Ranking the Top Five Spells in Dark Souls 3
It is perfectly possible for interested individuals to play a magic build in Dark Souls 3. However, the process will be much smoother when they have the right spells on the right loadout. This is particularly true because the spells that are useful for one situation might not be comparable to other spells when it comes to another situation. Here are five of the most useful spells that interested individuals can find in Dark Souls 3:
5. Crystal Soul Spear
Crystal Soul Spear is a powerful option that comes with some serious issues that can be mitigated to some extent. Basically, the spell does Spell Buff x 3.05 magic damage before resistances are factored in, meaning that it can devastate opponents when it connects. However, the problem is getting Crystal Soul Spear to connect because it takes a while to cast even with maxed out casting speed. Still, there are potential uses for the spell in PVP. One example would be when the opponent is unaware, meaning that it makes sense to open up with something as powerful as possible. Another example would be when the opponent has been manipulated into a short window of vulnerability through the use of other spells, thus enabling something like the Crystal Soul Spear to slam home. As such, it might be worthwhile for interested individuals to pick up the spell for 15,000 souls upon giving the Crystal Scroll to Orbeck of Vinheim.
4. Great Heavy Soul Arrow
Great Heavy Soul Arrow is the fourth of four spells. For those who are curious, these four spells would be Soul Arrow, Great Soul Arrow, Heavy Soul Arrow, and Great Heavy Soul Arrow. Each one is an improvement on its predecessor, thus making Great Heavy Soul Arrow the best one out of the lot. On the whole, it isn’t the flashiest spell that can be found in Dark Souls 3. However, it makes up for that by being very practical in nature. Partly, this is because Great Heavy Soul Arrow comes with a focus cost of 14, which means that interested individuals can use it more because it is one of the less expensive high-tier spells. Partly, this is because Great Heavy Soul Arrow inflicts Spell Buff x 2.425 magic damage before resistances are factored in, meaning that it comes with a respectable punch to it. Having said this, it should be mentioned that Great Heavy Soul Arrow moves forward in a simple and straightforward line when cast, with the result that it is better-suited for PVE rather than PVP because it isn’t a good option against small, moving targets. Still, considering the importance of PVE in Dark Souls 3, spending 4,000 souls at Orbeck of Vinheim’s shop for this spell is more than worthwhile.
3. Hidden Body
Hidden Body is an excellent example of a spell with plenty of synergies with other spells. In short, Hidden Body turns the player character the next best thing to being invisible. As a result, enemies won’t attack the player-character because they can’t see the player-character, though this isn’t true when the player-character moves while being too close because they can still hear the footsteps. In PVE, Hidden Body can be used for everything from running past enemies without having to fight them to moving to a better position from which to cast spells. Something that can be particularly powerful because ranged attacks don’t necessarily ruin the player-character’s cover. In PVP, Hidden Body is very useful because it is a counter for spells such as Affinity and Homing Crystal Soulmass, which are very popular because of their homing capabilities. On top of this, Hidden Body can be comboed with a number of other options to make it even more useful. For example, pairing Hidden Body with either Spook or the Slumbering Dragoncrest Ring will make the player-character the next best thing to being undetectable. Likewise, Hidden Body can be comboed with Aldritch’s Sapphire to clear entire mobs of enemies by using the first to backstab and the second to keep topped up on focus points. Under these circumstances, Hidden Body is one of the first options that interested individuals should pick up for 3,000 souls once they have delivered the Golden Scroll to Orbeck of Vinheim.
2. Homing Crystal Soulmass
Homing Crystal Soulmass is a great choice for players who enjoy playing mind-games in PVP. For those who are unfamiliar, it conjures up either four or five Crystal Soulmasses that can home in on enemies based on whether the player-character’s intelligence is either 30 or 30+. As a result, just seeing the Homing Crystal Soulmass can cause opponents to start rolling about in a panic because of the concern that they are about to get hit by the full set of five projectiles. However, shooting them off while the opponent is still rolling about in a panic tends to be a bad idea because it requires incredible timing for the best results. Instead, wait for the opponent to come out of their consecutive rolls before letting the projectiles slam home. On top of this, Homing Crystal Soulmass is an excellent choice for manipulating opponents into rendering themselves vulnerable before letting loose something more painful such as, say, the Crystal Soul Spear. Be warned that Homing Crystal Soulmass won’t come cheap at a cost of 10,000 souls upon handing over the Crystal Scroll to Orbeck of Vinheim.
1. Pestilent Mist
Pestilent Mist is very much a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it lingers about doing HP percentage-based damage in a large area; on the other hand, it lingers about doing HP percentage-based damage to everything in a large area. This means that it is perfectly possible for interested individuals to kill themselves with the careless use of Pestilent Mist, whether because they have found themselves within it or because they have gotten themselves cornered by not willing to go within it. However, when Pestilent Mist is used on the right enemies in the right locations, it can eat through their health with remarkable speed, particularly since it won’t aggro most enemies. On top of that, it can be particularly effective against entire mobs of enemies when the player has come prepared with lures to bring them rushing into the death zone. In any case, Pestilent Mist is readily available to interested individuals, seeing as how they can pick it up for just 1,000 souls after giving Orbeck of Vinheim any sorcery scroll.