Out of the numerous Ashes of War in Elden Ring that can be used to add Skills and Affinities to your weapons, the Bloodhound’s Step Ash of War is one of the best.
It provides players with the ability to dodge an attack while being concealed for an FP cost of 5. This makes the Bloodhound’s Step Ash of War a must-have if you are looking to advance efficiently through Elden Ring as later bosses have deadly attacks that are best managed if dodged.
This beneficial Ash of war is not easy to obtain as you have to defeat the Night’s Cavalry boss first, which is an optional boss encountered in Greyoll’s Dragonbarrow.
Where to find Bloodhound’s Step in Elden Ring
Located just east of Limgrave, there is a vast scarlet-rot-infested region known as Caelid which houses the undead. From Caelid, you need to head northeast and take a bridge that will take you to a Site of Grace known as the ‘Lenne’s Rise’ in the Geryoll’s Dragonbarrow region.
You need to find a ‘Sending Gate’ which will transport you to the Bestial Sanctum from where you will make your way to Lenne’s Rise and then face the Night’s Cavalry boss.
This Sending Gate can be very easy to find if you are playing through the D, Hunter of Dead questline and have access to the Deathroot.
You just have to offer D the Deathroot and he will send you to the Sending Gate without you having to look for it. However, if you are not playing the above-mentioned quest, you will have to look for the Sending Gate yourself.
This gate is located north of the Site of Grace: Third Church of Marika, where the ravine ends. After accessing the Sending Gate, you will be teleported to the Bestial Sanctum from where you can make your way to Lenne’s Rise.
Take the bridge and then make your way to the east to reach this site of grace where you will be required to switch the time to Night.
Once it is Nightfall, you will see the Night’s Cavalry boss roaming around the bridge looking for a fight.
How to defeat the Night’s Cavalry boss
Even though Night’s Cavalry is an optional boss, it is still a mighty one with an HP of 7089. This boss has a Defense Stat of 121 with immunity to Sleep and Madness.
You can deal Standard and Pierce damage to defeat the Night’s Cavalry and make it dismount its horse. If you can make the Night’s Cavalry dismount its horse and jump into the gap between the bridge, it will instantly die due to the fall but it is not as easy as it sounds.
Considering Night Cavalry’s immense HP and Attack Powers, it is wise not to exchange attacks with it but to poison it in order to drain its HP while conserving yours. This boss is vulnerable to Poison and you can use this to your advantage.
Provoke the boss and run so that it follows you up the hill. Keep going north while keeping an eye out for hidden enemies and poison traps that can potentially drain your health.
While the Night’s Cavalry is chasing you, there are immense chances that he will fall prey to the poison traps and receive the poison status.
After you have made sure that the Night’s Cavalry is poisoned, you just have to protect yourself long enough that its HP drains out. Once its HP is all gone, it will die giving off a reward of 42000 Runes and the sought-out Ash of War, The Bloodhound’s Step.
How to use Bloodhound’s Step in Elden Ring
The Bloodhound’s Step Ash of War possesses the Keen Affinity and the Bloodhound’s Step Skill. This provides you with an invulnerability advantage through an invisible dodge.
This Ash of War can be used to enhance melee weapons that include:
- Daggers
- Colossal Weapons
- Straight Swords
- Whips
- Greatswords
- Claws
- Flials
- Colossal Swords
- Fists
- Curved Swords
- Katanas
- Reapers
- Curved Greatswords
- Halberds
- Greataxes
- Great Spears
- Axes
- Spears
- Great Hammers
- Thrusting Swords
- Hammers
- Heavy Thursting Swords
In up-close combat such as PvP battles, the Bloodhound’s Step Ash of War can be a game changer in Elden Ring. It is highly recommended for a Dexterity build. It can also be used to improve builds that are otherwise not that good in the game.
