playing as the Samurai Class in Elden Ring and using the Uchigatana Melee Armament. Players can also find this Ash of War in the Starting Region, Limgrave, which is dropped by a Teardrop Scarab South East of Agheel Lake. The Unsheath Ash of War can be used by equipping a Katana with Unsheath and using the Skill Button.
Unlike other Ash of Wars, Unsheath has unique properties when holding the Skill Button. Players will enter a Tachi-Ai stance, a sword-drawing stance, where the player will sheath the katana and prepare to draw or Unsheath. During this stance, players will have a choice of 2 fast slash attacks. A light horizontal cross slash, or a heavy vertical overhead slash.
Both attacks come with their own pros and cons, the light horizontal cross slash will use 8 FP in Elden Ring per slash but is very good for large groups of enemies and for a wider range of attacks as the player will try to cover a larger area with their blade. It also moves players forward when attacking, which can be useful for approaching enemies. This can be helpful against fast enemies like dogs, or catching other players when rolling. Due to the fact that the cross slash is only a light attack, Elden Ring enemies with shields or heavy armor will be able to withstand the Unsheath and leave the player wide open for heavy damage.
Using Unsheath Ash of War's Heavy Slash in Elden Ring
Heavy damage in Elden Ring can be countered with the second move, the heavy vertical overhead slash. This heavy attack will slash downward vertically and use 12 FP per slash. Which makes it very useful for flying enemies and has an extreme amount of stagger damage. Enemies in Elden Ring with shields or heavy armor can be easily staggered into a riposte or stance break while using this heavy attack. It will also move players further than the light attack, so it is useful for closing distance.
The downside is that it does cost more FP than the light attack and can be easily punished when the player misses. Also, with the attack coming in vertically, it is more likely to miss on uneven terrain and can be easily dodged by enemies moving left or right. But like the light attack, players can use the light attack to counter enemies moving left or right, and use the heavy attack for enemies that fly or come straight at the player. Players are also able to use the Unsheath Ash of War without the use of FP, but it will do significantly less damage per slash.
Elden Ring is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
