Find out what the Ashes of War are in Elden Ring and how to use them, as well as where to find the Whetstone knife and how to apply Skills to your weaponry.
What are Skills in Elden Ring
You need to have a solid grasp of Skills before you can even begin to comprehend what Ashes of War are. When you are not mounted, pressing LT/L2 or Shift + RMB will allow you to activate skills, which are unique combat abilities. Skills can be activated at any time. Armaments are inextricably linked to Skills, and each armament has the potential to acquire its own set of Skills. You are only able to use one Skill at a time due to the fact that you can hold up to two armaments at the same time, and the Skill that you use is determined by how you are holding things.
How to put one's Skills to Use
If you are holding two items, each of which has a Skill, pressing LT/L2 or Shift + RMB will usually cause the Skill to be used on the armament that is in your left hand; however, there are a few instances in which this is not the case. If the item you have in your left hand does not have a skill associated with it, pressing LT/L2 or Shift + RMB will activate the skill associated with the item in your right hand instead. It also seems to ignore staves and possibly seals if they are in your left hand, even if they have a seal on them. This occurs even if the staves have a seal on them.
If you are wielding an armament with both hands, you will activate the skill associated with that armament. This is true even if the armament in question is a staff or, more likely, a Seal. While you are mounted, you are unable to use skills. Check out this guide if you aren't already familiar with the controls for the PC and console versions of Elden Ring. In addition to that, it offers advice on how to remap some of the controls and reveals control combinations that were previously hidden. Although the effects of Elden Ring Skills are not always directly linked to the weapon itself, they are most comparable to Dark Souls 3's Weapon Arts. There are a few skills that are an exception to this rule, however, such as Parry and Kick. Skills almost always cost FP.
In Elden Ring, what exactly are the Ashes of War?
Ashes of War are not to be confused with the spirits that can be summoned from Ashes, which are Pokemon. Instead, Ashes of War give you the ability to apply different Skills to your armaments, which changes the effect of LT/L2 or Shift + RMB. Additionally, Ashes of War has a high probability of changing the scaling of a single stat on a weapon in just one way. This operates in the same manner as Gems do in the Dark Souls series.
You can still use an Ash of War just for the skill if you like the scaling it already has, even though the stat scaling is optional. However, this does mean that you can no longer choose whichever scaling you want for each weapon if you want a particular Skill.
To put it simply, each individual piece of Ash of War possesses a Skill and has the potential to modify the way in which the weapon's stats are scaled.
Where can I locate the Whetstone Knife?
You will need to acquire the Whetstone Knife in order to modify the Ash of War that is on your armaments in Elden Ring. This is a requirement that must be met before you can do so. The item can be found in a cellar in the Gatefront Ruins, which is relatively close to the game's beginning. Agheel Lake North, Groveside Cave, and Gatefront are the Lost Graces that are located the closest to you.
The road's southern shoulder serves as the access point to the entrance. You have the option of sneaking past the guards or engaging in combat with them all. Be wary of the two individuals who are sporting horns. When they find you, they can use them to yell out the location to everyone else. It is impossible to sneak in because there is no door to open and there are no other barriers or obstacles that can prevent or slow you down. Below ground, there are no hostile forces. You'll find a chest containing the Whetstone Knife and your first Ash of War, Storm Stomp, at the very bottom of the basement.
The Whetstone Knife is not a weapon in any sense of the word. It is designed to give you the ability to alter the skills of your armament by exchanging an Ash of War with another item in your inventory.
How to adjust Ash of War and the scaling of statistics
At a Lost Grace, also known as a Bonfire, you will have the opportunity to exchange the Ash of War for another weapon. It is necessary for you to have an item known as the Whetstone Knife in your inventory in order to change the Ashes of War. This item can be discovered relatively early on in the game.
In most cases, the effects of Ashes of War are limited to only a subset of available weapons. For instance, certain ones are only applicable to weapons and not to shields at all. When you are modifying a particular armament, you will only be shown Ashes of War that can be applied to that particular armament. The information about what an Ash of War can be used for will be displayed next to the Ash of War. Ashes of War cannot be applied to armaments that have Unique Skills, which are typically looted from bosses in the game.
You are only able to apply a single Ash of War to a single piece of armor at a time; however, if you find Lost Ashes of War, you will be able to copy the Ash of War. If you remove an Ash of War from an armament, the Skill and scaling will revert back to what they were when you first equipped the armament. This will enable you to freely experiment with different Ashes of War without fear of losing your progress.
Where to look for items in the Ashes of War game
The Ash of War is a type of loot that can be obtained in a number of ways, including as a reward for taking down a boss, as loot from non-playable characters and chests, or as a reward for completing a certain task. For instance, the "Storm Stomp" can be obtained from the same chest that contains the "Whetstone Knife."
You can buy Ashes of War from various vendors in exchange for Runes. It is essential to keep in mind that the vendors in Ashes of War were not designed to be the primary source of the item. The best ones will be dropped as loot for you to find.
Our Ultimate Beginners Guide to Elden Ring is an excellent source of information that you can consult. If you've never played a game like this before, I can't stress enough how important it is for you to check it out.
