The ability to kick other characters in FromSoftware games has been a staple since almost the very beginning. The move is most often used in online PvP and even in co-op, where players can simply press forward on the joystick at the same time as the light attack button to kick, no matter their currently equipped loadout.
Kicking is an extremely effective means of breaking a shield wall, but it works a little bit differently in Elden Ring. While players could kick whenever they wanted to in previous FromSoftware games, kicking in Elden Ring requires players to do some more specific things.
Kicking Is Unique To Unarmed Combat, And An Ash Of War
Elden Ringintroduces a huge variety of special weapon attacks through the Ash of War system. As such, the special abilities that come with every weapon in the game can be mixed and matched, depending on what Ashes of War the player has. Kicking is one "weapon" ability that can normally only be done when nothing else is equipped – it's also an Ash of War, meaning it can be applied to a weapon later on in progression to be used as that weapon's Ash of War skill.
You don't have to completely unequip your weapons, shields, and otherwise to become Unarmed. As long as only one piece of gear is equipped in either hand, players can simply press either right or left on the D-pad to unequip the corresponding hand's gear. If you have Kick as an Ash of War, apply it to your weapon and use the left trigger (or L2) to activate it while two-handing.
How To Kick In Elden Ring
After unequipping your held gear, all you need to do to Kick is perform the Unarmed loadout's "weapon ability". Just like all other weapon abilities in Elden Ring, this can be activated by pressing LT (or L2). This consumes a small amount of Stamina and FP and makes your character wind up a powerful guard-breaking kick.
Though you can't Kick at any time like in previous FromSoftware games, players can still reliably use the maneuver with a little loadout optimization. Make sure you have only one item in each hand, to be able to easily unequip them on the fly. In PvP, switching to the Unarmed moveset can give you the edge against an opponent who turtles behind a shield. Kicking punished shield users heavily, giving you enough time to switch back to a weapon and perform a powerful Critical Hit if their posture was broken in the process.
Elden Ring is available now for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S.