How to Use Two-Handed Weapons in Elden Ring

Fight with two hands in Elden Ring is a combat system technique allowing you to wield a sword or other melee weapon with two hands.

All weapons intended for close combat in Elden Ring can be wielded with one or two hands, which leads to some differences in how you can use them. A special case, which we will also discuss below, are bows and crossbows.

This guide shows how to use two-handed weapons in Elden Ring on PC with keyboard and mouse, PS4, PS5 and Xbox, what effects, advantages and disadvantages this has.

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How to Use Two-Handed Weapons in Elden Ring

Compared to its predecessors, FromSoftware has slightly modified the two-handed weapon grip controls, as jumping was added as an action in Elden Ring and requires its own button.

While in Dark Souls and Bloodborne you just had to press the triangle or Y button, you you now need to activate more buttons for two-handed weapons.

PS4/PS5: Hold triangle + R1/R2 to two-hand your weapon in your right hand (or L1/L2 to two-hand it in your left hand).
Xbox: Hold Y + RB/RT to place your two-handed weapon in your right hand (or LB/LT for your left).

PC: Hold E + right click to place your two-handed weapon in your right hand (hold E + left click to place your two-handed weapon with your left hand).

veteran ring player fighting enemies with a two-handed weapon — Using two-handed weapons can compensate for a (small) part of the missing strength. | Image credit: Eurogamer/FromSoftware

Pressing the same buttons again returns you to using the weapon one-handed. This allows you to quickly switch between the two modes.

This also applies to staves or shields if you are using a two-handed shield (such as a Marked Leather Shield, which inflicts blood loss when you attack with it).

Benefits of wielding your weapon with two hands in Elden Ring

There are several advantages to using a two-handed sword:

It can partly compensate for a lack of strength: If you fall slightly below the strength value required to wield a weapon, you can still use it effectively with both hands. However, this only works on a small scale, for example if you are missing a few points. For example: the Gransax Trait spear requires 20 strength points, but can be used two-handed with only 14 points. The Dragon Halberd, however, requires 22 Strength, but you will need upwards of 14 Strength to hold it effectively with both hands. If you still try to wield such a weapon with one hand without meeting the strength requirements, its damage values will be significantly reduced.
Two hands deal more damage: A two-handed hit will always drain more HP from your opponent and thus shorten the fight (assuming you don’t make bad mistakes by missing a shield, of course).
The weight of the equipment is reduced:

If you use your weapon with two hands, you do not have a free hand and therefore do not need a shield. Remove it to reduce the weight of your equipment and use that extra weight to equip yourself with more armor pieces, for example.

Elden Ring Dual Wield Weapon Menu Availability Notice — Such a message indicates that effective ambidextrous use is possible despite the lack of strength. If you miss too many points, the weapon is almost useless. | Image credit: Eurogamer/FromSoftware

Disadvantages of wielding your weapon with two hands in Elden Ring

However, there are some important compromises to making two-handed weapons that you will need to consider before heading into battle:

Without an additional free hand, you can’t use a shield or torch (even though your lantern will still work). You can of course leave all of this equipped, but you will have to hold the weapon with one hand again each time in order to be able to use other combat equipment.
Two-handed attack animations are generally a bit slower, as your character puts more power into the strike. They also need time to recover from the attack and be able to follow up again. However, the differences are marginal.

Without a shield you are more dependent on the timing of your dodge rolls (or other means of damage reduction) to avoid enemy attacks.
You can block with a two-handed weaponbut you will still take damage compared to a shield with 100% physical defense damage resistance

How to use two-handed bows and crossbows in Elden Ring

Using bows and crossbows is a bit different, as you must wield a bow with both hands by default. Technically, you can hold the bow with one hand and use the other for other weapons, but this will prevent you from using your bow effectively.

Crossbows, on the other hand, can be used and reloaded with one hand or both hands. The advantage of using it with two hands is that you can aim and zoom with it, which is not possible with one-handed use.