We have curated a list of the 10 best weapons in Dark Souls 3 based on our own players’ experience and community consensus. There is no objectively bad weapon in Dark Souls 3, but these weapons will help you get off to a good start.
Ranking the best weapons in Dark Souls 3
10) Astora Greatsword
The Astora Greatsword, bestowed upon elite knights from the ruined lands of Astora, is surprisingly lightweight for an Ultra Greatsword. It scales primarily with Dexterity, allowing for swift, lethal thrust attacks. This sword is particularly effective when paired with the Leo Ring to enhance its thrust attacks, turning them into powerful counters.
Its unique Charge skill mimics the lunge of spears and pikes, enabling the wielder to sprint toward foes and deliver extended, devastating strikes. This skill makes the Astora Greatsword versatile for both offensive advances and sudden counterattacks.
You can find the weapon in the Cathedral of the Deep. Take the left-hand uphill path after you enter the graveyard at the start of area, and at the end of the path, you’ll find the weapon on a corpse lying in front of a large tombstone, guarded by a kneeling Hollow. This weapon combines agility with powerful thrusts, and is ideal for players who value speed and precision.
9) Fume Ultra Greatsword
One of the heavier Greatswords in the game, the Fume Ultra Greatsword is a beast of a weapon. Initially wielded by the fearsome Fume Knight in Dark Souls 2, the Fume Ultra Greatsword (or FUGS) is much easier to acquire in Dark Souls 3. To get it, you will have to defeat Knight Slayer Tsorig, beneath the Smoldering Lake.
Being an Ultra Greatsword, the FUGS is incredibly slow. It makes up for this with its wide slashes and heavy swings that can take down swathes of enemies with relative ease. The sheer size of this weapon means it can reach enemies out of range of most other melee weapons. It’s also quite broad and serves as a decent shield when you two-hand it.
Even though it cannot be infused, the FUGS works best with a Strength build, making the most of its high damage and good scaling.
8) Sellsword Twinblades
You get these amazing Twinblades at the very start of the game if you choose the Mercenary class. If you chose a different class, head to the Halfway Fortress bonfire in the Road of Sacrifices, head straight forward to the ruins connected to Farron Keep, then run past or defeat the Black Knight who guards these weapons.
If you’re playing a pure Dexterity build, these weapons are some of the best you can wield. To further amplify their effectiveness, infuse them with Sharp to bring out the best of their Dexterity scaling. The Sellsword Twinblades’ fast attacks shred enemies quickly, but keep in mind their range is a bit lacking.
That’s only a minor gripe, though, and this weapon very easily holds its own in PvE and PvP. They’re best-equipped on Rogues or Thieves or anyone that wants to focus on destroying their enemies with a barrage of quick slashes.
7) Moonlight Greatsword
The Moonlight Greatsword makes its return once again in Dark Souls 3. Originally acquired via cutting Seath the Scaleless’ tail in the first Dark Souls, it’s easier to get in Dark Souls 3. In this game, you get it by transposing the Soul of the Consumed King, which drops from Oceiros, the Consumed King in the Consumed King’s Garden beneath Lothric Castle.
The weapon truly shines with an Intelligence build thanks to its high Intelligence scaling and Magic damage. Being a legendary weapon, you can’t infuse it, but that isn’t necessary because it does a good amount of damage on its own. The best part is its weapon art, which launches beams of pure Magic at your opponents. It’s ideal for taking down flying enemies or anyone who tries to escape.
6) Ringed Knight Paired Greatswords
Given the immense popularity of twin weapons, FromSoftware decided to kick it up a notch by introducing Paired Greatswords to the game. This weapon shows up very late in the game—toward the end of the second DLC, The Ringed City, and for a good reason. They’re incredibly powerful, and you get them by defeating the Ringed Knight outside the church where you fight Halflight, Spear of the Church.
Unsurprisingly, these Paired Greatswords are even slower than single Greatswords. The tradeoff for their slow attack speed is their high damage and stagger capabilities, especially in PvP. There’s nothing more satisfying than stagger-locking enemy by catching them in the crossfire of your combos. They also have an impressive weapon art and great Strength scaling.
5) Gargoyle Flame Hammer
The Profaned Capital’s Gargoyles are annoyingly powerful late-game enemies, and for a good reason. They have a chance to drop their weapon, the Gargoyle Flame Hammer. It does Physical and Fire damage in glorious bursts to smash and burn opponents to a crisp.
The weapon cannot be infused, but the mix of Physical and Fire damage means you won’t need to. It can also launch volleys of flame at annoying, hard-to-reach enemies that stay out of your grasp. Just bear in mind that it’s a fairly uncommon drop, so you might need to farm for it.
To further accentuate its Fire damage potential, we recommend investing points into Intelligence and Faith while keeping your Strength stat high enough to wield this monstrosity of a weapon. The weapon art is pretty slow, so make sure you can’t be interrupted or caught off-guard during its animation.
4) Great Mace
The Great Mace is a formidable weapon wielded by the knights of the Cathedral of the Deep, and requires considerable Strength to wield effectively. Its massive weight results in crushing strike attacks that can easily break through the defenses of weaker shields. A Heavy-infused Great Mace has a remarkable one-handed attack rating, making it one of the strongest Hammer-type weapons in the game.
This weapon has the Perseverance skill, which briefly boosts the wielder’s poise and reduces damage taken, allowing for uninterrupted attacks during critical combat moments. This skill is invaluable for maintaining offensive pressure despite incoming attacks.
You can farm this weapon by killing Cathedral Knights wielding it, and there are lots in the Cathedral of the Deep. It can be infused and buffed, so it’s versatile enough to adapt to a broad range of builds and strategies, as long as you have enough Strength to use it.
3) Exile Greatsword
Quite frankly the best Greatsword in the game and our personal favorite weapon, the Exile Greatsword is a beast of a Strength weapon. With a Heavy-infusion, it gets a whopping S-tier in Strength scaling, making it perfect for a pure Strength build.
Although you get this weapon quite late into the game, in most cases, it’s an optimal replacement for whatever melee weapon you were using until this point. While it does work in a Quality build, pure Strength users can take advantage of the weapon most.
It also has a good moveset. Being a Curved Greatsword, it has quite a few unpredictable moves on its own, and the Spinning Slash weapon art gives the user even more coverage in close-range and mid-range battles.
2) Great Corvian Scythe
The Great Corvian Scythe causes bleed buildup on enemies as well as yourself. This weapon is ideal for players who can manage its risk-versus-reward effects for greater damage output. It also has the longest range out of all Reaper-type weapons and deals damage through shields.
Wielded by Corvians of the Road of Sacrifices, Untended Graves, and Grand Archives, this scythe is a rare but rewarding find. It is particularly effective in the hands of players who excel in managing space and timing in combat.
1) Lothric Knight Sword
The number one spot goes to the Lothric Knight Sword. This weapon has been a standard, staple pick since the early days of Dark Souls 3. While most other popular weapons were nerfed along the way, the Lothric Knight Sword is still just as strong, and it’s fairly easy to acquire in the early-game.
The Lothric Knight Sword drops from the Lothric Knights that are common in early areas like the High Wall of Lothric. While it’s an uncommon drop, you can get it reliably by farming the Lothric Knight close to the Tower on the Wall bonfire. This weapon is also highly flexible, and works well with Sharp, Refined, and even Blessed infusions, so you can use it in a variety of builds.
The Lothric Knight Sword is also a speedy weapon with powerful thrusts that make it strong against opponents in PvE and PvP alike. Players usually pair the weapon with a shield, but you can two-hand it for more damage when you don’t need the defense. Combined with its above-average critical rate modifier, the Lothric Knight Sword is our pick for the best weapon in Dark Souls 3.
