Elden Ring weapon stats, leveling and types explained

Elden Ring weapons include a variety of swords, machetes, claws, spears, and more that need a lot of disassembly to understand and make the most of. While everything the game has to offer will only become clear in time, we’re about to take a look at some of the key archetypes you can access, along with their pros and cons.

You’ll really need to consider these options before you start playing, as each of the Elden Ring classes comes with a starter weapon. For the first few hours at least, you’ll be able to wield any weapon and play any style depending on where you put your points over time, although Elden Ring’s leveling system means your starting stats are more of a recommendation than anything else.

You can use Elden Ring Smithing Stones to upgrade most weapons, increasing their stats each time you pay the increased Stone costs. Besides leveling up weapons, you’ll also need to consider the Elden Ring Ashes of War system, which are extra abilities you can apply to weapons. These can add extra offensive skills like blowing wind blasts at enemies or zapping them with lightning. For more information on these you can read our guide at this link, as here we will only focus on the basic weapon options.

Elden Ring weapon types

Dagger

As you’d expect, daggers are fast, short-range weapons compensate for low damage with the ability to quickly land a flood of blows. As such, they are perhaps not the best starting weapons, relying on good technical skill to backstab and counter (high damage hit after a successful parry) to take advantage of high critical damage.

One example we’ve seen so far is Redulva, which can be found in the Dragon-Burnt Ruins. It scales with strength and dexterity, and also comes with a built-in Blood Blade skill that lets you fire projectiles for ranged attacks.

Straight Sword

This basic type of sword scales with power and is a good compromise between damage and power, with a range of good for slashing and pushing attacks. Its simplicity is further bolstered by the fact that it can use almost any Ashes of War, meaning a number of extra skills can be used to increase the normally simple attack options. The only Longsword we’ve seen so far is exactly what it says – a simple long sword. You’ll have a bit more mobility with this option, but you’ll probably want a shield in your other hand that will help you stay close enough to deal damage without risking too much.

great swords

These are, as the name suggests, larger swords. The trade-off here is obviously sacrificing mobility and speed for heavier, more damaging hits. The Bastard Sword is the Blood Wolf’s starting weapon, but you can also purchase it from the Merchant Castle. It scales with strength and dexterity and can be upgraded with a set of Ashes of War. We also spotted the Odorvis Great Sword, which can be stolen from a cart near the Garfront Ruins. This comes with the Ordovis Vortex skill that lets you charge a spinning ground pound attack. It’s hard to fit the wind in between incoming attacks, but if you can take it down it can do a lot of damage.

curved swords

A curved blade focuses on cutting damage and gives you faster hits in exchange for variety. The trade-off means they can use a lot of Ashes of War as a sword, but nothing that does piercing damage. There are currently two types of Scimitars in the game – the pair where the Warrior class starts, and a different pair that you can purchase from Merchant Kale. Currently, Scimitar comes with the Spinning Slash skill, which lets you apply a heavier, spinning slash attack.

katana

This is another special sword type that focuses on cutting and pushing damage while traditionally applying hemorrhage effects. All we’ve seen so far is the Dragonscale Blade, a drop from the Stonedigger Troll boss in the Limgrace Tunnels region. It scales with a wider range of stats – Strength, Dexterity, Faith, and Mystery – and has the Hailstorm Sword skill, which adds ice and electrical damage to the blade.

double edged sword

This is an interesting weapon that is basically a double-bladed sword. It can be used with one hand as a more traditional option, but it’s clearly better to use both hands to unleash a series of rotating attacks that can hit multiple enemies over a wide area. So far we have seen the Twinblade, which can be found in Groveside Cave. This also uses the Spinning Strike skill to deal heavier, spinning slash damage. Like basic swords, it scales with strength and dexterity.

hammers

As you’d expect, hammer-type weapons – like the stick where the Prophet class began – are slow, heavy-hitting weapons. The club, which you can also buy from the Merchant Fortress, scales highly in strength. You can use a set of Ashes to enhance their attacks, but you can’t use anything with a piercing effect as a blunt weapon.

axis

These heavy, one-handed weapons offer many attack options and often do a lot of damage. The Champion class starts with a Battle Axe with the Frenzy skill, which lets you attack as long as you hold the button or until you run out of FP, the stat that powers magic and abilities. You can also add a number of different skills using Ashes of War.

spears

The biggest advantage of a spear weapon is the extra range it gives you. The Winged Spear Magic Knight class starts with scales containing Power and Dexterity and is good for long-range piercing attacks. This also comes equipped with the Charge Forth skill, which lets you unleash a few quicker heavy thrusts for more damage. You can also equip a number of other skills to give you different options.

Great Spears

As the name suggests, this is a heavier spear that deals higher damage for slower, less maneuverable attacks. Lance is the only example that has emerged at the moment. You can buy one from the Merchant Fortress, it also comes with the Charge Forth skill, but you can add a number of different skills for more options.

light arcs

It’s not yet clear whether the name ‘Lightbow’ confirms the possibility of a Heavybow, but if it wasn’t given in previous FromSoftware games, it is possible. All we see at the moment is the Shortbow, which can be purchased from Merchant Kale. Also, it is not yet confirmed whether you can replace this ranged option with different Ashes of War skills. While neither is in network testing, the weapon menu shows it’s possible, it hasn’t been shown yet. Shortbow also comes with the Firing Position skill, which lets you fire a shot that deals more damage to pierce an enemy’s guard.

Glitter Wands

These are basically magic wands (seven of which have been revealed so far) used to cast spells in Elden Rings. As a magic weapon it scales with intelligence and cannot be changed by Ashes of War, but changes are made by choosing different spells to use. The Carian Magician’s Staff is the only option that has ever appeared as a starting option for the Magical Knight. It can also be purchased from Gatekeeper Gostoc in Stormveil Castle.

holy seals

Seals are one of the most unusual weapons in the Elden Ring and are used to cast spells based on a Faith stat. As a result, this weapon is also on par with this stat. These include offensive options, such as some fire-based spells, as well as many situation-based effects to heal and clear things like poison over the 12 spells that have appeared so far. The Prophet class starts with the Clawmark Seal, which can also be purchased from Gatekeeper Gostoc in Stormveil Fortress. He also sells Finger Seal which has better Faith stat scale, but also has a higher Faith requirement to use.

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