Katar, Spiked Caestus & Hookclaws
Right after creating a new character in Elden Ring and entering the game's starting area of Limgrave, players can acquire the Katar, a fist weapon modeled after punch daggers from the Indian subcontinent, for free. Simply ride east on Torrent to the Caelid Wilds, head southwest, break into the Fort Gael dungeon, and pick up the Katar weapon from a chest.
By sneaking into the late-game Dragonbarrow area (possible by locating a secret teleportation gate north of the Mistwood) and riding west, players can also locate an isolated merchant NPC who sells the Spiked Caestus, a boxing-glove weapon covered with barbs. After defeating Margit, the Fell Omen, and entering the gates of Elden Ring's Stormveil Castle, players can buy the standard Caestus from the Gatekeeper Gostoc NPC and pick up the Hookclaws while exploring.
Bloodhound Claws, Raptor Talons, Star Fist & Veteran's Prosthesis
Most of the other good Fist and Claws in Elden Ring become available in the mid-game when players gain access to the Altus Plateau area. The Raptor Talons can be found in the Sage's Cave dungeon, while the Bloodhound Claws are hidden within the secret passages of the Volcano Manor in Mount Gelmir.
The Star Fist, a gladiatorial weapon near a Colosseum, can be picked up in Leyndell, Royal Capital. Finally, the Veteran's Prosthesis weapon, imbued with lightning, can be acquired in the frost-rimed Castle Sol after defeating Commander Niall.
Cipher Pata & Grafted Dragon
The Cipher Pata and Grafted Dragon are technically early-game weapons but do require a long-term investment into the Faith attribute before they become useful. The Cipher Pata, a Fist weapon made of glowing runes, can be found after unlocking Elden Ring's Roundtable Hold hub area, located in a side room near where the Mad Tongue Alberich NPC invades. The Grafted Dragon gauntlet is one of two weapons players can get after defeating Godrick the Grafted and is modeled after the dragon head this demigod boss grafts to his body in his second phase.
The Cipher Pata, which only scales with Faith, possesses a shield-piercing weapon skill, and weighing nothing, is a great weapon for pure Faith builds in Elden Ring. The Grafted Dragon, unlike most Fist Weapons in Elden Ring, doesn't have a two-handed mode where players can wield dragon-shaped gauntlets in both hands; this niche weapon and its flame-bombarding Bear Witness skill works best when paired with other fist weapons (or the Greataxe wielded by the rune bearer Godrick the Grafted).
Roar-Type Ashes of War
After defeating the penultimate boss of Elden Ring, Godfrey The First Elden Lord, players can acquire one of the game's more potent Ashes Of War: Hoarah Loux's Earthshaker, a ground-slamming attack that staggers enemies with a roar and damages them with a ground-slamming area of effect attack. This Ash of War can be equipped to any melee weapon, but its hand-slamming attack animation synergizes well with Elden Ring's Fist Weapons.
In general, Roar-type Ashes Of War pair very well with most of the Fist Weapons in Elden Ring and can be boosted if players equip the Roar Medallion. The Barbaric Roar and Braggart's Roar skills both temporarily boost a player's attack power and alter the fist weapon move-set to include wild swiping attacks and forward charges. The Troll's Roar and Beast's Roar skills, in contrast, grant players access to long-range sonic attacks, letting Tarnished pugilists strike at enemies otherwise beyond the reach of their short-range weapons.
Evasion-Type Ashes of War
If Fist weapons in Elden Ring are associated with Strength builds and barbarian brawler characters, then Claws and other Dexterity-scaling Elden Ring weapons are associated with nimble assassin characters. As a mechanical consequence of this, most of the Claw Weapons are equipped with the Quickstep skill, which lets players dodge enemy attacks more easily and carries them closer to enemies distant from their short-ranged claws.
The Bloodhound's Step Ash of War is more potent version of the Quickstep Skill, while the Raptor Of The Mists Ash of War, designed for use with the Raptor's Talons, works better with a more defensive play style, letting players leap over any incoming attack and counter with a plunging strike.
Best Hand-to-Hand Build For Shadow of the Erdtree
For those now going into the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, you will want to know what the best hand-to-hand build is to make it to the end. The first piece of this build is to use the Dryleaf Arts weapon, which is one of the new weapon types in Elden Ring.
With the introduction of the Hand-to-Hand arts, you can fight completely unarmed and without any gauntlets, claws, or fist weapons. This allows players to truly become martial artists. In Expert Review Zone's video, he explains how he built a Monk Bleed build that is quite powerful and one of the easiest ways to cheese the game. You will want to upgrade the Dryleaf Arts to the Bleed Dryleaf Arts +25, as you will want to take full advantage of the Bleed potential. It also comes with the skill Palm Blast, one of the best new skills in the DLC and one that you will not want to switch out.
