In Elden Ring, invasions are a unique way to engage with the PVP community, as they are completely random, unlike the Colosseum. You may encounter solo players or up to groups of three, and it is up to you to prepare for any and all environments and matchups you find yourself in. Sometimes enemies will use unfair tactics to get the edge on you, like spawn camping or ledge trapping, so be ready to counter these strategies.
There are hundreds of unique and powerful weapons in Elden Ring, so it can be difficult when deciding what armaments to bring into invasions. There's no harm in using your favorite weapons, but there are some contenders that often go overlooked or forgotten, especially within the PVP sandbox. With so many great tools at your disposal, giving different options a chance might cause you to find something new you love.
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Somber Weapons and Ashes of War
The Stormhawk Axe is one of the best weapons in the game for fighting against multiple players, which will happen a lot if you invade frequently. Its weapon art, Thunderstorm, can stunlock enemy groups and hit around corners, often catching teams by surprise. If you are ever on the retreat, pull out this axe and wait for the enemy to round the corner before unleashing your skill.
Somber Weapon | Weapon Art | Location |
|---|---|---|
Stormhawk Axe | Thunderstorm - Imbue the armament’s wing-blade with lightning and swing it around to create a tempestuous lightning storm. Follow up with an additional input to perform up to two spinning attacks. The lightning will stay on the blade for a while. | Next to the Iron Maidens near the Fortified Manor, First Floor Site of Grace. Found on a wooden awning within Castle Sol, after the ballistas. Can be looted from Nepheli Loux |
Ruins Greatsword | Wave of Destruction - Raise the sword up high, then strike it against the ground to fire off a wave of gravitational force. | Defeat the Misbegotten Warrior and Crucible Knight in Redmane Castle Plaza after defeating Starscourge Radahn. |
Lion Greatbow | Radahn's Rain - Ready the bow and fire a sudden flurry of arrows up into the sky. The arrows will pour on foes like rain. | Give Remembrance of Starscourge Radahn to Finger Reader Enia at the Roundtable Hold. |
Marika's Hammer | Gold Breaker - Leap up high and, while suspended in midair, imbue the rune shard with light before smashing it down hard onto the ground. | Give Elden Remembrance to Finger Reader Enia at the Rountable Hold. |
Coded Sword | Unblockable Blade - Imbue the cipher blade with light, extending its length, then strike with a sudden sweeping attack. This attack cannot be blocked. | Found in the throne room of the desecrated Rountable Hold in Leyndell, Royal Capital near the Fortified Manor, First Floor site of grace. |
The Lion Greatbow is one of the best-ranged options for those who do not cast spells, as it scales with both Strength and Dexterity. You can get this bow by defeating Starscourge Radahn. It can hit from incredible ranges and even indoors, opening the door for some very interesting sneak options. This bow works wonders when invading dungeons, as enemies often hide behind traps, giving you the chance to snipe them from afar.
Weapon Recommendation | Ash of War | Locations |
|---|---|---|
Great Stars | Waves of Darkness - Plunge armament into the ground to release three waves of darkness. Follow up with a strong attack tos wing the armament in a sweeping strike. | Great Stars - In a carriage chest being pulled by two Trolls in Altus Plateau, southwest of the Road of Iniquity Side Path Site of Grace. Waves of Darkness - Give Remembrance of the Naturalborn to Finger Reader Enia at the Roundtable Hold. |
Banished Knight's Greatsword | Flaming Strike - Skill that emits flame in a wide frontward arc. Follow up with a strong attack to perform a lunging, sweeping strike. This will also coat the armament in fire. | Banished Knight's Greatsword - Can be target farmed from the Banished Knight guarding the Cathedral of Dragon Communion in South Caelid. Flaming Strike - Dropped by a Teardrop Scarab in the graveyard behind Redmane Castle. |
Guardian's Swordspear | Thunderbolt - Raise armament aloft to call down a bolt of lightning. Can be fired in rapid succession. | Guardian's Swordspear - Can be target farmed from the Erdtree Guardians near the Minor Erdtree Church in Altus Plateau. Thunderbolt - Dropped by a Teardrop Scarab in Leyndell, Royal Capital near the Avenue Balcony Site of Grace. |
Any Strength Weapon | Royal Knight's Resolve - Hold the flat of the armament to your face and pledge your resolve, greatly powering up your next attack. | Through a doorway that requires two Stonesword Keys in Volcano Manor west of the Man-Serpent Temple after taking the elevator near the Temple of Eiglay Site of Grace. |
Any Dexterity Weapon | Sword Dance - Quickly close in to perform a series of spinning upward slashes. Follow up with an additional input to finish with a downward slash. | Dropped by a Teardrop Scarab on the path leading to the Road's End Catacombs in Liurnia of the Lakes. |
Ashes of War are a phenomenal way to curate your build to your perfect playstyle. While ashes of war can be infused into dozens of different armaments, many ashes of war pair well with specific weapons.
For example, the Great Stars Great Hammer can heal you with every tick of damage it deals, making it a fantastic choice for skills that hit multiple times. Combo this with the Waves of Darkness ash of war for extra AoE damage and knockback potential. You can get Waves of Darkness by defeating Astel, Naturalborn of the Void.
Essential Talismans To Prioritize
Your talismans will drastically vary depending on what kind of build you have decided to craft. However, there are some talismans and spells that can be greatly beneficial, regardless of what kind of skills and weapons you are using.
For example, the Erdtree's Favor +2 is one of the best talismans in the game, providing you with +4% HP, +9.6% Stamina, and +8% Equip Load, which can round out the stats of nearly any build. The Great-Jar's Arsenal is a must-have for Strength builds, as it will help you light roll while wielding Colossal armaments.
Talisman | Effect | Location |
|---|---|---|
Erdtree's Favor +2 | +4% HP, +9.6% Stamina, +8% Equip Load | Found in Leyndell, Ashen Capital surrounded by three Ulcerated Tree Spirits after approaching from the Forbidden Lands. |
Great-Jar's Arsenal | Vastly raises maximum Equip Load by 19% | Rewarded by the Great Jar after defeating the NPC invaders outside the Colosseum. |
Godfrey Icon | Raises attack power of charged spells and skills by 15% | Defeat Godefroy the Grafted in the Golden Lineage Evergaol. |
Graven-Mass Talisman | Greatly raises potency of sorceries by 8% | Found in the Albinauric Rise in the east of the Consecrated Snowfield. |
Flock's Canvas Talisman | Greatly raises potency of incantations by 8% | Drops from Gowry after completing Millicent's questline. |
The Graven-Mass Talisman and Flock's Canvas Talisman are essential picks for sorcery and faith builds respectively. Without these talismans, it can be very difficult to ramp up your damage to one-shot potential, as the boosts these provide are quite significant. The infamous pyromancy build that utilizes the Giantsflame, Take Thee Spell requires Flock's Canvas Talisman to work.
Soft Swapping and Hard Swapping
A long-standing mechanic in FromSoftware PVP has been the ability to swap to different weapons within your inventory while in combat. Soft swapping is the typical utilization of this, where you equip various weapons to your person so you can swap to them with the click of a button.
Hard swapping involves strategic inventory management, as you must open your inventory and click on the correct weapon to switch to. This essentially bypasses the equip load limit, as with effective hard swapping you can have access to as many weapons as you want.
One of the most effective ways to get the drop on your opponent is to build an arsenal that consists of the same weapon, but with a variety of ashes of war. For example, keeping five Claymores in your inventory that are all infused differently will confuse your enemies, as they cannot tell what ash of war you have equipped.
Hard swapping to another Claymore will show no animation, meaning your opponent will have no idea you have just switched to a different ash of war, allowing you to maintain control of the battle in Elden Ring.
Elden Ring
- Platform(s)
- PS5 , Xbox One , PS4 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , PC
- Released
- February 25, 2022
- Developer(s)
- From Software
- Publisher(s)
- Bandai Namco Entertainment , From Software
- Genre(s)
- RPG , Action
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op , Online Multiplayer
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Language, Suggestive Themes, Violence
