If you’re looking for that extra little boost in your damage or defenses in Elden Ring, Ashes of War can be a game-changer. Similar to enchantments in a game, these can be equipped with your weapon and are incredibly easy to utilize.
How to Use Ashes of War in Elden Ring
Firstly, make sure you have an Ash of War that you want to use on your weapon. It’s important to note that if it is a boss or special weapon, you can’t change the Ash of War on the weapon, as it will already come with one equipped.
To use an Ash of War that is already equipped on the weapon, you press LB/LT respectively. If you are on a mouse and keyboard, it’s Shift + Right Click on the mouse. This will allow your character to use a special attack that generally costs FP, but some will cost HP.
To know which one is right for you, try out as many of them as possible on your weapon so that you know which will perfect your build.
Additionally, every Ash of War comes with an Affinity. This means that if you use the Affinity version instead of the Standard version, it will buff one of your stats while somewhat nerfing the rest of them. This can be very helpful if you’re scaling into a specific build, like Scarlet Rot, Poison, or Bleed damage.
How to Activate Ashes of War in Elden Ring
To use Ashes of War in Elden Ring, you first have to activate them. Don’t worry, though - it’s quite simple to activate them and add them to your weapon. To activate them, you need a Whetstone Knife. To find this, you have to go to the Gatefront Ruins, which will then allow you access to the Ashes of War menu. This will allow you to give your weapon the standard affinity. That being said, there are other Whetstone Knives you can find throughout the Lands Between that can give your weapon a different affinity.
Here is where you can find each Whetstone Knife:
| Whetblade | Location | Affinities |
|---|---|---|
| Whetstone Knife (#1) | Gatefront Ruins, Limgrave: are within the soldiers’ camp by the Stormgate. Head down the stairs southeast of the camp and open the chest. | None allows you to apply Ashes of War to a weapon at a Grace site. |
| Iron Whetblade (#2) | Stormveil Castle in Limgrave: Hidden behind a Stonesword Key door on the West side of the castle near the Grafted Scion. | Keen/Heavy/Quality |
| Glintstone Whetblade (#3) | Raya Lucaria Academy in Liurnia of the Lakes: Once you have killed the Red Wolf in the Academy, head to the West up the slope to find a corpse on the balcony by kneeling undead. | Magic/Cold |
| Red-Hot Whetblade (#4) | Redmane Castle, Caelid: Heading from the Chamber Outside the Plaza Grace site, run past the flamethrower turrets and head Northwest and past the tower and Iron Maiden. | Fire/Flame Art |
| Sanctified Whetblade (#5) | Fortified Manor in Leyndell, Royal Capital: Climb the Dragon’s wing from the Avenue Balcony Grace site. Once at the top, head left and up the balcony. Some side doors will open, and the Whetblade will be on the Anvil. | Lightning/Sacred |
| Black Whetblade (#6) | Night’s Sacred Ground, Nokron, Eternal City: Found on a corpse just next to an altar in a Church. | Poison/Blood/Occult |
If you’re wondering what all of these Affinities mean and how they can affect your build, don’t panic. The list below explains what each affinity does.
Ash of War Affinities
Below is the extensive list of each affinity for Ashes of War and what it means for your weapon when you equip them.
- Standard: The default damage that is applied to weapons and is balanced across multiple stats.
- Heavy: Boosts Strength scaling, good for large weapons and greatswords.
- Keen: Enhances Dexterity scaling, good for light weapons.
- Quality: Boosts both Strength and Dexterity and is an improved all-rounder to Standard.
- Magic: Lowers all other scaling but adds Intelligence scaling, splitting the damage between physical and magic damage.
- Sacred: Lowers all other scaling but adds Faith scaling and splits damage between physical and Holy damage.
- Fire: Reduces all other scaling attributes and splits damage between physical and Fire damage.
- Flame Art: Adds Faith damage, lowering all other attributes. Splits damage between physical and Fire damage.
- Lightning: Weakens all scaling, boosting Dexterity scaling and splits damage between physical and Lightning.
- Poison: Reduces scaling, boosts Strength, Arcane, and Dexterity, and adds Poison build-up to attacks.
- Cold: Reduces scaling, boosts Intelligence scaling, and adds Frostbite build-up to attacks.
- Blood: Reduces scaling and adds Arcane scaling and Bleed build-up to attacks
- Occult: Weakens scaling but adds Arcane Scaling and prevents Undead enemies from being revived.
That’s everything you need to know about how to use Ashes of War in Elden Ring.
