All Hand-to-Hand Arts in Shadow of the Erdtree (& How To Get Them)

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All Hand-to-Hand Arts in Shadow of the Erdtree (& How To Get Them)

As a dedicated Elden Ring player and explorer of the Land of Shadows in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, I can’t help but be thrilled about the addition of Hand-to-Hand Arts to the game. These unique fighting styles have truly added an exciting new dimension to my combat experience.

In “Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree,” players have the opportunity to discover a wealth of fresh weapon options as they delve into the Land of Shadows. Previous weapon classes are expanded with at least one novel addition each, and an additional eight categories are introduced. These new weapon classifications consist of Beast Claws, Hand-to-Hand Arts, Throwing Blades, Backhand Blades, Perfume Bottles, Light Greatswords, Great Katanas, and Thrusting Shields.

In this tutorial, we will concentrate on the second group mentioned: the Hand-to-Hand Combat Techniques. Unlike regular weapons, these techniques function as learnable fighting styles that primarily rely on your hands and feet for attack. Although they are limited to just two options in the expansion “Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree,” their power and portability make them valuable choices for inflicting substantial damage with an optimal setup. Here’s how you can locate both Hand-to-Hand Combat Techniques in the game.

Dryleaf Arts

All Hand-to-Hand Arts in Shadow of the Erdtree (& How To Get Them)

In the game, you can obtain the first martial art, called Dryleaf Arts, by completing the initial part of Dryleaf Dane’s quest. During this journey, players must go to the Highroad Cross Site of Grace to learn the “May the Best Win” gesture. Once learned, they should then make their way to Moorth Ruins and use this gesture to face Dryleaf Dane in a challenge. Defeating him rewards players with the Dryleaf Arts. This martial art is characterized by quick punches for light attacks and slower kicks for heavy attacks. The speed of these moves makes them effective for inflicting damage and evading enemy strikes, with minimal recovery time between attacks.

This weapon also comes equipped with the first of the Hand-To-Hand Art exclusive Ashes of War: Palm Blast. is a chargeable palm thrust that causes an explosion of force directly in front of you, dealing huge damage and providing incredible poise while in use. This tends to knock smaller enemies over on impact, which can be used to chain together multiple blasts and effectively stunlock them. On bigger enemies, landing Palm Blast can deal a lot of stagger damage and, if used well, can break their poise and open them up for a critical attack.

Dane’s Footwork (Final Dungeon Spoilers)

All Hand-to-Hand Arts in Shadow of the Erdtree (& How To Get Them)

In the last region, Enir-Ilim, you will discover the second Hand-To-Hand combat art hidden there. You earn this art upon defeating Needle Knight Leda and her companions, among them Dryleaf Dane. Dryleaf Dane mastered this martial art through rigorous training under a waterfall. Although it’s slightly less swift than Dryleaf Arts, it more than compensates by seamlessly blending with the Ashes of War and conferring a 20% attack increase on most attacks. With an extensive collection of kicking techniques as its light and heavy strikes, Dane’s Footwork complements several Ashes of War effectively. Any build can benefit from using this or that, while Arcane builds may find it particularly valuable.

Ash of War: Dryleaf Whirlwind

All Hand-to-Hand Arts in Shadow of the Erdtree (& How To Get Them)

To locate Dryleaf Whirlwind, make your way to the Ancient Ruins of Rauh. At the East Site of Grace within these ruins, go northeast instead of the usual east direction. There, you’ll find an Ash of War on a ledge. This specific Ash of War can only be employed with Hand-to-Hand Art Weapons. With it, you’ll gain access to a rapid, multi-strike kicking move that inflicts considerable damage, although it has minimal poise.

As a gamer, I find this Ash of War particularly appealing due to its ability to land multiple hits. With each swing, I can activate the Bless, Poison, and/or Crystal infusions on my weapon. The multi-hit property is a game-changer for me, as it rapidly builds up Bleed and Frost statuses when used with those affinities. Consequently, this Ash of War becomes an effective tool in my arsenal for dealing extra damage to my enemies.

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2024-07-22 23:03