What are Flails in Elden Ring?
Similar to how there are Curved Swords, Greatswords, and even Thrusting Swords in the game, Elden Ring offers Flails as one of the many distinct weapon types that players can sport. These are characterized by their flexibility and extensive range, making it possible to get around the enemy’s defense in a natural manner. You’ll find Flails comprising a strikingly unique design as compared to other seemingly forthright armaments.
- Flails are versatile and flexible weapons that can be of huge help to the player if used correctly.
- The Flails which we consider to be the best in Elden Ring are Nightrider Flail, Chainlink Flail, *******’s Stars, and the Family Heads.
- The Nightrider Flail is a fantastic weapon with a sinister design of three striking heads, making it quite a weapon to look out for. Its damage output can go as high as 696.
- The Chainlink Flail is another scary-looking weapon that has a spiked club at one of its ends. The damage of this weapon can go as high as 699.
- The *******’s Star is a remembrance weapon that can be unlocked after defeating Astel: Naturalborn of the Void. Its damage can go as high as 830.
- And finally, the Family Heads flail has the highest damage output of any Flail in the game. It has the same three-striking head design as the Nightriders Flail and its damage can go as high as 846.
They usually consist of a handle with one end being attached to a striking head with the help of a chain. This paves the way to use Flails with a wide variety of combat moves. Depending on the size and the form factor, these weapons can be both flexible and fast, or flexible and slow. In Elden Ring, though, it’s easy to discover that Flails have a relatively slow-paced moveset. This, however, is shortly mitigated by the raw power of these weapons, striking hard with force and depth.
A wide variety of Ash of War skills can help you find your way with Flails, if not all. That said, you will need to experiment and find out the best moves and effects that work like a charm for you. Now that you know the basic concept behind Flails in the action RPG, let’s talk about the Elden Ring best Flails.
Best Flails in Elden Ring
The following is a round-up of some of the best Flails you’ll ever get to acquire in the vast stretches of Elden Ring. Make sure you read each section carefully for the best results.
Nightrider Flail
Starting off this list with a menacing bang is the Nightrider Flail, boasting an utterly sinister design with three striking heads instead of one. Talk about triple the trouble. You definitely don’t want to be on the business end of this weapon, although you will have to be, unfortunately, when fighting the Night’s Cavalry.
That is to say, the latter is an optional, randomly roaming boss in Elden Ring that drops the Nightrider Fail weapon when fought in the Weeping Peninsula region. Particularly, you need to span the area near the Castle Morne Rampart Site of Grace to find the formidable knight.
- Speaking of which, uncovering the entirety of Elden Ring’s map is the key to exploration in this game. Find out how with the help of our complete map fragments location guide here.
The Night’s Cavalry is found in multiple sections in the Elden Ring world. Quite luckily, defeating the one near Lenne’s Rise gets you the Bloodhound’s Step—an exceptionally utilitarian Ash of War skill—whereas other variants of the great enemy release different types of rewards, such as Runes, weapons, and Ashes of War.
One important thing about the Night’s Cavalry is that it only spawns in the dead of the night, so make sure to pass the time to nightfall to have your run-in with him. As for the Nightrider Flail, this robust instrument of death boasts a maximum Physical Attack Power damage of 696 with an average Guarded Damage Negation of 27.
The weapon scales nicely with the Dexterity and Strength attributes, so definitely can become a firm constituent of players going for Melee builds in the game. What steals the spotlight here is the particular Passive Effect of the Nightrider Flail.
It causes blood loss buildup with a factor of 50, which is always nice and tight for dealing with bosses and other enemies. Lastly, we have the main skill of the Nightrider Flail to talk about, which is called the Spinning Chain.
This is a combat move where your character eponymously spins the flail circularly, imposing a flurry of attacks on the opposing party in rapid succession. It’s pretty effective for enemies without a Greatshield, but once you encounter a foe with solid defense, be prepared to act flexibly.
Chainlink Flail
Furthering this list is the extravagant Chainlink Flail. This armament looks like a baton with a spiked club at its one end, attached to each other with a swift chain. Truth be told, it surely looks frightening, and we can’t imagine what it feels like to be on the receiving end of this death-meaning device. The weapon comprises a maximum Physical Attack Power of 699 and an average Guarded Damage Negation of 30.5.
Now, the in-game description of the Chainlink Flail reads, “A spiked iron tube attached by a chain wielded by Mad Pumpkin Heads. Especially large for a flail, wielding it requires more strength than it does dexterity.” We can assume right from the get-go that the demand for attributes is going to be fairly high with this one. You’ll need about 18 Strength and 12 Dexterity to wield what is otherwise one of the Elden Ring best Flails.
In terms of the special skill move, the Chainlink Flail doesn’t boast anything unique. It executes the same Spinning Chain move as the aforementioned Nightrider Flail, but you can always switch things up with different Ashes of War. Speaking of identical elements, the Passive Effect of the weapon in question is all about causing blood loss buildup, which, again, is nothing but appreciable.
Now, as for actually obtaining the Chainlink Flail, you will be required to hack and slash as many Pumpkin Heads as you can find in the Lands Between. These are fairly sizable enemies often wielding the Chainlink Flail themselves. They randomly drop the armament in question, and there’s no certain spot from where you can retrieve this Flail. However, we would love to nudge you in the right direction in this regard.
We’ve had the most luck digging out the Chainlink Flail in the Altus Plateau region of the Lands Between, particularly near the Bridge of Iniquity Site of Grace. After you cross the great bridge and make your way forward along the main road, you’ll come across a group of enemies, and a couple of trolls pulling a carriage. In that area, there’s also going to be a freely roaming Pumpkin Head. Lay him to waste and check whether he drops the Chainlink Flink.
*******’s Stars
Moving up this list we have an astoundingly quirky armament called the *******’s Stars. As unholy as that sounds, this Flail is quite possibly one of the best weapons in the game, particularly due to its high Physical Attack Power, eccentric design, and a tip-top skill move. It also features a celestial design, resembling a multitude of planets and stars, and the combination of which comes together to look utterly ethereal.
The maximum upgradable damage of the *******’s Stars is 830, which is considerably higher than the Chainlink Flink. In addition, the Flail has an average Guarded Damage Negation of 28.6. As for the set requirement of attributes for wielding the *******’s Stars, you’ll need about 22 Dexterity, 22 Intelligence, and merely 8 Strength points. This means that you’ll need to invest in the Intelligence trait for quite a bit, particularly because of its well-grounded scaling with the attribute.
- On a side note, check out our Elden Ring Best Intelligence Build
However, you won’t find the blood loss buildup Passive Effect allotted to the *******’s Stars. Moreover, the Flail cannot be imbued with any Ash of War skill, so you’re stuck with its default skill. Come to mention it, the armament at hand employs a move called Nebula. This is a powerful slash that initially does no damage at all to the opposing party.
With that being said, what it actually does is release a line of stars and planets that eventually blow up, laying enemies down in its path of destruction. It’s pretty unique, considering the fact that it can ruin heaps of enemies at once. The *******’s Stars is also distinct in the sense that it deals magic-based damages to foes, so you have an added plus there as well.
The difficult part here pertains to obtaining the *******’s Stars. First off, you have to embark on a quest given by a specific NPC called Ranni the Witch. Upon completing the questline to a certain extent, you’ll have to go to a fairly hidden area called Lake of Rot. From there, progression will be needed to get to the Grand Cloister Site of Grace which comes right after crossing the aforementioned scarlet rot-ridden lake.
To get the *******’s Stars Flail, you’ll be needing to kill off Astel, Naturalborn of the Void. Once done, you’ll be rewarded with Remembrance of the Naturalborn. You’ll trade this consumable item with Enia at the Roundtable Hold to finally obtain the Flail in question. This armament easily makes the cut of Elden Ring best Flails, so do try it out on your end.
Family Heads
Topping off this list is Family Heads—an overly ambitious Flail with a chilling backstory. The weapon has three heads hanging from its end, and it’s said to be the skulls of the wife and children of the original wielder of this Flail. If you feel comfortable smacking foes with such ungodliness, feel free to dive right in. Family Heads boasts a maximum Physical Attack Power of 846 with an average Guarded Damage Reduction of 28.5.
The attributes required to use the weapon include 8 Strength, 18 Dexterity, and 16 Intelligence points. Dexterity-based builds are going to benefit the most from Family Heads, particularly due to its scaling property with the attribute. This brings us to refer you to our best Elden Ring Dexterity build. Do check it out for more information on this.
The only downside to this armament is its inability to sport Ashes of War. This means that you’ll be stuck with the default skill move of the Family Heads Flail, which happens to be Familial Rancor. You raise your Flail to the sky in this skill, calling upon the spirits of the deceased. You basically invite vengeful spirits to come to the land of the living and attack your foes, causing a series of profound damage.
It does take some time to execute Familial Rancor, but it’s definitely worth it. The rest of the attack moves of the Family Heads is fairly identical to what you would normally expect from a Flail. Unfortunately, there is no Passive Effect attached to the armament, and you’ll have to do without it. You can, however, take the weapon to higher levels with the help of Somber Smithing Stones.
As far as obtaining this Flail is concerned, you’ll have to make your way to the Altus Plateau region in the Lands Between. From there, it would be needed to locate the Sage’s Cave Site of Lost Grace in the northwest direction in Altus Plateau. Make your way inside the cave to engage in a boss fight with Necromancer Garris. Dispose of him to get the Family Heads Flail. It’s as simple as that.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ve talked about Elden Ring best Flails, including how you can get your hands on them. We recommend giving each armament a shot to see which one suits your playstyle the best. Once you’ve had your fill of Flails in the game, check out our round-up of the overall best weapons in Elden Ring, should you want a taste of something different. Do let us know down in the comments section about which Flail has turned out to be your favorite.
As always, eXputer wishes you happy gaming!
Thanks! Do share your feedback with us. ⚡
How could we improve this post? Please Help us. ✍
