Having difficulty finding powerful Incantations or magic staves in Elden Ring: Nightreign? This guide is a breakdown of the obscure locations, secret shrines, and optimal farming areas for finding seals, gathering Incantations, and acquiring the best of the best sorcery equipment with ease—whether you’re exploring cathedrals or tracking down elusive bosses.
Finding Incantations
Incantations are among the most scarce things you’ll find, with barely a handful of set places to obtain them — and one of them doesn’t appear on the map at all. That being said, your best option is to look beneath certain cathedrals.
Not every cathedral does have secret chambers, though. What we’ve learned so far is that:
- Cathedrals with fire monks or ghost soldiers serving as guardians usually have shrines in the underground.
- Ones with golems or Oracle Envoys? Typically no basement, but there may be a small shrine on the main floor that dispenses seals.
How to Access the Hidden Shrine:
- Search for a cathedral that has the right enemies.
- Fall down through the hole in the middle.
- Head straight ahead, and turn right.
- You’ll find a shrine — it grants you two seals as rewards, each with two random Incantations.
It is worth noting:
- Your Incantations are randomized, much like most of the weapons in the game.
- There’s a field boss in the opposite chamber of the shrine as well — normally a buffed soldier or monk. Kill them for additional Runes and loot.
Bonus Shrine Location
There’s another shrine hidden away at Limveld’s rendition of Stormhill Shack. This shack isn’t on the main map, but if you zoom out and look at the map overlay, you’ll see a seal icon that isn’t attached to a merchant.
Purchasing Seals from Merchants
A few merchants sell plain seals, but note:
- Their stock is randomized with each expedition.
- There is no promise that they will have a seal available.
Other Ways to Get Incantations
You might snag an Incantation by:
- Taking down a field boss
- Defeating the boss that shows up at the end of nightfall
But fair warning — the drop rate is really low.
Magic Staves: Easier to Find
Compared to Incantations, staves for casting sorceries are a lot more accessible. You’ll find them in preset locations, like:
The tower at the top of Limveld’s main castle — Inside a small room with:
- A map that marks scarab spawn points
- A rack holding two different staves
Similar towers in smaller forts usually have the same setup: a map + two staves.
Bosses and enemies drop staves more often than Incantations, especially if you’re playing as the Recluse class. Common ones like the Albinauric Staff or Staff of the Guilty drop fairly regularly, but stronger spellcasting gear is still tough to find.
Tip: Whatever staff or object you gather, always check them. Some possess passive effects such as:
- Reduced FP cost of casting
- Additional power for charged spells
Even if you don’t plan on using the spell, just keeping the item in your inventory is enough to benefit from these effects — no need to equip it.
