Is Carthus Flame Arc Worth Using? (DS3)

Carthus Flame Arc is an excellent weapon buff that fills a unique role in Dark Souls 3’s large library of spells.

While it’s a great spell for anyone who can cast it, melee builds are likely to have the best results when using Carthus Flame Arc.

Dedicated spellcasting builds can likely find a better way to buff their weapon by using a more specialized spell.

What Does Carthus Flame Arc Do?

Carthus Flame Arc is a Pyromancy that buffs a melee weapon by adding Fire damage on top of its normal attack rating. Each casting of Carthus Flame Arc lasts for 90 seconds.

How much Fire damage is added depends on your Pyromancy Flame’s Spell Buff stat.

This means that upgrading your Pyromancy Flame will make Carthus Flame Arc stronger, keeping the buff effective into the end-game. The Fire damage added will be equal to 0.9 x your Flame’s Spell Buff stat.

Carthus Flame Arc can be applied to any non-elemental melee weapon, giving it a lot of versatility, and making it suitable for a wide range of builds.

You only need 10 Intelligence and 10 Faith to cast it, which adds to its ease of use.

If you’re not a dedicated spellcaster, these low stat requirements make Carthus Flame Arc one of the best weapon buffs for your build, as you won’t have to invest many stat points to use it.

If you are a spellcaster, however, you may want to use another buff that fits more closely with the type of Mage you’re playing.

For example, Faith builds may want to use Lightning Blade, as it adds Lightning damage equal to 0.95% your Spell Buff, a slight increase over Carthus Flame Arc’s damage boost.

Many Pyromancer builds will use Carthus Flame Arc due to its on-brand roleplaying potential.

However, it may make more sense for them to use their already invested Intelligence and Faith stats to equip a different weapon buff.

This is because the majority of their spell library will already be outputting Fire damage. By choosing another weapon buff, they can diversify their build, and sidestep any tough foes that may have a resistance to Fire.

Depending on the Pyromancer’s Intelligence stat, there are a wide range of Magic damage weapon buffs they may be able to use.

Magic Weapon is the easiest to use, with an Intelligence requirement of 10.

How To Get Carthus Flame Arc

You can buy Carthus Flame Arc from Cornyx of the Great Swamp. To unlock it in his shop, you’ll first have to free him from his imprisonment in the Undead Settlement.

Once he’s free, you’ll have to find the Carthus Pyromancy Tome and give it to him.

Here’s how to accomplish this process:

Step 1: Freeing Cornyx

• Warp to the Cliff Underside Bonfire and walk out of the room
• Turn around once you’re on the roof to see wooden steps
• Climb the steps and follows the walkway around, taking out the enemies as you go
• At the back corner of this walkway you’ll find Cornyx in a hanging cage
• Talk to him and ask to learn Pyromancy
• He’ll disappear, relocating to Firelink Shrine

Step 2: Finding the Carthus Pyromancy Tome

• Warp to the Abyss Watchers Bonfire and walk into the Catacombs of Carthus
• Follow the main path across the large bridge, then walk up the stairs in the next room
• Follow this raised path and drop down the ladder at its end
• Keep walking until the path opens up, then immediately turn right
• Hit the wall ahead of you to break its illusion, revealing a tunnel behind it
• Walk down to the tunnel to find the Pyromancy Tome glowing to your right

Once you’ve freed Cornyx and collected the Tome, go to see him in Firelink Shrine. Give him the Tome and Carthus Flame Arc will become available in his shop.

You can buy it for 10,000 Souls.

Is Carthus Flame Arc Worth It?

If you’re using a melee-focused build, Carthus Flame Arc’s sizable Fire damage buff is an excellent addition to your arsenal.

Due to its low stat requirements, you’ll be able to equip it with little effort.

If, however, you’re using a spellcaster build, you may want to use your higher magic stats to equip a stronger buff – such as Darkmoon Blade, Lightning Blade, or Crystal Magic Weapon.