Life Lessons: Shadow of the Erdtree’s Best New Spells Explained, and How Best to Play With Them

Arise, ye Tarnished! With just about 34 hours left to the release of Elden Ring’s new DLC expansion Shadow of the Erdtree at the time of writing, players all over the world are eagerly watching the timer on their consoles countdown the hours, minutes, and seconds to the release of what is set to be FromSoftware’s most ambitious expansion yet.

The new expansion has a lot to offer, be it answers about the demigod Miquella’s prominent absence from the main game, new weapons to flesh out your builds, new armor for the EldenBling subreddit, new enemies and bosses, and new Spells and Incantations for your Tarnished to unleash on any unfortunate souls who challenge them.

Recreating the Magic of the Lands Between

With many reviewers pointing out that the new DLC is more of Elden Ring even as it brings new mechanics and ideas to the table, it is clear that your time in the Land of Shadow is bound to change your approach to combat in the game. We cannot wait to fine-tune our builds, making the most out of the Dryleaf Arts and Reverse-handed Swords to take the fight to our enemies.

SUGGESTED: Life Lessons: Shadow of the Erdtree’s Best New Weapons Explained, and How Best to Play With Them Part 1

Another bunch of things we would love to try out are the new Spells and Incantations that seem to make meaningful changes to the game while offering up different options for different playstyles. Mage or Sorcerer builds are the go-to options for players who found a melee-focused playstyle too challenging and it looks like there are many new ways to inflict damage from afar, and have a few new defensive tricks up your sleeve too!

Life Lessons: Shadow of the Erdtree’s Best New Spells Explained, and How Best to Play With Them

If the previews from the recent Red Bull Levels event was anything to go by, your Tarnished is sure to pick up some new Spells quite early on in the Land of Shadow. The new Spells build on existing abilities in the main game in meaningful ways, touching upon powers that you may have seen enemies in the Lands Between use while introducing some interesting variations on Spells of your own.

SUGGESTED: Life Lessons: Shadow of the Erdtree’s Best New Weapons Explained, and How Best to Play With Them Part 2

Take the Roar of Rugalea, for instance. Unleashing this Spell sees your Tarnished let out a primal scream, channeling the head of a Red Bear to knock back your enemies while dealing a lot of damage. It is a great balance between offense and defense that you can use in a pinch to throw enemies off cliff edges or stagger them for a critical strike if their Poise is low.

The Divine Bird Feathers is a brand-new addition to your roster of abilities in which your Tarnished spreads their arms wide, bringing them together to unleash a barrage of projectiles that have excellent range and hit multiple times for a lot of damage and stagger potential. It can be a great addition to build using the new Light Greatsword or Smithscript Weapons, allowing you to create some space and plan your next move in the heat of battle.

For fans of the Bolt of Gransax, the Knight’s Lightning Spear is an interesting take on the weapon’s Ancient Lightning Spear Ash of War. Your Tarnished charges up a giant bolt of lightning with additional smaller bolts forming up in a circle before releasing them at your target all at once for a lot of damage and lightning elemental build-up. It is a great option to use from range, and may even be an effective substitute for a Bow or Crossbow from your current build if you can play it right.

The Gravitational Missile is a brand-new Spell that lets you channel your inner General Radahn to unleash a missile at medium-range that travels slowly towards your target, lingers for a little while before unleashing two waves, one that pulls enemies to its epicenter before unleashing an explosive outward wave that pushes them in different directions. It can be great for enemies with low Poise and crowds, allowing you to control space and create the scope for powerful follow-ups from weapons like the Great Katana.

For those who rely on the Bloodhound Step to bring a bit of Bloodborne‘s dodge mechanics to Elden Ring, Miriam’s Vanishing lets you achieve the same results but without having to spend any FP to do so! It’s a great new addition that can let Intelligence and Faith builds gain the upper hand from a defensive perspective, easily phasing through some of the new bosses’ deadlier attacks with ease.

Finally, the Glintstone Nails build on the Glintstone spells in the main game, creating projectiles that zig-zag around in the air as they make their way to their target. They can be a huge advantage in both PvP and PvE encounters, with their ability to catch opponents trying to roll away with ease. This spell is sure to elevate your fights against human opponents and make those multiplayer sessions all the more fun.

Do remember that your current build may not have the stats you need to equip and use these spells, although that’s easily remedied by respeccing your character to create a new build that gets the most out of them. Do check out our coverage of all things in Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree as we make our way to the Land of Shadow, and let out detailed guides make your time with this new and mysterious world as fun as it can possible be!