Waves of Darkness

Type

Ashes of War

Default affinity

Magic

FP cost

16 FP

Heavy follow-up

5 FP

Skill

Waves of Darkness

About this Ash of War

This Ash of War grants an armament the Magic affinity and the following skill:

"Waves of Darkness: Plunge armament into the ground to release three waves of darkness. Follow up with a strong attack to swing the armament in a sweeping strike."

Usable on greataxes, great hammers, great spears, and colossal weapons.

Astel, Naturalborn of the Void reward

Ainsel River

Starting Site of Grace: Grand Cloister

Before you go

• Defeat Astel, Naturalborn of the Void.
• Trade his remembrance and 10,000 runes with Enia.

1. Start at Caria Manor in northwestern Liurnia. Defeat Royal Knight Loretta and enter Three Sisters behind the manor. Visit Ranni at the top of Ranni's Rise and agree to serve her. Speak to the spirits downstairs, then return to Ranni to finish the conversation.
2. Defeat Starscourge Radahn at Redmane Castle. Return to southern Mistwood and find the new crater near Fort Haight, marked by floating rocks. Descend using its ledges and enter Nokron, Eternal City.
3. Work across Nokron's rooftops to the streets and continue to Mimic Tear. Defeat it and cross the long bridge beyond its arena. Leave the bridge on the left into the woods, then follow the cliff to Ancestral Woods grace.
4. Jump from the cliff beside that grace onto the roof below. Follow the rooftops and narrow building ledges into Night's Sacred Ground. Continue across the broken stone arch into the church, descend inside, and leave onto the lower street. Follow that street to the enormous seated figure and open the chest underneath it for Fingerslayer Blade.
5. Return the blade to Ranni at her tower. Before doing this, finish any remaining Seluvis rewards you want. Rest after speaking to Ranni, then visit Renna's Rise, the northern tower in Three Sisters. Climb it and use the sending gate to Ainsel River Main.
6. Collect Miniature Ranni from the coffin near where you arrive. Rest at Ainsel River Main and select Talk to miniature Ranni repeatedly until she answers. Finish her dialogue.
7. Follow the river through Uhl Palace Ruins, using cover against the hanging creature's projectiles. Continue through the ant tunnel to Nokstella. Follow the river at ground level through the city and take the lift in the small building at the far end to Nokstella Waterfall Basin.
8. Go through the cave beyond Waterfall Basin and defeat the Baleful Shadow in the open red-lit area. Ranni gives you Discarded Palace Key. Return to Raya Lucaria Grand Library, where you defeated Rennala, and unlock the chest beside her for Dark Moon Ring.
9. Return to the Baleful Shadow area and take the lift beyond it to Lake of Rot. Bring a way to remove Scarlet Rot. Cross toward the southwestern entrance to Grand Cloister, stepping on the raised platforms' switches to create places to stop.
10. At Grand Cloister, descend the stone ledges to the lower floor. Watch for the Pests below. Follow the water left to the coffin beside the waterfall and choose to rest in it.
11. Defeat Astel, Naturalborn of the Void beyond the coffin route to receive Remembrance of the Naturalborn. Dark Moon Ring is needed for the exit toward Moonlight Altar, not for this boss reward.
12. Take Remembrance of the Naturalborn and 10,000 runes to Enia at Roundtable Hold. Choose Waves of Darkness. Bastard's Stars is the other remembrance reward; duplicate the remembrance at a compatible site if you want both.

Notes

• Costs 16 FP for the plunge and three expanding waves. A heavy-attack input adds the weapon sweep for another 5 FP, making the full sequence 21 FP.
• The waves deal Magic damage and improve through Intelligence and upgrades. The actual plunge and sweep use the equipped weapon's attack power, so their scaling depends on its affinity.
• Each wave deals 8 stance damage, for 24 if all three connect. The weapon contacts add their own stance damage on top of that, with larger classes giving different totals.
• The first plunge applies the weapon's normal status amount, the second contact applies half, and the sweep applies the normal amount. The three waves do not carry its innate bleed, poison or Frostbite.
• The waves arrive at intervals and spread farther out. An enemy may leave between them; a distracted or slower target is easier to keep within their reach.
• Shard of Alexander and Spellblade armor improve its Magic skill damage. Magic damage bonuses also apply; a staff's Sorcery Scaling and Graven talismans do not improve a weapon skill.
• Godfrey Icon does not improve it because neither stage can be charged. The dark appearance does not add Frostbite or a separate dark damage type.
• You can omit the weapon sweep when the enemy is about to retaliate. It is an optional extra attack, not a requirement for the three waves to appear.
• Astel, Naturalborn of the Void awards the correct remembrance. Astel in Yelough Anix Tunnel has a different reward. Dark Moon Ring is unnecessary for this boss, although it is needed to pass beyond the arena toward Moonlight Altar.
• Compatible weapon classes: Colossal Sword, Greataxe, Great Hammer, Great Spear, Colossal Weapon. A weapon with a fixed skill cannot use this Ash of War.
• Its default affinity is Magic. The supported choices are Standard, Heavy, Keen, Quality, Magic and Cold; the appropriate whetblade is needed for additional options.