You upgrade Spirit Ashes in Elden Ring by bringing gloveworts to Roderika once she becomes a spirit tuner at the Roundtable Hold: regular ashes use Grave Glovewort, renowned (named) ashes use Ghost Glovewort, and both go up to +10. Each upgrade makes the summon stronger and harder to kill.
Unlocking spirit tuning with Roderika
Nobody can strengthen ashes until Roderika takes up spirit tuning at the Roundtable Hold. That happens as part of Roderika’s questline, so if your summons feel stuck at +0, that is the thread to follow. After that she will tune any ash you bring, provided you have the right flower for the next level.
Grave Glovewort vs Ghost Glovewort
The split works much like regular and somber weapon upgrades:
- Grave Glovewort is the ordinary white flower that grows in the catacombs. It upgrades standard Spirit Ashes.
- Ghost Glovewort is a spectral version of the same flower. It is needed for renowned ashes, the ones that keep their name and fame even in death. Regular glovewort will not work on them.
Each type comes in ten varieties: numbered [1] to [9] plus a Great version for the final step.
Upgrade table
Where gloveworts come from
Gloveworts grow underground, mostly in the catacombs scattered across the Lands Between, and you pick them just like any other plant. Once you collect the Bell Bearings below, the Twin Maiden Husks sell the numbered tiers without limit. As a price reference, Grave Glovewort [1] costs 800 runes there and Ghost Glovewort [1] costs 1,200.
Great Gloveworts
The two Great varieties are the bottleneck. They are not sold by the Husks, and each playthrough only has a fixed number:
- Great Grave Glovewort: 6 in the base game and another 6 in the Realm of Shadow, for 12 per playthrough.
- Great Ghost Glovewort: 7 per playthrough.
That means you can only take a handful of ashes to +10 on each run, so save these for the summons you actually use.
Glovewort Picker’s Bell Bearings
Hand these to the Twin Maiden Husks to buy the numbered gloveworts in bulk.
| Bell Bearing | Unlocks at the Twin Maiden Husks |
|---|---|
| Glovewort Picker’s Bell Bearing [1] | Grave Glovewort [1], [2] and [3] |
| Glovewort Picker’s Bell Bearing [2] | Grave Glovewort [4], [5] and [6] |
| Glovewort Picker’s Bell Bearing [3] | Grave Glovewort [7], [8] and [9] |
| Ghost-Glovewort Picker’s Bell Bearing [1] | Ghost Glovewort [1], [2] and [3] |
| Ghost-Glovewort Picker’s Bell Bearing [2] | Ghost Glovewort [4], [5] and [6] |
| Ghost-Glovewort Picker’s Bell Bearing [3] | Ghost Glovewort [7], [8] and [9] |
Ghost-Glovewort Picker’s Bell Bearing [1] lies on a corpse at the base of a gazebo in Nokron, Eternal City. Give it to the Husks and Ghost Glovewort [1], [2] and [3] go on sale, and that shop stock carries over into New Game Plus.
Spirit Ashes in Shadow of the Erdtree
Inside the Realm of Shadow your summons get a second, separate boost on top of their upgrade level. Collecting Revered Spirit Ash raises a blessing that makes spirits hit harder and take less damage there. The full breakdown is in the Scadutree Fragments and Revered Spirit Ash guide.