand in their spot and unload the clip on bosses😂 They can do some sneaky high damage over time with how many Arrows theyll unload on a boss, i wouldnt say theyre very good against Bosses that are very Dodge happy but if you can keep a bosses Agro then they will thrive
As a note with the new "nerfed" mimic, you do not want to have a great shield equipped before summoning it or it'll stay on a passive stance and won't engage with the boss unless provoked. Keep the weapon/spells you want it to use the most on yourself before summoning, then swap back to your normal gear/weapons. As an experiment i summoned it for Astel (second version) and he would just stand in the middle of the room with his shield up, merely yards away from the action but would not engage even when his life depended on it. If you need ranged support, same deal, equip yourself with the ranged weapon of your choice and then swap back after summoning.
I will never understand the backlash “hardcore” souls players give to those who use IN-GAME mechanics to help themselves. Why do they even care? It’s like you don’t truly beat the game if you, “Use a summons or spirit ashes or a shield or the dodge button or if you moved out of your mom’s basement or if you’ve ever gone on a date or if you can’t parry or if you used a guide or…” I’m sure you get it, but I could go on all day. If you’re new to the series, just have fun and ignore all the meaningless mouth breathing. These games are amazing any way you play them!!!
cool to see the marionettes mentioned, i leveled them up a little and they helped me a lot with many bosses mid game, since they're two and they keep kinda spread, the boss may target one, but the other will stay alive and last for a long time, the most fun moment was crossing that section of Stormveil castle with a ton of enemies, the marionettes would rain arrows everywhere and I only watched as the soldiers fell one by one
To anyone saying spirits are easy mode: I've played all the previous games and I'm playing this one with spirits and it's still a massively hard game. The game was clearly designed for you to have spirits, so some bosses are obnoxious without them. Playing without any spirits is there for the people that want to be even more hardcore. But some people are super insecure.
I can't tell you how relieved I am to see someone showcasing something using the EXACT SAME ENEMIES/BOSSES. I more definitively take your word for everything you explained because you actually did a good showcase vid.
I think the Raya lucaria soldier ashes should be a honorable mention. They have 2 standard sword guys and a greatsword knight. The knight uses those cuckoo glintstone shard items when at mid to long range so there's a ranged option and once they get to +5 they are pretty tanks and hit hard. I think the little guys throw the anti heal milk grenades too
for me it's the wolves. i'm lvl 70 and i still use em for alot of bosses. 3 wolves, extremely agressive, decent damage, always surround the enemy and pretty tanky even for mid game, and don't cost alot of fp. and they are the first you can get.
I did the same, but they just can’t hold up to close range heavy attacks well enough, and when you start having bosses inflict status effects close range (like rot) they literally can’t do anything. It was frustrating bc i had them upgraded the most but just had to stop using them. Broleg all day for now
Have you tried using war cry with Ogha yet? It's been said that using it beside him will make him use a special move that can only be done once per summon. I'm not personally sure if it works, but if I had him I would definitely give it a try.
Honestly the greatshield soldiers are my favorite summon for holding aggro on any single target non flying boss... they do suck on flying mobs like dragons
I agree. I think they're the best summon at that FP cost and below. They're really good against small and medium size bosses. It's like summoning 5 mini tanks. It's funny when they box in a target and take turns bashing them with their shields.
I'm glad for this addition to the souls series It really adds a sort of roleplaying aspect which these games (I feel) do pretty well You can run around with a viking that constantly shouts at enemies A pack of lone wolves that aren't actually line since there's like four of em Or even your own personal army if you have no friends but still want a pve gank squad
I just tested oleg vs 3 wolves. Interestingly wolves damage to bosses / large monsters were alteast 3 times better. 3 wolves constantly jump and stagger opponent while oleg in 1v1 scenario GETS staggered. Interesting list tho! I wanna get top2 summon.
Shocked not to see the "Nightmaiden and Swordstress" ashes here, my friends and I all concluded from our playthroughs that the duo are the 2nd best to use other than the mimic tear, and possibly the best if your build isn't good for mimics. DPS is great, they're deceptively tanky, and they don't cost that much. For a specific example, I had them at only +2 and they both survived for over 5 minutes against a slow fight against Astel, and at +3 they both survived for almost the entirety of the draconic tree sentinel fight.
Lmfao as a mage I know exactly what you mean when you say you watched your spirit get killed and the boss turn your way and the "oh sh*t" thought! Hasn't happened too much because I've been doing all the side stuff in each area and am pretty over leveled as I go but it doesn't stop me from having that thought regardless! Loved this video....guess I'm lucky I found headless early on and have been using her since.
Mimic tear with faith build, it has infinite FP, so it's ... unkillable, literally ... For real, i've seen time it goes low, i just throw a ligntning spear to catch aggro, and it heals to full in a second... Spam heal yourself a lot, and it seems to just heal anytime it has low hp... It can be dumb as hell and ignore mobs if you yourself are far from them (they walk towards you rather than fight if you're far, and sometimes they port to you directly), but it's insanely broken...
My current choice for Spirits vary between bosses but here are my current 5 I personally find useful (and why). 1.Lhutel The Headless is a Legendary Spirit in the form of a Mausoleum Knight who's great all round as a summon for multiple situations, and unlike a number of other ashes I've tried, she's able to dodge and block incoming damage while still being fast enough to catch up to a boss if they are b-lineing after me so I use her for a number of situations where there is simply too much going on to manege by myself (Like Astel's big gravity shower and Rennala being herself). She's amazing, if you have the MP to summon her that is. 2. The Shieldbearers of Nokron are invaluable against bosses that have no AOE as they straight up lock the boss in place, and because they have greatshields, if they are leveled up correctly almost nothing will get through to them directly and can defensive screen an entire room so long as nothing gets around them. 3. Mad Pumpkin Head is suprisingly good at tanking stuff, and can survive a decent amount of punishment before their posture is broken. In terms of surviving DIRECT damage as a single summon I haven't found a better spirit, though any form of AOE will knock him over for sure. 4.Giant Rats, while not particularly impressive are suprisingly nasty against enemies that require a lot of posture buildup or just have no poise whatsoever (its depressing to watch Leyndel Knights fend them off). Not costing anything to use, and being a hoard spirit make them useful, if not for the fact their AI appears to be bugged as they don't seem to fight bosses, and they aren't the most stalwart of options. Still, they can at least be used to examine a boss' patterns without spending anything valuable...assuming they get fixed. 5. Finger Maiden Therolina, while not the most powerful option for killing a boss, and not all that useful to my range orientend style, she has one saving grace...She hurts the hell out of Royal Revenants if you protect her long enough. Its worth it I swear.
My favorite in the late game are the nightsister and swordstress puppets. These two lasted through every boss fight so far while doing a lot of damage, and if one goes down, they swap into the dragonball franshise and fuse themselve in one bigger and stronger version
I dont think summoning Spirits are bad, i just think that as a whole they're too powerful. If some of my summons can single handedly carry me to the end of the game then you know theyre too OP. Especially ones like the mimic tear which can copy whatever OP setup you put together Personally ill probably just not upgrade them all the way for my own personal balancing
They're not too OP, theyre working as intended. Who cares if theyre OP? You souls fanboys are some whiney chumps, just dont use it then. Dont ruin the game experience for others just joining. Nerd
Mimic tear consuming HP instead of FP is actually a huge advantage. You dont need to invest on mind because every build has the hp for it. Also, stacks with your own status effects like bleed, frost, etc.
Mimic tip- make the perfume bottle that turns you into iron and the one that raises all your defense put them in your equipped items and the mimic will use them making him almost invincible. Especially with the iron skin. I usually put rot grease there too. He rots them supper fast since they can't interrupt his attacks.
Mimic tear does not work for me because i'm a glass cannon! With all my buffs up i can kill most bosses before the music fully kicks in! Witch is why i dont know what dragon god phase 1 looks like since by the time he finished his intro roar i was 1 atk away (ran out of stamina) from the kill!
Tbh i dont think its divided at all. The souls community was a niche gaming community that honestly no one on the outside could understand why anyone would like it. Especially me, but now i can fully say that elden ring is more than likely my best game ever. I love everything, especially the summons and i think all the new thing they added is what brought people like me into the games this community loved. I just hope it doesnt get toxic and gate keepy, cause the game literally gives you the freedom to choose your difficulty and its not by sliders but the actual gameplay mechanics. So hopefully the people can stop hating and be happy that the company they've loved so much is getting their well deserved flowers.
I feel like the skeleton militiamen are underrated. Of course they aren't nearly as powerful as most of these summons, but they are insanely good at distracting. After they die, they respawn after a short time. They don't do much damage, but they can stay alive for an entire fight and distract very effectively.
I always use them early in the game, but they have big problems with things later in the game like dragon fire that floods the area and kills them permanently.
Still not very far into the game but I'm a big fan of the jellyfish. She's way tankier than the other spirits I have, and so far I've found there's a surprising number of bosses that are susceptible to poison. She was a big help against Margit and Godrick.
Spirits: Much needed for some. Completely optional for all. Helpful no matter what lol. I rarely have someone to play with for very long if at all on games like this and using spirits to help balances it out somewhat experience-wise so more people have the confidence needed to fight for the W instead of fearing the L.
I actually love the two skeleton spearmen. They don't do damage and they're fairly weak, but as long as you mix in your agro they can keep coming back to life. They aren't good alone but since they're skeletons they can't be killed unless their remains are hit in their reanimating state. As long as they aren't hit they come back to life and if you you mix in your attacks they can survive an entire boss encounter
No mention of jellyfish or rotten stays? I've had the rotten strays poison bosses and take them out almost all on their own. I don't think the tick damage ever actually wears off after it's applied. Great video, I'll be hunting some of these down.
@@SwanyPlaysGames the jelly is a really tanky spirit, he doesn't deal much damage but it can causes poison even at end game. Latenna the Albinauric is a really specif only summon, she dies in few seconds most of the time.
Early game the Hawk and demi-humans are very good. I used the Hawk for one on one and the demi's for crowd control. I am just now lvl 75 and maybe 60% thru the game and my go to summons is Oleg. He is my bro
I'm running a full plaguebearer build. Rot, Poison, Bleed, and Madness. The Feral Stray is the only summon I allow myself to use and it has great synergy with the rest of my build.
@@imethdup5050 yep, no doubt. I just like the idea of a stray rotten dog annoying the enemies. For things that fly or are annoying for my dog to get to, I use mimic. Just seems kind of cheap since it can solo a lot of bosses lol.
clearly sounds like you didn't test all of the spirits. cause nr2 by far are the 5 great shield skeletons, which stun lock literally through every boss while barely taking any damage
Honorable mention- the little guys with greatshields. They don't really do dmg but they can tank for you for a long time. There are 5 of them and almost impossible to guardbreak. The only downside is if they get hit from behind or by big aow attacks they can buy quickly
The mimic is just too op. If you're using a melee build, get 20 faith then put blackflame fireball and lord's heal on the mimic. It can deal pretty good damage, draw aggro constantly and won't ever die. Since the blackflame damage is % based it would melt bosses with huge health pool. Melee builds can also use dual wield katana for insane bleed dps. Add ice infusion on one katana if you aren't using a pure bleed build. There are more op things it can do like spamming high fp cost spells/incarnation, infinite stun locks with ultra greatsword. The only limitation is your creativity lol.
I have had some experiences with it's AI being a bit derp however. Like it trying to use a flask when it has none mid fight, or used a healing incantation twice in a row - at max health. And sometimes refusing to heal at low health. I do agree that overall it is insanely strong, just wanted to mention that I have a fair few instances of it doing jack shit aswell.
The final stretch I only carried Greyoll's Roar and Erdtree Heal. My mimic spammed the Roar that immediately weakend every boss and made their attacks not as bad. Made Elden Beast and Malenia an easier fight with the Falling Star Beast Jaw special attack
If you are a faith user the mimic can use healing spells - pretty much making it neigh unkillable... and it has your hotbar - so give it healing stones and star shards... and the thing that heals you but poisons you.
Here's the new Updated Video in Tier List form! ruclips.net/video/c-Mb1S1GSR4/видео.html
Hehehehaw
Mimic with rivers of blood build.
10. Ancestral Follower 63FP 2:37
9. Blackflame Monk Amon 115FP 4:32
8. Cleanrot Knight Finlay 127FP 5:46
7. Banished Knight Oleg 100FP 7:07
6. Ancient Dragon Knight Kristoff 108FP 8:34
5. Lhutel the Headless 104FP 9:47
4. Redmane Knight Ogha 106FP 10:51
3. Mausoleum Soldier 75FP 12:14
2. Black Knife Tiche 132FP 13:53
Others: Marionette Soldier, Vulgar Militia, Radahn Soldier, Bloodhound Knight Floh 15:39
1. Mimic Tear 660HP 16:45
hero
Nice one. Cheers man.
I wish I saw this before skipping back and forth through the whole thing, trying not to spoil too much. I wanted to see if the wolves were on the list and no. I've already them behind for the marionettes and the demo-humans.
thank you fellow tarnished
Thank you
Fun fact: give your mimic the triple shot crossbow with rot tips, he won't run out of ammo and will keep the boss rotted up even through multiple phases
What's that crossbow called pls?
@@Blueissuperior Pulley Crossbow, the rot bolts are called rotbone, you get the book to craft them from a merchant next to the south caelid map thing
@@zontafer1201 thanks
How do you give him the bow?
@@TheOnlyUmagon just equip the bow and arrow s when you summon him… then switch back
Pro-tip: The tear for your Wondrous Flask that removes all FP costs for a few seconds can be used to summon any Spirit Ash regardless of Mind/FP.
Do you know where to get this tear ?
@@RobsRemixes erdtree under volcano manor i think
That IS a pro tip. . . wow.
My man! Now that is what I call a godlike tip. Thank you.
A lot of people don’t know this too but if you use the art of war: War cry, with Ogha the red mane knight they will do the crazy rain of arrows on the enemy but only once per summon. (I know this says this on the spirit on itself but it can be missed)
I didn’t know that was how you activated his raining arrow attack thanks
Yeah I read that in his description too! Looking forward to it when I start messing with that spirit.
The nightsister and swordstress are pretty badass and I'd recommend anyone give em a try. They have a ton of hp and although they don't do a ton of damage they make up for it in utility. The swordstress will barely ever get hit cause she stays back and hits people with her shotel whip from a mile away, it also constantly staggers enemies. And the nightsister stuns enemies for like 6 seconds, she just walks up to them and pushes them over like a bully. I tell you there is nothing better than watching some dark priestess cat girl walk up and shove melania on the ground like she is going to take her lunch money.
Thats actually hilarious🤣 i need to try this and see for myself
Have them +7 and they got melted by commander Niall
@@realfnneato3111 damn, that's rough. I had them at +10 when I used them on him and I don't believe they died. Commander Nial hits like a truck though, especially if you stand in his frost aoe which AI seems to love to do so I don't doubt it lol.
@RealFNneatO yeah, for me I just don't want my summons being a total damage sponge and keep the boss distracted the entire fight. The games already easy enough imo
@@realfnneato3111 his damage is pretty insane though
Tip: Since the mimic tear uses your items as well, be aware of what you have on your bar. Sometimes it will spam items you really don't want it to, like warmth stones. Most importantly though, since spirits don't get poisoned, putting those healing flesh things that poison you when you use them gives the mimic tear 3 additional heals beyond the flask. :)
Is that even true after the the nerf?
@@virtueofabsolution7641 I know it wont flask anymore. I'm not sure about the raw meat thing or if you toss on a healing spell if it will use it.
@@virtueofabsolution7641 yeah I did it yesterday he does use them randomly though tossed like 4 of them under Melanias flower attack and solod her before she recovered
The skeletons are kind of nice, they have the potential to just keep on reviving if nothing attacks them while they're doing so, but their damage isn't all that great, and they greatly struggle against lingering hitboxes like flame breaths.
Edit: I should probably also mention they're very slow and don't have any ranged attacks, so they will struggle against bosses that move a lot, or fly or something, and large bosses because any movement they make moves their legs to the other side of the map
I like them for it, they feel strong but not broken. Just provide potentially repeating breathing room for boss fights
Is perfect to keep boss occupied, when they get kill i inmediatly go for heavy attacks to get aggro while the skeletons get up
Better then meat shield, they're bones sheild
I agree I basically used them until I got the Mimic Tear tbh
I've noticed, especially in boss fights, the enemies will try and finish the skeletons off immediately. Gotta swoop in and give them cover till they get up
For bosses that don’t have ridiculous hyper armour the Kaiden Sellsword is insane. I summoned him for the twin fight between Misbegotten Dude and Crucible Boy and we both just took turns charged heavying until the horse we were beating was mushed into the floor. Beautiful
Kaiden crew assemble! :D
Misbegotten Dude and Crucible Boy would be a great superhero/sidekick comic
I'm only in the mid game at the moment, but I've been loving the Skeletal Militia just for aggro holding purposes. The ability to endlessly resurrect can be extremely strong in certain circumstances
Bruh same those skelly boys have been clutch af at times
Where would I go about finding them? I'm a faith dex build and only a level 41 or so, but I would like something better than the wolves that I have been using for the most part...am willing to travel, grab and run.
@@whispersinthedark88 Defeat a Tibia Mariner boss in an undead village in Limgrave. Purple ghost paddling a boat around.
@@danabernathy6179 Oh ok I think I remember seeing him at some point, just to be sure there isn't more than one boss that looks like that is there? I thought I saw him on a pond/lake place. It would be my luck to go get my ass killed a bunch of times only to find out I finally killed the wrong guy....and then he wouldn't drop anything not even a damn rune..😆
@@whispersinthedark88 They drop from the mariner in Summonwater Village in Limgrave
I ended up using the Jellyfish against Astel Star of Darkness. All my melee summons died rather quickly. But the jellyfish survived the whole encounter and held aggro quite a lot.
I tried this and the jellyfish was awful. Easily one of the worst agaunst Astel for me.
@@rogerdodger1984
Maybe depends how much you have leveled it up. Mine was at max level that was available at the time. Probably level 7-8
I've used Latenna the Albinauric against both Astels. Worked like charm against these slow but hard to hit space-caterpillars. She showered them with magic arrows non-stop.
She is total niche but works great in large arenas
Can confirm, she just basically made the Margit fight a cakewalk. Not only did she make a good job at distracting him but she also poisoned him whoch made it even easier to kill him on the first try.
@@Maxikingallright93 Latenna is my favorite summon she can also take a bit of a beating
10- (2:38) Ancestral Follower
9- (4:36) Blackflame Monk
8- (5:49) Cleanrot Knight
7- (7:10) Banished Knight
6- (8:36) Ancient Dragon Knight
5- (9:47) Lhutel the Headless
4- (10:50) Redmane Knight
3- (12:15) Mausoleum Soldier
2- (13:53) Black Knife Tiche
Honourable Mentions- (15:41)
1- (16:45) Mimic Tear
As a mage, I can also recommend if you’re going for a relatively early-mid game summon, the Mad Pumpkin Head can take a LOT of damage and hold aggro; the only issue is that it doesn’t have that many ranged options and is pretty slow.
I'd recommend (can't remember the exact name) but the 5 greatshield soldiers. They soak up so much damage and aggro that if you're a ranged character you can get a LOT of heavy hits in
@@ljzmoore do you know where to get them?
@@MsKeylas Nokron. I got there really early after cheesing Radhan
@@ljzmoore ohh,ok. Thanks
His slowness has gotten me killed so many times that I only use him to facetank bs flying in front of me
Here's my top 10 hardest boss fights in Elden Ring Ranked video if you guys want to check that out next: ruclips.net/video/hfKGUR3v0m8/видео.html
Have you tested the talisman that makes you draw aggro constantly? I'm not sure how it works, but could be interesting to see if it takes away aggro from the ranged in boss fights.
Personally, I love the spirit ashes! It gives a way for people who play offline to get some extra help if they need it. I love the fact that they are all enemies you encounter in the game too. Now I can have the asshole on my team! Also, they really don't match up in power compared to the player so they really are just meant for backup.
you should try beating bosses without them and only use it as a last resort.
I see them more as both Irony, and unfulfilled vengence depending on who you use them against
It’s cool having enemy’s on your team but I think it would be cool if you could get a Blaidd spirit summon after his death
@sicthemutt no, the devs put them into the game for a reason. That's why there are a variety of them that excel in different types of combats and terrains.
I’ve used the great shield soldiers. They can tank really well. There’s like 5 of them and they all have shields. As they tank, I use comet azur and wreck most tough enemies lol
These guys replaced the skeleton bois for me, there's nothing better than watching 5 shield bois gank an enemy and preventing it from escaping
@@bofuribofur3782 yup lol
Is that the actual name of the ashes?
@@iseeu-fp9po Greatshield Soldier Ashes, you get it from Nokron
Shocked the Greatshield Soldiers weren't mentioned at all. I've seen a different compilation video of summons vs a single boss. These did the best of all of them as far as both damage and durability, and I imagine they'd be decent with groups of enemies as well. Too many single summons in his list, in my opinion.
Agreed, mine are +4 at the moment and are pretty solid
This video is ranking the strongest spirits and not the strongest bullies on the playground that gang up 5 on 1
@@malogor2127 - In my opinion, part of what makes a spirit summon "top 10" material is its ability to do damage and survive. Who cares if it's 5 on 1 if it did the job best? I think you missed the point of the video. It's clearly about "best" summons, not the "strongest" summons.
Against enemies with large aoe they die very fast..
@@navdragoni yes this is true however sometimes 3 or 2 of mine are farther back throwing spells or just guarding so they last a bit for me to do some damage
Tip for Mimic Tear: Adapt it to the fight you need. If you need a tank, equip heavy armor and a shield, etc.
It also uses your equipped inventory itens without using charges, so have equipped the Perfume that buffs the Attack and Damage (it is an AoE buff and have a lasting aoe effect. So if it uses the perfume far from you, you can run close to the spores and get the effect.), Starlight, and other buffs, will allow it to be even stronger.
I've been using Latenna the Albinauric in certain situations. She's a magic arrow spamming turret. So if you can keep aggro and your nerve, she'll pelt the enemies!
Latenna is super underappreciated, in some situations is a S tier for sure.
I summuned Latenna instead of my mimic in a panic when I accidentally stumbled on the Fire Giant near the Forge. She sat on a rock hailing the Giant with arrows from great range and all I ad to do the whole fight was occasionally get some swings in to pull aggro and ride around on the horse. She basically single handedly took out the fire giant.
If you are a tanky build and dont mind being the aggro for your summon to dish the damage (normally it's the other way round with most other summons) then you are missing out on Latenna if you dont have her.
Bro she’s the best against dragons, i used her throughout my playthrough highly recommend
She's good to a point. She helped me wreck astel when I got there, she was +10, but starting in the snow areas she was dying way too fast for any boss, unfortunately. Useless agains all late game bosses. She lasted 5 seconds against Malenia.
@Thiago Navarro Dragoni she killed the fire giant badically on her own. In a large open room that you can keep aggro in, she's still awesome in late game.
I personally would not deploy her against malenia.
One thing that makes Ancestral Follower great for group fights is that, as enemies die, he gains health back! You'll see a red glow go into him as they cack it, the same type as you get when having the Red Assassin trinket equipped.
I think Oleg the banished should be ranked higher if only for the fact that he can completely shut down Malenia. He attacks so rapidly that he can regularly stun lock her
Just took me two tries and black knife tiche had her on the ground in both phases, I just stood back at a fair distance and spammed Ranni's Dark Moon.
@@Atakir1984 Cheesey
This. He took me the furthest among all my summons. Eventually helped me beat her, he just never lets up
Mimic tear + rivers of blood = ez mode
Personally I prefer Oleg against groups And the other banished, Engevall to bosses, he has stronger atacks And higher focus
Id probably say the best spirit (for me) is the Latenna albunauric bow one, she just deals tons of damage, she manages herself well to dodge, and pretty durable, she carried me through the whole elden ring
You should have mentioned the different behavior that some of the summons have. Redmane Knight, Radahn Soldiers and Bloodhound Knight all instantly start attacking without you having to draw agro first. They are very useful when you don't want to be the first into combat. I'm sure there are more but those are the only 3 that I know of that attack immediately after being summoned.
The skelly bois are really good for melee bosses. When they die they just revive cause the boss never finishes them off.
They'll die if the boss has Aoe though, like Godrick
In theory they're op, but in reality they will almost always get stuck in a combo and get killed while reviving
Garbage
Always happy to see my boy Oleg here. I use him a tooooooooon.
Decided to try the mausoleum soldiers (I'm a Faith/Dex) with some of the incantation buffs+aoe heals. Ooooohh myyyyy.
The twin Marionette Soldiers are fantastic early to mid game- I have never heard anyone talk about them yet
Cuz you do get them kinda late if you do story wise
I used them on my first playthrough into the endgame. It’s so satisfying watching gods get pumped full of arrows lol.
@@cameronwise-maas5610 ain't no way I'm beating the last boss might just send them in
I'm be honest I started summoning people left n right till I won
They wander away and don’t follow that’s been my issue with them
Lhutel the Headless for me. On with wiki, it's the only one rated God-tier. It has a huge health pool, it blocks everything with that great shield, it's basically the perfect companion. It has really good damage as well. If I let it, at +10 it can take on most bosses by self. It's one weakness is that it seems really susceptible to AoE attacks.
Compared to Finlay, what's your opinion?
"Aoe"?
@@iseeu-fp9po Area of Effect
@@Atakir1984 Thanks.
@@Atakir1984 Honestly, I haven't tried Finlay. I intend to do more testing, I just the Ghost Gloveworts just sitting in my inventory. I basically worked off the Wiki to kind of figure out how I wanted to solo the game. I got a little tired of cooping with people who just die right away and leave me to fight a boss with a much larger health pool than if I was by myself.
There are a couple others that are definitely worth mentioning:
The giant rat ashes - free to upgrade and cast, summons 5 at level 10, they also come out of the shadows instead of right beside you so they usually catch enemies off guard.
The skeletal militiamen - summons 2, decent damage, like other skeletons they resurrect with full health unless their body is killed.
Warhawk Deenh - Buffs your attack, flies so it usually stays out of range of enemies
Great to see someone else who appreciates Stormhawk Deenh, the rallying cry buff is so strong that if you're aggressive and good at a fight its arguably the best summon in the game
On a roleplaying perspective my go-to summons until endgame were the skellies from the Limgrave mariner. I even have my own headcanon backstory about them and as much as possible we end the boss fight all present. Besides, they embody the persistence I need to get through- you die, you rise and go at it again.
Probably the mimic tear is the only one that can actually assimilate an easy mode in the game, as a souls veteran I prefer fighting the bosses by myself, and I don’t think people are bad just because they use this summons to fight bosses , at the end of the Day is a mechanic from the game, and I actually had to use it against malenia , if it wasn’t for the mimic I’ll probably never beat her.
I've found for 90% of the bosses nox priestess and swordstress preform nearly same minus the bleed stacking etc. Just as tanky, and there's 2 of them, the whip one also has an easier time getting aggro than mimic most of the time
I definitely agree, I prefer fighting bosses alone, but I also will say running around the world with a buddy seems to be a lot more fun then solo.
However the mimic dose have a big weakness is it decides to be dumb grab attacks sometimes the mic just won’t move and get caught this is a problem since during grab animations boss are immune to damage
Yeah, mimic tear is complete ez mode. But other summons are good, they die pretty quick and dont do huge dmg. I summon them from time to time.
I went through 70% of the game without using ashes, I also had to use it for melaina , I’ve died more times to her than any other boss combined
Latenna js absolutely the best on many bosses that don't have ranged abilities and don't switch targets often. Insane dps and range.
I’ve been using Lhutel all game. She’s great for taking aggro while I use my spells. She never dies
Imps are op af. Its sad ppl dont know how to use them properly.
I've used the imps ever since i took them has a starting item.
They're like the mausoleum soldiers. They throw little bombs that will immediately grab a boss attention off you.
If you like going in and smashing a boss up front, the imps are the best distraction.
Imagine 2 6 year olds after a bag of sugar each.
Little side note for anyone who needs some help with the game.
Go to the round and get the faith spell heal. It'll heal a huge chunk of any one of your summons making them last significant longer. Also if your going a melee build. You can cast the golden vow which increases any companions abilities by about 20%.
I tried Lord's Heal on my Lhutel, but it only heals maybe 1/10 or less of her bar and is fairly expensive to cast. Probably better for the group summons since you could potentially heal all of them in one go.
Yes. You can also use Golden Vow as an Ash of War on a light weapon right hand (say a dagger) and a No Skill shield. Avoids the faith requirement and buffs you and your spirit or allies!
I love how you went from a shirtless dude with a club to what looks like Cruella Deville's twisted cousin. It's also nice to see the wide variety of Spirits and playstyles they accommodate in this game. While "souls" games aren't my thing, it's great to see a new title doing well and not be a complete trashfire.
The Marionette soldiers have been invaluable for me, especially against invisible assassin enemies. The Marionettes barrage of arrows helps you find them quickly, keeps them pinned down with suppressing fire, and if they get hit they go into their Futurama Killbot, "SOMEONE SAID HOWITZER!" mode just laying down that aoe of arrows.
Nice tip. Thanks.
There is a torch, the Sentinel Torch somewhere in the Capital, that is supposed to point out those that are invisible
@@electroeel148 I found that torch for sale from the Merchant in the Merchant's Shack near the graveyard in the Atlas Plateau. I discovered that after I had to face one of those assassins as a cave boss. It did come in handy for the one in the capitol though.
The mimic can be pretty inconsistent. I've had time where it's used my abilities to demolish bosses, and I've had time where it's just stood in lava and tried to poke stuff with a stick
So, perfectly mimicking what I usually do 😂
It mirrors you 😂
I had one that kept spamming a weapon art for no reason and I thought it was absolutely hilarious. Though I've had some wierd bugs occur with the mimic where it just disappears right after being summoned.
Lol I put erdtree heal on it and it literally spams it. I walk over get free max health and it never dies.I’m also pretty sure it scales with your health too. I remember summoning it against the boss that has the crazy anime sword and it died fairly quickly I went back with 60 vigor and it tanked the whole fight and kept healing in between.
Lol same.. but to be fair. I personally do that as well sometimes
I think all your viewers can relate to the moment when a boss has just ended your Spirit Ash, looks right at you, and you realize, as you noted, "how screwed [you] are." I'm glad to know I'm not the only one!
Thanks for your high quality content; it's both entertaining and informative. Thank you.
Mimic tear is absolutely insane providing you put certain weapon arts on it, equip warming stones, just absolutely insane possibilities, I'm looking forward to doing a complete no summon no ash of war playthrough though, I cheesed way too many bosses
The mimic is insane. So much fun to fight side by side with… myself!
Is it op?
@@babyyyz7948
Maybe a little OP but it’s so much fun. Sometimes I won’t use it if I want more of a challenge.
@@babyyyz7948 ye it is pretty much ez mode.
Nice thanks I’m gonna use it then game is very hard for me 😅 since it’s my first souls series
@@babyyyz7948 hahaha np. yeah it’s rough dude. Once you get good at it and become experienced you can not stop playing. That goes for any souls game.
“Boss killed my spirit then the boss look at me then I realized how screwed I was”. This is so true. 😂
I don't consider it cheating. I just find it very satisfying to get the ennemies you defeated as companions, and to have access to such a variety. Mimic tear is the only one that could legitimately be considered overpowered.
And Tiche. And dung eater.
Although it’s a bit harder to obtain and cost 106 fp one of the best summons i found is the crystalian. She has many attacks and has reduced slash damage so she’s very tank against tough bosses.
Surprised it took so long to find someone mention her! She’s basically invincible! It’s not just slash damage she resists too- all physical damage is VERY heavily reduced except strike damage. I basically never need to fight an enemy alone bc of her
i really loved the undead spearmen in my run, they dont do any damage but they just constantly revive themselves, which kind of makes them the best tank spirits
Surprised latenna wasn't on this list. She's great in giant boss rooms where you can park her in a corner and all you have to do is hold aggro and she will fire volleys of arrows. Great against dragons
She is very fragile though. Redmane Knight Ogha has plenty range and is bit tankier I think.
Latenna Carry me through entire boss in nokron, she is a great ashes you have in early-mid game. She can shoot from the corner of the boss chamber like a charm. Downside is, she cant walk lol
In this video the summoner did not tank. Therefor latenna would just outright die there.
@@webuser2014 yea I play a tanky paladin so she did wonders for me.
Latenna has been my favorite. She dishes out a LOT of damage if you can keep her safe.
The headless knight is the best for me. They can literally tank Malenia and her stupid combo. I don’t think I would’ve beaten Malenia so easily without them.
Don’t reward your self for defeating a boss with summons.
@@limbokillah1397 don’t stroke your ego too hard by being an elitist who brags because he didn’t use an intended game mechanic. Some people beat the whole game with their fists and without leveling up. That’s fine. Self imposed challenges are fine. But don’t act like a player isn’t good just because they used an intended game mechanic. If you beat every boss without summons, good for you. I’m proud of you. Yeah I guess maybe you’re better than me. But no need to shame anyone for using a mechanic that the devs put into the game and clearly expected people to use. The summon ashes are a big part of the game. As long as someone isn’t hacking, it doesn’t matter how they beat a boss. We are all fans just trying to enjoy a game. Let’s not pit ourselves against one another and act elitist all because we choose to play the game in different ways, ya know? Let’s just all enjoy it how we want to enjoy it and encourage one another to have a good time, regardless of play style. I see so much toxicity in regards to things like summoning and sorcery and stuff and it’s so silly. No need to degrade people for choosing a different play style than you. If it’s a mechanic in the game then it’s a viable strategy. Feel free to brag if you beat the game without summons but don’t put people down who do use them
@@limbokillah1397 i can do whatever I want. Go back to dwelling in your mom’s basement
@@codypavy as a dark souls vet this was very well said and I support this fully
@@limbokillah1397 lol get a life man
I like those small imp guys with fireballs and staff that are spinnin around when I fight vs lot of enemies, and for bosses I just love Kaiden and Pumpkin Head, but Kaiden Sellsworn is my boy :D
Pumpkin Head Isa beast of a tank, but he is so slow!
I knew the kaiden warrior would be super aggressive so I upgraded him and he didn't disappoint.
@@themagnus2919 my kaiden warrior misses almost every hit on bosses other than the hella slow ones
Peakpunpun
Thanks. I can't put this game down. Easy game of the year contender.
It’s definitely in my top 3 of my life.
3. Elden ring
2. Witcher 3
1. Echo the dolphin.
😂
I agree with numbers 3 and 2 but not on echo
You know nothin' Jon Snow
They nerfed Mimic Tear as of today (March 17th) www.bandainamcoent.com/news/elden-ring-patch-notes-v1-03
It's still insanely strong, and arguably better with upgraded AI.
I just need the mimic to distract the boss enough for me to kill, it should still be fine at +10 lol.
Feels fair. Mimic Tear made every other summon feel PRACTICALLY pointless before...
Not just nerfed, lobotomized. They made it so dumb.
@@ShiningDarknes clearly havent used it. It actually is smarter than before. Youre wrong.
If you want a fun one, do Dung Eater and Seluvis' quests. First get the potion from Seluvis, now complete Dung Eater's questline. When you get to Dung Eater in the gaol for the 2nd time give him the potion instead of the seedbed curse. Now go back to Seluvis and speak to him, he'll thank you for drugging "Nepheli." Now grab starlight shards, find his puppet room and read the message in there. Go back to Seluvis and talk to him about his puppet room, now he'll let you buy puppets. Buy Dung Eater for five Shards and you can now summon him whenever. He's not the best summon, but he's decently tanky, very aggressive, and his sword does bleed which adds up over time if a boss stays aggroed to you.
I think Mimic Tear is god tier at +10, it can tank damage that would one shot me. He also deals decent damage depending on what playstyle you give it before summoning. I leveled up Faith to 50 and use the dragon seal, he does really good damage to hard bosses
If you have faith build he can benefit from your buff spells too
It is known as ez mod yeah
I've been rocking with the Ancestral Follower for the exact reasons you listed. He's my boy, and I'll ride or die with him straight into the Erd Tree.
I have a soft spot for the Marionette Summon. Theyre not very tanky at all but I like thinking of them like the Elden Ring version of a Sentry Turret. They just stand in their spot and unload the clip on bosses😂
They can do some sneaky high damage over time with how many Arrows theyll unload on a boss, i wouldnt say theyre very good against Bosses that are very Dodge happy but if you can keep a bosses Agro then they will thrive
same and if the boss hits the marionette he shots very fast at the moment
As a note with the new "nerfed" mimic, you do not want to have a great shield equipped before summoning it or it'll stay on a passive stance and won't engage with the boss unless provoked. Keep the weapon/spells you want it to use the most on yourself before summoning, then swap back to your normal gear/weapons. As an experiment i summoned it for Astel (second version) and he would just stand in the middle of the room with his shield up, merely yards away from the action but would not engage even when his life depended on it.
If you need ranged support, same deal, equip yourself with the ranged weapon of your choice and then swap back after summoning.
I will never understand the backlash “hardcore” souls players give to those who use IN-GAME mechanics to help themselves. Why do they even care? It’s like you don’t truly beat the game if you, “Use a summons or spirit ashes or a shield or the dodge button or if you moved out of your mom’s basement or if you’ve ever gone on a date or if you can’t parry or if you used a guide or…” I’m sure you get it, but I could go on all day. If you’re new to the series, just have fun and ignore all the meaningless mouth breathing. These games are amazing any way you play them!!!
cool to see the marionettes mentioned, i leveled them up a little and they helped me a lot with many bosses mid game, since they're two and they keep kinda spread, the boss may target one, but the other will stay alive and last for a long time, the most fun moment was crossing that section of Stormveil castle with a ton of enemies, the marionettes would rain arrows everywhere and I only watched as the soldiers fell one by one
To anyone saying spirits are easy mode: I've played all the previous games and I'm playing this one with spirits and it's still a massively hard game. The game was clearly designed for you to have spirits, so some bosses are obnoxious without them.
Playing without any spirits is there for the people that want to be even more hardcore.
But some people are super insecure.
I can't tell you how relieved I am to see someone showcasing something using the EXACT SAME ENEMIES/BOSSES. I more definitively take your word for everything you explained because you actually did a good showcase vid.
Glad I could help! I did a lot of behind the scenes testing too but I wanted the exact same test for everyone so it would be equal.
You can actually have meats equipped when you summon your mimic and it heals itself that way also
I think the Raya lucaria soldier ashes should be a honorable mention. They have 2 standard sword guys and a greatsword knight. The knight uses those cuckoo glintstone shard items when at mid to long range so there's a ranged option and once they get to +5 they are pretty tanks and hit hard. I think the little guys throw the anti heal milk grenades too
for me it's the wolves. i'm lvl 70 and i still use em for alot of bosses. 3 wolves, extremely agressive, decent damage, always surround the enemy and pretty tanky even for mid game, and don't cost alot of fp. and they are the first you can get.
I did the same, but they just can’t hold up to close range heavy attacks well enough, and when you start having bosses inflict status effects close range (like rot) they literally can’t do anything. It was frustrating bc i had them upgraded the most but just had to stop using them. Broleg all day for now
Have you tried using war cry with Ogha yet? It's been said that using it beside him will make him use a special move that can only be done once per summon. I'm not personally sure if it works, but if I had him I would definitely give it a try.
Honestly the greatshield soldiers are my favorite summon for holding aggro on any single target non flying boss... they do suck on flying mobs like dragons
I agree. I think they're the best summon at that FP cost and below. They're really good against small and medium size bosses. It's like summoning 5 mini tanks. It's funny when they box in a target and take turns bashing them with their shields.
I'm glad for this addition to the souls series
It really adds a sort of roleplaying aspect which these games (I feel) do pretty well
You can run around with a viking that constantly shouts at enemies
A pack of lone wolves that aren't actually line since there's like four of em
Or even your own personal army if you have no friends but still want a pve gank squad
I just tested oleg vs 3 wolves. Interestingly wolves damage to bosses / large monsters were alteast 3 times better. 3 wolves constantly jump and stagger opponent while oleg in 1v1 scenario GETS staggered. Interesting list tho! I wanna get top2 summon.
wolves are great, but they can die fast against bosses and monsters with large aoes that don't get stagger easily.
@@benjaminthibieroz4155 totally true!
I’m glad we have the same play style time to subscribe
Shocked not to see the "Nightmaiden and Swordstress" ashes here, my friends and I all concluded from our playthroughs that the duo are the 2nd best to use other than the mimic tear, and possibly the best if your build isn't good for mimics. DPS is great, they're deceptively tanky, and they don't cost that much.
For a specific example, I had them at only +2 and they both survived for over 5 minutes against a slow fight against Astel, and at +3 they both survived for almost the entirety of the draconic tree sentinel fight.
Lmfao as a mage I know exactly what you mean when you say you watched your spirit get killed and the boss turn your way and the "oh sh*t" thought!
Hasn't happened too much because I've been doing all the side stuff in each area and am pretty over leveled as I go but it doesn't stop me from having that thought regardless! Loved this video....guess I'm lucky I found headless early on and have been using her since.
I never thought about healing on the mimic. That sounds op.
Oh it is it never dies lol.
Not only that but Mimic also doesn't run out of FP so it can spam ashes of war or spells endlessly
3/26/22 ranked at +10
#1 Mimic tear ashes at
#2 Cleanrot Knight Finlay
#3 Nightmaiden & Swordstress Puppets
Or Depraved Perfumer Carmaan
#4 Lhutel the Headless
#5 Omenkiller Rollo
#6 Black Knife Tiche
#7 Banished Knight Oleg
#8 Banished Knight Engvall
#9 Stormhawk Deenh
#10 Greatshield Soldier
Mimic tear with faith build, it has infinite FP, so it's ... unkillable, literally ...
For real, i've seen time it goes low, i just throw a ligntning spear to catch aggro, and it heals to full in a second... Spam heal yourself a lot, and it seems to just heal anytime it has low hp...
It can be dumb as hell and ignore mobs if you yourself are far from them (they walk towards you rather than fight if you're far, and sometimes they port to you directly), but it's insanely broken...
clicked on th evideo without even knowing it was you Swany! Love that youre playing this too!
after i got mimic, i never look at other summons.
but before i got mimic i got carried by oleg and luthel.
My current choice for Spirits vary between bosses but here are my current 5 I personally find useful (and why).
1.Lhutel The Headless is a Legendary Spirit in the form of a Mausoleum Knight who's great all round as a summon for multiple situations, and unlike a number of other ashes I've tried, she's able to dodge and block incoming damage while still being fast enough to catch up to a boss if they are b-lineing after me so I use her for a number of situations where there is simply too much going on to manege by myself (Like Astel's big gravity shower and Rennala being herself). She's amazing, if you have the MP to summon her that is.
2. The Shieldbearers of Nokron are invaluable against bosses that have no AOE as they straight up lock the boss in place, and because they have greatshields, if they are leveled up correctly almost nothing will get through to them directly and can defensive screen an entire room so long as nothing gets around them.
3. Mad Pumpkin Head is suprisingly good at tanking stuff, and can survive a decent amount of punishment before their posture is broken. In terms of surviving DIRECT damage as a single summon I haven't found a better spirit, though any form of AOE will knock him over for sure.
4.Giant Rats, while not particularly impressive are suprisingly nasty against enemies that require a lot of posture buildup or just have no poise whatsoever (its depressing to watch Leyndel Knights fend them off). Not costing anything to use, and being a hoard spirit make them useful, if not for the fact their AI appears to be bugged as they don't seem to fight bosses, and they aren't the most stalwart of options. Still, they can at least be used to examine a boss' patterns without spending anything valuable...assuming they get fixed.
5. Finger Maiden Therolina, while not the most powerful option for killing a boss, and not all that useful to my range orientend style, she has one saving grace...She hurts the hell out of Royal Revenants if you protect her long enough. Its worth it I swear.
Can confirm. Oleg let me win fights I did not deserve to win.
My favorite in the late game are the nightsister and swordstress puppets. These two lasted through every boss fight so far while doing a lot of damage, and if one goes down, they swap into the dragonball franshise and fuse themselve in one bigger and stronger version
I dont think summoning Spirits are bad, i just think that as a whole they're too powerful.
If some of my summons can single handedly carry me to the end of the game then you know theyre too OP. Especially ones like the mimic tear which can copy whatever OP setup you put together
Personally ill probably just not upgrade them all the way for my own personal balancing
You do that.
They're not too OP, theyre working as intended. Who cares if theyre OP? You souls fanboys are some whiney chumps, just dont use it then. Dont ruin the game experience for others just joining. Nerd
Mimic tear consuming HP instead of FP is actually a huge advantage. You dont need to invest on mind because every build has the hp for it. Also, stacks with your own status effects like bleed, frost, etc.
The jellyfish is the best boss spirit IMO. Great tank, inflicts poison (which counter stacks with bleed), and pulls aggro very well
Mimic tip- make the perfume bottle that turns you into iron and the one that raises all your defense put them in your equipped items and the mimic will use them making him almost invincible. Especially with the iron skin. I usually put rot grease there too. He rots them supper fast since they can't interrupt his attacks.
Mimic tear does not work for me because i'm a glass cannon! With all my buffs up i can kill most bosses before the music fully kicks in! Witch is why i dont know what dragon god phase 1 looks like since by the time he finished his intro roar i was 1 atk away (ran out of stamina) from the kill!
Tbh i dont think its divided at all. The souls community was a niche gaming community that honestly no one on the outside could understand why anyone would like it. Especially me, but now i can fully say that elden ring is more than likely my best game ever. I love everything, especially the summons and i think all the new thing they added is what brought people like me into the games this community loved. I just hope it doesnt get toxic and gate keepy, cause the game literally gives you the freedom to choose your difficulty and its not by sliders but the actual gameplay mechanics. So hopefully the people can stop hating and be happy that the company they've loved so much is getting their well deserved flowers.
I still dont understand why can we not summon prior to entering a boss fog. You summon co-op prior to fog so why cant I summon and then enter🤷
I feel like the skeleton militiamen are underrated. Of course they aren't nearly as powerful as most of these summons, but they are insanely good at distracting. After they die, they respawn after a short time. They don't do much damage, but they can stay alive for an entire fight and distract very effectively.
I always use them early in the game, but they have big problems with things later in the game like dragon fire that floods the area and kills them permanently.
Still not very far into the game but I'm a big fan of the jellyfish. She's way tankier than the other spirits I have, and so far I've found there's a surprising number of bosses that are susceptible to poison. She was a big help against Margit and Godrick.
Tank is key cause you can kite and backstab etc without dying. I'll do all the damage, thanks, I just need a distraction!
As a sorcerer, I ended up using either: BK Tiche, Oleg, or the Mausoleum Soldiers.
The Mausoleum Soldiers are the best distraction.
Nice I'm getting them right know! 👍
Spirits:
Much needed for some.
Completely optional for all.
Helpful no matter what lol.
I rarely have someone to play with for very long if at all on games like this and using spirits to help balances it out somewhat experience-wise so more people have the confidence needed to fight for the W instead of fearing the L.
I actually love the two skeleton spearmen. They don't do damage and they're fairly weak, but as long as you mix in your agro they can keep coming back to life. They aren't good alone but since they're skeletons they can't be killed unless their remains are hit in their reanimating state. As long as they aren't hit they come back to life and if you you mix in your attacks they can survive an entire boss encounter
Low level they're so good in places where bosses will just one shot any summons immediately.
@@ronankelly6393 I know lol, I took those skeleton spearmen to +10 and they helped me beat the final boss. Truly OP in the lowest sense of the word.
No mention of jellyfish or rotten stays? I've had the rotten strays poison bosses and take them out almost all on their own. I don't think the tick damage ever actually wears off after it's applied. Great video, I'll be hunting some of these down.
The jelly just wasn't doing much for me in my testing. Thanks!
@@SwanyPlaysGames the jelly is a really tanky spirit, he doesn't deal much damage but it can causes poison even at end game. Latenna the Albinauric is a really specif only summon, she dies in few seconds most of the time.
@@saporob true, it can take a lot of damage. The best spirit for the hardest boss fights.
@@saporob Jelly is female. She's got a name too.
Early game the Hawk and demi-humans are very good. I used the Hawk for one on one and the demi's for crowd control. I am just now lvl 75 and maybe 60% thru the game and my go to summons is Oleg. He is my bro
I’m surprised the Feral Stray didn’t get an honorable mention since his rot ability can decimate a boss’ health.
I think it might be because you can usually proc that yourself
By the time I got the ash I already had dragonrot and that is a much easier way to proc it
I'm running a full plaguebearer build. Rot, Poison, Bleed, and Madness. The Feral Stray is the only summon I allow myself to use and it has great synergy with the rest of my build.
@@Away4Ever mimic tear would be useful to that build as well, essentially doubles all your procs based on what it choses to do massive hp decent dmg
@@imethdup5050 yep, no doubt. I just like the idea of a stray rotten dog annoying the enemies. For things that fly or are annoying for my dog to get to, I use mimic. Just seems kind of cheap since it can solo a lot of bosses lol.
Cleanrot knight Finlay is a woman, And something of a legend in the lore.
I don't really like Luthel because it seems that he sometimes loses the mob aggro when he blinks away, and the mobs turn on you
Stormhawk Deenh has always been my go-to. He may not be the best, but fighting with my own pet hawk is always fun.
clearly sounds like you didn't test all of the spirits. cause nr2 by far are the 5 great shield skeletons, which stun lock literally through every boss while barely taking any damage
Honorable mention- the little guys with greatshields. They don't really do dmg but they can tank for you for a long time. There are 5 of them and almost impossible to guardbreak. The only downside is if they get hit from behind or by big aow attacks they can buy quickly
The mimic is just too op.
If you're using a melee build, get 20 faith then put blackflame fireball and lord's heal on the mimic. It can deal pretty good damage, draw aggro constantly and won't ever die. Since the blackflame damage is % based it would melt bosses with huge health pool.
Melee builds can also use dual wield katana for insane bleed dps. Add ice infusion on one katana if you aren't using a pure bleed build.
There are more op things it can do like spamming high fp cost spells/incarnation, infinite stun locks with ultra greatsword. The only limitation is your creativity lol.
I have had some experiences with it's AI being a bit derp however. Like it trying to use a flask when it has none mid fight, or used a healing incantation twice in a row - at max health. And sometimes refusing to heal at low health.
I do agree that overall it is insanely strong, just wanted to mention that I have a fair few instances of it doing jack shit aswell.
@@TheUchiha997 how do I do bleed build? I’m using moonveil I’m new to elden. Ring
hunh, I did not know black flame was percent based. That might make me use it more now.
The final stretch I only carried Greyoll's Roar and Erdtree Heal. My mimic spammed the Roar that immediately weakend every boss and made their attacks not as bad. Made Elden Beast and Malenia an easier fight with the Falling Star Beast Jaw special attack
I’m lvl 105 and I’ve barely explored the castle so far. I’m about to F Godrick so bad
Eh yo 😳
If you are a faith user the mimic can use healing spells - pretty much making it neigh unkillable... and it has your hotbar - so give it healing stones and star shards... and the thing that heals you but poisons you.
It also has unlimited FP casting for things like Ancient Dragon Lightning Strike and Blasphemous Blade weapon art.