Elden Ring is here, and fans are far from disappointed by The Lands Between. As you follow quest lines and get lost, you'll encounter various bosses and enemies, as well as an abundance of different items that can be used to upgrade or transform your gear and equipment.
Ashes of War are a form of item/skill in Elden Ring that can be used on your armaments - weapons and shields - to raise specific stats on them. Some will be able to increase the damage you deal, while others will inflict a specific type of damage, such as Frost or Bleed.
Using an Ash of War on your weapon can make them all the more powerful, but it will cost you an amount of FP that can't be replenished using your Sacred Flasks, unfortunately, so these can't be used constantly. Without further ado, here's everything you need to know about using an Ash of War in Elden Ring, where to find them, their affinities and applicable armaments.
How to Use Ashes of War in Elden Ring
To be able to use Ashes of War in Elden Ring, you will first need to acquire the Whetstone Knife, which can be found near Gatefront Ruins. Southwest of the area, there will be a set of stairs that lead to an underground room containing a chest, and inside the chest will be the Whetstone Knife and Ash of War: Storm Stomp.
After this, you can go to any nearby Site of Grace and select 'Ashes of War' from the menu. When here, you can take a look at what Ashes of War you possess, preview them on various weapons and shields, then choose whether to apply the skill or skill and effect to that piece of gear.
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At any point, even prior to acquiring the Whetstone Knife, you can also add an Ash of War to any of your armaments by speaking with Blacksmith Hewg at Roundtable Hold. Roundtable Hold will be unlocked whenever you venture to a Site of grace beyond Limgrave. Melina will speak with you as you rest, and then she will take you to the Roundtable Hold, where you can interact with various merchants and NPC's, including Blacksmith Hewg.
Ashes of War will help to scale your gear to your character's stats, and can improve certain stat affinities on your chosen piece of gear. You can also head back to any Site of Grace to remove an Ash of War from a piece of gear at any point. As you may already have learnt, each weapon in Elden Ring will have an affinity, and Ashes of War can alter these affinities. Affinities are as follows:
- Keen - Dexterity
- Heavy - Strength
- Quality - Strength and Dexterity
- Magic - Intelligence
- Sacred - Faith
- Cold - Intelligence, with Frost
- Lightning - Dexterity, with Lightning Damage
- Fire - Strength, with Fire Damage
- Occult - Arcane, prevents the undead from reviving themselves
- Blood - Arcane, with Bleed
- Poison - Strength, Dexterity, and Arcane, with Poison
Also, using your Ash of War will use FP, so keep this in mind!
Ash of War Locations in Elden Ring
Thanks to our friends at MapGenie, the fully customisable map of The Lands Between above shows the locations of various Ashes of War in Elden Ring. These are typically found as drops from various bosses and enemies, or can be looted from corpses around the map. Ashes of War can also be dropped by Teardrop Scarabs around the map too, so don't miss out on any of those. If you're particularly lucky, an Ash of War can occasionally be looted from corpses you may find.
Lost Ashes of War, used to duplicate Ashes of War, can also be purchased from merchants such as the Isolated Merchant and the Nomadic Merchant of Ainsel River.
Ash of War Affinities in Elden Ring
In the below table, we've listed every Ash of War in Elden Ring. We have also included the type, affinities, and what armaments the Ash of War can be used on!
Ash of War | Affinity | Additional Info | Applicable Armaments |
|---|---|---|---|
Mighty Shot | Standard | No special effects, but applies the AoW's skill | All weapons and shields |
Parry | Standard | No special effects, but applies the AoW's skill | All weapons and shields |
No Skill | Standard | No special effects, but applies the AoW's skill | All weapons and shields |
Storm Wall | Standard | No special effects, but applies the AoW's skill | All weapons and shields |
Sky Shot | Standard | No special effects, but applies the AoW's skill | All weapons and shields |
Enchanted Shot | Standard | No special effects, but applies the AoW's skill | All weapons and shields |
Barrage | Standard | No special effects, but applies the AoW's skill | All weapons and shields |
Barricade Shield | Standard | No special effects, but applies the AoW's skill | All weapons and shields |
Raptor of the Mists | Keen | Increases Dexterity scaling, but will decrease Strength and base damage | Swords, Double-Edged Swords, Katanas, Greatswords, Spears, Great Spears |
Double Slash | Keen | Increases Dexterity scaling, but will decrease Strength and base damage | Swords, Double-Edged Swords, Katanas, Greatswords, Spears, Great Spears |
That's everything you need to know about Ashes of War in Elden Ring! For more on the game, take a look at how you can farm for Runes, where to get Sacred Tears, Larval Tears, and Crystal Tears, and the weapons that you'll encounter, and add Ashes of War to, around The Land Between.