Elden Ring Ashes Of War: How To Get New Weapon Abilities
One of the key features of combat is the Elden Ring Ashes of War, which allow players to replace their weapons skills with powerful abilities more to their liking. Elden Ring gives the player more options than any previous soulsborne when it comes to combat, and the Ashes of War are an important aspect of this due to how players can specialise their builds. If you need an explainer on the Elden Ring Ashes of War, including what they do, and how to find them, we've got you covered.
- Happened upon some Elden Ring Stonesword Keys on your journey? Use them to help you access new areas.
Elden Ring Ashes Of War: What Do They Do?
Click to enlargeAshes of War are special items that you can discover which let you replace the weapon skills and affinities of your equipment, meaning you can select skills that are more relevant to your build and class. These only apply to weapons and shields, but unique weapons that you'll often earn from bosses or questlines cannot have their skills replaced. Some skills are also incompatible with others, but this is communicated on the menu for selecting them.
On top of letting you use new skills with your weapons and shields, replacing your Ashes of War can also change the damage type and level scaling of equipment. Overall, this means players can specialise the equipment they use to fit their builds more, along with getting more powerful skills to make you tougher in combat.
To change your Ashes of War, you first need to get an item called the Whetstone Knife from the Gatefreont Ruins in Limgrave. Upon first entering the open world, you'll quickly find this area after travelling north and following the sites of Lost Grace. Returning to any Lost Grace afterwards, there should be an additional option for Ashes of War where you can replace the skills for your equipment. You can also remove Ashes of War by selecting the "unenchant" option in this menu, and interacting with blacksmiths like Master Hewg in the Roundtable Hold or Iji near the Carian Manor will let you duplicate them for use with other weapons.
- Aside from using Ashes of War to change up your weapons, you can find Elden Ring Smithing Stones to increase their power.
Elden Ring Ashes Of War: Where To Find Them?
Click to enlargeLike most things in Elden Ring, Ashes of War can be found across the world by killing enemies, looting corpses and chests, or purchasing them directly from vendors. They also appear in set places, meaning there's no randomisation element, so if you know where one is, you can go and find it.
Bosses and tougher enemies usually drop Ashes of War upon death, and many of the Elden Ring Golden Scarabs you can find will also reward you with them. The Knight Bernahl who can be found in the Warmaster's Shack in Limgrave is a great merchant for Ashes of War throughout the game, so finding him early can give you a lot of options.
- If you're struggling with any of the game's bosses, check how to use spirits and make fights easier with Elden Ring Spirit Ashes.
Elden Ring Ashes Of War: Best Ashes Of War
Click to enlargeBelow we'll list some of our favourite Ashes of War in the game, along with a rough guide on tracking them down.
- No Skill - This lets you remove a skill from your shield, so you can use the skill with your main weapon instead, which is good for prioritising damage over defence. It's sold for 600 runes by Knight Bernahl.
- Elden Ring Bloodhound Step - Gives you a fast dash move which is great for dodging around enemies and avoiding damage with its invincibility frames. Can be earned from a Night's Cavalry boss at Lenna's Rise in Caelid.
- Bloody Slash - Coats your blade in blood before launching a projectile slash at enemies. Found in East Limgrave by defeating the commander of Fort Haight.
- Seppuku - Perform Seppuku (stab yourself in the stomach) and increase the attack power and blood loss amount of your weapon. Dropped by an invisible Scarab near the Lost Grace at the Freezing Lake.
- Storm Blade - Launches a whirlwind towards enemies that damages and pushes them back. Found in the Murkwater Catacombs after defeating the Grave Warden.
That's our rundown of the Elden Ring Ashes of War, and now you know what they are for, along with how to track them down.
Take a look at our Elden Ring Map Fragments, so you know where to unlock the full map.
