Elden Ring - Ashes of War: How to Equip & Use

calendarJan 20, 2023 · 3 min read  ·
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Elden Ring can be a tough game, but it offers you many different ways to survive and strengthen your character. FromSoftware has designed hundreds of different abilities, spells and weapons for players. We'll discuss them all in turn, but today's topic is perhaps the most important tool on the list: Ashes of War. In this article we'll explain how to equip and use Ashes of War in Elden Ring.

Don't be confused by the name Ashes of War. You can think of it as weapon arts that you can use in the Elden Ring universe. When you combine them with your weapons, they turn into different combos and abilities. This makes you less vulnerable to the ruthless creatures in the Lands Between. So how do we equip Ashes of War in Elden Ring?

To equip your character with them, you've to find them. This is quite easy, because they're scattered all over the map of the Elden Ring. You can also buy them from merchants in the Lands Between or kill invisible scarabs that drop them. We'll be putting together a guide in the next few days telling you where to find the Ashes of War, so stay tuned. If you already have one, you can equip it now. You will need the Whetstone Knife to do this.

How to Equip Ashes of War

Since the mechanics in Elden Ring are generally very simple, it's also very easy to equip Ashes of War. Go to the Gatefront Ruins in the Limgrave area. In this ruin, you need to find a stairs that leads down into the underground. If you follow the stairs, you'll get to a room where the Whetstone Knife is located. Now that you have your Whetstone Knife, you can rest at your nearest Site of Grace and replace your weapon's standard Ashes of War with a new one.

Resting at Site of Grace isn't the only way to equip Ashes of War. When you unlock Roundtable Hold, you can also do so by talking to the blacksmith there. There's just one thing you need to keep in mind. It can only be assigned to a single weapon. If you want to use it for another weapon, you'll have to detach it from the previous weapon.

How to Use Ashes of War

If you followed the above steps, you've equipped your first Ashes of War. Congratulations in advance, because your fights will be much more fun now. But carrying them doesn't mean using them. To use the Ashes of War in Elden Ring, you'll have to press certain buttons.

Regardless of your character class and weapon, follow these steps to use Ashes of War:

  • If you're playing Elden Ring on PS5 or PS4, press L2 to use it.
  • LT is your key if you play it on Xbox Series X|S or Xbox One.
  • If you play Elden Ring on PC, you must press Shift.

With these keys you can use almost all Ashes of War abilities in the game. For some abilities, you can make a second attack afterwards. In this case, you can press the heavy attack key right after. This key is R2/ RT.

That's it! You've learned how to use your most valuable skills to survive in the brutal world of Elden Ring. Be sure to check out our many Elden Ring guides like this one.

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