Best Ars Nouveau Spells and Combinations

Ars Nouveau spells are built from Glyphs, and the best ones come from putting two Glyphs together that were made to work as a pair. You’ll find a lot of the damage Glyphs only fire when the target is already burning, wet or in the air, so the combination is what makes them worth casting at all.

Every spell below lists its Glyphs in the order you’ll inscribe them, along with the mana it costs using the mod’s default settings and the lowest Spell Book that’s able to hold it. Costs are simply every Glyph added together, so you can take an Augment off to save mana or add one to push the spell further.

Ars Nouveau Spell Tier List

These tiers weigh up how much damage a spell does for its Mana, how often it’ll get used and which Spell Book it needs, so the S tier is mostly spells you’ll keep in a slot for the rest of the game. Every spell in the list is explained further down, with its Glyphs in order and an Open in Spell Builder link.

How Spells Are Put Together

Each spell starts with one Form, which decides how it’s cast, and then any number of Effects and Augments after it. Touch works on whatever you’re looking at within reach, Projectile fires a bolt, and Self casts it on you. Augments change the Glyph directly to their left, which is why an Amplify placed after Flare makes Flare hit harder and does nothing to the Ignite before it.

Every Glyph has a tier, and your Spell Book decides which tiers you’re able to use. The Novice Spell Book only takes Tier 1 Glyphs, the Mage’s Spell Book goes up to Tier 2, and the Archmage Spell Book will hold everything. Most of the good combinations need the Mage’s Spell Book, as Flare, Cold Snap, AOE and Extract are all Tier 2.

Your mana pool starts at 100, and it grows by 15 for every Glyph you’ve learned and by 50 for each tier of the highest Spell Book you’ve used. That means learning Glyphs you never plan to cast is still worth it, since each one raises the cap you’ll be casting from, as well as your regeneration a little.

Best Damage Spell Combinations

Flare, Cold Snap and Wind Shear are the three Glyphs that the combinations are built around. Each one hits harder than Harm, but each also has a condition that has to be met first, and if it isn’t they’ll deal no damage at all. So the first Glyph in each of these spells is there to set the condition up, and the second one is there to cash it in.

The Fire Combo is loaded into the Spell Builder here, so you’re able to swap its Glyphs around and see how the Mana and damage change. Adding a second Amplify or trading Ignite for Freeze is a quick way to see how the other combinations compare.

Flare only damages a target that’s on fire, standing in fire, or carrying the Blasting effect, which is why it’s paired with Ignite. Ignite sets the mob alight for 3 seconds without dealing any damage itself, so Flare is then able to land its full hit straight after. With one Amplify it deals 10 damage, on top of the burn that’s already ticking.

It won’t do much against mobs that can’t catch fire, like Blazes or anything in the Nether with fire immunity, as Ignite has nothing to hold on to there. Switch to the Ice Combo for those, or stand them in a patch of fire first, which will count for Flare as well.

Cold Snap needs its target to be wet, slowed or freezing before it’ll deal damage. Freeze is the cheapest way to get there, as it applies Slowness for 10 seconds when it hits a mob, so Cold Snap is able to go off right after it. You’ll get 8.5 damage with one Amplify, and it’s the cheapest of the three combinations to cast.

Rain also counts as wet, so in a storm you can drop the Freeze and cast Cold Snap on its own. Conjure Water won’t soak a mob by itself, though. It only applies the Soaked effect when it has Extend Time after it, which catches a lot of people out when they try Conjure Water into Cold Snap and see nothing happen.

Wind Shear only hurts targets that are off the ground, and it deals 1 extra damage for every block of air below them, for up to 10 blocks. Launch throws the mob upwards, then the Delay holds Wind Shear back for a second so the mob is in the air when it lands. Without it, Wind Shear will usually see the mob still standing.

With one Amplify it starts at 7.5 damage before the height bonus is added. It works on flying mobs like Phantoms and Ghasts without any setup at all, as they’re already in the air, so you can cast Projectile and Wind Shear on its own against those.

Before you’ve got the Mage’s Spell Book, Harm with two Amplify is going to be your main attack. Harm deals 5 damage, and each Amplify adds 2, so this bolt hits for 9 using nothing but Tier 1 Glyphs. Adding Extend Time after Harm will also make it apply Poison, if you’d rather have damage over time.

Crush normally deals just 3 damage, but it triples that against anything that’s underwater, which makes it 9 damage for only 40 mana. Against Drowned and Guardians that’s more damage per mana than any other spell here, so it’s worth keeping in a slot if you’re planning to clear an Ocean Monument.

Lightning deals extra damage to wet targets, and every strike applies Shocked, which makes the next bolt hit harder still (stacking up to Shocked III). Conjure Water with Extend Time soaks the target first so the wet bonus is always applied. It’s expensive, but in the rain you can cut it down to Projectile and Lightning for 110 mana, since the rain soaks everything for you.

Best Mining Spells

Break is a Glyph you’ll start with, and it mines anything an Iron Pickaxe is able to mine. Every mining spell here is Break with Augments stacked after it, as those Augments act like enchantments on the pickaxe the spell pretends to be holding. Touch is the Form to use, since it’s the cheapest and hits the block you’re looking at.

AOE widens the area by one block for every copy you add, which means a single AOE will only mine a 2×2 patch, leaning towards whichever side of the block you hit. You’ll need two AOE to get a proper 3×3, and four for a 5×5. It’ll clear out a room a lot faster than a pickaxe will.

Pierce does for depth what AOE does for width, as every Pierce you add mines one more block further into the wall. Two AOE with two Pierce will take out a 3×3 area that’s three blocks deep in one cast. It’s a lot of mana per cast though, so it’s better suited to strip mining than to digging out a few blocks here and there.

Each Amplify on Break pushes it up one pickaxe tier. One Amplify lets it mine like a Diamond Pickaxe, so it’ll take Obsidian and Ancient Debris, and a second one takes it to Netherite. You can add the Amplify to any of the other mining spells too, if the 3×3 is stopping on blocks it can’t break.

Extract gives Break the Silk Touch enchantment, so you’ll get Ore blocks, Glass and Ice back as blocks. Luck adds a level of Fortune for each copy, which means three of them are needed for Fortune III. Luck costs 80 mana a copy though, so you might want to stop at two until your mana pool has grown enough to cast three comfortably.

Adding Sensitive to Break will make it break blocks as if it’s holding Shears instead of a pickaxe. That’s the way to collect Leaves, Cobwebs and Vines with a spell, and it can be added to any of the spells above.

Smelt with Sensitive after it will smelt the items lying on the ground instead of the block itself, so putting it after Break turns the drops straight into their smelted versions. Item Pickup at the end then pulls everything into your inventory, along with any experience that was dropped. Without Sensitive, Smelt works on the block in place instead, turning Sand into Glass or Cobblestone into Stone.

Best Flying and Movement Spells

There’s no creative-style flight in Ars Nouveau itself, but Glide will let you fly as if you’re wearing an Elytra, without needing one. The rest of these are cheaper ways to get around, and most of them are available long before you’ve got the Archmage Spell Book that Glide and Blink need.

Glide lasts 3 minutes on its own, and each Extend Time adds another 2 minutes, so one copy is enough for a 5-minute flight. It works like an Elytra, so you’ll open it the same way you would an Elytra, and adding Leap before Glide will throw you forward and into the air first so there’s somewhere to glide from.

Leap throws you in the direction you’re looking, whereas Launch only sends you straight up. Both are Tier 1, so they’ll work from the Novice Spell Book, and each Amplify you add makes the jump bigger. Launch is handy for getting up cliffs, but pair it with Slow Fall once you’re able to, as neither one does anything about the landing.

Blink cast on Self teleports you 8 blocks in the direction you’re looking, and every Amplify adds 3 more. Cast it with Projectile instead and you’ll teleport to wherever the bolt lands, which is useful for getting across a ravine or up onto a ledge that’s out of reach.

Slowfall gives you the vanilla Slow Falling effect for 30 seconds, plus 8 more for each Extend Time. It’s the spell to keep in a slot beside Launch or Leap, and it’ll save you from a fall that you’d otherwise have to build your way down from.

Best Utility Spells

These aren’t for fighting, but they’re the ones you’ll end up casting most often once your base is set up. Most of them are cheap enough to cast over and over, and a couple of them are even better on a Spell Turret, which is covered further down.

Harvest collects fully grown crops without breaking the plant, so you won’t need to replant anything afterwards. Two AOE covers a 3×3 patch of farmland, the same as it does for Break, and you can add Luck to get more out of each crop as well.

Fell harvests an entire tree from a single block, along with Mushrooms, Cactus and other tall plants. It’s Tier 1, so it works from the Novice Spell Book, but it costs 150 mana on its own, which is most of what you’ll have early on. Each AOE raises the number of blocks it’s able to break at once, as well.

Heal restores 3 health, and each Amplify adds another 3, so one Amplify is 3 full hearts. Access Ender Inventory opens your Ender Chest from wherever you are, which means you’re able to stash what you’ve mined without heading home, and it pairs well with the Auto-Smelt spell on long mining trips.

Best Spells for the Enchanter’s Sword, Bow and Spell Turrets

The Enchanter’s gear and the Spell Turrets each add their own Form for you, so you only inscribe the Effects and Augments. That changes which spells are worth putting on them, since you’re not paying for a Form you’d never use.

The Enchanter’s Sword casts its spell every time you hit something with it, and it puts Touch in front of the spell for you. It also adds 4 spell damage to anything it casts, so Flare goes from 7 damage to 11 on top of the sword’s own swing. The sword hits like a Netherite Sword as well, which makes it a real weapon rather than just a casting tool.

The Enchanter’s Bow adds Projectile to its spell and doesn’t charge you for it, so the spell rides on each arrow you fire. Either of the Fire or Ice Combos will work well here, as a normal Arrow still does its own damage when it hits. The Ice Combo is the cheaper of the two, and the Slowness from Freeze also keeps whatever you’re shooting from closing the gap.

Spell Turrets only accept Touch or Projectile, and they’ll cast their spell each time they get a redstone signal. They pay for it with Source pulled from Source Jars within 10 blocks, rather than your own mana. Touch and Break on the front of a cobblestone generator will give you an endless supply of Cobblestone, and the Crop Harvester spell turns a turret into a farm that never needs replanting.

The Enchanted Spell Turret costs half the Source per cast, whereas the Timer Spell Turret will fire on a timer of its own without needing a redstone pulse each time. Both are worth upgrading to once you’ve got more than one or two turrets running from the same set of jars.

Glyphs Used on This Page

Glyphs are made at the Scribe’s Table from the items below, plus some experience, and higher tiers cost more experience to make. Glyphs with an Essence in their recipe need that Essence made in the Imbuement Chamber first. Bubble, Burst, Wind Burst, Pantomime and Prestidigitation only exist on the newer versions of the mod, but none of them are needed for the spells above.

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