Backhand Blade locations in Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree
How to find all 3 Backhand Blade locations in Shadow Of The Erdtree
Looking for all Backhand Blade locations in Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree? As one of the new weapon types to arrive with Shadow Of The Erdtree, Backhand Blades are a great focus for any Dexterity build.
There are a total of 3 Backhand Blades in Elden Ring (of a possible 103 new weapons). Two of these are infused with an impressive side-step 'Blind Spot' Skill that both dodges an incoming attack and unleashes a stab to the side of an enemy. If this type of fast-paced combat sounds like the perfect blend to you, see below for the best Backhand Blade build and all Backhand Blade locations in the DLC.
In this guide:
Backhand Blade
Perhaps confusingly, the Backhand Blade is the name of the category of weapons (named as such due to the way they are held 'backwards') and is also the name of the first weapon on this list. As mentioned above, the Backhand Blade comes with the Blind Spot Weapon Skill, which makes this blade particularly useful as it essentially side-steps enemies and delivers a sweep attack. With its low FP cost (9 FP), you could spam this attack and stab and dodge your way to success in a whirlwind of blade swings. The Backhand Blade is a curved sword with the following specifications:
- Weight: 2.0
- Damage Type: Slash/Pierce.
- Requirements: Strength 10, Dexterity 13.
- Attribute Scaling: Strength D, Dexterity D.
- Weapon Skill: Blind Spot.
- Damage: 105 Physical, Critical 100.
Where to get the Backhand Blade
The Backhand Blade is located in the centre of the Gravesite Plain, past the Smoldering Ruins. Take care to avoid the patrolling Furnace Golem, unless you're feeling particularly brave. You will find the sword inside a mausoleum, on a corpse next to the stone coffin.
The Backhand Blade can either be scaled with Strength or Dexterity. Despite it being a powerful weapon, you can pick it up incredibly early in the DLC and with little effort. Whilst you're in the area, the Western Nameless Mausoleum is an optional dungeon located just to the west. Inside is the Blackgaol Knight who drops the Solitude armor set, 70,000 Runes and the equally impressive, Greatsword of Solitude when defeated.
Curseblade's Cirque
The Curseblade's Cirque can propel the Tarnished into the air and allows them to emit consecutive spinning attacks with a follow-up kick. It can deal passive Bleed buildup (45) and has the following specifications:
- Weight: 4.5
- Damage Type: Slash.
- Requirements: Strength 9, Dexterity 22.
- Attribute Scaling: Strength E, Dexterity C.
- Weapon Skill: Deadly Dance.
- Damage: 108 Physical, Critical 100.
Where to get the Curseblade's Cirque
You can pick up a Curseblade's Cirque as a loot drop from a defeated Curseblade enemy. You may need to farm a while to get one to drop but luckily, they're fairly common enemies to find. Look out for their golden masks, crowns of horns and wild waving Cirques (of which, they keep one in each hand).
There is a Curseblade located on top of a monument directly in front of the first Gravesite Plain Site Of Grace you'll spawn from in the Land of Shadow. Another Curseblade is located next to the Stage Front Site Of Grace in Belurat, Tower Settlement. There are more located on the Demi-Human Beach along the Cerulean Coast, inside Bonny Gaol and Charo's Hidden Grave.
Smithscript Cirque
The Smithscript Cirque is similar in form to the Curseblade's Cirque but provides the same Blind Spot Skill of the original Backhand Blade. The beauty of this weapon is the ability to throw the Cirques (at zero cost to FP) for a ranged attack. You can also throw them when dodging for a backstep attack. The Smithscript Cirque has the following stats:
- Weight: 2.0
- Damage Type: Slash.
- Requirements: Strength 9, Dexterity 14, Intelligence 11, Faith 11.
- Attribute Scaling: Strength D, Dexterity D, Intelligence E, Faith E.
- Weapon Skill: Blind Spot.
- Damage: 100 Physical, Critical 100.
Where to get the Smithscript Cirque
The Smithscript Cirque can be looted from a corpse within the Ruined Forge of Starfall Past. This is an optional dungeon located southwest of the Moorth Ruins in Scadu Altus. As you advance through the dungeon, you'll eventually be able to pull a lever which opens the left-side door in the main room. Inside, is a passage that leads into a large circular room with two Golem Smiths and a large waterfall leading into a pit. The corpse with the weapon is hanging over the ledge of the waterfall.
Backhand Blade best build
Depending on which weapon you decide to use, there are a range of options for getting the most out of your Backhand build. Try pairing it with something like the Shard of Alexander for added attack power when performing Weapon Skills. The Winged Sword Insignia could also work well as it raises attack power with successive attacks, which compliments the fast-paced nature of these weapons and their abilities to chain swings together.
The Retaliatory Crossed-Tree Talisman is extremely useful for its boost to attacks after rolling or backstepping (17%) but it is an item you can only get during Leda's questline after choosing specific options. Additionally, the Two-Headed Turtle Talisman is fantastic for raising stamina recovery speed (22.2%) and can be found inside a cave east of the Rivermouth Cave. This should help top-up stamina for dodges in between attacks.
In terms of armor, you'll want something light and dexterous. The new Gravebird Set weighs less than 15 and offers the following damage negation stats: Physical 15.7, Magic 19.4, Fire 18.3, Lightning 20.6, Holy 20.6. Additionally, if you manage to acquire the upgraded chest piece, 'Gravebird's Blackquill Armor', these stats not only improve, but you can also gain an additional 10% jump attack power.
That rounds up our guide to getting the Backhand Blade in Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree. For more help with the Elden Ring DLC, check out our guides on the Scadutree Fragment locations, Erdtree main boss order, Erdtree boss locations, Erdtree best weapons and whether you should suggest Thiollier or Hornsent.