Amongst catalysts are Chimes (short for Sacred Chimes), a subclass of catalysts that can be used to cast miracles and sometimes sorceries. Apart from that, what really makes chimes unique is that they have some of the highest spell buff stats in the game; in case you don’t know what that is, every catalyst has a spell buff stat which dictates how powerful a miracle will be when casted. Given that chimes have a high affinity with miracles, they are the most used catalysts for miracle builds, both pure and hybrid, in the entire game.
While chimes are perfect for casting miracles, including some of the powerful ones like lightning spear and wrath of the gods, they differ in several ways. Each of the seven chimes in Dark Souls 3 cater to a different playstyle – whether it is electrocuting enemies with literal lightning, casting faster than anything else the world’s ever seen, or even blaspheming and playing with the forbidden power of dark miracles! I’ll be ranking all seven chimes in Dark Souls 3 as well as going in-depth on each one so that you can find the one most suitable for your playstyle!
Hassan has been playing Soulslike games for years, He has 100+ hours in Elden Ring and Dark Souls 3, exploring every bit and crafting new strategies for gamers.
Best Chimes in Dark Souls 3
Dark Souls 3 features seven different chimes, each tailored to a specific playstyle. These chimes excel in casting miracles, such as lightning spear and wrath of the gods. In this guide, I will rank and explore each chime, helping you choose the one that suits your playstyle best.
Saint-Tree Bellvine
Characteristics
The Saint-tree Bellvine is a unique catalyst that boosts casting speed to the maximum cap of 50 virtual Dexterity, reducing spell casting time. However, it has lower Spell Buff compared to other Faith catalysts like the Sunlight Talisman and Sacred Chime of Filianore.
One advantage is that you only need to hold it to maximize casting speed, allowing you to wield a more powerful catalyst in the other hand for stronger spells, including Staves and Pyromancy Flames. The Saint-tree Bellvine has a low stat requirement of 3 strength and 18 faith.
Upgrade
It has natural scaling of E in strength and C in dexterity, which can’t be improved through infusions. It can be reinforced up to +10, gaining D scaling in strength and A scaling in faith at that level, making it suitable for miracles with lower spell buff requirements.
Weapon Art
The Saint-tree Bellvine has the Gentle Prayer weapon art, requiring you to meet the chime’s requirements and have enough FP to use it. Gentle Prayer gradually heals 360 HP over 60 seconds, consuming 13 FP. This averages to 6 HP per second or 27.7 HP per FP spent, making it effective early game but with gradual healing and chime dependency.
Location
You can find it by looting a tree stump in the Cathedral of the Deep, near the bonfire. Exit the chapel, turn right where 4 hollows are praying, and drop down into the water with prowling maggots. The chime is located just behind the building with the ladder shortcut. Alternatively, you can trade it with Pickle Pee in exchange for the Help me! Carving (once per character).
Crystal Chime
Characteristics
The Crystal Chime is a unique catalyst that can cast both Sorceries and Miracles but doesn’t enhance Dark spells. It’s great for combining offensive Miracles and Sorceries but not for Dark spells.
While it is pretty solid, I still rank it quite low on my list of the best chimes as it fails to deliver at the higher soul levels due to its two soft-caps. The first soft-cap is encountered at 30 Intelligence and 30 Faith, up to which its scaling increases the fastest. Beyond this point, Spell Buff will still increase appreciably but slower than before, until reaching the second soft-cap of 45 Intelligence and 45 Faith.
Upgrade
The Crystal Chime requires 3 strength, 18 intelligence, and 18 faith to wield, reflecting its versatility. It has E scaling in strength and D scaling in both intelligence and faith, which can be slightly improved through reinforcement with twinkling titanite. Keep in mind that it scales both intelligence and faith for magic sorceries and lightning miracles but only faith for physical miracles.
The Crystal Chime comes with a heavy stat requirement of 3 strength, 18 intelligence and 18 faith, which is not surprising considering it can cast both Sorceries and Miracles. In return, however, it offers an E scaling in strength and a D scaling in both intelligence and faith.
Weapon Art
The Crystal Chime’s Gentle Prayer weapon art gradually heals 360 HP over 60 seconds, consuming 13 FP. This equates to 6 HP per second or 27.7 HP per FP, making it effective early in the game. However, it heals gradually and relies on the equipped weapon. Ensure you meet the chime’s requirements and have sufficient FP to use this skill, and don’t switch away from the chime or its effects will end immediately.
Location
Found in the Grand Archives. From the first wax pool on the first floor, navigate to the right of the entrance to the dark room and look for a corridor, where a red-eyed spear-wielding Lothric Knight is making rounds. The chime is inside a small room at the end of the corridor.
Sacred Chime of Fillianore
Characteristics
The Sacred Chime of Fillianore is one of the best chimes – being an unorthodox chime, it holds a special place among all faith catalysts. What stands out about this chime is that it has a large area of effect when casting heals or buffs, making it very clutch in cooperative play in situations where allies need to be aided from a distance.
However, it is also one of the weakest faith catalysts in the game, meaning that any scaling healing miracles will lose a significant fraction of their potency, negating the advantage granted by the larger effect radius. Ultimately, the catalyst performs poorly when integrated into a dedicated Faith build and instead finds its niche when wielded by a player that invests in low to moderate amounts of Faith for utility purposes.
Upgrade
The Sacred Chime of Fillianore comes with a reasonable stat requirement of 3 strength and 18 faith. Other than that, it offers an E scaling in strength and a C scaling in faith. These scalings can be bumped up significantly through special reinforced with twinkling titanite.
While this chime cannot be infused or buffed, it achieves a D scaling in strength and a whopping A scaling in faith. Furthermore, it achieves a spell buff of 159 at 40 faith and 130 physical damage at +5 reinforcement.
Weapon Art
The Sacred Chime of Fillianore comes with the Pray for Favor weapon art, making it the only weapon in the game to have this weapon art. Similar to Gentle Prayer, it heals 240 HP over the course of 60 seconds, averaging to 6 hp per second.
What’s more is that it can also heal nearby allies that happen to be present in its area of effect. Lastly, unlike Gentle Prayer, its buffs remain active even if you unequip the chime or put it away. This makes it the perfect weapon art for support/healer builds.
Location
Obtain the Sacred Chime of Fillianore by speaking to Shira in The Ringed City, accepting her request to kill Darkeater Midir, and subsequently touching Fillianore without returning to Shira. If you follow this sequence, Shira will leave her home and can be found to the right of Fillianore’s Rest. Defeating her will reward you with the Sacred Chime of Fillianore.
Caitha’s Chime
Characteristics
Caitha’s Chime stands out as a Dark-focused catalyst, offering boosted power to Dark Miracles with Intelligence scaling. While it excels in casting Dark Miracles, its Faith scaling is weaker for regular Miracles. It’s ideal for spells like Dorhys’ Gnawing and Lifehunt Scythe. Additionally, it features a decent spell buff and offers HP replenishment through its weapon art, making it useful for survivability outside of combat.
Upgrade
Caitha’s Chime requires 3 strength, 12 intelligence and 12 faith to use properly. Furthermore, it comes with an E scaling in strength, a C scaling in intelligence and a B scaling in faith. While it cannot be infused or buffed, reinforcing it to +5 with twinkling titanite helps it achieve a D scaling in strength and an A scaling in both faith and intelligence!
This versatility gives you multiple options of either fitting it on either one attribute or a hybrid of both – I would personally recommend investing in both faith and intelligence as it achieves an awesome spell buff stat of 312 at 60 intelligence and faith.
Weapon Art
Caitha’s Chime features the Gentle Prayer weapon art. To use it, you must meet the chime’s requirements and have enough FP. Gentle Prayer gradually heals 360 HP over 60 seconds, costing 13 FP. It’s effective early in the game but heals slowly and depends on the weapon you have equipped. Remember, switching away from the chime will cancel its effects immediately.
Location
Found in Lothric Castle. In the small chapel prior to encountering the Dragonslayer Armour, there is an exit on the opposite side and a drop-down from a broken railing. Dropping down below, the chime can be found on a corpse lying above a group of Lothric Knights, in the area just past the moat guarded by the two Lothric Wyverns.
Priest’s Chime
Characteristics
The Priest’s Chime is ideal for low to medium Faith builds, with the lowest Faith requirement among Miracle catalysts. Its Spell Buff improves significantly between 30 and 40 Faith, making it one of the best catalysts for Faith levels up to 45. Despite being weaker than some options, like the Rose of Ariandel, it’s lightweight and features the Gentle Prayer skill for survivability.
Upgrade
The Priest’s Chime, despite how good it is, comes with a light stat requirement of 3 strength and 10 faith. Moreover, it comes with a natural scaling of E in strength and B in faith, both of which can be improved with titanite reinforcement as it lacks the ability to be buffed or infused. At +10 titanite reinforcement, it achieves a D scaling in strength a solid A scaling in faith, apart from 117 physical damage.
Weapon Art
The Gentle Prayer weapon art of the Priest’s Chime gradually heals 360 HP over 60 seconds, consuming 13 FP. While effective, it’s best suited for early game and should be used with the chime equipped, as switching away will cancel the healing effect.
Location
Sold by Greirat for 4,000 souls once he has returned from his scavenge expedition in the Undead Settlement.
Cleric’s Sacred Chime
Characteristics
The Cleric’s Sacred Chime is a versatile chime suitable for casting Miracles throughout the game. While it shares a Spell Buff range with the Priest’s Chime, the latter is better for most Faith levels below 45. However, the Cleric’s Sacred Chime shines in the 45 to 50 Faith range, boasting the highest Spell Buff among all Miracle catalysts in the game.
However, it is ultimately superseded by Yorshka’s Chime past 50 Faith. Therefore, if you’re looking to use the best of the best, I would highly recommend equipping this bad boy before you reach 50 faith.
Upgrade
The Cleric’s Sacred Chime has low stat requirements, needing only 3 strength and 14 faith. It cannot be buffed or infused, but it features a D scaling in strength and an A scaling in faith. When reinforced to +10 with titanite, it attains an impressive S scaling in faith, making it one of the few catalysts in Dark Souls 3 to achieve this level of scaling. With 60 faith, it reaches a spell buff of 232, making it a powerful choice for faith-based characters.
Weapon Art
The Cleric’s Sacred Chime comes with the Gentle Prayer weapon art. Gentle Prayer heals 360 HP over the course of 60 seconds and expends 13 of your FP, averaging to 6 hp per second or 27.7 hp per FP spent. This makes it exceptionally effective early game, though its only downside is that it heals gradually and is weapon dependent.
Do note that you must meet the requirements of the chime and have enough FP to use this skill. Lastly, this skill is weapon based, meaning never switch away from the chime or its effects will immediately wear off!
Location
The Cleric’s Sacred Chime is the starting equipment for the Cleric class. If you don’t go for that class, then this chime can be dropped by Undead Clerics at the Cemetery of Ash or Untended Graves. I would recommend farming them from the bonfire up to the boss area in the Cemetery of Ash.
Yorshka’s Chime
Characteristics
Yorshka’s Chime, a sacred chime linked to Company Captain Yorshka, stands as a potent Miracle catalyst, especially at high levels of Faith. It ranks as one of the top chimes in Dark Souls 3. To wield it, a minimum Faith requirement of 30 must be met, demanding a significant Faith investment.
Unlike many other Faith catalysts, Yorshka’s Chime exhibits continuous Spell Buff improvement as Faith increases, surpassing the capabilities of others. While it may be less powerful during most of its progression, it becomes the strongest catalyst when Faith reaches 50 or higher, boasting the game’s highest spell buff at 247 (with 60 intelligence).
Upgrade
Yorshka’s Chime has high requirements of 3 strength and 30 faith. It has a base scaling of D in strength and A in faith, which can be improved through titanite reinforcement. At maximum reinforcement, it reaches D scaling in strength and S scaling in faith. While it can’t be buffed or infused, its versatility makes it a valuable choice for various hybrid builds, especially faith builds.
Weapon Art
The Yorshka’s Chime comes with the Gentle Prayer weapon art. Gentle Prayer heals 360 HP over the course of 60 seconds and expends 13 of your FP, averaging to 6 hp per second or 27.7 hp per FP spent. This makes it exceptionally effective early game, though its only downside is that it heals gradually and is weapon dependent. Do note that you must meet the requirements of the chime and have enough FP to use this skill. Lastly, this skill is weapon based, meaning never switch away from the chime or its effects will immediately wear off!
Location
Dropped by Company Captain Yorshka in Anor Londo, the covenant leader of the Blades of the Darkmoon. Be careful, as killing her may aggravate Sirris of the Sunless Realms in the Firelink Shrine.
Common Questions And Answers
The Yorshka’s Chime is dropped by Company Captain Yorshka, the covenant leader of the Blades, after killing her in Anor Londo. Be careful, as killing her may aggravate Sirris of the Sunless Realms in the Firelink Shrine – a fair trade off for obtaining one of the best chimes in Dark Souls 3.
Most Chimes can be upgraded with either titanite or twinkling titanite. As twinkling titanite is a rather scarce resource, it’s reasonable to want to spend it efficiently. I would recommend upgrading Caitha’s Chime with them, as it is ranked number four on my list of Dark Souls 3 best chimes – and for good reason!
The Crystal Chime is found in the Grand Archives, the area you encounter after clearing Lothric Castle. From the first wax pool on the first floor, navigate to the right of the entrance to the dark room and look for a corridor, where a red-eyed spear-wielding Lothric Knight is making rounds. The chime is inside a small room at the end of the corridor.
The faith requirement for chimes vary from chime to chime. For instance, Yorshka’s Chime requires as much as 30 faith to wield, while Cleric’s Sacred Chime only requires 14. But if you’re interested in being at a level of faith where you can wield every single chime in the game, then go for 18 (Yorshka’s Chime excluded) or 30 (Yorshka’s Chime included).
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Hasaan is an enthusiatic gamer with a particular interest in MOBA, RTS, and story-mode games. He creates quality guides, playing games and sharing valuable information to his readers. Beyond his gaming pursuits, he finds enjoyment in watching animes, movies and TV shows. Additionally, he nurtures his creative side through drawing and continuously seeks personal growth by exploring new experiences, all in an endeavor to understand his life and purpose better. Do find him on Steam to learn more about Hassan’s Gaming Adventures.
