Best Ashes of War in Elden Ring

Here are the best Ashes of War in Elden Ring

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/From Software

Looking for the best Ashes of War in Elden Ring? Not to be confused with Spirit Ashes (summonable spectres that can aid you in combat), Ashes of War are unique skills that can be applied to weapons and shields in Elden Ring .

Whether it’s your first time playing Elden Ring or you’re looking to try a different build before the Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC releases, picking the right Ashes of War can be imperative for a successful playthrough.

Below, we’ve gathered the best Ashes of War for a range of weapons and stats so that there is something for everyone. This includes the best Ashes of War for Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Faith, Arcane, Quality and PvP builds. We’ll also go through how you can equip new Ashes of War and what affinities mean in the game.

In this guide:

• Best Strength build Ashes of War
• Best Faith build Ashes of War
• Best Arcane build Ashes of War
• Best Intelligence build Ashes of War
• Best Dexterity build Ashes of War
• Best Quality build Ashes of War
• Best PvP Ashes of War
• Affinities explained
• How to equip Ashes of War

Best Strength build Ashes of War

Lion’s Claw

The Lion’s Claw Ashes of War will require traversal into Caelid. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/From Software

• Applicable weapons: Swords, Axes and Hammers (includes Greatswords and Colossal weapons).
• FP Cost: 20.
• Recommended Affinity: Heavy.

The Lion’s Claw Ashes of War is a skill in which players will crouch and then perform a somersault, which strikes a heavy blow to foes afterwards. This strike delivers stance damage and cannot be parried but cannot be charged. When preparing the move, you are granted some invulnerability.

The Lion’s Claw Ashes of War works best with a Strength build , kitted out with a Greatsword or Colossal weapon. This is due to the stance damage output which scales with the size and type of weapon it is paired with. Straight Swords and Katanas will usually deal 30 stance damage, whilst Colossal weapons deal upwards of 45 stance damage .

This skill is relatively easy to perform, effective when dealing with shielded foes and holds up well into the later areas of the game.

How to get the Lion’s Claw

The Lion’s Claw Ashes of War comes already attached to the Claymore (located in a chest, within Castle Morne). Otherwise, you can pick it up from defeating the Lion Guardian in Fort Gael , Caelid (south of the Rotview balcony). The creature will be prowling within the outer courtyard.

Best Faith build Ashes of War

Black Flame Tornado

The Black Flame Tornado Skill is heavily used during the Godskin Duo boss fight. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/From Software

• Applicable weapons: Polearms, Twinblades, Spears, Great Spears, Halberds and Reapers.
• FP Cost: 30.
• Recommended Affinity: Fire.

The Black Flame Tornado Skill is a series of weapon spins that emit black flames in a torrent around you, followed by a plunge attack which casts further flames. This Elden Ring Skill can be charged and cannot be parried , as long as you have a supply of FP to fund it.

This Skill also applies fire damage with every hit as well as 33 stance damage , enabling you to stagger susceptible foes. This skill particularly works well with Faith builds as it will apply Faith scaling to your weapon along with the added Fire damage.

How to get the Black Flame Tornado

The Black Flame Tornado Skill is dropped upon defeating the Godskin Duo inside the Dragon Temple within the Crumbling Farum Azula region. These pesky bosses can offer quite the challenge, so be sure to check out our Godskin Duo boss guide for tips and tricks, along with our step-by-step on how to get to the Crumbling Farum Azula region in Elden Ring.

Best Arcane build Ashes of War

Bloody Slash

As the name would suggest, the Bloody Slash Ashes of War works best with a dexterous bleed build. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/From Software

• Applicable weapons: Daggers, Straight Swords, Greatswords, Curved Swords, Curved Greatswords, Katanas, Twinblades, Thrusting Swords and Heavy Thrusting Swords.
• FP Cost: 6.
• Recommended Affinity: Blood.

The Bloody Slash Ashes of War sacrifices a portion of your HP pool (0.05 x your max HP + 50) in return for an upwards slash attack, in a wide arc that deals 12 stance damage and bleed build-up .

This Skill was further improved with the 1.07 Elden Ring patch which increased the bleed status buildup, attack power and decreased the delay between performing the skill and subsequent actions.

As a ‘Blood’ type Ashes of War, it’s a solid choice for any bleed build or Arcane build (the stat of which will increase with this Ashes of War). Additionally, the skill cannot be parried as long as you have a viable portion of FP to perform it. Be wary though, as the skill will still take your HP even if you don’t have the FP to successfully emit the attack.

How to get the Bloody Slash

The Bloody Slash Ashes of War can be retrieved upon defeating a Godrick Knight , located at the top of Fort Haight in Limgrave. You’ll come by this region naturally if you’re following the Kenneth Haight sidequest which can be picked up in the north-east of Limgrave, near the Third Church of Marika Site of Grace .

Best Intelligence build Ashes of War

Waves of Darkness

Astel, Naturalborn of the Void is technically an optional boss fight in Elden Ring. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/From Software

• Applicable weapons: Great Hammers, Greataxes, Colossal Weapons and Great Spears.
• FP Cost: 16, then 5 when using the follow-up heavy attack.
• Recommended Affinity: Magic.

The Waves of Darkness is classified as a ‘Magic’ affinity Ashes of War, meaning it will increase the Intelligence stat scaling of the weapon it is grafted to, but will decrease physical attributes like Strength and Dexterity. As such, this Ashes of War is best suited for a predominately Intelligence-based build .

The Waves of Darkness Weapon Skill enables your Tarnished to plunge their weapon into the ground and emit three large waves of energy, followed by a strong attack and swinging attack. For this reason, it’s a fantastic choice for crowd control when faced with multiple enemies at once.

The Skill can deal upwards of 34 stance damage , with more damage output the higher your Intelligence is.

How to get the Waves of Darkness

You can get the Waves of Darkness Ashes of War by trading the Remembrance of the Naturalborn with Enia at the Roundtable Hold . This means you must defeat one of the toughest bosses in the game, Astel, Naturalborn of the Void. Luckily, we have a guide full of tips for taking on the Astel boss fight , which will require you to journey through Ranni’s questline towards Nokstella, Eternal City.

Best Dexterity build Ashes of War

Bloodhound’s Step

With the Bloodhound’s Step, you can quite literally turn invisible for a short amount of time. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/From Software

• Applicable weapons: All melee weapons.
• FP Cost: 5, plus 12 to stamina.
• Recommended Affinity: Keen.

The Bloodhound’s Step Ashes of War is a firm favourite amongst players looking to optimise a Dexterity build - and for good reason. This Weapon Skill in Elden Ring can essentially turn players invisible for a short time whilst they dodge at an increased speed. As you can imagine, this is a particularly effective skill against singular enemies and bosses, as it will allow you to gain a better vantage point and avoid incoming attacks.

The Bloodhound’s Step is extremely versatile across playstyles as it can be applied to virtually any weapon as long as they’re melee-based. What’s more, if you’re out of FP it will simply take more of your stamina instead, to perform the move.

The distance you can dodge with the Bloodhound’s Step is about twice the amount of a medium roll and in that time, you have access to vital invincibility frames .

How to get the Bloodhound’s Step

The Bloodhound’s Step Skill is dropped by a Night’s Cavalry on a bridge, north of Lenne’s Rise in Dragonbarrow, Caelid. Due to the limited space on the bridge, we recommend tackling this foe whilst on foot. When de-seated from horseback, this enemy is vulnerable to critical hits.

Best Quality build Ashes of War

Storm Blade

The Storm Blade Ashes of War can provide a solid ranged attack option for melee builds. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/From Software

• Applicable weapons: All ‘slashing’ type melee weapons. This includes Daggers, Straight Swords, Greatswords, Curved Swords, Curved Greatswords, Katanas, Thrusting Swords and Heavy Thrusting Swords.
• FP Cost: 10, with additional attacks costing 6 FP.
• Recommended Affinity: Quality.

As a ‘Quality’ type Ash of War, Elden Ring’s Storm Blade Skill is perfect for players looking to divest equal points into both Strength and Dexterity.

The Storm Blade Skill essentially summons a small whirlwind which can be propelled towards enemies at a distance, providing a ranged attack for melee players. When struck, enemies will take 10 stance damage apiece, leaving them open to follow-up attacks.

This skill cannot be parried and cannot be charged. As per the 1.07 patch , the skill was further boosted with an increase in speed, range, and damage detection. Furthermore, the delay between performing the skill and subsequent actions was decreased.

How to get Storm Blade

You can buy the Storm Blade Ashes of War from Knight Bernahl at the Warmaster’s Shack on Stormhill in Limgrave for 1,800 Runes.

Best PvP Ashes of War

Spinning Slash

With the repeated Spinning Slash attacks, rivals will struggle to retaliate and recover. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/From Software

• Applicable weapons: Daggers, Straight Swords, Greatswords, Curved Swords, Curved Greatswords, Katanas, Twinblades, Axes, Greataxes, Spears, Great Spears, Halberds and Reapers.
• FP Cost: 6.
• Recommended Affinity: Keen.

When it comes to PvP, preferred Ashes of War will change depending on your build and playstyle. The Spinning Slash Ashes of War is fairly versatile and can be applied to most Swords, Axes and Polearms.

This Skill allows players to unleash a flurry of blows in a 360-degree turn, followed by a strong attack. The speed of the attacks will increase depending on the lightness of your weapon and the attacks can deal upwards of 33 stance damage .

As per the 1.07 Elden Ring patch, poise damage was increased further against enemies equipped with either a Greatsword, Curved Greatsword, Twinblade, Greataxe, Spear, Great Spear, Halberd, or Reaper.

Genreally, the best PvP Ashes of War is heavily contested within the Elden Ring community, but most agree that the Spinning Slash and Royal Knight’s Resolve are top contenders. The Royal Knight’s Resolve applies a buff that increases the bonus damage of your next attack. Unfortunately, as per the 1.09 patch , this damage buff went from 80% to 40% (for PvP only), hence why Spinning Slash takes the top spot on this list.

The Thunderbolt, Square Off, Endure and Carian Retaliation Ashes of War are also fantastic contenders for PvP.

How to get the Spinning Slash

The Spinning Slash Ashes of War can be bought from Knight Bernahl at the Warmaster’s Shack on Stormhill in Limgrave for 1,200 Runes. It is also the default skill for many armaments in Elden Ring such as the Gargoyle’s Halberd, Draghon Halberd and Nightrider Glaive.

Ashes of War: Affinities explained

Each Ashes of War in Elden Ring can be applied with an Affinity , which dictates which stats they affect. This can either buff or nerf the stat scaling of the weapon it is attached to. This means, for example, if you are playing with a Dex build, you’ll mostly likely want ‘Keen’ Ashes of War that increase Dexterity scaling.

We’ll go through each Affinity below and which stats they affect so you can make an informed choice when selecting Ashes of War for your build.

How to equip Ashes of War

You can swap freely between Ashes of War so long as the weapon supports new infusions. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/From Software

To equip new Ashes of War in Elden Ring, you can visit any Site of Grace and select the ‘Ashes of War’ option. From here, you can apply Ashes of War to equipped armaments and weapons within your inventory.

When selecting a weapon and the Ash of War you wish to infuse it with, you’ll be offered a list of Affinities to choose from which will increase and decrease speficic stats (see above for a rundown of all Affinity types).

You’ll receive the option to apply Ashes of War once you have obtained the Whetstone Knife from inside a chest beneath the Gatefront Ruins in Limgrave. If you have missed this chest, you can also purchase a Whetstone Knife from the Twin Maiden Husks at the Roundtable Hold for 500 Runes.

There is currently no way to upgrade Ashes of War , so their baseline damage and active effects will remain the same. Luckily, it doesn’t cost anything to change Ashes of War, so you can try out new ones and swap them between weapons as much as you like, so long as the weapon supports it.

That rounds off our guide to the best Ashes of War in Elden Ring and where to get them. For more Elden Ring tips and tricks see our best weapons , best armor , Talismans , builds or boss locations guides.

Elden Ring

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All 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints and where to get them

These areas have the highest chance of giving you Blueprints

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Looking for more Arc Raiders Blueprints? It’s a special day when you find a Blueprint, as they’re among the most valuable items in Arc Raiders. If you find a Blueprint that you haven’t already found, then you must make sure you hold onto it at all costs, because Blueprints are the key to one of the most important and powerful systems of meta-progression in the game.

This guide aims to be the very best guide on Blueprints you can find, starting with a primer on what exactly they are and how they work in Arc Raiders, before delving into exactly where to get Blueprints and the very best farming spots for you to take in your search.

We’ll also go over how to get Blueprints from other unlikely activities, such as destroying Surveyors and completing specific quests. And you’ll also find the full list of all 75 Blueprints in Arc Raiders on this page (including the newest Blueprints added with the Cold Snap update , such as the Deadline Blueprint and Firework Box Blueprint), giving you all the information you need to expand your own crafting repertoire.

In this guide:

• What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?
• Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes
• Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders Blueprints obtained from quests Blueprints obtained from Trials Best Blueprint farming locations

What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?

Blueprints in Arc Raiders are special items which, if you manage to extract with them, you can expend to permanently unlock a new crafting recipe in your Workshop. If you manage to extract from a raid with an Anvil Blueprint, for example, you can unlock the ability to craft your very own Anvil Pistol, as many times as you like (as long as you have the crafting materials).

To use a Blueprint, simply open your Inventory while in the lobby, then right-click on the Blueprint and click “Learn And Consume” . This will permanently unlock the recipe for that item in your Workshop. As of the Stella Montis update, there are allegedly 75 different Blueprints to unlock - although only 68 are confirmed to be in the game so far. You can see all the Blueprints you’ve found and unlocked by going to the Workshop menu, and hitting “R” to bring up the Blueprint screen.

It’s possible to find duplicates of past Blueprints you’ve already unlocked. If you find these, then you can either sell them, or - if you like to play with friends - you can take it into a match and gift it to your friend so they can unlock that recipe for themselves. Another option is to keep hold of them until the time comes to donate them to the Expedition.

Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes

Below is the full list of all the Blueprints that are currently available to find in Arc Raiders, and the crafting recipe required for each item:

Note: The missing Blueprints in this list likely have not actually been added to the game at the time of writing, because none of the playerbase has managed to find any of them. As they are added to the game, I will update this page with the most relevant information so you know exactly how to get all 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints.

Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders

Below is a list of all containers, modifiers, and events which maximise your chances of finding Blueprints:

• Certain quests reward you with specific Blueprints .
• Completing Trials has a high chance of offering Blueprints as rewards.
• Surveyors have a decent chance of dropping Blueprints on death.
• High loot value areas tend to have a greater chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Night Raids and Storms may increase rare Blueprint spawn chances in containers.
• Containers with higher numbers of items may have a higher tendency to spawn Blueprints. As a result, Blue Gate (which has many “large” containers containing multiple items) may give you a higher chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Raider containers (Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, Medical Bags, Grenade Tubes) have increased Blueprint drop rates. As a result, the Uncovered Caches event gives you a high chance of finding Blueprints.
• Security Lockers have a higher than average chance of containing Blueprints.
• Certain Blueprints only seem to spawn under specific circumstances: Tempest Blueprint only spawns during Night Raid events. Vulcano Blueprint only spawns during Hidden Bunker events. Jupiter and Equaliser Blueprints only spawn during Harvester events.

Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, and other raider-oriented container types have a good chance of offering Blueprints. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints have a very low chance of spawning in any container in Arc Raiders, around 1-2% on average. However, there is a higher chance of finding Blueprints in particular container types. Specifically, you can find more Blueprints in Raider containers and security lockers.

Beyond this, if you’re looking for Blueprints you should focus on regions of the map which are marked as having particularly high-value loot. Areas such as the Control Tower in Dam Battlegrounds, the Arrival and Departure Buildings in Spaceport, and Pilgrim’s Peak in Blue Gate all have a better-than-average chance of spawning Blueprints somewhere amongst all their containers. Night Raids and Electromagnetic Storm events also increase the drop chances of certain Blueprints .

In addition to these containers, you can often loot Blueprints from destroyed Surveyors - the largest of the rolling ball ARC. Surveyors are more commonly found on the later maps - Spaceport and Blue Gate - and if one spawns in your match, you’ll likely see it by the blue laser beam that it casts into the sky while “surveying”.

Surveyors are quite well-armoured and will very speedily run away from you once it notices you, but if you can take one down then make sure you loot all its parts for a chance of obtaining certain unusual Blueprints.

Blueprints obtained from quests

One way in which you can get Blueprints is by completing certain quests for the vendors in Speranza. Some quests will reward you with a specific item Blueprint upon completion, so as long as you work through all the quests in Arc Raiders, you are guaranteed those Blueprints.

Here is the full list of all Blueprints you can get from quest rewards:

• Trigger Nade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Sparks Fly”.
• Lure Grenade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Greasing Her Palms”.
• Burletta Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Industrial Espionage”.
• Hullcracker Blueprint (and Launcher Ammo Blueprint): Rewarded after completing “The Major’s Footlocker”.

Alas, that’s only 4 Blueprints out of a total of 75 to unlock, so for the vast majority you will need to find them yourself during a raid. If you’re intent on farming Blueprints, then it’s best to equip yourself with cheap gear in case you lose it, but don’t use a free loadout because then you won’t get a safe pocket to stash any new Blueprint you find. No pain in Arc Raiders is sharper than failing to extract with a new Blueprint you’ve been after for a dozen hours already.

One of the best ways to get Blueprints is by hitting three stars on all five Trials every week. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints obtained from Trials

One of the very best ways to get Blueprints is as rewards for completing Trials in Arc Raiders. Trials are unlocked from Level 15 onwards, and allow you to earn rewards by focusing on certain tasks over the course of several raids. For example, one Trial might task you with dealing damage to Hornets, while another might challenge you to loot Supply Drops.

Trials refresh on a weekly basis, with a new week bringing five new Trials. Each Trial can offer up to three rewards after passing certain score milestones, and it’s possible to receive very high level loot from these reward crates - including Blueprints. So if you want to unlock as many Blueprints as possible, you should make a point of completing as many Trials as possible each week.

Best Blueprint farming locations

The very best way to get Blueprints is to frequent specific areas of the maps which combine high-tier loot pools with the right types of containers to search. Here are my recommendations for where to find Blueprints on every map, so you can always keep the search going for new crafting recipes to unlock.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Dam Battlegrounds

The best places to farm Blueprints on Dam Battlegrounds are the Control Tower, Power Generation Complex, Ruby Residence, and Pale Apartments . The first two regions, despite only being marked on the map as mid-tier loot, contain a phenomenal number of containers to loot. The Control Tower can also contain a couple of high-tier Security Lockers - though of course, you’ll need to have unlocked the Security Breach skill at the end of the Survival tree.

There’s also a lot of reporting amongst the playerbase that the Residential areas in the top-left of the map - Pale Apartments and Ruby Residence - give you a comparatively strong chance of finding Blueprints. Considering their size, there’s a high density of containers to loot in both locations, and they also have the benefit of being fairly out of the way. So you’re more likely to have all the containers to yourself.

Buried City

The best Blueprint farming locations on Buried City are the Santa Maria Houses, Grandioso Apartments, Town Hall, and the various buildings of the New District . Grandioso Apartments has a lower number of containers than the rest, but a high chance of spawning weapon cases - which have good Blueprint drop rates. The others are high-tier loot areas, with plenty of lootable containers - including Security Lockers.

Spaceport

The best places to find Blueprints on Spaceport are the Arrival and Departure Buildings, as well as Control Tower A6 and the Launch Towers . All these areas are labelled as high-value loot regions, and many of them are also very handily connected to one another by the Spaceport wall, which you can use to quickly run from one area to the next. At the tops of most of these buildings you’ll find at least one Security Locker, so this is an excellent farming route for players looking to find Blueprints.

The downside to looting Blueprints on Spaceport is that all these areas are hotly contested, particularly in Duos and Squads. You’ll need to be very focused and fast in order to complete the full farming route.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blue Gate

Blue Gate tends to have a good chance of dropping Blueprints, potentially because it generally has a high number of containers which can hold lots of items; so there’s a higher chance of a Blueprint spawning in each container. In my experience, the best Blueprint farming spots on Blue Gate are Pilgrim’s Peak, Raider’s Refuge, the Ancient Fort, and the Underground Complex beneath the Warehouse .

All of these areas contain a wealth of containers to loot. Raider’s Refuge has less to loot, but the majority of the containers in and around the Refuge are raider containers, which have a high chance of containing Blueprints - particularly during major events.

Stella Montis

On the whole, Stella Montis seems to have a very low drop rate for Blueprints (though a high chance of dropping other high-tier loot). If you do want to try farming Blueprints on this map, the best places to find Blueprints in Stella Montis are Medical Research, Assembly Workshop, and the Business Center . These areas have the highest density of containers to loot on the map.

In addition to this, the Western Tunnel has a few different Security Lockers to loot, so while there’s very little to loot elsewhere in this area of the map, it’s worth hitting those Security Lockers if you spawn there at the start of a match.

That wraps up this primer on how to get all the Blueprints in Arc Raiders as quickly as possible. With the Expedition system constantly resetting a large number of players’ Blueprints, it’s more important than ever to have the most up-to-date information on where to find all these Blueprints.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our Arc Raiders best guns tier list , as well as our primers on the best skills to unlock and all the different Field Depot locations on every map.

ARC Raiders

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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