Elden Ring: 15 Best Ashes of War (Ranked)

Ashes of War in Elden Ring has changed how players fare against enemies in Fromsoftware titles. The evolution of a particular gameplay feature from Dark Souls, these items flare up your gameplay by not restricting them to one singular skill. However, the game features more than fifty of these for players to discover and add to their arsenal. So today, we have compiled a list of the 15 best Ashes of War in Elden Ring that every player should try out.

In this article, we cover the top Ashes of War players can try out in FromSoftware’s action RPG. While there are plentiful Ashes of War players can discover and use, some outshine in various situations. We picked fifteen of our favorite Ashes of War in the game, which makes the game easier to work through.

1. Waves of Darkness

• How to Get It: Trade Remembrance of the Naturalborn with Enia
• Usable With: Colossal Swords, Great Hammers, Greataxes, Colossal Weapons, Great Spears

One of the best area of effect Ashes of War in Elden Ring, Waves of Darkness sees the players plunging their desired weapon on the ground. Doing so releases a burst of dark energy at the surrounding area of the player for a few seconds, resulting in enemies taking damage. Waves of Darkness is an exceptionally great Ashes of War if players worry about getting overwhelmed with hoards of enemies.

Procuring it requires players to venture through the entirety of Ansel River and Lake of Rot to reach Astel Naturalborn of the Void, an optional boss. Defeating him gives players the required item, which they can exchange with Enia for the Ash of War.

2. Flames of the Redmane

• How to Get It: From an invisible Teardrop Scarab situated in front of Fort Gael North Site of Grace at Caelid
• Usable With: Every weapon except shields and bows

For the fans of Pyromancy and fire in general, Flames of Redmane is a great Ashes of War to put on their weapons. Not only is it a versatile Ash of War, allowing users to put it on any category of armament, but it also deals one of the crucial status effect damages in the game: fire. Flames of Redmane sees players throwing a wall of flame on the enemies when used, dealing fire damage. Additionally, continuous usage will sometimes break an enemy’s poise, opening them up for a critical attack.

Flames of Redmane was a skill used by the Redmanes, who fought alongside General Radahn.

3. Bloody Slash

• How to Get It: Defeat the Godrick Knight found on top of Fort Haight at Liurnia.
• Usable With: Daggers, Straight Swords, Greatswords, Curved Greatswords, Katanas, Twinblades, Thrusting Swords, and Heavy Thrusting Swords.

Elden Ring introduced some slick blood-based attacks, and Bloody Slash is one of the many Ashes of War that not only looks cool but also benefits dexterity and arcane-focused players. The Bloody Slash Ashes of War sees players readying their dex weapons and slashing at the enemy using the player’s blood cut from the hand.

In the process, the players do lose a fraction of blood, but that is an accepted downside since Bloody Slash deals high damage on hit. Plus, continuous usage also helps in the bleed build-up on enemies, another powerful status effect in the game.

4. Hoarfrost Stomp

• How to Get It: Defeat an invisible Teardrop Scarab on a shallow body of water southeast of Caria Manor.
• Usable With: Every Weapon except shields and bows

Hoarfrost Stomp is an Ashes of War that utilizes its reach and zone to deal damage to the enemies. Once equipped with the weapon, the player will stomp the ground when using it, resulting in a trail of freezing mist spreading on the ground and dealing damage to the enemies in the process. Hoarfrost Stomp has a fast cast time, large AOE, and injures enemies, making this a versatile Ashes of War for every player.

5. Storm Blade

• How to Get It: Sold by Knight Bernahl at the Warmaster’s Shack. After his death, give the Bell Bearing to Twin Maiden Husks at the Roundtable Hold.
• Usable With: Daggers, Straight Swords, Greatswords, Curved Swords, Curved Greatswords, Katanas, Thrusting Swords, Heavy Thrusting Swords

There might be a few instances where even though an Elden Ring player enjoys running first into their enemies, they would prefer dealing some damage to their enemies, and Ashes of War: Storm Blade helps in doing that. Applying on every kind of sword in the game, Storm Blade sees players sending a gust of spiraling wind towards an enemy with each Slash, dealing damage on hit.

This is a great Ashes of War for a player who wants to enjoy ranged attacks on enemies. Furthermore, in the 1.07 update, this Ashes of War has improved.

6. Seppuku

• How to Get It: On the frozen lake by an invisible scarab, located east of the Freezing Lake site of Grace in Mountaintop of the Giants
• Usable With: Straight Swords, Greatswords, Curved Swords, Curved Greatswords, Katanas, Thrusting Swords, Heavy Thrusting Swords, Great Spears, Halberds

Inspired by the real-life ritual performed by Japanese samurai on themselves as a punishment, Seppuku is a forbidden technique performed by the people of Lands of Reed. Co-incidentally, the Samurai class of the game is a person traveling the Lands Between from Lands of Reed.

Once equipped with a weapon, players stab themselves, resulting in marginal blood loss and covering the armament with the player’s blood. However, doing so gives the player an attack boost for sixty seconds, along with increased bleed-buildup on enemies. This Ash of War best pairs up with a fast weapon, as successive attacks help in building bleed damage.

7. Bloodhound’s Step

• How to Get It: Defeat a Night’s Cavalry at the bridge in front of Lenne’s Rise tower in Dragonbarrow.
• Usable With: Every weapon except shields and bows

Side-stepping is one of the essential move-sets in Elden Ring, as it gives players invincibility frames. The Ash of War: Bloodhound’s Step uses that fundamental and creates a skill that looks fabulous. A versatile Ash of War, Bloodhound’s Step makes players invisible for a few seconds when used, making them dash toward the enemy and reappear right behind them.

This Ash of War is great for evasion and critical damage. Bloodhound’s Step, on use, makes players invincible from attacks for a few seconds, allowing them to dash safely toward enemies. This skill positions players right behind the enemy, allowing players to stab them from behind and deal critical damage.

8. Phantom Slash

• How to Get It: Defeat a Night’s Cavalry at the Forbidden lands site of grace in Forbidden Lands
• Usable With: Twinblades, Spears, Halberds, Reapers

Fans of animes such as Jojo’s Bizzare adventure will appreciate the Phantom Slash Ashes of War in elden Ring. However, as a whole, this is an incredibly useful Ash of War that players should use. Using it, players summon an apparition of Night’s Cavalry’s instructor, which then sees the apparition zooming toward the enemy, dealing damage. Immediately after, the player will zoom into the enemy and can follow up with an overhead slash, which the apparition first performs. This results in increased damage to enemies.

One thing to remember here is that the apparition and player’s travel distance and range are similar. Hence, correct player positioning is necessary when performing this skill.

9. Holy Ground

• How to Get It: Destroy three chariots in the Auriza Hero’s Grave
• Usable With: Small Shields, Medium Shields, Great shields

There might be certain moments in the game where players prefer defensive options instead of offensive options, and Ash of War: Holy Ground helps with that. This skill solely applies to the shields in the game and will see players raising the Shield with both arms to perform an enchantment. This enchantment creates a magic circle on the ground, which buffs damage negation by 20%. Furthermore, the magic circle replenishes 600 health over time for 35 seconds.

10. Carian Greatsword

• How to Get It: Sold by Sorcerer Rogier at the Roundtable Hold. After his death, hand over his bell bearing to the Twin Maiden Husks
• Usable With: Daggers, Straight Swords, Greatswords, Curved Swords, Curved Greatswords, Katanas, Thrusting Swords, Heavy Thrusting Swords, Twinblades

Carian Knights are one of the most dominant enemies in the early-mid game, and naturally, their enchantments will be one to keep in the inventory. The Ashes of War: Carian Greatsword allows players to summon a long magical sword, which they then slam on the ground. When fully charged, this causes poise damage to enemies, opening them up for a critical hit. The Carian Greatsword Ash of War is similar to the sorcery of the same name. However, players who do not have the necessary points in intelligence can use the Ash of War as an alternative.

11. Gravitas

• How to Get It: Looted from a Lesser Alabaster Lord who uses the skill. The enemy can be located on the beach side at the stone arch, near the Seaside Ruins site of grace.
• Usable With: Every melee weapon except shields and bows

As the name suggests, the Ashes of War: Gravitas uses gravity to deal damage to the enemy in Elden Ring. Versatile to use as it can be applied to any weapon, this Ash of War makes players plunge their armament on the ground to create a gravity well. This gravity well then pulls the enemies towards the players while dealing damage to them. Gravitas is a great Ash of War for players who want to deal with a large group of enemies. However, remember that this skill pulls the enemies towards the player character, which may open them up to oncoming attacks.

12. Earthshaker

• How to Get It:
• Usable With: Colossal Swords, Great Hammers, Greataxes, Great Spears, Colossal Weapons

Pairing up with big weapons, the Ashes of War: Earthshaker makes the weapons a menacing affair, as they should be. Exclusively applicable to only large weapons, the Earthshaker makes players slam their armament on the ground, cracking the floor in the process and shaking the ground. The follow-up attack then swings the weapon, dealing damage to the enemy. The thrust, shockwave, and swing damage the enemy on a successful hit.

13. Golden Vow

• How to Get It: Defeat a mounted Godrick Knight on the cliff above the Deathtouched Catacombs
• Usable With: Every Weapon except shields and bows

Another defensive skill, the Ashes of War: Golden Vow, makes players cast an enchantment through their desired weapon. This enchantment then buffs the damage negation of the player by 7.5% and damage by 11.5% for 45 seconds. For PvP usage, the damage negation gets buffed by 1.5%, and the damage to the enemy increases by 2.5%. This Ash of War is an alternative for players who do not want to stay stationary on the circle for a few seconds when casting the Holy Ground.

14. Rain of Arrows

• How to Get It:
• Usable With: Light Bows, Bows, Greatbows

An Ashes of War for Eldenm Ring players who love to use a bow on top of a standard melee weapon, the Rain of Arrows takes inspiration from the many fantasy series and novels where arrows are rained down on an enemy by an individual. As the name suggests, this skill sees players crouching down with their bows on the ground and shooting a volley of arrows in the air. After a while, these arrows fall on the ground over the enemy, dealing damage. Pairing it up with the Arrow’s Reach Talisman will increase the range at which this skill can be performed.

15. Kick

• How to Get It: Sold by Knight Bernahl at the Warmaster’s Shack
• Usable With: Every Weapon except shields and bows

There is nothing much to talk about Ashes of War: Kick. It is a strong kick, useful against enemies who tend to guard attacks frequently. This skill helps break the enemy’s guard by kicking them, opening up chances for players to perform attacks. Sometimes, an unsuspecting enemy standing near a cliff can be kicked off to his death, recreating the famous Leonidus kick from the movie 300.

Frequently Asked Questions