As we get closer to the release of Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, we want to be ready to enter a new area at any time. Here, I want to share 6 key combat tips that can help beginners master the basics of combat and make them more familiar with combat in Lands Between.

The combat tutorial at the beginning of the game is notoriously unhelpful and very basic. So hopefully this gives you an idea of some simple combat strategies that will allow you to learn more about them than the game’s tutorials allow you to do.

Choose More Suitable Weapons

First, the trick I want to talk about is making Elden Ring more fun by choosing the right weapons. Combat is probably one of the most challenging and rewarding things to do in Elden Ring, and with the right ability or weapon, it can feel great.

Most of the time, players will build their stats for a specific ability or weapon, including Ashes of War, Sorceries, Incantations for the weapon, and sometimes they will even build stats for a specific moveset on the weapon.

Because some weapons of the same type may have very different movesets, or some weapon movesets may be better suited to a specific play style. You can try different weapons at the beginning of the game until you find a move you like. Then start upgrading your weapons with Smithing Stones or Somber Smithing Stones.

There are a limited number of these materials at the start of the game, so you should generally focus on one weapon or a pair of weapons. This prevents people from trying different weapons and not having enough Smithing Stones to upgrade their weapons.

Later, however, after finding specific items in the form of Bell Bearings, you can spend Elden Ring Runes to purchase an unlimited number of various Smithing or Somber Smithing Stones, except for the rarest ones.

That being said, at the beginning and within the first few hours of the game, it’s perfectly fine not to upgrade your weapons if you want to reserve your Smithing Stones for things you really enjoy.

Melee Or Ranged

The second thing you need to decide is whether you want to do Melee or Ranged combat. Choosing whether to fight in close quarters may be your first challenge.

Personally, I usually build around a weapon and spell combo, so I have both, or I’ll use a weapon with Ranged Ash of War.

But for the most part, ranged-based characters have it easier than melee-based characters. So in most cases it helps to have Melee, Ranged, and AOE options so you can meet the needs of each situation. That is, dungeons can be cleared using only melee combat, or bosses can be defeated using only ranged attacks.

In Melee, you have Light Attacks, Heavy Attacks, Charged Heavy Attacks, Rolling Attacks, Crouching Attacks, Jump Attacks, Critical Attacks, Lunge Attack, Running Attack, and Ashes of War. In Ranged combat, you have Shooting Arrows in slot one, Shooting Arrows in slot two, Rolling Attack, Jumping Attack, and Ash of War.

Sorceries and Incantations are used by pressing Light Attack button, or by equipping a Staff or Seal with a spell.

Note that some Sorceries and Incantations can be charged and then released for greater damage, and some can be cast continuously by holding down Light Attack.

Now, some of you might consider a bow build, but I would strongly advise against it, especially for new players. Because bows can be difficult to use, and their attribute scaling isn’t that great.

Although the bow can beat the game, in most cases you’re better off using ranged sorcery or incantation, or simply using the bow to enhance your melee abilities rather than making it the focus of your build. Because this is much more difficult than a normal build.

Shields

For those who want to build with tanks, the next tip I want to talk about is about shields.

Using shield and blocking is a great way to mitigate a lot of damage and prevent premature death. If you decide to use a shield in Elden Ring, there are some key stats you should pay attention to when choosing a shield.

Shield With High Guard Boost

Our first goal is to find a shield with a high guard boost. Blocking requires stamina, like almost every other ability in combat. Guard boost is a statistic that reduces stamina cost of blocking.

If you try to block and run out of stamina, it will fail. You’ll be stunned for a second or two, and you’ll be vulnerable to critical attacks. Therefore, the higher this stat is, the lower the stamina required for block hits.

Shield Size

There are 3 different sized shield types in Elden Ring, namely Small Shields, Medium Shields, and Greatshields. Shields of different sizes allow you to protect against different types of attacks.

For example, when using Greatshields, most attacks will bounce off your shield, even slightly staggering most enemies when they occur.

Note Damage Mitigation Numbers On A Shield

Shields have a numerical value that indicates how much protection the shield can protect you from any given type of damage. The numbers are based on percentages, so if you see a shield with 100 points of physical damage mitigation, that means it blocks 100% of the physical damage from most attacks as long as you have stamina.

Note that some weapons deal physical damage that passes through your shield, such as Scythe or Bloodhound Claws. So if you’re taking damage while blocking, the most likely scenario is that either the attack isn’t pure physical damage, or they’re using a weapon with a shield-ignoring mechanic.

A great starting shield is Brass Shield, which can be obtained from Soldier enemies in Gatefront Ruins shortly after starting the game. It requires 6 strength, 7 weights and has 100 physical mitigation.

Also Read: Elden Ring: The Best One-Shot Build To Enter Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC! - Dragonborn Blood Mage

Block Counters

Additionally, Block counters are a very helpful mechanism. When you block counter, the follow-up attack you make can knock the enemy out of the fight and provide you with a chance to heal during the fight, or deal massive damage in a fatal attack that often turns the tide of the battle.

Block counters are so good that there are some builds that play the entire game using just this mechanic. Note that if you choose a block counter build, I recommend choosing Greatshields, as they have the highest guard boost in the game. But they weigh a lot more than Small and Medium Shields, so that’s something to keep in mind.

Stance

No matter what kind of character you build, whether melee or ranged, it is very important for you to understand and master the stance.

Stance is a mechanic unique to enemies in Elden Ring. Think of it as an extra hidden health bar that will break the enemy’s stance once you’ve done enough damage.

Once an enemy’s stance is broken, most of them will do a kneeling or falling animation with a glowing dot on them, indicating that they can take a critical hit. When this happens, get close to the glowing point, or for enemies that don’t have a glowing point and their stance is broken, get close to their front and press Light Attack. This will perform a fatal attack, causing massive damage.

Please note that the invisible stance bar resets approximately 6 seconds after not being hit. In other words, if you don’t attack an enemy for 6 seconds, Stance damage they take will reset. So if you think the enemy is about to be broken, it’s best to keep attacking.

Each attack you make deals stance damage. Different attacks have different values, and some attacks deal more stance damage than others. Each weapon type also deals with varying amounts of stance damage. In addition, Ashes of War, Sorceries, Incantations for the weapon will also cause stance damage to varying degrees, so this is something to consider.

Like block counters, stance damage is another way to build your character. Stance break builds tend to be more on the offensive side, while block counter builds tend to be more on the defensive side.

Parrying

The last thing I want to talk about is whether to try Parrying. When used correctly, Elden Ring’s Parrying ability is powerful.

It’s a mechanic that’s easy to try but difficult to master. You need to equip a weapon or shield with Ash of War Parry and then press your Ash of War at the right time.

There are many who say you press it when the enemy’s hand starts to move and attack you, and others who say it’s when the weapon starts moving. But I have to tell you, it definitely takes practice to get good at it.

Anyway, that concludes this Elden Ring battle guide. Hopefully, these tips will help you on your journey to Shadow of the Erdtree. Good luck!