Two handing weapons to enter the Power Stance is a familiar action from the Dark Souls series however, in Elden Ring, Two Handing Weapons comes with a different set of bindings. In this guide, we will walk you through how to Two-Hand weapons in Elden Ring
Two-Handed Stats Requirement
There is no stat requirement for two-handing a weapon but if you do, it will provide you a virtual Strength boost of almost 50 percent. That increased strength will allow you to hold and use the weapon even if you don’t meet the Str requirements.
The said strength amplification will only work with weapons that scale with Strength. Two Handing does not amplify other stat of the weapons like Dexterity, Arcane, Faith, etc.
How to Two-Hand Weapons in Elden Ring
The first thing that you need is to select the weapon that you want to hold with both hands by pressing the right arrow to change Right-Hand Weapon and the left arrow to change Left-Hand Weapon
To use two hands, you must hold Y or triangle button on your controller; and if you want to use left-hand weapons, press the left bumper or L1.
To use a right-hand weapon, press the right bumper or R2. When you are using a right-hand weapon, your right shoulder will move a step further, and the same for the left side.
Why Use Two Hand Weapons
Where traditional weapon setups allow you to wield a weapon and a shield on each hand, two hands gives you the opportunity to use multiple weapons of different classes to increase damage.
For example, with two hands you can use weapons that have a higher strength requirement compared to your current level. Doing this will give you a slight boost in strength that may be enough to use.
The only downside to using weapons on both hands is that you can’t use a shield so you have to dodge enemy attacks by yourself instead of relying on shields to give extra protection.
How to Power Stance in Elden Ring
The Power Stance allows you to wield two weapons of the same type in each hand to unlock different movesets that you cannot access by two-handing.
There is no stat requirement to use Power Stancing in Elden ring. You just need to arm yourself with the same type of weapon on both hands.
The same type of weapon means the same class. For example, if you put Keen Uchigatana in your left hand, you must put another Katana in your other hand to enable Power Stance.
You also need to make sure that both of your weapons are of the same level. The damage output will be the product of both weapon levels. Hence, if one weapon has a low level, the overall power of both weapons is going to decrease.
To use a power stance, you need to press the L1 button, and the player will do combo moves that will involve both weapons at the same time and crisscross each other in their paths.
Two Hands Vs Power Stance
One of the biggest advantages of two-handing a weapon is that you can equip a shield on the offhand to boost your defenses in the head of combat. Carrying a shield becomes impossible in Power Stance since you’re required to hold two weapons in both hands.
For example, if you’re two-handing a curved sword, the attack pattern is with one hand. But if you are Power Stancing, the attack pattern is with both hands at the same time. The damage done by the weapon is the same, but Power Stance doubles the amount of time the weapon is used at a particular amount of time. The result is double damage with Power Stancing.
Power Stancing a weapon will increase almost ten percent of the poise damage. For example, two-handed poise damage for the curved sword is 56 and for Power Stance it is 61.
An advantage to Two Handing a weapon is the increase in Strength which you cannot get with the Power Stancing.
