Venomous Fang
Venomous Fang is a paired claw weapon found in Abandoned Cave in Caelid. It applies deadly poison, uses Quickstep, and accepts ordinary affinities and Ashes, allowing rapid claw strings to combine its innate toxin with physical, bleed, or Arcane-focused plans.
Key Takeaways
Poison-inflicting fist weapon
Venomous Fang is a fist weapon with innate poison buildup, giving its rapid close-range attacks a status-focused identity.
Claw-style moveset
Although classified as a fist weapon, Venomous Fang uses a claw-style moveset, making its attack patterns distinct from ordinary fist weapons.
Found in Caelid
The weapon is obtained in Caelid's Abandoned Cave, so acquiring it requires reaching that dungeon rather than purchasing it from a regular vendor.
Strong at close range
Its poison and fast melee pressure make it useful against vulnerable targets, but its short reach demands deliberate spacing.
Poison is not universal
Enemies resistant or immune to poison reduce the value of its defining status effect, leaving its close-range physical attacks to carry more of the fight.
Customizable progression
Venomous Fang follows a standard reinforcement path and can be adapted with Ashes of War, allowing its skill and affinity choices to support different builds.
Overview
Venomous Fang is a poison-oriented claw in Elden Ring, offering close-range pressure with an innate poison effect and a fast, evasive combat profile. It is a base-game weapon rather than a Shadow of the Erdtree addition.
As a claw-class melee weapon, Venomous Fang is built around rapid attacks and short-range commitment rather than the broad reach or heavy stagger associated with larger weapons. Its defining feature is innate poison buildup, giving repeated contact a status-oriented purpose instead of making it only a physical-damage sidegrade.
The weapon comes with Quickstep, which supports repositioning around enemies and can make its close-range approach less rigid. Like other claws, it can also be used as a paired weapon when wielded with both hands, changing its attack pattern and making sustained aggression a central part of its role.
Venomous Fang is found in the base game’s Mt. Gelmir area, within Volcano Cave. That places it in the midgame exploration path for many players, although reaching it depends on which regions and optional areas they visit. Its location does not make it a quest-exclusive or downloadable weapon.
Compared with ordinary claws, Venomous Fang is most distinct when a build wants poison pressure without abandoning the fast claw moveset. It is therefore a niche alternative to claws chosen only for physical output, while remaining less suitable for players who prefer long reach, defensive spacing, or deliberate heavy attacks.
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.
- CategoryClaws
- Damage TypeSlash/Poison
- Primary ScalingDex C
- Weight4
- SkillVenomous Fang Skill
- Str Req10
- Dex Req16
- How to ObtainDropped by Kindred of Rot
Figures verified against Consolidated Game Weapons Database.
Compared to similar claws
| Weapon | Str Req | Dex Req | Weight | Primary Scaling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venomous Fang | 10 | 16 | 4 | Dex C |
| Bloodhound Claws | 10 | 20 | 4 | Dex C |
| Red Bear's Claw | 10 | 18 | 4 | Dex C |
| Claws of Night | 10 | 22 | 4.5 | Dex C |
| Raptor Talons | 8 | 20 | 3.5 | Dex C |
Requirements, scaling grades and weight are the game’s own published figures. From Consolidated Game Weapons Database.
How to Obtain
- No boss, quest, vendor, story-progress, DLC, or NG+ requirement is needed. The Abandoned Cave remains accessible as a normal Caelid location, although reaching its entrance requires crossing the ravine from the Smoldering Wall area.
- 01In Caelid, travel to the Smoldering Wall Site of Grace and cross the ravine using the large tree branches east of the grace to reach the Abandoned Cave entrance. Enter the cave and proceed through its Scarlet Rot area.
- 02Within the Abandoned Cave, search the side passage and corpse in the poisonous swamp section. Loot the corpse to obtain Venomous Fang as a guaranteed fixed pickup; it is not an enemy drop or boss reward.
Mechanics and Handling
Claw moveset and spacing
Venomous Fang uses the claw moveset: quick close-range slashes with limited reach and a strong emphasis on staying alongside or behind the target. Two-handing the weapon produces a paired-claw stance, increasing the number of attacks in its regular and jumping sequences without changing its basic role. Its short reach makes spacing important; it performs best when the wielder can remain within striking distance rather than trade attacks from outside an enemy’s swing range.
Poison and Quickstep
The weapon’s defining feature is its innate poison effect, which is applied through successful hits rather than through a separate projectile or charged action. Venomous Fang is notable for using Deadly Poison, so its status pressure is distinct from an ordinary poison weapon; the status still requires repeated contact to build and is not guaranteed by every individual attack. Its default skill is Quickstep, a short evasive movement that can reposition the wielder around an enemy or out of danger. Quickstep does not replace attack commitment, and the weapon’s close range means mistimed evasions can still leave the user exposed.
Infusion and practical handling
Venomous Fang is compatible with Ashes of War, allowing its skill and affinity to be changed within the restrictions of the weapon’s upgrade path. That flexibility can support a poison-focused setup or a different attribute arrangement, but changing the affinity may alter the weapon’s damage and status behaviour. The weapon has no shield, parry, ammunition, reload, or durability mechanic that needs separate handling advice. Its main resource concern is the FP cost of Quickstep; otherwise, its practical limitation is reach and the commitment involved in maintaining melee contact.
Upgrades and Variants
Strengths, Weaknesses and Best Uses
Strengths
- Innate poison buildup gives close-range attacks a status-pressure role without requiring a separate weapon skill or temporary buff.
- As a claw weapon, its rapid paired attacks can apply that buildup through sustained contact rather than relying on a single heavy hit.
- Its customizable Ash of War and affinity options allow the weapon to be adapted to different attribute or status-focused setups.
Weaknesses
- Claw reach is short, so the weapon is less forgiving against enemies that punish close spacing or retreat frequently.
- Poison is a poor source of pressure against enemies with strong poison resistance or immunity.
- Its rapid attack pattern requires sustained proximity, increasing exposure to retaliation compared with weapons that can maintain safer distance.
Best uses
- Use it for aggressive PvE status pressure against targets that can be safely pinned at close range.
- Consider it for poison-oriented or flexible claw setups where innate poison and affinity customization support the build's chosen damage plan.
- It is most comfortable in encounters where quick successive attacks are practical and the short reach is not a major liability.
Compared With Similar Weapons
| Weapon | Class and role | Distinctive trait | Choose it when... |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venomous Fang | Innate poison buildup; pairs when two-handed | You want a claw focused on poison pressure and close-range status application. | — |
| Hookclaws | Innate bleed buildup and a mobility-focused skill | You prefer bleed pressure and more evasive handling. | — |
| Bloodhound Claws | Innate bleed buildup with Bloodhound Step | You want a claw that combines bleed with a strong repositioning skill. | — |
| Raptor Talons | Innate bleed buildup and a distinctive jumping-attack profile | You want bleed support with an aerial-attack emphasis rather than poison. | — |
Used In
- Abandoned CaveVenomous Fang is found inside the Abandoned Cave in Caelid.
- CaelidThe Abandoned Cave, where Venomous Fang is obtained, is located in Caelid.
Lore and Design
The item description presents Venomous Fang as a large curved claw fashioned from a venomous snake’s fang and associates its use with the assassins of Volcano Manor. This is the weapon’s clearest lore connection; it does not identify a specific assassin or establish a broader personal history. No documented developer commentary or development history is established here.
Trivia
- Venomous Fang is one of the two weapons in Elden Ring associated with Deadly Poison rather than the standard Poison status; the other is Serpentbone Blade. This distinguishes its innate venom from ordinary poison-affinity effects.