can somebody tell me what the hell "spirit banishment" talisman does?

[xNightxxWingx]

i'm early in the game, came across 3 talismans so far, and none of them are that appealing, and since I only have one slot atm, id rather use something useful.. so it boils down to either

- unholy magnet, which is self explanatory, but seems useless as i can simply just pick up my own ♥♥♥♥
- spirit banishment, which states "rips souls from the bearer's fallen foes and consumes them. used to great effect against the noble ferrum"

I've equipped it and taken it into a dungeon, and don't see any soul ripping action happening whatsoever, infact I don't see anything happening, lol. what does it do? is it only to be used against whatever or whoever "ferrum" is?

edit:

also why in the world do we have to go all the way back to that npc just to swap out talismans? in a situation like this, where i have no friggen idea what this does, having to equip it, walk into a dungeon to test it, then walk all the way back to unequip it after seeing it does nothing is tedious as all hell

[Shyfty]

Hey xNightxxWingx! So the spirit banishment talisman is a bit of a niche item that will come into play once you explore Ferrum islands like The Flare Forge. The Feral Ferrum like the one you killed to get the talisman can lie dormant on death with their spirits lingering in their armor. If the right type of ally is around they can revive the downed Feral Ferrum making your job of killing them very difficult. This talisman forces their spirits to leave the armor as soon as you down them preventing them from being a candidate for revival. You'll notice its effect when you see the spirit disperse from the armor on death rather than the armor simply collapsing to the ground.

As for talismans you might find appealing in the early game, there are a few that come to mind:

• Drunkard: Reduces the negative effects of brews which can be very nice for build crafting. It can be found at Starspire Refuge
  
• Stalwart: Reduces poise damage taken while blocking, great for those who prefer parrying/blocking for survival. It can be found at Tupis Grotto
  
• Prowess: If damage is more your thing then you'll want to save a bit of glint and check out Galina's stock. She has a talisman for each fighting style that provides a big boost to damage. You can get these talismans at any time as long as you have enough glint.

As for your feedback on the tedium of going back to swap talismans I understand where you're coming from. Part of the reason for this requirement are talismans like Death Shield which saves you from a fatal blow. If it were too quick and easy to swap talismans then people would always be equipping this talisman until it got used and swapping it out creating a new kind of tedium. It's not perfect and is always worth bringing up to the team to see if we can come up with an ideal solution.

[AtLastBossCarryMe]

Where is the NPC to equip talismans?

[Nahp]

Originally posted by AtLastBossCarryMe:

Where is the NPC to equip talismans?

Her name is Naeve, she will be at the top of the hill just before going up the actual spire of starspire in a little ruined church with no roof. If she is not there, she will be at the dock asking you for help to find a book of scripture so that she can give you blessings. Follow her quest and you should eventually run into the book.