Elden Ring - Sacret Seals

Incantations run through seals that weigh 0 to 1.5, and the real choice is rarely which seal is strongest but whether one school gets cast often enough to justify its 10 to 20% multiplier over raw Faith scaling, a dilemma that holding two seals usually solves.

Combat

Pros

• Seals are the lightest equipment in the game. They weigh from 0 (Dragon Communion, Erdtree, Golden Order and Frenzied Flame Seals) up to 1.5 (Spiraltree and most others), so a second seal costs essentially nothing.
• Most seals carry a school multiplier of 10 to 20%, and the boost applies while the seal is merely held in an active hand, with no need to cast through it. The standard endgame setup puts the best-scaling seal in the casting hand and a booster in the other.
• The boosts stack with themselves. Two Gravel Stone Seals turn 15% into 32.25%, two Dragon Communion Seals do the same, and the bonus still applies when the other armament is two-handed.
• The physical entry cost is tiny. Strength requirements run from 4 to 8, and Erdtree, Golden Order, Frenzied Flame and Dragon Communion Seals require no Strength at all.

Cons

• Build flexibility is zero. Sacred seals cannot take Ashes of War, greases or armament buffs, so there is nothing to tune.
• Melee is negligible. The hardest physical hit in the class is Clawmark Seal's 31 at +0, and the only non-physical melee damage is Erdtree Seal's 15 holy.
• Strength and Dexterity scaling is a stat trap on most seals. Those attributes only add to the physical melee attack and do not raise Incantation Scaling, with Clawmark Seal and Frenzied Flame Seal the only exceptions, so the E Strength scaling on Finger, Godslayer's, Gravel Stone, Giant's, Dryleaf, Fire Knight's and Spiraltree Seals is decoration.
• Hybrid seals are bad at heals and weapon buffs. Healing and Weapon Buff incantations count only the Faith portion of scaling, which leaves Clawmark, Dragon Communion and Golden Order Seals much weaker there. Golden Order Seal is a poor fit for Order's Blade, and Dragon Communion Seal has about a third of the Faith scaling of a pure-Faith seal.

Builds

Faith takes essentially every point unless a hybrid is chosen on purpose.

• The pure-Faith ladder runs Finger Seal from 10 to 26 Faith, Dryleaf Seal from 27 to 50, Godslayer's Seal from 51 to 68 and Erdtree Seal from 69 upward.
• Erdtree Seal reaches 353 Incantation Scaling at 80 Faith while the other seals sit in the 310 to 330 range, and Godslayer's Seal at +25 reaches 329 at 80 Faith and stays ahead of Erdtree until about 69 Faith.
• Returns slow after 60 Faith: Finger Seal at +25 scales 126 at 10 Faith, 156 at 20, 188 at 30, 221 at 40, 254 at 50, 286 at 60, 305 at 70 and 329 at 80, about 32 points per 10 Faith up to 60 and roughly 20 per 10 after.
• Hybrids demand an even split and punish lopsided investment.
• Golden Order Seal gives 150 Incantation Scaling at 17 Intelligence and 17 Faith, 244 at 45 and 17 either way and only 270 at 80 and 17, but 338 at 45 and 45, comparable to Erdtree Seal's 353 at 80 Faith.
• Dragon Communion Seal at +10 behaves the same way, with 336 at 45 Arcane and 45 Faith, 333 at 60 and 30, and only 310 at 80 and 10.
• Faith requirements for the good seals are 10 for Finger, 10 Faith and 10 Arcane for Dragon Communion, 14 for Giant's, 17 Intelligence and 17 Faith for Golden Order, 17 for Spiraltree, 18 for Gravel Stone, 23 for Fire Knight's, 27 for Godslayer's and Dryleaf, and 40 for Erdtree.

Best Weapons

Weapon	Image	Attack	Weight	Str	Dex	Int	Fai	Arc	Why Take It
Erdtree Seal		25 + 15 holy	0	-	-	-	40	-	Erdtree Seal has the highest incantation scaling at 80 Faith, 353 at max upgrade, though it only overtakes the Godslayer's Seal past 69 Faith. Heals read Faith scaling alone, which also makes it the best seal for healing. It weighs nothing and adds 15 holy damage to its melee hits, but it carries no spell bonus and, despite its name, does not boost Erdtree incantations.
Godslayer's Seal		25	1.5	4	-	-	27	-	Godslayer's Seal is the strongest pure Faith seal through the 27 to 68 Faith range, reaching 329 at 80 Faith at max upgrade. On top of that it adds 10% to Black Flame, Black Flame Ritual and Scouring Black Flame, and the boost stacks with a second copy, which makes it the natural core of a Black Flame build from the middle of the game onward.
Dryleaf Seal		25	1.5	8	-	-	27	-	Dryleaf Seal is the best pure Faith seal across 27 to 50 Faith, the band most Faith builds actually play in, and it adds 15% to Miquella's incantations, including golden rings of light such as Discus of Light and Triple Rings of Light. It tops out lower than other seals at very high Faith, at 304 with 80 Faith at max upgrade, so it shines brightest as a booster beside a stronger seal.
Dragon Communion Seal		25	0	-	-	-	10	10	Dragon Communion Seal is the Arcane route for incantations and has the highest ceiling of any seal, 388 with 80 Arcane and 80 Faith at max upgrade, with an even split of the two scoring best. It boosts Dragon Communion incantations by 15%, or 32.25% with a copy in each hand, and Arcane also raises the poison, madness and blood loss buildup of incantations cast through it.
Golden Order Seal		24	0	-	-	17	17	-	Golden Order Seal is the only seal that scales incantations off Intelligence and Faith together. At 45 Intelligence and 45 Faith it reaches 338 at max upgrade, close to the Erdtree Seal at 80 Faith, so it pays off for a character raising both stats anyway. It weighs nothing and boosts Golden Order incantations by 10%, though heals and weapon buffs read only its Faith half.

Notes

• Incantation Scaling comes only from the seal that casts the spell, and a second equipped seal has no effect on incantations cast through the other.
• Casting Discus of Light from an Erdtree Seal with a Dryleaf Seal in the other hand beats casting it from the Dryleaf Seal itself, because the booster's multiplier lands on top of the stronger seal's scaling.
• Missing the Faith requirement reduces Incantation Scaling rather than merely locking the seal.
• Frenzied Flame Seal is the only seal that inflicts a status in melee, and its 55 madness buildup lands on the wielder's own melee hits.
• Dryleaf Seal, Fire Knight's Seal and Spiraltree Seal belong to the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, as does the Staff of the Great Beyond, a glintstone staff that also casts incantations and works as an alternative catalyst.

All Sacred Seals

Name	Image	Physical	Magic	Fire	Light	Holy	Crit. Boost	Weight	Str.	Dex.	Int.	Fai.	Arc.	Sell Price	Skill
Clawmark Seal		31 25	0 15	0 15	0 15	0 15	100 15	1.5	D 4	0	0	D 10	0	100	No Skill
Dragon Communion Seal		25 25	0 15	0 15	0 15	0 15	100 15	0	0	0	0	D 10	C 10	200	No Skill
Erdtree Seal		25 25	0 15	0 15	0 15	15 15	100 15	0	0	0	0	C 40	0	200	No Skill
Finger Seal		25 25	0 15	0 15	0 15	0 15	100 15	1.5	E 4	0	0	C 10	0	100	No Skill
Frenzied Flame Seal		25 25	0 15	0 15	0 15	0 15	100 15	0	E 0	E 0	E 0	D 0	0	100	No Skill
Giant's Seal		25 25	0 15	0 15	0 15	0 15	100 15	1.5	E 4	0	0	C 14	0	100	No Skill
Godslayer's Seal		25 25.0	0 15.0	0 15.0	0 15.0	0 15.0	100 15	1.5	E 4	0	0	C 27	0	100	No Skill
Golden Order Seal		24 25	0 15	0 15	0 15	0 15	100 15	0	0	0	D 17	D 17	0	200	No Skill
Gravel Stone Seal		25 25	0 15	0 15	0 15	0 15	100 15	1.5	E 4	0	0	C 18	0	100	No Skill