Summon Spirits to Help You in Battle in 'Elden Ring'

FromSoftware's latest title Elden Ring has attracted an entirely new audience in addition to the Dark Souls veterans who gravitate toward its other titles. That said, some new players have been struggling to get into the game.

While we have a guide for what to do during your first hour of Elden Ring, there are some other aspects that can also be tricky. Here's how to summon spirits (and how it can help you in battle).

First things first, before you can summon creatures to assist you in fights, you'll have to unlock the ability. You may find spirits you can pick up early on in the game (depending on what direction you go when you first enter Limgrave), but you can't actually use any of them until you get the Spirit Calling Bell.

To do this, you'll first have to meet Melina at a Site of Grace, where she'll grant you access to your horse, Torrent.

Once you have your horse, you'll have to backpedal just a bit to find the Site of Grace at Church of Elleh. (There's a merchant near this site, so look for him.) Be sure to visit this site at night if you want to unlock the Spirit Calling Bell.

If you follow these directions, you should find Renna the Witch leaning against a wall. She'll gift you with the Spirit Calling Bell and the Lone Wolf Ashes, which allow you to call the spirits of three wolves in battle.

From here, summoning the spirits during a particularly difficult battle is actually incredibly easy. Put whatever Spirit Ashes you wish to use in battle into a slot (any slot will do), and then look for a little glowing gravestone in the bottom left corner of the screen while in battle. When this appears, it means that you can summon the spirits to attack your enemy.

Summoning spirits will, understandably, cost you FP (which is the bar in between your health and stamina that indicates your magic stamina), so you can only use it when you're not depleted. Be sure to keep an eye on your FP bar while in battle before doing so. After summoning spirits in battle, you'll also have to recharge at a Site of Grace before doing it again.

Elden Ring is now available on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.