How to Use Lightning Gems in Dark Souls 3 to Maximize Faith Damage

In the world of Dark Souls 3 , Faith builds offer a unique blend of survivability and high elemental damage. While miracles like Sunlight Spear provide ranged options, your melee performance often hinges on how well your weapon scales with your Faith stat. The Lightning Gem is the primary tool for converting standard physical weapons into holy implements of destruction. By adding Lightning damage and significantly boosting Faith scaling, these gems allow clerics and paladins to keep pace with dedicated Strength or Dexterity builds.

However, unlike basic infusions like Raw or Fire, Lightning is a mid-to-late-game upgrade. It requires specific progression through the game's world and an understanding of how elemental split damage functions. This guide explores the technical requirements, optimization strategies, and the specific weapons that benefit most from this infusion.

Finding the Giant’s Coal to Unlock Lightning Infusions

The most common hurdle for players is possessing a Lightning Gem but finding the option missing at the blacksmith. This is because Lightning, Simple, and Chaos infusions are locked behind the Giant's Coal . According to official game mechanics , Blacksmith Andre cannot process these advanced gems until you provide him with the proper tool.

Reaching the Giant Blacksmith’s Corpse in Anor Londo

The Giant's Coal is located in Anor Londo, a legendary location reached after defeating Pontiff Sulyvahn in Irithyll of the Boreal Valley. Once you arrive at the Anor Londo bonfire, follow these steps:

1. Ascend the large stone stairs toward the main cathedral entrance.
2. Instead of entering the front doors (which are likely locked from the other side initially), head to the left-hand side of the building.
3. Follow the exterior path until you find an open doorway leading into a side room.
4. Inside, you will find the remains of the Giant Blacksmith from the original Dark Souls .
5. Pillage the corpse to receive the Giant's Coal.

Once you have the coal, return to Firelink Shrine. Speak to Andre and select the "Give Coal" option. He will acknowledge the "strange coal" and the Lightning infusion will now appear in your infusion menu, provided you have a Lightning Gem in your inventory.

Step by Step Guide to Applying a Lightning Gem at Blacksmith Andre

With the Giant's Coal in Andre's possession, the mechanical process of infusion is straightforward. However, it does require a few resources beyond the gem itself. Each infusion costs a specific amount of Souls, which scales based on the weapon's current upgrade level.

To perform the infusion, follow this protocol:

• Select "Infuse Weapon": Navigate to this option in Andre's main menu.
• Choose Your Weapon: Only weapons upgraded with standard Titanite Shards are typically eligible.
• Select Lightning: You will see the stat changes highlighted in blue. Pay close attention to the Faith scaling letter, which should jump to A or S on compatible weapons.
• Confirm the Cost: You will consume 1 Lightning Gem and a soul fee (usually between 500 and 2,000 Souls).

It is important to note that infusing a weapon does not reset its reinforcement level. If you have a +6 Longsword and infuse it with Lightning, it remains a +6 weapon, but its damage profile shifts from purely physical to a split between Physical and Lightning.

Common Reasons Why You Cannot Use a Lightning Gem

If you have the Giant's Coal and a Lightning Gem but still cannot see the option to infuse, you are likely encountering one of the game's hard restrictions on weapon customization. Not every piece of equipment in Dark Souls 3 can be infused.

Another common point of confusion involves temporary buffs. You cannot apply a Lightning Gem to a weapon that is currently buffed by a resin or a miracle. Conversely, once a weapon is permanently infused with Lightning, it can never be buffed again. This is a significant trade-off that players must consider when planning their build.

Understanding Lightning Scaling and the 40 Faith Soft Cap

The effectiveness of a Lightning Gem is directly tied to your Faith stat. When you apply the gem, the weapon's base physical damage is lowered, and a new "Lightning" damage value is added. This new value scales with Faith, meaning the higher your Faith, the more "bonus" damage you receive.

In the Dark Souls 3 community, the 40 Faith soft cap is a well-documented threshold. According to data from the Dark Souls Wiki , the returns on damage per point of Faith diminish significantly after level 40. While you will still see gains up to 60 or even 99 Faith, the most efficient "bang for your buck" occurs between 10 and 40 Faith.

The Hidden Weapon Weight Secret

A nuance often overlooked by casual players is how weapon weight affects elemental infusions. In Dark Souls 3 , heavier weapons (such as Ultra Greatswords or Greataxes) receive a higher percentage of their total Attack Rating (AR) from the elemental portion of the infusion compared to lighter weapons like Daggers. This makes Lightning-infused heavy weapons exceptionally strong for trading hits in PvE, as the high base lightning damage can punch through enemy resistances more effectively than the small lightning values found on fast, light weapons.

Comparing Lightning Gems and the Lightning Blade Miracle

One of the most debated topics among Faith builds is whether to use a permanent Lightning Gem or a physical infusion (like Heavy or Raw) combined with the Lightning Blade miracle. Both have distinct advantages depending on your stat distribution and playstyle.

Feature	Lightning Gem (Infusion)	Lightning Blade (Miracle)
Convenience	Always active; no casting needed.	Requires 60-second re-buffing.
Damage Ceiling	Lower (Soft caps at 40 FTH).	Higher (Scales well to 60 FTH).
FP Cost	Zero.	50 FP per cast.
PvP Viability	High (Cannot be "waited out").	Moderate (Vulnerable during cast).
Stat Investment	Efficient at 40 Faith.	Requires 60 Faith for peak power.

For players who prefer a "set it and forget it" approach, the Lightning Gem is a top-tier option. It is particularly effective in PvP, where finding the time to safely apply a 3-second buff animation can be difficult. However, if you are pushing your Faith to 60 and want the highest possible damage for boss encounters, a Raw or Heavy weapon paired with the Lightning Blade miracle will generally outperform the gem in terms of raw Attack Rating.

Top Weapon Choices for Lightning Infusion

While almost any standard weapon can be infused, some stand out due to their natural scaling or innate properties. These weapons often reach "S" or "A" tier scaling in Faith, making them remarkably efficient for dedicated casters.

When selecting a weapon, consider the "Double Lightning" strategy. Weapons like the Drakeblood Greatsword or the Dragonslayer's Axe already have a small amount of lightning damage. Infusing them with a Lightning Gem doesn't just add a new damage type; it enhances the damage that is already there, often leading to better performance than infusing a purely physical weapon.

Choosing Between Blessed and Lightning Infusions

The Blessed Gem is the other primary Faith-based infusion, but it functions very differently. While a Lightning Gem focuses on maximizing elemental damage, a Blessed Gem provides a small amount of HP regeneration and keeps the weapon's damage purely physical (while adding Faith scaling to that physical damage).

In most cases, the Lightning Gem will provide significantly more total damage. However, there is a notable exception: the Lothric Knight Greatsword . Because this weapon has high base physical damage and innate lightning, a Blessed infusion allows the physical damage to scale with Faith while the innate lightning remains. This often results in a weapon that hits nearly as hard as the Lightning-infused version but without the "split damage" penalty, while also providing passive healing.

Locations and Farming Routes for Lightning Gems

You will find a few guaranteed Lightning Gems throughout your journey, but if you want to experiment with multiple weapons, you will eventually need to farm them. According to community research on Reddit's build forums , there are several reliable spots to acquire these gems.

Guaranteed Locations

• Church of Yorshka (Irithyll): From the bonfire, head down the stairs toward the dark area with the invisible slaves. Behind the altar in the main room is a corpse holding a Lightning Gem.
• Archdragon Peak: Several gems can be found as loot in this optional late-game area, particularly near the second bonfire.
• Pickle Pee Trade: You can trade a Xanthous Crown (found in the Irithyll Dungeon) with the crow on top of Firelink Shrine for one guaranteed Lightning Gem.

Farming Routes

If you have exhausted the guaranteed drops, you can farm the following enemies. Be sure to equip the Symbol of Avarice, the Covetous Gold Serpent Ring, and use Rusted Coins to maximize your Item Discovery.

1. Large Devout of the Deep: These are the large, non-respawning enemies in the Cathedral of the Deep. While the initial ones don't respawn, the smaller versions and certain cathedral knights have a very low drop rate.
2. Serpent-men (Archdragon Peak): The smaller serpent-men in Archdragon Peak are the most reliable source for farming Lightning Gems in the late game. The drop rate is still relatively low, so patience is required.

Frequently Asked Questions