Shield Strike

Type

Ashes of War

Default affinity

Standard

Skill

Shield Strike

About this Ash of War

This Ash of War grants no affinity to an armament, but imparts the following skill:

"Shield Strike: A skill that uses the shield to attack. Repeated inputs allow for up to three follow-up attacks."

Usable on all shields.

Specimen Storehouse, Dueling Shield pickup

Shadow Keep

Starting Site of Grace: Storehouse, First Floor

1. Enter the Realm of Shadow after defeating Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord of Blood, by touching the withered arm in Mohg's arena.
2. From Highroad Cross in Scadu Altus, follow the main road north to Shadow Keep's southern gate. Ride the entrance lift and activate Shadow Keep Main Gate grace.
3. Defeat Golden Hippopotamus in the plaza. This is the front-door route; the flooded Church District provides a different way into the keep.
4. From Main Gate Plaza, leave through the west-northwest doorway, pass through the armory and climb the stairs. Continue up the wooden steps to the dining hall, where two Black Knights guard the route.
5. Leave the dining hall through its southeastern exit to the upper rampart. Follow the rampart past the burning boats and watch for the small Shadow Militiamen hiding beside them.
6. Take the stairs leading north-northeast toward the large lift, passing the Fire Knight in front of it. Ride up and activate Storehouse, First Floor grace.
7. From Storehouse, First Floor, head north between the bookshelves toward the rear of the room. Pass the Shadow enemies and take the stairs leading upward.
8. Follow the walkways around the storehouse, taking the next stairs beside the Shadow Militiamen, until you reach the southern walkway on the third floor.
9. Find the Fire Knight overlooking the balcony. Clear the enemy, then look over the railing on the left for the lower stone ledge with a corpse.
10. Collect Dueling Shield from the corpse on the small platform. Shield Strike is its removable Ash; transfer or select its affinity through the Ashes of War menu at a grace.

Notes

• Attacks with the shield in your left hand without first two-handing it. Repeated skill inputs continue the shield's ordinary light-attack chain.
• It costs no FP, but each strike uses stamina. Leave enough stamina to block or evade instead of completing the chain automatically after every opening.
• Small, medium and thrusting shields use a four-hit chain. Greatshields use three hits, so the description's maximum follow-up count is not identical on every shield.
• Damage follows the shield's own attack power, upgrades and affinity. Thrusting shields deal piercing hits, while ordinary shields strike; the weapon in your right hand does not supply the damage.
• Each contact uses the shield's status buildup. A shield with bleed or poison can apply it when the hit connects, but Shield Strike does not create that status on a shield that has none.
• Thrusting shields guard during parts of their attacking motions. Small shields, medium shields and greatshields do not all gain that attacking guard just from installing this Ash.
• Even thrusting-shield attacks have gaps in their guard, and blocking a hit still spends stamina. A guard break can leave you open if both your own attacks and incoming blows empty the bar.
• The chain counts as ordinary light attacks for damage bonuses. Twinblade Talisman can improve its final hit; Shard of Alexander does not improve it merely because you start the chain with the skill button.
• It cannot be charged for Godfrey Icon. The removable Ash is attached to Dueling Shield in the Storehouse and can be used on other compatible infusable shields.
• Compatible weapon classes: Small Shield, Medium Shield, Greatshield, Thrusting Shield. A weapon with a fixed skill cannot use this Ash of War.
• Its default affinity is Standard. The supported choices are Standard, Heavy, Keen, Quality, Fire, Flame Art, Lightning, Sacred, Magic, Cold, Poison, Blood and Occult; the appropriate whetblade is needed for additional options.