Elden Ring - 30 More Tricks And Hidden Mechanics
Intro
Hello, fellow tarnished hello, Elder, ringers. I'm back i thought the last article showcasing tricks and hidden mechanics would be a one-off, but it turns out there was still a lot to cover. And shout out to all the suggestions you all left, since a lot of these new ones come directly from you. Just like last time, there will be very few spoilers, and I'm trying to mostly include things that the game doesn't explicitly tell you about, along with a couple easy-to-miss features.
Weather damage
Let's Do it first. Did you know that the weather can actually affect your damage? It turns out that if it's raining, you'll do less fire damage and more lightning damage. This is obviously very minor, but it makes sense and is a cool detail.
Lightning splash damage
Speaking of lightning, if you cast a spell or use a weapon art that results in a bolt of lightning, it'll expand out into a mini circle of damage.
This splash damage is rather low, but it can sort of work with groups of enemies, so it's worth keeping in mind.
Charge attack dodge cancel
Charged attack dodge canceling, with curved swords and thrusting swords If you tap dodge while charging a heavy attack, you'll do a flip or backstep, a move that can be used to avoid attacks while also damaging the enemy at the same time.
This is incredibly useful as a pvp mix-up tool as well as a way to save yourself from a charge attack you shouldn't have committed to. There was a similar move in past games but the input for doing it was changed, so I'm not even sure if Souls veterans may have missed that this still exists.
Thrust weapon horse combo
On the topic of thrusting swords, both normal and heavy thrusting swords have a two-hit, strong attack combo while on horseback. This can be surprisingly useful, and it's interesting because it seems that no other weapon types have any sort of strong attack combos for horseback .
Thrust weapon w/ shield
One more tip for thrusting weapons You can actually block while attacking with thrusting swords and spears.
You just hold the block while pressing "light attack." This has been a thing since Demon Souls, but it's easy to miss if you're new or don't typically use these weapons.
Jumping dodges
It's not just for exploring; it's good to remember that you can dodge a variety of attacks that are low to the ground if you time your jump correctly.
On top of that, if enemies or bosses do earthquake-type moves, you can completely avoid damage by just jumping over them. This is very useful and feels so much more satisfying than landing a normal dodge or crouch attack.
Crouch attacks
Most people probably miss this because you typically only use crouching for backstabs.
But this crouch attack can actually be very useful across weapon types. This move tends to be quicker than a normal light attack. The colossal sword weapon class, in particular, has a super quick crouch attack with extra reach, and it's perfect for finishing enemies off.
Charge attack for stealth
Sometimes it's better to go for a charged strong attack instead of just a backstab. When sneaking up on an enemy, this allows you to get the full damage of the r2 attack in addition to the backstab if you stagger the enemy.
This will usually only reliably work on smaller humanoid enemies, but when health pools get larger further into the game, this can make a difference.
Item pouch
item pouch. This is essential, and yet I've seen so many people completely ignore this feature. You can assign four items to your item pouch from the top right side of your screen when opening the menu.
Please assign your horse to one of these along with the lantern you get later on to another. Both of these make exploring much easier and much smoother.
Ladder drop
This is perfect for catching enemies beneath you with a plunging attack, so keep in mind when rolling and jumping staggers.
Roll & jump staggers
Whenever you're fighting weak human-sized enemies, you can usually stagger them with a roll or jump despite doing no damage in the process.
This is easy to miss, but it's especially useful for escaping if you find yourself surrounded by weak enemies.
Horse strong jump attacks
Or you know, if you just want to bully them with horse jump attacks. However, if you begin charging the strong attack before the jump, it turns out that midair strong attacks are a thing definitely worth keeping in mind for flying enemies .
Gold leaves at night
Next, have you ever noticed gold leaves falling from the sky at night?
This only happens sometimes, but it provides a slight buff to the number of runes you'll get per kill. kind of neat bow.
Jumping and rolling bow attacks
Did you know that your bow can be used while jumping or right after rolling? Both of these attacks are noticeably faster than just firing while standing, and are great to keep in mind for close combat, or if only runs exploding.
Exploding stone guys
In the mines, you can often find these stone enemies with packs of bombs on their backs. If you hit them with a fire attack, they'll explode. These enemies weren't difficult to begin with, but explosions are fun, so try it out.
Quickstep
Quick stepping For example, every now and then you'll find yourself in an area that forces you to move slowly, like, for example, lava zones.
This can be annoying, but if you just equip a dagger, you can use its quick step weapon art and move so much faster by just repeatedly tapping l2. For everyone who didn't play Dark Souls 3, you're welcome to attack through walls.
Attacking through walls
Usually, when you attack a wall, your weapon will just bounce off of it. However, if you do a jumping attack, that won't happen, and if you combine that with a weapon like the lance or the whip, suddenly you can easily and safely hit enemies through walls.
In Fromsoft games, a win is a win. Use every tool that you have.
Stamina recovery
Next, whenever you're blocking, your stamina will recover at a much lower speed. I know most people probably know this, but I see new players who rely a bit too much on their shields do this constantly, so I just wanted to get the info out.
Two-handing shields
Speaking of shields, here's a reminder that two-handed your shield is an option, and not only is it an option, it's a very good one. Here's some footage of me fighting the tree sentinel on a low-level character with 13 endurance and an unupgraded shield. Your stability is much higher while tuning a shield, and essentially that means that you'll lose less stamina for each attack that you block.
Not only that, but guard counters still work too, so fighting the tree sentinel like this was kind of a cakewalk, and I think playing the entire game like this might actually be viable, Inside catacombs, you'll sometimes find these fire-breathing imp statues.
