Can You Beat Elden Ring with the "WORST" Ashes of War?

[@icetide9411]

Seeing a few of these on the list baffles me. It's like pest threads again, people don't try these things and assume that means they're bad. Rosus's is surprisingly powerful, Ritual Spear is just good, and don't get me started on the grafted dragon's blast of BEAR WITNESS!

[@BigDiji]

Rosus' axe and Grafted dragon were the biggest surprises for me. They far exceeded expectations!

[@amanwithnoplan7648]

Rosus and death spear are downright op at times

[@Leg1503]

Rhosus is so amazing it’s crazy! It’s just a charged heavy x4. I can see why people write it off though. It looks exactly like the sorcery without range, so people use it like the sorcery and are disappointed

[@bobbywalker2980]

Pest threads is crap.

[@Leg1503]

@@bobbywalker2980 ??? It’s the best spell in the entire game against large bosses without setup. Ancient dragon lightning strike beats it out with setup

[@joeyboom117]

"They say Diji murdered the Elden Beast with his voice! Shouted him apart!"

[@BigDiji]

"It is the power of old! The Voice of the Dragonborn!"

[@zyx12345abc]

phantom slash, spectral lance, waves of darkness and SPEARCALLER RITUAL( the aow on death ritual spear) are at least a tier

[@BigDiji]

I think it mostly depends on the circumstances for each of the ashes. Tier lists in general are arbitrary and don't mean much without solid defining rules for the placement of everything. Spectral lance might be really strong against dragon bosses with hard to hit weak spots, but it severely underperforms against fast bosses like Malenia. That being said, all of the ashes you mentioned, excelled somewhere during the run where it was the most optimal time to use it.

[@NoNono-o3h]

Spearcaller literally turned elden ring into L2 the game with the projectile buff lol

[@AceAviations2]

@@BigDiji Phantom Slash is really good as a whole, there's an aspect of it that you didn't use that makes it amazing for general use. You don't need to go in the same direction as the phantom, as soon as you press L2/LT you can unlock and go in a DIFFERENT direction than the phantom, yes you do lose out on an attack, but it gives you a hit while dodging away or to the side of the enemy. This is a VERY safe hit and makes Phantom Slash honestly an S-Tier AoW, not only is it a way to attack, it's also a way to move.

[@hangerber]

Would you ever consider doing a run with only the worst spirit ashes? Either way, I am loving this ”worst” series a hell of a lot. Keep it up!

[@joeykipp7804]

Ainrun did this if you wanna see someone else do it

[@BigDiji]

I'm definitely not opposed to the idea of trying out other "worst" themes! It's just tough to find something worth making a whole video about besides spirit ashes at this point. Which I definitely will consider now! I'm glad you like the videos!

[@frostyelwood9898]

@@BigDijii guess the easiest thing is just “Worst weapons only” or maybe “Viable shield/torch build”. Though im not really sure what youre able to do and want to do. I really like this series and would like to see it continue though even if it branches out to other games

[@StanleyG23]

15:05 It's very cool that the Familial Rancor Ash of War from the Family Heads still doesn't use up any stamina. It's one of the very few things that doesn't use up any stamina in this game. Other than that, this was a pretty fun run.

[@BigDiji]

I didn't even notice that little detail about it. That definitely makes the weapon a lot more interesting! I'm glad you liked the run!

[@TheSuperZOS]

I'm surprised to see phantom slash in a video about "worst" ashes when it's *the* ash that carried me through malenia on my halberds only run. That and surprisingly enough repeating thrust, that one is great for status stacking.

[@BigDiji]

Phantom slash was quite good. It can also be slotted onto halberds, which are arguably one of the best weapon classes. I have a harder time getting repeating thrust to work without trading against the faster enemies/bosses though.

[@TheSuperZOS]

@@BigDiji you really need a very long weapon to get thrust to do well without trading, but it really is mostly a status stacker, too slow for damage purposes

[@Justice_John]

Rosus's axe used to be bugged and that is why it was probably rated so low. It literally used to be bugged with golden vow and when you used the weapon art after using golden vow it delt zero damage.

[@BigDiji]

I'm sure that's probably part of the reason it has such a negative reputation!

[@nssheepster]

DoomWolf actually did a full challenge run with just Spearcall Ritual- It was stupidly strong. If you really get all the buffs going it can shred through most anything. It helps that it's a Magic AoW, so it gets the armor set and Terra Magica as buff options as well.

[@BigDiji]

That's interesting! I didn't know the spellblade armor boosted it! Buff stacking in ER is very strong and makes most every type of damage viable. Within reason of course

[@nssheepster]

@@BigDiji Yeah Magic AoW get some extra options that make it a bit easier to abuse them in particular, but buff stacking in general.... Once someone starts pulling out Howl of Shabriri you know they've got like eight different things buffing whatever they're going to do to you.

[@jaydenhorner2895]

“We are this far in how are you still dying to elevators ” proceeds to drop down elevator shaft

[@BigDiji]

Literally 5 minutes later too lol. Instant karma

[@estrogenuser]

sometimes i get too bored on elevators and do random stuff like charged attacks that cause me to fall to my death

[@Domithan1]

love these type of elden ring video

[@BigDiji]

Thank you!

[@RobbenBaert-wb2rb]

Me too😊

[@stwbf2729]

They love you to

[@legoose4598]

Blown away by what some people rank as "The Worst". Its such a shame that people get so caught up in meta builds they don't branch out and play with everything.

[@turtleusa353]

Why is spearcall ritual considered bad it's honestly op. Good aoe, good cast time and good fp cost for what it is

[@BigDiji]

I think it had issues in the past that influenced its placement in tier lists. My only gripe is that the AoE is a bit too large for medium sized bosses, so there's many stronger alternatives. It also seems to work better on enemies that are completely grounded, hence why it seemed to struggle against Maliketh compared to Rosus' axe. Other than that, the weapons is very strong and pretty underrated!

[@MRX-tm3st]

26:27 well, yeah any weapon would be poo if youre in the literal LAST LEGACY DUNGEON with a +6 and against an enemy with high elemental damage resistance, if its against a fire-weak enemy like Radagon, Surge of Faith does closer to 2-3k with the same buffs active

[@Scorchlette]

This challenge is just more proof to me that people don't know what they're talking about when it comes to bad weapons/AoWs. Like, when built properly, Bear Witness! is *really* strong.

[@BigDiji]

I used to be a Grafted Dragon hater, but I'm reformed now. It's definitely a go-to now for fun fist weapons/AoW

[@dinkykong6688]

you should turn the "worst" trilogy into a franchise by making a worst weapons challenge run (use them at +0 to really highlight their badness)

[@BigDiji]

It'll be more difficult to do stuff like "worst" weapons, but I could try to find other stuff to do!

[@dinkykong6688]

@@BigDiji i thought about it a bit and worst weapons sounds pretty boring. a run where you can only use great serpent hunt would probably be interesting.

[@incredababy5010]

30:27 Criticises people for getting this far into the game and still dieing to elevators: "alright, elevators not up" 💀

[@ThatGuyOrby]

I saw Waves of Darkness on the line up at the beginning of the video and am a bit confused, save for the fact it used to be bugged (the actual slash after the wave used to have no hit-box gimping it's damage, it's now fixed) it has no reason to have a bad reputation. Massive poise/hyperarmor and hits like a truck. Especially on a Cold attuned Zweihander or similar. The waves have INT scaling apparently and with cold attunement each wave causes Frostbite build up.

[@TheOridionz]

I unironically beat Malenia with the heavy pickaxe with frost using waves of darkness on my first run and only took me 7 tries to beat her.

[@BigDiji]

Pickaxe is a GOATED weapon. charge attacks do an insane amount of damage. Frost infusion on it is very strong too!

[@Valomyred]

yo man i’ve been watching elden ring content for so long and just now found your channel. gotta say it’s one of the best. love it

[@BigDiji]

Thank you so much! That's a really nice compliment, and I'm glad you like the videos!

[@titanics.o.s2101]

I think those rankings were done BEFORE most patches that buffed most aow that why they were ranked lower than they should

[@BigDiji]

I double checked some of the tier lists to make sure they weren't outdated. None are older than November, and some are as recent as March I think!

[@sqrtgrandad8055]

The editing and video value are incredible seeing you have under 10k subs is CRIMINAL

[@BigDiji]

That's a very generous compliment, friend! I do my best to make the videos as entertaining as possible!

[@MDetective]

It's all fun and games 'til Radahn gets hit right in the Leonard

[@BigDiji]

Poor Leonard doesn't deserve this kind of abuse

[@Rocky-yw1zo]

Rosus axe i was using in a solo playthrough run and honestly its just a in general good weapon and mothwing flight not even bad if used on the right weapon. In general a lot of these ashes are war arent bad and have their on good uses Btw i recently learned u can Carian retaliation blood rain

[@BigDiji]

The only problem with poison moth flight is that you kinda have to build around using it, unless you're just using it for passive damage. It has really good poison buildup, but the poison doesn't last long. Also landing the big burst attack at the end of the poison timer is pretty difficult, and might result in you missing out on damage. Not to mention that bosses gain stronger resistances to status the more they're afflicted with it. Rosus' axe is OP btw. Like actually strong af

[@cosmalade]

Nobody ever uses the Rosus' Axe bc it's often grouped with the far inferior version, Tibia's Summons. However, Rosus' Summons actually synergizes with your weapon, giving it that extra stagger power and damage.

[@_Mookie]

Seeing some of these ashes of War you ranked as “shitter Aows” blows my mind. I don’t understand how you thought Godricks big ass hand was a bad weapon? Otherwise good video!

[@kaizoaudio1798]

Wait, Waterfowl is ranked poorly? How? Sword Insignias, Prosthesis, Jar Shard, and Swaddling Cloth. Melt everything, stay alive.

[@BigDiji]

It's biggest fault is the long animation for the waterfowl. And most bosses will break you out of it before you can finish it. If you have high enough endurance to wear heavy armor, wield the weapon, and have enough HP to be tanking hits, then sure the weapon is pretty strong. But at that rate, you're likely already a really high level and could use something else.

[@asdergold1]

You don't have Malenia's infinite poise.

[@vikkstardoom2950]

the only reaon why raus' axe was considered trash is because it was bugged to where the ash of war literally did 0 damage, it even gave back the health taken from the physical hit of the weapon

[@empiyrr2133]

I love the trash talking on the grafted dragon then next thing we see is it melting Radahn

[@crossycross6417]

a few of these are S tier ngl. Just underused and under appreciated

[@BigDiji]

Absolutely! Or some of them were bugged in the past. Rosus' axe was the most surprising one on the list IMO

[@bernard832]

What we've learned from this series is not to trust tier lists.

[@rangopistacho6928]

ashes of war and not actually bad, they are actually pretty damn viable (most of them), and some even just straight up make the game a joke, Ive done a few runs with some ashes of war and they carried me incredibly well, the Rosus axe was pretty much hated on because it had the same effect as the spell, but in reality it dealt a lot more damage and has that extra axe hit you perform that also bumps up its damage, infact most of the ashes of war you get from the nights cavalry are really good, giant hunt for one is insanely good against malenia and breaking poise overall

[@BigDiji]

I would agree with that. Ashes of War definitely have the least "bad" options compared to spells and spirit ashes. Some of them are downright broken and can carry single-handedly, even though they're designed to supplement the normal combat in the game.

[@EinSilverRose]

Poison Moth Flight makes me depressed over just how godawful it is. NPCs can DODGE the poison proc like a bleed proc. If anyone is ever doing a Poison build with Posion Moth Flight do yourself a favor. Use the longest weapon you can and in this case it's the Nagakiba. Spectral Lance is really strong against some enemies and bosses. Namely the very fun copy/pasted dragons. You can hit their head relatively easily so you actually have a chance to break their poise for once.

[@BigDiji]

At least poison moth flight does heavy poison now. It sucks because in the longer fights you can't really keep getting poison off, since the enemies resistances increases with each respective status application.

[@EinSilverRose]

Poison Moth Flight also removes the poison for the bleed-like proc. It is astoundingly bad. I also think this particular AoW is missing the follow-up mentioned in the description so it was most likely tweaked before being implemented fully.

[@Aiden-Ed]

@@BigDiji wait it does? Honestly it might not be that bad with a poison infusion cause it’ll at least last longer.

[@SilverSwagboss]

The rosus axe ash of war isnt actually all that bad. The only problem is getting it to hit but when you do its damage is great unlike the spell

[@BigDiji]

It's actually kinda OP tbh. The damage output is ridiculously high. I think the spell gives it a bad reputation!

[@Telis3456]

Loretta's Slash needs a magic or cold infusions to do damage and since the second part has hyperarmour, it's actually not bad, I personally like it on halberds more than sword dance.

[@BigDiji]

I did damage testing with multiple different setups and never got satisfying results. The hyper armor is good, but the damage output was pitiful imo. At least in comparison the other polearm AoW that're really strong.

[@estrogenuser]

@@BigDiji Loretta's slash is really nice on her own halberd from what I've seen. maybe that aow just sucks on other weapons

[@zubz5944]

Another banger. Keep up the great work! 👌

[@BigDiji]

Thanks Zubz! I appreciate it! 😁

[@amyboyer8952]

Great video!!! Love the edits!

[@darianclark3980]

Phantom Slash: One of the "Worst" Ash of War Storm Stomp: Hahahahahahaaa

[@PixiePulse_]

I saw somebody do a video on just HOW STRONG Phantom Slash is like last night, so seeing in this video is really funny

[@itsssnek810]

"Hand of Malenia.png" had me hysterical

[@Coulroperation]

Eruption is a fairly solid choice for easy staggers on enemies but I guess it's on here because you technically have 0 incentive to use it over Prayerful Strike, which is even easier to get.

[@jeremiahheinz7773]

You should have added the ‘balanced’ version of flame of the redmanes(it makes me so sad to see my boy stoop this low)

[@BigDiji]

Flame of the redmanes is definitely gutted compared to what it used to be, but I still think it's pretty strong!

[@stephenparichha4734]

Nice video bro love your content 👏👏👏

[@BigDiji]

Thank you! I'm glad you liked it!

[@cthulhuisgamer373]

allowing riposte kinda negates part of the challenge loretta's slash is good for status weapons like cold grave scythe phantom slash plus a weapon buff makes it op as the phantom should have the same effect as your weapon when you cast it

[@BigDiji]

I don't think so. I think when you're talking about ashes of war that are designed in a way to do less damage but stagger bosses more, it makes sense to take advantage of the openings they give you. Flame of the redmanes pre-nerf was one of the best ashes of war, not because of the damage it dealt, but because of the ridiculous poise damage it dealt. You wouldn't consider using it and not taking the chance to riposte a boss in an ordinary run. Also, as far as loretta's slash goes, I found 0 use for it since so many other ashes of war could do what it does but way better. It was also really slow and dealt little to no damage for the trades I would have to do to bosses. It was cool to jump Godfrey's AoE with it though!

[@castingfegaming]

Arrow sting doesn't affect spectral Lance, but arrow's reach does

[@BigDiji]

I figured that out the hard way! Weird that it only goes one way and not both

[@Aiden-Ed]

I hate when people trash on grafted dragon even though it’s ash is fantastic and it’s a fist weapon so posture damage.

[@BigDiji]

I am reformed now. Definitely one of my favorite fist weapons after using it for myself. It gets a way worse rep than it deserves!

[@MrNobodySFM]

I really wish royal greatsword would do constanst frost buildup and not just with the ash of war.. If death poker has it, why not royal greatsword? Its one of my favorite weapons design wise, has a sick ash of war and i just genuinely love frost weapons, its a shame you get this right after moonlight greatsword which makes it basically useless. If i had to sum up this weapon it would be "wasted potential" It can be SO good with just a few slight changes or maybe even only the passive frost buildup.

[@BigDiji]

I agree completely. It's ALMOST there, it just needs a little more to really be worth using. Especially for such a competitive weapon slot for mages that's ruled by Moonlight Greatsword.

[@colossusX1]

I actually like trolls roar and the troll's hammer is fun to use.

[@BigDiji]

Troll's war is GOATED. It's probably one of the better ashes of war for poise breaking bosses, now that flame of the redmanes is gutted

[@killzonexbattleshak2276]

Beat every boss what there most resistant too

[@BigDiji]

Beating Radabeast with only holy is true despair

[@Melodyyyy3]

Like 80% would just be holy lol

[@banshee1vocalist]

​@@BigDijilong horn go brrrrrr

[@olapedo8833]

Ok...make the trifecta a quadfecta.....WORST WEAPONS!!!

[@r3dn3ck3r3]

What about worse weapons like Staves, Sacred Seals or Tools?

[@BigDiji]

I could probably try doing worst tools or maybe consumables 🤔

[@Deneb626]

Who said that Spearcaller Ritual is bad. I just want to talk. I won't hurt them just tell me who it was. But no really, I regularly pull it out when helping others as a summon and basically play as orbital artillery. Just find a good spot out of the way, pop Terra Magica, and *chunk that healthbar*.

[@BigDiji]

I've heard others call it a worse bloodboon ritual, but I'm finding that I like spearcall ritual more now!

[@MrPanda-Power]

This worst series has been great fun.

[@BigDiji]

I'm glad you like it!

[@The_Fire_Guy]

W tarnished

[@BigDiji]

W Comment

[@MundaneRaven]

Do it again! But this time, no vigor leveling!

[@BigDiji]

Ouch, vigor mandatory for me! I make too many stupid mistakes each fight!

[@MundaneRaven]

@@BigDiji that's fair, the games already hard enough, no need to make it even harder by making mistakes a mandatory do over.

[@BigDiji]

@@MundaneRaven That being said, I have already started a RL1 run, but having other stipulations like being forced to use AoW make it a bit too much for me. Maybe in the future though!

[@symystry]

Can you beat elden ring using the worst weapons? (every region/boss uses a different f tier weapon)

[@BigDiji]

This could be a fun concept. I did something similar recently that I might make into a video, but it wasn't using the worst weapons

[@arkknight8405]

If the incantations video taught me never listen to game journalists

[@BigDiji]

Yet here we are making the same mistakes.

[@DracoTheOneAndOnly]

I’m surprised how half of these were considered trash. Most are pretty decent in PvE, but in pvp, like half of these aow’s are absolutely busted

[@BigDiji]

I believe the tier lists are made without PvP in mind at all. So stuff like storm stomp and storm assault weren't very high on any list. But also, each individual tier list was likely made by one singular person, so you can only take them so seriously until you try them out for yourself, you know?

[@vike_]

Phantom slash was so good when you could put bloodflame and blackflame to it. Really a shame they removed it

[@BahtataT]

I FUCKING LOVE YOUR VIDEOS BUD

[@_Mookie]

Oh now we’re getting serious huh?

[@BigDiji]

We stay serious

[@gameracer5155]

I mean people have beaten the game with their bare hands. So yes, quite possibly

[@melissabaha7049]

why why kill alexander

[@BigDiji]

Sorry Melissa, he drops one of the best talismans in the game.

[@bluebirdjay4592]

Wait royal greatsword is a bad aow? That carried me on my first playthrough ngl

[@deox775]

Sorry for asking too many questions but when was waves of darkness was the worst ash of war

[@BigDiji]

I don't think it was ever considered THE worst, but it was bugged at one point iirc, and that kinda hurt its reputation. Probably why it got placed low on some tier lists!

[@jdogzerosilverblade299]

The fact that you didn't touch mind and kept it at base level pisses me off for some reason.

[@Marina-bc2dc]

this is my guy

[@BigDiji]

ayy

[@xaviercollums6825]

What ash of war did he use against Draconic Tree sentinel

[@BigDiji]

Earthshaker! It's a generic ash of war you get in altus plateau

[@lowtap1]

Bro I did 4k damage on radagon with bear Witness

[@vosstoofly]

common Diji W video

[@BigDiji]

Common W Commenter!

[@alexiovelasco3222]

You implying ground slam is bad is psychotic.

[@BigDiji]

It's actually a pretty good AoW! It's just on the slower side, so you have to trade hits with bosses. But out of all the slower AoW, ground slam is definitely higher up imo

[@Aguyfrompoland.]

Im in the chat !

[@BigDiji]

And in the comments!

[@synthraofficial5366]

None of these sre bad sshes of war. Some if them are among the best in the entire game.

[@boomervergil1328]

soup

[@BigDiji]

salad

[@lunar8783]

The worst aow is easily 'kick'.

[@BigDiji]

Yeah, but I wasn't going to subject myself to kicking a boss to death. It's actually just the worst damage output in the game period. It worse than punching.

[@lunar8783]

@juscbhbhuvsdsdvbhjwsdv3843 You know beating some bosses takes hours with kick right? He still wanted to have some fun.

[@turtleofannihilation272]

As much as i like your video, I think you looked up the worst PVP ashes of war, even then, some of these are just not even close to bad

[@BigDiji]

I made sure to check the tier lists and not one of them mentioned PvP anywhere that I saw. Bad is subjective and tier lists are arbitrary, so none of it really matters. Glad you liked the video though!

[@miimiibeschde4818]

Dislike You killed Alexander and didn't apologize

[@Kretek]

Half if not most of those ashes of war are good/great. I never seen anyone claiming they are the "worst". What is this list? Phantom slash? Loretta slash? Phantom lance? Death Ritual Spear?!?!?!?!?!?!!?!? Is this a joke? Dude. You must be trolling.

[@IbanezDom]

Hand of Malenia.PNG

[@BigDiji]

Hand of Malenia png was borked