Best Elden Ring DLC Spirit Ashes and locations

Here are some of the best summons to pick up in Shadow of the Erdtree.

An Elden Ring Tarnished standing in Darklight Catacombs - 1 Josh Broadwell avatar - 2

UPDATE: We have added Black Knight Captain Huw, Horned Knight, and Fire Knight Hilde to this list of the best Shadow of the Erdtree Spirit Ashes.

Picking up the best Elden Ring DLC Spirit Ash summons gives you a fighting chance against some of the toughest Shadow of the Erdtree enemies. Most of the top-tier ones are tied to Elden Ring’s new NPC quests , but you can find a few high-performing ashes scattered around the Land of Shadow as well.

Our Elden Ring DLC Spirit Ash summons list lays out our picks for the best summons in the DLC expansion and how to get them.

If you’re looking for some base game setups, head over to our vanilla Elden Ring spirit ashes and best armor picks .

  • Swordhand of Night Jolan
  • Jolan and Anna Puppets
  • Taylew the Golem Smith
  • Demi-Human Swordsman Yosh
  • Fire Knight Queelign
  • Ancient Dragon Florissax
  • Inquisitor Ashes
  • Messmer Soldiers Ashes
  • Divine Bird Warrior Ornis
  • Fire Knight Hilde
  • Black Knight Captain Huw
  • Horned Knight

The best Elden Ring DLC Spirit Ash summons

To help you out with tracking down all of the below spirit ashes - which are exclusive to Elden Ring DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree - here’s an interactive map of the Land of Shadow with all of their locations:

Swordhand of Night Jolan

Jolan’s summon version is just as deadly as the real deal. She’s fast and hits hard, and her attacks inflict bleed. That’s useful in most cases anyway, but even more so if you’re running a bleed build as well. The two attacks combined will build the target’s bleed meter much more quickly than usual and inflict heavy damage.

The Tarnished faces an injured Jolan in Cathedral of Manus Metyr in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree - 3

Image credit:VG247/FromSoftware

Give Jolan the Iris of Grace after completing Count Ymir’s quest to get this summon.

Jolan and Anna Puppets

What’s better than a Jolan summon? Another Jolan summon! The Swordhand of Night is paired with another Swordhand of Night possessed by Count Ymir’s puppet Anna, and the duo puts high pressure on almost any foe. Their attacks inflict bleed, which pretty much every enemy in Shadow of the Erdtree is weak to, and the fact that there are two of them means you’ll rarely be the enemy’s focus.

You need the Jolan summon for this one. Head to the top of Rabbath’s Rise , and interact with the Anna puppet to get this summon.

Taylew the Golem Smith

Taylew is one of those big guys from the ruined forges, and he fights the same way those fellas do. Taylew’s fist attacks are almost guaranteed to stagger foes, and like his not-dead counterparts, he can take a lot of hits before feeling a thing.

This one’s in Taylew’s Ruined Forge, where you can pick up a nice Smithscript weapon as well.

Demi-Human Swordsman Yosh

Yosh is the Elden Ring equivalent of Yoda in Attack of the Clones. The little guy just won’t stop jumping around and slicing up foes, and he hits pretty hard despite his teeny little size. Repeated attacks are likely to stagger enemies and leave them open to your strong attacks or spells, and really, he’s just fun to watch.

An Elden Ring Tarnished in Belurat Gaol, where the Swordsman Yosh Spirit Ash is - 4

You can get Yosh by defeating the boss in Belurat Gaol. It’s kind of a nasty place, so consider this a warning if you’re squeamish.

Fire Knight Queelign

Queelign functions the same as he does in battle against you, which means he’s fast and never lets up. Considering most spirit summons take a bit to get going and to recover after getting attacked, that’s a very good set of traits to have. His damage might not match Jolan and Anna’s, but the aggressive behavior makes up for that.

During Queelign’s quest , give him the Iris of Grace to get his summon.

Ancient Dragon Florissax

Florissax uses her buff bolt on you the instant she enters the field, which is enough to recommend her, but she also flings a spear of red lightning at enemies and attacks with melee strikes. She’s lithe and dodges quite a few attacks and is also tanky enough to absorb hits before vanishing. You’ll need to take some steps in Thiollier’s quest to get the ashes, but it’s worth the extra effort.

An Elden Ring Tarnished speaking with ancient dragon Florissax - 5

Inquisitor Ashes

The Inquisitors might seem weak at first glance, the same as the arc-wielding, holy spell flinging foes you fight in Gravesite Plain and Enir-Ilim, but don’t let those similarities fool you. One of the Inquisitors buffs their attacks, and the other heals you – repeatedly. It’s not a one and done, like with some support ashes, and while they probably won’t survive the likes of Consort Radahn, they’re useful in pretty much every other situation.

The Inquisitor Ashes are on a corpse shortly before you reach the Spiral Rise Site of Grace in Enir-Ilim . It’s pretty late in the game, but they’ll serve you well in The Lands Between or in New Game+.

Messmer Soldiers Ashes

Soldier ashes are usually pretty mediocre, but the Messmer ones have an advantage over the rest. They don’t get separated from each other, which means they don’t get picked off one by one before they can do anything useful. Their combined attacks often stagger foes, and the sheer force of several soldiers acting as one is enough to wear down most enemies quickly.

The Messmer Soldier ashes are near a grave on the road to Cerulean Coast , near the lake with lightning sheep.

Divine Bird Warrior Ornis

Ornis has two big things going for him. He uses holy-aligned attacks, which are perfect in catacombs and the Stone Coffin Fissure in particular, and when he launches his special attack, enemy hits won’t interrupt him. He’s an excellent choice if you need a steady distraction who can deal damage while tanking hits.

The Ornis summon is near some ruins north of the Temple Town Site of Grace .

Fire Knight Hilde

Fire Knight Hilde, honestly, puts Fire Knight Queelign to shame. This agile follower of Messmer wields a sword while dishing out fiery Incantations, and is capable of doing an exceptional amount of damage.

From the Storehouse Loft Site of Grace (within the Church District found behind Shadow Keep), go up the elevator here. At the top, take a left and you should see a ladder on a beam just up ahead. Go over to it and up it, then continue straight and right along the beams until you find yourself above a large wooden cog: jump down onto the cog.

On the cog now, face the middle of the room and jump down onto the broken beam to your left. Go right along the beam and once you turn left, look for a ladder directly on your left. Go up it. At the top of the ladder, you should see another elevator just up ahead. Go over to it and send the lift down, but don’t go down with it.

If you look at the wall here (shown below), you should see a corpse holding an item: this item is the Fire Knight Hilde Spirit Ashes.

The player looks up at an item - Fire Knight Hilde's Ashes - in the Church District in Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC - 6

Image credit:Bandai Namco/VG247

You might have noticed that sending the lift down brings another lift upwards. What you want to do is send this new lift down, and as the other lift heads back up, jump on top of it. Once it stops, you’ll then be able to hop onto the ledge that holds the corpse and Spirit Ashes. You can now retrieve Hilde and try her out for yourself!

Black Knight Captain Huw

Black Knight Captain Huw happens to be the son of another DLC Spirit Summon, Black Knight Commander Andreas, but his father leaves more to be desired as a summon. Huw is a good all-rounder of a Spirit Ash, capable of dealing and taking plenty of damage while he’s on the field.

Scorpion River Catacombs - where Black Knight Huw's Ashes are located - is shown on the map in Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC - 7

Image credit:Bandai Namco/VG247

To get your hands on the Black Knight Captain Huw Spirit Ashes, you’ll want to pay a visit to the perilous Scorpion River Catacombs, where his ashes are found guarded by a Black Knight.

Horned Knight

The Horned Knight is a very impressive Spirit Ash in Shadow of the Erdtree. Tanky and intimidating, this fella wields a huge curved greatsword and he sure as hell makes the most of it when attacking foes.

You sadly won’t get your hands on him until the very end of the DLC, however, as this Spirit Ash is found in Enir-Ilim.

From the Spiral Rise Site of Grace in Enir-Ilim, go upstairs and outside onto the rooftops. Follow the rooftops around - taking care of the bird enemies here - until you come to another staircase with an Inquisitor enemy on it. Halfway up the staircase, jump off it, to your right, onto another staircase.

At the top of this staircase, there’ll be a small room with multiple items to grab. One of them is the Horned Warrior Spirit Ashes.

The player looks at a room with three items in it in Enir Ilim, one of which is the Horned Warrior Ashes, in Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC - 8

Image credit:Bandai Namco/VG247

You can also get the Horned Warrior’s weapon for yourself by defeating the wind-using Horned Warror found in Enir-Ilim. You’ll know exactly when you’ve found him; he makes himself known very quickly. Be careful!

If you’re after more Elden Ring help, check out our picks for the best DLC weapons and best DLC spells to kit yourself out with.

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