Elden Ring best talismans and where to find them
Track down every top-tier talisman
Looking for the best talismans in Elden Ring? Talismans are a new addition to your Elden Ring loadouts, replacing rings from the old Souls games. Fresh characters can equip only one talisman, but by the end of the game, you will be able to use four at a time. Assembling the right combination of talismans can massively increase your damage and ability to survive, often spelling the difference between life and death against Elden Ring’s biggest bosses. However, finding the right balance of talismans can be almost as tricky as finding the talismans themselves. So, we’ll walk you through each of the best Talismans in Elden Ring and where to find them.
The best talismans in Elden Ring
- Radagon’s Soreseal
- Marika’s Soreseal
- Great-Jar’s Arsenal
- Shard of Alexander
- Erdtree’s Favor +2
- Radagon Icon
- Rotten Winged Sword Insignia
- Graven-MassTalisman
- Flock’s Canvas Talisman
- Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman
- Fire/Lightning/Magic/Sacred Scorpion Charm
- Claw Talisman
- Gold Scarab
Now, let's get into what makes each of these talismans so strong, and how you can get your hands on them.
Radagon’s Soreseal location
Radagon’s Soreseal is a fantastic talisman for most builds that scale physical damage, raising your Vigor, Endurance, Strength, and Dexterity by 5 points each in exchange for 15% more damage taken. The extra health from Vigor and physical defenses from the other stats will offset this slightly, but you will still end up with a lower effective health pool, even if your actual health bar is bigger. However, those extra points of Strength, Dexterity, and Endurance are worth it for just about any melee weapon that can scale off of both Strength and Dexterity, making this a top choice for most melee builds.
You can find Radagon’s Soreseal on a corpse in Forth Faroth, just south of the Dragonbarrow Minor Erdtree to the far northeast of Caelid. This is an extremely dangerous, high-level zone though, so you may want to use the lower-level version, Radagon’s Scarseal, early on. You’ll find Radagon’s Scarseal by defeating the boss of the Weeping Evergaol in the northwest of Weeping Peninsula.
Marika's Soreseal location
The caster counterpart to Radagon’s Soreseal, Marika’s Soreseal raises Mind, Intelligence, Faith, and Arcane by 5 points each, in exchange for a 10% damage negation penalty. You’re going to feel that penalty when you get hit, but casters who use this talisman should be playing at safer ranges anyways. You can also combine both Soreseals on weapons that scale Strength, Dexterity, and one or more caster stats for a huge damage boost, plus an even bigger defensive penalty.
You’ll find Marika’s Soreseal in Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree at the lowest level of the outer walls, near the Prayer Room site of Grace. You will need two Stonesword Keys to open the fog door and acquire the talisman. This is a very, very late-game area, so consider the lower-level Marika’s Scarseal until this point. You’ll find it under a waterfall in the far north of Siofra River, near the Dragonkin Soldier boss.
Great-Jar's Arsenal location
The Great-Jar’s Arsenal talisman greatly increases your maximum equip load, making it an excellent choice for colossal weapon users. This talisman makes it possible to run very beefy weapons and armor without crossing the heavy load threshold, keeping your dodge rolls crispy. You can acquire the Great-Jar’s Arsenal from one of our favorite NPCs via a short but easy-to-miss quest.
You will find the Great Jar in the far north of Caelid, following the canyon path from the northern Siofra River lift. On the path in front of him are three hostile NPC summon signs, seen above. These are easy to miss, as they aren’t directly at his feet and often get buried in bloodstains. Speak to the Great Jar, summon and defeat all three invaders, then speak to the Great Jar again to earn your reward.
Shard of Alexander location
The Shard of Alexander greatly increases the damage of weapon skills. If you’ve watched any speedruns or read our breakdown of the best weapons in Elden Ring, you will know that powerful weapon skills are among the best damage sources in the game, even without the Shard of Alexander talisman. With it, you can break Elden Ring wide open.
Getting this talisman takes a few steps though, as you’ll have to play out the entire Iron-fist Alexander, Warrior Jar questline. You’ll initially find Alexander on Stormhill, but the first truly necessary step of his quest is defeating Radahn. Speak to Alexander at the site of Grace after the fight, and then find him again in Liurnia on the cliffs above Jarburg. Free him using an oil pot, and then he will move on to Mt. Gelmir, where you will find him bathing in the magma in the far west of the area. Speak to him here, and you will have the option to summon him to fight the Fire Giant. Whether you summon him there or not, you will next find him on the floating walkway near the Dragon Temple Lift Grace in Crumbling Farum Azula. Speak to him here, and he will challenge you to a duel. Defeat him to earn the Shard of Alexander.
Erdtree's Favor +2 locaiton
The Erdtree’s Favor talismans increase your maximum health, stamina, and equip load. This will of course significantly improve your survivability, allowing you to wear heavier armor with higher health. The Erdtree’s Favor +2 talisman is a very late acquisition though, found in Leyndell, Ashen Capital after defeating Malekith. The talisman is on a tree in the far east of the area, near the lift to the Forbidden Lands and East Altus Divine Tower, guarded by several Tree Spirits. The path to the talisman from Leyndell is blocked, so you will need to backtrack from the Forbidden Lands site of Grace.
Radagon Icon location
The Radagon Icon shortens spell casting time, making it a great pick for many caster builds. If you’re struggling to get spells off without taking a hit, Radagon Icon will be a big help. You’ll find it in the Raya Lucaria Academy, at the top of a ladder near the Debate Parlor site of Grace. Head out into the courtyard, hook to the right, then hop the fence and climb the ladder seen above.
Rotten Winged Sword Insignia location
The Rotten Winged Sword Insignia increases the power of successive attacks, providing a huge damage boost to fast-attacking weapons like claws and katanas. Landing three hits will activate the buff. You can do this even faster when dual-wielding, making the Rotten Winged Sword Insignia arguably best-in-slot for dual-wield builds. However, it takes some serious time and effort to acquire.
To earn the Rotten Winged Sword Insignia, you will need to complete almost the entirety of Millicent’s questline. You will first meet her near Selia, Town of Sorcery in the Church of Plague. Speak to Gowry in the shack just south of town and follow his instructions to knock out the first few steps of the quest. Once Millicent wakes up and departs the church, return to Gowry’s shack to find her there. Exhaust her dialogue there, then head to the Erdtree-Gazing Hill site of Grace on Altus Plateau and bring her the Valkyrie's Prosthesis from the Shaded Castle. Find her once more after defeating the Godskin Apostle at Dominula, Windmill Village, next to the site of Grace. Next, track her down at the Ancient Snow Valley Ruins Grace, then the Prayer Room Grace in the Haligtree.
Once you’ve spoken to her here, head deeper into the tree and defeat the Ulcerated Tree Spirit near the Drainage Channel site of Grace. Reload the area to find two summon signs, one to challenge Millicent and one to help her fight off 4 invaders. Help Milicent to earn the Rotten Winged Sword Insignia.
Flock’s Canvas talisman location
The Flock’s Canvas is the incantation counterpart of Graven-Mass, greatly raising the potency of incantations. To acquire it, you will need to complete Millicent’s questline, as detailed in the Rotten Winged Sword Insignia section above. If you choose to challenge Millicent rather than help, you will find Gowry dead in his shack, with the Flock’s Canvas talisman on his body. If you helped Millicent, Gowry will still be alive. However, you can kill him to acquire both the talisman and a bell bearing that will transfer his shop inventory to the Husk Sisters. We recommend this route, as you can acquire both talismans this way. Plus, Gowry is a bit of a creep.
Graven-Mass talisman location
The Graven-Mass Talisman greatly raises the potency of sorceries, making it a must for all sorcery users. You will find it inside the Albinauric Rise tower in the eastern Consecrated Snowfield. Use a Bewitching Branch on one of the two imps outside the tower to make them attack each other. Once one dies, the seal on the tower will break and you can head inside.
Dragoncrest Greatshield talisman location
The Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman enormously boosts physical damage negation, making it one of the best defensive options in Elden Ring. If you’re getting clobbered by physical attacks, this talisman can spare you a lot of pain. You will find it in Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree inside the church-like room above the Haligtree Roots Grace. You’ll need to enter through the roof though, so descend from the Drainage Channel site of Grace via the winding branches to get on top of the structure
Scorpion Charm locations
The Fire, Lighting, Magic, and Sacred Scorpion charms boost fire, lighting, magic, or holy damage, respectively. However, they also reduce your damage negation. These talismans are a big boost to elemental weapons, especially when using a weapon skill that matches that damage type. Their locations are:
- The Fire Scorpion Charm is in Fort Laiedd, on the eastern edge of Mt. Gelmir
- The Lightning Scorpion Charm rests in Wyndham Catacombs, in the western section of Altus Plateau. The charm is locked behind a Stonesword Key door.
- The Magic Scorpion Charm is given to the player by Preceptor Seluvis, either by giving him the Amber Starlight or by showing him the Fingerslayer Blade before giving the blade to Ranni. Both methods must be done before giving Ranni the Fingerslayer Blade, else Seluvis will not give you the talisman
- The Sacred Scorpion Charm is dropped by Anastasia, Tarnished-Eater, an invading NPC found outside the Smoldering Church at the northern end of the Caelid-Limgrave border.
Claw Talisman location
The Claw Talisman enhances the power of jump attacks. There are several similar talismans that enhance other attack types, but the Claw Talisman stands out since jump attacks are already so strong. They are one of the faster options for large weapons, and do significant poise damage to all enemies, making them great for quick staggers and crits.
The Claw Talisman is located on top of a tower in Stormveil Castle. Head outside from the Rampart Tower Grace, then jump down onto the rooftops. Navigate around until you find a large, open roof with a ladder up an adjacent watchtower. Climb the ladder, and you’ll find the Claw Talisman on top.
Gold Scarab talisman location
The Gold Scarab increases runes gained by 20%, making it a must if you plan to do any rune farming. You can absolutely complete the game without stopping to farm, but sometimes it is nice to top off a level or stock up to buy smithing stones. You’ll receive the Gold Scarab as a reward for killing the Cleanrot Knight dual boss in Abandonded Cave, north of Aeonia Swamp in Caelid.
Those are all the best talismans in Elden Ring and where to find them! It is a long list, but Elden Ring is a long game. You’ll have no regrets if you go tracking these down. If you aren’t sure which talismans fit into your build, our guide to some of the best builds in Elden Ring can give you a better idea. Completionists can check out our complete list of every boss location in Elden Ring to make sure they don’t miss a thing.