If you are new to Soulsborne games, fear not—or do fear, actually, because they're challenging, dreary, and gothic. However, in terms of the inner workings of the combat system, we are going to walk you through how poise, stance breaking, and Super Armor work in Elden Ring.
For FromSoftware's combat system, upgrading your weapons is only one part of the deal. There are other aspects that will add to your fighting capabilities, and by taking heed of these aspects, you will find your journey to be more of a challenge rather than impossible.
The Poise Function in Elden Ring
If you are trying to get more combo-type hits in while playing Elden Ring, you'll want to focus on poise. In short, it's your ability to keep attacking without allowing an enemy to interrupt your hits. This is measured by an invisible bar.
The more successful you are in combat, the more poise is diminished. When poise has been completely drained, your character will become staggered, meaning that you will be unable to fight back and will be susceptible to attack. The stagger period ranges from half a second to a few seconds.
Poise is a base stat, which can be increased by wearing armor. It can also be increased by using Ashes of War, incantations, sorceries, Wondrous Physick combinations, and consumables.
Enemies also have a poise bar, and the length will be dependent on their class and type. When you have drained their poise bar, that is when they will become staggered, allowing you to get in another attack.
The Stance Breaking Function in Elden Ring
Stance breaking is your ability to break an enemy's stance. This leaves them open for a critical attack, which makes downing them a lot easier.
In the case of stance breaking, it also takes the form of an invisible bar that fills up the more you fight. When the bar is full, the enemy's stance will break leaving ,them susceptible to a nice crit hit that can take them down once and for all.
The Super Armor Function in Elden Ring
Super Armor, like with stance breaking, is invisible and impossible to measure. It also allows for critical hits, but it does not always require a stance break in order to activate it. Super Armor cannot be added to or altered, and enemies also have Super Armor.
This means that you can diminish their Super Armor by attacking in succession. You may be able to break their Super Armor before you have broken their stance. Bear in mind, however, that this can happen to your player as well.
When the Super Armor has been broken, a bang will resound at a fairly high volume, and the enemy will go down to the floor whilst emitting a glow from one of their body part. Hitting the glowing area enables a high-damage strike, which helps immensely in a fight.
In Conclusion
You ideally want a weapon with a high poise stat that allows you to keep attacking, lessening our enemy's stance and Super Armor.
Because the meters are invisible, you will only know which you have broken first by the animation, but laying into your enemies without tiring yourself can be a fair strategy. If you fear being stance-broken or your Super Armor being stripped, refrain from attacking for a bit and create some distance so you can recuperate.
Looking for more content? Check out How to optimize Elden Ring performance on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC on Pro Game Guides.
Published: Mar 24, 2022 09:07 am