Charged attacks are accessible with right click or right-trigger. Light attacks are accessible with a left click or right-trigger. Honestly if you feel overwhelmed by all the systems and combat mechanics of the game, getting comfortable with a one-handed sword and a shield is the way to go. It's fast, efficient, and doesn't use all that much endurance. This is going to be the go-to form of combat for many players, especially newbies to the series. Take a look at our Ashes of War guide if you want a list of the affinities and how they affect scaling, as well as a list of known Ashes of War and their locations. Ashes of War are important because they not only add a skill and damage type to your weapon, but also affect its scaling (the amount of damage your stats will cause the weapon to deal). Ashes of WarĪshes of War are add-on abilities for your weapons, similar to weapon arts from Dark Souls 3, and can be performed using the left trigger It's like adding just a touch of magic to your sword or staff, or gaining the ability to set your axe on fire. Run towards the glowing part of them and use a light attack to activate a visceral attack animation, which will look kind of like a backstab. There will be a drum-like sound effect at which they will become vulnerable for a short period of time. It may not work immediately, but a combination of light and heavy hits successfully landing on your target may stagger them. Staggering enemies can be done through using your charged and jumping attacks on them. While Elden Ring allows backstabs, it also encourages Bloodborne's style of visceral attacks. Your equip load will also affect your dodging speed, with light being the fastest, and heavy giving you a slow roll. Timing is everything and if you don't get it right first time, try, try again. For example, I learned that with Margit the Fell Omen, you can roll towards him when he does a launch attack and avoid an otherwise devastating attack. Make sure to pay attention to attack timing, patterns, and what you can bait enemies into. You're going to come across a lot of different enemies while playing Elden Ring and they're all going to fight a little differently. The best way to dodge is by experimenting at first. This is going to be essential when facing enemies that are doing more damage than your shield and endurance can withstand, or if you're not using a shield in the first place. Unless you've got the poise of an elephant wearing a suit of gold, you're going to need to learn to dodge attacks.

The amount of damage you deal in these animations is partly affected by your weapon's crit stat, and the same goes for those Bloodborne-style visceral attacks we'll explain a little further down. Sneaking can also be used to backstab enemies to potentially take them out in one fell-swoop or at least take a decent chunk of their health. Though you're going to have plenty of time to fight enemies, sometimes you're going to prefer to sneak past them, especially if you've fought them before. Sneaking is an added bonus of Elden Ring's combat systems. The only time you shouldn't be locked on is if you're running away, or in the case you're fighting something so big that you need to see more of your enemy than will fit on your screen. You can also flick between targets using your mouse or by flicking your right stick on a controller. Lock on by pressing Q or R3 on a controller. Lock onto pretty much everything you attack, though there are exceptions to this rule. I found out after hours of Dark Souls struggling, that locking on is a FromSoftware speciality. If you have the option you're going to get to grips with the combat far quicker on a controller, but it's definitely possible to be good at the game on keyboard if you choose. I'm a mouse and keyboard player the entire way, through and through, but even I have to admit that the controls for the keyboard are far less intuitive than using a controller of choice. I'm going to join the chorus of people telling you that controllers are the way to play FromSoftware's games here. Elden Ring combat guide: Should you use a controller or mouse and keyboard?

Backstab move synonym