Elden Ring‘s latest patch addresses some quality of life issues, the primary one being arcane weapons and their lack of additional scaling. Before the patch, all arcane weapons would lose the additional scaling received from players leveling up their arcane stat in Elden Ring. Without that boost in attack power, arcane weapons fell to the wayside until now.
Not only do Arcane weapons increase the player’s item discovery stat, but it also increases the damage of arcane scaling weapons, like the Rivers of Blood katana or Eleanora’s Poleblade. Similarly, the arcane stat will also increase bleed buildup on arcane scaling weapons like the two mentioned before. Now that arcane weapons are some of the strongest in the game, there are a few standouts in the crowd.
The only downside to attempting an arcane build in Elden Ring is the lack of options early on, with only the Reduvia in Limgrave being an option until players progress much further in the game. However, it is truly worth the wait, as some of these ashes of war decimate groups of enemies with ease. For example, the Bell-Bearing Hunters wield either the Regalia of Eochaid (a dex/arcane straight sword) or the Marais Executioner’s Sword (a strength/arcane greatsword). Their ash of war allows players to throw their sword forward, spinning like a blender and holding out in midair for a few seconds, dealing massive damage to anything stuck within its range. These swords can be found in Gaol Cave in Caelid and The Shaded Castle in Altus Plateau respectively.
Elden Ring: Arcane Weapons And Their Strengths
Some of the flashier arcane weapons like the Rivers of Blood and Eleanora’s Poleblade are found late in the game but make up for their late introduction with some devastating utility. Rivers of Blood is a bright red katana found by killing Bloody Finger Okina in the Mountaintops of Giants. The ash of war, Corpse Piler, is a much-improved version of Bloody Slash, an ash of war that unleashes a single long-range slash while damaging the user slightly. Corpse Piler lets a flurry of blood attacks loose with similar range but no recoil damage and five strikes in total, inflicting blood loss almost instantly. Eleanora’s Poleblade boasts similar accolades with its ash of war, Bloodblade Dance. Channeling their inner Darth Maul, players flip around while wildly swinging the twinblade, inflicting heavy damage and blood loss. Eleanora’s Poleblade can be found in one of Elden Ring‘s churches of Marika, the second to be exact, after defeating Eleanora, Violet Bloody Finger.
There are plenty more arcane weapons for the player to choose from, like Mohgwyn’s Sacred Spear, obtained using the remembrance of Mohg, Lord of Blood, or the Bloody Helice, in the Writheblood Ruins. All arcane weapons, with few exceptions, scale additionally with another stat like strength or dexterity. Since most of the more powerful arcane weapons come later, it is recommended to start investing in another stat first and then arcane later on. This way, the player can use basic strength or dexterity weapons first and then arcane later. It is also important to note that many arcane weapons in Elden Ring are upgraded with Somber Smithing Stones.
Arcane weapons have tons of utility in Elden Ring now that their scaling works properly. Leveling arcane early is a risky proposition, but it does increase item discovery, increasing the player’s odds of finding better armor and weapons, so it is a bit of give and take. However, once players obtain an arcane weapon of their liking, the damage will begin to skyrocket.
Elden Ring is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
