In Elden Ring, it’s often smart to stay as far away from your enemies as possible. “Discretion is the better part of valor,” as Shakespeare would say. But unless you’re playing as some sort of wizard or archer, you might find keeping your distance to be easier said than done.
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Fortunately, Elden Ring provides numerous options for players looking to add some range to their arsenal. And we’re not talking about Pots here; they are unique enough to warrant their own category. Instead, it’s time to examine the simpler options: the throwing knives and various rocks that can be surprisingly useful during your playthrough.
10 Explosive Stone
The 
Explosive Stone is exactly what they sound like: stones that explode when you throw them. They won’t match Pots in terms of damage, but they’re cheap, and easily accessible, as you can buy an unlimited number from the Twin Maiden Husks at the Roundtable Hold after giving them the Smithing-Stone Miner’s Bell Bearing (2), it also helps that you can hold a lot more of them. They can function either as a budget alternative to Pots or as extra ammo if you run out of better options.
It’s worth noting that there is a version of this item, the Explosive Stone Clump, that deals more damage, but unlike most other items on this list, they can’t be crafted or purchased from a merchant. That means the only way to get them is by killing the Miners that drop them, making them impractical to use relative to their effectiveness.
9 Bone Darts
The most basic of the throwable consumables in all of Elden Ring, 
Bone Dart shouldn’t be underestimated. They don’t deal much damage, but they have great utility. You can use them to finish off enemies from a safe distance or lure single enemies from a crowd that you don’t want to aggro all at once. They will also keep the enemy Poise from resetting when they’re too far away for you to hit them, allowing you to break their Poise more consistently.
However, the Bone Darts’ biggest selling point is that they are endlessly craftable, and you don’t even need a recipe to make them; all you need are two Thin Beast Bones, which drop from the wild animals that inhabit the Lands Between.
8 Poisoned Stone Clump
The 
Poisoned Stone Clump allows you to throw several poisoned rocks at your enemies and can be purchased from the Nomadic Merchant southeast of the Astray from Caelid Highway North Site of Grace.
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If you hit with all of them at once, you’ll often trigger the Poison effect instantly if you have enough levels in Arcane. That makes them a great option for builds focused primarily around a different status effect scaling with Arcane, such as Bleed, that doesn’t want to invest in a weapon that actually causes Poison by itself.
7 Poisonbone Darts
When first testing out Poisonbone Dart, you’ll probably notice that their Poison buildup is rather low. If you’re trying to use them to inflict the status effect on their own, it’s going to take forever. Where you really want to do is combine them with a dedicated Poison build. Many of Elden Ring’s bosses will leap away from you before have done enough damage to cause Poison to trigger.
Instead of chasing after them and running straight into a deadly combo, throw Poisonbone Darts. Sometimes, they’ll be enough to trigger the effect on their own, but they will at least make sure the buildup doesn’t reset before you can get another attack in. Additionally, like regular Bone Darts, Poisonbone Darts are relatively easy to craft, but you can also buy them from the Nomadic Merchant southeast of the Astray from Caelid Highway North Site of Grace.
6 Throwing Dagger
The Throwing Dagger is essentially an upgraded version of Bone Darts. They have all the same applications while dealing significantly more damage. However, they can’t be crafted and must instead be bought from Merchant Kalé.
He sells them for an incredibly cheap 40 runes, so players who hate even the simplest farming might view this as an advantage. Although, if you’re low on runes, or trying to save up for weapon upgrades or levels, you might find farming for the materials to make Bone Darts a bit more convenient option.
5 Large Glintstone Scrap
The 
Large Glintstone Scrap is probably the best of the Glintstone consumables, although it’s also the hardest to get since you can’t craft or buy them. Instead, you need to kill Glintstone Miners in places like the Altus Tunnel.
The reward you get is worth it though. Using the Large Glintstone Scrap costs a small amount of FP, after which you crush it in your hand and create numerous magical projectiles that target nearby enemies after a brief delay. If you have high Intelligence, this item will deal rather significant damage. However, even if you don’t, they can still be useful in PvP to throw your opponent off guard, since dodging all the projectiles is extremely difficult.
4 Fan Daggers
The 
Fan Daggers are unique among Elden Ring’s darts and daggers in that you throw several projectiles at once. This makes them particularly good against large enemies, or against other players and in-game NPCs who are likely to dodge anything thrown in a straight line.
As a result, they see a lot of use in PvP, where they allow you to finish off your opponents from a safe distance. It can feel a bit cheap, but anything goes during an invasion. Perhaps that’s why they can be purchased from everyone’s favorite unscrupulous NPC, Patches, although he only sells a total of 20 until you finish his questline, at which point he’ll sell an infinite amount.
3 Crystal Darts
Crystal Dartis a special case when compared to the other daggers and darts. They scale well with Intelligence, deal Magic damage and will cost you a small amount of FP to use, although considering the cost of one you probably won’t run out even if you haven’t put many levels into Mind.
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These darts are particularly strong if you have high Intelligence, but their real benefit is less obvious. If you hit certain enemies—Fanged Imps, Golems, and Burial Watchdogs—enough times with a Crystal Dart, they’ll go haywire and start attacking their allies. This can trivialize certain boss fights and help against large groups of these enemies out in the wild. It’s important to remember that this doesn’t make them your allies, so they will still attack you if you’re the most appealing target. Still, it’s worth crafting some of these, especially since three Cracked Crystal is such a low price.
2 Gravity Stone Chunk and Gravity Stone Fan
The 
Gravity Stone Chunk and Gravity Stone Fan have essentially the same effect, but with slightly different manifestations. You throw them, and once they hit the ground they create an explosion of Gravity magic at a small cost to your FP.
The Chunks explode in a contained area for high damage, while the Fans create a wide explosion but with less damage overall. The first is more useful against single, slow-moving enemies, while the second is stronger against groups or hard-to-hit characters. They can both be bought either from the Hermit Merchant in Ainsel River or from the Twin Maiden Husks at the Roundtable Hold after giving them the Gravity Stone Peddler’s Bell Bearing.
1 Kukri
The 
Kukri is the heavy hitter of the throwing knife world. They will deal the most damage out of all the daggers and darts thanks to A scaling in Strength and S scaling in Dexterity. As an added bonus, Kukris also cause Bleed buildup, allowing them to deal even more damage.
The main disadvantage of the Kukri, when compared to thrown daggers or darts, is that they are much slower than others, and they can’t be chained together, making them hard to use mid-combat unless you are at a significant distance from your enemy. Still, their high damage means they’re worth trying out if you have high Dexterity. You can buy them from the Nomadic Merchant near Castle Morne.
Next: Elden Ring: The Best Halberds
