Elden Ring how to critical hit PC

FromSoftware’s Elden Ring is an upcoming action RPG made in collaboration with the creator of Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin which releases on 25th February. The story follows the destruction of the titular Elden Ring which caused the shards, ‘the Great Runes’ to be scattered all over the realm of the Lands Between. The role of the player is to recover all the Great Runes in order to fix the Elden Ring, and be instated as the Elden Lord. To do so they need to encounter NPCs and enemies and learn combat and magic abilities to defeat the game bosses. Calculated and close-ranged melee-based combat is important in the game, and players need to know how to use their skills. This guide will take you through the process of performing critical strikes in Elden Ring.

Using Critical Strikes in Elden Ring

Critical strikes are key components in combat in Elden Ring and are used to deplete a large amount of health from the enemies of the player.

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Before you perform a critical strike, it might be useful for you to learn how to parry, which is essentially staggering an opponent to leave them vulnerable to a critical hit. After a successful parry, you can get a free critical strike. This can be done with boss enemies as well.

In order to break an enemy’s stance, you will have to deplete their stance bar which is an invisible bar that depletes whenever you land successful attacks, especially consecutive ones, strong charged hits or aggressive jump attacks. You will know that their stance is broken when the enemy is down and unable to attack for a few seconds.

You can easily take down a staggered or downed opponent by walking up to them and attacking. If there is a glowing spot on the enemy you can aim for it. Make sure you are close enough to the enemy. This will trigger a critical strike animation and result in immense damage.

Hitting fallen enemies can result in a critical strike as well. This is also true for sleeping enemies as they will take more damage when they are unaware.

You can sneak up behind an enemy to deal a critical hit.

The buttons you should press for the critical strike are R1 / RB on Playstation or Xbox, and left mouse click for PC.

I’m currently doing a Master’s Degree in English, have been writing on and off for years. Part-time gamer and full-time reader of obscure literature. If I’m not at my desk, I’ve probably spotted a cat outside.

Elden Ring is the all-new player-favorite survival RPG that lets you defend the titular Elden Ring and repair it to ultimately become the Elden Lord. players undertake the thrilling mission that involves collecting items and weapons all around the vast game map as they defeat monsters. The combat mechanisms in the game might look a bit new to some players, so here’s this guide to help you through the process of how to land a critical hit in Elden Ring.

How to Land a Critical Hit in Elden Ring

Critical hits are a big part of the game as they are useful in every fight. These special hits also have other benefits such as pushing your enemy away from you and buying you more time.

Many of your enemies will be greatly affected by hard-hitting hits, so it’s a good time to take some time and learn how to get those high-damage attacks.

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There are several ways to use the critical hit, which are explained below.

Backstabbing

This is the most common method to use the critical hit feature. Using your stealth skills, get behind an enemy and catch them unawares. Due to their shock, they will often take more damage and stumble. You can land another hit while they’re still down.

Stamina Attack

Like your characters have stamina, so do your enemies. You can deplete an enemy’s stamina by hitting them continuously, and landing a critical hit when they have 0 stamina. This will make them collapse and leave them vulnerable to more attacks.

Parrying

Parrying is an immensely useful technique to learn, as you can block an opponent’s hit with your shield, and immediately hit them back with a critical hit. This takes a few tries to be able to use with skill, so make sure to practice well.

I’m currently doing a Master’s Degree in English, have been writing on and off for years. Part-time gamer and full-time reader of obscure literature. If I’m not at my desk, I’ve probably spotted a cat outside.