Elden Ring Stagger: The Definitive Guide to Mastering Combat

Introduction

Elden Ring's combat system is renowned for its depth and complexity, with stagger playing a crucial role in mastering encounters. Understanding how stagger works allows players to control the flow of combat, optimize their attacks, and emerge victorious from even the most formidable challenges.

What is Stagger?

Stagger refers to the temporary stun effect that occurs when an enemy's poise is depleted. Poise is a hidden stat that represents an enemy's resistance to being knocked off balance or interrupted during their attacks. When poise is reduced to zero, the enemy becomes staggered and vulnerable to follow-up attacks.

Benefits of Staggering Enemies

Staggering enemies offers significant advantages in combat:

• Interrupts attacks: Staggering enemies prevents them from completing their current attack animation, giving players a critical window to counterattack.
• Increases vulnerability: Staggered enemies have reduced poise, making them more susceptible to subsequent attacks and critical hits.
• Controls combat flow: By staggering enemies, players can dictate the pace of combat, giving them time to reposition, heal, or summon allies.
• Breaks combos: Staggering enemies can disrupt their attack patterns, preventing them from unleashing multi-hit combos.

How to Stagger Enemies

Staggering enemies effectively requires a combination of tactics:

• Heavy attacks: Heavy attacks deal more poise damage than light attacks, making them ideal for breaking enemy poise.
• Charged attacks: Charging a heavy attack increases its poise damage, further improving the chance of staggering an enemy.
• Jump attacks: Jumping while attacking adds additional poise damage to the initial hit.
• Stance attacks: Certain stances, such as the Lion's Claw stance of the Zweihander, significantly boost poise damage.
• Talismans: Talismans like the Arsenal Charm and the Prosthesis-Wearer Heirloom enhance poise damage.

Poise Breakpoints

Different enemies have varying poise breakpoints, which determine how much poise damage is required to stagger them. According to data published by Fextralife Wiki, common enemies in Elden Ring typically have the following poise breakpoints:

Stagger Defense

Enemies can also resist stagger effects by raising their poise through various means:

• Poise-boosting armor: Wearing heavier armor increases poise.
• Talismans: Talismans like the Great-Jar's Arsenal and the Erdtree's Favor +1 improve poise.
• Buffs: Enemies may cast buffs or summon spirits that temporarily raise their poise.
• Specific abilities: Certain bosses and enemies have unique abilities that grant them high poise resistance.

Stagger Strategies for Different Enemy Types

Adapting stagger strategies to different enemy types is crucial for success:

• Small enemies: Light attacks or a single heavy attack are usually sufficient to stagger small enemies.
• Medium enemies: Heavy attacks or charged attacks are necessary to stagger medium enemies effectively.
• Large enemies: Multiple heavy attacks, stance attacks, or jumping attacks are required to stagger large enemies.
• Bosses: Bosses have high poise breakpoints, so a combination of heavy attacks, charged attacks, and poise-breaking talismans is essential.

Stagger and Weapon Scaling

The scaling of a weapon affects its poise damage. Weapons with high strength or dexterity scaling deal more poise damage, making them more effective for staggering enemies.

Conclusion

Mastering stagger in Elden Ring is a vital skill that unlocks a range of combat advantages. By understanding how stagger works, using effective stagger strategies, and adapting to different enemy types, players can control the flow of combat, optimize their attacks, and overcome even the most challenging encounters.