Life Lessons: Shadow of the Erdtree’s Best New Weapons Explained, and How Best to Play With Them Part 2
We explore the next four new weapon types in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree and how you could use them in this second part of our weapons showcase series.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is just around the corner and we cannot contain our excitement. Aside from further insights into the story of Miquella, and his rejection of Queen Marika’s Golden Order, the expansion brings new bosses to fight, and new places to explore.
Given FromSoftware’s stellar track record with making incredible DLC expansions, there is no reason to think that Shadow of the Erdtree is going to be anything other than spectacular, considering how Elden Ring changed the way we think about open-world RPGs forever.
The Land of Shadow Beckons the Tarnished
While the demigod Miquella was vastly overshadowed by his twin sister Malenia, the Goddess of Rot in the main game, he takes center stage in Shadow of the Erdtree with your Tarnished entering the Land of Shadow to retrace his footsteps on what seems to be his path to redemption. That’s easier said than done, however, with new enemies and bosses bringing the trademark FromSoftware difficulty to every fight you inevitably face in this brand-new world.
SUGGESTED: How to Prepare Your Elden Ring Build for Shadow of the Erdtree
Yet, with eight new weapon types in the expansion and a promise of over a hundred new weapons for your Tarnished to get their hands on, these enemies will soon find themselves outclassed and fighting for survival against a force that will not be denied. We dived into a few of these weapon types in the first part of our showcase. It’s time to take a look at the rest of what the expansion has to offer in terms of new armaments.
Life Lessons: Shadow of the Erdtree’s Best New Weapons Explained, and How Best to Play With Them Part 2
We took a look at Great Katanas, Smithscript Weapons, Perfume Bottles, and Reverse Swords in our previous weapon showcase. Each of them offered up something new in terms of their playstyle and move sets. These next four weapon types carry on that trend, and may even be some of our favorites over the coming weekend as we dive into the Land of Shadow.
We would like to get things started with the Dryleaf Arts, FromSoftware’s idea of what martial arts would look like in a Soulslike title. While Fists were a viable choice in the main game, they were limited by their poor range and limited attack options with many players choosing Daggers or Claws instead. However, the Dryleaf Arts changed that with their powerful punches and kicks that hit fast and hard.
Their light and heavy attacks are a good balance of damaging strikes and staggerring kicks with a lot of variety in their crouching and jump attacks. You will need to use both hands and bring your best dodging skills to the table to be effective with this powerful new fighting style.
We would like to see if we could use the Bloodhound Step in tandem with them in order to be a nigh untouchable threat to any enemy in the game. Talismans like Millicent’s Prosthesis or the Rotten Winged Sword Insignia can work to improve your damage output with this style that is reminiscent of the Senpou Monks from Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
Next up on our list is the Light Greatsword, an interesting take on the Greatsword from the base game. While the original Greatswords were slow and unwieldy, this new weapon class mixes raw power with agility to create flowing strikes that see your Tarnished cut through enemy ranks with grace and style.
The Wing Stance on the Sword Milady that we saw in previews is a great showcase of how the Light Greatsword could very well be the new favorite among players for both PvP and PvE encounters. A Quality build balancing Strength and Dexterity in tandem with Talismans like the Shard of Alexander and the Twinblade Talisman could see your Tarnished decimating any who oppose their advance through the expansion.
SUGGESTED: Life Lessons: Shadow of the Erdtree’s Best New Weapons Explained, and How Best to Play With Them (Part 1)
The Beast Claws are the next new weapon on our list, combining agility and raw strength to create a melee-focused playstyle that Strength-based builds can capitalize on. While their light and heavy attacks do come with challenging hitboxes that take some getting used to, their damage output and stagger potential make them a great choice for players looking to overwhelm the opposition.
They could fit well with Strength or Dexterity builds in theory, with Talismans boosting the damage output on their fast attacks or charged attacks based on your playstyle. Combining them with Dragon Incantations or Roar Attacks could let you create an interesting build that’s dangerous at both melee and long range with some elemental damage thrown in as well!
Last but not least, the Duelling Shields are an interesting balance of offense and defense that we simply cannot wait to try out. The blades on either end of the shield allow you to unleash some quick swings with your light attacks and heavier strikes while the shield lets you block incoming damage from enemy attacks.
A Quality build would certainly benefit from such a playstyle with Talismans like the Green Turtle Talisman offsetting the high stamina consumption from constantly attacking and defending in battle. You could also use heavier armor and the Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman to become a defensive powerhouse that is not afraid to trade damage with even the most dangerous foes in the Land of Shadow.
And that’s every new weapon type in Shadow of the Erdtree, alongside a slew of new Spells, Incantations, Ashes of War, and Spirit Ashes that are sure to take your build to new heights even as FromSoftware’s latest creations bring you down to new lows only for you to rise up again. To make things easier, our Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree guides are here to guide you along.
