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InElden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, players can find a ton of new weapons as they explore the Land of Shadows. All existing weapon categories receive at least one new entry and eight new weapon categories were added to the game. These new weapon categories are: Beast Claws, Hand-to-Hand Arts, Throwing Blades, Backhand Blades, Perfume Bottles, Light Greatswords, Great Katanas, & Thrusting Shields.
This guide will focus on the second category in that list: Hand-to-Hand Arts. Hand-to-Hand Arts are weapons in name only, instead acting as equippable fighting styles utilizing your hands and feet. While only two can be found throughout the DLC, they are powerful and lightweight options that can dish out a lot of damage with the right build, so here’s how to find both Hand-to-Hand Arts inElden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.
Dryleaf Arts
The first of the Hand-To-Hand Arts available in the game,Dryleaf Artscan be acquired bycompleting the first portion of Dryleaf Dane’s Quest.This has players travelling to the Highroad Cross Site of Grace to learn the “May the Best Win” Gesture,before meeting Dryleaf Dane at Moorth Ruins and using the gesture to challenge him.Beating him here earns you the Dryleaf Arts, a Martial Art that uses rapid punches for its light attacks and slower kicks for its heavy attacks. The speed offered by Dryleaf Arts makes them ideal for dealing damage and dodging through enemy hits, with very little downtime between finishing an attack and being able to dodge.
This weapon also comes equipped with the first of the Hand-To-Hand Art exclusive Ashes of War: Palm Blast.Ash of War: Palm Blastis a chargeable palm thrust that causes an explosion of force directly in front of you, dealing huge damage and providing incredible poise while in use. This tends to knock smaller enemies over on impact, which can be used to chain together multiple blasts and effectively stunlock them. On bigger enemies, landing Palm Blast can deal a lot of stagger damage and, if used well, can break their poise and open them up for a critical attack.
Dane’s Footwork (Final Dungeon Spoilers)
The second Hand-To-Hand Art in the DLC can be found in the final area: Enir-Ilim. This Art is obtained afterdefeating Needle Knight Leda and her Allies, which includes Dryleaf Dane.Dane’s Footworkis akick-focused martial art that Dane honed by training under a waterfall.While it tends to be slightly slower than Dryleaf Arts, it makes up for this by synergizing perfectly with theShattered Stone Talismanand gaining a 20% attack boost on almost all of its attacks as a result. With a wide assortment of kicking attacks as its light and heavy moves, Dane’s Footwork works well with several ashes of war too. Any build can make good use ofAsh of War: Palm BlastorAsh of War: Dryleaf Whirlwind, while Arcane builds might findAsh of War: The Poison Flower Blooms Twiceexceptionally useful here.
Ash of War: Dryleaf Whirlwind
To find Dryleaf Whirlwind, you’ll need to head for the Ancient Ruins of Rauh. From the Ancient Ruins of Rauh, East Site of Grace, you’ll need to head northeast to find the Ash of War on a ledge. This Ash of War is only usable on Hand-to-Hand Art Weapons, giving you access to a spinning kick that strikes multiple times in quick succession. While it doesn’t have much poise, it makes up for it with excellent damage.
The multi-hit nature of the skill makes it perfect for activating theWinged Sword Insignia,Rotten Winged Sword Insignia, and/or theGodskin Swaddling Cloth. Bleed and Frost Affinities can also take advantage of the multi-hit to build up statuses quickly, which means theLord of Blood’s Exultationcan also be used effectively with this Ash of War.
