What can you do as a free member?

Member benefits illustration

Create your free account today and unlock all our premium features and tools to enhance your gaming experience.

Member benefits illustration

Create your free account today and save articles to your watchlist and get notified when they're updated with new information.

Member benefits illustration

Create your free account today and save your favorite games for quick access later, synced across all your devices.

Member benefits illustration

By creating a Game8 account and logging in, you'll receive instant notifications when someone replies to your posts.

Comment rating feature illustration

By creating a Game8 account and logging in, you can make use of convenient features in the comments section, such as rating and sorting comments.

Premium archive feature illustration

By creating a Game8 account and logging in, you can access Premium articles that are exclusively available to members.

Site Interface

Guest
Free Member
Article Watchlist
Game Bookmarks
Cross-device Sync
Light/Dark Theme Toggle
User Profiles
Direct Feedback
Comment Rating

Game Tools

Guest
Free Member
Interactive Map Access
Interactive Map Pins
Interactive Map Comments
Interactive Map Pins Cross-Device
Check List
Event Choice Checker
Deck Builder Cross-Device
Message Board Notification
Message Board Cross-Device
Build Planner
Stat Calculator
Diagnostic Tool
Weapon/Armor Wishlist

Want more information?Learn more

Elden Ring

How to Two-Hand Weapons

7
Add to Watchlist

★Check Out Our Elden Ring Nightreign Wiki!★
★ Scadutree Fragments | Revered Spirit Ashes
☆ Scadutree Blessing Scaling Explained
★ Best DLC Weapons | Best DLC Builds
☆ Best Weapons Tier List

Elden Ring - Two-Handing
Two-Handing in Elden Ring lets you wield your weapons or shields with both hands instead of only one. Read on to learn how to two-hand wield weapons in Elden Ring, as well as the benefits and disadvantages of doing so!

List of Contents

How to Two-Hand Wield Weapons

Platform Button Combination
PC (Hold) E + Left Click / Right Click
Hold E + Left Click or Right Click
PlayStation (Hold) ▲ + L1 / R1
Hold the UP Button + L1 or R1
Xbox (Hold) Y + LB / RB
Hold Y + LB or RB

Elden Ring lets you two-hand weapons and shields via specific keybinds that depend on which platform you're playing in. All of these involve holding the button that shows your quickslot menu, and tapping the hand slot that you want to two-hand with.

Two-Hand Weapon Benefits

Increased Attack Power

Two-Handing a weapon or shield increases their Attack Power at the cost of using slightly more stamina for each strike with the weapon.

Access To Another Moveset

Two-Handing also grants access to another moveset, especially if it's a larger weapon. You might have a strong downward strike instead of a normal horizontal swing.

Keep in mind, however, that you will lose the benefit of a shield's defense while Two-Handing, which may force you to rely more on dodging.

Allows the Usage of Certain Skills

Skills such as Square-Off can only be performed via two-handing its weapon first or the weapon on your other hand slot doesn't have a skill in the first place. Try two-handing a weapon if its weapon skill doesn't seem to work!

List of Skills - All Weapon Arts

Two-Hand Weapon Disadvantages

Shields and Secondary Weapons Cannot be Used

Obviously, since you will be wielding the weapon with both hands, you will not be able to use a shield to guard and parry.

On the topic of secondary weapons, be sure to check which weapon you are currently using if you are dual-wielding, as dual-wielding the wrong weapon can result in your death.

Guard Can be Used but is Unreliable

You can guard with a katana or sword, but the guard value is lower so it is less reliable and harder to use than a shield.

Some Weapons Have Slightly Slower Attacks

The downside is that some weapons have slightly slower attack motions, resulting in scenarios where you get hit during an attack that a one-handed user would have dodged.

With that in mind, be sure to keep the timing discrepancies in the back of your head when attacking.

Elden Ring Related Guides

Elden Ring Wiki - Top Partial

Elden Ring Wiki Top

Recommended Guides

Popular Guides
All Soft Caps for Stats (2024) How to Two-Hand Weapons
How to Dual Wield Weapons All Achievements and Trophies
All Whetblade Locations Larval Tears
How to Unlock the Map How to Get the Horse
New Game Plus Guide Game Length
Best Guides
Best Weapons Best Equipment
Best Talismans Best Armor Sets
Best Spirit Ashes Best Ashes of War
Best Sorceries Best Incantations
DLC Guides
All Scadutree Fragment Locations All Revered Spirit Ash Locations

Elden Ring Wiki

Elden Ring Guides
Elden Ring - DLCDLC Elden Ring - Story WalkthroughStory Walkthrough
Elden Ring - Maps and LocationsMaps and Locations Elden Ring - NPCsNPCs
Elden Ring - Tips and TricksTips and Tricks Elden Ring - TalismansTalismans
Elden Ring - Spirit AshesSpirit Ashes Elden Ring - Bell BearingsBell Bearings
Elden Ring - Great RunesGreat Runes Elden Ring - WhetbladesWhetblades
Elden Ring - ItemsItems Elden Ring - EndingsEndings
Elden Ring - BossesBosses Elden Ring - WeaponsWeapons
Elden Ring - Magic SpellsMagic Spells Elden Ring - ArmorArmor
Elden Ring - BuildsBuilds Elden Ring - ClassesStarting Classes
Elden Ring Ashes of WarAshes of War Elden Ring - Divine Towers Divine Towers
Elden Ring - Smithing StonesSmithing Stones Elden Ring - Scrolls Scrolls
Elden Ring - News and Game InfoNews and Game Info Elden Ring - Patch NotesPatch Notes
Elden Ring - Message BoardsMessage Boards Elden Ring - DungeonsDungeons

Comment

See more comments (7 Comments)

Author

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Walkthrough Team
This article was created by Game8's elite team of writers and gamers.
    Leave feedback(Login required)
    Please participate in our site
    improvement survey
    12/2025
    Would you assist in
    improving Game8's site?
    ×
    This survey will take about 1 minute.
    Your answers will help us to improve our website.
    We are listening to our users' valuable opinions and discussing how to act on them.
    The information collected through this survey will be used for the purpose of improving our services. In addition, the information will only be disclosed a part of a statistic in a format that will not allow identification of personal information.
    Begin Survey
    Not Now
    ×
    Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Advertisements.
    Amount of Ads
    Very Dissatisfied
    Somewhat Dissatisfied
    Fine
    Somewhat Satisfied
    Highly Satisfied
    Placement of Ads
    Timing of Ad Display
    Ad Loading Speed
    Safeness of Ads
    Content of Ads
    ×
    Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Quality of Articles.
    Amount of information
    Very Dissatisfied
    Somewhat Dissatisfied
    Fine
    Somewhat Satisfied
    Highly Satisfied
    Frequency of updates
    Speed of new information
    Accuracy of articles
    Understandibility of articles
    Readability of sentences
    ×
    Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Usability of the Site.
    Ease of finding information
    Very Dissatisfied
    Somewhat Dissatisfied
    Fine
    Somewhat Satisfied
    Highly Satisfied
    Loading Speed
    Use of Color
    Font Size
    Visibility of Images
    Easy to Understand Layout
    ×
    Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Message Boards, Comments.
    Ease of Writing
    Very Dissatisfied
    Somewhat Dissatisfied
    Fine
    Somewhat Satisfied
    Highly Satisfied
    Readability
    Ease in Finding Information
    Comment Quality
    Comment Quantity
    Admin Response
    ×
    Please rate each item regarding Game8.co's Site's new design.
    Please rate our site's new design
    Very Dissatisfied
    Somewhat Dissatisfied
    Fine
    Somewhat Satisfied
    Highly Satisfied
    Do you think that the website's design change makes the site easier to use?
    Has the new design made it easier for you to find information on the site?
    Has the new design improved the overall visual appeal of the site?
    How would you rate your overall satisfaction with the new design of the site?
    ×
    How likely are you to recommend Game8 to someone you know?
    Very Unlikely
    0
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10
    Very Likely
    If you have other opinions regarding potential improvement to the website, please share them with us. We would appreciate your honest opinion.
    Note: This is a free response section, so you can proceed without entering anything.
    Note: Please be sure not to enter any kind of personal information into your response.
    ×
    Thank You
    ×
    Thank you for participating in our survey! Your answers will help us to improve the quality of our website and services.
    We hope you continue to make use of Game8.
    Close
    For other opinions or comments, go here.

    Rankings

    Popular Articles
    Message Board
    • We could not find the message board you were looking for.

    Gaming News

    Best PS5 RPGs (December 2025)

    Best PS5 RPGs (December 2025)

    Popular Games

    Recommended Games

    All rights reserved

    ELDEN RING™ & ©BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc. / ©2021 FromSoftware, Inc.

    The copyrights of videos of games used in our content and other intellectual property rights belong to the provider of the game.
    The contents we provide on this site were created personally by members of the Game8 editorial department.
    We refuse the right to reuse or repost content taken without our permission such as data or images to other sites.

    Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Walkthrough & Guides Wiki

    Quick Access
    Guide Index

    Recommended Guides

    DLC Guides

    DLC Recommended Guides

    DLC Walkthrough

    DLC Bosses and NPCs

    DLC Recommended Equipment

    DLC Weapon Lists

    Other DLC Lists

    DLC Location Guides

    DLC FAQs

    Story Walkthrough

    (Base Game) The Lands Between Maps

    (DLC) The Land of Shadow Maps

    Gravesite Plain Points of Interest

    Scadu Altus Points of Interest

    Rauh Ruins Points of Interest

    Southern Shore Points of Interest

    Shadow Keep Points of Interest

    Characters and NPCs

    Base Game NPCs

    DLC NPCs

    Tips and Tricks

    Talismans

    Spirit Ashes

    Whetblades

    Great Runes

    Items

    Endings

    Bosses

    Main Bosses

    Optional Bosses

    Hostile NPCs

    Main Bosses

    Weapons

    DLC Weapons

    Magic Spells

    Incantations

    Sorceries

    Armor Sets

    Builds

    Legacy Dungeons

    DLC Legacy Dungeons

    Dungeons

    Classes

    Skills

    Divine Towers

    Smithing Stones

    Scrolls

    Gestures

    Gesture Uses

    News and Game Info

    Patch Notes

    Message Boards

    Japanese Wiki (日本語版)