Content Type: Gaming News
Date: January 10, 2022
With just over a month to go until Elden Ring releases, fans have had little to do besides speculate and argue about lore leaks — that is, until dataminers figured out how to peek inside the Network Test that occurred last November. Some interesting information has come from the datamining, though much of it is hearsay. Still, until the game releases, it’s all we’ve got to work with.
One thing that caught my eye was the list of Elden Ring weapon classes. In particular, it appears as though there are only two spellcasting item types: Glintstone Staffs and Sacred Seals. We know from the network test that the staffs are used to cast Sorceries (spells that require Intelligence) and the seals are for Incantations (which require Faith). Pyromancies seem to have been merged with Miracles for Elden Ring, as Incantations include healing spells like
Urgent Heal as well as fiery options like O, Flame!

This merging of spell types will certainly simplify builds, but personally I’m bummed that there will likely be less overall options for spellcasting items. In Dark Souls 3, sacred chimes and talismans offered interesting choices for spellcasting, and the different categories of spellcasting item allowed for a wider variety of builds.
To be fair, Elden Ring seems like it will encourage battle-mage builds more than previous titles, so perhaps that will make up for the lack of choices when it comes to how you cast your spells. There’s also the fact that this is a datamined leak, and it’s possible that more spellcasting items will be in the game come release.
Will you miss pyromancy flames if they don’t show up in Elden Ring? Do you think spellcasting has been and always will be ez-mode anyway? Let us know in the comments!
Did you forget about the weapons that aren’t staffs or catalysts in DS3 that cast spells? Imolation tinder? Clerics candlestick? Demon scar? These are all classed as their respective weapons (halberd, curved sword, dagger) um.. you have played the game right?
I think that with it having half the spellcasting item categories DS3 did, it’s still fair to say that Elden Ring “may” have fewer spellcasting weapons than DS3. There were 6 weapons that served as spellcasting tools in DS3, while (excepting the Pyro flame) each of the spellcasting item categories had 6+ options.