Hexes are a class of spells in Dark Souls II.
General information[]
Hexes can be bought from various merchants and trainers, while others can be found as loot throughout Drangleic. Hexes are unique in that they require both Faith and Intelligence in order to be used.
As a general rule, hexes that require more intelligence than Faith require a staff to cast, while those that require more Faith than Intelligence require a sacred chime. Hexes cast from staves tend to be more destructive, while hexes cast from chimes tend to be more passive. In some cases the damage dealt is dependent on the amount of souls the caster has, consuming souls in the process.
Some weapons that are neither staves nor chimes exist which can be used to cast hexes, such as the Mace of the Insolent.
The damage dealt by hexes is heavily influenced by the Dark Attack Bonus stat. Dark bonus is increased as both Intelligence and Faith are raised at the same rate.
Most hexes suffer from needing more than one Attunement slot, in exchange for their unique effects. Hexing also suffers from a high stat requirements, needing investment in Intelligence, Faith and Attunement to use effectively. However, Dark damage has the least resistances in the core game with most enemies being quite vulnerable to it. This advantage does diminish when going through the DLCs as most enemies in the DLCs have very high elemental defenses, Dark included. Also, some bosses boast high Dark damage resistance, such as Nashandra, Elana, the Squalid Queen and Fume Knight.
Hexes[]
Hex | Effect | Uses | Slots |
Int. |
Faith |
Location |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dark Orb |
Fires a heavy Dark Orb. | 20-30 | 1 | 12 | 10 | Straid OR Felkin OR Grandahl |
Dark Hail |
Fires a spread of small orbs. | 8-15 | 2 | 19 | 12 | Straid OR Magerold OR Grandahl |
Dark Fog |
Creates a cloud of poison fog. | 4-8 | 2 | 25 | 14 | Straid OR The Gutter corpse |
Affinity |
Creates several orbs that seek targets within range. | 8-15 | 3 | 40 | 24 | Straid OR Kobold drop |
Dead Again |
Causes the corpses of defeated enemies to explode. | 10-20 | 2 | 22 | 20 | Chloanne OR Razorback Nightcrawler drop |
Dark Weapon |
Imbues equipped weapon with Dark damage. | 4-8 | 1 | 16 | 14 | Felkin the Outcast |
Whisper of Despair |
A projectile lowers an enemy's defense by 100 for 30 seconds upon impact. | 2-5 | 1 | 24 | 18 | Grave of Saints corpse |
Repel |
Makes caster immune to all damage for 1.5 seconds. | 4-8 | 3 | 35 | 27 | Straid of Olaphis |
Twisted Barricade |
Similar to Repel but deflects all spells for 1.5 seconds. | 2-5 | 2 | 38 | 25 | Doors of Pharros corpse |
Numbness |
Reduces all incoming damage by 35% for 20 seconds, but also narrows vision. | 3-6 | 2 | 42 | 30 | Straid of Olaphis |
Scraps of Life |
Creates dark pillars around the caster. | 4-8 | 1 | 8 | 12 | Cromwell OR Black Gulch corpse |
Darkstorm |
Creates a vortex of dark orbs around the caster. | 3-6 | 2 | 12 | 21 | Magerold OR Grandahl |
Resonant Soul |
Fires a dark mass of energy at target. Damage scales with souls. | 20-30 | 2 | 10 | 18 | Felkin OR Pilgrims of Dark Rank 1 |
Great Resonant Soul |
Stronger version of Resonant Soul. Damage scales with souls. | 4-8 | 2 | 13 | 26 | Felkin OR Pilgrims of Dark Rank 2 |
Climax |
Strongest version of Resonant Soul. Damage scales with souls. | 3-6 | 4 | 30 | 47 | Pilgrims of Dark Rank 3 |
Resonant Flesh |
Temporarily increases max HP at the cost of souls. | 2-4 | 1 | 11 | 19 | Felkin the Outcast |
Resonant Weapon |
Similar to Dark Weapon, but damage imbued scales with souls. | 2-5 | 2 | 15 | 24 | Felkin the Outcast |
Lifedrain Patch |
A dark mass damages anyone nearby. 8 second duration and damage scales with souls. | 3-6 | 1 | 20 | 35 | Straid of Olaphis |
Profound Still |
Prevents nearby enemies from casting spells for 30 seconds. | 2-5 | 2 | 27 | 42 | Darkdiver Grandahl |
Similar to Soul Greatsword (with dark damage) except it also fires a projectile mid-swing. | 3-6 | 2 | 55 | 29 | Shulva, Sanctum City | |
Promised Walk of Peace (CotSK) |
Increases equip load of enemies and the caster. | 2-5 | 2 | 30 | 40 | Shulva, Sanctum City |
Recollection (CotOIK) |
Creates an orb in front of the player that then fires 5 homing dark skulls. | 4-8 | 1 | 35 | 30 | Brume Tower - in a tower housing the Scorching Iron Scepter. |
Dark Dance (CotIK) |
Fires multiple dark projectiles. | 2-6 | 2 | 22 | 60 | Frozen Eleum Loyce |
Magic |
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Hexes • Miracles • Pyromancy • Sorcery |