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The first round of Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree previews are starting to drop, and they have already revealed a ton of new info about the 2022 Game of the Year‘s previously mysterious DLC. While FromSoftware is still keeping a lot of info under wraps at this time, we now know much more about the DLC’s size, changes, difficulty (spoilers: it’s hard), and even story than we did before.
However, the most fascinating information to emerge from those previews may be the first substantial details of the DLC’s eight new weapon types. Here’s a breakdown of each of those new weapon types and what you can expect from them.
Beast Claws
A close-combat melee weapon, Beast Claws function largely as you’d expect them to. That is to say that they enable you to do your best Wolverine impression by launching yourself at an enemy, unleashing a series of strikes, and dealing bleeding damage all the while.
What’s surprising about this weapon is how it fundamentally alters your movement and attack patterns. Do you know those beast and flying-type enemies in Elden Ring that unleash a series of rapid strikes in the middle of their attack pattern that typically catch you off-guard? Well, these things basically turn you into one of those enemies. Managing that style of play could prove to be tough, but the potential is certainly there.
Dueling Shield
Here’s an interesting one. Dueling Shields are massive shields that have a spike on the end capable of unleashing both thrusting and slashing attacks. The idea behind this weapon seems to be to block most incoming damage and wait until the enemy is vulnerable to unleash a series of strikes (or a counter) without having to drop your defenses for long.
Personally, I feel like the base Elden Ring game didn’t really emphasize that “turtle” style of play nearly as much as the Dark Souls games did. While I wonder if this weapon will be enough to make that playstyle more viable for Shadow of the Erdtree‘s tougher content, it does seem to be the team’s most concentrated effort yet to emphasize Strength, Vigor, and Endurance-based builds outside of the usual massive weapons.
Great Katana
This is the most mysterious new weapon type in the DLC. Yes, it’s ultimately just a really big katana. You trade some of that weapon type’s speed in for more power, and you gain access to a series of combo strikes that, when landed, deal quick damage in short order.
What we don’t know is how this weapon will distinguish itself from other Greatswords in the long run. It’s almost certainly not a strictly better version of the Greatsword, though trading in a little of that weapon type’s power for additional speed seems to be more than worth it. I’m very interested to see how this weapon type evolves over the course of the DLC.
Light Greatsword
The name “Light Greatsword” may conjure an image of a massive glowing weapon, but “light’ actually seems to refer to the weapon’s weight.
For instance, the Light Greatsword available in the preview (hilariously named “Milady”) is capable of unleashing a series of powerful quick strikes that are perfect for trapping enemies in damage loops. What’s the catch? Well, the Milady seems to emphasize combo-based attacks by having most of your single-input strikes produce multiple attack animations. Theoretically, that means you’ll need to be conscious of your timing to ensure you don’t leave yourself open for potentially devastating enemy follow-ups. Of course, we’ll have to see if the other weapons in this class function in a similar way.
Martial Arts
Yes, Shadow of the Erdtree allows you to lean into a full martial arts playstyle. Note that I said “Martial Arts” rather than hand-to-hand. It’s a significant distinction as Martial Arts are so much more than fists.
In fact, the early highlight of this playstyle is a devastating series of kicks that allow you to launch yourself in the air and effectively corkscrew attack an enemy. It’s fast, powerful, and renders melee-based enemies helpless in record time. However, it is as close range as close-range weapons get in Elden Ring, which can certainly be a bad thing when it comes to specific enemy types (magic, poison, archers, etc.). It will be very interesting to see how viable this playstyle proves to be in certain sections of the game.
Perfume Bottles
My personal favorite new weapon type from a sheer thematic perspective, Perfume Bottles are bottles of weaponized magic based on various elements. They’re basically like magical grenades, but they come with a fascinating twist. Perfume Bottles don’t consume items and they don’t deplete your FP gauge. They instead function like the weapons you regularly equip (complete with varying attack types and melee-esque strikes).
I’m very curious to see how Shadow of the Erdtree balances these weapons. Based on what we know now, they seem to offer an ideal balance of melee, ranged, and AOE capabilities. However, it’s not clear how their damage scales, and it’s possible that they’ll prove to be a bit slow (especially if you don’t supplement them with spells). Still, they’re certainly unique and look like a lot of fun.
Reverse Grip Swords
The name is a bit confusing, but Reverse Grip Swords are basically dual-wield katanas that you carry behind your back (imagine a “Naruto Run” with swords in your hands). They’re incredibly quick and are capable of unleashing devastating combos.
However, the most interesting thing about these weapons is that you can actually block incoming attacks while using them. Normally, dual-wield weapons turn the block input into an offhand strike input, but because these swords operate as a pair, you can still utilize guards and counters while they are equipped. That’s a big difference that could end up making these some of the best quick melee weapons in the game.
Throwing Daggers
Throwing Daggers function somewhat similarly to Perfume Bottles. That is to say that they convert a traditional consumable throwing weapon into an equipped weapon that consumes no items or magical resources (though they still deplete stamina).
What’s fascinating about Throwing Daggers compared to Perfume Bottles is their attack speed. These things basically turn your character into a machine gun and are actually capable of going through enemies in order to attack multiple foes with a single “strike.” Lower your expectations for the damage output of the individual daggers, but that combination of ranged attack capabilities and speed is undoubtedly appealing.
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