What is Cleanrot Knight Finlay good for?

[Fried Noodles]

I just picked her up last night and leveled her up to +6. (This is as high as I can go with the Gloveworts I can buy from the Twin Maidens currently).

So most of my "non-regular" Renowned Ash Summons are +6.

I took 'em all down to my stomping ground at the Limgrave Gatefront and tested her out against everyone at once (letting the trumpeter toot his horn before summoning her) and then everyone kinda one at a time (killing the trumpeter then summoning).

And even though she was +6 (which should be very powerful compared to anything at Limgrave), she totally stunk at both scenarios.

To compare, I brought out the Banished Knight Oleg, Lhutel, Omenkiller Rollo, Blackflame Monk Amon, etc...
They all performed much better. Killing their enemies quicker, taking less damage.

I know Finlay gives a little defensive buff when she comes out, but it seems to be overwhelmingly fire protection which is situational.

[Zoid13]

Originally posted by Fried Noodles:

I know Finlay gives a little defensive buff when she comes out, but it seems to be overwhelmingly fire protection which is situational.

thats pretty much it. Finlay has rather slow attacks. doesn't do a lot of damage and doesn't have much survival / mobility compared to the other knight summons.

[Señor Brown]

Haven't tried it myself, but she could also be helpful against any enemies that are vulnerable to holy damage like the undead

[Fried Noodles]

I feel like Finlay might've been better if she were the the spear variety of Cleanrot Knight, rather than the sickle variant.
Those ones seem a bit more aggressive.

[Agent Chieftain]

Not all summons are created equal. There are some that, while decent, are just not as good as others; as well as some that are outright trash. And Oleg is one of the best, so beating him is already a high bar.

https://eldenring.wiki.fextralife.com/Spirit+Ashes

While it's based off the subjective ratings of it's users, the wiki does give tier rankings to spirit summons, based on those experiences. Looks like Finlay is considered B tier, and all the summons you mentioned rank higher than she does. Which would match up with your personal experience with her.

[Sabaithal]

Finlay has slightly higher offensive capabilities than most other "knight" ashes, but she is less durable because of this. Also less poise.

She is meant to compliment the player in 2v1, as she can support the player in a number of ways. Such as buffing, and most importantly procing scarlet rot (very heavy scarlet rot) on enemies at times. When testing her +0 against a runebear she would die, but her rot damage would kill the runebear afterwards. Her rot damage and duration far surpasses any other summon that inflicts rot.

But yes, she underperforms for what is considered a "legendary" summon.

Refer to this to see some actual numbers and tests:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2802940079

[Zoid13]

the best summons imo in no particular order

Oleg - does a lot of damage and hes a pretty aggressive tanky boy.

Lhutel - similar to Oleg little less constant damage than Oleg, avoids lots of damage with the ghost teleports.

Tiche - LOADS of damage with ranged attack, pretty fragile and susceptible to being stun locked when cornered, very very evasive in more open areas.

Rollo - hes ok. i don't feel like he does anything that the 3 above don't do better.

DungEater - Tanky boy, decent damage with some more unique skills compared to the other knights.

Engvall - hes like the early game Oleg (Oleg has better move set)

Stormhawk - decent damage, avoids lots of attacks due to flying but is pretty fragile if knocked down. much cheaper FP cost to summon (half the cost of most good summons)

and my fave Latenna - nice consistent support damage from very very long range, make sure you keep the boss occupied yourself because she will die if the boss looks at her.

mimic tear - CAN be the strongest by a mile even after the nerfs but that depends on your setup for summoning it.
if you equip it with Prayerful Strike AOW or Blasphemous Blade with some tanky armour like Bullgoat the Mimic is basically immortal (will just keep healing back to full) and can solo every boss in the game.

[John Titor]

Originally posted by Fried Noodles:

What is Cleanrot Knight Finlay good for?

Absolutely nothin'! Say it again.

[bustamanteverde]

Meh, just use my main man Ogha!

[Sabaithal]

Originally posted by bustamanteverde:

Meh, just use my main man Ogha!

Ogha is pretty good. If the player coordinates well with him, they can stunlock most bosses to death, Malenia included if the player also has a spell/greatbow that can knock her down.

[paladin181]

Ogha and Tiche makes most other summons redundant. Throw Dung Eater in there too for a powerful bleed ally. And of course, a well built mimic tear.