How to Two-Hand Weapons in Elden Ring
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Elden Ring
How to Two-Hand Weapons in Elden Ring
Why Two-Handing Is Useful
Two-Handing Tips
Two-handing is one of the most useful combat mechanics in Elden Ring, especially for players using heavier melee weapons or leaning into a Strength build. Many beginners stay in one-hand mode all the time and lose out on damage, stagger power, and better movesets. The most efficient approach is to switch between one-hand and two-hand depending on the situation: defend when needed, then go back to two-handing when it’s time to punish. Once you get used to the input, it becomes a core part of advanced combat.
⚡ Quick Answer
How to Two-Hand Weapons on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox
To two-hand a weapon in Elden Ring, hold the interact/switch button and press the attack button for the hand you want to use. On PC, hold E and press left or right mouse button. On PlayStation, hold Triangle and press L1 or R1. On Xbox, hold Y and press LB or RB. Two-handing boosts your effective Strength by 50% and unlocks a different moveset.
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PC: Hold E, then press left mouse button to two-hand your left-hand weapon or right mouse button to two-hand your right-hand weapon. Your character will switch grip immediately after the input.
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PlayStation: Hold Triangle and press L1 to two-hand your left weapon, or R1 to two-hand your right weapon. Your character will visibly shift their grip.
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Xbox: Hold Y and press LB for left weapon or RB for right weapon. Same principle as PlayStation — hold the swap button and select which hand.
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To switch back to one-handed: use the same input again for that weapon. Once you return to one-hand mode, your off-hand item or shield becomes available again.
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50% effective Strength bonus. Two-handing multiplies your Strength by 1.5 for requirement and scaling purposes. For example, a character with 20 Strength is treated as having 30 Strength while two-handing. This is one of the easiest ways to increase damage early on.
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Different moveset. Many weapons have unique two-handed attacks that aren’t available one-handed. Heavy attacks in particular often change completely — some weapons get sweeping horizontal slashes or powerful overhead smashes.
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Meet weapon requirements early. If a weapon requires 20 Strength and you only have 14, two-handing counts your Strength as 21, which lets you use it sooner. This is especially useful if you’re following a Strength build and want to equip heavier weapons before fully leveling into them.
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Two-handing is best for aggressive players who don’t use shields — you deal more damage and the moveset is often better.
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Against bosses with hard-to-read attacks, start with one-hand plus shield until you understand the pattern, then switch to two-hand mode during safe punish windows for more damage.
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Colossal weapons like greatswords and greataxes are usually best when two-handed, since their one-handed movesets are slower and more limited. This is especially true if you’re playing a Strength build.
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You can still use your weapon’s skill (Ash of War) while two-handing — press L2/LT/right click to activate it.