Elden Ring: Mimic Tear Is The Only Spirit Ash You Really Need
Elden Ring gives the player the ability to summon spirits to assist through the use of Spirit Ashes, but the Mimic Tear is the best by far.
Elden Ring gives the player plenty of options when it comes to combat, including the new Spirit Ashes system, but the Mimic Tear summon is in a league of its own and most players won't need to look any further. Elden Ring's combat is made with player choice as a key ingredient, with players having the option of several different types of weapons and magic to take on foes, from Greatswords to Flails, Glintstone sorcery to divine incantations, and even the use of summons in the form of NPCs or other players. As a result, there is never a one size fits all method when it comes to fighting enemies in the Lands Between, although players will become familiar with many of them due to the number of repeated bosses in Elden Ring.
Spirit Ashes can be found by players as they journey across the open world of Elden Ring, with some being found on dead bodies or even being quest or boss rewards, especially in the optional caves and catacombs that litter the landscape. A large number of the summons aren't particularly useful in combat, serving better as a distraction as opposed to another source of damage, as even fully upgraded summons don't often do much damage against the wide variety of enemies encountered in the Lands Between. Although many magic-oriented characters will possibly be apprehensive given the FP cost associated with some of the Spirit Ashes, Elden Ring's spirit summons have their uses.
The Mimic Tear Spirit Ash can be obtained by the player in the Night's Sacred Ground area of Nokron, Eternal City, and requires the use of a Stonesword Key to obtain. Unlike most of the other Spirit Ashes, the Mimic Tear actually costs the player HP as opposed to FP, and at a 660 HP it may seem too expensive for many players, especially those who have neglected their Vigor stat. However, the Mimic Tear's strengths are myriad, as it spawns in as a direct copy of the player, down to whatever equipment and even items they currently have equipped.
Summoning the Mimic Tear is quite similar to summoning another player in Elden Ring, as the spirit is capable of using items, healing itself and even the player if they have healing spells equipped. They also boast the advantage of being incredibly bulky, especially once upgraded. If used smartly, players are capable of using this Spirit Ash to render double boss fights much more manageable, and even make some of Elden Ring's most notoriously difficult bosses much less of a threat. The Mimic Tear is capable of using weapon greases and items that the player has equipped as well, meaning that players can essentially use them to inflict status effects such as poison by having the correct grease equipped without having to use up the items and craft more.
It might not be on the same level as PC players using mods to summon bosses in Elden Ring, but console players can take comfort in the fact that the Mimic Tear summon is in a boss tier of its own. The Mimic Tear is also classed as a legendary Spirit Ash, meaning that it is required for any wishing to complete the associated achievement/trophy and as such, even if players aren't intending to use this powerful summon, it's probably worth picking up regardless. It isn't often that Elden Ring gives players such powerful tools, which makes the Mimic Tear stand out as both a valuable Spirit Ash and as a tool in general for the Tarnished to make use of.