Best New Talismans In Shadow of the Erdtree, Ranked (2024)

Shadow of the Erdtree introduces a ton of new armaments, armor sets, and other items to collect that add some serious variety to the game. Among these new items are a slew of new Talismans that provide a huge variety of new passive bonuses, exclusive to the DLC.

But the four Talisman slots are valuable real estate, especially by the end of the game when each one can make up fundamental aspects of many builds. These six best Talismans Shadow of the Erdtree players can find are worth swapping to, either because they are strict upgrades over base game Talismans, or because they offer new buffs that are too good to pass up – especially for certain builds.

Pearldrake Talisman +3

Increases Elemental Damage Resistance By The Utmost

Talisman depicting a pearlescent ancient dragon.

The ancient dragons who ruled in the prehistoric era before the Erdtree, would protect their lord as a wall of living rock.

And so it is that the shape of the dragon has become symbolic of all manner of protections.

One of the most useful sets of items in the base game are the Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman and the Pearldrake Talisman +2. These two talismans, when combined together, grant a noticeable boost to your defenses across the board all the time, without a special trigger and no downsides.

The Pearldrake Talisman +3 in particular is useful in the DLC, though, because of how many enemies deal special effect damage, or use weapon damage types that aren't Physical. Unfortunately, you won't be able to find the Pearldrake Talisman +3 until mid-to-late through the DLC, as it's hidden deep in Shadow Keep's specimen storehouse.

Pearl Shield Talisman

Increases Non-Physical Damage Negation While Guarding

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Talisman depicting a knight bearing a pearlescent greatshield.

The nature and the potential of impurity surpassed the understanding of the knights, and so they were forced to prepare for all threats known or unknown.

The Pearl Shield talisman is, like the Golden Braid talisman, incredibly useful in the DLC because of one boss in particular. The final boss of the DLC deals a ridiculous amount of Holy damage in its second phase, and many players have found that the most effective way to prevent being killed is to hide behind a Shield with this Talisman equipped.

While the regular Pearldrake Talisman increases your non-physical resistances by a small amount all the time, the Pearl Shield talisman vastly increases your non-physical resistance while blocking. These two effects stack, so if you are having particular trouble against a boss with special damage types, consider swapping out your off-hand for a Shield and equipping this Talisman.

Golden Braid Talisman

Vastly Increases Holy Damage Resistance – Essential For One Boss

A braid of golden hair, cut loose.

Queen Marika's offering to the Grandmother.

What was her prayer? Her wish, her confession?

There is no one left to answer, and Marika never returned home again.

The Golden Braid Talisman is one of the most lore-significant items in Shadow of the Erdtree and almost a required talisman for certain bosses. This Talisman gives an impressive 20% boost to your Holy Damage Negation stat, a huge amount, and a necessary amount for preventing one-shots from end-of-the-dlc bosses.

The Golden Braid talisman is actually Queen Marika's own braid, and can be found in her home village (Shaman Village) beyond the statue that leads to Commander Gaius' boss arena. Use the O Mother gesture to open the way in front of this statue.

Two-Headed Turtle Talisman

Vastly Boosts Stamina Recovery Speed

A talisman in the shape of a two-headed green turtle.

Turtles are known as a nutritious ingredient, symbolic of inexhaustible power.

Two-headed turtles are a favorite subject in the land of the tower, due to the spiral shape of their intertwined necks.

The Two-Headed Turtle talisman is essentially an upgraded version of the base game's Green Turtle Talisman. Both of these increase your Stamina Recovery speed, but the Two-Headed Turtle talisman is noticeably faster – almost halving the amount of time it takes to refill to full Stamina after depletion.

The Two-Headed Turtle talisman is especially useful in the DLC because several bosses hit hard and come at you fast. Stamina management is one of the most important things when taking on these bosses, and it's something you won't have to think as much about if you have the Two-Headed Turtle talisman equipped.

Two-Handed Sword Talisman

Boosts All Damage When Two-Handing By 20%

A talisman depicting a warrior two-handing a sword.

The horned warriors were fitting figureheads for the military might of the tower they kept watch over, their deft attacks slashing through any and all foes.

The Two-Handed Sword talisman is extremely useful for Strength builds, but also for Dexterity players who like using large Dex weapons like the new Great Katana or a two-handed Twinblade. This powerful Talisman simply increases the damage output of all weapons when Two-Handing them by 20%.

Two-Handed builds already deal a considerable amount of damage with each calculated swing of their typically heavy weapons, and an extra 20% boost on top of that with the Two-Handed Sword talisman means more Poise breaks and enemies dying faster.

Talisman of All Crucibles

Grants The Effect of All Crucible Items – At A Great Cost

A giant mass of intermingling Crucible attributes.

Reduces damage taken from critical hits and head shots and improves the effectiveness of rolling and backstepping, but also increases damage taken at all times.

Rumored to have sprouted upon giants and is known as the "mother of Crucibles" in ancient tower lore.

The Talisman of All Crucibles, on the surface, looks like one of the worst Talismans in Shadow of the Erdtree, but its enormous increase in damage taken does not matter for three types of players: speedrunners, Rune Level 1 players, and No Hit runs.

Like Marika's Soreseal and Radagon's Soreseal, the increase to damage taken doesn't matter if you aren't planning to get hit, anyway. This of course requires a high skill ceiling, but for these runs, the Talisman of All Crucibles essentially grants three different Talisman effects in one slot. Combine this with other upside-downside-type Talismans for a nice boost to your Dodge Rolls and Backsteps.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree

Base Game

Elden Ring

Platform(s)

PC , PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S

Released

June 21, 2024

Developer(s)

FromSoftware

Publisher(s)

Bandai Namco Entertainment , FromSoftware

Genre

Soulslike , RPG

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence