Elden Ring has so many minor and major tweaks you can perform on your character that the overall outcome changes how you approach each fight. From the basic stat upgrading to the customization you can perform on the weapon of your choice, the list is quite extensive.
The 5 best Ashes of War are Eruption, Assassin’s Gambit, Vow of the Indomitable, Cragblade, and Beast Roar.
One such decision that still bothers me is which Ash of War should I opt for as there are so many that this game is always showering me with. Some sound amazing by their description, but I am so comfortably set in my “Transient Moonlight” skill that I am afraid to move to others.
1. Eruption
Compatible with Greatswords, Greataxes, Great Hammers, Heavy Thrusting Swords, and Colossal Weapons. It provides Fire affinity.
The move slams down the huge weapon you have equipped, creating a small explosion that bursts out some lava from the ground. There are three stages of damage here the initial slam then the explosion and later the lava is essentially a trap that stays on the ground for a while.
Coming from a colossal weapon it can hurt a lot just by the slams and the lava is just the cherry on the cake with its zoning capabilities and burning enemies with its affinity. You can also buff the living hell out of this attack with the many fire damage-increasing items in the game, like the Fire Scorpion Charm talisman.
You can buy Eruption from Knight Bernahl in Volcano Manor for 8000 runes. He won’t sell this item when you first meet him in Warmaster’s Shack and is only sold in Volcano Manor to keep up with the lava theme I suppose. You can follow his questline from right here.
2. Assassin’s Gambit
Compatible with small and medium Straight Swords and Thrusting Swords. It provides the Occult affinity.
A simple yet very effective skill that turns you invisible for a while in the game. In PVE, enemies are completely blind to your existence so you can sneak your way close to any huge foe in front of you and prepare a massive first strike without warning them. You can easily use Comet Azur right next to an enemy.
In PVP, you are very much invisible, and only keen-eyed opponents can spot you. Though keep in mind any sorcery or incantation that has a long animation can be easily seen by any so use this skill when you are sure that nobody is looking in your general direction.
This, too, can be bought from Knight Bernahl in Volcano Manor for 6500 runes and is only available in the shop here and not in Warmaster’s Shack. You can follow his questline from right here.
3. Vow of the Indomitable
Compatible with all kinds of Shields. It provides Sacred affinity.
This is the closest you can come to invincibility in Elden Ring, yes, you read it right. But there is a caveat so don’t go before a dragon thinking nothing can hurt you. As it is applied to shields, only you can essentially block any incoming attack without the worry of running out of stamina or chip damage.
The only thing to master is the timing to use it, as it’s like a parry. The time it right before the attack lands on you and you can come out scratchless. It feels great when you just block a Magma Wyrm’s huge sword attack and shrug like a boss. The same can be said and done in a PVP situation.
Found by killing a Teardrop Scarab in the poison swamp surrounding the Albinaurics Village underneath the land mass you can see in the map below, the exact location of the scarab is marked too.
4. Cragblade
Compatible with all melee weapon types except Whips. Provides Heavy affinity.
This skill thrusts the weapon into the ground and coats it with rocks, and provides a buff of 10% Physical damage and Poise damage. The fact that you can use this skill with any weapon makes it viable to stance-break enemies much faster with quick attacking weapons like Straight swords or Claws.
And if applied to any already heavy weapon, then get ready for staggered foes every time.
Cragblade Location
It can be acquired by killing a Teardrop Scarab near the Impassable Greatbridge in Caelid. The exact spawn location of the scarab is marked below on the map.
5. Beast Roar
Compatible with all melee weapons. Provides Keen affinity.
This is a death scream that fires off a sound projectile rather quickly hence it can be used to punish any opponent at a relatively long range. This has some great spamming quality to it with its rate of fire, and you can further boost it with talismans like Roar Medallion. This roar even has great stagger damage.
In PVP, you can target this to any fleeing or healing opponent, and if you see someone prepping for a sorcery attack, use the roar instantly to disrupt their attack and keep your pressure on from a distance.
You can get this from Gurranq, Beast Clergyman, after giving him the fourth Deathroot. He is located in the Caelid Region, marked on the map below.
These were some of the best Ashes of War Elden Ring offers. Though keep in mind these skills do scale off of the weapon’s upgrade level, so strengthen your armaments’ levels for the best possible damage numbers.
There are many other Ashes of War that could have gone on this list, but we tried to showcase those that might be overlooked by most people, and they are missing out on some heavy-hitting skills.