The Dark Souls series was already pretty jam packed with content and mechanics before Dark Souls 3 launched. Still, the developers decided to pop a few new things in there for players to mess around with and explore. One of these are the Weapon Arts, or Weapon Skills, that many weapons have. Essentially these are special moves that are determined by the weapon you have equipped. They deal a ton of extra damage, but they also have a few drawbacks to keep in mind. So, here’s our guide on how to use Weapon Arts in Dark Souls 3.
First off, Weapon Arts moves use up FP, which is essentially your magic meter for most concerns. This gauge does not automatically refill, so if you want to use your Weapon Arts a lot, or need to cast some spells, you either need blue Estus Flasks, or you’ll need to cut back until the next bonfire. Luckily, they do still work if your FP meter is empty, but they will drain a ton of your stamina, and will usually go slower and deal less damage. So really, it’s all a balancing act.
Now, how do you actually use the Weapon Arts? With a weapon equipped and set to two hand mode (press Y or Triangle) you can press the left trigger or L2 on PS4. This puts you into a ready stance, slowing your movement, but opening up your attack abilities into the Weapon Arts range. At this point you just use your usual attack buttons to use the two Weapon Arts moves. You can also skip the two hand requirement by equipping a larger shield. Essentially, if your shield can parry, you need to use two hand mode, if it doesn’t then you can just hold the left trigger or L2 to go into Weapon Arts mode.
Each of these attacks will do different things, but they generally fit the mold of strong and weak attacks. Different weapons will also alter what attacks you perform, and what effect they have on enemies. Just pay attention to the weapon info page to see what sorts of Weapon Arts it will perform.
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