Elden Ring DLC: How To Build The Best Build Around Anvil Hammer? - Tips & Matching Items

As is widely known, The Forsaken Hollows DLC will be released on December 4th for Elden Ring Nightreign, available on PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. As the first official DLC for Elden Ring: Nightreign, Forsaken Hollows offers much more than initially revealed by the developers. It includes two brand-new Nightfarers, Expedition Bosses (often referred to as Night Lords), Shifting Earth modifiers, and other new content, bringing a wealth of new, controllable changes to the ever-evolving action RPG world. Here, we've summarized all the noteworthy information about this DLC to help you prepare and gain a greater advantage when you start playing! DLC Pricing Before we get to the main point, it's important to note that The Forsaken Hollows DLC is a paid expansion, priced at $15, available on platforms like Xbox and Steam. However, players who already own Elden Ring Nightreign Deluxe and Collector's Editions will receive the DLC for free. So, if you don't want to waste your money, you can use this guide to get a general understanding of the expansion before making a decision! New Bosses In The Forsaken Hollows, the new Expedition end boss appears to no longer be called Night Lords, but rather Abominations. Nightreign website mentions that these two new bosses are Balancers and Dreglord. Balancers  The developers haven't released more information about these two bosses. However, logically, given that Balancers is plural, we speculate that this isn't the official boss name, but rather the name of the Expedition. Spoiler Alert! Through some early leaks, we know that you might face multiple bosses simultaneously in this battle. They will use some area-of-effect attacks, but their main purpose is to overwhelm you with sheer numbers. In the second phase, they will merge back into a single final Balancer. For this boss, you'll need to fight it in a more conventional way. Dreglord Furthermore, Dreglord's trailer is more ambiguous; he appears to be a gigantic dragonborn warrior wielding some kind of giant mace-like weapon in his right hand. The boss arena also seems to be filled with traps. We can imagine that the battle against this guy will be an absolutely spectacular visual feast. Other Bosses In addition, several other bosses have been confirmed to appear: Demon Prince, Demon in Pain, and Demon from Below from Dark Souls III: The Ringed City DLC will return as enemies in the first night's boss pool. Artorias from the original Dark Souls DLC will return as enemies in the second night's boss pool. Divine Beast Dancing Lion from Shadow of the Erdtree, along with the Curseblade and Divine Beast Warrior combination, will appear as night bosses. Mohg, Lord of Blood from Elden Ring will also appear as a night boss. Invasions Regarding boss battles, since these are essentially additional boss fights, at least two new Invasions have been added - the red circle events that appear during gameplay. We've currently confirmed Gladius Invasion, where players must fight one of three sword-wielding dogs; and Caligo Invasion, where he unleashes frost miasma across much of the map until the player finds and defeats him. New Points of Interest In addition, The Forsaken Hollows DLC adds several new points of interest, essentially new activity types: Swamps and Forges. Swamps are a classic element of Souls series, and this update introduces various new types, including Sleep Swamp, Poison Swamp, Madness Swamp, and Scarlet Rot Swamp. These swamps feel more like early-game activities than things you should be doing right from the start of your adventure, around level four or five. You might consider exploring them. Another major new point of interest type is Forges. These are typically small villages or towns with a forging table, allowing you to transfer Ashes of War to your owned weapons that have customizable Ashes of War. If you're lucky, you might get some really useful items, which could definitely get you some kind of weapon upgrade. However, these forges are usually guarded by enemies, so you must clear them to unlock the forging table. If you don't have enough power to deal with them in the early stages of the game, you can also buy Elden Ring Nightreign boosting service from iGMeet to help you complete everything. You just need to enjoy the results and rewards! Shifting Earth Next, we should talk about the brand-new Shifting Earth - Great Hollow. This is a very important event, but we currently know very little about it. Previous Shifting Earths basically occupied a corner of the map, or, like a crater, occupied the top center of the map. Great Hollow completely changes this area of ​​the map, thus changing the way you interact with it. Unfortunately, we can only learn about Great Hollow from the trailers at present. Information about Hollow. It's worth emphasizing that this feels like a completely new map; its area of ​​effect appears enormous, making the game more vertical rather than large, flat areas. Players can continuously descend to lower levels or jump to new areas. New Relic Effect In addition, the Forsaken Hollows DLC introduces new relic effects that can alter starting spells. This means that Nightfarers who begin their adventures with spell-casting tools can now obtain different spells from relics. Similar to the relic effect that changes the starting weapon, Ashes of War, this applies to spellcasters. Currently known relic effects are all related to Nightfarers, especially the new characters. New Nightfarers Finally, we've arrived at the highlight of this DLC: two brand-new Nightfarers - Scholar and Undertaker. Let's take a look at what we know so far. Scholar The Scholar is a somewhat unique character. His main characteristic is using items and combining them with his abilities to assist other players. His passive ability is called Bagcraft. Compared to other Nightfarers, Scholar can carry twice the number of consumables per inventory slot. Furthermore, he can upgrade items. However, the upgrade system is grouped; for example, using any potion will increase the overall level of all potion-type items; the same applies to bullets, which will increase the level of all dart-type items. Second-tier versions of all items improve their inherent attributes, while third-tier versions add additional effects. Scholar's ability is called Analyze. Pressing the activation button enters a stage where all enemies or allies within a circle in the player's field of vision will begin accumulating an energy bar. The fuller the energy bar, the stronger the effect. You can cancel early for a weaker effect, but ideally, you'll want the energy bar to be full. The energy bar's charge level depends primarily on two key points. If the skill is released immediately after activation, it starts as a level 1 skill; once the energy bar is 50% full, it becomes a level 2 charged version; and once the energy bar is fully full, it becomes a level 3 charged version. Furthermore, the closer you are to the enemy, the faster the charge speed. Additionally, Scholar's ultimate skill, Communion, links all nearby enemies, allowing them to share damage when attacked. While not completely sharing damage, it appears to distribute around 20%, which is still quite powerful in multi-target combat. Of course, if you prefer to use Scholar's Ultimate Arts for a relentless offensive, you can also have him fight solo, but this will limit your access to some other options in his skill set. Undertaker Next is another new character: Undertaker, who is expected to quickly become a favorite among most players. Undertaker's skill is called Trance. When activated, it grants a buff that lasts approximately 10 seconds. During this time, your dodge roll becomes a dash, increasing your dash distance and seemingly granting a slight movement speed boost. This allows you to maintain extremely high speed in combat without worrying about the stamina drain associated with dashes. Simultaneously, your Poise is increased, providing better protection against enemy attacks. Additionally, you appear to receive a small damage boost, which further increases after completing a light attack combo. However, it's important to reiterate that the full buff only lasts 10 seconds. Furthermore, triggering the full buff can be difficult in many situations. The Undertaker's ultimate ability is Loathsome Hex. If used during Trance activation, it grants additional buffs for the remaining duration, including an overall attack power increase and further movement speed enhancement. As for the Loathsome Hex itself, she pulls a bone from her body and lunges forward to launch a thrust attack, piercing through the entire boss. Its attack range is very wide and seems to have a good turning radius. Therefore, unless you are completely out of its range, it's difficult to miss a locked-on enemy. Considering its hit rate, it's arguably the strongest pure damage ultimate ability in Nightreign to date. That's all we know for now regarding Elden Ring: Nightreign The Forsaken Hollows update. Are you ready for this new DLC? See you next time!

As the largest Souls-like game currently available, Elden Ring boasts an enormous arsenal of weapons. However, many of them can be considered mere "toys"—their weapon arts may be flashy, but their damage can be lower than a standard attack from another weapon. With the release of Shadow of the Erdtree, some incredibly overpowered weapons have emerged, capable of making the game feel like easy mode. So, which weapons can truly revolutionize your PvE experience? Commonly Used Top Weapons Dark Moon Great Sword Blasphemous Blade Moonveil Katana Executioner's Sword These Elden Ring items have been proven by numerous players to be extremely powerful. They deal high damage or can easily knock enemies off balance and down. If they suit your character's attributes, you can use them to complete the game. However, one more weapon deserves special mention: Sacred Relic Sword. This sword is obtained by defeating the main game's final boss and exchanging it for the sword. Its weapon art has a large range, extremely long distance, and deals very high damage. Besides allowing you to farm Elden Ring Runes in Mohgwyn Dynasty, it becomes exceptionally useful after entering the DLC, and you can try using its Weapon Art to attack Ghostflame Dragon from a distance. Moghwyn's Sacred Spear Moghwyn's Sacred Spear is a classic, easy-to-play weapon. It's well-designed and incredibly powerful. Its main damage comes from its Weapon Art, which inflicts three instances of blood loss and has a chance to instantly unbalance enemies. Furthermore, its Weapon Art deals AoE damage, allowing you to kill enemies even through walls. Even after all the updates and patches, it remains a top-tier weapon. It's a weapon obtainable only through complex side quests, a perfect example of a powerful weapon. Rivers Of Blood And Eleonora's Poleblade Both of these weapons inflict accumulated blood loss on opponents, and as you know, blood loss is the most powerful status ailment in Elden Ring. Eleonora's Poleblade is better against humanoid enemies with low poise, allowing you to apply a Stagger Lock. Rivers of Blood is better against large enemies; simply spamming Weapon Art from a distance can easily defeat most bosses, provided you have enough FP. Bloodfiend's Arm Bloodfiend's Arm was incredibly overpowered when the DLC was first released, and although it has been nerfed, it's still a monster. Its unique charged heavy attack splashes twice, allowing for double stacking of status effects like poison and frost. Even without considering status effects, its charged heavy attack excels at breaking stances. Backhand Blades Backhand Blades are one of the strongest DLC weapons. Lightweight and highly versatile, they are agile and fluid to use, and suitable for almost any build. Whether it's dexterity blood loss, flame art infusion, or cold affinity triggering frost, it's a viable side weapon choice. Fire Knight's Great Sword Also from DLC, Fire Knight's Great Sword features unique light attacks and a charged, heavy attack. Its Flame Art infusion provides the highest damage boost, making it one of the strongest Pyro and Faith weapons. Any enemy prone to Bleed or Stagger is easily defeated. Nagakiba Nagakiba is considered the true king of katanas. It boasts an extremely long attack range and can be paired with many builds. Simply enchant it with Lightning or Bloodflame Blade, then use its Weapon Art to return Spinning Strikes, and you can easily complete the entire game. Antspur Rapier Antspur Rapier excels at rapidly applying status effects and can apply Scarlet Rot. Combined with the blood loss effect, these two negative effects quickly reduce enemy health. Its power stance move set, especially the second rapid three-hit combo, can trigger status effects extremely quickly. Great Stars Great Stars is one of the best weapons in its class. Besides its built-in blood loss effect, it restores 1% health with each hit. It synergizes perfectly with various Ash of War builds, such as Wild Strikes, Stormaller, and Savage Lion's Claw, and becomes even more devastating after being enchanted with Bloodflame Blade. Star Fist Star Fist's charged heavy attack is incredibly powerful, easily knocking down enemies. Its light attack move set excels at successful hits and quickly triggers Blood Loss. It combines rapid bleed attacks with powerful heavy bombs, excelling in both aspects. Its only drawback is the relatively short attack range of the gauntlets. Pota Pota, as a gauntlet weapon, is a severely underrated secret weapon. Its power is almost equivalent to Star Fist, but its attack range is closer to a throwing sword, breaking the balance of short range common to gauntlet weapons. It is extremely powerful in both PvP and PvE. Bloody Helice Bloody Helice is the longest thrusting sword and a quintessential Arcane build. Its weapon art is both vicious and elegant, allowing for a quick return to safety after an attack. While perhaps less effective in cities, it's highly effective against bosses. Its combat art, along with the DLC weapon Obsidian Scythe, inflicts a total of 55 stance damage, making it very effective against breaking stances. These are some of the most powerful weapons currently available in PvE, but the order is not ranked. Which weapon you choose depends on your preferred playstyle and your character's attributes.

As a wildly popular game that sparked countless discussions among players, Elden Ring offers a rich and open-world adventure. Players can experience a robust adventure mechanic, challenging gameplay, and a remarkably engaging setting and visual presentation. This is why so many players dedicate their time and effort to exploring the game, earning it a large and dedicated fanbase. The earlier announcement of Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition's upcoming release on Switch 2 caused a frenzy among players, meaning they could play anytime, anywhere. However, disappointingly, the official release date for Switch 2 has recently been delayed. If you're curious why, read on. Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition At Nintendo Direct presentation on April 2nd, Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition was announced for Switch 2. During the presentation, a trailer showcased classic game scenes and visuals that players had experienced, including but not limited to battles with Radahn and exploration of Shadow of the Erdtree. These trailers evince that Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition offers players new content and features on top of the original game and Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. These new features include, but are not limited to, exclusive Armor Sets, new weapons, Torrent customization options, and new classes. All of this has captured players' attention and fueled their anticipation for its release on Switch 2 platform. However, the core gameplay remains unchanged. Players still take on the role of Tarnished, exploring the game world. Where to explore and how to explore is entirely up to you. Classic areas appear in Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition, including Limgrave, Caelid, and Liurnia, etc. Furthermore, many more new features await players' discovery. Gamescom, held from August 20th to 24th, also showcased trailers for Tarnished Edition, with the most exciting aspect being the opportunity for players to experience the new classes firsthand. Heavy Knight, clad in a black, heavy-plated armor set and wielding a curved greatsword, showcases the game's ongoing improvements and efforts to bring new content and exciting features. Disappointing Results While the news of Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition's release on Switch 2 delighted loyal fans, it doesn't mean players are indifferent to the game's quality. Players anticipated a gaming experience on Switch 2 comparable to PC and other platforms, but player demonstrations clearly show that the current game's performance falls short of their expectations. Videos of players playing Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition on Switch 2 can be found on various platforms, revealing that smooth gameplay is somewhat strained. It doesn't offer the smooth combat performance players expected. Frame rate drops and stuttering occur in almost every action except when the player's character is stationary. Furthermore, when there are many elements in the scene, they appear more like flat textures than three-dimensional objects. These points to one fact: the game's performance is unstable. For a large-scale open-world adventure game, these are almost fatal problems. During the adventure, you need to constantly pay attention to your surroundings, be wary of potential enemies and bosses, and game lag can make it impossible to detect enemy attacks during adventures and battles. An even more absurd situation is that you see a boss attack, but because of game lag, you can't use your chosen skill in time. In such cases, your character can only take hits and damage. Both situations can lead to character death, and the consequence of death is the loss of all Elden Ring Runes. Although you have the opportunity to return to the death location to retrieve these runes, you would certainly prefer to avoid this situation if possible. Besides performance issues, Switch 2's reliance on buttons to control character movement is uncomfortable for many players accustomed to the keyboard and mouse combination on PCs. The cumbersome button layout makes unfamiliar players feel overwhelmed in combat, not only failing to provide enjoyment but also turning exploration into a burden. If the release is still in this state, it's easy to imagine how many negative reviews Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition will receive from players. Looking Forward To The Release To address the technical issues raised by players, on October 23rd, the official announcement was made that the release of Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition would be delayed. This is a correct decision for both players and the game developers. While the delayed release will disappoint players, it's acceptable to play a more satisfactory game a little later than to keep failing in a half-finished game and even lose all resources and runes. For a game, it's better to carefully polish it and strive for excellence in every aspect than to rush out a buggy game and disappoint the audience. A well-made game will always have its audience. With the immense popularity of Elden Ring IP, players will probably have high expectations for this game that blends the original game and Shadow of the Erdtree. In short, the release of Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition on Switch 2 has been fraught with difficulties. Although it's still uncertain when it will be released in 2026, we all look forward to its return with a brand new look, living up to the expectations of players.

Although the release of Elden Ring Nightreign has diverted some attention from the base game, Souls-like ARPG Elden Ring, which became a global sensation in 2022, remains a popular goal for players to explore. As a game with rich mechanics and up to 10 playable classes, the exploration of Elden Ring builds is nearly endless. While build crafting is mostly based on class, you can also create a build with a specific style through specific gear or skills. With this in mind, this article will explain how to craft a ninja-style build in Elden Ring. Ninja-Style Fashion While clothing is just a bonus to your combat, considering we're introducing a ninja-style build - and since ninjas aren't a class - you should make your style known to your opponents through clothing, which is the most conspicuous way to communicate your style! Since there aren't any pre-set ninja-style sets in the game, you'll have to rely on your own aesthetic to find the right armor to pair with your build. Of course, the black hood and mask are essential, practically the defining elements of a ninja's look. As for other parts, such as gloves or leg armor, simply ensure they're dark and complement the other armor pieces. If you're looking for existing plans to directly customize your look, consider the following armor or sets: Prisoner Set Bandit Mask Samurai Gauntlets Ronin's Armor Black Knife Set Of course, style is one aspect; the armor itself also provides protection against different types of damage and affects attributes like weight and balance. So, when designing your look, consider not only the appearance but also the armor pieces you choose that offer good combat benefits. At least for ninja builds, your combat style should prioritize agility, so armor shouldn't be too heavy. It's worth noting that there are no set bonuses in Elden Ring, so you can mix and match armor freely without worrying about missing out on any extra buffs. Weapon Choice You should know that Samurai is one of the starting classes. While it's not the same concept as a ninja, the gear available not only looks good in ninja style but also offers impressive combat effectiveness when used properly. Most of the available Samurai weapons resemble Japanese swords, and each one has a different method for obtaining. If your character originally chose Samurai class, you should have at least Uchigatana. If not, follow the instructions below to farm it. Uchigatana This long sword, the starting Samurai weapon, is hidden in Deathtouched Catacombs. Enter the northern Limgrave, find Saints Bridge, and proceed to the end of the dungeon to find it. Nagakiba Enter Bloody Finger Hunter Yura questline near Site of Grace south of Agheel Lake. Find Yura to complete the quest, or simply kill him to obtain Nagakiba. If you consider yourself a softie (even though Yura is only an NPC) or want the armor as a bonus, you can find him at the following locations to complete the quest: Second Church of Marika in Altus Plateau Near Murkwater Cave On the bridge near Main Academy Gate Site of Grace Rivers Of Blood Travel to the snow-covered area in the northern part of the map, starting at Freezing Lake Site of Grace, to find Church of Repose. Bloody Finger Okina will appear; defeat her to obtain this weapon. Other Weapons If you prioritize damage over appearance, you can look beyond Samurai weapons and explore weapons that balance agility and lethality. Take Smithscript Dagger, for example. This weapon, added in Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, is a throwing blade that performs well in both ranged and melee combat. More importantly, it can be thrown and instantly returns to your hand, like a souped-up version of a true ninja's kunai. Enter Ruined Forge Lava Intake and reach the end of the corridor to find it. Alternatively, Claws of Night are also excellent, as they also have the ability to return instantly after being thrown. They can be obtained by defeating Swordhand of Night Anna in Cathedral of Manus Metyr beneath Finger Ruins of Miyr during Ymir's questline. Choosing The Best Ashes Of War To Obtain Armaments Ashes of War is a unique mechanic in Elden Ring. Essentially, equipping this type of items will grant new skills and affinities to your gear, playing a crucial role in enhancing your build's overall strength. For ninja builds, good dodging and stealth are essential combat styles, allowing you to stealthily close in and kill enemies, much like an assassin. For this reason, we recommend prioritizing the following Ashes of War: Bloodhound's Step: This provides excellent evasion capabilities by replacing dodging with a long-distance teleport dash. Assassin's Gambit: Grants invisibility and minimizes your footsteps, allowing you to catch enemies off guard and backstab them. Unseen Form: Allows you to become partially invisible, making it harder for enemies to detect you from a distance. Of course, there are many other Ashes of War with similar effects. If you want more to add, you can actively kill bosses, explore the open world and loot corpses or chests, or buy Elden Ring runes and redeem them at merchants. In short, while ensuring your appearance is as ninja-like as possible, you should always focus on agility, mystery, and decent damage output as the core of your Elden Ring ninja build. We hope our suggestions help you have a great gaming experience!