Elden Ring: New Skills Revealed In The Trailers and Network Test

A look at the various weapon skills revealed in new Elden Ring gameplay footage, and how they differ from weapon arts in Dark Souls 3 and Sekiro.

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The gameplay footage from recent trailers and the Network Test of Elden Ring showcases many interesting “Skills” – weapon-based combat techniques that are evolved forms of the Weapon Arts seen in earlier FromSoftware RPGs such as Dark Souls 3 or Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. In a departure from these previous games, many of the Skills in Elden Ring can be freely swapped between certain weapons using a new “Ashes of War” mechanics: additionally, the effects of most of these Skills have been specially tweaked to be extra useful in Elden Ring’s open-world environment.

The “Arts” of weapons and shields in Dark Souls 3, the final entry in FromSoftware’s signature dark fantasy franchise, were designed to add extra versatility to the move-sets of the many weapons player could pick up, granting them abilities such as charging thrusts, leaping slashes, or even long-ranged magical attacks. To use most Weapon Arts, players would press a button to grasp their weapon in two hands, then press the button used for parrying when holding a shield. Much like with the use of spells, activating a Weapon Art would drain a certain amount of Focus from the player’s Focus Meter.

The stealth action RPG Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, published after Dark Souls 3, upended many of the gameplay conventions players had grown used to in previous FromSoftware titles. Instead of a blank-slate customizable character, players controlled a pre-defined protagonist, a stoic Shinobi who fought their way through armies of warriors and supernatural creatures with a simple Katana-style sword and the various tools equipped to his prosthetic arm. To keep this fixed equipment load-out from growing boring over time, FromSoftware introduced a modified version of Weapon Arts called “Combat Arts,” specialized sword strikes and martial art techniques players could discover in the game world and “equip” to their blade in the main menu.

Elden Ring’s Non-Magical Martial Skills

The “Skills” seen in the recent Elden Ring Network Tests are nearly identical to the Weapon Arts from Dark Souls 3, but aren’t permanently attached to specific weapons. Much like in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Skills can be unlocked by discovering “Ashes of War” items in the Elden Ring game world, then equipping them to certain weapons whenever players rest at a check-point. This gameplay change frees players to pair their favorite weapons with their favorite Skills, either enhancing the strengths of their favorite fighting styles or compensating for weaknesses in their character build.

Many of the close-range Skills seen in the Elden Ring Network Test are actually updated versions of Weapon Arts from Dark Souls 3, as can be seen in the “Charge Forth” default Skill of the Winged Spear or the default “War Cry” of the Club. These “transplanted” Skills, imbued into certain Ashes of War or instinct to certain weapons in the Network Test, are relatively realistic expressions of martial skill with a low Focus cost. Many of them are designed to help Elden Ring players close the gap between themselves and far-off foes, power through mobs, or deal extra damage to particularly tough individual foes:

• Ash of War: Barricade Shield – briefly increases a shield’s damage reduction (acquired after slaying “Bloodhound Knight Darriwil” in the Forlon Hound Evergaol).
• Ash of War: Brave War Cry – temporarily boosts a player character’s attack and alters the move-set of their weapon’s heavy attack (the default Skill of the Club weapon).
• Ash of War: Buckler Parry – a variant of the Parry Skill with a longer “parrying motion” (the default Skill of the Buckler).
• Ash of War: Charge Forth – lets players sprint forward, piercing foes with the tip of their weapon in Elden Ring for as long as the charge lasts (the default Skill of the Lance and Winged Spear).
• Ash of War: Determination – a Skill players can activate to increase the damage of their next melee attack (dropped by an invisible Teardrop Scarab on the beaches of Western Limgrave).
• Ash of War: Firing Position – lets archers charge up a longer-range, more powerful bow shot (the default Skill of the Shortbow).
• Ash of War: Frenzy – lets players wallop foes with a continuous string of slashing attacks for as long as they hold down the attack button (the default skill of the Battle Axe).
• Ash of War: Parry – a Skill that can be activated to deflect attacks and put enemies into a state where they can be hit with a deadly riposte (the default Skill of most Shields).
• Ash of War: Piercing Fang – lets players lunge forward with their weapon in a thrusting motion that does damage through Elden Ring’s enemy shields (acquired after slaying a NPC invader called “Bloody Finger Hunter Yura”).
• Ash of War: Repeating Thrust – lets players bombard an opponent with a volley of thrusting attacks (found in the Gatefront Ruins in Limgrave).
• Ash of War: Step In – a lunging stomp that grants player characters extra poise, followed by an upward cut capable of hurling foes into the air (the default Skill of the Bastard Sword).
• Ash of War: Spinning Slash – lets players swing their weapon in a circular arc, hitting any surrounding foes (the default skill of the Scimitar and Twinblade).
• Ash of War: Square Off – hit foes with a shield-breaking swipe or charging thrust (the default skill of the Longsword).
• Ash of War: Torch Attack – a Skill that’s exactly what it sounds like: a jabbing motion with a Torch (the default Skill of the Torch).

Elden Ring’s Ranged Magic Skills

The ranged magical Skills seen in the Elden Ring Network Test work a lot like the traditional magic spells in Dark Souls and other FromSoftware RPGs, albeit projected from weapons instead of Staves or Sacred Seals. In Dark Souls 3, these sorts of visually spectacular magical weapon techniques would normally only become available near the end of the game. Elden Ring, however, lets players acquire the following ranged Magical Skills at the start of the game – probably so players aren’t constantly forced to chase down far-away foes in the open world:

• Ash of War: Reduvia Blood Blade – unleashes an arcing projectile of bloody energy (the fixed skill of the Reduvia Dagger).
• Ash of War: Carian Glintsword – conjures a tall, magical greatsword around the player’s weapon (dropped by a Teardrop Scarab near Stormgate).
• Ash of War: Glintsword Arch – conjures floating spectral daggers around a player character’s head that seek out enemies (dropped by the “Burial Tree Watchdog” Boss in the Stormfoot Catacombs).
• Ash of War: Hailstorm Sword – infuses a weapon with frost and lightning damage (the fixed Skill of the Dragonscale Blade).
• Ash of War: Ordovis’ Vortex – a Skill that lets players twirl their weapon in their hand, then slam it down to create a golden shockwave (the fixed Skill of the Ordovis’ Greatsword).
• Ash of War: Sorcerer Hunter – an enhanced version of the Parry Skill capable of reflecting magic attacks back in the form of spectral daggers (the default Skill of the Carian Glintstone Shield).
• Ash of War: Storm Blade – fires a blast of wind from a player’s slashing blade (the default Skill of the Warrior Class’s Scimitar, dropped by the “Grave Warden” Boss in Murkwater Catacombs).
• Ash of War: Thunderbolt – a Skill where players hold their weapon aloft and strike a targeted foe with a pillar of gold lightning (the default Skill of the Bastard Swod wield by Elden Ring’s Bloody Wolf Character Class, founded near Stormveil Castle Gate).
• Ash of War: Viper Bite – player conjures a serpent that hits a distant foe with poison damage (the fixed Skill of the Coil Shield).

Elden Ring’s Area of Effect Magic Skills

If the ranged magic Skills described above are designed to help Elden Ring players target distant enemies in the game’s open world, then the Area of Effect Magic Skills revealed in the Network Test are meant to counter another hazard present in Elden Ring’s open-world – swarms of enemies surrounding a PC from all directions. The two damaging area-of-effect Skills listed below are useful for finishing off large numbers of Elden Ring’s weak enemies, while the single restorative area-of-effect Skill can keep players and their summoned allies alive:

• Ash of War: Gravitas – a Skill where players stab their weapon into the ground and release a gravitational blast capable of staggering foes and pulling them in (found near the back entrance of the Fringefolk Hero’s Grave).
• Ash of War : Holy Ground – conjures a circle of glyphs capable of healing players and allies who stand within it (the default skill of the Prophet Class’s Rickety Shield, dropped by the Tree Sentinel Boss).
• Ash of War: Storm Stomp – manifests a circular shockwave of wind that damages enemies and pushes them back (found in Stormveil Castle).

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/elden-ring-new-skills-revealed-trailers-network-test/