Best Elden Ring weapons for early and late game
Precious, pointy weaponry.
Update: Elden Ring has had plenty of updates, so we've updated this list of Elden Ring's best weapons to reflect that. The strength and scaling of some weapons has changed, and we've added some additional, strong weapons you can wield across The Lands Between. We've also added some links to our new guides pages to help you with finding these weapons.
There’s so much variety in Elden Ring, it can be tough to make sense of all the choices. But one of the most important decisions is: of the wide arsenal of gear available, what are the best weapons in Elden Ring?
On your way to crafting one of the best Elden Ring builds, you will no doubt want to pick up the optimal weapon for your preferred stat, and they're not always easy to lay hands on. And then there's Elden Ring's Legendary Armaments to consider. These aren't always the best weapons, but they're incredibly powerful and have an achievement tied to them as well.
So that you’re not underpowered as you approach the late game, we will run through both the best weapons in Elden Ring for the early game and the late game too. Many of these picks require diverse investment in lots of different stats, with a lot of the most powerful weapons seeming to need a large investment in Faith. But we've also tried to find something for everyone, regardless of your alignment.
Or if you’re more a fan of the arcane arts though, we have dedicated pages for the best staffs in Elden Ring and the best spells in Elden Ring - since the playstyle is so different from melee.
- Best weapons in Elden Ring for the early-game
- Best weapons in Elden Ring for the late-game
- Best meme weapons in Elden Ring
Best weapons in Elden Ring for the early-game
Best early game sword in Elden Ring - The Great Epee
If you thought rapiers were supposed to be quick and nimble, then you’ve never tried the Great Epee, a powerful thrusting sword you can grab from a chest without even fighting the surrounding enemy camp.
Once you’ve reached the very attainable level requirements of 15 Strength and 16 Dexterity, the Great Epee is a long-reaching, powerful upgrade on your starting weapons with a steam train of a special ability that lets you launch into and deal massive damage to most enemies.
It’s found southeast of The First Step, on the other side of the lake. Go south of the Waypoint Ruins until you reach a Kaiden camp. Just to the left of the entrance you find a treasure chest guarded by a roaming enemy - ignore them, open the chest and grab the sword.
You might lose some runes in the ensuing melee, but you will keep this awesome sword forever.
Another good early-game sword in Elden Ring - Carian Knight’s Sword
Travel to the Foot of the Four Belfries Site of Grace, and go north along the route.
Eventually, you will encounter a carriage being pulled by two Stonedigger Trolls. Avoid the Trolls and take out the surrounding party, including a nearby Knight.
You don’t need to take out the two Stonedigger Trolls before opening the chest, either. In fact, we recommend against this until after collecting the sword, as we found that the Trolls have a tendency to destroy carriages when they’re reckoned with. Once they’re clear, the chest at the back of the carriage can be looted for the Carian Knight’s Sword.
This sword can be tricky to use initially, but combined with the Sword of Night and Flame mentioned below, can make an even deadlier combo. You will, however, need 10 Strength, 10 Dexterity, and 18 Intelligence to use it.
Best early game katana in Elden Ring - The Uchigatana
It’s back! The samurai’s starting weapon, the Uchigatana, has long been an early game staple of FromSoftware RPGs, and with good reason. It’s dependable, upgradable, and pretty cool to boot. If you didn't pick samurai as your starting class, you'll need 11 Strength and 15 Dexterity to wield it.
If you don’t already have the Uchigatana, there’s another in the depths of the Deathtouched Catacombs in the northern part of Stormhill. Run through the skeleton warriors that animate as you make your way through the catacombs unless you’re a fan of being mobbed by rattling bones.
At the end of the main path there’s a lever you can pull which opens a side path in the room before the one you just came through. It’s on the left as you backtrack, next to the stairs.
Take a left on the other side of the passage and the Uchigatana is in front of you.
Best early game greatsword in Elden Ring - Bloodhound’s Fang
The thing about Greatswords is that a lot of them require a huge amount of Strength to wield effectively. We’re talking as much as 30-40+ Strength, which is much more than you have in the early game.
This is why the Bloodhound’s Fang is such a… great … sword. Not only is it a fantastic bleed-damage inflicting weapon with a strong unique ability, but it just needs 18 Strength and 17 Dexterity to equip.
What's more, it shouldn't go understated how OP its special ability, Bloodhound's Finesse, is. You can deal huge damage to all enemy types, including bosses, while nimbly avoid harm yourself. You could happily slay many demi-gods with this weapon and use it for the majority of the game.
To lay your hands on it, make your way to the Forlorn Hound Evergaol, which is the grey circle on the map southeast from The First Step. You have to loop northeast around the lake to get there, but once you do, interact with the circle and face the boss you find, Bloodhound Knight Darriwil. On death, they drop the Bloodhound’s Fang.
This is probably one of the more difficult fights you've undertaken in the game so far - but play on the defensive, punish openings only when it's safe, and spam any good ashes of war you have unlocked, and you should prevail.
Great bleed weapon for early game - Morning Star
There's no shortage of great Bleed weapons in Elden Ring, and the Morning Star is great fun to wave around and hit enemies with. Requiring just 12 Strength and 8 Dexterity, with a D scaling for both, there's better Bleed weapons to use, but it's still a solid weapon to start with.
The weapon is easy to grab, too. Make your way to Weeping Peninsula and past the Bridge of Sacrifice. Just before Oridys's Rise, there'll be a broken carriage that you can retrieve the weapon from.
Best early game dagger in Elden Ring - Reduvia
Like the sound of inflicting bleeding damage over time, but not lugging something longer than your own body around? Then look no further than the evil-looking Reduvia dagger, which is your reward for completing a fun AI invasion.
On the northern shore of the shallow lake to the east of The First Step, there’s a bridge. Go underneath the bridge and follow the inlet north.
After a short trip, you will see a prompt telling you that you’re being invaded. Defeat the phantom by any means necessary - you don’t have to do it alone, a ronin comes to help so it’s more a tutorial for how invasions work - then you can claim their weapon, Reduvia, for your own.
You'll need 5 Strength, 13 Arcane, and 13 Dexterity to be able to equip the dagger.
Best early game Faith weapon in Elden Ring - Winged Scythe
You might have noticed that Faith weapons are quite good.
For a long-reaching, less strength intensive and more accessible option, check out the Winged Scythe.
It requires 16 Strength and 16 Dexterity with a chunky 24 Faith and is found underground in the Tombsward Ruins in the northwest of the Weeping Peninsula.
While you will likely be relying on Incantations, the Winged Scythe gives you another powerful and varied melee trick up your sleeve.
Best early to mid-game curved sword in Elden Ring - Magma Blade
The Magma Blade is one of Elden Ring's best swords period, curved or not. It deals heavy damage to begin with, and its unique skill slashes while spewing magma, which is enough to even make short work of bosses. The trouble is you have to grind to get it.
The Magma Blade only drops from snake warriors in Prison Town. You can find two of them by following the volcano path from Eiglay Temple's elevator, though it may take defeating them multiple times until you get what you want.
The Magma Blade requires 9 Strength, 15 Dexterity, and 16 Faith.
Greatsword
The Greatsword is a fantastic Strength weapon to be using as soon as you can in Elden Ring. It requires 31 Strength and 12 Dexterity, with a C scaling with Strength. It also comes with the Stamp (Upward Cut) Skill, and can be infused with Ashes of War, so you can make this weapon even stronger for your build.
If you head north of the Caelem Ruins Site of Grace, you'll come across a carriage guarded by dogs. Defeat them and loot the carriage to retrieve the Greatsword.
Best faith weapon for the early-game - Golden Halberd
To get your hands on the Golden Halberd in Elden Ring, all you need to do is defeat the Tree Sentinel in Limgrave. The weapon will then require 30 Strength, 14 Dexterity, and 12 Faith to use.
With a D scaling with both Faith and Strength, the Golden Halberd is a solid weapon to go for if you're going for a strong Faith build. The Golden Halber's skill, Golden Vow, will provide you and any nearby allies with improved defense and attack power when used.
Best weapons in Elden Ring for the late-game
Best late game sword in Elden Ring - Sword of Night and Flame
Although it needs diverse investment, the Sword of Night and Flame is a very fun and versatile weapon which can see you through even the toughest tasks.
While its normal attacks combine physical, magic, and fire damage, the real star of the show is its dual special abilites. Here, light attack sends out a powerful magic blast in front of you and heavy attack unleashes a wide-reaching AoE wall of flame.
This comes at the cost of 12 Strength, 12 Dexterity, 24 Intelligence and 24 Faith - which you will likely have to repec for - but it's unique playstyle could be worth it for you.
Despite its power, the Sword of Night and Flame is quite easy to get from Caria Manor in the northwest of Liurnia of the Lakes.
From the Manor gate, follow the path forward and around to the left to get to the house's lower level Site of Grace.
Next, go up the stairs and bear left on the walkways.
Over the side of one of the walkways, you will be able to drop down over the side and onto a nearby roof.
From the rooftop, you can descend a ladder and claim the Sword of Night and Flame from a waiting treasure chest.
Best late game greatsword in Elden Ring - Blasphemous Blade
Combining Strength and Faith in almost equal measure, the Blasphemous Blade is a hugely powerful greatsword with another stellar special ability. It can be wielded effectively with 22 Strength, 15 Dexterity, and 21 Faith.
Despite being a bit slow to wind up, Taker's Flames launches a massive column of fire at your enemies, giving you a very strong distance option with surprising range.
Not only does it close distance though, but can also be deployed to mow through crowds of mobs with ease.
To add the Blasphemous Blade to your arsenal, you need to complete the events at Volcano Manor at Mt. Gelmir, then swap the soul of the last boss there with the Maiden Husk in the Two Fingers chamber.
Best late game spear in Elden Ring - Mohgwyn's Sacred Spear
Mohgwyn's Sacred Spear can only be obtained by trading Mohg, Lord of Blood's Remembrance at Roundtable Hold, but it is well worth doing. You'll need 24 Strength, 27 Arcane, and 14 Dexterity to wield it, so this weapon is best for those opting for a Strength/Arcane build.
The spear comes with the Bloodboon Ritual Skill, which coats the weapon in bloodflame; this will have the weapon dealing fire damage as well as Bleed build-up, which can both be devastating to enemies. It's also got great AoE, making it great for clearing smaller hordes of enemies when needed.
Best late game Intelligence weapon in Elden Ring - Dark Moon Greatsword
There are two weapons bidding for the top spot when it comes to the best Intelligence weapon, and the Dark Moon Greatsword is one of them (the other is the Moonveil Katana, which we mention later). The Dark Moon Greatsword requires 16 Strength, 11 Dexterity, and 38 Intelligence to use.
If you're going for an Intelligence build with a focus on full-moon sorceries or frost, the Dark Moon Greatsword is the one for you. You acquire the weapon as a reward for completing Ranni's lengthy questline, which we detail from start to finish here.
Best late game strength weapons in Elden Ring - Axe of Godrick and Grafted Greatsword
If Faith and magic are too complicated for you and you just want to hit things until they fall over, you can get two solid weapons with high strength requirements quite easily.
The giant axe used by Godrick the Grafted can be obtained from the Maiden Husk in the Two Fingers chamber by handing over Godrick's boss soul.
The Grafted Greatsword, a huge sword literally made out of other swords smelted together, is won from the Leonine Misbegotten boss in the very south of the map. You find them past Castle Morne off the southern tip of the Weeping Peninsula.
The Axe of Godrick requires 34 Strength and 22 Dexterity, while the Grafted Greatsword needs 40 Strength and 14 Dexterity.
Best colossal weapon in Elden Ring - Godslayer's Greatsword
The Godslayer's Greatsword requires 20 Strength, 22 Dexterity, and 20 Faith to use, with D scaling for all three stats. If you're aiming for a Faith build, this is one weapon you should definitely seek out. It's Skill, The Queen's Black Flame, will coat the weapon in blackflame while dealing a slashing attack. The flames will continue to damage an enemy for a short amount of time, too.
You can't infuse the weapon with any Ashes of War, but its skill is arguably cool enough to easily overlook that. To get your hands on this powerful weapon, you'll need to defeat the Godskin Apostle in the Divine Tower of Caelid and loot the chest behind him.
Best late game katana in Elden Ring - Moonveil Katana
Since the fully upgraded basic Uchigatana is so good, you're probably most interested in something a bit different to dual-wield it with.
The Intelligence-based magic Moonveil Katana is just that. With good bleed buildup and useful special ability if you wanted to use it solo, the Moonveil is good for handling both single targets, crowds, and any enemies weak to magic.
It needs 12 Strength, 18 Dexterity, and 23 Intelligence.
To grab the Moonveil Katana, you need to beat the Magma Wyrm boss in the Gael Tunnel south of the Shack of Rotting in Caelid.
From the Shack of Rotting on the western boarder of Caelid, head south a little way and there's an entrance in the base of the mountain below you.
Make your way through the mine, either defeating or avoiding the enemies.
Eventually you make it to a fog gate, but just past it you can also find another Site of Grace to respawn at should you get beaten by the boss.
When it's defeated, you get the Moonveil Katana all to yourself.
Another good late game katana, and best Dexterity weapon in Elden Ring - Rivers of Blood
The Rivers of Blood katana has proven to be quite controversial due to its power, but there's no denying that it's good fun to use, and it's perfect for a strong bleed build. The katana has rather low requirements of 12 Strength, 18 Dexterity, and 20 Arcane, and scales with all three stats too.
Perhaps the best feature of this katana is its skill, Corpse Piler. The skill can be used at quite the distance, can stagger an enemy repeatedly (if you're lucky), and inflicts some devastatin damage with Bleed buildup.
This katana can only be grabbed relatively late game, in the Mountaintops of Giants. You'll need to head to the Church of Repose in the south of the area, before you defeat the Fire Giant. It's important to do this before fighting the Fire Giant, or Bloody Finger Okina will not invade you.
All being well, Bloody Finger Okina invades you as you approach the Church of Repose, and will drop the Rivers of Blood katana on defeat.
Best meme weapons in Elden Ring
If you want to shake things up with some of Elden Ring's more ridiculous weapons, you can do that - and without even sacrificing utility. The best meme weapons are wacky and still pack a punch.
Ringed Finger location
The Ringed Finger is a deadly hammer found at the end of Gelmir Hero's Grave. It has high attack on its own and comes with the unique Finger Flick skill that swells the Finger and thrusts it out in a heavy attack. You'll need 15 Strength and 9 Dexterity for this one.
Jar Cannon location
The Jar Cannon drops from Demi-Human Queen Margot in Volcano Cave. Take a right at the fork after the Grafted Scion on the way to Volcano Manor, and you'll wind up in the cave. It's full of demi-humans, so proceed with caution lest ye be overwhelmed quickly.
The Jar Cannon is what it says on the label - a massive jar that fires explosie projectiles. It's tough to aim, but if the shots land, they'll deal heavy damage. You need 34 Strength and 12 Dexterity to wield it.
Ghiza's Wheel location
Elden Ring's pizza cutter - Ghiza's Wheel - is an invasion drop. Defeat Inqisitor Ghiza on the second floor of Volcano Manor to get it. It's a colossal weapon, but only requires 28 Strength and 18 Dexterity.
The Spinning Wheel skill lets you crank up the damage even more, and you can even walk into enemies with it to stagger them - assuming they stay alive long enough to get staggered.
Varre's Bouquet location
Varre's Bouquet is perhaps slightly less impressive than the other three, but it's no slouch when it comes to blood loss. You'll have to kill Varre by invading him in Moghwyn Dynasty Mausoleum, then speak with him until he stops talking.
Varre's Bouquet requires 8 Strength, 16 Dexterity, and 24 Arcane. Its skill Blood Tax increases the blood loss buildup, which is how you'll deal most of your damage.
Envoy's Horn location
If you've gone anywhere near Leyndell, Royal Capital, you'll have seen plenty of enemies weilding these golden horns. They blow bubbles, make a lot of noise, and they pack a punch at times.
To get Envoy's Horn, all you need to do is go about farming it from one of the enemies in Leyndell, Royal Capital, or in Haligtree. It also only requires 10 Strength, 12 Dexterity, and 16 Arcane to use.
For more on the treasures you can find in The Lands Between, here's our Elden Ring beginner's guide, as well as our guide to Elden Ring's best builds.