Dodging | Elden Ring Wiki

Dodge Basics Elden Ring

Backstep	⭘	B	Space
Roll	Move + ⭘	Move + B	Move + Space

Rolling is the most common way to dodge, since it allows you to cover a fair amount of distance in the direction of your choice. Not only that, it gives you a large number of invulnerability frames, also called "i-frames". During these frames, you can't be damaged by incoming attacks—they'll just pass harmlessly through you. Making good use of i-frames is crucial to getting comfortable with combat in Elden Ring.

Backstepping is less common, because it covers less ground than simply rolling backwards and doesn't provide any i-frames. However, it's much quicker and can be followed up with a Lunge Attack, so it's worth keeping in mind. Furthermore, it is possible to guard while doing a backstep by holding guard and pressing the dodge button with no directional input, making backstepping much safer. 

Dodge Details Elden Ring

The precise details of your dodge roll and backstep depend on your Equip Load. (All frame data below is for 30 FPS.)

See also Recovery Frames and Dodge Distance below.

How to Dodge Better in Elden Ring?

There are some items that add additional i-frames at the end of a roll, but at the cost of reduced damage negations. These don't stack with one another aside from their penalties, nor do they apply to dodge skills.

• Crucible Feather Talisman: +3 i-frames, -3 recovery frames
• Talisman of All Crucibles: +3 i-frames, -3 recovery frames
  • Light/Med. Roll Invuln. Duration +23%
  • Heavy Roll Invuln. Duration +25%
• Windy Crystal Tear: +3 i-frames, -3 recovery frames for 3 minutes
  • Light/Med. Roll Invuln. Duration +19%
  • Heavy Roll Invuln. Duration +25%
• Your Equipment Load also affects the speed of your dodging with heavier load at 70-100% full capacity being the slowest reaction time. 
• Having less equipment will also mean that you drain less stamina, which allows more dodging. 
• Dodging gives you time while avoiding damage until you see an opportunity to begin your offensive actions.
• Have your new position in mind since dodging will reposition your character. You can even dodge while approaching to get in range for your next melee attack. When you are close enough, you can roll forward through an attack to get you in an optimum position for a backstab. 

Effective Dodging Elden Ring Tips

Dodging is a powerful tool, but it can take practice to get the most you can out of it. Here are some tips to get the most out of your dodges:

• Roll In: When you're in danger, it's always tempting to dodge away from the enemy. After all, you're dodging to avoid danger and the enemy is the source of that danger! But it's often better to dodge towards the enemy instead. Not only will this put you in position to land a few attacks, it'll often naturally avoid follow-up moves that are intended to punish people who roll away.
• Roll Through: It may seem counterintuitive, but when you see an attack incoming it's usually best to roll into the attack (in other words, roll in the opposite direction of the attack's movement). The attack won't hurt you as long as you have i-frames for every frame you intersect with its hitbox, so you want to overlap with it for as few frames as possible to ensure that it's not still touching you once your i-frames expire.
• Be Patient: Many bosses in Elden Ring wait just long enough to let their attacks fly that, if you roll when you first see them winding up, the attack will actually land when you're out of i-frames. This is known as "roll catching", and it's there to teach you patience. Don't roll just because you feel threatened, roll when you actually see an attack flying down towards you.
• Born to Run: Once you're comfortable dodging, you might want to use it for all your get-out-of-danger needs. But don't forget that you can hold the button to run as well! Although running doesn't give you any i-frames, it's faster and consumes much less stamina than repeated dodges. Once you're out of an enemy's range, running is a much more effective way to put distance between you than dodging.

Jump Dodging Elden Ring

You can also dodge some attacks by jumping over them.

Jump	✖	A	F

Jumping only gives you partial i-frames: you're invulnerable from the waist down, but your head, chest, arms, and even hands can still be hit by attacks. This makes it useful specifically for dodging attacks that slash horizontally or erupt from the ground. In exchange for only giving you partial invulnerability, this invulnerability lasts much longer, covering 25 frames of the jump animation with only 5 frames of recovery afterwards (at 30 FPS).

Other I-Frames Elden Ring

Various other actions you can perform provide i-frames as well. While these won't be your primary means of dodging, they can be very useful in a pinch.

• Opening doors and chests.
• Activating switches.
• Mounting and dismounting Torrent.
• Parrying an attack.
• Performing a critical hit.

How do you Dodge Effectively Elden Ring?

Now that all the different types of dodging, and i-frames have been laid out, this needs to be applied against some Boss. Elden Ring is a game where you are encouraged to improve your combat abilities and familiarize yourself with each maneuver in order to face the numerous Bosses and enemies in the game. Get an idea of which attacks you are able to roll through. Especially since this is not the common reaction, it is important to know when to roll forward and away since tolling forward and through attacks would benefit your character by repositioning them closer to the opponent and potentially opening an opportunity for your next attack. As stated above, when you roll through, the attack won't hurt you as long as you have i-frames for every frame you intersect with its hitbox, so you want to overlap with it for as few frames as possible to ensure that it's not still touching you once your i-frames expire, which means you also have to consider your weight load. Start light so you have the quickest movements possible if you want to focus on effective dodging. This will be one of your main maneuvers to get out of pesky corners and different ranges of attacks against the Bosses. You will need to rely on your evasive capabilities in between your offensive counters or otherwise risk taking in big hits to your HP levels.