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70 ratings
Ranking All 91 Elden Ring Ashes of War From Worst to Best
By FIRUIN
This guide is a text version of the corresponding video from Rusty:
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FIRUIN
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Category: Achievements, Co-op, Loot, Multiplayer, Secrets, Story or Lore, Weapons
Languages: English
Posted
Updated
30 Aug, 2023 @ 1:49pm
4 May @ 6:17am
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Guide Index
Overview
Introduction 
№ 91 — White Shadow's Lure 
№ 90 — Through and Through 
№ 89 — Sky Shot 
№ 88 — Barrage 
№ 87 — The Sweep 
№ 86 — Poison Moth Flight 
№ 85 — Assassin's Gambit 
№ 84 — The Kick 
№ 83 — Sacred Ring of Light 
№ 82 — Square Off 
№ 81 — Thops's Barrier 
№ 80 — Spinning Weapon 
№ 79 — Parry 
№ 78 — Loretta's Slash 
№ 77 — Spinning Strikes 
№ 76 — Storm Wall 
№ 75 — The Upward Cut 
№ 74 — Carian Greatsword 
№ 73 — Shared Order 
№ 72 — Ground Slam 
№ 71 — Golden Slam 
№ 70 — Carian Grandeur 
№ 69 — Charge Forth 
№ 68 — Troll's Roar 
№ 67 — Mighty Shot 
№ 66 — Lightning Slash 
№ 65 — No Skill 
№ 64 — Sacred Order 
№ 63 — Blood Tax 
№ 62 — Golden Land 
№ 61 — Storm Assault 
№ 60 — Shield Crash 
№ 59 — Spectral Lance 
№ 58 — Eruption 
№ 57 — Gravitas 
№ 56 — Lightning Ram 
№ 55 — Repeating Thrust 
№ 54 — Spinning Slash 
№ 53 — Poisonous Mist 
№ 52 — Vow of the Indomitable 
№ 51 — Hoarah Loux's Earthshaker 
№ 50 — Sacred Blade 
№ 49 — Storm Stomp 
№ 48 — Lifesteal Fist 
№ 47 — Raptor of the Mists 
№ 46 — Shield Bash 
№ 45 — Enchanted Shot 
№ 44 — Sword Dance 
№ 43 — Bloody Slash 
№ 42 — Holy Ground 
№ 41 — Flame of the Redmanes 
№ 40 — Lion's Claw 
№ 39 — Double Slash 
№ 38 — War Cry 
№ 37 — Blood Blade 
№ 36 — Golden Parry 
№ 35 — Prayerful Strike 
№ 34 — Hoarfrost Stomp 
№ 33 — Rain of Arrows 
№ 32 — Determination 
№ 31 — Royal Knight's Resolve 
№ 30 — Prelate's Charge 
№ 29 — Chilling Mist 
№ 28 — Vacuum Slice 
№ 27 — Barbaric Roar 
№ 26 — Carian Retaliation 
№ 25 — Barricade Shield 
№ 24 — Earthshaker 
№ 23 — Piercing Fang 
№ 22 — Quickstep 
№ 21 — Giant Hunt 
№ 20 — Glintstone Pebble 
№ 19 — Impaling Thrust 
№ 18 — Golden Vow 
№ 17 — Ice Spear 
№ 16 — Seppuku 
№ 15 — Waves of Darkness 
№ 14 — Stormcaller 
№ 13 — Black Flame Tornado 
№ 12 — CragBlade 
№ 11 — Endure 
№ 10 — Glintblade Phalanx 
№ 9 — Thunderbolt 
№ 8 — Phantom Slash 
№ 7 — Wild Strikes 
№ 6 — Beast's Roar 
№ 5 — Storm Blade 
№ 4 — Unsheath 
№ 3 — Bloodhound Step 
№ 2 — Braggart's Roar 
№ 1 — Flaming Strike 
📝 Other Elden Ring guides 
Comments
Introduction
Okay, I'm just correcting this now, because I know it's gonna get brought up.

Over the course of this video, I make multiple references to certain variables called motion values, which measures a percentage of damage a certain attack will hit for.

It's like a Monster Hunter thing.

And in almost every instance, I end up calling them movement values for some stupid reason. And that's not what they're called.

They're called Motion Values (MV).

Okay, let's go.

There are 91 Ashes of War in total.

Some are bad.
Some are sad.
Some are blatant reiterations of spells and other abilities you find elsewhere in the game.

You can charge, you can thrust, you can bash, you can ass-pound.

№ 91 — White Shadow's Lure


I already have enough stray stones to build a well-insulated house with, and I can craft any number of bone darts and just aim them at the ground in front of something, and the AI almost always detects the sound and moves towards it.

The art of distraction is something we've all been perfecting for years, so why are you charging FP for what's functionally the same thing as just chucking a stone in front of someone's line of sight?

I'm not saying it doesn't work, it's efficient enough at actually distracting enemies and holding their attention for a few seconds, but what's important is Shadow Bait being available a good couple areas earlier while only asking 13 Faith completely voids any reason to go after this ash.

Any use you find for this, Shadow Bait can fulfill for a fraction of the legwork.
№ 90 — Through and Through


Greatbows are already shafted enough as is.

They can't be infused, the only greatbow you can infuse already has this as a default skill, and the fact that it uses standard scaling gives you zero reason to even consider other affinities.

Additionally, arrows cannot be charged indefinitely, they can only pierce enemies if they aren't shielding, and if I may ask, what's the point of piercing through enemies when the entire focus of the game, combat-wise, is locking onto and isolating single targets?

I'm sorry, am I playing Borderlands now?

When was the last time you lined up a trick shot on a crowd of oblivious chuckle♥♥♥♥s stumbling towards you in convenient single-file formation?

This is the kind of ♥♥♥♥ you'd see in first-person shooters.

Alright, you know what?
Where's Spinning Chain, then?

You go on and make an Ash of War out of something that already has a default skill?

Where's Spinning Chain?
Where is it?
Why can't we have that?

What, you afraid we're gonna throw it on a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ twinblade or something?
№ 89 — Sky Shot


I don't think I'm the first person to actually observe this, but trying to use Rain of Arrows without the necessary FP literally just does this ash in its place.

Rain of Arrows can be used on all bows, unlike Sky Shot, which can only be placed on light and regular-sized bows.

It's only ever good at dealing with ranged enemies because of the surprisingly okay reach, and because ranged enemies usually stay the ♥♥♥♥ still, concealing the ash's downright shameful tracking when pursuing a moving target.

Of the few situations this can actually perform well in, Rain of Arrows will consistently be the better option to such a conclusive length that Sky Shot would honestly be better if it just didn't use FP.
№ 88 — Barrage


See how many bow ashes we've listed so far?
This is why people don't like bows.

Barrage is a good skill to have if you're a status build.
Not so good if you're built for literally anything else.

But as an Ash of War, it runs into the same problem as Through and Through.

It can only be equipped on light bows, and the only bow that doesn't start out with this ash by default is the Composite bow.

And I won't speak for anyone else, but I kinda like having Mighty Shot on a light bow for the extra damage and range, two departments light bows tend to lack in compared to their beefier counterparts.

Mighty Shot on a light bow gives us one of the only examples in the game where a bow build can actually be flexible.

I have no idea why I would just get rid of that.
№ 87 — The Sweep


♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, this thing is dejectedly bad.

I tried to clear out a horde of those Rot Zombies by the Rot View balcony to test its range, and the damage was so bad I gaslit myself into thinking I was missing something about the skill, and ended up testing it for the next five minutes just to see I wasn't doing something wrong.

I don't know what ash ended up being cut for the sake of splitting a previously good skill into two separate ♥♥♥♥♥♥ ones, but if you're waiting on some transparent feedback, I think you ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up.

Damage just barely climbs past the standard R1 while only having a movement value of 250, which is total garbo for an ash exclusive to heavy weapons.



Just get rid of it.

And if it's on a weapon by default, replace it as soon as possible.
№ 86 — Poison Moth Flight


You have no idea how hard I tried to muscle this one out of last place, so I think this spot is as good as anyone with as kind a soul as I can ever stand giving it.

Highly telegraphed, easy to dodge, closes just enough distance to say it's a distance closer, but not enough to ever be useful in most situations.

Against enemies vulnerable to poison, it's great, but then again you have scarlet rot options like Antspur, a Giant dragon head, a flower, a rotted avatar club, a cleanrot soldier, scorpion stinger, and a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ dog.

The utility between poison and rot is oceans wide, and giving us a slightly deadlier variant of it does nothing but make us feel silly, especially when we don't even receive it until killing a knight's cavalry in the middle of a rotted swamp.
№ 85 — Assassin's Gambit


With the right talisman and armor setup, you can replicate this effect without ever needing to cast a spell or use an ash.

But you also have magic like Unseen Form and Assassin's Approach to help you out.

The ultimate point being, why the ♥♥♥♥ would I ever use an ash like this and deal with a self-harm penalty when I can just dig around in my inventory for a few seconds and have a good chance of finding something with a similar effect?

The fact that there's any health penalty to begin with results in one of the most hilariously hopeless strategies PvP has ever seen.

Because although your body is hidden, yes, you just took damage.

And the reason it never seems to work for you in PvP might have something to do with the stupid big-ass health bar floating above your ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ head beaconing everyone towards you like someone trying to turn off their car alarm.
№ 84 — The Kick


It's good against shields.

That's all I have to say about it.
№ 83 — Sacred Ring of Light


In comparison to its bigger brother, Ring of ♥♥♥♥♥ is condescendingly bad.

It's a type of bad that makes you wonder why it even climbed out of bed this morning if this is the best effort it can give.

The lifespan on the bullet itself is only a half second, still gets caught on walls despite being smaller than Miquella's variant, and attack MVs of 65, which is damage I would sooner scratch my balls with.

Most other Sacred Affinity ashes outperform this across the board, from Sacred Blade to Holy Ground all the way down to Shared ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Order.
№ 82 — Square Off


This feels like a bygone relic of the past.

Even in Dark Souls 3, its utility in PvP was negligible. It does underwhelming damage, and the animation can be read like a Clifford book.

The cheap cost and higher MV on the Stanced heavy is offset by the incredibly slow recovery time and lack of flexibility.

It can only be placed on straight swords, making it one of the most restrictive weapon ashes in the entire game.

Additionally, this skill being the default on most straight swords out of the box makes this ash kind of useless.

I'd understand if maybe you could throw this on greatswords too, but for some reason they decided the Stamp skill should be hacked into two separate skills, so I guess that pool is already saturated enough.
№ 81 — Thops's Barrier


Zero FP cost can't save this fecal matter.

You've already spoiled us with indefinite casting, good enough FP efficiency, and ease of access by giving it to a merchant NPC right outside the entrance to the second main area.

You even put a powerful upgrade item right next to him just to make sure we had zero reason not to go and pick it up.

But making it a shield ash and tying it to parry frames just completely erases the appeal from it.

I liked having a lazy ♥♥♥♥-everything button that let me walk through NieR: Automata levels of bullet spam.

That's the whole point of the sorcery.

But if you're making me put in some effort for it, then I might as well just throw Carian Retaliation and forget you ever showed this to me.
№ 80 — Spinning Weapon


No, not the actually useful skill on the Regal Scepter that gives you a cool blue weapon trail.

No, no, no, I'm talking about the one that barely extends six inches past the front of your face.

The way the weapon is oriented during the spin means weapon length ultimately doesn't matter, unless maybe you're trying to smack some burrs with it.

There's a decent argument to be made on flails since all the infusible flails have innate bleed, but it almost never matters because the range on the skill is so paper-thin that it's only ever useful on the defensive.

And if you're a status build, you kinda need to be proactive.

Catch someone standing still and not paying attention, because that's the only way you'll hit something consistently.
№ 79 — Parry


It's a parry.

Not sure what you want from me, but you should hurry up and move on.

There's nothing else here.
№ 78 — Loretta's Slash


Horribly underwhelming in PvP due to it being so telegraphed, it might as well come with its own raid siren.

It's really a shame that some of the coolest-looking weapon ashes end up with the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ performance.

The damage rarely ever pushes past the level of decent, and that's only with certain affinities on specific weapons.

A magic affinity Cross-Naginata, for instance, is a solid choice.

The INT scaling on the Clayman's Harpoon also wrings a good bit of damage out of it, but aside from a few other weapons, it scarcely does anything that's all too impressive.

But hey, look at me, I'm in the air, oh ♥♥♥♥!
№ 77 — Spinning Strikes


I'm not sure what the hell this one needs.
Less FP cost for sustaining the spin?

Nah, people almost never get hit by it anyway, so that wouldn't change anything.

More hyper armor wouldn't hurt, but you're still begging to get ass-blasted by five different colors of cosmic nonsense if you're more than 10 feet away from someone.

The only edge this really gives you is against people who constantly underestimate the reach of the R2, which I guess isn't too unlikely to happen, because no one ever uses it.

Still, this ash is fun to use in PvE settings, but it almost never feels necessary.

It's not even that it's bad, it's just every proficiency it has can be found on another, much better ash.
№ 76 — Storm Wall


The word physical is a word I thought I knew the definition of.

Physical projectiles seemed pretty straightforward to me as well, but in Miyazaki land, things work a little differently.

Apparently, physical projectiles means anything that doesn't have any kind of elemental damage tied to it, like Radahn's arrows or big ♥♥♥♥-off urns.

It also doesn't consider regular arrows as physical projectiles, because I guess they're just too fast or allergic to making sense or something:

— I'm sorry, what can I block with this ash, FromSoft?

— Uh, bestial sling? And rocks, and rocks, you can block lots of rocks.
No, no, wait, come back!
Okay, okay, fine.
Now we've made it to where you can block the Spark Aromatic, too.

— Isn't- isn't that fire damage, FromSoft?

— Well, uh, uh, y-y-you see, I-I-I-

Are you starting to see the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ problem?
№ 75 — The Upward Cut


The recovery time is slow, as expected, with an ash that requires you to basically deadlift a giant sheet of metal.

And it leaves you just as vulnerable as you'd expect, too, because whiffing this is practically the same as showing your ass to the person you're dueling and saying, There are very few attacks out there that can actually get crucible knights to flinch, and this is one of them.

So this gets an automatic OK rating at the very least.

Sadly, there's very little situations for this ash to really shine, even if it is fun burger-flipping ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ over a small house.
№ 74 — Carian Greatsword


Obviously, the giant blue sign you're swinging over your head as an attack warning doesn't serve you too well in duels, but the stopping power is more than enough in PvE to clear out anything steadily jogging towards you in a convenient straight line, which apparently happens more than you think.

Shame the hyperarmor it gives you is about as durable as a cardboard box, so you pretty much have to work it in with a bit of foresight, no matter what situation you're using it in.
№ 73 — Shared Order


I've heard other players toss around compliments like cost efficient when referring to Shared order, but I'm starting to think cost efficiency just isn't as big a deal as everyone wants it to be.

Duct taping your kid to the roof of your Nissan to avoid buying a booster seat is cost efficient, doesn't mean you're impressing anyone by doing it.

Being an aura buff brings it directly in conflict with Golden Vow and Rallying Standard, and even if it didn't, I still know myself well enough to know I would only use this in dungeons to keep the skeleton population from growing at an alarming rate.
№ 72 — Ground Slam


Not only is it highly telegraphed, but with an equally obvious player trajectory that tells people exactly where you're going to land.

Additionally, it has that distinct auditory cue of something big going whoosh, so even if I'm not paying attention to anything on my screen, it's still immediately obvious that someone's ass is about to land on my brittle body here in the next two seconds.

It deals a fixed value of physical damage, which means it scales off of your player's stats and not the weapon itself.



And 264 isn't bad base damage by any means, but with certain ashes, I feel like having it scale off your weapon level is much less of a hassle.



You also only get that damage at the dead center of the AoE, making this skill kind of worthless if your ass cheeks land anywhere other than right on someone's face.
№ 71 — Golden Slam


As telegraphed and as accuracy-demanding Ground Slam already is, it's easy to look at it and see that it was missing a couple tweaks from turning it into something really great.

One of the things it certainly wasn't missing was an even louder audio cue that lets people know someone in their zip code is about to receive a holy golden ass pound.

They could patch in a Metal Gear-style exclamation point over your head, and I genuinely don't think it would change how players react to this.

The Golden Slam demands even more precision, with a base physical damage of 308 at dead center, but rippling out to a timid, disappointing 132 for the AoE.



So if you can actually land it, then yes, marginally better than Ground Slam at the expense of being able to use it with less affinities.
№ 70 — Carian Grandeur


In almost every single way possible, it's exactly as effective as its greatsword counterpart in PvP scenarios.

But if you're willing to spend the extra half second to charge it to finality, it'll end up doing a few hundred more points of damage on average.

I can't deny the damage on a weapon that's built around it, but dedicating an entire build around an ash like this also means you have problems a tier list video isn't gonna be able to solve.
№ 69 — Charge Forth


It actually isn't that bad.

The poise changes in patch 1.10 did kinda help this one out a bit. If you've overcommitted to an attack with a long recovery, it's actually pretty easy to get caught by the initial couple hitboxes.

It deals just slightly less damage than you would expect, and this is doubly true on colossal weapons, but the fact that it's pierced damage gives it a bit more utility against well-armored enemies, and there's plenty of room for people in PvP to underestimate the reach of the final stab.

It's far from competent, especially with a 16 FP and higher than average recovery time, but it's in a much better spot than where it started.
№ 68 — Troll's Roar


I've seen a lot of different lists that have this ash somewhere in their bottom 10, and my durable attention span can never stick around long enough to hear why, but I feel like we can stand to give that follow-up attack a touch more credit than what we're giving it.

It's not awful, it is pretty bad, don't get me wrong, but if the follow-up consistently isn't landing on anything, that might be because you're just targeting the wrong enemies.

The initial knockback on the roar AoE is what positions an enemy to take the follow-up.

Ideally, it should be used in the middle of a crowd of small, fast enemies like imps or enemies that aren't fast enough to retaliate after being staggered by the first half, like the scaly misbegotten.

With all that said, it's gonna take some work for that follow-up to pull any weight, and if you're really wanting to dedicate yourself to this ash, that follow-up is gonna whistle right through empty air half the time.

But I think the huge damage is worth the foresight it takes to land it.
№ 67 — Mighty Shot


I'm far from saying this ash is even kinda good, but there are a lot of little surprises with this one that I don't think too many people are aware of.

A Mighty Shot does around 50% more damage, 53% to be exact, and deals 70% more status build-up than a regular arrow, which actually ends up being very serviceable when using ammunition with a high base status build-up like Serpent or Spirit Flame arrows.



And even with 0 FP, it still gives arrows an attack MV of 116, so it's still technically more value than just launching arrows normally.

№ 66 — Lightning Slash


If I really wanna make a case for it, I'd just say how effective it is against abductor virgins and just move on.

The downward slash is surprisingly strong, and Keen and Lightning affinity weapons have the added benefit of both the slash and the lightning bolt scaling off the same stat.

But lightning damage being what it is means it has some difficulties standing out during later parts of the game.

And unless you're trying to bait a trade, you're better off just giving up on hitting anything with this in PvP.
№ 65 — No Skill


It erases the currently equipped skill of left-handed weapons so you can actually use your main-hand weapon skill to its fullest extent instead of jabbing ♥♥♥♥ with a torch all the time.

It's the quality of life ash that doesn't flex its muscle through things like damage numbers or bleed, but instead being able to use off-hand shields and torches while defaulting to the skill of the weapon in your right hand.

I have no feelings towards this ash at all.
№ 64 — Sacred Order


As I've reiterated countless times, trying to wring any utility out of holy damage that doesn't involve exploring skeleton-infested dungeons or going on a bird-murdering expedition is just making things harder for yourself.

It's more bugged than a derelict New York apartment, so people think stacking it with other buffs you literally shouldn't stack it with is completely intentional.

It's not bad, I think.
It's about as good as a holy weapon buff can be.
I'll say that.
№ 63 — Blood Tax


Whether or not you prefer this over Repeating Thrust ultimately depends on your situation, mainly in what shape your health is in, obviously.

Putting a blood affinity on a weapon with Repeating Thrust ends up giving you the exact same status buildup due to the motion values being the exact same, but Blood Tax deals around a quarter less damage on average while also healing you for 12% of your max HP plus 140 if the entire ash connects.

When it comes down to it, the only advantage this has over Repeating Thrust is the heal, which is honestly a pretty strong edge.

Otherwise, they're mechanically the exact same skill.
№ 62 — Golden Land


I really don't like putting this ash here because I think it's one of the most, and for that matter, one of the select few holy ashes that are actually competent at something, but I feel like it's too competent in a couple different areas in a way that makes it feel indecisive and not multifaceted.

What's the point of attaching a follow-up melee R2 if the range of the holy darts obviously want me to snipe a stray imp from the next county over?

If you're aiming the entire thing point blank at something right in front of you, it'll practically disintegrate the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, but as powerful as it looks, it's surprisingly easy to just run away from in PvP.

Still, it's got the style points and it actually makes holy damage look decent, which is reason enough to use it whenever you want.
№ 61 — Storm Assault


In PvE, it's hard to think of a more reliable ash.

It true combos into itself, if anything, is hit by the initial cyclone.

It's great on halberds, and if you can tally the poise damage right, it's not too uncommon to trigger Stance Break on the first cyclone, leading into a massive hit with the plunge.

This gives it some use in PvP scenarios, but not a lot.

It's still better to head into duels with something a bit less predictable, and just because you have instant hyper armor that makes the first cyclone easy to land, a well-timed dodge can still escape the following plunge and just leave you vulnerable to punishment.
№ 60 — Shield Crash


Choosing this over Shield Bash, I think, is determinant on the exact shield you're using.

Shields like Spiked Palisade inflict blood loss, making the multi-hit charge really strong for status builds.

Abusing the surprise factor of Shield Bash always gets better results in duels, but the crash definitely does a little more work in PvE situations.

And it's not like it's completely impossible to score a hit with this online, since gankers tend to get overconfident in groups and end up taking hits when they shouldn't.

It can also knock down a long list of enemies that are just flat-out bigger than you.

Crystallians, Demihuman Chiefs, Caelid Dogs, and Crows.
Very few enemies don't get staggered backwards by this.
№ 59 — Spectral Lance


It's not the most competent Ashe out there for two reasons.

One, the obvious lack of damage that everyone's already aware of.

And two, the speed of the projectile has a value of 35, just barely enough to outpace Lightning Spear.

This means if what you're aiming can dodge it, it almost certainly will.

This majorly limits the Ashe to either big slow enemies that have enough poise to withstand more than a few shots, or standard dumb enemies that can get poise broken by tripping upwards on a flight of stairs.

It's pretty exciting when it lands, and it's a solid ranged option for builds that normally wouldn't have them, but if it's stance damage you're after, there's usually a more effective way to put someone on their ass.
№ 58 — Eruption


It's easily avoidable if you know it's coming, but trading with an Ashe like this is just impossible.

Wonderful amount of hyper armor.
It works great on crowds since the lava lingers on the ground.

Decent zoning if you're being invaded, but the fact that it's only available on heavier armaments is extremely limiting for like, no reason.

At least make it available on axes and hammers.

Wouldn't look any stupider than using it on a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Ipe, but you can do that no problem.

It's not as straightforward as Flaming Strike or Flame of the Redmanes, which I maintain might still be better options across the board, but the DOT aspect of the lava gives it extra potential for damage in the right situations.

Specifically situations where whoever you're smacking this down on is standing still, oblivious, or just doesn't ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ care.
№ 57 — Gravitas


It honestly breaks my heart, ranking this one so low.

My emotions want it to be A tier so badly because it's helped me out so much.

It's so unbelievably fun going around LARPing as a riot police wizard, decimating crowds of mobs, ♥♥♥♥♥ slapping birds out of the sky, and blowing out your eardrums because the poise break audio cue played five times over itself.

But speaking strictly from a practical standpoint, this ♥♥♥♥ just isn't as good as people think it is.

Gravitas is made of three overlapping AoEs that each deal 60 magic damage, which means someone at dead center will take 60 magic damage three times.

Not 180 damage, but 60 damage three times.

This is a very important distinction to make when dealing with flat defenses, and it's also the main reason this ♥♥♥♥ is so terrible in the early game.

You deal a flat 20 poise damage no matter what, which I just disagree with, and I learned the hard way that the initial ground stab can apparently be ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ parried.
№ 56 — Lightning Ram


The only kind of role spamming that should ever be allowed.

Surprisingly works extremely well in duels and invasions just because no one knows how to react to it.

They hear the distinct sound of a goat moaning its nuts off and they think they're having a mental breakdown.

It deals flat physical and lightning damage, meaning it scales off of player stats and not the weapon level, so you can stick it on a plus zero dagger in your left hand and still get decent damage.

It can carry fights pretty well if you have a build centered around it with stuff like Bull-Goat's Talisman, but heavy armor probably isn't something you're too interested in if you're considering dex ashes.
№ 55 — Repeating Thrust


The only reason I would prefer this one over Blood Tax is that it doesn't force you into bleed status.

If you're vibing more of a frostbite or poison build, Repeating Thrust isn't a problem because it's compatible with all affinities.

It actually ends up being marginally better than Blood Tax in damage despite being able to inflict the same amount of status, so in most situations I would prefer this to its counterpart.

Otherwise, both of these are about as exciting as a hospital waiting room, so.
№ 54 — Spinning Slash


Most of the default ashes are actually incredibly balanced for what they are, but finding what you like in Spinning Slash largely depends on what class of weapons you're using it with and why you're using it.

Spinning Slash is made up of four different animations, each of which vary slightly in speed due to the weight of your weapon.

Most one-hand weapons use the first animation, great swords and heavier weapons use the following two, and then twin blades use the fourth.

This is important because the poise MVs on animations one and four are 290 compared to the 230 you get with heavier weapons, meaning you're technically getting more out of it when using either one-handed weapons or twin blades.

Some twinblades have pretty high base damage and some axes have decent poise damage while using the first set of animations.

Which is where that 290 really starts doing some work.

It can also be put on the Nagakiba, which pretty much dooms your opponent to constantly underestimating its reach, so have fun with that.
№ 53 — Poisonous Mist


Why is this one not lower on the list, Rusty?
Thought poison sucked, huh?

It does, viewer.
It's as capable as a pair of gelatin dentures.
But you know what doesn't suck?
The buildup.

The fact that it accumulates a good eight, nine times faster than regular Poison Mist in addition to the four-second lingering hitbox makes this Ash what Poison Moth Flight wishes it was.

120 buildup every 0.7 seconds means if you misjudge that lingering hitbox by so much as the skin of your eyelids, you're feeling those consequences for the rest of the duel.

And even though Poison does become incredibly useless after a couple areas, it still shreds through ♥♥♥♥ early game just as much as it does you.

So by no means would I ever advocate for not using it.

It's constantly underestimated and it always poisons something as long as you know how to place the mist.
№ 52 — Vow of the Indomitable


This game is fast.

Maybe not Bloodborne fast, but fast enough for 30 frames of invulnerability to look at least a little appealing when you're staring down the throat of a giant space scorpion.

Yes, this ♥♥♥♥ can nullify grab attacks, and the fact that it's highly spammable means it can block entire attack sequences like Waterfowl with a bit of precision.

I think being too lazy to dodge is highly underrated in a game like this.

Sometimes you're on a sliver of health with a solid RTSR setup and just don't want to take the chance. Being averse to risk doesn't make you bad, it just makes you a coward.

I think.
That's all.
№ 51 — Hoarah Loux's Earthshaker


Even though I personally prefer the speed of the original Earthshaker Ash, the measure of each really just depends on what you're using it for.

Hoarah Loux's Earthshaker has the benefit of two chainable shockwaves with a radius that's really hard to eyeball, making it great gank repellent, and its usability on all armaments can give weapons with shorter reach like fists and daggers a reliable AOE option.



The standard Earthshaker, on the other hand, is a much quicker draw and is usually preferred against one or two stronger targets.

It deals a fixed amount of physical damage that scales off the player's strength, which some people would look at as a heavier investment, and timing it wrong when being invaded is pretty much synonymous with lying Spread Eagle and giving everyone a free jumping heavy on your nuts.
№ 50 — Sacred Blade


I seriously wasn't expecting this Ash to end up this high, but y'all really need to give this a chance.

The flat holy damage buff that sticks around after the projectile is useful for dungeon exploring, where skeletons are a guarantee.

It can reliably put down death birds and battle mages, and putting this on a colossal weapon gives it a pretty quick attack option on a weapon type that desperately needs it.

I get that straightforward projectiles are generally frowned upon for their lack of efficiency and PvP settings, but this Ash comes with a neat trick up its sleeve.

Even if you are interrupted before the attack actually comes out, you still walk away with the holy damage buff because it's applied so early in the animation.
№ 49 — Storm Stomp


It's good.
It's really good.
Conditionally.

If whoever you're targeting has 101 poise, you can forget about this Ash doing anything.

But it's a solid gank repellent simply because there's no way all three of these guys have that much poise, right? It comes out extremely quick, and the punish window is tiny enough to pretty much be negligible in most cases.

The accumulated poise damage after a good five uses can be enough to shred through cristallians, and the stagger lasts long enough to open windows for true combos all the way up to an R1 from a colossal weapon.

I get that telling gank squads not to abuse lingering hitboxes and hyper armor is like telling Yelford von Yellington, esteemed Baron of Yelsboro, to maybe tone down the yelling a bit, but a big part of online appeal also comes from figuring out how to deal with those oppressive tactics, like just having 101 poise out of the gate and imagining the stupid look on your opponent's face when the stomp just doesn't take.
№ 48 — Lifesteal Fist


I'm doing my best to rank these as objectively as possible, so it makes me a bit sour that I have to place one of my favorite occult ashes around the mid-tier range, but as cool as I think it looks and feels, consistent is the one thing it is not.

Counting it as a critical hit means it gets a nice handy boost from the dagger talisman, and it also means it's unnecessarily difficult hitting anything on an incline steeper than the curvature of the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ planet.

It's one of the only occult ashes that scale off weapon level and a player stat, and slapping on a weapon buff like Scholar's Armament or Electrify Armament apparently helps this out quite a bit.

It is a suspiciously large amount of help.

Not sure how a flap magic buff is throttling damage this hard, but this ash has been overlooked for almost the entirety of the game's lifespan, so I'm perfectly willing to look the other way and not ask questions.
№ 47 — Raptor of the Mists


There's a lot going on with this weapon ash, and if for whatever reason you put this on a dagger or something and kept whipping the follow-ups, then I guess I can't blame you too much for not giving this further consideration.

It has a really weird learning curve to it, but this ash actually has many strange convenient uses, like dodging through the chariots and hero's grave dungeons, or just ducking below certain attacks with wide sweeping hitboxes that don't touch the ground, like thrusting attacks from knights.

The FB only being consumed upon dodging and not upon initial activation of the skill makes it prone to spamming and a bit of a pain to deal with in PvP.

It's fun to use, and it's got a lot of weird little practical benefits, but it's not something I'd break my back over.
№ 46 — Shield Bash


It does piss damage, it barely poise breaks anything anymore after 1.09, and any impulse I have to upgrade my shield all the way to plus 25 is immediately muffled by the fact that I'd rather just dedicate those smithing stones to an axe or something, because I'm not Captain ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ America.

But the hyper armor on this ash could probably contend with the blast force of an atom bomb, let alone trade against things like Dragonclaw.

Anything that's even close to you just stumbles backward like they forgot how many legs they have, and no one ever expects you to whip this out if you're main handing a unique weapon, so it's practically free damage the first time you use it.
№ 45 — Enchanted Shot


If this thing fires, you're just ♥♥♥♥♥♥.

Either time your dodge within the hair-long window, or just rush the ♥♥♥♥ out of whoever's firing it.

You do not want that arrow to go off.

Do everything in your power to stop that animation.

In PvE, it's wonderful for farming single enemies that would try to run or just be annoying to fight.

The range on the arrows is just disgusting to the point of almost feeling scummy in certain cases.

It's great for chasing down low HP stragglers in PvP, and they better be at a single sliver because this does all the damage of a potato peeler being launched by a rubber band.
№ 44 — Sword Dance


It has some similarities to Spinning Slash that's vital to understanding how it works and what weapon you should put it on.

Like before, one-handed swords use the first animation, great weapons use the second, halberds and reapers use the third, and twin blades use the fourth.

Sword Dance ends up being much friendlier towards all weapon types instead of just being kind of better with two versus the others.

The initial two attacks have a surprising amount of hyper armor, which is kind of funny on one-handed weapons like axes and katanas.

Great hammers usually eat that ♥♥♥♥ up like a midnight snack, so it's really satisfying watching a strength build get tripped up by what they think is essentially a vegetable skewer in comparison.

Great weapons and pole arms give you slower animation, but higher MVs and a longer stagger if it hits.

But committing to the second half of the skill is honestly asking for someone to reach behind you and give you a second butthole.
№ 43 — Bloody Slash


The reach of this skill I think might be one of the most underestimated just because so few people use it, and that leads to landing powerful damage on people you debatably just shouldn't.

Against gank squads, judgment among the group can sometimes be very lacking, which ultimately leads to them getting hit by stupid ♥♥♥♥ like this stupid ash, for instance.

Losing 50 plus HP per use means it's quite the gamble to just mindlessly fling this out without decent vigor, and the debilitatingly slow recovery understandably negates a lot of interest people would have in the skill.

But the damage it's capable of is well worth whatever mind games you have to play to position people in front of it.

Toss this on a flambeige and the damage output starts to become comical.
№ 42 — Holy Ground


The sheer rejection of damage this ash gives you is more than enough to at least be considered on any build in PvP.

It stacks with so many other healing items and incantations.

It lasts for 35 seconds, which is a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ of time in both duels and in boss fights.

The 30 FP to launch it is a bit of a steep price, but it makes sense for the value of the ash.

I might consider casting a preemptive zoning spell to make sure I don't get clobbered during the long windup, but the fact that it can be slapped on smaller shields means I can just have this in my inventory, cast it, and then slam that ♥♥♥♥ back into my cargo pants and return to two-handing my Zweihander.

Just be careful if someone decides to counterzone the area by throwing on some chilling mist right on top of the Holy Ground, because yeah, then you probably won't be able to use it.
№ 41 — Flame of the Redmanes


10 ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ stance damage is pretty pathetic, at least compared to its pre-nerf big brother at 30.

It's definitely not worth investing in if you already have your eye on something like Lion's Claw or Giant Hunt, but 180 base fire damage is still pretty jacked, and any projectile that's slow enough to mess with people's heads can always be followed up with another attack they weren't counting on.

It penetrates enemies, making it useful for clearing clouds of Mirandas, zombies, vulgar militia, overzealous invaders, and scaling with strength means it can give weapons like the Bloodstained Dagger and the Star Fists a decent ranged option.
№ 40 — Lion's Claw


The sheer agility with which you can just fling this ♥♥♥♥ out, combined with the damage potential on high level builds, makes this an Ashe that's truly in a class of its own.

And if I were ranking these based solely on damage prospects, this Ash would be number one with very little competition.

Lion's Claw is thought of as a beginner Ash in the same way Glintstone Cometshard is looked at as a beginner sorcery.

Its flexibility lies in its straightforward concept and ease of use.

It's a good distance closer, it has hyper armor that activates as quickly as the first ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ frame of the animation, meaning you can literally just do this skill whenever the hell you want.

And as long as you have the health to tank whatever's being thrown at you for the next half second, it's going to land its mark with very little consequence.

But as useful as it is in PvE settings, it might be one of the worst Ashes to ever take into online scuffles.

Anyone who's even slightly paying attention can dodge this and punish with anything they like while you're busy picking your ass up from the whiff.
№ 39 — Double Slash


Swords and polearms capable of slashing sounds pretty restrictive until you think about what all that encompasses.

Reapers, regular and curved greatswords, halberds, more than just katanas is what I'm saying.

It seems people are only interested in throwing this on katanas, and an Ash like this on Nagakiba is undeniably strong, but it really catches people by surprise when they see you whip this out on a halberd.

It's expectedly slower on bigger weapons, but it still ends up being faster than a standard R1 chain, which is very important on status builds.

And if uninterrupted, the sheer number of slashes guarantees at least one or two hits in a duel.

It's a pretty solid choice.
№ 38 — War Cry


This Ash is a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ trading machine in PvP. If you're charging up a heavy, you can run straight into a colossal R1 and that ♥♥♥♥'ll just bounce right off of you.

Typically, you'll eat a bit of damage this way, as is the case with how trades go.

The charged heavy damage is certainly significant, especially when accompanied with Roar Medallion and Axe Talisman, but damage by itself isn't enough to win duels.

The initial activation feels like it has a bit of hyper armor to it, but activating it on a reflex, thinking someone's attack is just going to recoil off of you is a great way to end up in someone's fail montage.

The running charge is a little too slow on colossal weapons for my taste.

I tend to run this Ash on a Greatsword or a Great Axe because I feel like those two weapon classes give you the best possible damage without being too compromising on speed.
№ 37 — Blood Blade


It might be objectively worse and less efficient than the default Blood Blade skill on the Reduvia, but leaving the argument there I think is kinda disingenuous.

The secret strength to regular Blood Blade is that it can be put on more weapon types than just daggers. It can be put on curved swords, katanas, and even twin blades.

This is important to remember because the weapon itself also has an attack hitbox during this skill, not just the blood projectile, meaning you can potentially double the blood buildup on a Blood Affinity weapon by getting up close to an enemy and hitting them with it during the skill.

And this benefit gets pretty stupid on a weapon like the Nagakiba.
№ 36 — Golden Parry


Easily the second best parry tool the game gives you.

Two additional frames gives it 13 total parry frames compared to the regular parry's 11, can even be put on medium shields with no detriment to the amount of parry frames, and the so-called slight distance it reaches forward actually isn't all that slight.

You know those morons that take two parries to actually be stance broken for some reason?

That's what you use this for: Margit, Bellbearing Hunters, Crucible Knights, Godskin ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, you can parry great spears at a comfortable range, and even parry Moonveil Spammers if you get lucky, and the frames magically line up because god knows you're not pulling that off with sheer skill on this ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ netcode.
№ 35 — Prayerful Strike


Winning trades has never been easier.

If there was a single press X to win function for Sacred Affinity weapons in the whole game, this right here is it.

Prayerful Strike has attack MVs of 235 and a poise MV of 600.



So if whatever's standing in the way doesn't get their kneecaps eviscerated, it'll at least do massive damage regardless of faith scaling.

Not like that's even important because it's compatible with other affinities like Heavy, Keen, and Quality.

A couple things are holding it back like the restrictive range of weapon types and the wind-up speed of your dad's ♥♥♥♥♥♥ lawnmower, but it still ends up having great utility in more situations than when it doesn't.
№ 34 — Hoarfrost Stomp


Some of you ought to be ashamed of yourselves.

A complete mozzarella cheese cube of an Ashe gets a couple nerfs to prevent speedruns from being as easy as a children's coloring book and everyone just spits on it and gives it the silent treatment for the next 10 months.

Is status all we think about anymore?

The Cold Infusion might not be the wall of desecration it used to be, but throwing this on a magic-infused weapon can still choke a good thousand damage or so out of it.

It's a nice, comfortable, wide fanning attack that gives dagger and fist builds a dependable ranged option.

It can bottleneck enemies in tight dungeon hallways.

It's good at keeping invisible enemies and invaders away from you because people just forget about the second hit.

Put down the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ pole blade for a second and just give it a shot, okay?

I promise.
It's good.
№ 33 — Rain of Arrows


I'm okay with people disagreeing on how high I put this Ashe in the video, as long as people can acknowledge that I may have developed Stockholm Syndrome from how many times the golem guarding it kicked the ♥♥♥♥ out of me.

The placement of this Ashe is bordering on cruel and unusual, which is obviously because the Ashe enables that same cruelty against big dragons, big targets, and anything in dungeons because it goes through ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ ceilings despite literally being a physical projectile, and I'm completely okay with that.

If anything, I'd sooner question why Lightning can't do the same.

It's a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ video game.
Let us cheat for a little bit, come on.
№ 32 — Determination


I don't think it's as simple as RKR being better across the board when the FP cost gap is as wide as it is.

It's not that one is objectively more efficient than the other, it's just that you're expected to run into the two at completely different points in the journey.

Determination's 60% boost versus RKR's 80% is a no-brainer on paper, but some people swear on the FP efficiency of Determination, so after much deliberation, I've decided to just put these two right next to each other.
№ 31 — Royal Knight's Resolve


Guys, let's just be real with each other for a minute here.
This ♥♥♥♥ needed to go, okay?

I don't necessarily agree with the severity of the nerf, I think they did venture a bit into Scorched Earth territory, but something had to give with this.

Even if the FP efficiency versus Determination is arguable, 80% damage for your very next attack only became more powerful as time went on, and people began figuring out the intricacies of making a big-ass number go up.

RKR has always felt heavy-handed enough in PvP, but I personally think the Sledgehammer was inevitable the minute the first one-hit run was uploaded to YouTube.
№ 30 — Prelate's Charge


It's pretty obvious why the weapon type variety is so limited as soon as you use it the first time, but I think that's plenty forgivable enough as long as it comes with a quality organic syrup to dress up all those pancakes you're flipping.

Everyone knows you can put this on Great Stars to heal by pressing it into a group of enemies like you're forcing yourself into a crammed elevator, but now that patch 1.10 has come and went, it might give you more value if you either stick it on a colossal weapon, or just leave it on the one it comes with.

No matter how good your opponent is, few things are scarier than a giant spatula hurtling towards you at a speed just threatening enough for you to suddenly doubt your dodging capabilities at the exact critical moment.
№ 29 — Chilling Mist


Way too many people just flat out do not know how this is supposed to be used.

Proccing Frostbite with this isn't the hardest thing in the world if you're targeting really slow enemies or enemies with aggressive AI, but you even get the weapon buff as a bonus to further accelerate the buildup if it isn't doing enough work for you.

In PvP, this is a great enough zoning tool because a lot can happen in a sheer four seconds of time, but the attack comes out fast enough to be a good trading option if your poise is high enough, and if you do score a successful hit, it'll almost immediately proc on someone before they even have time to roll out of the cloud.

If you're fighting someone with a large weapon and you just have a pair of measly daggers, use the Mist Cloud to trap them in a tighter area where their weapon is more likely to ricochet off surfaces.

The mist isn't your main source of damage.
It gives you a weapon buff for a reason.
№ 28 — Vacuum Slice


This Ash gets constantly overshadowed by other more sensationalistic skills like Flaming Strike, Giant Hunt, Black Flame Tornado, whatever's popular with the kids today.

And that's honestly a real damn shame because Ashes like Vacuum Slice have only gotten better with time.

Over the past few months, it's seen changes like friendlier vertical aiming, general casting speed buffs, and a bunch of other helpful additions.

This was looked at as one of the more underwhelming weapon Ashes for a long time, so seeing it hit like a propane truck in 1.10 makes me feel like a proud fan in a way.

In PvP, firing this point blanket someone who's dumb enough to trade against it is just textbook hyper armor abuse.

I've seen dudes just casually whip this out against Crucible Horns and Dragonclaw, and they just shrug it off like a sinus infection.

It's amazing.
№ 27 — Barbaric Roar


If you're focusing solely on melee builds, the flexibility of this Ashe cannot be overstated.

Ashes like Warcry have a similar effect that alter your charged heavies into running charged heavies, whereas Barbaric Roar turns all your heavies into three-hit chains.

The more I play around with this Ash, the further I fall in love with it.

The fact that this is both a single heavy attack and a multi-hit combo makes it compatible with so many different talismans and physic combinations.

Half the weapons I slapped on it, I fully expected to not even be compatible with the Ashe, and it subsequently ended up being the most powerful on those weapons.

It took me six whole months to figure out you could put this ♥♥♥♥ on claws, and I don't think I can prepare anyone for the flat-out viciousness of having a three-hit combo with hyper armor behind a single button on a weapon with innate bleed.

That's climbing into felony levels of illegal.
№ 26 — Carian Retaliation


A lot of fun little benefits with this Ashe, aside from it obviously being mage-repellent.

A mini Glintblade Phalanx is one of the better spells you could ask for on a successful spell parry, as it gives you the opportunity to set up a bait.

Unlike Golden Retaliation, which immediately fires a predictable-as-♥♥♥♥ missile, or Thops's Barrier, which just flings it over the fence and into the neighbor's yard.

It only expends FP if the parry is successful, and it works on your own projectiles like the ones from Glintstone Scrap.

It only has six physical parry frames, but physical parries also cost zero FP.

And being compatible with medium shields means it can be put on shields with high base magic negation like the Albinauric Shield.
№ 25 — Barricade Shield


This being a standard shield Ash means it immediately gets filed into underrated no matter how good or bad it is.

Ever wanted to experience what it's like to run Fingerprint Shield without the cumbersome weight of facing rightful judgment from your peers?

Or the equip load?

Barricade Shield doesn't last long by any means, but that's also not its job.

As long as it can prevent one salvo of otherwise fatal attacks from something, it's solid.

Dodging is for turbo virgins.
Just block Malenia's waterfowl.
Sure, just hold up your shield and block the whole ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ thing.
№ 24 — Earthshaker


Another Ash I was planning to throw somewhere in the middle of the list and just not expect people to defend it.

And oh boy, am I glad I came to my senses before writing this paragraph, because I have literally thousands of hours invested into this game, and this is one of the few weapon Ashes I just never used.

And after landing that follow-up R2, I can honestly say this Ashe utterly ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ spanks.

It comes out much quicker than you'd expect for a heavy affinity Ash.

The decent hyper armor allows you to tank a reasonable amount of punishment that doesn't seem oppressive, but still takes a lot of effort to break through.

And most times, you won't even need to commit to the follow-up R2 because the shockwave alone can easily reach into the 2000s on an optimal build.
№ 23 — Piercing Fang


Somewhat similar to Impaling Thrust in that it punishes people who are overly reliant on shields.

And unlike Thrust, this one invalidates shields completely, so even if someone decides to whip out the fingerprint wall, you aren't exactly defenseless against it.

It has the damage of Giant Hunt plus shield penetration, which is extremely powerful no matter what situation you find yourself in.

So you might be wondering why I haven't mentioned those two yet, thus revealing both of them to be further up the list than this one.

That's because Piercing Fang comes with a single tremendous caveat, which is the fact that it can be parried significantly easier than the others.

Still, damage negation on small shields are usually ass, so I can't think of much of a reason to run Piercing Fang into a parry build anyways, but just something to consider.
№ 22 — Quickstep


Oh my, all the things I could say about this one.

Well, firstly, I think Quickstep getting a tiny nerf in 1.10 wrongfully dissuaded a lot of people from using it.

If your build lends itself to critical hits, Quickstep is far from the worst option you can be stuck with.

Backstepping is considerably easier in PvE because all you need to do is lock onto an enemy, Quickstep forward, and let the camera handle the angling for you, and the distance is comfortable enough.

You aren't careening yourself across the backyard and potentially off the side of a cliff or anything.

It's just stepping.
Preferably with a touch of quickness.
So as to say you are stepping quickly.
Wonder if there's a word for that.
№ 21 — Giant Hunt


I generally don't prefer this one over other options I personally vibe with more, like Impaling Thrust, but there's one specific trait that gives it a massive edge over other ashes, which is the fact that it can be put on colossal weapons.

This ash on the Greatsword absolutely just ♥♥♥♥♥ damage.

As the name implies, this ash gets more mileage against larger enemies and is a preferable option versus big bosses.

The upward stab makes it really easy to target the heads of dragons, and the sudden forward advance is pretty commonly underestimated among newer players in PvP, which leads to some pretty cheeky one shots.
№ 20 — Glintstone Pebble


Only allowing for swords and polearms capable of thrusting doesn't exactly enforce flexibility, but the fact that it can be used on two of the most oppressive weapon types in PvP more than makes up for it in my opinion.

I'm not here to weigh in on whether or not that poise nerf was needed way back when, because part of me doesn't even feel like it really matters.

The stance break was a nice cherry on top of the AIDS sundae, but it never dissuaded anyone from going for the subsequent R2.

That follow-up stab is as inevitable as daylight, and as a result, people usually expect it even if you intentionally delay it.

If you really want to make someone feel stupid, cast a pebble, and then just wait for the second roll before timing another one to hit them immediately after.
№ 19 — Impaling Thrust


I prefer this over Giant Hunt for a couple reasons.

Firstly, the turning radius is actually very flexible, so if you're able to do the skill and then quickly lock on to something during the startup, you can pretty much guarantee hits on enemies facing completely sideways, or in some cases, even with your back turned to them.

The damage isn't much, but the poise break potential is really something special.

It has the same MV as Giant Hunt, while also being able to go through shields and potentially hit multiple enemies.



And the recovery time is a little quicker, which opens the window into some stun-locking tactics.

It's straightforward, both literally and mechanically, and sometimes the simplest choice I think is the best.
№ 18 — Golden Vow


I can complain all I want about the Ash variant being less efficient than the spell, and I guess there would be somewhat of a good case there because this eventually gets completely overshadowed by rallying standard anyways, but that would be missing the point of the Ash completely.

I am not gonna sweat my balls off grinding out 25 Faith for a spell that's only marginally better than what I already have.

Golden Vow doesn't even need to be that powerful to stand out because the secret to its strength is the fact that it stacks with ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ everything.

So if you give me a cheap, stat-lenient alternative that saves me a good 10 or so levels down the road, you bet your left ash cheek I'm gonna take advantage of it.
№ 17 — Ice Spear


Didn't they give this a nerf like a year ago?

Well, whatever it was, I'm pretty sure it didn't do ass because this feels exactly as powerful as it was on day one.

This ash also has weapon hitboxes on the startup spin, which means using this in melee range can provide up to three extra attacks that each do their own poise damage.

When the projectile hits in tandem with this, it is a real cluster♥♥♥♥ to deal with because it'll either stance break smaller enemies in a single use, or it'll get dangerously close to procking frostbite.

Using it as a ranged option is good enough, but up close, it's exponentially more effective.

Enemies in PvE with dodge AI usually can't react quick enough to avoid it, and in PvP, those three initial attacks now offer reasonably good poise damage with an insanely quick startup and recovery, thanks to 1.10.

So if someone commits to attacking you and tries to flinch you out of it, they'll almost always get sucker punched by the projectile.
№ 16 — Seppuku


Why even waste the energy coming up with a whole ass paragraph for this one?
You already know why it's good.

The fact that it exists within any proximity of Lord of Blood exaltation means you don't even need a bleed build to get its benefits.

It works on a more spacious range of weapon types than it has any right to, and the ash exaltation combo ends up giving you a 30% damage boost right out of the gate, or 22% in PvP.

There are very few weapon ashes that measure up to a buff like this in single player, but on the other hand, someone can very easily fundamentalize your ass by throwing out law of regression, and none of it matters anymore.
№ 15 — Waves of Darkness


Stops entire invasion squads in their tracks, has separate parts that scale either with weapon level or intelligence, making it extremely flexible, and the hyper armor on the startup lets you take hits like a cement wall.

I haven't found a single thing in PvE that isn't a grab that can knock you out of this. In PvP, that might be different because a slightly competent bleed build could probably chew through it, but the noticeable delay on the third shock wave makes for plenty of fun to be had in duels, and the point-blank damage this ash is capable of, it just, it needs to be talked about.
№ 14 — Stormcaller


Stormcaller has an interesting dynamic to it, and by interesting, I mean ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, and by ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, I mean only when I'm the one getting hit by it.

Taking advantage of the lingering AoE hitboxes in a closed space should be legally considered cyberbullying.

It's both a zoning AoE and a damage nuke in a single ash.

The fact that it's literally just wind makes it hard to judge the effective distance on the receiving end, and the tiny dodge windows in between being smacked generally leads people to, using scientific terms, spaz the ♥♥♥♥ out.

Ideally used on status weapons with longer range like the Nagakiba, Great Hammers with special effects like Great Stars, pretty much any Halberd.

It's just too good.
№ 13 — Black Flame Tornado


This is one of the very few ashes I can think of that communicates everything you need to know about how strong it is by just being visually satisfying.

Hearing the words Black Flame Tornado strung together in the sequence makes it hard to not be interested.

Black Flame means much less work you have to do in areas you're severely underleveled for, and the DOT effect doesn't reset like other Black Flame incantations, so if something is caught in the AoE for more than like two seconds, the damage starts rolling up like someone dropped a car tire on a kitchen scale.

It receives a bit of flack just because anything that's an AoE with a quick windup gets an earful in the PvP scene, but the extremely long animation locks you in place, meaning it's not too hard for someone to bait out the skill while their cousin is standing behind you tossing boulders up your ass.
№ 12 — CragBlade


More physical damage, more poise damage, at the same ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ time.

This is THE weapon ash for strength builds. CragBlade is incredibly good on both lighter and heavier weapons for completely different reasons.

The 10% poise damage buff can give weapons like straight swords and daggers an actual incentive to be aggressive towards regular-sized enemies, mostly because you're just gonna stance break them that much quicker, and with 15% more physical damage on a build where you've already throttled your AR, the sheer punishment you can churn out with some weapons is just merciless.

On heavier weapons, those charged R2s are no joke, and 10% more poise damage is usually all you need to stance break big bosses in one less hit.
№ 11 — Endure


Are you tired of being interrupted when you're just trying to have a rational discussion?

With Endure, you get to finish all those thoughts whether people like it or not.

People see the number 3 and just dismiss it without ever trying it.

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, have you seen the damage values in this game?
Three seconds is all you need.

What is that, wave of destruction?
Get that ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ crap out of my face and take my dagger spam.

Nice godslayer greatsword.

Have you considered showing it to someone who gives a ♥♥♥♥?
Endure is the perfect setup for whatever attack you want to land, and it's basically become the signature tell of I'm about to do something reckless.

Unfortunately, its applications in PvE are limited, which prevents me from ranking this too highly, just because I don't want to be the 57,000th person to tell you it can be used to tank the chariots in the hero's graves.

But also, that's just because I already gave that tip for two other ashes.
№ 10 — Glintblade Phalanx


I made a habit of driving home what a huge utility it was just to pre-arm a salvo of floating toothpicks above your head in past videos, but I never touched on the online aspect of how downright un-pitying this can be against other players.

For starters, it's the less common of the two versus pebbles, so sometimes you can get lucky and match up with someone who just doesn't know this ash has the same follow-up stab.

Having Vergil summon swords above your head gives you an avenue into some pretty deep mind games and duels.

You can use them to lead into a roll catch, or you can cast at a distance and fake a commit to close in before turning around and suddenly sprinting back at them with all the piss and vinegar in your body.

If you anticipate a stance break, you can be charging up a bigger attack while the swords are still making their way to the target.

Lots of flexibility, great poise damage, and over time, I'd say it's one of the few ashes that have remained fun, no matter how you're playing.
№ 9 — Thunderbolt


Highly dependable, usable on all weapons, both lightning and keen affinity, can be cast indefinitely until out of FP, it'll knock a sizable portion off of someone's health bar in PvP, and it's surprisingly not too hard to land, considering there's no visual to go off of when trying to space it out.

So even if it's outside the effective range, people almost always dodge off of instinct alone.

It's a great ganking tool because being smited by ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ god is the last thing someone ever thinks about when trying not to get roll caught by a running R1, and it's ease of use allows for spam sandwiching big bosses for half their health in a few short seconds.

It bakes whatever you're pointing at, regardless of environment, and it's one of the few ashes not being targeted for a nerf, no matter how many people complain about it.
№ 8 — Phantom Slash


At around 3000 AR per combo with end game stats, regardless of its affinity, it's not exactly like this ash is aching for service or anything, but just as an extra measure, let's target this ash towards weapons like Guardian, Swordspear, and Knight Rider Glaive.

The Halberd category already has some of the strongest infusible weapons in the game, so it makes sense that an ash dedicated to that weapon type would also be unreasonably strong, but someone had way too much fun here.

I'm getting upwards of 5000 AR per combo on a Keen Guardian's Swordspear, and all my stats are set to 60 in this clip, so these numbers can still be pushed much further than what I'm showing.

You can also shoot the spirit clone forward despite running sideways if you're locked onto someone, allowing you to score some pretty amusing hits and duels.
№ 7 — Wild Strikes


Mark my ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ words from the bottom of my heart, anything you can think of, any possible benefit you would consider when deciding on an ash, Wild Strikes will give you.
  • It has flexibility,
  • it has finesse,
  • it's compatible with a ridiculously wide range of talismans,
  • the follow-up heavy attack offers hysterically good poise damage,
  • you have constant hyper armor for as long as you can swing,
  • the continuous attacking lends itself to status builds, wingswords builds, stance break builds,
  • the follow-up light attack can hit multiple enemies in a wide arc,
  • it's usable on lighter and heavier weapons, strong with lifesteal effects on weapons like great stars,
  • you can throw it on the rusted anchor with spear talisman, giving you one of the most oppressive blender builds in the whole game since rusted anchor deals pierce damage.

  • It stunlocks smaller dudes,
  • it shreds through bigger dudes,
  • it leaves very little room for counterplay against other melee builds and PvP, it's one of the greats.
№ 6 — Beast's Roar


Really think about this one for a minute.

This is a Keen Affinity Ashe, meaning it's likely going to be placed on builds that have very little ranged options outside of consumables.

It's the only ranged Ashe with Keen Affinity and despite having low startup damage, it can be buffed by a large variety of talismans.

It casts fast and it moves quick, relatively easy to dodge if you know it's coming but people always underestimate either the speed or the range or they misread the startup animation as a pre-fight buff like Warcry without ever considering the possibility of a truck-sized wall of air suddenly smacking them in the face with the velocity of a cannonball.

It's an accessible ranged option for any build and the fact that you can wring great damage out of it with enough effort makes this one of the most versatile Ashes you could ever ask for.
№ 5 — Storm Blade


This boatload dump truck Denny's Grand Slam of a weapon Ashe can outtrade the biggest of bonking sticks.

It'll knock down mages like bowling pins and it can stand up to the heaviest hitting incantations.

It's lightweight, it's spammable, it's just powerful enough in PvP to make people mad when you whip it out and it'll hard carry any build you force it into for at least the first three legacy dungeons.

The weapon itself will register damage if you're close enough to an enemy for it to physically land which makes trading against colossal weapons very uniquely amusing.

It has very few hard counters, it can take massive bites out of endgame health bars with just a small portion of FP and it's just an all-around wonderful Ashe to have.
№ 4 — Unsheath


Obviously it's an Ashe exclusive to Katanas which makes sense but single-weapon type Ashes are usually extremely restrictive.

Honestly, I started this paragraph fully intent on tossing this one somewhere in the mid-30s just because there's a grand total of two Katanas in the entire game you can actually put this on.

But looking at the motion values this Ashe gives you and especially considering how quicklessly and aimlessly you can just fling this out with minimal risk, it's really hard to ignore what an iron-fisted dominance this skill has over most of the game.

The Stanced Heavy has attack MVs of 245 and a poise MV of 600 which if you have even a marginal knowledge of how motion values work is thrillingly stupid.



It's downright lunacy is what it is.

This is basically a Charged Heavy at maybe three or four times the speed and a recovery more forgiving than you'll ever deserve.

And in case the Nagakiba didn't already seem tyrannically long as it is, it's about to feel much, much longer.
№ 3 — Bloodhound Step


I'm not happy about this either so let's just get it over with.

Oh my god, you absolute buffoons.
You witless creatures of the land.

Bloodhound Step being as broken as it is had nothing to do with the amount of iframes it gave you.

The reason it continues to be a sore spot for most of the game's player base is because it gives people a consistent low FP option to engage and disengage from threats whenever they ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ feel like it.

When an ability this accessible allows any Joe Schmoe to completely control the momentum of fights this one-sidedly, people are gonna start feeling a little hopeless.

They're gonna start asking themselves, Jesus, did that no-hit run really mean anything?

It cancels recovery animations, for ♥♥♥♥'s sake!
№ 2 — Braggart's Roar


On paper, it's already an improved iteration of War Cry.

Braggart's Roar gives you a 10% physical damage buff versus Warcry's 7.5.

It also throws all these random buffs at you like damage reduction and stamina regen, which just kinda sounds like unnecessary embellishing at first.

But it isn't until you actually take this thing into a scuffle or two when you start realizing the value of all of those buffs.

Stamina regen and damage reduction lends itself to melee trades, which is even further weighted in your favor due to the hyper armor on charged heavies.

Stamina regen is already the unsung hero of Elden Ring because it's just more actions you have available in the same time period.

But when you're trading in duels, one good whack is almost always the difference between life and death, making stamina regen absurdly powerful in pretty much all PvP situations.

And PvE ones for that matter.

Additionally, a charged heavy is usually enough to stance break even medium-sized enemies with a single attack.

And that's if you don't flatten them outright.
№ 1 — Flaming Strike


I don't think I can properly explain to you how simple-mindedly, knob-headedly, inexorably vapid and bereft of intelligence this Ashe can be on long-range weapons.

Remember guys, PvP isn't about weapon timing or spatial knowledge or any of that ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.

It's all about maximum efficiency versus minimum effort.

Sure, let's put Catch Flame on a Halberd and give it a lingering hitbox that barely outpaces the average dodge duration.

Can you really say it's roll-catching if they never had anywhere to go to begin with?
Oh, and let's make it do like 900 ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ damage on a dagger.
That'll get people talking.

Let's give daggers and straight swords a legitimately great Ashe that actually gives weapon types with subpar range a reliable way to contend with heavier, longer weapons.

And now let's just ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ give it to everyone else too.
Wouldn't that be so funny

Look, this guy put Flaming Strike on a Cross-Naginata.
How cheeky.

What are you doing with all that range you don't need?

Are you even playing the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ game at this point?
Don't want to learn proper spacing or how to time your combos?
You don't need to.

Just slap this Ashe on Knight Rider Glaive or a Pike and start L2-ing all over the floor.

♥♥♥♥, it's not like anyone can stop you.
6 Comments
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Babbles 31 Jan @ 6:07pm 
Hehe - "I'd give my left ash cheek" - brilliant :)
RobinRobout 14 Sep, 2023 @ 7:18am 
It's not a terrible list but of course any ranking list is going to have issues as most of it is subjective. Certain ashes just fit on to certain builds better and there's very few one size fits all option, so ranking all of them as if you would be using Unsheathe on the same build you'd want to use Black Flame Tornado or Eruption is always going to lead to weirdness.
SCARY RED MAN 8 Sep, 2023 @ 12:36pm 
Who made this? A 3 year old? Worst list ever, basically everything is incorrect :(
Jotake 3 Sep, 2023 @ 4:44am 
Incredible work :er_heart:
zsm 1 Sep, 2023 @ 6:41am 
!
Vortex_Riker 1 Sep, 2023 @ 6:09am 
All these guides/videos are very misleading and biased. If you enjoy what you are using then you probably should use it. Anything else is just silly squabbles.