Summary
Elden Ringplayers might think that the Stance Break mechanic of the game, in which they essentially stagger the enemy with attacks, is something that’s mostly reserved for heavy Strength Builds. This is entirely wrong, and it turns out both Spell and Incantation Users can Stance Break reliably if they so choose, using the right attacks.
Sadly, there’s no in-game number that tells the player how much Stance Damage an attack, Spell, or Incantation inflicts, so it’s up to the players themselves to test it out (including each Patch, as some have already buffed and nerfed some magic). And, after a lot of testing, these are what we came up with as some of the best Sorceries and Incantations to use inElden Ringto Stance Break any enemy.
Updated October 23rd, 2024 by Jacob Buchalter:The Sorceries and Incantations added in Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC add a lot of variety to builds. Not only are a lot of these Spells and Incantations pretty powerful, but many of them are also pretty useful for staggering enemies too. Typically, magic builds in Elden Ring aren’t really focusing on Stagger Damage too much, but they should always keep it in mind. After all, a Staggered enemy is usually left vulnerable long enough to get a cast off of even the most long-winded Spells and Incantations. So, with that in mind, and especially for those who want to make a build centered around Stance Breaking enemies, let’s take a look at the best options in the Sorcery and Incantation categories.
Stat Requirements
Comet Azur
40 (can hold input to increase cast duration for 10 FP per second)
60 INT
Comet Azuris not a Sorcery that one would typically associate with high Stagger Damage, as the spell is often primarily tied to ‘one cast boss melting builds’ considering it’s basically a magical Kamehameha that burns all of the player’s mana in exchange for incredible damage.
However, because this spell hits many times in a short span of time, and these hits deal about 16 or so Poise Damage, it’s actually pretty useful for Stance Breaking enemies as well as absolutely tearing through their HP. Obviously, this isn’t what most people use the spell for, but it’s a nice bonus effect, to say the least.
7
10 Faith
First up isBestial Sling, one ofthe most deceptively useful Incantationsin the game. At a glance, it literally just looks like this ‘miracle’ causes the Tarnished to chuck a handful of rocks at their enemy. But, upon closer inspection, this is a Stance Breaking powerhouse.
All of the Bestial Incantations inflict Physical Damage primarily (especially so if players are using the right Seal) making them great for Stance Breaking, including Bestial Sling. But, more than that, the Stance Damage done in comparison to the Cast Time, FP Cost, and general Damage of the Incantation are also incredible.
Players get up in a dragon’s face, cast four or five Bestial Slings, and get a free Stance Break. Even if they don’t, they’ll still have time to dodge after the third cast or so. The only big downside of this Incantation is its range, but players who are using the Best Seal are likely half-strength builds anyway.
23
32 Intelligence
Glintstone Nailsare hands down one of the strongest new Sorceries the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC introduces into Elden Ring. Essentially, think of them as Glintstone Shards with more Poise Damage and better tracking. The standard Glintstone Nail singular cast is a pretty good option to replace Great Glinstone Shard or as an alternative option, but Glintstone Nails is pretty much inarguably better than Crystal Burst in just about every way.
For an easy-to-understand comparison, think of it as the Sorcery version of Beastial Sling, except Glintstone Nails can deal exceptional damage both at range and up close, where Beastial Sling falls off heavily once the enemy takes even a few steps back.
26
42 Intelligence
As far as visuals go,Fleeting Microcosmis absolutely one of the most visually impressive new Spells inShadow of the Erdtree. In practice, however, this Spell is also pretty amazing. Essentially, when cast, the player summons this black hole of sorts that spawns out of the ground directly underneath the enemy the player is currently locked onto before pulsing and then exploding shortly after.
Because of the way enemies are programmed to dodge in this game, 90 percent of the time the opponent will dodge the initial ‘casting’ of Fleeting Microcosm and then almost entirely ignore the projectile itself or the two pulses it releases. The initial pulse of the Microcosm deals damage and has a small staggering effect on most enemies while the second pulse/explosion deals another big burst of damage and inflicts quite a bit of Poise damage as well. Overall, this is one of the strongest new Sorceries added toElden Ring,especially since players can just offhand the Maternal Staff gained from Count Ymir’s questline to get the 15 percent damage boost to Finger Sorceries.
31
60 Faith
A quick word of warning for anyone who plans on using this Incantation a whole bunch, don’t expect it’s tracking to be nearly as good aswhen Messmer himself used the Incantation. In our testing, the animation forMessmer’s Orbcan either miss enemies entirely or it can turn on a dime and do a full 360 spin to hit an enemy directly, with no real consistency in-between. Still, once players get used to the unwieldyness of this Incantation, it’s incredibly strong.
Not only from a damage standpoint but from a Stance Breaking standpoint as well, given that the Incantation has two separate instances of damage. Of course, with a requirement of a staggering 60 Faith to use this Incantation, it only makes sense that it would be so strong.
28
26 Faith
Anyone who used the Pest Thread Incantation in the base game knows just how strong these magical sticky threads are for larger enemies. With the proper spacing and a bit of luck, the standard Pest Threads can absolutely melt through the health bars of large Dragons or really any enemy larger than the average human.Pest-Thread Spearsare very similar in this regard, though they do require a bit more windup and their projectile speed is a bit slower overall.
However, the sheer Stance damage this Incantation deals if both spears make content is honestly ridiculous. So, not only will this Incantation make the fightsagainst the larger bosses of the DLCsuch as Bayle or the Golden Hippopotamus a lot easier in terms of damage, but it’ll also likely stagger these bosses a couple of times at least over the course of the fight.
15
13 Faith
Next up is theStone of Gurranq, another Bestial Incantation rewarded by the Beast Clergyman in exchange for six Deathroots. And, like Bestial Sling, the actual ‘effects’ of this Incantation are hilariously simple: the player chucks small conjured Boulders at their enemy. Now, in comparison to Bestial Sling, Stone of Gurranq may seem much more clunky, and it technically is. But, in exchange, it deals large amounts of Stance Damage per hit, has better immediate Damage and can be cast repeatedly as well.
Additionally, the Stone of Gurranq is also a fantastic Incantation for players who are confident in their aiming skill while not locked on. It turns out this Boulder keeps flying until it hits something, giving it much more range (if aimed properly) than just about any other Spell or Incantation in the game.
18
22 Intelligence
Glintblade Phalanx, as well as any of the other Phalanx Sorceries or Ashes of War, are incredible for ‘passive’ Stance Damage. In fact, there are only a few Sorceries/Incantations that would even count as ‘passive’ as the Phalanx ones are the best.
When used, the player summons a series of spectral swords in an arch around their head that hone in on the enemy after a few seconds. Each sword on its own doesn’t do a notable amount of Stance Damage, but after all of them have hit, the accumulated Stance Damage is sizeable, especially since players can keep attacking while the swords do their own attacks. Also, apparently, this Spell is part of some ‘Spell Parrying’ exploit, so it has that going for it as well.
30
60
55 Intelligence
BothMeteoriteandMeteorite of Astelare incredible Spells for a variety of reasons, but they’re also high-risk high-reward. For one, their default Cast Time is pretty long, making it a big commitment to use them as most Sorcery Builds die in a couple of hits at most.
But, in exchange, their damage is absurd enough to put them on par with Comet Azuror Collapsing Starsas another option to use with the Cerulean Hidden Tear since players can hold down the cast with infinite mana. That said, both of these can be very difficult spells when it comes to gauging the right cast distance, but in a small room, it thankfully doesn’t matter much.
20
14
27 Faith
The Aspect of the Crucible Incantationsare some of the most visually interesting in the game, giving players primordial tails, horns, and the ability to breathe fire.
And, on top of being used by some of the coolest enemies inElden Ring, the Crucible Knights, they’re also fantastic at dealing large amounts of Stance Damage. In particular, the Tail is best for range and groups of enemies, Horns are amazing for single targets, and Breath is a great best of both worlds. And, in theShadow of the ErdtreeDLC expansion for Elden Ring, some new Aspects of the Crucible Incantations were added as well, namely Thorns and Bloom (withWings being locked to an Ash of War). However, both the Thorns and Bloom Aspects aren’t very good for Stance Breaking, with the Bloom Incantation in particular not being very useful overall.
