Unleash Your Inner Elden Lord: A Tarnished’s Guide to Talismans in Elden Ring

So, you’ve stumbled upon the vast and treacherous lands of the Lands Between, and you’re wondering what to do with Talismans in Elden Ring? The answer, Tarnished, is simple: everything. Talismans are your key to customizing your build, overcoming challenging encounters, and ultimately, claiming the Elden Throne. These magical trinkets provide passive buffs to your stats and abilities, drastically altering how you approach combat and exploration. From boosting raw damage output to increasing survivability and even shortening spellcasting times, Talismans are an essential part of any successful Elden Ring build. Understanding how to acquire, equip, and effectively utilize these potent items is paramount to your success.

Understanding the Power of Elden Ring Talismans

Talismans are not merely accessories; they are force multipliers. They allow you to fine-tune your character to excel in specific areas, compensate for weaknesses, and adapt to different combat scenarios. A strength-based build might utilize Talismans that increase equip load, allowing for heavier armor and colossal weapons, while a mage build could focus on Talismans that boost sorcery damage and reduce cast times. The versatility is immense, and experimenting with different combinations is crucial to finding what works best for your playstyle.

Key benefits of using Talismans include:

• Increased damage output: Talismans can significantly boost physical, magical, fire, lightning, and holy damage.
• Enhanced survivability: Many Talismans provide increased defense, resistance to status effects, or healing over time.
• Improved utility: Some Talismans increase equip load, rune acquisition, item discovery, and even reduce the cast time of spells.
• Build customization: Tailor your character to specific combat styles or overcome challenging enemy encounters.

Acquiring Talismans: A Tarnished’s Treasure Hunt

Elden Ring offers a vast array of Talismans, each with unique effects. Obtaining these powerful trinkets often requires exploration, combat prowess, and a keen eye for secrets. Talismans can be acquired through various means:

• Defeating Enemies and Bosses: Many bosses, especially those encountered later in the game, drop powerful Talismans upon defeat. Even some regular enemies can drop Talismans, albeit less frequently.
• Looting Chests: Chests scattered throughout the Lands Between often contain valuable items, including Talismans. Be sure to explore every nook and cranny.
• Buying from Merchants: Some merchants offer Talismans for sale, providing a reliable way to acquire specific trinkets.
• Completing Quests: Many NPCs offer quests that reward you with Talismans upon completion. Engaging with the game’s narrative can often lead to powerful new accessories.

Equipping and Utilizing Talismans: Maximizing Your Potential

You begin your journey in the Lands Between with only one Talisman slot. However, you can increase the number of available slots by acquiring Talisman Pouches. These pouches are obtained by:

• Defeating Margit, the Fell Omen: This early-game boss grants you your first Talisman Pouch.
• Obtaining Two Great Runes and Speaking to Finger Reader Enia: After defeating two Shardbearers (e.g., Godrick the Grafted and Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon), return to Roundtable Hold and speak to Finger Reader Enia.
• Defeating Godfrey, First Elden Lord (Golden Shade): Encountered in Leyndell, Royal Capital, defeating Godfrey unlocks the final Talisman Pouch.

This process will grant you a total of four Talisman slots, allowing you to equip a wider range of buffs and customize your build to an even greater extent.

Essential Talismans for Every Tarnished

While the “best” Talisman depends on your build and playstyle, some stand out as universally useful:

• Radagon’s Soreseal/Scarseal: These Talismans increase Vigor, Endurance, Strength, and Dexterity, but also increase damage taken. The Soreseal provides a larger boost but also increases damage taken more significantly. They are excellent for early-game characters but may become less desirable in the late game. Radagon’s Scarseal raises 3 several important stats, especially for melee class builds.
• Erdtree’s Favor: Increases maximum HP, stamina, and equip load, making it a great all-around defensive and utility Talisman.
• Green Turtle Talisman: Increases stamina recovery speed, allowing for more frequent attacks, dodges, and blocks.
• Great-Jar’s Arsenal: Greatly increases maximum equip load, enabling the use of heavier armor and weapons without sacrificing mobility.
• Crimson Amber Medallion: Increases maximum HP, providing a valuable boost to survivability.
• Ritual Sword Talisman: Increases attack power when at full HP, rewarding aggressive playstyles.
• Ritual Shield Talisman: Reduces damage taken when at full HP, providing a safety net in challenging encounters.
• Dragoncrest Shield Talisman: Greatly increases physical damage negation.
• Haligdrake Talisman: Boosts holy damage negation when worn.

Talismans for Specific Builds

Certain Talismans excel when used in conjunction with specific builds:

• Melee Builds:
  • Claw Talisman: Enhances jump attacks, ideal for builds that rely on jump-heavy attacks.
  • Curved Sword Talisman: Increases the effectiveness of guard counters.
  • Shard of Alexander: Greatly increases the damage of weapon skills.
• Magic Builds:
  • Radagon Icon: Shortens spellcasting time.
  • Graven-School Talisman/Graven-Mass Talisman: Increases sorcery damage.
  • Magic Scorpion Charm: Increases magic attack power but reduces physical damage negation.
• Faith Builds:
  • Sacred Scorpion Charm: Increases holy attack power but reduces physical damage negation.

Adapting Your Talismans to the Challenge

Remember that no single Talisman setup is universally optimal. You should adapt your Talismans based on the challenges you face. For example, when facing Malenia, Blade of Miquella, the Ritual Shield Talisman and Dragoncrest Shield Talisman +2 can significantly improve your survivability against her relentless attacks. Against enemies that deal heavy magic damage, equip Talismans that increase your magic resistance. Experimentation is key to finding the perfect Talisman combinations for each situation.

The Games Learning Society and the Art of Mastery

Mastering Elden Ring is about more than just memorizing enemy patterns and finding the best weapons. It’s about understanding the underlying mechanics, experimenting with different strategies, and adapting to the ever-changing challenges the game throws your way. Just like the Games Learning Society (https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/) explores how games can foster learning and problem-solving skills, Elden Ring encourages players to learn, adapt, and overcome adversity through strategic gameplay and experimentation. By understanding the power of Talismans and how they interact with your build, you can unlock new levels of mastery and conquer even the most daunting challenges in the Lands Between. The GamesLearningSociety.org focuses on the learning aspects of games and gaming.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. How many times can you use a Talisman in Elden Ring?

A Talisman is always active when equipped. You don’t “use” them in the traditional sense. Their effects are passive, constantly providing their bonus as long as they are equipped in one of your Talisman slots.

2. Are Talismans permanent?

Talismans are permanent in the sense that they don’t have limited uses or durability. Once you acquire a Talisman, it remains in your inventory and can be equipped and unequipped at will.

3. What Talismans make you do more damage?

Several Talismans increase damage output. For physical damage, consider the Ritual Sword Talisman (when at full HP) or the Shard of Alexander (for weapon skills). For magic damage, the Graven-School Talisman and Graven-Mass Talisman are excellent choices, while the Magic Scorpion Charm increases magic attack power at the cost of physical damage negation. For faith builds, the Sacred Scorpion Charm increases holy attack power but reduces physical damage negation.

4. Which Talisman is best for holy damage?

The Sacred Scorpion Charm is the best Talisman for increasing holy damage output, but it comes with the drawback of reducing physical damage negation. The Haligdrake Talisman boosts holy damage negation when worn, making it great defensively against holy damage.

5. Can you have 5 Talismans in Elden Ring?

No, you can have a maximum of four Talismans equipped at any given time. You start with one slot and unlock three more by defeating Margit, the Fell Omen, obtaining two Great Runes and speaking to Finger Reader Enia, and defeating Godfrey, First Elden Lord (Golden Shade).

6. What is the maximum Talisman level?

Talismans do not have levels in the traditional sense. Some Talismans have upgraded versions denoted with a “+1” or “+2” (e.g., Dragoncrest Shield Talisman +2). These upgraded versions offer more potent effects than their base counterparts.

7. What Talisman increases skill damage?

The Shard of Alexander greatly increases the damage of weapon skills, making it a must-have for builds that rely on Ashes of War.

8. Which Talisman is best Elden Ring?

There’s no single “best” Talisman, as the ideal choice depends on your build and playstyle. However, Radagon’s Scarseal is often considered a strong early-game option due to its stat boosts, while the Erdtree’s Favor is a solid all-around choice for its HP, stamina, and equip load bonuses.

9. What talismans to use against Melania?

For Malenia, consider using the Ritual Shield Talisman (to mitigate initial damage when at full health) and the Dragoncrest Shield Talisman +2 (for significant physical damage reduction).

10. What is the best talisman for colossal sword?

The Great-Jar’s Arsenal is the best Talisman for colossal sword builds, as it greatly increases your maximum equip load, allowing you to wield heavy weapons and armor without fat-rolling.

11. What is the best Talisman for melee?

For melee builds, the Claw Talisman (for jump attacks) and the Curved Sword Talisman (for guard counters) are excellent choices. The Green Turtle Talisman can also be invaluable for builds that require quick stamina recovery.

12. What Talisman raises all attributes in Elden Ring?

Radagon’s Soreseal/Scarseal and Marika’s Soreseal are the Talismans that raise multiple attributes at once, but these come with increased damage taken.

13. What Talisman raises dexterity?

The Prosthesis-Wearer Heirloom raises dexterity.

14. What Talisman takes more damage in Elden Ring?

The Daedicar’s Woe increases the damage you take while equipped. It is generally used for challenge runs or specific PvP scenarios. Radagon’s Soreseal/Scarseal and Marika’s Soreseal also increase the damage you take while equipped.

15. How do you get max Talismans?

To get the maximum of four Talisman slots, you must:

1. Defeat Margit, the Fell Omen.
2. Obtain two Great Runes (e.g., from Godrick the Grafted and Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon) and speak to Finger Reader Enia at Roundtable Hold.
3. Defeat Godfrey, First Elden Lord (Golden Shade) in Leyndell, Royal Capital.

Equipping the right Talismans can make the difference between victory and defeat in Elden Ring. Experiment, adapt, and may the Greater Will guide you, Tarnished!