Combat in Elden Ring builds on the foundational mechanics from Dark Souls but introduces new elements to make battles more dynamic and versatile. Understanding the basics of combat is essential for surviving the dangers of the Lands Between. This guide will cover the core aspects of melee, ranged, and magic combat, along with defensive strategies to help you become more effective in battle.
Basic Combat Mechanics 
Stamina Management:
Stamina is a crucial resource in combat. Almost every action, including attacking, blocking, dodging, and sprinting, consumes stamina. Managing your stamina is key to surviving battles, as running out leaves you vulnerable to attacks.
•Stamina Bar: The green bar at the top of your screen shows your current stamina. Always keep an eye on it, and avoid over-exerting yourself by using up all your stamina, especially when facing fast or aggressive enemies.
Light and Heavy Attacks:
•Light Attacks (R1/RB): These are faster, consume less stamina, and allow for quicker combos. Light attacks are useful for dealing consistent damage, especially against smaller, quicker enemies.
•Heavy Attacks (R2/RT): These are slower but deal more damage and consume more stamina. Heavy attacks can stagger or knock down enemies, opening them up for follow-up attacks. You can also charge heavy attacks by holding down the button, making them even more powerful.
•Combo Attacks: You can chain light and heavy attacks together to create combos. Experiment with different combinations to find what works best for your weapon and playstyle.
Dodging and Rolling:
•Dodging (Circle/B): Dodging is one of the most important defensive maneuvers in the game. A well-timed dodge can help you avoid enemy attacks entirely. It is best to dodge into an attack rather than away from it, as this reduces the chance of getting caught by a follow-up swing.
•Rolling: Rolling provides more mobility and can help you quickly reposition yourself. However, it consumes more stamina than a quick dodge. Learning to time your rolls properly is essential for avoiding damage.
•Invincibility Frames (I-frames): During a roll, there is a brief period where you are invincible and can avoid taking damage. Learning the timing of these I-frames is key to mastering dodging.
Lock-On Targeting:
•Lock-On (R3/Right Stick Button): Use this to focus on a specific enemy, keeping them in view during combat. Locking onto enemies makes it easier to track their movements, aim your attacks, and avoid getting overwhelmed.
•Switch Targets: While locked on, you can flick the right stick to switch between nearby targets. This is useful when fighting multiple enemies and needing to quickly adjust your focus.
Melee Combat
Weapon Types and Movesets:
There are many weapon types in Elden Ring, including swords, greatswords, axes, spears, katanas, whips, colossal weapons, and more. Each weapon type has a unique moveset, with different attack speeds, reach, and damage.
Experiment with different weapons to find the ones that suit your playstyle. Some weapons are faster and allow for quick strikes, while others are slower but deal more damage with each hit.
•Dual-Wielding and Power Stance: You can equip two weapons at once, one in each hand. This can be used to dual-wield and perform unique moves. Power Stance allows you to attack with both weapons simultaneously, which can deal massive damage.
Guarding and Blocking:
•Guard (L1/LB): Holding up your shield or weapon will block incoming attacks, reducing or nullifying the damage you take. Blocking consumes stamina, so be mindful of your stamina bar when guarding against attacks.
•Stability: Each shield has a stability rating, which determines how much stamina is consumed when blocking attacks. Higher stability means less stamina drain. Consider using shields with higher stability if you prefer a more defensive playstyle.
•Guard Counters: When you block an enemy's attack, you can follow up with a Guard Counter by pressing R2/RT. This is a powerful retaliatory attack that can deal significant damage. However, it requires good timing, as it leaves you vulnerable for a brief moment.
Parrying and Riposting:
•Parry (L2/LT): Parrying is a skill that allows you to deflect an enemy’s attack and stagger them, leaving them open for a follow-up riposte. Not all shields can parry, so you’ll need to equip a small or medium shield or a parrying dagger.
•Riposte: After successfully parrying, you can follow up with a riposte (R1/RB) to deal high critical damage. Riposting requires precise timing but is extremely rewarding for skilled players.
•Practice Timing: Learning to parry effectively can take time, but it’s a powerful tool against many enemies, including some bosses. Practice on weaker enemies to get the timing down.
Ranged Combat
Bows, Crossbows, and Greatbows:
•Bows and Crossbows: These weapons allow you to engage enemies from a distance. Bows can be fired quickly, while crossbows need to be reloaded after each shot. Greatbows are slower but deal more damage and have a longer range.
•Aiming (L1/LB or L2/LT): You can aim manually by holding the aim button, which gives you better control over your shots. This is useful for picking off enemies from a distance or hitting weak points.
•Arrow and Bolt Types: There are various arrow and bolt types, including standard, fire, poison, and bleed. Experiment with different types to find the best option for different situations.
Throwing Weapons:
•Throwing Knives, Firebombs, and Kukris: These consumable items can be used to deal damage from a distance. They are great for drawing enemies toward you one at a time or softening up foes before engaging in melee.
•Magic Pots and Firebombs: You can craft special throwable items, like firebombs or pots that deal magic, holy, or rot damage. These are effective against enemies with elemental weaknesses.
Magic Combat
Sorceries and Incantations:
Sorceries are primarily intelligence-based spells that include projectile spells, defensive barriers, and utility spells. You can find sorcery trainers and collect spellbooks to learn new sorceries.
Incantations are faith-based spells that include healing, buffs, fire spells, and holy damage. They also cover more niche abilities like poison, rot, and madness. Incantations can be learned by finding incantation trainers and spellbooks.
Catalysts:
To cast sorceries, you need a staff, and for incantations, you need a sacred seal. Equip the appropriate catalyst in your hand, and use it to cast spells by pressing R1/RB or R2/RT.
•Catalysts Affect Spell Strength: Different catalysts may increase the power of specific spells or offer faster casting speeds. Find the one that best suits your build.
Focus Points (FP):
Casting spells consumes Focus Points (FP), represented by the blue bar. Make sure to manage your FP by using Cerulean Flasks to restore it when needed.
•Mind Stat: Increasing your Mind attribute will raise your maximum FP, allowing you to cast more spells before needing to recover.
Defensive Strategies
Managing Distance:
When fighting aggressive enemies, learn to maintain distance and avoid getting overwhelmed. Use dodges, rolls, and jumps to reposition yourself during combat.
•Kiting: If you’re using ranged or magic attacks, learn to kite enemies by attacking from a distance and retreating when they approach.
Learning Enemy Patterns:
Every enemy and boss in Elden Ring has specific attack patterns. Learning these patterns and timing your dodges or blocks will greatly improve your survivability.
•Watch for Tells: Many enemies have visual and audio cues before they attack. Pay attention to these tells so you can anticipate their moves.
Positioning and Environment:
Use the environment to your advantage. Lead enemies into narrow spaces to limit their movement, use ledges for quick escapes, or take high ground to avoid certain attacks.
•Environmental Hazards: Watch out for traps, poison swamps, and other hazards that can damage you. You can also use these hazards to your advantage to damage or hinder enemies.
Status Effects and Elemental Damage
Status Effects:
Elden Ring features various status effects, including Bleed, Frostbite, Poison, Scarlet Rot, and Sleep. Some enemies and weapons can inflict these effects, causing damage over time, reducing your defenses, or slowing your movements.
•Resistance: Equip gear that provides resistance to certain status effects if you know you’ll be facing enemies that use them. You can also use consumables to cure or prevent these effects.
Elemental Damage:
Weapons and spells can deal fire, lightning, magic, and holy damage. Understanding the elemental weaknesses of your enemies can make fights easier.
Experiment with different elemental damage types to find what works best against specific enemies.
Conclusion
Mastering basic combat in Elden Ring requires a mix of offense, defense, and adaptability. Learning to manage stamina, time your attacks and dodges, and effectively use your weapons and spells will help you conquer the many challenges the game throws at you. Practice and patience are key—understanding the fundamentals will set you up for success, whether you're facing smaller mobs or epic boss battles. Good luck, Tarnished!
