Elden Ring: the best War Ashes and how to get them

Elden Ring

In this Elden Ring guide we will explain which in our opinion are the strongest War Ashes in the FromSoftware game and where you can get them.

War Ashes are a new mechanic introduced in FromSoftware's latest effort related to 'equipment. Each weapon in Elden Ring has a special ability that can be activated by pressing the L2 / LT button that consumes a certain amount of AP (Action Points). The ashes of war are basically skills that you can assign to a weapon, replacing the one already present and possibly also modifying the scaling (the bonus proportional to the statistics) and the basic properties (for example, you can infuse it with the fire element). It goes without saying that this allows you to tailor your tools of death to your preferred play style and gives you great freedom in building builds.

You can equip War Ashes at Places of Grace using the "Knife of Grace". 'sharpening' (here's how to get it), but there are rules to keep in mind. First, you can only use war ash on one armament at a time. On the other hand, they are objects with infinite uses, so you can remove them and assign them to other weapons as many times as you want. Furthermore, some War Ashes can only be applied to specific types of equipment, for example "Sheath" is an exclusive skill for katanas. Finally, it is not possible to modify the War Ashes of special armament (such as those obtained from some bosses) and of weapons such as crossbows and catalysts for spells and sorceries.

In Elden Ring there are dozens and dozens of war ashes and below we have listed the ones that we believe are the best, also including options available in the early stages of your adventure. Our advice in any case is to try all the skills you will find in the Interregnum to find out which one best suits your style. In particular with patch 1.04 most of the weapon abilities have been enhanced, so now the valid options are really many.

As usual we have tried to minimize spoilers, but inevitably from here onwards we will talk about advanced areas, NPCs, bosses and more.

The best War Ashes and where to find them

Elden Ring, the location of the merchant Bernahl

No skills

War Ash No skill basically removes any moves associated with compatible armament. While this may seem like a malus at the base, it actually has a very specific utility. Using a shield without skills, in fact, you can activate the special move of your weapon without having to hold it with two hands. On the other hand, you will lose the parry, but it could be a recent renunciation depending on your style of play.

You will be able to buy the war ash of "No Skills" already in the early hours of Elden Ring from Bernahl, l 'NPC located at the Place of Grace "Hut of the master warrior", the hovel located in the grove along the main road north of Soglia Tempesta and east of the hut of Colle Tempesta. From this NPC you will also be able to buy a good number of other ashes, as well as obtain one of the legendary weapons of Elden Ring.

Elden Ring, the location of the war ash of Passo del Limiere

Passo del Limiere

Do you want to dodge the shots like the Dragon Ball characters? Then the war ash of Passo del Limiere is the one for you. When activated, in fact, this ability the Lightless performs a quick sprint in the selected direction while simultaneously becoming invisible, creating a teleportation effect. The strength of this move is that the shots have a large number of i-frames (in other words they offer a window of invincibility higher than normal rolls) and can be used over and over again. Once you get the hang of it, you can use this ability to both avoid attacks and quickly get close to your target, making it useful in virtually any fight. It also adapts well to all types of weapons, including heavy ones such as broadswords and hammers.

You can get the Limiere Pass war ash by defeating the Night Knight who patrols the bridge north of the Spire of Lenne at night , located north of the Caelid region. Refer to the map above.

Elden Ring, the location of Seppuku's war ash

Seppuku

When Seppuku is activated, the Lightless stabs himself with his own weapon, losing a small amount of health points and gaining I change a buff lasting 60 seconds that significantly increases offensive power and the accumulation of bleeding malus on opponents. This latter effect adds to the base value of the weapon if present, making it great for builds based on this status. It also activates the effects of the White Mask (10% bonus to attack when bleeding occurs) and the Bloodlord's Jubilation (20% bonus). In general, it can be useful against all bleeding-sensitive opponents.

Seppuku War Ash can be found in the frozen lake north of the Giants' Peak region. Starting from the place of grace "frozen lake" head east to the point indicated in the map above. To get the ability you will have to eliminate an invisible beetle that moves in this area. You will understand its position by observing the footprints left in the ice during its movements. Since the path that follows is always the same, it will not be particularly difficult to intercept it. This war ash can be applied to all weapons that have a blade, thus excluding, for example, hammers and whips.

Elden Ring, the location of the war ash Blood Slash

Blood Slash

Still on the subject of bleeding, we also recommend the Bloodstrike. In general it is not a strong skill as Seppuku, but it is simple to use and you can get it in the very first hours of the game. It is basically a blood-soaked slash that executes fast and inflicts great damage and bleeding, with the latter scaling to the arcane attribute.

You can get this war ash in the early stages of Elden Ring. by defeating the knight who sits atop Fort Height, southeast of the Darkwood, in the Sepulcris region. Cleaning up the area is also the task of the NPC Kenneth Haight, who is located in the ruins north of the fort (orange circle in the map above).

Elden Ring, the location of the Leonine Claw war ash

Leonine Claw

The Leonine Claw consists of a somersault jump that culminates in a powerful slash. Do you remember Artorias from Dark Souls? Ecco is pretty much one of his most iconic moves. In addition to being beautiful to look at, this skill inflicts huge damage, heavily affects the posture of the enemies and during the execution you will be protected by hyper armor (ie the enemy shots will not interrupt the attack). This ability was already pretty strong on its own, but after patch 1.04 buffs it became even more deadly as its execution and recovery speed has been increased.

You will get the Lion Claw by clearing the monster from your features of a lion found on the first floor of Fort Gael in Caelid, south of the road connecting the region with the Sepulcris, refer to the map above.

Elden Ring, the location of the war ash Fasti Cariani

Fasti Cariani

Another ability that received a substantial buff with Elden Ring patch 1.04 is Fasti cariani. Upon activation, the Lightless transforms its weapon into a giant magical sword that then crashes into the victim on duty. The attack can also be charged for more damage. The latest update has reduced the time it takes to fully charge skill and cooldown, as well as the damage and ease with which it can break enemies' posture.

You can get the war ash of the Fasti Cariani in the Carian Manor, north of the Liurnia region. Starting from the place of grace "royal observatory", take the east exit and turn right. From here you will have to drop down on the wooden platforms below, to reach an area with vase-shaped enemies. Continue continuing downwards until you find a corpse wearing the aforementioned war ash.

Elden Ring, the location of the war ash of Folgore

Folgore

Folgore is a skill as simple as it is effective: upon activation, the Lightless summons a lightning bolt that falls on the head of the unfortunate person on duty. The animation is quite fast and it is possible to spam the move over and over again until you have zeroed the life bar of the enemies. Not very honorable tactic, but functional, especially if you use a spirit to divert the attention of the opponents from you.

You will get the war ash of Thunderbolt in Leyndell, in the Altus plateau, by eliminating a beetle near the the well that leads to the city's dungeons.

Phalanx of Scintilama

By activating the Phalanx of Scintilama the Lightless creates four magical blades that after a few moments pierce the opponent on duty, deflating the their health bar and dealing massive damage to posture. The beauty of this ability is that it has a not particularly high activation time and you can therefore use it between a dead time and the other of a fight or as an opening move.

You will get the war ash of the Phalanx of spark from Rogier at Round Table Keep, after defeating Godrick in Castle Storm's Legacy Dungeon. Speaking to us, the NPC will give you his rapier on which this ash is applied, which you can then remove and assign to another weapon as you wish.

Elden Ring, the location of the Red Mantle's Flame war ash

Red Mantle's Flame

By activating the Red Mantle's Flame, the Lightless generates a blaze in front of him that spreads several meters forward hitting everything in its path. A simple but effective move as it causes a lot of damage to the opponent's posture and just a few uses are enough to stun large enemies or even bosses.

You can get Red Mantle's War Ashes by killing an invisible scarab wanders a few meters from the place of grace north of Fort Gael in the Caelid region. Also in this case it will be enough to check the footprints on the ground to guess the path of this animal and therefore intercept it with an attack at the right moment.

Elden Ring, the position of the war ash of Flaming attack

Flaming attack

The Blaze Attack is very similar to the previous move, with the difference that after a blaze the Lightless also executes a swift slash. This skill deals significantly less damage to posture, but infuses the weapon with the element of fire for 20 seconds, which could be useful for dealing with various types of enemies.

You can obtain Attack War Ash in the small cemetery south of Redmeat Castle in the Caelid region.

Elden Ring, the location of the war ash Black flame tornado

Black flame tornado

The Tornado of black flame is a move that can be performed with twin blades, spears, halberds and combat scythes. Upon activation, the Lightless will swirl its weapon, generating a tornado of black flames that repeatedly hits the unfortunate in its range. Not only does it deal high damage but also applies black fire to enemies, which deals damage over time as a percentage of their maximum health. The Black Flame Tornado is one of the moves powered by patch 1.04: the hitbox of the shot has been improved (which now also includes the weapon) and it is possible to roll to cancel the animation.

You can get the relative war ash coming out victorious from the clash with the Duo Sacridema, an obligatory boss fight that you will face by advancing to Farum Azula in Shattered, in a very advanced stage of the adventure.

If this article has been useful to you, give one look at the other Elden Ring guides we have made:



Where to find all the legendary weapons Where to find all the legendary Witchcraft and Spells How to get all the legendary Spirits Where to find all the legendary talismans Where find all the Memory Stones How to get the Ashen Orbs to buy infinite Smithing Stones How to reset attributes and where to find the Larva's Tear 10 Must-Have Items to Obtain in Sepulcris The Best Weapons Earned How to get the bell summons spirits and how the ashes work What are the Memories and what are the best The best class to start the adventure in the Interregnum The best settings for PC to improve the framerate

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