Weaponmajor

Eclipse Shotel

Eclipse Shotel is a legendary curved sword found at Castle Sol. Its Death Flare skill coats the blade in deathly flame, adding holy damage and Death Blight buildup against valid Tarnished targets before an optional explosive follow-up.

Importance

major

Elden Ring · weapon

Key Takeaways

Eclipse Shotel is a unique curved sword whose shield-bypassing attacks and Death Flare skill give it a more specialized role than ordinary curved swords. Its fixed holy damage and Faith requirement make it a deliberate choice rather than a general-purpose sidegrade.

Shield-piercing curved-sword attacks

Its hooked blade gives the weapon’s attacks a shield-bypassing property, allowing part of the attack to connect through a blocking enemy. This is its defining practical advantage in close combat.

Death Flare is the fixed weapon skill

Death Flare coats the blade in a distinctive effect and provides a follow-up detonation. Because Eclipse Shotel is a unique weapon, this skill cannot be replaced with an Ash of War.

Faith is a central requirement

Eclipse Shotel demands meaningful Faith investment in addition to its physical attributes, so it is most naturally considered alongside Faith-oriented melee setups rather than a purely Dexterity-focused curved-sword build.

Its damage profile is not purely physical

The weapon deals holy damage as well as physical damage. That split can support its intended thematic role, but it also makes enemy holy resistance an important limitation when choosing it for a particular encounter.

It is a fixed, Somber-upgraded unique weapon

Eclipse Shotel uses the unique-weapon reinforcement path and retains its preset skill and damage identity instead of accepting ordinary affinity or Ash of War customization.

Castle Sol is its acquisition point

The weapon is found as a pickup inside Castle Sol in the Mountaintops of the Giants, making access dependent on reaching that late-game region rather than on an enemy drop or a vendor purchase.

Overview

Eclipse Shotel is a legendary curved sword in Elden Ring, distinguished by its hooked blade, innate Death buildup, and the unique Death Flare skill. It is a specialized late-game weapon rather than a general-purpose sidearm: its strongest identity comes from attacks and a skill designed to pressure guarded opponents, while its unusual status effect gives it a role that ordinary curved swords do not share.

As a curved sword, Eclipse Shotel supports the fast, close-range playstyle associated with the class, but its defining feature is the blade's pronounced inward curve. The weapon's attacks can pass around an enemy's guard instead of relying entirely on raw damage against a shield. This makes it particularly relevant when fighting opponents who block frequently, although the weapon still demands close spacing and the usual commitment of melee combat.

Eclipse Shotel also carries innate Death buildup and cannot be treated as merely a physical curved sword with an unusual appearance. Death-related effects are highly situational in Elden Ring, so this property does not make the weapon universally superior; its practical value depends on the target, ruleset, and whether the buildup can be applied before the encounter ends. The status effect is therefore part of its specialized identity rather than a replacement for ordinary damage.

Its fixed weapon skill, Death Flare, reinforces that identity. The skill applies the weapon's distinctive deathly effect and offers a follow-up detonation, giving Eclipse Shotel a special action beyond the standard curved-sword moveset. Because the weapon has a fixed skill rather than the normal Ash of War flexibility of an infusable curved sword, choosing it also means accepting a more defined playstyle and fewer opportunities to tailor its skill to a particular build.

Eclipse Shotel is found in the base game, in Castle Sol in the Mountaintops of the Giants, and is not a Shadow of the Erdtree weapon or a separate DLC variant. Its late-game placement makes it a progression reward for characters already equipped to handle that region, while its legendary status gives it significance beyond being another curved-sword option. Compared with more adaptable alternatives, it trades customization for shield interaction, Death buildup, and a distinctive skill.

Statistics

Elden Ring publishes no 0–100 stat bars, so this page lists the verified requirements, scaling and handling figures instead. Taken from the project's verified weapons database, not from generated text.

Category
Curved Swords
Damage Type
Slash/Holy
Primary Scaling
Dex C / Fai D
Weight
4.5
Skill
Eclipse Shotel Skill
Str Req
10
Dex Req
17
Fai Req
10
How to Obtain
Found in the Shadow Keep area, Shadow of the Erdtree
DLC
Shadow of the Erdtree

Figures verified against Consolidated Game Weapons Database.

Compared to similar curved swords

Weapon	Str Req	Dex Req	Weight	Primary Scaling
Eclipse Shotel	10	17	4.5	Dex C / Fai D
Bandit's Curved Sword	12	18	4.5	Str D / Dex D
Serpent-God's Curved Sword	10	17	4.5	Dex C / Arc D
Flowing Curved Sword	10	19	4.5	Dex C
Scavenger's Curved Sword	10	14	4	Dex D

Requirements, scaling grades and weight are the game’s own published figures. From Consolidated Game Weapons Database.

How to Obtain

Before you start

Access to the Mountaintops of the Giants.
No quest, boss-defeat, vendor, DLC, or special NPC prerequisite.

01Travel to Castle Sol in the Mountaintops of the Giants, then reach the Church of the Eclipse within the castle grounds. The Eclipse Shotel is a fixed pickup on a corpse inside the church; loot the corpse to obtain it. It is not purchased from a vendor and is not an enemy drop or boss reward.
02The pickup is guaranteed and does not require completing a quest, defeating Commander Niall, or meeting an NPC. Castle Sol can be explored and the church’s corpse can be looted independently of the castle’s main boss encounter, so the weapon does not require a mission completion trigger.
03This is a base-game world pickup rather than a Shadow of the Erdtree item. It is available once the Mountaintops of the Giants can be reached; the route therefore requires access to that region, normally through the Grand Lift of Rold or the Mountaintops entrance route.
04The Eclipse Shotel is obtainable once per playthrough from this corpse. It is not permanently missable through quest choices, and there is no separate alternate vendor or recovery route if it is left behind; return to the Church of the Eclipse and loot the corpse later. A further copy requires another playthrough or NG+ cycle.

Availability

Base game — standard playthroughAvailable

Requires Reach the Mountaintops of the Giants.

Eclipse Shotel is part of the base-game weapon roster; Shadow of the Erdtree is not required. It is obtained as world loot rather than purchased from a vendor, so no vendor price or rotating-stock condition applies.

Shadow of the ErdtreeAvailable without the DLC

Requires The base-game area requirement still applies.

The DLC does not gate this weapon or create a separate DLC version of it.

New Game PlusAvailable

Requires Reach the relevant Mountaintops area again in the new cycle.

Its availability follows the normal world-item reset in New Game Plus; no separate NG+ unlock condition is required.

Player-versus-player useAvailable

There is no separate PvP acquisition or availability gate. The weapon uses the same base-game inventory item obtained during exploration.

Mechanics and Handling

Eclipse Shotel handles like a curved sword, but its defining behaviour is not raw reach or damage: its curved blade is designed to carry attacks around an opponent’s guard. This gives its ordinary slashes practical value against shield users, although the weapon still operates at close range and does not replace attacks that break stance or consume stamina efficiently.

Its unique skill, Death Flare, is a two-stage action rather than a passive effect that is always active. The initial activation drives the weapon into the ground and releases an explosion associated with death. A follow-up normal attack ignites the Eclipse Shotel, after which its attacks apply additional Death Blight buildup for the duration of the weapon’s temporary state.

Shield-bypassing curved attacks

The Eclipse Shotel’s curved blade lets its regular attacks connect around part of an opponent’s shield instead of being handled like a completely ordinary straight sword. This is most relevant against guarded humanoid opponents and player characters who rely on blocking. The property does not make every hit unavoidable: spacing, attack angle, the defender’s position and the attack’s animation still matter, and a shield user can avoid the blade rather than simply holding guard.

Its light attacks form the familiar fast slashing pattern associated with curved swords. The weapon therefore rewards staying close enough to maintain the chain, while its short weapon length makes missed spacing costly. Heavy, jumping and running attacks remain useful for changing the timing of an engagement, but the Eclipse Shotel’s distinctive handling comes from combining quick curved attacks with the threat of Death Flare rather than from a separate ranged or projectile mode.

Death Flare and its ignition follow-up

Death Flare begins with a deliberate ground-plunging motion that creates an explosion around the skill’s activation. The animation commits the wielder in place, so it is not a substitute for a fast evasive attack or an instant response to pressure. Its threat is strongest when the opponent cannot immediately leave the area or punish the setup.

After the initial activation, pressing the normal-attack follow-up ignites the Eclipse Shotel. The weapon then gains a temporary Death Blight-oriented effect, adding buildup to its subsequent attacks. The ignition is a separate step: using the skill once does not mean that every later attack automatically receives the enhanced effect, and the wielder must account for the time and exposure required to complete the sequence.

Death Blight is highly situational. It is principally relevant in encounters involving Tarnished or other susceptible player-like targets; most ordinary PvE enemies and major bosses do not provide a practical target for this status. As a result, Death Flare’s explosion and the ignited weapon should not be treated as a universal PvE damage routine. In player combat, however, the buildup can force an opponent to respect repeated contact, especially when shield-bypassing slashes make passive blocking less reliable.

Commitment, defence and resource use

Eclipse Shotel is still a melee weapon with no projectile, ammunition or reload behaviour. Its normal attacks require close positioning, and Death Flare’s setup gives the opponent a clear opportunity to interrupt, evade or punish the attempt. The skill is consequently better understood as a conditional pressure tool than as a permanent replacement for the weapon’s basic moveset.

The weapon has no durability or break-state mechanic in Elden Ring. Its fixed unique skill also means that its handling is built around the Death Flare sequence rather than around swapping to another Ash of War. The important decision is whether the encounter gives enough room to perform the setup and ignition; when it does not, the Eclipse Shotel’s ordinary curved attacks and guard-bypassing property remain the more immediate parts of its moveset.

Upgrades and Variants

Strengths, Weaknesses and Best Uses

Strengths

Its curved-blade attacks can slip past an opponent’s guard, giving it a practical niche against shield users when ordinary block pressure would be less reliable.
The weapon has innate Death status buildup, so repeated hits can threaten susceptible player characters and NPC invaders rather than relying only on its direct damage.
Death Flare adds a distinctive two-stage skill: the blade is imbued with the flame of Death, then a follow-up sweep triggers an explosion for close-range burst and area pressure.
As a curved sword, it generally has a faster, less committal attack pattern than heavier melee classes, making it easier to use for brief openings and repeated status attempts.

Weaknesses

Death buildup is a poor general-purpose PvE advantage because many enemies and bosses are immune or otherwise unaffected by Death status.
Its fixed Death Flare skill prevents the weapon from using another Ash of War or changing to an affinity that better matches a particular attribute spread.
The skill’s follow-up explosion requires the user to remain close and commit to the sequence, giving attentive opponents an opportunity to interrupt, evade, or punish it.
Its compact curved-sword profile does not provide the reach or poise pressure of longer or heavier weapon classes, so spacing and target selection matter against large weapons and aggressive foes.

Best uses

Use it in PvP or against susceptible humanoid targets when shield bypass and Death buildup are more valuable than broad PvE damage consistency.
Choose it for a curved-sword playstyle that wants a unique close-range skill and status pressure without adopting a slow, heavy weapon moveset.
Use Death Flare when an opponent is committed nearby or when the explosion can cover a confined space; do not treat it as a universal answer to bosses or shielded enemies.
Pair it with a build that can support its fixed weapon requirements and skill use, while accepting that its innate Death effect and guard-bypassing attacks are situational advantages rather than universal upgrades.

Compared With Similar Weapons

Compared With Similar Weapons
Weapon	Class and role	Distinctive mechanics	Build flexibility	Best fit
Eclipse Shotel	Curved attacks can bypass shields; innate Death status buildup; fixed Death Flare skill	Somber weapon with a fixed skill and no Ash of War or affinity customization	Players who want a distinctive shield-piercing sidearm and are building around its Death-themed skill and passive	—
Shotel	Shares the curved blade profile that can bypass shields	Regular weapon with customizable Ash of War, affinity, and reinforcement path	Players who want the Eclipse Shotel's core shield-bypassing role without committing to its fixed skill or Death-oriented build requirements	—
Shamshir	Longer-feeling curved-sword moveset and strong emphasis on fluid spacing rather than shield bypass	Regular weapon with broader Ash of War and affinity customization	Dexterity-focused builds that value reach and attack flow over Eclipse Shotel's unique passive and skill	—
Scavenger's Curved Sword	Innate Bleed buildup and compatibility with build-specific status setups	Regular weapon with customizable Ash of War and affinity; supports more flexible status specialization	Players prioritizing repeatable Bleed pressure and dual-wield setups instead of Death status and a fixed weapon skill	—

Lore and Design

The Eclipse Shotel is presented as a ceremonial curved sword associated with Castle Sol. Its item description identifies it as a weapon held by the castle’s knights and connects it to worship of the eclipsed sun, giving the weapon a clear place within the region’s religious and military imagery rather than treating it as an ordinary sidearm.

Its design reinforces that association: the crescent-like blade evokes an eclipse, while the weapon’s death-related skill and effect tie it to Castle Sol’s ominous symbolism. The description establishes the relationship to the castle and its knights, but does not identify a specific named wielder or explain the full origin of the eclipse faith. Claims that the weapon is based on a particular real-world sword or that its shape reflects a documented developer influence are not established here.

Castle Sol and the eclipsed sun

The Eclipse Shotel’s strongest lore connection is to Castle Sol. Its description frames the weapon as ceremonial and associates it with the knights who serve there, while the castle’s imagery centers on an eclipsed sun. This makes the sword part of Castle Sol’s broader religious and martial identity, alongside the castle’s other eclipse-themed equipment and iconography.

The weapon’s name and silhouette support that theme, but the distinction between explicit lore and interpretation matters: the game establishes the Castle Sol connection and the eclipse symbolism, while broader claims about the faith’s doctrine, the sword’s original maker, or a particular historical owner would require evidence beyond the weapon’s description.

Trivia

The Eclipse Shotel’s name is literal rather than purely ceremonial: its item description identifies the blade as being shaped like an eclipse and associates it with the guardians of Castle Sol.
Its unique skill, Death Flare, is a two-stage action. The first activation surrounds the weapon with the Prince of Death’s flames; activating the skill again detonates the effect. This makes the weapon’s signature identity depend on a deliberate follow-up rather than a passive visual effect.
The eclipse motif connects the weapon to Castle Sol’s established Death-related imagery, where the eclipse is treated as a significant symbol rather than ordinary decoration.