First Playthrough Questions

[Flushing]

Still on my first Playthrough of Elden Ring, just a few questions:

1. I bought Shadows of the Erdtree before completing my first playthrough, is it ok to play the DLC content before NG+?

2. What are the best Remembrances to copy with moseleum?

3. I finally have the stats to use the Darkmoon Blade, and it is by far my strongest all around weapon, does it remain consistently great?

Before it, I was consistently using the Guts Greatsword, but I have dabbeled with the Sword of Night and Flame, Starscourge Curved Greatswords, and a Golden Colossal Sword that is dex based with a black flame FP move (forgot the name). I could see Bloodhound Fang as one of the best, but I would have to build around it.

[Artek [General]]

Originally posted by Flushing:

Still on my first Playthrough of Elden Ring, just a few questions:

1. I bought Shadows of the Erdtree before completing my first playthrough, is it ok to play the DLC content before NG+?

2. What are the best Remembrances to copy with moseleum?

3. I finally have the stats to use the Darkmoon Blade, and it is by far my strongest all around weapon, does it remain consistently great?

Before it, I was consistently using the Guts Greatsword, but I have dabbeled with the Sword of Night and Flame, Starscourge Curved Greatswords, and a Golden Colossal Sword that is dex based with a black flame FP move (forgot the name). I could see Bloodhound Fang as one of the best, but I would have to build around it.

1. DLC does not scale with NG+, so you can play it whenever.

2. No idea, just collecting things you didn't pick up, or get two instances of same weapons for dual wielding.

3. Darkmoon GS is a decent weapon for high INT mages, but by no means "the best" all rounder.

Many weapons are very strong if used right and built around them, that's just how it goes.

[Flushing]

Originally posted by Artek General:

Originally posted by Flushing:

Still on my first Playthrough of Elden Ring, just a few questions:

1. I bought Shadows of the Erdtree before completing my first playthrough, is it ok to play the DLC content before NG+?

2. What are the best Remembrances to copy with moseleum?

3. I finally have the stats to use the Darkmoon Blade, and it is by far my strongest all around weapon, does it remain consistently great?

Before it, I was consistently using the Guts Greatsword, but I have dabbeled with the Sword of Night and Flame, Starscourge Curved Greatswords, and a Golden Colossal Sword that is dex based with a black flame FP move (forgot the name). I could see Bloodhound Fang as one of the best, but I would have to build around it.

1. DLC does not scale with NG+, so you can play it whenever.

2. No idea, just collecting things you didn't pick up, or get two instances of same weapons for dual wielding.

3. Darkmoon GS is a decent weapon for high INT mages, but by no means "the best" all rounder.

Many weapons are very strong if used right and built around them, that's just how it goes.

I didn't think of Dual Wielding Remembrance weapons, but I am now.

What I like about the Darkmoon Greatsword is that it's special also imbues it with additional magical damage. While you can't imbue it with any enchantments, it's still a big deal. From my experience only Normal Weapons (maybe it's all weapons that only deal Physical Damage) and certain ashes of war can do that.

This is also why I like Bloodhound Fang, you can imbue it.

If there are other weapons that take somber smith stones that can be imbued, or have a weapon art that imbues them, I'd love to know.

[Artek [General]]

Originally posted by Flushing:

What I like about the Darkmoon Greatsword is that it's special also imbues it with additional magical damage. While you can't imbue it with any enchantments, it's still a big deal. From my experience only Normal Weapons (maybe it's all weapons that only deal Physical Damage) and certain ashes of war can do that.

This is also why I like Bloodhound Fang, you can imbue it.

If there are other weapons that take somber smith stones that can be imbued, or have a weapon art that imbues them, I'd love to know.

I mean... That doesn't even mean anything - it already deals magic damage, it just starts dealing more upon the buff. Usually such weapons are balanced such that they underperform without the buff and perform slightly better than usual without, but who knows.

I know Treespear is one of those as well: it comes with AoW that buffs it with extra holy damage and you can put grease on it. But again - not that particularly important.
Specials damage types are always double edged swords - you will nuke one enemy type, and then another will happen to be 50% resistant to it, so it all evens out in the end.

Weapons are always basically just aesthetics on top of damage scaling appropriate for your character stats. If I were to guess the best weapon in the game - it's probably some Katanas or other bleed-inducing thing, like Great Star.

[Flushing]

Originally posted by Artek General:

Originally posted by Flushing:

What I like about the Darkmoon Greatsword is that it's special also imbues it with additional magical damage. While you can't imbue it with any enchantments, it's still a big deal. From my experience only Normal Weapons (maybe it's all weapons that only deal Physical Damage) and certain ashes of war can do that.

This is also why I like Bloodhound Fang, you can imbue it.

If there are other weapons that take somber smith stones that can be imbued, or have a weapon art that imbues them, I'd love to know.

I mean... That doesn't even mean anything - it already deals magic damage, it just starts dealing more upon the buff. Usually such weapons are balanced such that they underperform without the buff and perform slightly better than usual without, but who knows.

I know Treespear is one of those as well: it comes with AoW that buffs it with extra holy damage and you can put grease on it. But again - not that particularly important.
Specials damage types are always double edged swords - you will nuke one enemy type, and then another will happen to be 50% resistant to it, so it all evens out in the end.

Weapons are always basically just aesthetics on top of damage scaling appropriate for your character stats. If I were to guess the best weapon in the game - it's probably some Katanas or other bleed-inducing thing, like Great Star.

Thanks dude, I didn't know that. Still learning.

I thought that weapons that could be imbued had significantly higher top end damage than those that couldn't, especially if you go the "Heavy Route" and picked Ashes of War that imbue with another damage type.

This changes my planning because I didn't know that weapons that can't be imbued are balanced with those that can.

I actually find it liberating nit having to coat my weapon or limit myself to Ashes of War that imbue as a secondary effect.

I like colossal weapons the most and just got the Fallingstar Beast Jaw, I love the look and moveset but haven upgraded it because it can't be imbued or coated.

[Artek [General]]

Originally posted by Flushing:

Thanks dude, I didn't know that. Still learning.

I thought that weapons that could be imbued had significantly higher top end damage than those that couldn't, especially if you go the "Heavy Route" and picked Ashes of War that imbue with another damage type.

This changes my planning because I didn't know that weapons that can't be imbued are balanced with those that can.

I actually find it liberating nit having to coat my weapon or limit myself to Ashes of War that imbue as a secondary effect.

I like colossal weapons the most and just got the Fallingstar Beast Jaw, I love the look and moveset but haven upgraded it because it can't be imbued or coated.

So, to explain the affinities: they allow changing with which stats the weapon will scale better, and for what damage type. While every individual Ash of War comes with an option for respective affinity - later you will gain ability to apply almost any affinity to almost any AoW.
Every weapon is deeply unique in how it scales with this and that, including unique affinity interactions. There are some general rules of thumb, but they are not always true or accurate, so keep that in mind and experiment (or ask around).

Standard - keep as it was, no change to scaling, just changes the skill.

Heavy - increases STR scaling, removes DEX scaling, reduces base damage slightly.
Works best on "heavy" weapons such as hammers, axes, etc: weapons that look mean and/or barbaric.
Reminder that two-handing a weapon provides a +50% STR bonus (two-handing a weapon with 20 STR will result in it acting like you have 30 STR).

Keen - increases DEX scaling, greatly reduces STR scaling, reduces base damage slightly.
Works best on weapons that look "sharp" - curved swords, thrusting swords, katanas, etc.
It must be noted that special damage instances such as backstabs, ripostes and Ashes of War use one-handed damage for their calculations, which is why a sharp Estoc will deliver a more painful critical strike / Impaling Thrust than a Heavy one probably would.

Quality - increases both STR and DEX scaling simultaneously, but greatly reduces base damage.
Basically a luxury infusion for characters with 200+ levels and 50/50 STR/DEX, most weapon will work just fine on a dedicated STR/DEX until then.

These 4 are "basic" infusions and most notably leave the ability to apply buffing spells and greases to the weapons. All the other ones will remove that ability for good (unless it comes from AoW)


Magic - adds Magic damage that scales with INT.

Sacred - adds Holy damage that scales with FTH.

Lighting - adds Lighting damage that scales with DEX, much confusingly, basically fancy Keen.

Fire - adds Fire damage that scales mostly with STR, basically fancy Heavy

Fire Art - adds Fire damage that scales with FTH

Poison / Blood - reduce base damage, reduce scaling, but add Poison / Bleed special effects that get better with ARC stat. Can be powerful, but good luck if a boss is immune to special effect(s).

Cold - adds Magic damage that scales with combination of INT/DEX, but also adds Cold special effect.

Occult - allows damage to scale with ARC, but also still improves ARC scaling of special effects if any are present. Basically an alternative to Blood / Poison infusion where you get slightly worse status effect capabilities than you would with a dedicated affinity, but still more than a "normal" one and you will still deal decent direct damage.

[gabvo]

Originally posted by Flushing:

Originally posted by Artek General:

I mean... That doesn't even mean anything - it already deals magic damage, it just starts dealing more upon the buff. Usually such weapons are balanced such that they underperform without the buff and perform slightly better than usual without, but who knows.

I know Treespear is one of those as well: it comes with AoW that buffs it with extra holy damage and you can put grease on it. But again - not that particularly important.
Specials damage types are always double edged swords - you will nuke one enemy type, and then another will happen to be 50% resistant to it, so it all evens out in the end.

Weapons are always basically just aesthetics on top of damage scaling appropriate for your character stats. If I were to guess the best weapon in the game - it's probably some Katanas or other bleed-inducing thing, like Great Star.

Thanks dude, I didn't know that. Still learning.

I thought that weapons that could be imbued had significantly higher top end damage than those that couldn't, especially if you go the "Heavy Route" and picked Ashes of War that imbue with another damage type.

This changes my planning because I didn't know that weapons that can't be imbued are balanced with those that can.

I actually find it liberating nit having to coat my weapon or limit myself to Ashes of War that imbue as a secondary effect.

I like colossal weapons the most and just got the Fallingstar Beast Jaw, I love the look and moveset but haven upgraded it because it can't be imbued or coated.

regardless of affinity, most weapons by endgame will do similar damage (give or take 100hp, of which the bosses have thousands) if your stats match their scaling well. any colossal weapon you take with high strength will suit you well, it comes down to taste in the end!

once you've beaten the game, this is a very helpful calculator [eldenring.tclark.io] - you can simply input your current (or desired) damage stats, and it'll list every single weapon (with affinities) by the damage you'd deal with them. you can filter by weapon types as well, but you'll also find out just how little difference in damage you get in most cases from one weapon to the next.

[code]

Originally posted by Artek General:

Originally posted by Flushing:

Still on my first Playthrough of Elden Ring, just a few questions:

1. I bought Shadows of the Erdtree before completing my first playthrough, is it ok to play the DLC content before NG+?

2. What are the best Remembrances to copy with moseleum?

3. I finally have the stats to use the Darkmoon Blade, and it is by far my strongest all around weapon, does it remain consistently great?

Before it, I was consistently using the Guts Greatsword, but I have dabbeled with the Sword of Night and Flame, Starscourge Curved Greatswords, and a Golden Colossal Sword that is dex based with a black flame FP move (forgot the name). I could see Bloodhound Fang as one of the best, but I would have to build around it.

1. DLC does not scale with NG+, so you can play it whenever.

2. No idea, just collecting things you didn't pick up, or get two instances of same weapons for dual wielding.

3. Darkmoon GS is a decent weapon for high INT mages, but by no means "the best" all rounder.

Many weapons are very strong if used right and built around them, that's just how it goes.

Does dual wield glinstone staff boost?

[Artek [General]]

Originally posted by code:

Does dual wield glinstone staff boost?

If staff / sacred seal has a special boosting effect like "Boost bestial incantations" then having two instances in each hand causes the bonus to apply twice.
However this only comes into play in NG+ as most of such "special" casting equipment comes up only once per playthrough.

[Flushing]

Originally posted by Artek General:

Originally posted by code:

Does dual wield glinstone staff boost?

If staff / sacred seal has a special boosting effect like "Boost bestial incantations" then having two instances in each hand causes the bonus to apply twice.
However this only comes into play in NG+ as most of such "special" casting equipment comes up only once per playthrough.

If I dual wield weapons can I use the special attach (like ashes of war) from the offhand weapon in addition to mainhand, or just the mainhand.

Also, can I imbue the offhand weapon with effects like holy damage, while it's in my offhand?

[Gamerzilla]

Originally posted by Flushing:

Originally posted by Artek General:

If staff / sacred seal has a special boosting effect like "Boost bestial incantations" then having two instances in each hand causes the bonus to apply twice.
However this only comes into play in NG+ as most of such "special" casting equipment comes up only once per playthrough.

If I dual wield weapons can I use the special attach (like ashes of war) from the offhand weapon in addition to mainhand, or just the mainhand.

Also, can I imbue the offhand weapon with effects like holy damage, while it's in my offhand?

Pretty sure ashes is mainhand only unless you have no main hand ash. That doesnt mean you cant hot-swap weapons to use an offhand ash though. Imbue is the same I think, can only imbue OH if no MH target is available. Could be wrong there, I dont use imbues often.

[Flushing]

Originally posted by Artek General:

Originally posted by Flushing:

Thanks dude, I didn't know that. Still learning.

I thought that weapons that could be imbued had significantly higher top end damage than those that couldn't, especially if you go the "Heavy Route" and picked Ashes of War that imbue with another damage type.

This changes my planning because I didn't know that weapons that can't be imbued are balanced with those that can.

I actually find it liberating nit having to coat my weapon or limit myself to Ashes of War that imbue as a secondary effect.

I like colossal weapons the most and just got the Fallingstar Beast Jaw, I love the look and moveset but haven upgraded it because it can't be imbued or coated.

So, to explain the affinities: they allow changing with which stats the weapon will scale better, and for what damage type. While every individual Ash of War comes with an option for respective affinity - later you will gain ability to apply almost any affinity to almost any AoW.
Every weapon is deeply unique in how it scales with this and that, including unique affinity interactions. There are some general rules of thumb, but they are not always true or accurate, so keep that in mind and experiment (or ask around).

Standard - keep as it was, no change to scaling, just changes the skill.

Heavy - increases STR scaling, removes DEX scaling, reduces base damage slightly.
Works best on "heavy" weapons such as hammers, axes, etc: weapons that look mean and/or barbaric.
Reminder that two-handing a weapon provides a +50% STR bonus (two-handing a weapon with 20 STR will result in it acting like you have 30 STR).

Keen - increases DEX scaling, greatly reduces STR scaling, reduces base damage slightly.
Works best on weapons that look "sharp" - curved swords, thrusting swords, katanas, etc.
It must be noted that special damage instances such as backstabs, ripostes and Ashes of War use one-handed damage for their calculations, which is why a sharp Estoc will deliver a more painful critical strike / Impaling Thrust than a Heavy one probably would.

Quality - increases both STR and DEX scaling simultaneously, but greatly reduces base damage.
Basically a luxury infusion for characters with 200+ levels and 50/50 STR/DEX, most weapon will work just fine on a dedicated STR/DEX until then.

These 4 are "basic" infusions and most notably leave the ability to apply buffing spells and greases to the weapons. All the other ones will remove that ability for good (unless it comes from AoW)


Magic - adds Magic damage that scales with INT.

Sacred - adds Holy damage that scales with FTH.

Lighting - adds Lighting damage that scales with DEX, much confusingly, basically fancy Keen.

Fire - adds Fire damage that scales mostly with STR, basically fancy Heavy

Fire Art - adds Fire damage that scales with FTH

Poison / Blood - reduce base damage, reduce scaling, but add Poison / Bleed special effects that get better with ARC stat. Can be powerful, but good luck if a boss is immune to special effect(s).

Cold - adds Magic damage that scales with combination of INT/DEX, but also adds Cold special effect.

Occult - allows damage to scale with ARC, but also still improves ARC scaling of special effects if any are present. Basically an alternative to Blood / Poison infusion where you get slightly worse status effect capabilities than you would with a dedicated affinity, but still more than a "normal" one and you will still deal decent direct damage.

This I knew, but I am pretty sure cold scales int/strength (that or I picked an option that does), which is why chilling mist is one of my favorite ashes of war for the guts greatsword. If it doesn't, I must have chosen a different affinity option when I applied Chilling Mist.