Can You Use Black Flame Blade on a Scythe? A Deep Dive into Elden Ring Mechanics
The short answer is: Yes, you can absolutely use Black Flame Blade on a scythe in Elden Ring. This powerful incantation can imbue your scythe with fiery power, making it an even more formidable weapon. However, the nuances of how this combination works, its effectiveness, and other related incantation and weapon mechanics can be complex. This article explores the synergy between Black Flame Blade and scythes, along with a collection of frequently asked questions.
Understanding Black Flame Blade
How It Works
Black Flame Blade is an incantation that temporarily envelops your right-hand weapon with black flame. This flame adds extra fire damage on impact and then applies a black flame effect that deals a percentage of the enemy’s health over time. It’s not a sustained fire effect; it’s an initial burst and a residual burn. The black flame, therefore, excels in battles against high-health enemies.
What It Does
The primary function of Black Flame Blade is to supplement your weapon’s damage. It does this in two ways:
- Initial Fire Damage: When you hit an enemy, the black flame adds a one-time chunk of fire damage to the base damage of your weapon.
- Percentage-Based Damage: More importantly, the black flame effect applies a Damage Over Time (DOT) debuff that burns a small percentage of the enemy’s maximum health over a few seconds. This is particularly effective against bosses or enemies with large health pools.
Scythes in Elden Ring
Melee Prowess
Scythes in Elden Ring, while often depicted in real-world history as farming tools used by peasants, are formidable weapons in the hands of a skilled Tarnished. Their unique moveset, characterized by wide, sweeping attacks, is excellent for crowd control. While sometimes considered to have a limited angle of attack, a good scythe user can play around with spacing and the timing of strikes, mitigating this limitation. Additionally, they often have a decent range, allowing you to keep enemies at bay.
Why Use a Scythe?
Scythes offer a unique blend of damage and reach, providing an alternative to the standard straight swords or greatswords. While some might argue that a scythe can sometimes be disadvantageous due to its curved blade bringing enemies into closer combat, this often boils down to player proficiency and playstyle. Plus, the Elden Ring meta has shifted considerably since launch and, often times, what might have been considered subpar in the past, can be incredibly effective in the current version of the game.
The Synergistic Power of Black Flame Blade and Scythes
Enhanced Damage Output
Combining Black Flame Blade with a scythe adds a critical layer of damage. The initial fire damage, coupled with the percentage-based damage, elevates your overall damage potential. Given the scythe’s already strong base damage, this enhancement can make a significant difference in battles, especially against stronger foes. This synergy is particularly effective because scythes naturally lend themselves to a mix-up playstyle and Black Flame Blade rewards multiple hits and can stack its percentage-based damage.
Tactical Flexibility
Using Black Flame Blade adds a ranged component to your scythe build. While a melee-focused build might prefer to stick to close-quarters combat, having the option to deal damage from a distance through the black flame effect offers a strategic advantage. This allows you to keep your distance, land an initial hit, and watch the enemy’s health slowly drain as you close the gap for more swings. The fire damage can also be beneficial against enemies weak to fire, providing added elemental versatility.
A Viable Faith Build
For players exploring a Faith build, Black Flame Blade combined with a scythe is an excellent option. It makes you a very effective hybrid damage dealer, adept at both close-range melee combat and mid-range damage infliction thanks to the percentage damage from black flame. This is especially potent with weapons like the Godslayer’s Greatsword or the Godskin Peeler, which are designed around the Godskin Apostle theme and scale with faith.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What weapons can you use Black Flame Blade on?
You can apply Black Flame Blade to almost any melee weapon in your right hand. This incantation is incredibly versatile and works with everything from swords and axes to spears and, of course, scythes. The only exception is weapons that are already infused with a permanent element, such as the Dark Moon Greatsword.
2. Is Black Flame Blade fire or holy damage?
Black Flame Blade deals fire damage on the initial impact and then applies a black flame effect, which is also fire damage over time. It is not considered Holy damage, which is a different type.
3. Does Black Flame Blade scale with faith?
Yes, Black Flame Blade scales primarily with your Faith stat. A higher Faith stat will increase the potency of the initial fire damage and the percentage-based burn damage.
4. What is the best seal for Black Flame Blade?
The Godslayer’s Seal is ideal for enhancing the black flame incantations. This seal specifically boosts the power of Godslayer incantations, making your Black Flame Blade more effective.
5. Is the Black Flame Tornado skill similar to Black Flame Blade?
Black Flame Tornado is a Weapon Skill, and it is different from Black Flame Blade. Black Flame Tornado creates a whirlwind of fire damage around the user, whereas Black Flame Blade imbues your weapon directly. However, the theme of damage over time remains with this skill as well, mirroring Black Flame Blade.
6. Can you use Black Flame Blade and other buffs simultaneously?
Yes, you can use other weapon buffs like greases or spells that modify weapon damage alongside Black Flame Blade. However, be aware that you cannot use multiple incantations that buff your weapon damage at the same time.
7. Is Black Flame Blade good against all enemy types?
Black Flame Blade is effective against most enemies, especially those with large health pools, because of its percentage-based damage. However, it might not be as efficient against enemies resistant to fire damage.
8. Are scythes a good weapon choice in Elden Ring?
Scythes are a viable weapon choice, offering a unique moveset and reach. They excel in crowd control and can be incredibly powerful when paired with the right build and strategy. The scythe weapon category is arguably one of the most versatile in the game.
9. What are some good scythe options for a faith build?
The Winged Scythe and the Grave Scythe are excellent options for a Faith build, especially in the early-to-mid game. Once you get past the midgame, look into weapons like the Halo Scythe, a scythe that is very unique with its ranged attack.
10. Can you use the Black Flame Tornado on all scythes?
No, the Black Flame Tornado skill is primarily found on the Godskin Peeler or weapons that have the Ash of War: Black Flame Tornado. However, you can still use Black Flame Blade on any scythe.
11. Is the black flame effect a flat or percentage-based damage?
The black flame effect deals a percentage of the enemy’s maximum health over a couple of seconds. This is why it is highly effective against large health bar bosses or larger monsters.
12. Is black flame stronger than standard fire?
In Elden Ring, black flame offers a different form of fire damage, primarily focusing on initial impact and percentage-based damage over time. The damage may not always be numerically higher than standard fire, but it can be more effective overall due to the DOT.
13. Does the black flame damage over time stack?
Yes, while the initial application of black flame damage will override previous applications, the damage will continue to apply for a full duration. If you keep hitting the enemy the damage continues as a rolling window.
14. Why is the Black Knife a good weapon?
The Black Knife is a good weapon because of its Holy damage and its Unique Skill, Blade of Death, which can fire an additional projectile. It’s not directly linked to Black Flame Blade but is similar in lore.
15. Are Black Blades common in Elden Ring?
Black blades are not common in Elden Ring. Weapons associated with black flame themes are usually unique and found in specific locations or drop from certain bosses. This is to keep the concept of this type of weapon rare and highly desirable.