To the east of Castle Ensis in Scadu Altus in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, there is a very small dungeon that you may miss if you don’t look carefully. It mainly adopts a linear level design, which may be easier to explore, but it also hides many overlooked secrets and is worth your careful exploration.

In addition to the interesting storyline, you can also find some valuable items in this fort, such as talisman, Ash of War, a quest items, etc. If you stumbled upon this dungeon during Shadow of the Erdtree, or you wanted to see it while exploring Scadu Altus in full after completing the entire DLC, you can follow the steps in this guide to explore it.

How To Get To Fort Of Reprimand?

There are currently two ways to enter Fort of Reprimand recognized by players. One of them is also the easiest to clear Castle Ensis and defeat Rellana Twin Moon Knight. After you leave Castle Ensis, you will reach Scadu Altus and Highroad Cross Site of Grace.

Starting from Highroad Cross Site of Grace, keep walking north until you see a fork in the road leading southeast. At this time, you can follow this path until you reach the end of the road, and then you will find South Site of Grace on Moorth Highway, and Fort of Reprimand is not far away.

Here I need to remind you that on the way to Fort of Reprimand, don’t forget to activate Moorth Ruins Site of Grace, which will become very important in your subsequent exploration.

Courtyard

Starting from South Site of Grace on Moorth Highway, you just stand, and head southeast, you can enter the focus of this guide - Fort of Reprimand. The first thing that comes into view is a courtyard, and there is an Omenkiller patrolling.

If you are at a lower level, you may consider not attacking him, because he will not drop any important Elden Ring Items. However, you can find some Smithing Stones, throwing daggers, crafting materials, and low-level upgrade items in this courtyard. You can spend some time looking for them.

There is an underground drop in the northeast of the courtyard. When you return to this location, it means that your exploration of the courtyard is over, and you will enter the next step after the animation.

Basement

After the animation, head southeast from the courtyard to enter the basement of Fort of Reprimand. Once in the basement, continue east through the corridor, then turn northeast and enter a torture room with an underground drop on the right. Don’t step into it at this time, because you haven’t explored the basement yet.

There will be some enemies in the torture room that you can easily defeat and a treasure chest containing a medium-level smithing stone. After you pick up these, you can leave the torture room. At this time, you will find yourself in the northeast of the basement, and you will encounter three ordinary soldiers who are not a threat to you.

After you defeat them, jump over the cage in the southeast and follow the linear path, where you will eventually find a treasure chest containing Flamedrake Talisman +3. Your exploration of this basement is complete, and you can return to the underground drop location to start exploring the next location.

First Floor

After you exit the basement through the northeastern archway, you will see a staircase leading to the first floor. Go up. When you reach the end of the staircase, which is the first floor, turn northwest and you will see the Fort of Reprimand Site of Grace. Go up and activate it, and you can continue to explore the fort.

After activating it, go southeast from Site of Grace along the wall to find a restaurant, where you will encounter the enemy Black Knight Edredd who rewards you with an Ash of War named Aspect Of The Crucible Wings.

After you complete the battle, you need to find a ladder in the restaurant that can lead to the roof of the fort. After climbing to the roof, continue to climb to a tower to your southwest, where you will find a treasure chest containing Battlefield Priest’s Cookbook 2.

Read More: How To Make Your Star-Lined Sword More Powerful In Elden Ring Shadow Of The Erdtree? - Choosing The Best Build

After receiving the reward, don’t rush down yet. You can see another roof in the northeast of the fort from the tower. At this time, you need to use the tricky parkour jump to get to that location. If you’re not using it well, you can also reach the spirit spring south of Fort of Reprimand first and use it to help you teleport to that location.

While both ways of getting to this rooftop are a bit tricky, it’s worth it as it rewards you with a Smithing Stone 8. If you use the tricky parkour jump to reach the northeast rooftop, you can take a shortcut: head to the wall outside the restaurant, where there are stairs leading down to the basement.

But here, instead of taking the stairs, turn southeast and carefully jump to the stone railing, then climb the ladder to the northeast to get the treasure chest. After you’re done, jump down and return to the back of Fort of Reprimand Site of Grace.

If you use the spirit spring to reach the treasure chest, you must travel southeast from the front of Castle Front Site of Grace, across the ravine, until you find Sealed Spirit Spring.

You can activate Spirit Spring by finding the corresponding stone pile or simply using Margott or Mohg’s Shakle. Riding up this Spirit Spring will take you to the northeast rooftop of Fort of Reprimand and Site of Grace behind Fort of Reprimand.

Underground Section

In addition to the section just explored, Fort of Reprimand also includes an underground section, but it is smaller in scale than the basement and first floor. You can enter this Underground Section by dropping into a hole in the north side of the courtyard.

The entire Underground Section has a linear design, but there is an Omenkiller around the corner that may catch you off guard. In this section, you will find 80,000 Elden Ring Runes, some crafting items, and Iris of Occultation quest item. As you exit Underground Section, you will also reach the edge of a cliff, where you can pick up Messmer Soldier Ashes near the tombstone.

Finally, you can find Abductor Virgin Wheel and Swinging Sickle just outside the east wall of Fort of Condemnation. Defeating them will reward you with some Elden Ring Runes.

After you defeat Abductor Virgins, head to the south end of the fort to grab Blessing of Marika consumable. It is important to remind you that this item cannot be reused. Using it can fully restore your health and cure all diseases, so be sure to save it for some necessary time.

The above is the complete exploration guide for Fort of Reprimand. I hope you can easily explore this interesting place according to the steps of this guide!

In Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, a new area, Ruined Forge, was added. As the name suggests, it appears to be Forges and is guarded by Misbegotten enemies or Bloodfiends.

So why explore Ruined Forges? Because there are Smithing Stones that are very useful for upgrading weapons or equipment, and even each Forge will have an Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone, which can make your equipment more advanced and easier to fight.

This guide will show you how to find the location of all Ruined Forges in Shadow of the Erdtree and what loot you can get here. Here I need to remind you that if you haven’t completed the main story quest plot, or if you are visiting this new DLC for the first time, you can ignore these. You can explore them after dealing with the ultimate boss.

Ruined Forge Lava Intake

Embark on your exploration at Castle Front Site of Grace, where you can summon your Torrent and ride south past the barricade. You will see some Messmer Soldiers patrolling there. You can talk to them and maybe they will drop some armor sets or weapons.

Then continue south, towards the battleground between Bloodfiends and Messmer Soldiers. You can watch them fight for a while, but be careful not to help either side, otherwise you will most likely get hurt.

After passing them, continue walking in the same direction as before, and soon you will reach Ruin Forge Lava Intake.

Loot

• Anvil Hammer
• Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone
• Smithscript Dagger
• Greater Potentate’s Cookbook 13

Ruined Forge Of Starfall Past

For this Ruined Forge, you’ll need to start at Highroad Cross Site of Grace. From here, keep riding northeast with Torrent until a path appears on your right. It’s a bit hidden, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled.

Following this path south, you’ll pass Messmer Soldier camp. Again, you can ignore it and then there’s a small pond to your right. If you look inside, you’ll see a Giant Crayfish. Don’t worry, it won’t attack you, so you can safely ignore it and cross the small pond.

You’ll then need to continue riding south to find the entrance to Ruined Forge of Starfall Past. Inside this Forge, you’ll find a Smithing Talisman and a bunch of Elden Ring Runes in addition to multiple weapons.

Loot

• Smithscript Spear
• Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone
• Smithscript Cirque
• Smithing Talisman

Taylew’s Ruined Forge

Each of these Ruined Forges has different starting locations. For this one, you’ll need to start at Moorth Ruins Site of Grace. Once you reach Moorth Ruins Site of Grace, turn northeast and ride in that direction until you reach a small pond filled with Blue Worms.

There will be a cave to the north of where you are standing. You can find a statue at the entrance and a Scadutree Fragment nearby. Once you enter the cave, you can no longer use Torrent and will need to hike along the path until you reach an area filled with Gravebirds.

You can try to kill them with your sword or with a crossbow, which will increase your XP quickly. Once you’ve completed this series of operations, continue west until you see Ancient Ruins of Rauh. You don’t have to stay here for too long, as you’ll eventually need to head to Site of Grace ahead of you.

Read More: How To Make A Build That Best Fits Fire Knight’s Greatsword In Elden Ring Shadow Of The Erdtree?

Starting northeast of Site of Grace, you’ll pass barricades, the numerous Messmer Soldiers and Misbegotten enemies. Soon, you’ll come to the entrance to Taylor’s Ruined Forge.

In this Taylor’s Ruined Forge, besides the weapons and amulets that can be provided by the first two, you’ll also be given a Taylor The Golem Smith Spirit Ash, which can increase your health and increase the damage of your weapons against enemies.

Loot

• Smithscript Axe
• Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone x2
• Smithscript Greathammer
• Smithscript Shield
• Taylew The Golem Smith

How To Fight Messmer The Impaler?

We just mentioned Messmer Soldiers. There is another boss in Shadow of the Erdtree called Messmer The Impaler. They are related. You may have encountered him earlier in the game. If you didn’t succeed in defeating him before, you can try again with the following tips.

You will find Messmer in a legacy dungeon in Shadow Keep. You can enter Scadu Atlas region after you have cleared everything in Castle Ensis and successfully defeated Rellana.

Once you reach Shadow Keep, head straight to Specimen Storehouse area. Then take the elevator to the top floor, where you will find Messmer waiting for you at Dark Chamber Entrance Site of Grace.

Before fighting him, you may want to equip some Flamedrake Talisman to inflict some of his fire damage, and also some armor that resists fire damage. For weapons, you should avoid using Azur’s Glintstone Staff, which will reduce your casting time but increase your FP cost, which is not worth it.

For some other gear, you can use Mimic Tear to distract the boss and give you a break. If you are using sorcerer builds, you can also use spirit summon to distract Messmer so that you can use Comet constantly.

The above is some of Ruined Forges you can find in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. I wonder which one you have explored now? I wish you a happy exploration in Shadow Keep!

Enir-Ilim is the last endgame dungeon you encounter in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree. Of course, the conditions for entering here are very strict - you need to defeat several major bosses.

As an endgame area, you can find some of the better loot in Shadow of the Erdtree here. Secondly, it is also the location where many NPC quests end, so you can stay here for a while after each quest to explore.

However, exploring Enir-Ilim is very difficult without a guide, especially if you are not level enough. This guide will provide you with a detailed introduction to each area in Enir-Ilim, so that you can spend your time exploring with peace of mind.

How To Unlock Enir-Ilim?

First, you need to defeat Messmer Impaler in Shadow Keep, after which you can obtain Messmer’s Kindling. Use it to defeat Romina in Church of Bud and burn down Sealing Tree. You will then be transported to Enir-Ilim.

First Rise

When you are transported to Enir-Ilim, you will see Outer Wall Site of Grace. There is a staircase not far from you. Go up slowly and you will see a Divine Bird Warrior rushing towards you from the small staircase on your left. If nothing goes wrong, you will need to kill it.

Unfortunately, there is no loot to collect in this area, so don’t stay here for too long. You can continue to walk up and eventually reach the First Rise Site of Grace.

Belurat Tower Settlement Shortcut

When you explore Belurat Tower, you will see a destroyed spiral staircase. You can walk up the stairs and pick up Somber Smithing Stone 5 at the end of the stairs. Don’t jump off the stairs directly here, otherwise you may fall. You need to walk down slowly as well.

After returning to Site of Grace, remember to walk down a corridor that ends in an elevator. In front of the archway, you can pick up Messmerfire Grease and some Elden Ring Runes. The elevator at the end will take you to Belurat Tower Settlement, just above the battleground with Divine Beast Dancing Lion.

If you come back to this place after defeating Divine Beast Dancing Lion, but you didn’t burn Sealing Tree in the early stage, you will find that you will be blocked from the door. So it can be seen that the preparatory work is really important!

After you return to Site of Grace again, you will see a Summoning Pool effigy at the door. You can ignore it at this time and keep going. You will eventually reach an enormous courtyard.

You will find a Broken Rune on the corpse on the right. At this time, two Tree Shamans will rush out from the room near you. After defeating them, continue to use the branches to go up the stairs in the back, where you can find another Tree Shaman and Rune Arc.

After you have done the above, return to the main courtyard again and you will find that Tree Shamans will appear from different places, in addition to a big Tree Shaman controlling them. After you successfully kill all the enemies, you will have a Revered Spirit Ash, four Budding Horn, and two Lightningproof Pickled Liver.

Explore Some Secret Areas

In Enir-Ilim, you’ll see a fountain. When you get close to it and look inside, you’ll find a very hidden staircase leading down. Go down it and you’ll see a couple of Man-Flies near three Whiteflesh Mushrooms. You can choose to kill them or not. It’s harmless.

As you explore, you’ll find two more Man-Flies near eight Thin Beast Bones, you’ll need to climb the branch opposite them to get four Redflesh Mushrooms. You’ll see those Man-Flies again, but your primary task is to collect two Revered Spirit Ash from the statue and then immediately return to the courtyard.

Spiral Rise

Back in the courtyard, go up the stairs and defeat more Tree Wizards; a little further ahead, you’ll see a Horned Warrior facing a tree. Instead of going there, jump onto the tree roots on the right to find three Furlcalling Finger Remedy and Spira, next to a Tree Wizard who is praying to the statue on a lone platform.

Go back to the courtyard and go up the same stairs to challenge more Tree Shamans. This will not only increase your XP a lot, but also accumulate some Elden Ring Runes. Go a little further and you will see a Horned Warrior facing a tree.

You don’t need to talk to him or fight him. You need to jump to the tree roots on the right and find three Furlcalling Finger Remedy and Spira. In this way, you can go back to challenge Horned Warrior when your equipment is mature. In addition, you can pick up Dragonbolt Grease near the battle site to help you.

After defeating Horned Warrior, you will have to face two Tree Mages. It should be noted that when facing them, it is best to use weapons with a longer range to ensure your own safety. Finally, you will find 10 Fire Arrow, 10 Golden Bolt, and a Scadutree Fragment in Spiral Rise Site of Grace.

Last Boss

Use the elevator again to reach the blessed land of the stairs in front of Divine Gate. This is also the location of the final boss of Shadow of the Erdtree. After defeating this powerful boss here, you will receive Remembrance of a God and a Lord, Let Us Go Together emote, and Circlet of Light.

If you are also doing Thiollier’s quest, you will also find Thiollier’s Hidden Needle and Thiollier’s Set. In addition, if you are lucky, you will also find Ansbach’s Set, Furious Blade of Ansbach, and Obsidian Lamina.

The above is part of the content of Enir-Ilim. In addition to what is mentioned in this guide, the rest requires your own exploration. I wish you a lucky play in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree!

In Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, not only are there many new and challenging bosses, but the world that players can explore is also expanded through a brand new map - Land of Shadow. And in this land, there are many new areas for players to experience an unparalleled aesthetic feast.

In the eyes of players, the art direction of FromSoftware’s various games has always been the best in the industry. They often use their unique aesthetic insights to create very beautiful scenes, such as Anor Londo in the Souls series and Siofra River in Elden Ring.

In Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, they have raised the aesthetic level to a new height, setting a new standard for themselves and the entire game industry, allowing players and game developers to deepen their attention to art direction.

This guide will introduce some places rich in various aesthetics in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, so that you can get a full aesthetic experience for your eyes during the exciting game process.

Ancient Ruins Of Rauh

There are various castles in both the base game and DLC of Elden Ring, and they are ramshackle and look very dilapidated. But compared to those castles, Ancient Ruins of Rauh is more beautiful.

In this location, the walls are covered with greenery, and the entire location is shrouded in an eerie mist. When you face this scene, do you want to go in and take a look? I believe your answer must be yes!

Ancient Ruins of Rauh lead to the Church of Bud, where you can fight Romina and get a lot of Elden Ring Runes, which is also the way to kill the shadow from Enir-Ilim.

Cerulean Coast

Cerulean Coast is one of the most beautiful places in Land of Shadow, and it is unique. Compared with other areas of Gravesite Plain, it does not have a lot of content, but it does have a lot of surprise factors, including the blue hue that covers the ground and the unique color scheme of the horizon.

This area is also home to Stone Coffin Fissure, one of the remembrance bosses you’ll encounter here - Putrescent Knight, and the half of St. Trina that Miquella dropped.

Gravesite Plain

In DLC, Limgrave gives players the same magical feeling of first entering Lands Between dungeon. As a starting area, Gravesite Plain is pretty much the same as what you’d do the first time you enter the dungeon.

In the beautiful scenery of Scadutree, you’ll face Furnace Golem, and after defeating them, head to Belurat or Castle Ensis to continue your game. There are a lot of bosses to deal with in Gravesite Plain, and there are a lot of exploration points in this area, so you can spend a lot of time here.

Scaduview

Scaduview is another location that you can access in a variety of ways, but the main path is from Shadow Keep. After defeating Commander Gaius in Shadow Keep, you can enter this area.

Skaduview is unique because it is a secret location only revealed by a sign that opens the way into the Hinterland. It is a very beautiful and colorful area that is mostly empty. This area tells the story of Marika and her kind and provides you with a reason to clear Hornsent. This also makes this area one of the most important locations in DLC in terms of story.

Jagged Peak

Jagged Peak requires you to take a hard path and defeat a very powerful boss to reach this location. Here you can find Grand Altar of Dragon Communion and an NPC called Dragon Communion Priestess. Interact with her to start her quest line and receive a unique reward upon completion, including Elden Ring Runes and weapons.

Jagged Peak’s color scheme often impresses players who stumble into the area, so much so that players agree that it deserves an aesthetic award.

Once you’re done exploring Jagged Peak, you’ll realize that there’s nothing important to do in the area, except for one or two boss fights. But reaching the summit is one of the best experiences in FromSoftware games, and it’s a rewarding experience.

Castle Ensis

Castle Ensis is the second legacy dungeon leading to the main area of ​​the game, Scadu Altus. Design-wise, Castle Ensis is very similar to Raya Lucaria, giving you a sense of mystery and a bit of Lothric castle vibes from Dark Souls 3.

Because the supreme boss you fight here is Rennala’s sister Rellana, and she has a certain relationship with Carian Royalty, you’re visually similar to Raya Lucaria, but the content is completely different. As one of the coolest boss fights in the entire game, you’ll see a very spectacular fight scene and increase your immersion.

Belurat Tower Settlement

Belurat Tower Settlement is perhaps one of the best legacy dungeons in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, and the first major area in Land of Shadow. Here you can experience the horror Marika inflicted on Hornsent, and fight Divine Beast Dancing Lion, one of FromSoftware’s more epic bosses for Elden Ring.

Like many other areas in the game, Belurat has a lot of verticality and secrets, which are revealed after defeating the ultimate bosses such as Messmer and Romina.

Abyssal Woods

Some locations just mentioned are mysterious or grand, but Abyssal Woods is a madness-themed area that perfectly sets the scene of horror, and even reminds you of Bloodborne.

You can’t summon Torrent in Abyssal Woods at all, because even Torrent himself is afraid of the atmosphere, especially when you face Aged Ones in this area. In Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, Aged Ones are enemies that you can’t target when casting spells, and they run faster than you. So the best way to deal with them is to run!

As a developer of this type of game, FromSoftware really takes the golden rule of "less is more" in the horror atmosphere to the extreme. In Abyssal Woods, only a legacy dungeon and a remembrance boss are added, which really increases the player’s immersive exploration of this area.

Of course, this guide only introduces a small part of the locations in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, and everyone has different opinions on beauty. I hope you can find your favorite beautiful location in the new DLC!

There are already a lot of weapons and armor sets in the base game of Elden Ring. In this Shadow of The Erdtree DLC, numerous new weapons and armor sets have been added to provide players with a variety of ways to participate in the battle.

Although we can't get all the new armor sets in the game, the following 8 armor sets are must-haves because they are likely to save your life when your life is hanging by a thread.

Fire Knights Armor Set

Fire Knights Armor Set is the most popular among Elden Ring players, not only because it looks very good but also because it has some very good functions for combat. For example, Fire Knight helm can increase your maximum health, stamina and maximum equipment load.

This complete set of armor has a certain reduction effect on Fire damage, so it is the best armor when you face Messmer Impaler. So how to get it? You need to defeat Fire Knights in Shadow Keep, and you will take over an entire set of them.

Verdigris Armor Set

Verdigris Armor Set is a new heavy armor added in Shadow of The Erdtree DLC, and it is very similar to Lionel's armor in the base game. The entire set of armor will keep your balance at 100, which also makes this armor the best Poise armor in Elden Ring.

If you are in combat and an enemy or invader breaks your balance, you will be stunned, and this is when you need Verdigris Armor Set to protect yourself. You can use this armor set with Verdigris Talisman, which can increase your defense and increase your equipment load out.

Dancer's Armor Set

Dancer's Armor Set is also a very good-looking armor set for niche builds. This armor set does what the name suggests, and each piece of armor increases the power of dancing attacks.

You can pair this with Dancing Blades of Ranah and put points into Agility, and you'll have a unique Dancer build for PVP. You'll need to defeat Dancer of Ranah in Southern Nameless Mausoleum on Cerulean Coast to get all the gear. 

Freyja's Armor Set

In Shadow of The Erdtree DLC, Freyja is one of Miquella's followers, and Freyja's Armor Set is considered one of the most stylish armor sets. The redmane armor of Freyja is a representative example, which is very light and has better properties than many other heavy armors in the game.

The great sword and shield included in this armor set are perfect for you to play as Radahn's most distinguished knights. This armor set is obtained closer to the end of the game, after you fight the royal against the followers of Miquella.

Messmer's Armor Set

Just talked about some good-looking armor sets, and Messmer's Armor Set is not as good-looking as them, but it has its own uses. For example, Messmer's helm can increase the incantations of Messmer's Fire and Fire Knight skills.

If you can use Messmer's incantations, this armor set is perfect for you. In addition, compared to Fire Knights Armor, this armor set has better elemental defense properties, but has some minor flaws in physical damage reduction.

Rellana's Armor Set

In Shadow of The Erdtree DLC, there is a very gorgeous armor set called Rellana's Armor Set. This armor set seems to have no disadvantages and is very suitable for Spell Blade or Carian Knight builds.

In addition, compared to other medium armor sets, it is also a little lighter and will provide you with higher defense capabilities. This armor set is no longer dropped by a certain boss or NPC, but you need to find Finger Reader of Round Table Hold in Castle Ensis after defeating Rellana to get it using Elden Ring Runes.

Gaius's Armor Set

Gaius's Armor Set is also another new heavy armor set added in the new DLC. It also has a good-looking appearance and magnificent properties. Although it is a heavy armor set, it is lighter than other heavy armor sets.

If you pair it with Sword Lance of Commander Gaius, it will make the most effect for you. This set requires two locations to find. The armor is obtained from Finger Reader, but his greaves are located in Albinauri's Shack in Scaduview.

Solitude Armor Set

The last best armor set is still heavy armor - Solitude Armor Set, which is also one of the best armors you can find in Realm of Shadows in the early game. It also looks very cool, with the entire body covered with steel plates and decorated with a black cape.

Besides its appearance, it can also increase the concentration value. When you encounter Lord of Frenzied Flames Midir, it can win the game for you. This armor set is found in Western Nameless Mausoleum, west of Scorched Ruins.

The above are the 8 sets of armor that are very important to you in Elden Ring Shadow of The Erdtree. I hope you have fun exploring DLC and have fun playing in the later basic game.

The Settings Before The Trade, The Multiplayer Password Will Be Given After You Make Payment.

How To Get Trade Faster and Safer?

1. How Do I Recieve My order?

Please leave your sign in an open area of the Church of Elleh, not in a haystack or corner!

If you have not got all the items in one trade. Please leave your sign again after you kicked back to your world ! We will summon you again.

2. How To Avoid Invaders?

We strongly Recommed to use Duelist's Furled Finger

How To Get Duelist's Furled Finger?

Northernmost zone of Limgrave. In a burnt pillage corpse, next to the Frustrated Spirit

3. How To Pick Up Items Quickly?

By equipping a shield and defensive stance, you can pick up quickly.

4. How Can I Complete The Trade Quickly When I Buy Lots Of Runes?

Once you pick up Elden Ring Runes. Please open the Inventory, Select Lord's Rune, Use selected, Use 99/99 at one time.

Today, I'll delve into why the Claws dominate as the top weapon choice in Elden Ring. We'll explore various weapons within this category, breaking down their strengths, weaknesses, and preferred play styles. My goal is to provide you with the knowledge you need to make informed decisions about using them in your builds.

Pros &Cons

First, let's talk about the pros and cons of using Claws as weapons in Elden Ring.

Pros

• Attack Speed - Claws are among the fastest attacking weapons in the game, allowing for rapid hits. This high attack speed helps build up attack power quickly when paired with items like Rotten Winged Sword Insignia and enables setting status effects more efficiently, even after recent nerfs.
• Paired Weapons - Claws are always paired, meaning you can wield 2 Claws with the weight of one equipped. This results in a lighter Equip Load and allows simultaneous buffs to both weapons. Buffs like Bloodflame Blade, Lightning Armament, or Scholar's Armament applied to the right-hand Claw also apply to the left-hand Claw, enhancing their attack ratings.
• Lightweight - Claws are extremely light, with weights ranging from 1.5 to 3. This makes them easy to carry without significantly impacting your Equip Load.
• Dual-Wield Moveset - Claws have an excellent dual-wield moveset, enabling rapid strikes and effective crits. Most Claws have a 110 crit rating, which is better than most other weapons.
• Status Effects - All Claw types naturally have status effects, making it easier to apply these effects during combat.

Cons

• Low Attack Rating - Claws have a low attack rating, though not the lowest among weapons. This can result in lower overall damage output.
• Nerfed Dual-Wield Status Effects - Previous patches have reduced the effectiveness of dual-wield status effects, meaning Claws don't set up status effects as easily as they used to.
• Short Reach - Claws have a shorter reach compared to many other weapons, limiting their effective range in combat.
• Low Stance Damage - Claws have relatively low stance damage, making it difficult to achieve stance breaks against enemies.

Playstyles

In terms of playstyles, I think the vast majority of people who are using Claws are simply going to use them in some sort of hybrid build where they cast spells and then dual-wield. While they buff their Claws with something, they cast spells when they want.

But most people are going to lean into the paired nature of Claws, dual-wield them, and attack rapidly with them, trying to set status effects or build up their attack power in that manner. You can also throw in some Elden Ring Runes to get the most out of your Claws.

List Of All Claws

Now, let's delve into the Claws themselves. There are no unique Claws in the Elden Ring. All 4 Claws are infusible weapon. So, let's explore them.

Hookclaws

First up is the Hookclaws. The Hookclaw shares the default moveset of most other Claws and deals with physical damage. It's one of the lightest Claws in Elden Ring, weighing 2, and requires 8 strength and 14 dexterity to use effectively. They are the longest Claws in Elden Ring, the second lightest, and have native Bleed buildup on hit. They can be found early on in Stormveil Castle.

However, they deal less damage than all but the Raptor's Talons. In terms of infusion, fire and lightning yield the highest attack rating at 532, followed closely by magic at 527, and sacred and flame art at 505. Keen outperforms heavy, with cold almost tied with keen.

I recommend using this weapon with the Flaming Strike and Flame Art to buff both weapons with fire, enhancing their attack rating. This setup allows effective casting of incantations because of high faith, achieving over 1,000 attack power when fully buffed.

The bleed effect is a bonus. Use talismans like Rotten Winged Sword Insignia, Fire Scorpion Charm, and Shard of Alexander to further boost damage, and ensure you have 51 Poise to trade damage without interruption.

Venomous Fang

Up next is the Venomous Fang. This Claw shares the default moveset of most other Claws and deals with physical damage. It's the second heaviest Claw in Elden Ring, weighing 2.5, and requires 9 strength and 9 dexterity for effective use. It boasts native deadly Poison buildup, inflicting more damage than regular poison but over a much shorter duration.

With the lowest requirements of all Claws and the highest attack rating, it appears promising. However, it falls short in reach, being significantly shorter than other Claws, and has the lowest crit rating. In terms of infusion, magic, fire, and lightning are virtually tied at 576 and 575, with sacred and flame art following closely behind at 545. Keen outperforms heavy, 504 to 498, with cold also at 504, and quality at 471.

You can use these weapons with blood infusion since the arcane scaling also impacts the Poison buildup, and bleed is often more advantageous than poison, even in its deadly variant. Utilize Endure to withstand hits and maintain a barrage of attacks on bosses, setting both status effects. Talismans like Rotten Winged Sword Insignia, Lord of Blood's Exultation, and Kindred of Rot's Exultation enhance attack power further.

Bloodhound Claws

Next up are the Bloodhound Claws. They share the default moveset of most other Claws and deal with physical damage. As the heaviest Claw in Elden Ring, weighing 3, they require 10 strength and 15 dexterity to use effectively.

The Bloodhound Claws are the preferred choice for players aiming for a Strength-based Claws build, boasting native Bleed buildup on hit. Some of their damage bypasses shields, and they possess the second-highest attack rating among all Claws. However, they are the second shortest Claws, and acquiring them can be delayed until reaching Volcano Manor.

Regarding infusion, fire, lightning, and magic share the top spot with an attack rating of 549, while sacred and flame art follow closely behind at 528. Heavy infusion slightly outperforms keen, and cold sits at 450, not far behind.

I prefer using this weapon with a heavy infusion, leveraging its decent Strength scaling, and buffing it with Bloodflame Blade to enhance Bleed buildup for each Claw. With tools like Endure, you can withstand hits while swiftly swinging, easily triggering hemorrhage and boosting attack rating. Talismans such as Lord of Blood's Exultation and Rotten Winged Sword Insignia further amplify damage, complemented by the Thorny Cracked Tear.

Raptor Talons

And lastly, we come to the Raptor Talons. This Claw features a unique heavy attack that jumps and deals with physical damage. As the lightest Claw in Elden Ring, weighing 1.5, they require 6 strength and 14 dexterity for effective use.

The Raptor Talons are distinguished by their sole possession of an alternate moveset, with their jump attack inflicting approximately 10% more damage than other Claws, assuming similar attack ratings. They also possess native Bleed buildup like other Claws but have the lowest attack rating among all Claws in Elden Ring.

In terms of infusion, fire and lightning rank highest at 518, with magic following at 511, and sacred and flame art at 478 attack rating. Keen outperforms heavy, 469 to 444, while cold trails closely behind keen. You can utilize these weapons in a jump attack build to capitalize on their unique properties, akin to the Cold Blooded Raptor build.

This strategy involves utilizing the Claw Talisman, Raptor's Black Feathers, and Royal Knight’s Resolve to enhance jump attacks. The Sacrificial Axe in the off-hand can refund FP when enemies are slain. Furthermore, the Ritual Sword Talisman complements this build well, as it minimizes the likelihood of being hit during jump attacks.

As Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC is just approaching, I'll cover a perfected Frost Mage build, using the Dark Moon Greatsword to stagger enemies for critical hits and apply Frostbite regularly. We're also combining this build with a Horn Bow for Fire Arrows to remove the Frostbite build once it's triggered to build it up again.

How It Works

The original 2 builds that this hybrid is based on the Mage Knight and Frost Mage builds. The Mage Knight relied on the Moon Veil Katana and capitalized on the potent poise damage of Transient Moonlight. However, there have been some adjustments since then, you now need to engage enemies at much closer range.

I also wanted to make some adjustments to this build and focus more on the Dark Moon Greatsword from the Frost Mage build. Greatswords have received significant buffs since launch. The scaling was adjusted, and improvements were made to their speed, range, recovery time, and guard counter speed. Additionally, the Moonlight Greatsword Ash of War was also buffed.

We're focusing on Frostbite for several reasons. Frostbite is easy to apply and can be reset, which is why we've included a Horn Bow and Fire Pots as secondary options for this build. When you trigger Frostbite on an enemy, you can deal significant damage, but then reset it with the Horn Bow.

The Horn Bow scales with Intelligence and deals magic damage, and using Fire Arrows or Fire Pots resets the Frostbite buildup. This allows you to continually apply Frostbite, which is effective against enemies with high health pools or Frostbite resistance.

Armor

For the armor, you can wear the Snow Witch Hat, which comes from Ranni's Rise, also from Ranni's quest line, and then any medium armor that you have a decent amount of poise with. And for the armor set, I recommend wearing the Blaidd's Set in this build because it does give you above 52 poise so you can tank a couple of hits while still attacking.

Weapons

The added Frostbite benefits of the Dark Moon Greatsword significantly enhance this build. There have been reductions in the FP cost of numerous spells across the board. Consequently, these adjustments collectively bring the Dark Moon Greatsword more in line with the Moonveil Katana.

In this setup, you can wield the Carian Regal Scepter. To acquire this staff, you must obtain the Remembrance of the Full Moon Queen's power and deliver it to Enia at Roundtable Hold. The Dark Moon Greatsword, crucial to this build, is acquired from the Remembrance's quest line as well.

While I'm not utilizing a shield in this configuration, I suggest equipping the Horn Bow in your secondary slot. You can find the Horn Bow near the Siofra River bank side of Grace, just underneath the stairs at the Hallowhorn Grounds. This weapon offers versatility in combat. You can switch to it in your main hand and use Fire Arrows whenever you need to reset the Frostbite effect.

Alternatively, if you prefer not to switch weapons, you can rely on Fire Pots. The Horn Bow provides additional options, allowing you to use arrows with various effects such as putting enemies to sleep or dealing with Magic Damage, which complements this build perfectly.

Talismans

Move to the talismans. You can use the Shard of Alexander to greatly boost the attack power of skills. Besides, I recommend using the Magic Scorpion Charm to raise the magic attack damage and it does lower your damage negation.

But we can mitigate some of those effects with the Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman to increase our physical damage negation. And lastly, you can get the Godfrey Icon to enhance the charged spells and skills, as a lot of these spells can actually be charged, so you can increase their damage overall.

Stats

For your stats, Intelligence is absolutely your primary. You want to get this to around 80. This is also for using the specific staff we're using as well as all the spells we're using, but also because the magic wave of the Dark Moon Greatsword does scale mostly off your Intelligence, same with the weapon itself.

For your secondary stats, like Vigor, you definitely want your Vigor to be around the 50 mark for moving into the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, and then your Endurance at whatever and your Strength will need to be at 16 just for that minimum requirement for your equipment.