Updated for Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree
Elden Ring gives you an absurd number of ways to kill things. Swords, spears, colossal lumps of iron, magical katanas and weapons that appear to have been designed during a particularly unpleasant fever dream are all available.
The problem is deciding which ones are actually worth upgrading.
There is no single strongest weapon in Elden Ring. Your stats, talismans, buffs and choice of Ash of War matter enormously, while some weapons that demolish bosses are considerably less impressive against enemies resistant to their particular damage type. Still, a small group consistently stands above the crowd.
These are the weapons I would genuinely consider building a character around, rather than weapons that produce an impressive damage number in a carefully staged YouTube clip involving seventeen buffs and a naked Tarnished.
| Weapon | Type | Best for | Main scaling | Where to find |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blasphemous Blade | Greatsword | Faith, PvE | STR, DEX, FAI | Remembrance of the Blasphemous |
| Bloodhound’s Fang | Curved Greatsword | DEX/quality, bleed | STR, DEX | Forlorn Hound Evergaol |
| Dark Moon Greatsword | Greatsword | Intelligence | STR, DEX, INT | Ranni’s quest |
| Moonveil | Katana | Intelligence/DEX | STR, DEX, INT | Gael Tunnel |
| Rivers of Blood | Katana | Bleed/Arcane | STR, DEX, ARC | Mountaintops of the Giants |
| Mohgwyn’s Sacred Spear | Great Spear | Arcane/bleed | STR, DEX, ARC | Remembrance of the Blood Lord |
| Sword of Night and Flame | Straight Sword | INT/FAI hybrid | STR, DEX, INT, FAI | Caria Manor |
| Greatsword | Colossal Sword | Strength | STR, DEX | Caelid |
| Reduvia | Dagger | Early bleed | DEX, ARC | Murkwater River |
| Sacred Relic Sword | Greatsword | Farming, Faith | STR, DEX, FAI | Elden Remembrance |
Blasphemous Blade
If I had to recommend one weapon for making Elden Ring’s PvE content noticeably less stressful, this would probably be it.
The Blasphemous Blade is a grotesque greatsword associated with Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy. It scales particularly well with Faith and comes with Taker’s Flames, a unique skill that sends a wave of fire across the ground.
The damage is excellent, but raw damage is only half the reason the weapon is so good. Taker’s Flames can also restore HP when it connects, while the sword itself provides healing when enemies die nearby.
That gives Faith builds damage, range and sustain from a single weapon. Very reasonable. Completely normal sword behaviour.
Best for:
- Faith builds
- PvE exploration
- Boss fights
- Players who want strong survivability
- New Game Plus
Requirements:
| Attribute | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Strength | 22 |
| Dexterity | 15 |
| Faith | 21 |
Where to find the Blasphemous Blade
Travel to Volcano Manor and defeat Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy. You will receive the Remembrance of the Blasphemous.
Take the Remembrance to Finger Reader Enia at Roundtable Hold and exchange it for the Blasphemous Blade.
Do consider finishing any Volcano Manor assassination quests you care about before killing Rykard, since his death affects progression through the faction’s questline.
Why it is so powerful
The combination of fire damage, Faith scaling, ranged pressure and healing makes the Blasphemous Blade remarkably forgiving. Its main weakness is obvious: enemies with strong fire resistance can take some of the shine off it.
Even then, this remains one of Elden Ring’s great PvE weapons.
Bloodhound’s Fang
Bloodhound’s Fang is almost suspiciously good considering how early you can obtain it.
This curved greatsword causes blood loss build-up, has excellent reach and comes with Bloodhound’s Finesse, which combines a heavy slash with an evasive backwards movement. A follow-up attack can then launch you forwards again.
It feels brilliant once the rhythm clicks.
More importantly, Bloodhound’s Fang remains viable far beyond Limgrave. You can realistically acquire this weapon near the beginning of the game and still be carrying it when the final bosses start asking whether you have reconsidered your life choices.
Best for:
- Dexterity builds
- Quality builds
- Bleed damage
- Early-game characters
- Players wanting one weapon for most of a playthrough
Requirements:
| Attribute | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Strength | 18 |
| Dexterity | 17 |
Where to find Bloodhound’s Fang
Head to the Forlorn Hound Evergaol in southern Limgrave, close to the route towards the Weeping Peninsula.
Defeat Bloodhound Knight Darriwil and he will drop Bloodhound’s Fang.
Blaidd can also become involved in the encounter if you progress his early questline.
Why it is so powerful
Bloodhound’s Fang combines mobility, strong physical damage and innate bleed without demanding an elaborate build. It also upgrades with Somber Smithing Stones, making it relatively straightforward to strengthen.
For a first Elden Ring playthrough, this is one of the safest weapon recommendations I can make.
Dark Moon Greatsword
Few weapons are more thoroughly FromSoftware than the Moonlight Greatsword. Elden Ring’s version is the Dark Moon Greatsword, and thankfully it is considerably more than a nostalgic cameo.
Its Moonlight Greatsword skill temporarily enhances the weapon with magic and frost while allowing charged heavy attacks to release magical projectiles.
That turns an already capable greatsword into a ranged frost-delivery system.
Best for:
- Intelligence builds
- Frostbite
- Magic-focused characters
- Charged heavy attacks
- Players who enjoy doing an extremely long quest for one sword
Requirements:
| Attribute | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Strength | 16 |
| Dexterity | 11 |
| Intelligence | 38 |
Where to find the Dark Moon Greatsword
You must complete Ranni the Witch’s questline, one of the longest and most important optional stories in Elden Ring.
The journey eventually takes you through areas including Nokron, Ainsel River and the Lake of Rot before reaching the Cathedral of Manus Celes.
Complete the final stages involving Ranni beneath the cathedral and you will receive the Dark Moon Greatsword.
Why it is so powerful
The sword’s ranged heavy attacks give Intelligence builds an efficient alternative to constantly spending FP on sorceries. Frostbite adds another layer of damage potential, particularly against bosses with large health pools.
It requires commitment to obtain, but it feels appropriately special once you finally have it.
Moonveil
Moonveil became infamous shortly after Elden Ring launched, and despite balance changes across the game’s lifespan it remains an excellent Intelligence weapon.
It is essentially a magical katana built around extremely fast unsheathe attacks.
Its unique skill, Transient Moonlight, releases waves of magical energy following a sheathed stance. The attack comes out quickly, deals strong damage and can punish enemies from outside normal katana range.
Best for:
- Intelligence/Dexterity builds
- Fast melee combat
- Magic damage
- Stance pressure
- Spellblades
Requirements:
| Attribute | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Strength | 12 |
| Dexterity | 18 |
| Intelligence | 23 |
Where to find Moonveil
Travel to Gael Tunnel, which runs beneath the border between Limgrave and Caelid.
Fight the Magma Wyrm boss at the end of the dungeon. Defeating it rewards you with Moonveil.
Why it is so powerful
Moonveil’s real strength is speed. Heavy weapons can produce monstrous damage, but Moonveil lets you create openings and exploit them rapidly.
Transient Moonlight also gives melee-focused Intelligence characters a ranged option without having to switch back to a staff every few seconds.
Rivers of Blood
Yes, Rivers of Blood is still here.
At launch and during Elden Ring’s early patches, this katana became one of the game’s most notorious weapons. Balance adjustments stopped it being quite as ridiculous, but a properly built Rivers of Blood character can still inflict serious damage.
Its signature ability is Corpse Piler, a sequence of slashes that extends the weapon’s effective range and rapidly builds blood loss.
Best for:
- Arcane builds
- Bleed
- Aggressive melee combat
- Rapid multi-hit attacks
Requirements:
| Attribute | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Strength | 12 |
| Dexterity | 18 |
| Arcane | 20 |
Where to find Rivers of Blood
Progress to the Mountaintops of the Giants and locate the Church of Repose.
You will be invaded by Bloody Finger Okina. Defeat him to receive Rivers of Blood and the Okina Mask.
Why it is so powerful
Bleed remains one of Elden Ring’s strongest status effects against vulnerable enemies. Corpse Piler can build haemorrhage quickly while allowing the user to attack from slightly beyond ordinary katana range.
It is less universally dominant than its reputation suggests, particularly against bleed-resistant enemies, but in the right fight it remains horrible in the best possible way.
Mohgwyn’s Sacred Spear
If Rivers of Blood is the elegant version of an Arcane bleed build, Mohgwyn’s Sacred Spear is what happens when subtlety gets thrown out of a window.
This enormous great spear combines physical and fire damage with blood loss build-up.
Then there is Bloodboon Ritual.
The skill creates repeated bloodflame explosions around the player, damaging enemies and rapidly inflicting haemorrhage while also empowering the weapon.
Against groups of enemies or large targets that stay within range, it can be devastating.
Best for:
- Strength/Arcane builds
- Bleed
- Area damage
- Groups of enemies
- Aggressive PvE builds
Requirements:
| Attribute | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Strength | 24 |
| Dexterity | 14 |
| Arcane | 27 |
Where to find Mohgwyn’s Sacred Spear
Reach Mohgwyn Palace and defeat Mohg, Lord of Blood.
Take the resulting Remembrance of the Blood Lord to Enia at Roundtable Hold and exchange it for Mohgwyn’s Sacred Spear.
Why it is so powerful
Bloodboon Ritual is the main attraction. Enemies caught within its area can suffer repeated damage and rapid bleed accumulation.
Its slower speed and substantial stat requirements prevent it from being universally useful, but when the conditions suit it, things get messy remarkably quickly.
Sword of Night and Flame
The Sword of Night and Flame is one of Elden Ring’s strangest weapons because it asks you to invest heavily in both Intelligence and Faith.
That sounds awkward because it is.
The reward is Night-and-Flame Stance, which gives the sword two distinct magical attacks. One produces a beam of magical energy, while the other unleashes a sweeping burst of flame.
It effectively turns a straight sword into a miniature magical weapons platform.
Best for:
- Intelligence/Faith hybrids
- Versatile spellblade builds
- Magic and fire damage
- Players who enjoy complicated stat screens
Requirements:
| Attribute | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Strength | 12 |
| Dexterity | 12 |
| Intelligence | 24 |
| Faith | 24 |
Where to find the Sword of Night and Flame
Travel to Caria Manor in Liurnia of the Lakes.
Starting from the Manor Lower Level Site of Grace, follow the elevated walkways until you can drop onto the rooftops below. From there you can reach a ladder leading into a locked room containing a chest.
The Sword of Night and Flame is inside.
Why it is so powerful
Few weapons provide such easy access to two different elemental damage types.
The awkward attribute requirements mean I would not recommend forcing it into a conventional build. Build around the sword instead and it becomes considerably more interesting.
Greatsword
Sometimes Elden Ring’s best ideas are very complicated.
Sometimes the answer is an enormous slab of iron.
The weapon simply called the Greatsword is actually a Colossal Sword and bears a rather obvious resemblance to the massive blades associated with dark fantasy manga.
It is particularly effective on high-Strength builds and can be customised with different Ashes of War and affinities.
Best for:
- Strength builds
- Heavy attacks
- Stance breaking
- Custom Ashes of War
- Players who believe swords should require planning permission
Requirements:
| Attribute | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Strength | 31 |
| Dexterity | 12 |
Where to find the Greatsword
Travel into Caelid and follow the main road through the region.
The Greatsword can be found inside a chest on one of the abandoned black carriages, surrounded by some distinctly unfriendly wildlife.
You can technically reach it extremely early. Whether a new character should be wandering around Caelid collecting giant swords is another matter entirely.
Why it is so powerful
Its strength comes from flexibility as much as raw damage. Unlike many unique weapons, the Greatsword can be configured around different affinities and Ashes of War.
Strength builds can push its physical damage extremely high while taking advantage of the stagger potential inherent to colossal weapons.
Reduvia
Reduvia deserves inclusion because of how ridiculously early you can obtain it.
This small blood-red dagger has innate bleed and comes with Reduvia Blood Blade, which fires blood projectiles towards enemies.
The range helps solve one of the dagger class’s biggest weaknesses while rapidly contributing to blood loss build-up.
Best for:
- Early Arcane builds
- Bleed
- Fast attacks
- Lightweight characters
- Early-game PvE
Where to find Reduvia
Travel towards Murkwater Cave in Limgrave.
As you move through the river, Bloody Finger Nerijus will invade. Defeat him and he drops Reduvia.
You can therefore obtain an effective bleed weapon almost immediately after entering the open world.
Why it is so powerful
Reduvia is not the ultimate endgame weapon on this list, but accessibility counts for something.
Having ranged bleed pressure available in Limgrave is enormously useful, particularly for an Arcane character that has not yet acquired the more exotic equipment available later.
Sacred Relic Sword
The Sacred Relic Sword has one slight accessibility problem.
You need to finish Elden Ring.
Its unique skill, Wave of Gold, sends a huge golden wave travelling across the ground. Against groups of ordinary enemies, it is spectacularly effective.
That makes the sword particularly famous for rune farming.
Best for:
- Faith builds
- New Game Plus
- Large enemy groups
- Rune farming
- Players seeking revenge on everything after finishing the game
Where to find the Sacred Relic Sword
Defeat Elden Ring’s final boss and obtain the Elden Remembrance.
Exchange it with Enia at Roundtable Hold for the Sacred Relic Sword.
Why it is so powerful
Wave of Gold covers an enormous area, making it superb for clearing groups.
Against individual bosses there are better choices, but few weapons are more efficient when your objective is simply to delete a large collection of weaker enemies simultaneously.
What Is the Best Weapon in Elden Ring?
That depends on what you are trying to do.
| Build or situation | Recommended weapon |
|---|---|
| Best overall PvE weapon | Blasphemous Blade |
| Best early weapon | Bloodhound’s Fang |
| Best Strength weapon | Greatsword |
| Best Intelligence weapon | Dark Moon Greatsword |
| Best INT/DEX weapon | Moonveil |
| Best bleed katana | Rivers of Blood |
| Best Arcane heavy weapon | Mohgwyn’s Sacred Spear |
| Best INT/FAI weapon | Sword of Night and Flame |
| Best early Arcane weapon | Reduvia |
| Best farming weapon | Sacred Relic Sword |
For a completely new player, Bloodhound’s Fang is probably my favourite recommendation. You can obtain it early, its stat requirements are manageable and it remains genuinely useful deep into the game.
For pure PvE power, Blasphemous Blade is difficult to ignore. Healing while murdering increasingly horrible demigods is a surprisingly persuasive feature.
Intelligence characters should seriously consider Dark Moon Greatsword or Moonveil, while Arcane builds have some of the most entertaining options in Rivers of Blood and Mohgwyn’s Sacred Spear.
Are the Most Powerful Weapons Always the Best Choice?
No, and this is one of the better things about Elden Ring.
A supposedly top-tier weapon can perform badly when it clashes with your character’s attributes or the enemy’s resistances. Meanwhile, a thoroughly ordinary weapon upgraded to the maximum level and fitted with the right Ash of War can tear through the game.
Consider:
- Your primary damage attribute
- Weapon upgrade level
- Enemy resistances
- Status-effect susceptibility
- Ash of War compatibility
- FP consumption
- Weapon speed
- Reach
- Poise and stance damage
- Talismans and buffs
Elden Ring rewards specialisation, but it also rewards having a backup plan.
A bleed build eventually encounters something that does not care about bleeding. A fire build eventually meets something that finds fire mildly amusing. The Lands Between has a sense of humour like that.
What About Shadow of the Erdtree Weapons?
Shadow of the Erdtree dramatically expanded Elden Ring’s armoury with new weapon categories and several exceptional boss weapons.
Weapons such as Bloodfiend’s Arm, Backhand Blade, Milady, Great Katana, Ancient Meteoric Ore Greatsword and Spear of the Impaler can compete with or outperform base-game favourites in suitable builds.
I would still separate them when recommending weapons to new players because reaching the Realm of Shadow requires defeating both Starscourge Radahn and Mohg, Lord of Blood. These are not weapons you can simply ride over and collect after leaving the tutorial.
For a standard progression guide, the base-game weapons above remain much more useful.
Takeaway
The best Elden Ring weapons tend to have something beyond high attack rating.
Bloodhound’s Fang has mobility and bleed. Moonveil combines melee speed with magical range. Dark Moon Greatsword gives Intelligence characters frost and efficient projectiles. Blasphemous Blade somehow manages damage, range and healing while looking like something you should probably wash your hands after touching.
That versatility is what makes these weapons powerful.
My personal pick remains Bloodhound’s Fang for a normal playthrough. There is something wonderfully Elden Ring about finding an exceptional sword almost immediately, assuming you can first beat the extremely angry knight guarding it.
And if you cannot, come back later.
He isn’t going anywhere.
