Shards of war dead upgrade#

If there's a melee component in an Ash of War with a spell (like Ash of War: Glintstone Pebble, which has a spell-based projectile and then a melee-based follow-up thrust), then only the melee-component is affected by weapon damage (like any other melee-based Ash of War). Note that buffing a weapon in any shape or form does not increase spell-based Ash of War damage (for example: buffing a Standard Longsword with Scholar's Armament will NOT increase the damage of Ash of War: Carian Grandeur since it's a completely spell-based Ash of War and it's not affected by weapon damage). This means that smaller lighter weapons that inherently do less melee-damage are not at a disadvantage when using spell-based Ashes of War. For example, a Magic Dagger +6 will do the exact same damage as a Magic Uchigatana +6 when both use Ash of War: Carian Grandeur, assuming player stats remain the same.

Shards of war dead upgrade#

This means that any weapon with same upgrade level, same weapon affinity and same player stats, will do the same spell damage with the same Ash of War regardless of weapon of choice. This applies even if the player chooses to replace the original weapon affinity with another one (for example: even if a Standard affinity is applied to a weapon with Ash of War: Glintstone Pebble, having more intelligence will boost the damage of the projectile).

How high the stat of the player is that matches with the original weapon affinity of the Ash of War (for example, a Magic Ash of War, will have its damage increased the more Intelligence the player has a Sacred Ash of War, will in turn have its damage increased the more Faith the player has).

Weapon affinity type (if an affinity other than the original of the Ash of War is applied, then a damage reduction is applied). It is important to note that the damage increase/reduction of this effect is only slight (maximum seems to be around +/-10%, further testing required).

Instead, that damage changes based upon three factors: Keep in mind that since weapon affinity affects weapon damage, different weapon affinities will yield different amounts of damage based on player stats when using a melee-based Ash of War.Īshes of War that consist of casting spells (like the projectile of Ash of War: Glintstone Pebble or the magic sword attack of Ash of War: Carian Grandeur) do not change the damage of the spell based on weapon damage. Holding the weapon in one or two hands does not affect melee damage from an Ash of War (since weapons are always two-handed when using an Ash of War, even if used through a Ash of War: No Skill on the left hand).

Hybrid Ashes of War that have both types of attacks, either alternated or at the same time.Īshes of War that consist of melee attacks have their damage based on weapon damage.

Spell-based Ashes of War, whose damage is affected by upgrade level, weapon affinity type applied and the stat associated with the Ash of War (NOT affected by weapon damage).

Melee-based Ashes of War, whose damage is affected only by weapon damage.

There are three main types of Ashes of War: They are not consumed upon use, but rather 'slotted' into an armament and can be freely swapped in and out. Their descriptions define which armaments they can be applied to, such as Ash of War: Barricade Shield which states that it is 'usable on all shields.'Īshes of War can be freely assigned to armaments without cost, unlike the Gems of FromSoftware's previous title, Dark Souls 3. Doing so will restore the armament's original skill and affinity.Īshes of War are not universally compatible with armaments.

It is possible to undo your selection by repeating the aforementioned process and choosing the same Ash of War, but instead select 'Undo Enhancement' instead of an affinity. The selected affinity will determine the attack power, attribute scaling, guarded damage negation, and passive effects of the armament. Once inside the menu, you can select from your available Ashes of War to replace the armament's skill and grant an optional Affinity.

Alternatively, players can visit Smithing Master Hewg at the Roundtable Hold who can offer the same services. After obtaining the Whetstone Knife, players can visit a Site of Grace and select the 'Ashes of War' menu.