Elden Ring is a game that is all about options, allowing you to customize almost anything about your character. That includes how you light your way in the darkest corners of the Lands Between, which is where torches come in. Aside from lighting up the world around you, torches in Elden Ring have a wide range of unique effects.
You won’t want to use most of them as your primary weapon (unless you’re feeling particularly masochistic), but they can find value in a surprising variety of situations. Here's every torch you can find in Elden Ring, ranked by how useful they'll be during your playthrough.
7 Torch
The Torch can be bought from the first merchant in the game, Kalé. And, well, it’s a torch. You can use it to light the area around you, and you can even hit things with it if you want. It deals Fire damage, which effectively stuns certain enemies, although in general you are better off using literally any other weapon that deals Fire damage.
None of this is to say that the Torch isn’t good at what it does, but every other torch on this list has some unique property that makes them more useful in various scenarios.
6 Ghostflame Torch
The Ghostflame Torch is basically the same as the regular Torch, except that it deals Magic damage instead of Fire, and causes Frost buildup. Unfortunately, while these are improvements in certain situations, they don’t matter much, since you'll still just be flailing away with a torch. Honestly, if the Ghostflame Torch had the same flame-breath Weapon Skill as some of the other torches on this list, it might actually be pretty good, giving you a unique way to trigger the Frostbite status effect. But it doesn’t, so it isn’t.
All that said, it also has unique blue light, which is pretty cool. If you want to cast your journey through the Lands Between in a different hue, head to the massive crater in Limgrave. Once you reach Nokron, the Eternal City, leap across the towers to your right until you reach the Ghostflame Torch. Be careful not to go too far down, though; otherwise, you'll have to start back at the top of the crater.
5 Steel-Wire Torch
The Steel-Wire Torch is one of just two torches in Elden Ring that has a unique Weapon Skill. As its name, Firebreather, suggests, it lets you breathe fire in a wide area. Most weapons that deal Fire damage scale with Strength, so the Steel-Wire Torch gives pure Dexterity or Intelligence builds a way to hit multiple enemies with fire.
The Steel-Wire Torch also deals the second-most damage of any of the torches on this list, and even ends up getting B scaling in Dexterity when fully upgraded. It can be found on the ramparts of Castle Morne, located on the southern tip of the Weeping Peninsula.
4 Torchpole
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The Torchpole is the only weapon on this list that — despite the name — is technically not a Torch, but a Spear. That said, its description refers to it as a “torch fastened to a long pole” (sort of stating the obvious there) and it gives off light when equipped. The Torchpole also happens to be the only torch that is actually functional as a weapon.
It deals more damage than any of the others, and it has far better range. Even so, its usefulness is limited. Like the “official” torches, you can’t change the Torchpole’s Ash of War or its Affinity, nor can you buff it in any way, which is a problem since its base damage and scaling are underwhelming when compared to real weapons. Still, if you really want to use a torch as a weapon, this is the one you should choose. It drops from the soldiers in Stormveil Castle who wield it.
3 Beast-Repellent Torch
As the name suggests, when holding the Beast-Repellent Torch, certain enemies won't attack you so long as you don’t get too close or attack them. This ability works on a wide variety of the beasts that inhabit the Lands Between, including several of the more annoying varieties, such as the regular-sized dogs, certain giant dogs, and basilisks, among others.
You can buy the Beast-Repellent Torch at the Isolated Merchant’s Shack in Dragonbarrow. Its location is a little unfortunate, since the area you need to pass through to get there is filled with enemies that the Beast-Repellent Torch would be extremely helpful against.
2 Sentry’s Torch
The primary reason to use the Sentry’s Torch is that it allows you to see Black Knife Assassins while they are invisible. This effect is particularly helpful when exploring the Evergaol in Ordina, Liturgical Town, which contains four invisible Lesser Black Knife Assassins that can one-shot you if you haven’t invested enough levels into Vigor. The Sentry’s Torch also works in PvP on enemies wearing the Concealing Veil.
If you want a combat torch, though, this is arguably your worst option, since it replaces the extremely useful Fire Damage with Holy damage, which is one of the most-resisted damage types in Elden Ring. Still, those Black Knife Assassins are some of the most frustrating enemies in the game. If you want to ruin their day, you can buy this torch from the Merchant at the Hermit Merchant’s Shack in the Capital Outskirts.
1 St. Trina’s Torch
St. Trina’s Torch is one of the weaker torches in terms of damage, but it’s also one of only two weapons in Elden Ring that can cause Sleep, a status effect that will knock out an enemy, leaving them vulnerable to a Critical attack. The torch will cause Sleep buildup when hitting an enemy, but the real value is the Weapon Skill, Fires of Slumber. Visually, it’s the same as the Steel-Wire Torch’s Firebreather (but purple instead of orange), but instead of dealing damage, it causes
Sleep buildup.
Sadly, you’ll have to wait until near the very end of the game to get this unique item. You’ll find it in the Consecrated Snowfield, inside a chest in one of the carriages being pulled around by Snow Trolls.