Mastering defense in Elden Ring requires utilizing defensive arts that can turn an enemy's offense into your greatest weapon. The Carian Retaliation Ash of War stands out as a premier parry modifier, allowing Tarnished players to nullify spells and summon homing daggers in response. Finding this valuable skill requires a bit of clever navigation through Liurnia of the Lakes, but the payoff for your build variety is immense.
Where to Find Carian Retaliation
To acquire this powerful capability, you must first navigate through Caria Manor located in northern Liurnia and defeat Royal Knight Loretta. Once the boss is cleared, exit the main arena to the Three Sisters sub-region and head immediately toward the southwestern cliffs. You will see a series of wooden structures and stone roofs that allow you to drop back down safely into a hidden storeroom inside the manor walls.
Inside this secluded room, you will encounter Pidia, a Carian servant who functions as a secret merchant within the estate. You can purchase the Ash of War directly from him for three thousand runes, assuming his questline hasn't progressed to its tragic conclusion. Snagging this item early gives you a significant tactical advantage against both physical bosses and projectile-heavy spellcasters.
How Carian Retaliation Works
When applied to a small or medium shield, this skill fundamentally changes how you interact with incoming damage. Activating the skill allows you to parry standard physical strikes with generous frame windows that match or exceed conventional parrying tools. More importantly, using it against incoming magic spells dispels the attack entirely and generates three glintstone blades above your head.
These summoned blades automatically target and fire at your opponent after a brief delay, delivering solid stance damage and scaling off your shield's upgrades. While balancing a defensive playstyle can be tough, tracking your global achievements and sharing strategies via your Steam account can help optimize your mastery of these complex mechanics. It serves as a reliable countermeasure that heavily punishes aggressive magical builds in both campaign zones and player-versus-player invasions.
Best Elden Ring Builds for Carian Retaliation
Integrating this tactical parry into a dedicated intelligence build yields spectacular results due to the native magic scaling properties. Players often pair a medium shield equipped with this art alongside a fast primary weapon like the Moonveil Katana or a high-tier staff. This combination lets you lock down targets at long range while remaining completely impervious to counter-spells.
Alternatively, strength and dexterity builds can utilize the tool strictly for its excellent physical parry windows without investing heavily in magical attributes. Placing it on an upgraded small brass shield allows martial characters to shut down humanoid knights and aggressive bosses with minimal stamina investment. The sheer versatility of the skill makes it an essential utility item for almost any playstyle roaming the Lands Between.
