To know more about Inventory Layouts, check out this follow-up to the Ultimate Guide: Elden Ring Everything Inventory Layouts: ua-cam.com/video/gDul7tb8Oy0/v-deo.html
Swapping has a historical place in Souls PvP culture. I remember seeing a full armor swap in Oolacile for the first time in my life and being totally perplexed by it like, "wtf was that?! Was that... a hacker? How?!" That's skill refinement and we're all better for it.
Yeah I remember the true sweats on DS1 would swap to Hornet ring and sometimes weapon swap before a parry. I also remember some would swap to Ring of Steel Protection if they knew they were gonna get backstabbed or riposted mid animation. Dudes were crazy good back then.
I can swap really well actually, still do not respect swaps on duels tho, sound tryhard to start using every item possible just so you can win, it's not a skilless thing by any means, you need to have a lot of skill to swap but still very tryhard, and winning with the same gear as you started even if you are in disadvantage need way more skill in base combat mechanics to win even if you don't have the weapon needed to counter your opponent
I can do it alright, but I typically don't do it in casual duels, I know damn well my opponent can't swap like I can, and its not simple tech like backstep reversals, I whip em out in invasions because damn it is satisfying to just kill hosts in this game, I wanna do it by any means necessary.
@@xuanathan Like I said my only problems with swaps are in casual duels, swap in invasions are most of the time necessary, you are like trying to win against a host with 2 more phantoms you are god-damn right in using everything to your advantage
i just wanna say thank you for making this, i’ve been watching your vids and seen how you switch mid-battle and i’ve wanted to do so but i wondered “how in the world am i going to do that?” but this vid is a huge help.
I watched a guy use 6 scimitars with different ash of wars on each of them, so he could switch to an ash of war better for the situation he was in. That was cool
Amazing explanations of the history and the strategy. Funny enough just yesterday somebody left a comment on one of my videos suggesting that Fromsoft bans players for hardswaps.
I have been stuck as a player despite having good distance and timing management aswell as good preditions, because I never really went and took the time to learn swapping (other than being a but impatient and fearless sometimes) so I have been waiting for this tutorial for a loooong time... Thanks JeeNine.
Great video, I remember the era well in ds3 in which dexterity coridnation merged into no off hand parry tool with wa to shield swap parry baits to wa swap wake ups that still centered around parries and style. This was later incorporated into bs fishing by very few in which is still style based, then your personal meta efficiency emerged in which a full arsonal is avalible with little bias (neutral) in respect to reacting/adaptability. Along with a sort of muscle memory in which focus's on always killing regardless of the enemies skill. Certainly an efficent means to focus on wining, progress your abilities and have fun doing so.
It's great to see the reasonings behind swaps outside of adapting for more favorable matchups as well as maximizing crits. I did not think there were additional layers to Menu Swapping. This is quite the informative video, I cannot wait to see the followup 😁
thank you for this video J9! ive been trying to get better as hard swapping lately and felt that i cant do it nearly fast enough but this video has helped me a lot!
Great video. It would be a cool to see an invasion break down series where you go over every kind of invasion situation and how you would adapt to varying circumstances. A few topics could be like what equipment you'd use, when to play aggressive, and when to play defensive, etc.
I found this video late, but it's very helpful to me on my path to learning the more advanced game mechanics. I've been invading for close to 10 years and never took it upon myself to tackle this stuff. Thank you, Jeenine!
@@Jeenine It actually means a lot to many of us too. It (and several other of his videos) is representative of a type of community legacy that I don't think ER will sadly ever be able to spawn.
This was so quality man thank you so much. I watch your videos and see you inventory swap and just think to myself "well that's over my head I'm not even going to attempt shit like that." But after watching this video I'm eager to try and integrate hard swaps into my pvp play. Thanks for the content and hope you're having a good day!
Man I thought I knew how to swap just like memorizing mortal combat combos. But you actually go in depth about what weapons to swap to and ash of war to throw them off in combat very cool G9. I learned a lot. I play pc but use xbox controller so i use my right thumb for the D-pad so I can still move with my left stick
Great and valuable vid. I agree very much with the mentality of taking things slow at first. When I was learning parry-riposte swaps, it took a while but eventually I wasn't even looking at the menu and muscle memory took over! I also recommend taking breaks if you start getting frustrated with a swap. I know I was struggling with one in particular a lot but then I went to bed and the next day I somehow did the swap I needed, first try.
DUDE, is that Clare from Claymore? I'm literally reading the manga right now, up to volume 21, first manga I have ever read. Would make one hell of a game, I have been picturing it in my head for the last two weeks, combat mechanics, abilities, everything. I think its her insignia, I cant quite make it out. I went back to the anime, because Elden Ring reminded me so much of the anime. Anyway, cool.
I spent about 20-30 hours taking a level 35 with +3/+7 weapons to farm 4 talismans in order to make a twink character, only to find out PC invasions just didn't work 90% of the time.(V1.01-1.04 era) Thats my elden ring pc pvp experience, getting disconnected every invasion after 30 hours of prep lmao. I don't even know how you get all these weapons and boluses, must be friends/store or cheat engine I guess. It's very, very hard to twink a character out legitimately I must say. Probably my old 40 year old dad hands holding me back. I still watch your videos G9 and it was a huge inspiration for my blind pve run, as ER was my first souls game and it might sound stupid but your pvp videos helped me get better than any pve videos I watched. I was inspired to follow in your footsteps even though I'm the kind of person more likely to be a hunter than a phantom, to me part of falling in love with ER during my playthrough was going outside of my comfort zone. Next game or DLC I am definitely going to play with taunters tongue on. Thanks for the video! Loved it, learned from it, even though I won't be able to put it into practice.
Bro I been scrolling through my whole damn inventory with my claw handing lmao gotta start using the shoulder buttons to get to where I want faster. Thx jeen.
fantastic video dude, incredibly informative and you are articulated yourself well, thanks a bunch for putting the time in to make this for us, would love to see more pvp breakdown videos like this one
In ds3 I rebound the select button to square (middle left button) so that I can hold the roll button (X for me) to run with the middle joint of my thumb, and the tip of my thumb can press the square button to select things in the menu
That's where claw grip comes into play. To elaborate: the first step imo is practicing bringing your index finger over your thumb to take care of both the start button/touchpad and the R3 camera control. While your middle finger takes care of R1/R2 and your thumb handles the circle button, as with a normal grip. From there, you practice holding circle with the edge of your thumb, so that you're also able to press X with your thumb. This allows you to run and dodge while turning your camera at the same time and to quickly open your menu with your index without letting go of circle and to keep turning your camera while moving (sprinting) around in your menu. Next/alternative step is to hold circle with the tip of your index, as it might be more comfortable in the long run. What I do now is press circle with the side of my index finger so that the tip of the index always rests near the start button/touchpad and the thumb never leaves the R3 stick, if not to quickly press X to select in your menu. It takes a while to develop the claw grip style that's most comfortable to you, and it is perfectly natural to actually switch from one style to the other during gameplay initially until you find what works out best for you.
@@Reelix789 I tried claw grip a bit... in pve at first to get used to it. Its ok, it works..i kinda feel that i have better control at times and can react faster, but also i get totally fumbled sometimes. I just dont get how to hold circle with the edge of my thumb... i didnt get that part. Also, my hand gets extremely cramped after short amount of time in that grip, idk maybe i am doing it wrong. We are speaking about right hand only, right, anyway i try to use thumb for camera and index finger for buttons and other fingers for r1 / r2... and in normal grip i use thumb for camera and buttons and index finger for r1 / r2.
@@DreamskyDance first and foremost, I commend you for your mindset. Looking for ways to improve without fear of leaving your comfort zone means you're already 2 thirds of the way. I think it all boils down to what any kind of new physical activity entails, except on a much smaller scale. You need to work in steps. See how little of your thumb can be used to effectively control the circle button, get comfortable with that and work from there. As far as hand pains are concerned, it is a perfectly natural part of the process. It's something new that your body needs to adjust into. Part of it is listening to what your body tells you, and giving it time to adjust and part of it is what it's telling you you're just doing plain wrong, and to look for alternatives. Depending on your hands, wrists and arms position as well as the way you're sitting (or standing, I don't judge), being fluid with your controller orientation helps a lot. I find a lot of the time the controller will move its axis in my hands by as far as 45 degrees, whether it's from side to side or front to back. Let the controller move around to accommodate more comfortable positions for your wrists, hands and fingers. A lot of it is simply just the time it takes to adjust, and a lot of it is also simply how tense you are in one given moment. I play some street fighter as well and even tho I play that with a regular grip, trust me when I say, many times, pain comes from excessive tension (which is more than natural, we're getting invested in intensely competitive games.) Practicing in PVE is absolutely part of the process. Practice parrying and swapping. Then practice running in circles or in random directions while swapping. For hours, if you need to (and so far as you're enjoying yourself, of course). Little by little, your body will adjust and will tell you what you're doing wrong, what's worth powering through and what's not, and what you could (should) possibly be doing differently. I've thought many times about making videos on the topic, and I still might. Pepp410 made a quite good video about the basics a few years back. You could look that up, or even feel free to look me up (Twitch) to share thoughts and ideas, that would be my pleasure. Ultimately, you're already on the the right path with your mindset so I have no doubt you'll keep finding lots of small things that will help your comfort and your effectiveness. As long as you embrace the fact that it takes time, and you listen to what your body tells you (sometimes your hands just need breaks, after all it's perfectly natural when you push the limits of your physical abilities, like with any athlete practicing any type of activity. Obviously they take it in small steps, day by day, and this is no different) Hope I helped! Again, congratulations on the mindset. It's more than 80% of the people commenting here are willing to commit to.
@@Reelix789 tnx for tips :D Yeah, listening for what body tells me..i should incorporate that in more stuff then gaming, i had swollen elbow two months back because i did some non standard pushup variations ( sideways pushups and archer pushups ) in my daily exercise with bad form.. :P Anyway.. i am on a playthrough with a new character and i am trying to use claw grip as much as i can. I think i will pose myself a challenge to defeat Malenia ( and probably some other bosses )with claw grip and swaps ( waterfowl dance -> swap to bhs weapon and not dodge it the normal way, she is parried -> swap to crit weapon... etc ) as a practice. I think that would be a good exercise to practice, alongside ways to practice you mentioned. Btw, about tension... in a game Control i noticed that i held controller more tense than in either of Dark Souls and Elden Ring for example and had some pain when playing for longer as you mentioned you had in street fighter. But although i dont have full experience with claw grip yet, i was amazed a few times that it seems like i have better control over my character and can better position, maybe because of better camera control.
Thank you, was just looking for guide like that. I think I ll stick in the learning phase to. Utilitie swaps with ring and work my way from there. Really appreciate the guide
Trigger for sure underrated! Also like activating menu with touchpad click plus mapping dodge to square. Error prone but now you only need the thumb of your right hand
Been a while since I've watched your content or streams (work life has been hectic), but just wanted to say this is one of the best videos you have made. Very professional and neatly organized, with some humorous ape king content as well. I myself have butterfingers so the only hardswaps I ever felt comfortable doing in DS3 were gundyr wakeup after backstab and the remove weapon parry. I choke the remove weapon a lot though so I'll need to practice more.
this actually made me come back to DS3 and make a new Quality build and that build was heavily inspired by you Jeenine, so much so that for the first duels and invasions I wore full lap armor until I switched to my own fashion, thx Juan
I never would have thought swapping is something people would get so tight over. Obviously people who complain about it can't do it. There's nothing to be upset about other than people having more skill than you.
That video is so generous of you, G9. It’s precise, articulate, clear and accurate. Very well structured too. And that note to Reddit whinners was the icing on the cake! 🥳
A 4 back paddle controller is a must for elden ring try hards. No claw grip needed. I even flipped all my Dpad buttons with my shape buttons turning it into a left-handed controller. not including the thumbsticks. Then attach all the new dpad buttons to the back paddles so your thumb never has to leave the left thumbstick.
What a great video. As a souls noob who never played any of the previous games this stuff is fascinating. I've been looking to get into invasions recently and as keyboard and mouse player I was starting to believe doing these kinds of hard swaps I've seen you top tier players use was impossible. So hearing you say it can actually be better is really a mind blowing revelation. I've been able to organize my inventory and get faster and getting in and out of menus but the one thing I can't figure out on m+k is how to directly switch between the different equipment menus. For example I constantly see Chasethebro go and swap to the crimson tear scarab helm and then directly to the armor menu for the full bloom set before he uses his heal flask. But I cannot find any keybind on the PC to allow me to go between the helmet and armor slots directly without going back to the main equipment screen in between. Do you know if that's possible on k+m and what the default keys are if so? Are there any good guides you'd recommend for hard swapping with k+m? I really want to be able to do what I see you guys doing. Thank you for the great video 🙏🏼
Whenever I'm learning any kind of new sequential input, I find it insanely helpful to pair it with a musical series of notes. Once it's learned, makes speeding up the sequence simply a matter of increasing the tempo. Might be just cuz I play guitar.
I got my ass annihilated in DS3 learning to Hardswap on my own, I'm glad that PvP gods like you are guiding the new into gettin' gud, truly love this community.
I liked your point about how while swaps are quite strong, you can still outplay them with some relatively basic rustic play without ever bothering to learn swaps yourself. Just gotta use your noggin a tiny bit. It's how people think you have to be a combo execution god to play fighting games, when in fact many top players cant combo for shit and instead focus on having good defensive game, spacing, matchup knowledge, etc. Technical skill is just a part of the bigger whole.
This is up there with your great sword video in terms of a depth of knowledge for players new to the PvP scene. I have hope in the future that PvP will be more balanced and look forward to years of dueling to come.
i've always thought that quick swaps being invented by the community is one of the coolest techniques and most of the stuff i agree with strongly especially how using the same weapon, AOW, spells and etc can make you predictable. i've never had a great dexterity for techniques like this but i had fun excuting them to catch my opponent off guard, i never thought that using a weapon to deceive the opponent than quick swap to another weapon to punish them instantly though. honestly seeing people performing quickswaps is pretty badass but sadly i don't see alot of people performing it, in pve it has helped me on certain situations without equipping a second weapon that could cause me to fatroll. great video wish i see more skilled pvp players in elden ring if only the dmg wasn't so crazy or multiplayer limit being 4, i miss the chaos of ds 3 anyway keep up the great content.
Not a fan of hard swapping myself. Always been a soft-swapper though, and continue to have my entire loadout equipped because I'm a bit of an RPer in that regard. However, I don't have a problem with other people that hard-swap. It's gotten me salty from time to time, but if you're able, and able to do it well, then that's just part and part of trying to attain the highest skill ceiling possible, and fair play to those that can.
Honestly, it's kind of the only skill ceiling available 🤷 the games since DS3 and onwards have been incredibly shallow otherwise. Honestly, I feel like it's borderline intended, otherwise Fromsoft would create a generalized inventory limit or only let you swap some things at checkpoints. They kind of expect you to swap weapons based on circumstances (e.g., use a scythe against a shield, use a sword against fast enemies) and this is just the logical extreme of that. It's still cool that the unique, "build defining" special weapons are still unique to your build, but now your build is more stat-based rather than loadout based.
@@justmi5978 Oh, most of the tech from DS3 transferred to Elden Ring. Where most tech was lost in the transition from DS2 to DS3. DS2 was kind of a "sweet spot" for tech IMO because it existed, but wasn't essential for basic success. While DS1 had the most tech, it was also the most frustrating in nature and was centralized on backstabs. DS3 almost doesn't have tech besides estus cancelling and hitstun swapping. I think Estus cancelling is the only DS3 tech that doesn't involve the equipment menu.
@@justmi5978 Yeah! It's something to differentiate players, and I think it's kind of interesting that it was honestly just untapped potential in previous games. I guess in previous games you didn't need it - the pre-weapon mechanics were robust enough that swapping weapons wasn't as important as using them well. DS3, having shallower pre-weapon mechanics and extremely weapon-centric build success, makes sense that it was the game that menu swapping went from fun oddity to the most essential technique for skilled play. Elden Ring is just DS3... But more lol
People complain about weapon swapping? I find it flattering personally lol You needed 7 different weapons to deal with my 1 or 2 On top of that it's more of a hindrance than anything for yourself It's super obvious when someone is swapping stuff mid fight
Because of ash of war I can Conceal Swap my Soft Swap Shield with a Parry to a Shield with no AOW that way I might be able to surprise an enemy with my main weapons AOW cause they think that I can't do my ash of war without two handing also I didn't know you can customize your layout :(( this helps so much
By the way, inventory management and weapon swaps are my favorite playstyle. And i'm the only one that does that among my friends. They were always amazed how fast i swapped weapons in DS3
exactly what this video hopes to achieve bro! One thing to note, it's really not important to be the fastest swapper. Sometimes I will have my menu open and just wait for the right opportunity to neutral swap. You don't wanna rush it and get punished If you do eventually wanna get faster tho, I highly recommend swapping after parries. Even just a simple weapon swap or helm swap will do wonders for your speed
I've been using RKR to conceal my gugs giant hunt ever since I first started pvp. It's uh...really, really effective. People trade into you so much, and they go into the air so much. Really underrated tactic.
@@monsieurdorgat6864 no you lose RKR after timeout or on a phantom hit and then you giant hunt into them. Or you get really lucky and get the rkr off. They trade into giant hunt because they don't know you have it.
@@SaltyRocksPew Ah I see now! Nice. It's honestly a cool feature. Also lmao apparently someone started a rumor or is trying to start one that hard swapping is getting people banned 🤣 like two accounts have tried to tell me its a "bannable offense" 🤦 What is going on? I think the reddit crowd G9 complained about is actually even more unhinged that he said...
@@monsieurdorgat6864 if that was the case then Fromsoftware wouldn't have made talismans that increased defense and dmg with the amount of HP you got like ritual talismans and feather talismans. If they didn't like swapping then those talismans wouldn't exist because then you'd waste 2 talisman slots the moment you take damage or have too much HP from the feather talismans to use them.
@@justmi5978 Or... You know over the course of 4 games over a decade and people swapping the entire time, they would have changed it so that you can only change your equipment at a checkpoint. Not gonna make that argument based on balance lol. Not a reliable behavior from Fromsoft.
In DS3 i practiced swapping on the drakebloods in archdragon peak. it was useful to get the parry, and be able to try freely without looking like an idiot. also that was my soul farm which is a very nice bonus.
After many years looking for pvp guide on high level tech I find one and it well made and not lazy live com Souls pvp need Fighting game community just make good guide Nice vid
As a casual who doesn't enjoy hard swapping... I like the fact that there can be so much variety... but I still prefer being lazy. Still, good stuff dude.
This video is a huge piece of info and it's just crazy. I gotta say smth about MnK tho since i've been playing with it forever, swaps aren't easier, flicking your mouse to the right item is really inconsistent when consistency is the key of swapping. MnK would make big inventories easier to work with but it is way too slow and inconsistent for sweaty tryhard swaps. Keep making the fromsoft games better!
Great video Jee! This will help out the new players and meta greatly! I don’t use the claw to swap from the pS4 controller, but i geg what your saying! Great video tho!
Love the redditer voice. But let's be honest, trying to get a noob to become a monke swapper is like trying to get an alcoholic to quit and only drink water.
To know more about Inventory Layouts, check out this follow-up to the Ultimate Guide:
Elden Ring Everything Inventory Layouts: ua-cam.com/video/gDul7tb8Oy0/v-deo.html
Hey man, how do i swap like that on pc?
Swapping has a historical place in Souls PvP culture. I remember seeing a full armor swap in Oolacile for the first time in my life and being totally perplexed by it like, "wtf was that?! Was that... a hacker? How?!" That's skill refinement and we're all better for it.
Yeah I remember the true sweats on DS1 would swap to Hornet ring and sometimes weapon swap before a parry. I also remember some would swap to Ring of Steel Protection if they knew they were gonna get backstabbed or riposted mid animation. Dudes were crazy good back then.
"The only people who complain about swaps are people who cant do it" Truer words have never been said
I can swap really well actually, still do not respect swaps on duels tho, sound tryhard to start using every item possible just so you can win, it's not a skilless thing by any means, you need to have a lot of skill to swap but still very tryhard, and winning with the same gear as you started even if you are in disadvantage need way more skill in base combat mechanics to win even if you don't have the weapon needed to counter your opponent
I can do it alright, but I typically don't do it in casual duels, I know damn well my opponent can't swap like I can, and its not simple tech like backstep reversals, I whip em out in invasions because damn it is satisfying to just kill hosts in this game, I wanna do it by any means necessary.
@@HZ-zv2ln Cope Hard-er
@@xuanathan Like I said my only problems with swaps are in casual duels, swap in invasions are most of the time necessary, you are like trying to win against a host with 2 more phantoms you are god-damn right in using everything to your advantage
@@Jeenine my whole argument after someone said cope: 💥
How could I refuse with a claymore thumbnail?
Goated
Alright! After rearranging my inventory for 6 hours I think I’m finally ready to rearrange my inventory one more time
i just wanna say thank you for making this, i’ve been watching your vids and seen how you switch mid-battle and i’ve wanted to do so but i wondered “how in the world am i going to do that?” but this vid is a huge help.
just as i was trying to learn how to swap in my own, you release this video. you dropped this 👑👑👑
I watched a guy use 6 scimitars with different ash of wars on each of them, so he could switch to an ash of war better for the situation he was in. That was cool
Amazing explanations of the history and the strategy. Funny enough just yesterday somebody left a comment on one of my videos suggesting that Fromsoft bans players for hardswaps.
lol that is actually pretty funny
I have been stuck as a player despite having good distance and timing management aswell as good preditions, because I never really went and took the time to learn swapping (other than being a but impatient and fearless sometimes) so I have been waiting for this tutorial for a loooong time... Thanks JeeNine.
Yoo the og style thumbnail
Holy shit is that a god damn claymore thumbnail? Absolute god tier taste
Great video dude, I've been trying to learn swapping and this is just what I need
Hearing beethoven's 9th while getting educated in souls mechanics is quite mesmerising
You did a great job on this video. I enjoyed it immensely
“You dare disrespect me.. in my jungle?” This vid fucking rocks
Great video, I remember the era well in ds3 in which dexterity coridnation merged into no off hand parry tool with wa to shield swap parry baits to wa swap wake ups that still centered around parries and style. This was later incorporated into bs fishing by very few in which is still style based, then your personal meta efficiency emerged in which a full arsonal is avalible with little bias (neutral) in respect to reacting/adaptability. Along with a sort of muscle memory in which focus's on always killing regardless of the enemies skill. Certainly an efficent means to focus on wining, progress your abilities and have fun doing so.
This video gave me great tips when neutral swapping clean underwear when i got jumped by a revinant in the shaded castle
Yay Claymore picture again
1:11 That swap into Giantdad set.. exquisite!
It's great to see the reasonings behind swaps outside of adapting for more favorable matchups as well as maximizing crits. I did not think there were additional layers to Menu Swapping.
This is quite the informative video, I cannot wait to see the followup 😁
you say that and have a dks1 red eye orb as your pfp. privileges revoked poser.
That thumbnail and title hit me with some nostalgia, good to see the guide type videos coming back
thank you for this video J9! ive been trying to get better as hard swapping lately and felt that i cant do it nearly fast enough but this video has helped me a lot!
Great video. It would be a cool to see an invasion break down series where you go over every kind of invasion situation and how you would adapt to varying circumstances. A few topics could be like what equipment you'd use, when to play aggressive, and when to play defensive, etc.
"What if you have butter-fingers?"
Why you gotta do me like that, bro?
Ppl complain about swaps? It’s the pinnacle of Souls pvp skill. Just impressive to always watch
The Claymore thumbnail is good stuff, keep doing well!
I found this video late, but it's very helpful to me on my path to learning the more advanced game mechanics. I've been invading for close to 10 years and never took it upon myself to tackle this stuff.
Thank you, Jeenine!
Claymore? Very nice.
My hands hurts just think about this, but I respect the people who can do this well, the very definition of dexterity.
I love history type videos and also love your reference to plsbemywaifu's video on you lmao
That plsbemywaifu's vid means a lot to me, probably the best memory i will have of ds3
@@Jeenine It actually means a lot to many of us too. It (and several other of his videos) is representative of a type of community legacy that I don't think ER will sadly ever be able to spawn.
Mhmm. Haven't seen this thumbnail since your greatsword guide
This was so quality man thank you so much. I watch your videos and see you inventory swap and just think to myself "well that's over my head I'm not even going to attempt shit like that." But after watching this video I'm eager to try and integrate hard swaps into my pvp play. Thanks for the content and hope you're having a good day!
Man I thought I knew how to swap just like memorizing mortal combat combos. But you actually go in depth about what weapons to swap to and ash of war to throw them off in combat very cool G9. I learned a lot. I play pc but use xbox controller so i use my right thumb for the D-pad so I can still move with my left stick
Bruh what's crazy is I started rewatching Claymore 3 days ago. Goated thumbnail Jeenine!
Great and valuable vid. I agree very much with the mentality of taking things slow at first. When I was learning parry-riposte swaps, it took a while but eventually I wasn't even looking at the menu and muscle memory took over!
I also recommend taking breaks if you start getting frustrated with a swap. I know I was struggling with one in particular a lot but then I went to bed and the next day I somehow did the swap I needed, first try.
This video helps alot. Im already using this technique in the game and its a game changer.
The whole ape king all might segment was trully a thing of beauty, thanks G
Jeenine is the best content creator in the fromsoft world.
LMFAO that gundyrs swap animation at the 2 min mark was legendary.
DUDE, is that Clare from Claymore? I'm literally reading the manga right now, up to volume 21, first manga I have ever read. Would make one hell of a game, I have been picturing it in my head for the last two weeks, combat mechanics, abilities, everything. I think its her insignia, I cant quite make it out. I went back to the anime, because Elden Ring reminded me so much of the anime. Anyway, cool.
Can't wait to watch this after work, gonna practice more to better my inner scrub.
I had a hard time focusing on what you were saying because the background footage kept me on the edge of my seat
I cannot swap. I do not care to learn it. I also have zero problem with it.
I spent about 20-30 hours taking a level 35 with +3/+7 weapons to farm 4 talismans in order to make a twink character, only to find out PC invasions just didn't work 90% of the time.(V1.01-1.04 era) Thats my elden ring pc pvp experience, getting disconnected every invasion after 30 hours of prep lmao. I don't even know how you get all these weapons and boluses, must be friends/store or cheat engine I guess. It's very, very hard to twink a character out legitimately I must say. Probably my old 40 year old dad hands holding me back.
I still watch your videos G9 and it was a huge inspiration for my blind pve run, as ER was my first souls game and it might sound stupid but your pvp videos helped me get better than any pve videos I watched. I was inspired to follow in your footsteps even though I'm the kind of person more likely to be a hunter than a phantom, to me part of falling in love with ER during my playthrough was going outside of my comfort zone. Next game or DLC I am definitely going to play with taunters tongue on.
Thanks for the video! Loved it, learned from it, even though I won't be able to put it into practice.
Bro I been scrolling through my whole damn inventory with my claw handing lmao gotta start using the shoulder buttons to get to where I want faster. Thx jeen.
fantastic video dude, incredibly informative and you are articulated yourself well, thanks a bunch for putting the time in to make this for us, would love to see more pvp breakdown videos like this one
Increíble video como siempre.
Gracias por toda la info!
Swapped his way right into my heart he did
The problem with me has always been about swapping while running (holding circle).
In ds3 I rebound the select button to square (middle left button) so that I can hold the roll button (X for me) to run with the middle joint of my thumb, and the tip of my thumb can press the square button to select things in the menu
That's where claw grip comes into play.
To elaborate: the first step imo is practicing bringing your index finger over your thumb to take care of both the start button/touchpad and the R3 camera control. While your middle finger takes care of R1/R2 and your thumb handles the circle button, as with a normal grip. From there, you practice holding circle with the edge of your thumb, so that you're also able to press X with your thumb.
This allows you to run and dodge while turning your camera at the same time and to quickly open your menu with your index without letting go of circle and to keep turning your camera while moving (sprinting) around in your menu.
Next/alternative step is to hold circle with the tip of your index, as it might be more comfortable in the long run.
What I do now is press circle with the side of my index finger so that the tip of the index always rests near the start button/touchpad and the thumb never leaves the R3 stick, if not to quickly press X to select in your menu. It takes a while to develop the claw grip style that's most comfortable to you, and it is perfectly natural to actually switch from one style to the other during gameplay initially until you find what works out best for you.
@@Reelix789 I tried claw grip a bit... in pve at first to get used to it. Its ok, it works..i kinda feel that i have better control at times and can react faster, but also i get totally fumbled sometimes.
I just dont get how to hold circle with the edge of my thumb... i didnt get that part.
Also, my hand gets extremely cramped after short amount of time in that grip, idk maybe i am doing it wrong.
We are speaking about right hand only, right, anyway i try to use thumb for camera and index finger for buttons and other fingers for r1 / r2... and in normal grip i use thumb for camera and buttons and index finger for r1 / r2.
@@DreamskyDance first and foremost, I commend you for your mindset. Looking for ways to improve without fear of leaving your comfort zone means you're already 2 thirds of the way. I think it all boils down to what any kind of new physical activity entails, except on a much smaller scale. You need to work in steps. See how little of your thumb can be used to effectively control the circle button, get comfortable with that and work from there. As far as hand pains are concerned, it is a perfectly natural part of the process. It's something new that your body needs to adjust into. Part of it is listening to what your body tells you, and giving it time to adjust and part of it is what it's telling you you're just doing plain wrong, and to look for alternatives. Depending on your hands, wrists and arms position as well as the way you're sitting (or standing, I don't judge), being fluid with your controller orientation helps a lot. I find a lot of the time the controller will move its axis in my hands by as far as 45 degrees, whether it's from side to side or front to back. Let the controller move around to accommodate more comfortable positions for your wrists, hands and fingers. A lot of it is simply just the time it takes to adjust, and a lot of it is also simply how tense you are in one given moment. I play some street fighter as well and even tho I play that with a regular grip, trust me when I say, many times, pain comes from excessive tension (which is more than natural, we're getting invested in intensely competitive games.)
Practicing in PVE is absolutely part of the process. Practice parrying and swapping. Then practice running in circles or in random directions while swapping. For hours, if you need to (and so far as you're enjoying yourself, of course). Little by little, your body will adjust and will tell you what you're doing wrong, what's worth powering through and what's not, and what you could (should) possibly be doing differently. I've thought many times about making videos on the topic, and I still might. Pepp410 made a quite good video about the basics a few years back. You could look that up, or even feel free to look me up (Twitch) to share thoughts and ideas, that would be my pleasure. Ultimately, you're already on the the right path with your mindset so I have no doubt you'll keep finding lots of small things that will help your comfort and your effectiveness. As long as you embrace the fact that it takes time, and you listen to what your body tells you (sometimes your hands just need breaks, after all it's perfectly natural when you push the limits of your physical abilities, like with any athlete practicing any type of activity. Obviously they take it in small steps, day by day, and this is no different)
Hope I helped!
Again, congratulations on the mindset. It's more than 80% of the people commenting here are willing to commit to.
@@Reelix789 tnx for tips :D
Yeah, listening for what body tells me..i should incorporate that in more stuff then gaming, i had swollen elbow two months back because i did some non standard pushup variations ( sideways pushups and archer pushups ) in my daily exercise with bad form.. :P
Anyway.. i am on a playthrough with a new character and i am trying to use claw grip as much as i can. I think i will pose myself a challenge to defeat Malenia ( and probably some other bosses )with claw grip and swaps ( waterfowl dance -> swap to bhs weapon and not dodge it the normal way, she is parried -> swap to crit weapon... etc ) as a practice. I think that would be a good exercise to practice, alongside ways to practice you mentioned.
Btw, about tension... in a game Control i noticed that i held controller more tense than in either of Dark Souls and Elden Ring for example and had some pain when playing for longer as you mentioned you had in street fighter.
But although i dont have full experience with claw grip yet, i was amazed a few times that it seems like i have better control over my character and can better position, maybe because of better camera control.
Great video, G! I loved the history in the beginning.. good ol DkS2 parry/riposte swaps 🤣
Thank you, was just looking for guide like that. I think I ll stick in the learning phase to. Utilitie swaps with ring and work my way from there.
Really appreciate the guide
Trigger for sure underrated!
Also like activating menu with touchpad click plus mapping dodge to square. Error prone but now you only need the thumb of your right hand
Been a while since I've watched your content or streams (work life has been hectic), but just wanted to say this is one of the best videos you have made. Very professional and neatly organized, with some humorous ape king content as well.
I myself have butterfingers so the only hardswaps I ever felt comfortable doing in DS3 were gundyr wakeup after backstab and the remove weapon parry. I choke the remove weapon a lot though so I'll need to practice more.
this actually made me come back to DS3 and make a new Quality build and that build was heavily inspired by you Jeenine, so much so that for the first duels and invasions I wore full lap armor until I switched to my own fashion, thx Juan
Thank you for making this video G9! Just new to Elden Ring pvp and the concept of utility swap really impresses me. Your videos helped me a lot.
G9 is a Claymore fan? I finished reading claymore recently and have been doing a lot of fanart of it too. its so good
Thanks G9 for the DS3 clips. Because of these I checked if DS3 is back online, and yes, the PvP is back. Hooray.
I never would have thought swapping is something people would get so tight over. Obviously people who complain about it can't do it. There's nothing to be upset about other than people having more skill than you.
That video is so generous of you, G9. It’s precise, articulate, clear and accurate. Very well structured too.
And that note to Reddit whinners was the icing on the cake! 🥳
A 4 back paddle controller is a must for elden ring try hards. No claw grip needed. I even flipped all my Dpad buttons with my shape buttons turning it into a left-handed controller. not including the thumbsticks. Then attach all the new dpad buttons to the back paddles so your thumb never has to leave the left thumbstick.
Great job G. Thankfully I learned this from you in DS3. But the addition of inventory by order of accusation has mage it even more OP.
not only useful but also very funny, great video G9!
What a great video. As a souls noob who never played any of the previous games this stuff is fascinating.
I've been looking to get into invasions recently and as keyboard and mouse player I was starting to believe doing these kinds of hard swaps I've seen you top tier players use was impossible. So hearing you say it can actually be better is really a mind blowing revelation.
I've been able to organize my inventory and get faster and getting in and out of menus but the one thing I can't figure out on m+k is how to directly switch between the different equipment menus. For example I constantly see Chasethebro go and swap to the crimson tear scarab helm and then directly to the armor menu for the full bloom set before he uses his heal flask. But I cannot find any keybind on the PC to allow me to go between the helmet and armor slots directly without going back to the main equipment screen in between. Do you know if that's possible on k+m and what the default keys are if so? Are there any good guides you'd recommend for hard swapping with k+m? I really want to be able to do what I see you guys doing.
Thank you for the great video 🙏🏼
Haha jokes on you I always use claw grip on my ps controller bc I used to have a Xbox and imma have arthritis in ten years
also, wasnt aware you knew about affinity. such a fantastic player he really evolved the meta more than almost anyone and he doesnt even know about it
Whenever I'm learning any kind of new sequential input, I find it insanely helpful to pair it with a musical series of notes. Once it's learned, makes speeding up the sequence simply a matter of increasing the tempo. Might be just cuz I play guitar.
I got my ass annihilated in DS3 learning to Hardswap on my own, I'm glad that PvP gods like you are guiding the new into gettin' gud, truly love this community.
I liked your point about how while swaps are quite strong, you can still outplay them with some relatively basic rustic play without ever bothering to learn swaps yourself. Just gotta use your noggin a tiny bit. It's how people think you have to be a combo execution god to play fighting games, when in fact many top players cant combo for shit and instead focus on having good defensive game, spacing, matchup knowledge, etc. Technical skill is just a part of the bigger whole.
When you were saying "thumb" I kept hearing "tongue" and was like......
This is up there with your great sword video in terms of a depth of knowledge for players new to the PvP scene. I have hope in the future that PvP will be more balanced and look forward to years of dueling to come.
i've always thought that quick swaps being invented by the community is one of the coolest techniques and most of the stuff i agree with strongly especially how using the same weapon, AOW, spells and etc can make you predictable.
i've never had a great dexterity for techniques like this but i had fun excuting them to catch my opponent off guard, i never thought that using a weapon to deceive the opponent than quick swap to another weapon to punish them instantly though.
honestly seeing people performing quickswaps is pretty badass but sadly i don't see alot of people performing it, in pve it has helped me on certain situations without equipping a second weapon that could cause me to fatroll.
great video wish i see more skilled pvp players in elden ring if only the dmg wasn't so crazy or multiplayer limit being 4, i miss the chaos of ds 3 anyway keep up the great content.
thank you for this amazing video. you are constantly raising the level of gameplay in the community.
I started swapping by watching your vids
Not a fan of hard swapping myself. Always been a soft-swapper though, and continue to have my entire loadout equipped because I'm a bit of an RPer in that regard. However, I don't have a problem with other people that hard-swap. It's gotten me salty from time to time, but if you're able, and able to do it well, then that's just part and part of trying to attain the highest skill ceiling possible, and fair play to those that can.
Honestly, it's kind of the only skill ceiling available 🤷 the games since DS3 and onwards have been incredibly shallow otherwise.
Honestly, I feel like it's borderline intended, otherwise Fromsoft would create a generalized inventory limit or only let you swap some things at checkpoints. They kind of expect you to swap weapons based on circumstances (e.g., use a scythe against a shield, use a sword against fast enemies) and this is just the logical extreme of that.
It's still cool that the unique, "build defining" special weapons are still unique to your build, but now your build is more stat-based rather than loadout based.
@@monsieurdorgat6864 what are some tech that didn't transfer to elden ring from ds3 other than hitstun swapping?
@@justmi5978 Oh, most of the tech from DS3 transferred to Elden Ring.
Where most tech was lost in the transition from DS2 to DS3. DS2 was kind of a "sweet spot" for tech IMO because it existed, but wasn't essential for basic success. While DS1 had the most tech, it was also the most frustrating in nature and was centralized on backstabs.
DS3 almost doesn't have tech besides estus cancelling and hitstun swapping. I think Estus cancelling is the only DS3 tech that doesn't involve the equipment menu.
@@monsieurdorgat6864 I see what you mean. Atleast menu swapping still exists
@@justmi5978 Yeah! It's something to differentiate players, and I think it's kind of interesting that it was honestly just untapped potential in previous games.
I guess in previous games you didn't need it - the pre-weapon mechanics were robust enough that swapping weapons wasn't as important as using them well.
DS3, having shallower pre-weapon mechanics and extremely weapon-centric build success, makes sense that it was the game that menu swapping went from fun oddity to the most essential technique for skilled play. Elden Ring is just DS3... But more lol
G9 got a PHD in FROM PVP
I also got a PHD in microspacing
@@Jeenine It is honestly a great help man so thanks
People complain about weapon swapping?
I find it flattering personally lol
You needed 7 different weapons to deal with my 1 or 2
On top of that it's more of a hindrance than anything for yourself
It's super obvious when someone is swapping stuff mid fight
Because of ash of war I can Conceal Swap my Soft Swap Shield with a Parry to a Shield with no AOW that way I might be able to surprise an enemy with my main weapons AOW cause they think that I can't do my ash of war without two handing also I didn't know you can customize your layout :(( this helps so much
By the way, inventory management and weapon swaps are my favorite playstyle. And i'm the only one that does that among my friends. They were always amazed how fast i swapped weapons in DS3
the thumbnail made me think it was one of your old videos glad to see the edgy youtube thumbnail comeback, i love it
Might try swaping, never done it before but sounds fun. Good video 👌
don’t, builds exist for a reason, this kid ruins the purpose of it all
@@iger9554 cry
exactly what this video hopes to achieve bro! One thing to note, it's really not important to be the fastest swapper. Sometimes I will have my menu open and just wait for the right opportunity to neutral swap. You don't wanna rush it and get punished
If you do eventually wanna get faster tho, I highly recommend swapping after parries. Even just a simple weapon swap or helm swap will do wonders for your speed
@@iger9554 do you really think a build is limited to only one weapon?
Amazing work.
I've been using RKR to conceal my gugs giant hunt ever since I first started pvp. It's uh...really, really effective. People trade into you so much, and they go into the air so much. Really underrated tactic.
People were trading into RKR?! 😳
@@monsieurdorgat6864 no you lose RKR after timeout or on a phantom hit and then you giant hunt into them. Or you get really lucky and get the rkr off. They trade into giant hunt because they don't know you have it.
@@SaltyRocksPew Ah I see now!
Nice. It's honestly a cool feature.
Also lmao apparently someone started a rumor or is trying to start one that hard swapping is getting people banned 🤣 like two accounts have tried to tell me its a "bannable offense" 🤦
What is going on? I think the reddit crowd G9 complained about is actually even more unhinged that he said...
@@monsieurdorgat6864 if that was the case then Fromsoftware wouldn't have made talismans that increased defense and dmg with the amount of HP you got like ritual talismans and feather talismans. If they didn't like swapping then those talismans wouldn't exist because then you'd waste 2 talisman slots the moment you take damage or have too much HP from the feather talismans to use them.
@@justmi5978 Or... You know over the course of 4 games over a decade and people swapping the entire time, they would have changed it so that you can only change your equipment at a checkpoint.
Not gonna make that argument based on balance lol. Not a reliable behavior from Fromsoft.
I remember getting, while doing survival, hatemailed saying "I block hard swappers" 😑
In DS3 i practiced swapping on the drakebloods in archdragon peak. it was useful to get the parry, and be able to try freely without looking like an idiot. also that was my soul farm which is a very nice bonus.
After many years looking for pvp guide on high level tech I find one and it well made and not lazy live com
Souls pvp need Fighting game community just make good guide
Nice vid
huge respect for music choice
As a casual who doesn't enjoy hard swapping... I like the fact that there can be so much variety... but I still prefer being lazy.
Still, good stuff dude.
Well, watched it before work and probably gonna be late now. Worth it.
This video is a huge piece of info and it's just crazy. I gotta say smth about MnK tho since i've been playing with it forever, swaps aren't easier, flicking your mouse to the right item is really inconsistent when consistency is the key of swapping. MnK would make big inventories easier to work with but it is way too slow and inconsistent for sweaty tryhard swaps. Keep making the fromsoft games better!
I've been tempted to learn MnK for swapping. I just can't claw grip controllers. Smallish hands and a permanently damaged right hand/wrist. Sucks.
As a scrub I thank you for any and all information you can provide to rid me of my affliction of being trash.
except its bugged if you bind sprint to bumper or trigger…
It took me 4:53 minutes to realize that you are Jeenine
that Claymore thumbnail is SICK!
This thumbnail made me think I traveled back to 2019
Dude this was beyond helpful thank you so much for this & the other vid, btw yr badass in fights!
most friendly g9 video
Great video Jee! This will help out the new players and meta greatly! I don’t use the claw to swap from the pS4 controller, but i geg what your saying! Great video tho!
Love the redditer voice. But let's be honest, trying to get a noob to become a monke swapper is like trying to get an alcoholic to quit and only drink water.