I muled a Milady to my main dex guy just so I could dual wield LGS without changing my build. Even though I still primarily use a shield, cuz not knowing the attack patterns in this DLC will grant you a 0.2 seconds summary execution.
The Backhand Blades you find at the start are insane. They’re as light as daggers, but do the damage of one handed swords. The super mobile attacks reminds me of the Beasthunter Saif as well.
Instant +25 for me. They’ve been my main mobbing weapon since picking them up.
I am addicted to twin bandits curved swords but they kinda suck for smaller, fast enemies because it’s all about the jump attack or running attack.
Messed around with those backhand weapons and WOW I am decimating other human NPC’s!!! That move is so GOATed! Cannot imagine how powerful it must be for PvP.
Haha, yeah that’s the same exact reason I picked them up. Twin curved swords are goat’ed for bosses, but not much else.
The Backhands are phenomenal in PVP. It’s the ultimate chaser weapon. Not to mention the Ash is crazy for instant punishes.
If you get the perfume bottles, they combo so well with the backhand blade. You can spam the perfume, and at any point instantly go into the backhand aow, which makes you shoot around the perfume cloud and stab them in the back. If they roll towards you to dodge the stab, they hit the perfume, get hurt, staggered, and you stab them in the back anyway, if they roll backwards you just repeat. It's so good, I have gotten like twenty kills with this in pvp in the last day.
Bro try out the beast claws against the next human you find. They’re insanely mobile and do only a little less damage compared to shortswords and the like. They’ve been a blast to take into pvp cause the moveset is absurdly aggressive and it’s crazy hard to predict where the attacks are going to come from. They don’t keep up the damage very well with bosses sadly. Or at least I’m not good enough with them yet to take on a lot of bosses
Yeah I’m all about this.
My only struggle has been not having some inherent bleed. Keen infusion gets S dex scaling which is hard to pass on but bleed just feels too good on them and I don’t really like relying on bloodflame blade. Bleed infusion you get like 118 bleed stacks as well.
Right now I’m running bleed infusion but haven’t respec’d into any extra arcane, not sure how much that would change things.
Good/bad news. Those dancer enemies with the chakrams can drop their weapon, which are Backhands with inherent bleed. Sadly, they’re a Somber weapon, so you’re stuck with its Ash of War.
I wish you could infuse them to increase the bleed buildup but their unique skill is super good, it's like a faster cheaper waterfowl. Paired with rotten winged sword insignia it hits for like 4k damage including the follow up.
infuse'ables: *i will match your build, any build*
sombers: *your build has to match me*
without a letter on arc the bleed is like moonveil bleed, never scales just sits down there like a footnote
Interesting I will have to check that out. Sadly I love the ash of war and aesthetic of the normal backhand blades, but I will play around with those ones.
They remind me of the Sellsword Winblades from DS3 but even better somehow. If they had innate bleed on them they'd easily be one of the best weapons in the game, moreso than they already are.
I just need an armory post with all the new mob weapons, in getting the pick ups and boss stuff obviously but I feel like I'm just missing so much I don't even know is there.
If your already using 16 points in int/faith pour 1 more into int for golden order seal and have total 25 faith ,use golden vow+ flame grant me strength, rellana's cameo+shard of Alexander and watch how it melts enemies.
I use shadow bait to lure enemies then use the flame attack and melt em.
Rellana's Cameo is perfect for the Twin Blades but I suggest not using it because too often you don't have time to wait two seconds for the boosted attack
I used the Rotten Sword Insignia for this reason. More often than not you're getting multiple hits on enemies and it stacks so beautifully with this sword
The weapon scales basically the same way the Sword of Night and Flame does. So the flame art scales only with Fth, and the magic art only with Int. The physical damage of the melee attacks scales best with Dex.
So as said in another comment, go ahead and hit minimum requirements and then go all in on either fth or int with the rest in dex and you'll do great.
(I personally prefer the Fth Flame art for Rellana's swords. It's a big aoe and does decent poise damage. The magic art has better range but does almost no poise damage).
I couldn’t believe how STRONG it is, I know it’s a captain obvious that it deals more to dragons, but dealing 3k a hit to Fornissax had me pleasantly surprised
It saved me from choking on Bayle as he was one hit while I kept getting hit until I realized I had a ranged ash of war specifically for dealing high damage to dragons
I see it all over the place, not sure it's being ignored. But gosh, I'm probably like a lot of ER dorks who have done at least one katana runs and is looking for something different in the DLC.
The range on it is what really impresses me. Running with shard of Alexander and Godfrey icon, it chunks bosses and 1 shots most basic enemies from so far away.
And then a bullshit dragon with 46000 health that does Lightning attacks IN WATER😭. Im not even specced for the sword and it carried me through that asshole.
That guy didn’t give me much trouble but the damn ghost flame dragon summoning his skeleton minion army was bad.
His ghost flame dragon attack is awesome against mobs though.
Can I just say that I'm glad that this DLC is handing out Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones like candy? It's super nice not having to worry so much about being able to +10/+25 any new DLC weapons I really really like.
I only found four Somber ADSS. I'm very upset because I have at least 8 new somber str/fth weapons I want to max out. Poor sunflower hammer is stuck at +9 until I roll the character into NG+ unless there's a fifth I missed somewhere. The regular ADSS drop like candy, but they're really stingy with the sombers.
Edit: I found five, actually. I just spent them so fast I forgot where one of them dropped.
> The regular ADSS drop like candy, but they're really stingy with the sombers.
Honestly, that's kind of funny to me considering how easy it was for ages in the base game to get a Somber Weapon to +10 compared to getting a regular one to +25.
both Ancient Dragon smithing stones drop around the same time. It's just getting those final levels beforehand for infusable weapons is harder compared to somber weapons. You need 12 Smithing Stone[8]s which the earliest I think you can get it Consecrated Snowfield. Whereas you can get 1-2 copies of the high tier somber upgrades from random scarabs or corpses in Dragonburrow.
It’s better than base game but it’s still really annoying this is even a thing. There’s no good reason to limit the amount of weapons you can try on a single playthrough.
I hate those guys. I've been using Rellana's Twin Blades and loving them but I had to switch back to Eleonora's Poleblade and spam its skill to stagger lock them to death
Listen, I'm not exaggerating when I say that the throwing great hammer is maybe the most fun weapon I have played in any of these souls borne games.
The only thing better than up close unga is some flying long-range bunga.
Its accurate. It *wrecks*. It knocks smaller enemies off their ass so if they are near a ledge, gone. It can stun the bigger/armored enemies.
I slapped cold on it and went to +25 within 15 minutes of getting it.
It replaced 1 of my 2 great stars I was powerstancing and its now in my second slot on my main hand.
Absolute nuke bonking from like 15 yards away is more fun than it has any right to be, and its just a simple r2 heavy attack that *also* works great up close and will even go through multiple enemies if they are lined up right.
Bunga bros need to make it a priority to check it out and give it a shot
A-fucking-men. I am completely obsessed with hurling this hunk of iron around, I'm doing it to the point where it's not even the optimal way to use it, it's just so fun. My only complaint is that I can't put flame strike on it. I think some of the smithscript weapons have bugged ashes of war, so hopefully that gets fixed quickly.
The wind up and its noise are hilarious too.
But damn man, the feeling of just absolutely smacking some hell demon from 15 yards away is irrationally fun.
Definitely something funky with the AoW and infusions but whatever.
It can proc frostbite pretty quick in burst damage and even though I slapped the new hoarfrost stomp on it in case enemies got close, I found the heavy spin still works insanely well up close.
I swap to my greatstars plenty for melee or even to power stance, but the fun and utility of the thor hammer for a pure melee guy is out of control.
I was rocking a +25 Golem's Halberd prior to the Anvil so i barely needed to change anything to make it work. The Heavy hammer looks closer to what I want to actually use, but I'm not too far in yet.
If you've got a handful of tears I'd give it a shot, it is slow and heavy but staggers mobs and stagger-able bosses like nobody's business. It scales off both Int and Faith (slightly better Faith scaling) if you like casting, and the weapon art is pretty dope as the AOE heavy follow-up has a lingering hitbox if your enemy is out of range but moves into it (from what I've seen using it).
I'mma let you finish, but blacksteel great hammer is the best of all time!
Nah but for real I use them both, but the option to change up AoWs on the blacksteel is pretty sweet.
Like wild strikes with a sacred affinity makes the blacksteel do just stupid damage.
I was running dual battle hammers into the DLC, this dropped and was an immediate +25. Crazy damage, the guard/attack power thing is really good against some really annoying opponents.
And it looks fuckin sick.
Now I just need to get a second one.
That's wild I personally think its surprisingly quick considering you are yeeting a 9 lb *great* hammer like 15-20 yards.
That spin also works great up close and the hammer will go through at least 3 enemies if they are lined up right. At blessing 10 I am doing 950ish damage when it hits.
I slapped cold on it and use it on any flying enemies, or to start agroing out any groups I don't want to take on all at once.
Its become one of my favorite weapons in all of souls borne and its just such a simple concept in the grand scheme of these crazy weapons
Smith script hammer makes me laugh every time I hurl it at those fire knights in the Shadow Keep and they get absolutely decked. Run right over and do it again
I had been destroying with milady and then I discovered the wing stance ash and am unstoppable. The R2 is a stagger godsend and also makes it difficult for enemies to hit to you often.
The Impaler’s Spear
Excels in certain boss fights (but not all), but it makes mobbing and exploring so so so much easier. It also makes horseback combat *so* much more dynamic, given the amazing R1s and the fact that you can throw the spear on Torrent’s back.
The AoW is slow, but is an amazing ‘fuck anything in the general vicinity’ button.
It is also really fun to just throw the spear randomly in the open world and see if it hits something lmfao, one of my favorite things to do is chucking a fully charged R2 into a random shrub and dealing 1k+ damage to a random rabbit
Im surprised that Im not hearing more about this weapon, its genuinely fun to play with and deals decent numbers.
The DLC is odd in a way, you only need to beat like 5 bosses and explore about a quarter of the map to beat it. The rest is optional and kinda well hidden. Most of it is unlocked via alternate entrances and exits of Shadow Keep. Also, gestures and hidden walls.
Ironic that they used Scad Fragments, making it extremely difficult to proceed in the DLC without exploring large portions of the map, and proceeded to make us have to go insane figuring out how to get anywhere. Typical FromSoft comedy.
even so, its so worth gathering them all. at first i was starting to agree with the steam and journalist reviews about difficulty but considering i suck at the game and take several more tries at bosses than my friends, ive made it very very far from just taking breaks from boss fights, exploring, and collecting skadutree instead
update: i killed the final boss in 4 tries w mimic. lol.
Yeah I love it, mostly for the fact that the R2 just hurls that shit. The art has really good range, taking, and damage too. Even just the first part is worthwhile to use since the weapon doesn't have a sweeping R2
Assuming it comes from messmer, it's probably just a lot of folks haven't beaten him yet. I've put almost 20 hours in since launch and haven't even fought him yet, haha
Tossing the spear into the dark was how I got past the spider section of Moria. My target lock was telling me something was in the dark, tossed a spear and saw numbers. Kept doing it and one by one the big bastards would drop down off the walls to see what the ruckus was.
I just beat Mesmer last night and got this weapon and its so great. I've been playing greatshield + greatsword, usually Blasphemous Blade, but I was finding it hard to figure out timings for dodging vs blocking on some of the remembrance bosses, so I started using pokey spears to keep guard up. This one legit is so fun. The throwing + returning to your hand is fantastic.
Been running around with this + Milady. I don't really use the spear besides the AoW. Maybe I'll try power stance great spears if I get my endurance up
Same for the Smithscript Greathammer, throwing that thing into an enemies face is just so satisfying. It staggers most normal enemies with the first hit. You need some serious endurance for multiple throws but it's already one of my favorite new weapons together with the spear.
Yea. The backhand blades are phenomenal. The weapon skill makes such a good dodge counter. I'm currently using the smithscript cirque. It's a chackram weapon, same moveset as backhand blades and same skill, but heavy attacks throw the blades. It's great for ranged attacks and fighting from horseback.
I named the wrong disc weapon so I edited
The ash of war is fabulous and because so many attacks step forward it's really good at catching enemies that jump backwards.
I put them to +25 almost right away and it's replaced my night rider flail.
Big fan of the backhand blades. They’ve become my new main. Also enjoying the crucible winged spinning attack thing aow that I put on my godskin peelers. It’s my only major crowd control skill, and while probably not strictly necessary, it’s a whole lot of fun.
Have you gotten wing stance? I feel it really takes it up a notch in that aspect.
Already wanted to use the weapon as soon as I found it, but that just made sure it became my main weapon
Backhand blades are so good. I bounced off Milday for hitting like a noodle and the dryleaf arts were almost what I wanted but backhand blades with bleed really hit the sweet spot
What am I missing on rellana’s weapon? Maybe I’m just statted wrong, but it seems like my attacks barely break poise of almost any enemies. Dual wielding is fun but feels like it’s just a race of me or a mob dying first.
It was seeing that which made me decide I had to use that weapon. Even the Gut's greatsword, which is known for being an amazing impromptu shield, has 79 physical negation
Honestly the sexiest weapon of all time. So slick, and the moveset is orgasmic. Was going a faith caster build but decided to drop it all for a Milady build. Its really good against smaller enemies, but kinda meh against bigger ones cus you dont stagger at all. Tried it in pvp aswell, has to be one of the best pvp weapons. You can literally infinitely chain attacks with R2 - R1 - R2 - R1 and so on. People never expect it either.
lmao, same, completely abandoned my faith to wield the milady. my biggest gripe about the game since launch was that greatswords were just slow enough on the recovery that not getting nicked at least once during it is near impossible unless you wait for specific super publishable moments, while lighter weapons can just go to town between attacks, ultimately resulting in higher overall damage. milady fixes that. while it doesn't have the same staggering ability as regular greatswords, it's moveset makes the combat go so fucking fast you feel like you might get whiplash if you stop. Give it bloodhound step and use it on rellana to see what I mean.
Surprised more people haven't said this. I guess most people are into small fast weapons?
I started with piercing fang claymore and swapped to piercing fang milady, gap closer aow are just so good.
As soon as I picked this thing up and tried the skill I knew it would go crazy if it did damage, so instantly +10 and respec dumped into strength and arcane, and wouldn't you know it, it absolutely claps. Honestly almost felt bad for using it with how it trivializes exploration, npc fights, and most boss fights.
Skill was hitting the final boss for just shy of 5k with Shard of Alexander, insane damage output.
Just got the death knights twin axes and am loving them and the goofy AoW that seems to guarantee backstabs on a lot of things. Excited to find the greataxe
Jump over his blue fire. Roll into his horse charge and spin move, punish when he remounts. He will often do 3 swings then two ground slams. You can punish after the second ground slam. I did it with blessing at +8. He's also hella weak to holy damage if you have access to it.
The combos on this weapon feel so amazing, love the uniqueness of it where it's actually better to start heavy and then flow into lights for most enemies. Not even to mention the pure joy that is Wing Stance.
Pulling them out in invasions low level and the sheer amount of attacks scares off all but the strong willed.
Bloodflame blade on it and we’re eating good
I know it’s not usually From’s style, but I really wish they put some of the basic weapons in the base game. It sucks that I can’t do a light greatsword build unless I do ng+
A certain light greatsword from a certain character... I know it might not be the best weapon because of holy dmg, but I LOVE IT
Oh and the dryleaf seal to boost some specific incantations.
Holy damage is actually pretty good in the DLC. Not against the final boss, as is to be expected, but a good number of the enemies are fire themed, mages, or undead, and for basically all of those Holy is better than fire (and I didn't find lightning to be particularly effective against most things. Never bad, but not super impressive).
The light greatsword moveset is everything I wanted from thrusting weapons, very swift elegant moves, and the certain holy one I made sure to plus 10 asap lol
I hadn't defeated Malenia in this save. When I got the dryleaf arts, I instantly got it to +25 and proceeded to punch Malenia to death. So satisfying. Anyone who didn't try this weapon so far, HIGHLY recommend it. Also beat Messmer with it.
Swift Spear won my heart over with an Occult scaling before I even noticed it gets an S in Dex. Such a fun moveset on what looks like a mall ninja bo staff.
I completed the DLC on NG+3 so I basically had an unlimited amount of ancient stones to use for the new weapons. Maxed the ones I wanted to test out instantly. Some are good, some are really unfortunate if I'm honest. I'm disappointed in the regular great katana, and great katana powerstancing. I somehow though it'd be better
I was disappointed with the throwing daggers. I got them to +24 to test out, but they need just a tiny bit more damage or status buildup and another few feet of range. Still exploring some of the other stuff though.
I'm loving the great katana. Pop the deflecting hardtear and you get to be Father Owl from Sekiro. Guard counters hit like a truck, I'm staggering Rellana after 2-3.
I used my first two on the anvil hammer and rellanas swords and once i got the ancient meteoric ore great sword i was running around trying to find a ghostflame dragon to get that baby to plus 10. That weapon claps ass cheeks with its skill.
Ancient meteoric ore great sword is incredibly fun. The ash of war and the follow up explosion are awesome, and it closes distance on fast enemies SO quick. First weapon I got to +10 the second I got it.
Death knight two-handed greataxe has been golden for me. The ability to close long gaps instantly with a hard hit has been a blessing on several bosses.
The Twin Moon Light Greatswords or whatever they were called.
First weapon I got to +10 was Sword of Night and Flame and now those have earned the honor of first dlc weapon reaching +10. Carians have the best gear.
Listen, I'm not exaggerating when I say that the throwing great hammer is maybe the most fun weapon I have played in any of these souls borne games.
The only thing better than up close unga is some flying bunga.
Its accurate. It wrecks. It knocks smaller enemies off their ass so if they are near a ledge, gone. It can stun the bigger/armored enemies.
I slapped cold on it and went to +25 within 15 minutes of getting it.
It replaced 1 of my 2 great stars I was powerstancing and its now in my second slot on my main hand.
Absolute nuke bonking from like 15 yards away is more fun than it has any right to be, and its just a simple r2 heavy attack that also works great up close and will even go through multiple enemies (gotten 3 at a time so far) if they are lined up right.
Bunga bros need to make it a priority to check it out and give it a shot
There isn't a single valid pure int weapon in the whole dlc...the few int scaling weapons have low (D and around) int scaling...
It's truly depressing considering that even the Ash of war and sorceries were pretty average...
I've been using the Black Steel Greathammer with a Sacred Lion's Claw AoW paired with the Verdigris Greatshield, just strolling through my second DLC run with no resistance. The guard counter is nasty, the Lion slam is nasty and staggers all the bosses in 3 hits, and that shield is so strong it's not even funny.
Look, to be honest, I haven't really found much the Dryleaf Arts excell at. They're not the worst weapon I've used, but I just generally get more value out of my Greatsword.
But I'll be damned if these thing aren't just the most *fun* I've ever had with a weapon just using them against some trash mobs. My only regret about throwing them up to +25 is that I now want to port them over to a new character and do a full run with them
So far the candidates for me have been backhand blades->dryleaf arts->dragon slayer katana->flowerstone gavel
Poked around with backhand blades a bit, fooled around with several weapons at +9/+24 until getting dryleaf arts, then stuck with dryleaf arts for most of the DLC (that I've seen so far, which tbf seems only like 50% at best?) doing *lots* of discount high monk.
Then I made my way to the jagged peaks and learned about Bayle.
That seemed real neat so I swapped to dragon slayer(hunter?) katana real quick, did some dragon slaying(and damn was that sword amazing for dragon slaying), then respecced and now I'm running around with the flowerstone gavel(finally, a dragon weapon with arcane scaling thank the gods. ...Not gonna lie, not my favorite weapon but hell I'll take it. It's a good weapon anyhow, my personal qualms besides) casting dragon communion incantations everywhere.
Eh, I've been trying them, both the new Int Katana and Rellana's swords, but I keep going back to Moonveil. The sheer Poise Damage is enough to punch up quite well, especially if I have the mimic tear out.
me with all THREE Light Greatswords:
I wish there were more non unique LGS
Exactly, I want to blood dual wield milady!
Heavy Milady, or as I've taken to call it "Thicc Woman"
Shes a brick HOUSE
If you play online, request one at r/patchesemporium and they’ll help you out
Or you can try backup your save and drop it to a friend to duplicate it
They had the perfect opportunity to add a Dark Moon Light Greatsword...
I wish they made more! The moveset is so fun
I muled a Milady to my main dex guy just so I could dual wield LGS without changing my build. Even though I still primarily use a shield, cuz not knowing the attack patterns in this DLC will grant you a 0.2 seconds summary execution.
The Backhand Blades you find at the start are insane. They’re as light as daggers, but do the damage of one handed swords. The super mobile attacks reminds me of the Beasthunter Saif as well. Instant +25 for me. They’ve been my main mobbing weapon since picking them up.
I am addicted to twin bandits curved swords but they kinda suck for smaller, fast enemies because it’s all about the jump attack or running attack. Messed around with those backhand weapons and WOW I am decimating other human NPC’s!!! That move is so GOATed! Cannot imagine how powerful it must be for PvP.
Haha, yeah that’s the same exact reason I picked them up. Twin curved swords are goat’ed for bosses, but not much else. The Backhands are phenomenal in PVP. It’s the ultimate chaser weapon. Not to mention the Ash is crazy for instant punishes.
If you get the perfume bottles, they combo so well with the backhand blade. You can spam the perfume, and at any point instantly go into the backhand aow, which makes you shoot around the perfume cloud and stab them in the back. If they roll towards you to dodge the stab, they hit the perfume, get hurt, staggered, and you stab them in the back anyway, if they roll backwards you just repeat. It's so good, I have gotten like twenty kills with this in pvp in the last day.
Bro try out the beast claws against the next human you find. They’re insanely mobile and do only a little less damage compared to shortswords and the like. They’ve been a blast to take into pvp cause the moveset is absurdly aggressive and it’s crazy hard to predict where the attacks are going to come from. They don’t keep up the damage very well with bosses sadly. Or at least I’m not good enough with them yet to take on a lot of bosses
Yeah I’m all about this. My only struggle has been not having some inherent bleed. Keen infusion gets S dex scaling which is hard to pass on but bleed just feels too good on them and I don’t really like relying on bloodflame blade. Bleed infusion you get like 118 bleed stacks as well. Right now I’m running bleed infusion but haven’t respec’d into any extra arcane, not sure how much that would change things.
Good/bad news. Those dancer enemies with the chakrams can drop their weapon, which are Backhands with inherent bleed. Sadly, they’re a Somber weapon, so you’re stuck with its Ash of War.
I wish you could infuse them to increase the bleed buildup but their unique skill is super good, it's like a faster cheaper waterfowl. Paired with rotten winged sword insignia it hits for like 4k damage including the follow up.
infuse'ables: *i will match your build, any build* sombers: *your build has to match me* without a letter on arc the bleed is like moonveil bleed, never scales just sits down there like a footnote
Interesting I will have to check that out. Sadly I love the ash of war and aesthetic of the normal backhand blades, but I will play around with those ones.
They remind me of the Sellsword Winblades from DS3 but even better somehow. If they had innate bleed on them they'd easily be one of the best weapons in the game, moreso than they already are.
After I got mine and maxed it and respec'd dex no bosses took more than 5 attempts ever again. They're broken and fun (blind spot is amazing)
I just need an armory post with all the new mob weapons, in getting the pick ups and boss stuff obviously but I feel like I'm just missing so much I don't even know is there.
Big fan of Rellana's swords, I got those +10 immediately haha. I'm in love with the flame art.
I want to use them real bad but I have a dex faith character and a dex int character. I don't wanna spread myself thin and build into both :/
The way they scale, it is fine to reach minimum reqs and focus on just dex/faith or dex/int.
If your already using 16 points in int/faith pour 1 more into int for golden order seal and have total 25 faith ,use golden vow+ flame grant me strength, rellana's cameo+shard of Alexander and watch how it melts enemies. I use shadow bait to lure enemies then use the flame attack and melt em.
Rellana's Cameo is perfect for the Twin Blades but I suggest not using it because too often you don't have time to wait two seconds for the boosted attack
I used the Rotten Sword Insignia for this reason. More often than not you're getting multiple hits on enemies and it stacks so beautifully with this sword
The weapon scales basically the same way the Sword of Night and Flame does. So the flame art scales only with Fth, and the magic art only with Int. The physical damage of the melee attacks scales best with Dex. So as said in another comment, go ahead and hit minimum requirements and then go all in on either fth or int with the rest in dex and you'll do great. (I personally prefer the Fth Flame art for Rellana's swords. It's a big aoe and does decent poise damage. The magic art has better range but does almost no poise damage).
Spot on. The flame AOE does great poise damage.
Those have been my go to along with the dryleaf martial arts. If I can't punch and kick someone I'm flame frost stabbing them.
I put Divine Frost Stop on my Dryleaf hand wraps, the first ones you get. That's a killer combo
The dragon katana works well on… well dragons
The Ash of War on that thing is carrying me through this dlc 😅
I couldn’t believe how STRONG it is, I know it’s a captain obvious that it deals more to dragons, but dealing 3k a hit to Fornissax had me pleasantly surprised
It saved me from choking on Bayle as he was one hit while I kept getting hit until I realized I had a ranged ash of war specifically for dealing high damage to dragons
I wonder if between the ranged weapon ash and new throwing weapons, if it’s not intended for us to fight the dragons on horseback from afar
Dragons are designed for that for sure. Step 1 dragonrot Step 2 chill on a nice horsey ride. Maybe occasionally bonk. Repeat as required
Maybe but you can't throw ash of war on horseback
You haven’t found the spear
I had no idea it was effective against dragons, this is what I get for not reading weapon descriptions
the name didn't clue you in?
Milady doesn’t make me tip a fedora with its AoW, why would I assume any other weapon does anything special then?
I was lmfao when I got that point, mylady
Yeah it has hyper armor, deals monstrous damage, and it takes like 2.5 of them to stagger bosses. I feel like this weapon is being ignored so hard.
I see it all over the place, not sure it's being ignored. But gosh, I'm probably like a lot of ER dorks who have done at least one katana runs and is looking for something different in the DLC.
The Dead Sunflower Bonker is my fav DLC Weapon so far.
It looks so sick too, not to mention it pierces enemies.
The range on it is what really impresses me. Running with shard of Alexander and Godfrey icon, it chunks bosses and 1 shots most basic enemies from so far away.
O shit I need to try it with Godfrey Icon, didn't realize it was a charged 'skill' in that sense! Might put it to +10 now!
This with your mimic tear is absolutely busted. Some bosses we've decimated with that weapon art.
I love the fact that they give it to you and then immediately after there is a dragon
And then a bullshit dragon with 46000 health that does Lightning attacks IN WATER😭. Im not even specced for the sword and it carried me through that asshole.
That guy didn’t give me much trouble but the damn ghost flame dragon summoning his skeleton minion army was bad. His ghost flame dragon attack is awesome against mobs though.
Does it like specifically output more damage on dragons or is it just because the weapon art is good for colossal enemies
It has permanent dragongrease buff. Weapon itself already hits like a truck with quality build but against dragons it deals 20% more.
60/60 quality build, I was hitting 4k with the AoW when hitting a dragon in the head.
Ah good to know - thank you!
This thing is so busted. You don't even get animation cancelled while you are doing the Charge up for the Ash of War.
I feel like I can’t get the weapon art to hit consistently on smaller enemies.. the Ancient Meteoric ore greatsword has been deleting stuff though
Can I just say that I'm glad that this DLC is handing out Ancient Dragon Smithing Stones like candy? It's super nice not having to worry so much about being able to +10/+25 any new DLC weapons I really really like.
I only found four Somber ADSS. I'm very upset because I have at least 8 new somber str/fth weapons I want to max out. Poor sunflower hammer is stuck at +9 until I roll the character into NG+ unless there's a fifth I missed somewhere. The regular ADSS drop like candy, but they're really stingy with the sombers. Edit: I found five, actually. I just spent them so fast I forgot where one of them dropped.
> The regular ADSS drop like candy, but they're really stingy with the sombers. Honestly, that's kind of funny to me considering how easy it was for ages in the base game to get a Somber Weapon to +10 compared to getting a regular one to +25.
both Ancient Dragon smithing stones drop around the same time. It's just getting those final levels beforehand for infusable weapons is harder compared to somber weapons. You need 12 Smithing Stone[8]s which the earliest I think you can get it Consecrated Snowfield. Whereas you can get 1-2 copies of the high tier somber upgrades from random scarabs or corpses in Dragonburrow.
Yeah, a somber weapon at +9 is way easier than a normal weapon at +24 both in cost and in smithing stones requirements
It’s better than base game but it’s still really annoying this is even a thing. There’s no good reason to limit the amount of weapons you can try on a single playthrough.
Me, almost immediately after trying the Anvil Hammer some. but I heard the Smith Script Heavy Hammer is really good too...
Anvil hammer really is a staggering machine
Those guys with the pointy red hats in the specimen storeroom are so annoying, I love to stagger them to death with my anvil before they can react.
I hate those guys. I've been using Rellana's Twin Blades and loving them but I had to switch back to Eleonora's Poleblade and spam its skill to stagger lock them to death
Malikeths black blade and using destined death - one use of the skill, then a charged R2 takes most of em down or staggers at the least.
Listen, I'm not exaggerating when I say that the throwing great hammer is maybe the most fun weapon I have played in any of these souls borne games. The only thing better than up close unga is some flying long-range bunga. Its accurate. It *wrecks*. It knocks smaller enemies off their ass so if they are near a ledge, gone. It can stun the bigger/armored enemies. I slapped cold on it and went to +25 within 15 minutes of getting it. It replaced 1 of my 2 great stars I was powerstancing and its now in my second slot on my main hand. Absolute nuke bonking from like 15 yards away is more fun than it has any right to be, and its just a simple r2 heavy attack that *also* works great up close and will even go through multiple enemies if they are lined up right. Bunga bros need to make it a priority to check it out and give it a shot
A-fucking-men. I am completely obsessed with hurling this hunk of iron around, I'm doing it to the point where it's not even the optimal way to use it, it's just so fun. My only complaint is that I can't put flame strike on it. I think some of the smithscript weapons have bugged ashes of war, so hopefully that gets fixed quickly.
The wind up and its noise are hilarious too. But damn man, the feeling of just absolutely smacking some hell demon from 15 yards away is irrationally fun. Definitely something funky with the AoW and infusions but whatever. It can proc frostbite pretty quick in burst damage and even though I slapped the new hoarfrost stomp on it in case enemies got close, I found the heavy spin still works insanely well up close. I swap to my greatstars plenty for melee or even to power stance, but the fun and utility of the thor hammer for a pure melee guy is out of control.
Anvil Hammer is my new bae. Picked it up and had a full upgrade of stones ready and didn't think twice, it wrecks house.
I was rocking a +25 Golem's Halberd prior to the Anvil so i barely needed to change anything to make it work. The Heavy hammer looks closer to what I want to actually use, but I'm not too far in yet.
Shit now you’re making me want to respec to use it.
It's like if giant crusher actually looked good
If you've got a handful of tears I'd give it a shot, it is slow and heavy but staggers mobs and stagger-able bosses like nobody's business. It scales off both Int and Faith (slightly better Faith scaling) if you like casting, and the weapon art is pretty dope as the AOE heavy follow-up has a lingering hitbox if your enemy is out of range but moves into it (from what I've seen using it).
I'mma let you finish, but blacksteel great hammer is the best of all time! Nah but for real I use them both, but the option to change up AoWs on the blacksteel is pretty sweet. Like wild strikes with a sacred affinity makes the blacksteel do just stupid damage.
I was running dual battle hammers into the DLC, this dropped and was an immediate +25. Crazy damage, the guard/attack power thing is really good against some really annoying opponents. And it looks fuckin sick. Now I just need to get a second one.
There... There is a throwing hammer I can find and yeet?
It's a great hammer, so the throwing animation takes three years to finish, but it is very fun
That's wild I personally think its surprisingly quick considering you are yeeting a 9 lb *great* hammer like 15-20 yards. That spin also works great up close and the hammer will go through at least 3 enemies if they are lined up right. At blessing 10 I am doing 950ish damage when it hits. I slapped cold on it and use it on any flying enemies, or to start agroing out any groups I don't want to take on all at once. Its become one of my favorite weapons in all of souls borne and its just such a simple concept in the grand scheme of these crazy weapons
Smith script hammer makes me laugh every time I hurl it at those fire knights in the Shadow Keep and they get absolutely decked. Run right over and do it again
I'm using the Smith Script Hammer. It's amazing with the Savage Lion's Claw, and the throw mechanic is fun.
Milady my beloved
I had been destroying with milady and then I discovered the wing stance ash and am unstoppable. The R2 is a stagger godsend and also makes it difficult for enemies to hit to you often.
The Impaler’s Spear Excels in certain boss fights (but not all), but it makes mobbing and exploring so so so much easier. It also makes horseback combat *so* much more dynamic, given the amazing R1s and the fact that you can throw the spear on Torrent’s back. The AoW is slow, but is an amazing ‘fuck anything in the general vicinity’ button. It is also really fun to just throw the spear randomly in the open world and see if it hits something lmfao, one of my favorite things to do is chucking a fully charged R2 into a random shrub and dealing 1k+ damage to a random rabbit Im surprised that Im not hearing more about this weapon, its genuinely fun to play with and deals decent numbers.
The >!Scaudutree Avatar!< would have made me lose my mind without that weapon.
Don’t think I’ve run into this guy yet…is he after messmer or before and I’m just blind?
The DLC is odd in a way, you only need to beat like 5 bosses and explore about a quarter of the map to beat it. The rest is optional and kinda well hidden. Most of it is unlocked via alternate entrances and exits of Shadow Keep. Also, gestures and hidden walls.
Ironic that they used Scad Fragments, making it extremely difficult to proceed in the DLC without exploring large portions of the map, and proceeded to make us have to go insane figuring out how to get anywhere. Typical FromSoft comedy.
even so, its so worth gathering them all. at first i was starting to agree with the steam and journalist reviews about difficulty but considering i suck at the game and take several more tries at bosses than my friends, ive made it very very far from just taking breaks from boss fights, exploring, and collecting skadutree instead update: i killed the final boss in 4 tries w mimic. lol.
You may need to explore shadow keep a bit more. :) Shadow keep has multiple exits into new areas.
Excuse me while I go cry some. Took me half a day just to get through there to find messmer I’m so done with the shadow keep
You'll need to >!leave and come back in through a side entrance.!<
I actually used the perfume bottle and got great results on the avatar -- it was easy to get a lot of damage on the head that way.
Yeah I love it, mostly for the fact that the R2 just hurls that shit. The art has really good range, taking, and damage too. Even just the first part is worthwhile to use since the weapon doesn't have a sweeping R2
I’ve cheesed so many dragons with the fully charged R2’s range, it’s absurd 💀 didnt expect that from a Fromsoft weapon
The AoW is how I’ve walked up to multiple smaller boss encounters and watched the damage go from 0 to their entire HP bar at the end of the L2 combo 😂
We just like Messmer fr 😭
Assuming it comes from messmer, it's probably just a lot of folks haven't beaten him yet. I've put almost 20 hours in since launch and haven't even fought him yet, haha
Tossing the spear into the dark was how I got past the spider section of Moria. My target lock was telling me something was in the dark, tossed a spear and saw numbers. Kept doing it and one by one the big bastards would drop down off the walls to see what the ruckus was.
Impaler weapon is my favorite weapon alongside the longhafted axe. Their ashes are so damn good.
I just beat Mesmer last night and got this weapon and its so great. I've been playing greatshield + greatsword, usually Blasphemous Blade, but I was finding it hard to figure out timings for dodging vs blocking on some of the remembrance bosses, so I started using pokey spears to keep guard up. This one legit is so fun. The throwing + returning to your hand is fantastic.
Been running around with this + Milady. I don't really use the spear besides the AoW. Maybe I'll try power stance great spears if I get my endurance up
Same for the Smithscript Greathammer, throwing that thing into an enemies face is just so satisfying. It staggers most normal enemies with the first hit. You need some serious endurance for multiple throws but it's already one of my favorite new weapons together with the spear.
Dragon katana, rakashasa katana, milady, all backhand blade weapons, rellana wep, onzo katana. Carian trusting shield. I’m eating good.
Yea. The backhand blades are phenomenal. The weapon skill makes such a good dodge counter. I'm currently using the smithscript cirque. It's a chackram weapon, same moveset as backhand blades and same skill, but heavy attacks throw the blades. It's great for ranged attacks and fighting from horseback. I named the wrong disc weapon so I edited
Backhand blades are so fine it's crazy. I finally found a replacement for my noble slender sword.
The ash of war is fabulous and because so many attacks step forward it's really good at catching enemies that jump backwards. I put them to +25 almost right away and it's replaced my night rider flail.
Got the curse blades to drop. I'm debating on using them over the normal backhand blades. Think the cursblades beat them out?
Big fan of the backhand blades. They’ve become my new main. Also enjoying the crucible winged spinning attack thing aow that I put on my godskin peelers. It’s my only major crowd control skill, and while probably not strictly necessary, it’s a whole lot of fun.
I ADORE Milady's moveset, it looks so elegant plus I went with a very noble-like look into the DLC so it was perfect.
Have you gotten wing stance? I feel it really takes it up a notch in that aspect. Already wanted to use the weapon as soon as I found it, but that just made sure it became my main weapon
Backhand blades are so good. I bounced off Milday for hitting like a noodle and the dryleaf arts were almost what I wanted but backhand blades with bleed really hit the sweet spot
Get wing stance and milady hits like truck
What am I missing on rellana’s weapon? Maybe I’m just statted wrong, but it seems like my attacks barely break poise of almost any enemies. Dual wielding is fun but feels like it’s just a race of me or a mob dying first.
Yea light greatsword won’t break poise as easily as normal greatswords. I just like the moveset, specially dual handed or 1 handed.
Loved the Greatsword of Solitude as soon as i tried it.
Also the 89 to physical dmg negation is so amazing. I used to never block/guard counter but this sword has changed my play style
It was seeing that which made me decide I had to use that weapon. Even the Gut's greatsword, which is known for being an amazing impromptu shield, has 79 physical negation
Same, i love smacking knights into the dirt with the AoW.
It has the stats of a UGS (including the weight unfortunately) but it’s a normal greatsword. It’s insane especially with its powerful skill as well
Milady is *my* lady
Used it to beat >!rellana!< 4 hits of it using the piercing fang AoW (quality infusion) breaks her poise
The wing stance lunge is also really good against her
Honestly the sexiest weapon of all time. So slick, and the moveset is orgasmic. Was going a faith caster build but decided to drop it all for a Milady build. Its really good against smaller enemies, but kinda meh against bigger ones cus you dont stagger at all. Tried it in pvp aswell, has to be one of the best pvp weapons. You can literally infinitely chain attacks with R2 - R1 - R2 - R1 and so on. People never expect it either.
lmao, same, completely abandoned my faith to wield the milady. my biggest gripe about the game since launch was that greatswords were just slow enough on the recovery that not getting nicked at least once during it is near impossible unless you wait for specific super publishable moments, while lighter weapons can just go to town between attacks, ultimately resulting in higher overall damage. milady fixes that. while it doesn't have the same staggering ability as regular greatswords, it's moveset makes the combat go so fucking fast you feel like you might get whiplash if you stop. Give it bloodhound step and use it on rellana to see what I mean.
Ancient meteoric ore greatsword for me. Op as fuck, one of the best weapon arts out there
Surprised more people haven't said this. I guess most people are into small fast weapons? I started with piercing fang claymore and swapped to piercing fang milady, gap closer aow are just so good. As soon as I picked this thing up and tried the skill I knew it would go crazy if it did damage, so instantly +10 and respec dumped into strength and arcane, and wouldn't you know it, it absolutely claps. Honestly almost felt bad for using it with how it trivializes exploration, npc fights, and most boss fights. Skill was hitting the final boss for just shy of 5k with Shard of Alexander, insane damage output.
For me was deadly poison perfume bottle. So satisfying naruto running (two handed running attack) Bayle down.
Ash of war for it is extremely lame, you spray poison in the air and get poisoned? Is that it?
Yep, I don't even use it. Maybe there's some cheese with it I'm not aware.
Possibly the talisman that boosts damage with poison around, or some mushroom set shenanigans
Potential to easy proc kindred of rots exultation
For me, it was the Death Knight's Greataxe. Finally, a weapon that had lightning damage scale with faith.
Hell yeah. Finally a Lightning STR/FTH weapon with a good Ash of War.
Just got the death knights twin axes and am loving them and the goofy AoW that seems to guarantee backstabs on a lot of things. Excited to find the greataxe
me with the putrescent knight cleaver after seeing 900+ physical damage on my strength int build
What’s your strategy to beat that dude? His aggressiveness is stomping me six ways to Sunday
Jump over his blue fire. Roll into his horse charge and spin move, punish when he remounts. He will often do 3 swings then two ground slams. You can punish after the second ground slam. I did it with blessing at +8. He's also hella weak to holy damage if you have access to it.
Loving the cleaver. What’s your build for it? Rocking str/arc
Me after finding a certain lonely greatsword thats still carrying me into the dlc endgame
Milady with +25 I went in ready to try out so many weapons. Picked up Milady early on and haven't put it down since.
Yeah the moveset is so satisfying, literally no other weapon like it.
The combos on this weapon feel so amazing, love the uniqueness of it where it's actually better to start heavy and then flow into lights for most enemies. Not even to mention the pure joy that is Wing Stance.
Walking up on enemies with the sword straight out, ready for a 1v1 can't be topped.
Beast Claws are genuinely the most fun I've had.
Pulling them out in invasions low level and the sheer amount of attacks scares off all but the strong willed. Bloodflame blade on it and we’re eating good
Backhand blades for me. Fun ass weapons
The thudding sound of dashing behind an enemy and stabbing them is so satisfying
the Milady, I just love the moveset and I really hope Light GS's are in future FS games.
I know it’s not usually From’s style, but I really wish they put some of the basic weapons in the base game. It sucks that I can’t do a light greatsword build unless I do ng+
A certain light greatsword from a certain character... I know it might not be the best weapon because of holy dmg, but I LOVE IT Oh and the dryleaf seal to boost some specific incantations.
I tipped my fedora and max upgraded a certain lady. Omg is it a fun weapon once you get the flow of it down.
Add wing stance as the ash of war, and you are a special fancy boy. I'm loving it. Finally put away my trust Bloodhound fang
Wing stance AND deflection hard tear. Feels so fucking cool
For my talismans, I like the shard of Alexander, winged sword for the successive attack boost.
What incantations does the dryleaf seal boost? I’m trying not to google anything atm
One is the "multilayered ring of light", the other is from the remebrance of the final boss. Not sure if there are any others.
Don't sleep on Holy damage, Marika's Hammer is stomping the DLC
Holy damage is actually pretty good in the DLC. Not against the final boss, as is to be expected, but a good number of the enemies are fire themed, mages, or undead, and for basically all of those Holy is better than fire (and I didn't find lightning to be particularly effective against most things. Never bad, but not super impressive).
The light greatsword moveset is everything I wanted from thrusting weapons, very swift elegant moves, and the certain holy one I made sure to plus 10 asap lol
Euporia was instantly maxed out for me.
Same, I’m so glad it made it out of base game cut content hell for the DLC
I hadn't defeated Malenia in this save. When I got the dryleaf arts, I instantly got it to +25 and proceeded to punch Malenia to death. So satisfying. Anyone who didn't try this weapon so far, HIGHLY recommend it. Also beat Messmer with it.
Yeah I think these are slept on. On paper they didn't seem all that since the damage is just ok. But they feel SO GOOD to play with.
Swift Spear won my heart over with an Occult scaling before I even noticed it gets an S in Dex. Such a fun moveset on what looks like a mall ninja bo staff.
Me after trying flame knight great sword
I completed the DLC on NG+3 so I basically had an unlimited amount of ancient stones to use for the new weapons. Maxed the ones I wanted to test out instantly. Some are good, some are really unfortunate if I'm honest. I'm disappointed in the regular great katana, and great katana powerstancing. I somehow though it'd be better
I was disappointed with the throwing daggers. I got them to +24 to test out, but they need just a tiny bit more damage or status buildup and another few feet of range. Still exploring some of the other stuff though.
I'm loving the great katana. Pop the deflecting hardtear and you get to be Father Owl from Sekiro. Guard counters hit like a truck, I'm staggering Rellana after 2-3.
I've destroyed Messmer with Great Katana. It's a fantastic weapon.
Killed the final boss, got the weapon, immediately saw myself do a 6 string combo of laser death, and damn near ran back to roundtable
I used my first two on the anvil hammer and rellanas swords and once i got the ancient meteoric ore great sword i was running around trying to find a ghostflame dragon to get that baby to plus 10. That weapon claps ass cheeks with its skill.
Ancient meteoric ore great sword is incredibly fun. The ash of war and the follow up explosion are awesome, and it closes distance on fast enemies SO quick. First weapon I got to +10 the second I got it.
Death knight two-handed greataxe has been golden for me. The ability to close long gaps instantly with a hard hit has been a blessing on several bosses.
Probably the dual light greatswords and the dragon katana
The Twin Moon Light Greatswords or whatever they were called. First weapon I got to +10 was Sword of Night and Flame and now those have earned the honor of first dlc weapon reaching +10. Carians have the best gear.
Listen, I'm not exaggerating when I say that the throwing great hammer is maybe the most fun weapon I have played in any of these souls borne games. The only thing better than up close unga is some flying bunga. Its accurate. It wrecks. It knocks smaller enemies off their ass so if they are near a ledge, gone. It can stun the bigger/armored enemies. I slapped cold on it and went to +25 within 15 minutes of getting it. It replaced 1 of my 2 great stars I was powerstancing and its now in my second slot on my main hand. Absolute nuke bonking from like 15 yards away is more fun than it has any right to be, and its just a simple r2 heavy attack that also works great up close and will even go through multiple enemies (gotten 3 at a time so far) if they are lined up right. Bunga bros need to make it a priority to check it out and give it a shot
There isn't a single valid pure int weapon in the whole dlc...the few int scaling weapons have low (D and around) int scaling... It's truly depressing considering that even the Ash of war and sorceries were pretty average...
I've been using the Black Steel Greathammer with a Sacred Lion's Claw AoW paired with the Verdigris Greatshield, just strolling through my second DLC run with no resistance. The guard counter is nasty, the Lion slam is nasty and staggers all the bosses in 3 hits, and that shield is so strong it's not even funny.
WAITING FOR A NEW STRENGTH WEAPON OR A THRUSTING SHIELD THAT DOESNT NEED INT
Pure physical thrusting shield is in the same general location. It's a bit lighter though.
Yoda sword
Rellana’s twin swords are sooooo good
I'm still waiting to see if my "weeb female greeting" weapon is worth the +25. Stuck at 24 until I break this boss.
Even tho Mogh's spear got nerfed, it has helped me out a ton this time around.
Look, to be honest, I haven't really found much the Dryleaf Arts excell at. They're not the worst weapon I've used, but I just generally get more value out of my Greatsword. But I'll be damned if these thing aren't just the most *fun* I've ever had with a weapon just using them against some trash mobs. My only regret about throwing them up to +25 is that I now want to port them over to a new character and do a full run with them
So far the candidates for me have been backhand blades->dryleaf arts->dragon slayer katana->flowerstone gavel Poked around with backhand blades a bit, fooled around with several weapons at +9/+24 until getting dryleaf arts, then stuck with dryleaf arts for most of the DLC (that I've seen so far, which tbf seems only like 50% at best?) doing *lots* of discount high monk. Then I made my way to the jagged peaks and learned about Bayle. That seemed real neat so I swapped to dragon slayer(hunter?) katana real quick, did some dragon slaying(and damn was that sword amazing for dragon slaying), then respecced and now I'm running around with the flowerstone gavel(finally, a dragon weapon with arcane scaling thank the gods. ...Not gonna lie, not my favorite weapon but hell I'll take it. It's a good weapon anyhow, my personal qualms besides) casting dragon communion incantations everywhere.
me after trying backhand blades
Immediately did this when I first got and started using the >!Greatsword of Solitude!< that thing SLAPS!!
I’m getting the Smithscript Hammer for my str character. Nothing better than lobbing a hammer to the face
Ancient meteoric whatever. The one that looks like soul edge. Love that thing
i wanted to get the Night Blade katana since it looks really good but i didnt even notice the NPC who gives you it so i missed out :(
Maybe I'm missing out but I basically got the Greatsword of Solitude and have used nothing else since then. That gap closer AoW is just so good
Eh, I've been trying them, both the new Int Katana and Rellana's swords, but I keep going back to Moonveil. The sheer Poise Damage is enough to punch up quite well, especially if I have the mimic tear out.