Elden Ring: Two-Hand Button Guide [Xbox, PS4 & PC]

Elden Ring offers a wealth of weapons to brave your enemies with. In addition, a characteristic feature of the series returns where you can equip your weapon in two hands to change attack variation and increase the damage dealt.

Related: Elden Ring Best Talismans

How To Two-Hand In Elden Ring

To two-hand weapons in Elden Ring, all you have to do is press and hold the Event Action button followed by a quick press of the Attack button. Doing so should quickly transition your stance into two-hand, thereby letting you alter your weapon’s attacks for good. 

Now, on different platforms, the Event Action button and the Attack button mean different things. Let’s take a look at what buttons you have to press in order to execute a two-hand feature successfully. 

Two-Hand Weapons On PC

Playing Elden Ring on PC means that the button input for two-handing weapons will be different. You will have to press and hold E on your keyboard and press the Left Mouse Button (LMB) or the Right Mouse Button (RMB). LMB represents the weapon, shield, or any other item that you’re holding in your left hand. RMB is the item that you’re currently holding in your right hand. 

Depending on what item you have equipped, pressing E and LMB together in Elden Ring will two-hand whatever you have in your left hand. The same goes for inputting E and RMB, making the character use two hands to wield whatever is accoutred in the right hand. 

An Interesting Read: Elden Ring Best Keepsakes

Two-Hand Weapons On Xbox One/Series X|S

The process of how to two-hand weapons is almost identical if you’re on any of the Xbox consoles. All you have to do is press and hold the “Y” button on your controller and press RB (Right Bumper) or RT (Right Trigger). Both of these represent light attacks and strong attacks, respectively. 

In addition, you can also use your shield in a two-hand mode, but we don’t reckon if the hassle is worth it for that. We also recommend using the combination of the Y and RB buttons for a swift and error-free transition to two hands. 

Two-Hand Weapons On PS4/PS5  

Learning how to two-hand weapons on any of the relevant PlayStation consoles is nothing but straightforward. Simply press and hold the “Triangle” button and follow it up by pressing “R1.”

The latter is the button you use to execute simple attacks with your weapon in the game. Moreover, you can also use R2 while keeping the Triangle button pressed to two-hand on the PS4 or PS5.

Pro Tips For Using Weapons With Two-Hands

In my experience, doing two-handed with your weapons in Elden Ring does set you up for various attack variations and powerful damage infliction, but you do miss out on using your shield in the wake of it. That is to say, you will no longer be able to use the item in your other hand after getting a two-hand grip on your equipped weapon. Most players use a fundamental combination of shield and sword to take down enemies. 

Therefore, if you’re a defensive player always looking to wait out the barrage of attacks from enemy players before committing to the offense, you will be stripped off of your baseline strategy. On the contrary, what you do gain by having a two-hand grip on your weapon indeed bears noticing, at least from what I’ve tested.

The benefits continue toward Co-Op settings as well, where you can overwhelm opponents with strong and heavy attacks, considering that you time them right.

Takeaway

Elden Ring is surely one of the greatest Soulsborne games ever made. In our Elden Ring review, we felt a strong temptation to give the title a solid 5/5 for its hybrid combat, high-quality graphics fidelity, and, of course, an amazing open world teeming with details.

Although the title has suffered from its fair share of issues early on, such as the Network Status Check Failed error prompt, FromSoftware remains hard at work to iron out the remaining bugs and restore the game to a pristine condition. 

We highly recommend reading up on the best starting class in Elden Ring, though, since you’re going to need all the help you can get with this action RPG. The level of difficulty in the Lands Between is formidable, so make sure you’re well-aware of what class to start out your adventures with.

Next: Elden Ring Blacksmith Location