Life Lessons: Shadow of the Erdtree’s Best New Weapons Explained, and How Best to Play With Them Part 1
We take a look at four of the new weapon types in Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree in this two-part exploration of their movesets and the best ways to use them .
With just a few days left for Elden Ring’s DLC expansion Shadow of the Erdtree, the Red Bull Levels event gave its fans a deeper look at the Land of Shadow. With new enemy types, bosses, legacy dungeons, and of course, eight new weapon types, it is clear that FromSoftware has continued its trend of crafting expansions to its flagship titles that meaningfully build on their respective base games.
If The Old Hunters from Bloodborne and The Ringed City from Dark Souls III are any indication, Shadow of the Erdtree is bound to recreate the magic of the original game while extending its tenets to a new open world with a lot of challenges and secrets to uncover. We can hardly wait to dive in and trace Miquella’s footsteps in this new and clearly unforgiving landscape!
New Ways to Take on New Threats
The folks over at FromSoftware seem to have flexed their creative chops in designing the DLc’s new weapon types. Never before has any of their titles allowed players to use their fists and feet in flurries of attacks, or wield a greatsword as if it were light as a feather! But that is exactly what Shadow of the Erdtree has achieved.
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Each of these new weapon types brings something new to the table, as showcased by previews and sneak peeks before the Levels event provided a few lucky players the opportunity to really test the waters with them. Every move set is unique and is sure to create the scope for some very inventive builds down the line. We can hardly wait to take on the Lion Dancer with a few throwing knives and reverse-handed swords for our Tarnished.
Life Lessons: Shadow of the Erdtree’s Best New Weapons Explained, and How Best to Play With Them Part 1
It’s time to dive into every new weapon type in Shadow of the Erdtree. From what we can see, you can pick up basic variants of each new weapon fairly early in the game, and customize them to your liking according to your existing stat allocations. Their stat requirements are not too restrictive, allowing players to test each one to their heart’s content before settling on their weapon of choice to take on what the expansion has to offer.
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To begin with, the Great Katana flips the script on Elden Ring’s many Katana weapons. It trades their quick slashes for a more deliberate series of stabs and swings. Its light and heavy attacks feel similar to Curved Greatswords in the base game while its rolling and backstep attacks are stabs with a lot of range.
Keeping your distance from enemies and positioning yourself well for your counterattacks is the way to go with these massive yet stylish weapons. The base variant’s Weapon Art allows you to adopt a stance from which you perform a series of slam attacks similar to the Ichimonji skill from Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
Next up are the Perfume Bottles which build on the consumable ones in Elden Ring to create a truly unique playstyle with a lot of area-of-effect (AoE) attacks. Every attack spreads an elemental perfume in wide arcs around your Tarnished, and enemies caught in the resulting explosions are bound to take a ton of damage with elemental build-ups.
Creating distance from enemies while baiting out punishable attacks will serve you well as long as you are able to mix in skillful dodges with your attacks. Use Talismans that buff the corresponding type of elemental damage you are going for to make the most out of these new moves and watch your enemies crumble to the ground before they can even get close to you.
Among our favorites in Shadow of the Erdtree’s new weapon types, the Reverse-Handed Swords mix agility, precision, and speed to deliver flurries of quick slashes akin to power-stancing Curved Swords in the base game. The variant showcased in the previews comes with an Ash of War that sees your Tarnished quickly dodge to the side before unleashing a powerful slashing attack.
Forego your shield and two-hand these deadly weapons to make the most out of their quick attacks, powering them up with the Rotten Winged Sword Insignia or Millicent’s Prosthesis to gain a significant damage boost to each strike.
Finally, the new Smithscript weapons let you choose between your favorite weapon types like axes, spears, hammers, or daggers, hurling them at enemies for some serious damage. While the axe and spear do come with a few melee attacks, it is their ability to be thrown at enemies before they magically reappear in your hands that makes them special.
Most of them are clearly meant to be used at range to keep enemies at bay while whittling away at their health while you are safely out of range of their attacks. Combining them with light armor and medium rolling can be a great alternative to sorcerers and mages which were among the few viable ranged options in Elden Ring for players who dislike getting up close and personal with their enemies.
Remember, most of the variants allow you to equip any compatible Ash of War, allowing you to get creative with your Tarnished’s build and add a layer of complexity to it that is entirely your own. You may need to respec your character to make the most out of these new weapons, but you could simply choose to change their Affinities to improve their scaling with your current build.
Whatever you choose, get ready for a challenge once the clock strikes midnight on June 21st, and let our guides help you with anything you may need in Elden Ring or Shadow of the Erdtree.
