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Contents show
✓ At a glance
- Erdtree’s Favor +2
- Shard of Alexander
- Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman
- Assassin’s Crimson Dagger
- Great Jar’s Arsenal
- Crimson Seed Talisman
- Rotted Winged Sword Insignia
- Golden Scarab
- Silver Scarab
- Taker’s Cameo
When it comes to surviving the Lands Between and the DLC’s Land of Shadows, you’ll need some strong gear, which is why it’s important to know about the best Talismans in Elden Ring. The right Talisman can help your builds come along greatly, or they can offer a hefty increase to your survivability in the face of the myriad horrors you will come across.
The best Talismans in Elden Ring
The Edtree’s Favour comes in three versions. The +2 is the best you can get. Image taken by VideoGamer
The Shard of Alexander is great for increasing your weapon skills. Image taken by VideoGamer
The Dragoncrest Greatshield reduces physical damage taken. Image taken by VideoGamer
If you love fishing for backstabs and criticals, the Assassin’s Crimson Dagger is the one for you. Image taken by VideoGamer
The Great-Jar’s Arsenal helps with your equip load if you run a heavy build. Image taken by VideoGamer
Crimson Seed Talisman further increases the HP restored by your Crimson Flask.
The Rotten Winged Sword Insignia is extremely powerful if you have fast weapons. Image taken by VideoGamer
The Golden Scarab Talisman increases how many runes you get. Image taken by VideoGamer
If you like hunting for items, the Silver Scarab will help by increasing your Discovery. Image taken by VideoGamer
While not helpful in boss fight, the Taker’s Cameo shines against multiple foes thanks to its HP restoration on kill. Image taken by VideoGamer
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These are our picks for the best Talismans in Elden Ring. Generally, all of these Talismans are excellent for any build, adding a ton of survivability and utility regardless of how you prefer to play.
| Talisman | Effect |
|---|---|
| Erdtree’s Favor +2 | Greatly raises maximum HP (4%), Stamina (9.6%), and equip load (8%) |
| Shard of Alexander | Greatly boosts the attack power of Skills (15%) |
| Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman | Enormously boosts physical damage negation (20%) |
| Assassin’s Crimson Dagger | Critical hits restore HP |
| Great Jar’s Arsenal | Vastly boosts maximum equipment load (+19%) |
| Crimson Seed Talisman | Boosts HP restoration from the Flask of Crimson Tears (20%) |
| Rotted Winged Sword Insignia | Greatly raises attack power with successive attacks (6%, 8%, 13%) |
| Golden Scarab | Increases runes obtained from defeated enemies (20%) |
| Silver Scarab | Raises Item Discovery (+75) |
| Taker’s Cameo | Restores HP upon defeating enemies |
Erdtree’s Favor +2
The Talisman is found where we have circled on the map. Image taken by VideoGamer
If you can, take one of these enemies out. Two more will spawn, but you can sneak by them. Image taken by VideoGamer
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This fantastic Talisman is one of the strongest in the game due to how much value it adds to key stats. It increases your HP, Stamina, and equip load by a significant amount, giving you three stat increases in one Talisman. The base Talisman can be found in the Fringefolk Hero’s Grave, and that will suffice until you can get this one. To find this Talisman, you need to have defeated Maliketh. With that done, fast-travel to the Forbidden Lands Site of Grace and follow the path back into the capital city. You will eventually come to a large courtyard and there is a snapped branch with an item on it in the middle. It is guarded by three Ulcerated Tree Spirits, who are a nightmare to fight. Just run past them to grab the Talisman and don’t bother fighting them.
Shard of Alexander
Approach this location from the Dragon Church Lift Grace. Image taken by VideoGamer
Alexander can be found here, the final stop in his quest. Image taken by VideoGamer
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The Shard of Alexander gives you a percentage-based increase to your weapon skills. This means it directly increases how much damage your Ash of War does, making it an extremely powerful Talisman. The only way to get this item is to finish Iron Fist Alexander’s questline, which starts in Limgrave and ends in Crumbling Farum Azula. His quest ends in a duel, if you beat him you kill Alexander and get the Shard of Alexander Talisman. You can find him in Farum Azula by travelling to the Dragon TempleLift Site of Grace and proceeding through the courtyard, up the stairs, and jumping across the gap on your right using the fallen structure. Alexander is waiting on a platform.
Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman
On the roof, drop down the gap and look to your left to see the chest. Image taken by VideoGamer
The chest is guarded by Pests. Image taken by VideoGamer
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If you want a great Talisman that provides damage reduction, you can’t go wrong with this. From the Drainage Channel Site of Grace, go right and take a left onto the branches outside. Follow this branch to the end and then drop down onto the beam on your right. Halfway down the beam, turn left onto another branch and jump off the branch to another beam slightly below. Go up this branch and take a right to get onto the roof of a building. Drop down the gap in the roof onto a wooden beam and watch out for the three Pests on your left. The pests are guarding the Talisman in a chest. Jump over and kill them or deal with them at range.
Assassin’s Crimson Dagger
The Assassin’s Crimson dagger restores HP when you get a critical hit on an enemy. This works for backstabs and for repostes after a parry. Found in the Deathouched Catacombs in Limgrave. Go slightly northeast from the Warmaster’s Shack to find the entrance. You need to kill the Black Knife Assassin at the end of the dungeon. As one you can get super early on, this is one of the best Talismans in Elden Ring, and it will help you throughout the game.
Great Jar’s Arsenal
The Great-Jar’s Arsenal provides a huge boost to your equip load stat, making it fantastic for those who have heavy equipment. To get this Talisman, you need to find the Great Jar standing outside the Caelid Colosseum. Talk to him and he will ask you to beat three enemies. Once you kill all three without dying, you will get the Great Jar’s Arsenal as a reward.
Crimson Seed Talisman
The Crimson Seed Talisman further enhances the HP restored by the Flask of Crimson Tears. This Talisman is found inside the Sainted Hero’s Grave in the Altus Plateau. It is locked behind an imp statue door and you will need one Stonesword Key to unlock it. From the entrance Site of Grace, go directly forward and the door is in the right corner. Once unlocked, go in and kill the enemy and grab the Talisman from the corpse.
Rotted Winged Sword Insignia
The Rotted Wing Sword Insignia provides a damage boost when you successively hit an enemy. It’s hard to trigger this effect with slow weapons, making it better for fast attackers. You can only get this Talisman by clearing Milicent’s questline, and only if you choose to assist Milicent and help her defeat her sisters. You will need to have started Milicent’s quest and found your way to the Haligtree. When asked to invade or help Milicent, choose to help her and defeat the NPCs attacking her. Read our guide covering each step for a full walkthrough of this quest.
Golden Scarab
Look for the Abandoned Cave to the west of the Smoldering Wall Grace. Image taken by VideoGamer
Use the branches to cross the gap and enter the Abandoned Cave. Image taken by VideoGamer
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This Talisman is great for rune farming, providing you with a big increase to dropped runes. The Golden Scarab is dropped after you defeat the Cleanrot Knight (Sickle) and Cleanrot Knight (Spear) duo boss in the Abandoned Cave in Caelid. To find the cave, head directly east from the Smoldering Wall Site of Grace and enter the cave using the tree branches. The bosses are fought at the very end.
Silver Scarab
You can enter this cave from the Consecrated Snowfield. Image taken by VideoGamer
Walk forward into the archway and turn right. Image taken by VideoGamer
The chest is behind an invisible wall. Image taken by VideoGamer
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The Silver Scarab boosts your item Discovery stat, which is perfect for those who want to hunt all the rare items. At the southern end of the Consecrated Snowfield, you will find the entrance to the Hidden Path to the Haligtree cave. Go inside and kill the large land octopus and then proceed down the stairs. On this platform, there is a broken railing. Walk slowly off the edge and you will land on an invisible platform. Where you land, look for an archway along the wall in front with a blue flame. Walk directly towards it. You can use Rainbow Stones to test your path if you wish, but it is a straight line. Loot the Grave Glovewort and hit the wall behind it to reveal a chest with the Talisman inside.
Taker’s Cameo
While not great for boss battles, this Talisman shines when facing several foes at once. When you get a kill, it will restore your HP by a small amount. You can only get the Taker’s Cameo by completing the third request from Tanith at the Volcano Manor, which is the task to kill Juno Hoslow, Knight of Blood.
