Elden Ring has several hidden combat mechanics, which are not explicitly stated or taught to players. Read on to learn about hidden horsemanship combat mechanics, poise, and more!

List of Hidden Combat Mechanics

Hidden Combat Mechanics
Sneaking Deals Increased Damage Enemies Have a Hidden Poise Meter Enemies Have A Status Effect Meter Two-Handing Shields Horseback Mechanics Partial-Parries How to Flip Weather Affects Certain Attacks Attacking Through Walls Mashing Buttons Will End Grabs Early

Increased Damage Against Unsuspecting Enemies

You will deal increased damage to enemies if they haven't noticed you, which is incredibly helpful even if you didn't successfully pull off a backstab. One way to do this is to sneak behind enemies.

Enemies Have a Hidden Poise Meter

While not shown, all enemies, even bosses, also have Poise. The amount of Poise an enemy has seems to be dependent on their size, with smaller enemies having little to no poise and larger enemies having large amounts of Poise.

When you attack, you fill up an enemy's hidden Poise meter. Strong attacks from heavy weapons deal more damage and hence, will fill the Poise meter faster, whereas lighter weapons will need more consecutive hits. Breaking an enemy's Poise leaves them open for a critical attack.

Enemies Also Have a Hidden Status Effect Meter

Same with Poise, all enemies and bosses also have a hidden Status Effect meter that fills up when you are using attacks or spells that inflict Status Effects.

In order to proc these effects, however, you will need to continuously attack them as stopping will make the meter slowly go down.

Do note, however, that certain enemies may be immune or highly resistant to certain status effects.

List of All Status Effects and How to Cure

Two-Handing Shields

It is possible to two-hand your shields. This gives more stability while blocking and you can also use it to attack. Guard Counters works with this as well!

How to Guard Counter

Horseback Mechanics

Swing Your Weapon On Both Sides

While mounted on Torrent, you can use R2 to swing your weapon to the right and L2 to swing it to the left.

You Can Two-Hand on Horseback

You can two-hand your weapon before you mount Torrent to deal more damage. The animations while attacking with two-handed weapons do not change, but the difference of damage is extremely apparent.

How to Two-Hand Weapons

Charged Strong Attacks

Depending on the weapon, you can hold R2 to charge a strong attack. This will drag your weapon across the ground before the animation finishes playing.

You can use this to damage several enemies at once.

Mounting Torrent Gives Invincibility

Mounting and dismounting Torrent while fighting actually gives you Invincibility Frames, meaning that you won't take damage during the animation. This is helpful in many cases where you need to make a quick get away when a strong enemy is nearby.

You also get I-frames by dismounting Torrent, although its uses may be more limited in comparison to mounting Torrenty for retreat. In any case, it's a great way to flex in front of a boss!

How to Find and Ride the Horse Mount

Partial-Parries

Partial-parries happen when you parry early and are in the recovery animation or when you parry an attack that cannot be parried.

You don't mitigate the damage, but you do take less damage than you were supposed to from the attack as well as avoiding being stunned or staggered.

How to Flip

When using Curved Sword weapons, you can perform a flip by tapping the dodge button in the middle of charging a Strong Attack. If pressed before the attack animation begins, you will do a special flip back while attacking.

Thrusting Swords Special Dodge Animation

While not a flip, doing the same input when doing a charged attack with a Thrusting Sword while result in another unique animation where you jump back while thrusting.

Weather Affects Certain Attacks

Certain attacks are actually affected by the weather. For instance, while it's raining you will deal less fire damage, but more lightning damage. Lightning attacks also do a bit of AoE damage when done in bodies of water.

List of Weather Effects

Attacking Through Walls

Normally attacking a wall will cause your weapon to bounce off, but jumping while attacking will cause your weapon to go through the wall. This is especially helpful when you're trying to hit an enemy on the other side.

Mashing Buttons Will End Grabs Early

If you get grabbed by an enemy, you can mash any number of buttons rapidly in order to break the grab early. This will make you take less damage and also, in some cases, prevent you from being staggered or knocked down.

Elden Ring Related Guides

Beginner's Guide: All Tips and Tricks

Tips and Tricks