Shadow of the Erdtree is one of the greatest expansions developer FromSoftware ever released to the world. It’s full of unique challenges, bosses we’d rather run away from, and plenty of new weapons and items that synergize with our builds so extremely well. Here’s a look at yet another nine Shadow of the Erdtree items that completely change Elden Ring for the better!
Throwable: Hefty Furnace Pot
The Hefty Furnace Pot is one of the larger explosive pots added in the DLC. Several can be crafted at a time if you have enough ‘Hefty Cracked Pots’, and they deal big fire damage based on your Faith.
Hefty Pots have changed item crafting. They deal enough damage in a wide area to turn the tide of crowded engagements. They can replace the extremely popular Jar Canon, acting as long-range artillery that thins the herd without spell requirements. Their downward arc makes them even more adaptable as they can be aimed up stairs, over rocks, and through windows. Playing around cover like this is a PvP classic that counters projectile spam.
Free-aiming throwables for more pressure isn’t easy, but Hefty Pots’ great damage, range and area control make them worthwhile. This is just as valuable in PvE for landing explosives in the middle of groups or on weak spots. Smaller pots, in comparison, only serve as basic harassment and grunt-clearing.
Hefty Furnace Pots are the most menacing. They’re crafted from the epic Furnace Golems and unleash a fiery whirlwind on impact. Flame Art (Faith-based fire) is one of the best elements in the game. Moreover, the whirlwind impact flips mobs and players in the air rather than knocking them away. It’s a good way to limit player movement, and mobs can be further attacked on the ground.
The main issue with these pots is that the Furnace Golem ingredient is rare and niche to farm. If that is an obstacle, then others, such as Hefty Stone Pot, are a great option.
Weapon: Euporia
The Euporia is a legendary armament. Some weapons are of a higher, ‘legendary’ rarity that doesn’t always separate them from the rest. But the Euporia is different.
The Euporia offers excellent damage, a classic Twinblade moveset, and a distinctly impressive Ash of War. It’s filling a niche as the one unique Twinblade and the greatest holy weapon in the game. It’s strong at baseline but shines when you unlock its true power.
Talismans like Winged Insignia increase your damage when you connect multiple consecutive attacks. The weapon has a similar innate effect; it glows with extra holy damage after enough attacks. The buff lasts a while, and you can ‘use’ it with your AoW. Your holy turbine spin also fires a devastating beam of light. Damage is ideal when stacking all the ‘successive attack’ effects together.
As of patch 1.13, the holy empowerment requires fewer hits to activate, especially against enemy players. This turns it from a conditional power increase to a consistent boon of the weapon. It’s a titan of PvE and PvP that excels in almost any situation. It’s hidden well in the last area of the DLC, but the treasure hunt is more than worth it.
Weapon: Dueling Shield
While not damage machines, Dueling Shields are an extremely convenient new weapon type added with the DLC. There is little difference between the default and the Carian Dueling Shield except for magic damage, so I’ll outline the weapon class as a whole.
Unlike other shields, they have a completely functional attack pattern. Good light attacks, heavy attacks, running attacks, jumping attacks etc—dealing thrust damage with good reach. And every single attack has an in-built blow window. Immediately after every light attack, the weapon blocks as you continue your attack chain. And you block whilst building up your heavy attacks.
Dueling Shields are the biggest aid to player survivability since dodge rolls. Attacking becomes much safer, especially against bosses. Fights become more of a 1-2-1-2; so long as you have high stamina, you can attack in-between most enemy attacks and let your seamless defense handle the rest. The timing requires careful consideration to work, but your block windows can be prolonged by delaying your attacks.
On the other hand, no skill is required if you use the regular block well. You can activate two attacks from your guard; a light shield poke and a heavy guard counter. Both of these attacks have completely guarded animations, so they are free unless you’re low on stamina.
Duelling Shields don’t have 100% negation, so you will take chip damage using the above strategies. This is perfectly manageable with the right build.
They’re only shields with pointy ends, so unsurprisingly, they don’t deal much raw damage. But their effective damage is actually excellent: they can attack with much more consistent pressure than any other weapon. They’re a pleasure to try out and a lot of fun in PvE.
Catalyst: Staff of the Great Beyond
This sorcery staff is a boss reward with a revolutionary twist: it can cast both sorceries and incantations. These are 2 separate spell categories that otherwise require separate catalysts to be cast—Staffs vs. Sacred Seals.
Hybrid Spellcasters that seek to mix and match all spell types have gotten by before. Some Staffs and Sacred Seals from the base game scale with Intelligence and Faith. Hold one in either hand, and you can cast the incompatible spells interchangeably.
Still, a true dual catalyst is dearly appreciated. The staff scales well with both Intelligence and Faith. It leaves one of your hands free for a weapon, and you won’t use the wrong catalyst by accident.
This improved hybridity makes spells that require both Intelligence and Faith seamless to cast and incentivizes some rare and explosive spell combos. For example, the sorcery teleport ‘Miriam’s Vanishing’ can be chained into the spontaneous ‘Placidusax’s Ruin’. I’ve heard some strange chains like ‘Bloodflame Claw’ into ‘Gavel of Haima’ are a true combo, meaning that enemy players hit by the first attack can’t escape the second. Either way, staggerable enemies will be seriously punished by this late-game playstyle.
Related: Another 6 Craziest New Items Shaking up Shadow of the Erdtree
Weapon: Fire Knight’s Greatsword
Fire Knight’s Greatsword has become the most charming, comically large sword in Elden Ring. It’s a long, slender Colossal Sword with a chef’s kiss moveset and potentially some extra damage.
While weapons like the ‘Greatsword’ still hold pride of place as weighty powerhouse weapons, they lack cunning. This weapon has the swift diagonal moveset of the Godslayer Greatsword and the menacing thrust of the Zweihander. These moves are far better at surprising and pressuring enemy players. They also excel in PvE due to their efficient stance damage and poise damage. They leave the player less vulnerable, while the thrust adds much-desired flexibility to your combat.
As a weapon of the Fire Knights, it has the extra benefit of dealing more fire damage when infused with fire. It pairs excellently with the new Flame Art Ashes of War that both hit enemies and buff your weapon. Your total damage will benefit from the Fire/Flame Art infusion, the extra damage of the weapon, and the temporary buff.
This Chad weapon also benefits from many Talismans. The speed of the concise light attack chain makes the Twinblade Talisman very viable for some extra damage. The same goes for the Spear Talisman, which will buff the thrust attack against assaulting enemies.
Incantation: Heal From Afar
This healing incantation, intended to be a cornerstone support spell, can also be used on yourself to great effect.
The main draw of this heal is that it can be flung at your allies to support them more comfortably, including Spirit Summons. Other heals act as an AoE that must be positioned close and timed well to aid another. The healer needed to keep on their allies’ heels, kneel, and pray in the center of combat, all to protect them during a fight. Regular heal spells were far more beneficial outside of combat.
In contrast, Heal From Afar comes out quickly and crosses a distance, making combat support a reality. However, when aimed at the ground, it doubles as the best self-heal in the game. It heals as much as the significant ‘Lord’s Heal’ but costs less FP and takes less vulnerable wind-up time.
Such convenient healing can potentially turn PvP upside down. It could be used to restore a whole gank squad in good time or bypass the limited healing of Duels. It could substitute Crimson Flasks entirely. While it can still be punished and does no damage, it’s a spell to be feared
Weapon: Ancient Meteoric Ore Greatsword
This Colossal Sword is worthy of its awesome name. It’s a gnarly chunky weapon with an Ash of War that’s one of the best in the game.
AoWs that overcompensate for the weaknesses of the weapon type are the best kind. This weapon has the painstaking moveset you’d expect from a great-great-sword, however, the AoW is a rushing lung forward followed by an explosion of white lightning.
It’s a unique-looking attack, with a combination of speed and discharge that feels like it belongs in Armored Core 6. The distance you cross with the attack feels rocket-powered. It’s an excellent addition for Colossal Weapons that lack rush down offense, hence why some are crowning this the best Colossal Sword in the game. The damage is as you’d expect from the weight class, but the AoW is robust.
This weapon is strange. It’s one of the few in the game whose damage scales with arcane without any bleed or poison buildup. You might have to dedicate an entire build to its effective use, but the returns are massive, especially in PvP. The first hit is perfect for surprising enemies fleeing or flanking you, while the second hit has great lateral range and lethal damage.
Weapon: Death Knight Long-haft Axe
This weapon is awesome fun. The fearsome Death Knights use it as part of their dragon cult kit. It has a cunning Ash of War called Blinkbolt, which is a damaging lightning warp.
This is a nuanced ability. It can be used as a safe and far-reaching dodge with plenty of I-frames. The warp’s damage is humble but very good at finishing enemies. It’s also great for keeping pressure on slippery opponents, as you can attack immediately following the teleport.
This part of the Ash of War can be got separately and infused on regular weapons, but the Death Knight weapons have lightning-infused follow-up attacks. The Twin Axes unleash a flurry of blows with exceptional mobility. The Longhaft Axe unleashes a smashing lightning attack.
The Twin Axe ability is great for dealing ‘successive attack’ damage against enemy flanks—ideal for a Levi Ackerman roleplay. The problem is that its momentum causes the weapon to miss most of its hits against humanoid enemies, and its duration makes it awkward to use as a punishment. The double-axe moveset isn’t ideal either.
The Longhaft is the best deal. The follow-up attack is swift enough to punish enemies you’ve dodged with the warp. The damage is all in one, so no need to worry about partial misses. As far as 2-for-1, dodge-and-attack abilities go, this one might be the best. It receives a damage buff when paired with the Death Knight armor set, and the warp can be a great tool for wizards looking to control the distance.
[Spoilers] Weapon: Greatsword of Radahn (Lord)
This last weapon is a spoiler. I’ve been waiting to unveil It’s a reward from the final boss, Promised Consort Radahn. His rewards are somewhat confusing, as there are 3 of them, and the 2 weapons seem identical and similar to the Starscourge Greatsword.
The 2 available swords look more pristine than the Starscourge variant and offer new Ashes of War. The (Light) variant is a quick jumping slash followed by a hail of Miquella’s light. Unfortunately, it deals paltry in return for being a spontaneous and mobile attack with an unbalanced FP cost. But the (Lord) variant attack is ferocious, making it the best of the bunch. It’s a solid and steady succession of swings using both blades, accompanied by hails of Miquella’s light. It ends in a powerful lunging attack that rains light in every direction.
The weapon’s regular moveset is not perfect. It’s no different from Starscourge Greatsword. When paired, it has a slow sweeping attack typical of dual Colossal Swords. It has no dual heavy attack, and its one-armed attacks are also the default. The trading potential and jumping attacks can definitely put enemies through their paces. But it’s the relentless and hard to avoid AoW that should be exploited.
As far as ‘AoW on a stick’ weapons go, this weapon is the full package. This is because the Ash of War is a chain that can be canceled at various points, it has a lot of forward momentum, and every hit is defended and bombastic, thanks to the light coverage. Time the hit chain well to become a roll-catching menace in PvP with unbreakable hyperarmor. The payoff for landing the full chain is amazing and fun. Just keep in mind that the weapon requires Intelligence rather than Faith.
There’s so much to uncover in Shadow of the Erdtree that The Guide Hall continues exploring every nook and cranny in search of powerful weapons and items to help you overcome challenges. We’ll see you in the next one!