Elden Ring has a hidden attack mechanic and all you have to do is crouch down

Very few Elden Ring fans probably know this trick.

Have you been told in physical education or in a club how good squats are for building muscle? Well, the exercise may have seemed like pointless torture, but your Elden Ring character can benefit from good hamstrings thanks to this hidden attack mechanic. In order to use new movesets with certain weapons, you have to crouch in the middle of the fight.

From the crouch to new attacks

It’s all about this: Vaatividya is actually considered a lore master in the Souls community. In his latest video, however, he focuses on the gameplay instead of the story and gives us ten useful tips. Some of the mechanics that Vaati explains may be new to you – like this combat strategy.

Squatting helps: Crouching down for a moment in a fight doesn’t make much sense, even if you urgently need to, but depending on the weapon, it can bring you completely new possibilities in the Elden Ring. Are you wielding a weapon that either only has attacks that swing to the side or – in contrast – only has frontal piercing attacks? You may be able to change that by simply crouching briefly with the left stick and adding an R1 attack.

You can watch the video with all 10 tips here:

link to YouTube content

New Move Sets: If you use the (Guts) greatsword, the L3-R1 attack gives you a fast frontal stabbing attack with a fantastic range instead of the side swing. If you use the pike with two hands, instead of a frontal attack, you suddenly have a lateral swing, with which you hit several opponents.

We have already taken up another recommendation by Vaati in this article:

Additional Tips

In case you didn’t know: You achieve the same effect if you send a roll ahead of the R1. But of course this takes longer and puts you in a new position. The L3 trick does not work with all weapons that only have one direction of attack. But it also works for some who, for example, have a side swing as R2 and a frontal thrust on R1.

With other weapons, it depends on whether you wield them one-handed or two-handed. Just let off steam while testing. Vaati also recommends trying an L3-L1 combo when dual wielding.

Here is our Elden Ring vs. Dark Souls comparison:

16:23

Elden Ring vs Dark Souls – Why is the new game so much more successful?

Oh and by the way: Of course, crouched sneaking is not only worthwhile in the middle of a fight, but especially when opponents have not yet noticed you. According to Vaatividya, if you stealthily ambush them, you deal about 25 percent more damage. However, this is probably the more well-known effect of the crouch.

Did you already know this trick and will you use it in the future?