How to two hand your weapons in Elden Ring

How can you two hand your weapons in Elden Ring? Putting down your shield in order to two hand your weapon can be an effective if risky combat strategy in Elden Ring, although the game itself doesn't give you many pointers as to how or why this can be done. On this page, we'll quickly go over how to two hand wield your weapons in order to deal more damage.

How to two hand weapons in Elden Ring

Most characters begin the game wielding a weapon in one hand and a shield in the other. The main exception is the Warrior, who does own a shield but begins with a Scimitar equipped to each hand. You can switch out your character's equipped items in the Equipment menu.

Two handing your weapon is not the same as dual wielding. When two handing, you still have a single weapon equipped, but your character's firmer two-handed grip allows them to deal increased melee damage with it. However, even once you've managed their equipment for the proper set-up, they won't default to a two-handed attack, which reqires its own button combo.

With a weapon equipped in one hand and no item equipped to the other, you can deliver a stronger two-handed blow by pressing the Y button alongside the appropriate trigger button (using a controller), or by pressing the E key while clicking the appropriate mouse button (using mouse and keyboard). If the weapon is equipped to the character's right hand you need to attack using RT / RMB; if the weapon is equipped to their left hand, two handed attacks are delivered from LT / LMB.

Naturally, abandoning your shield isn't something to be done lightly, as you'll be far more reliant on dodging and rolling to evade attacks and avoid damage without a shield equipped. However, there are a number of reasons why you might still want to do this. Large bosses tend to overcome your shields anyway, leaving you with evasion as your main defence technique, so you might as well consider temporarily dumping the shield altogether in exchange for the extra damage a two handed weapon stance nets you. It can also be an effective early-game strategy if you don't have a good shield yet; a quicker technique for clearing groups of low-level minions who keep getting in your way; and just a fun change of pace if you're keen to experiment with everything the game has to offer.

Now that you know how to two hand your weapons, this would be the perfect time to check out our guide to the best weapons in Elden Ring. To see which characters begin the game with the default weapon you best like the look of, take a look at our guide to the best classes in Elden Ring.