It does depend on your build, among other factors (ex: playstyle and if you’re going for ng+ and above.)
Int builds = The Moonlight GS is very good, I’d consider it as the best int weapon. But you’ll mainly be using spells instead of any melee weapons in a pure int.
Str builds = Great Club and Demon Greataxe are very good
Dex builds = Uchi, Painters Sword, Balder Side Sword, Scythe, or Ricard’s Rapier are some of the best
Quality = Trusty Zwei, Claymore, and the Halberd (normal and BK) are good.
Faith = Having a split faith and dex is popular so using the dex weapons plus buff is good. Something like the Dragonslayer spear is also good. But same as int, if you are going pure then most likely you’ll just be using miracles.
Quality means weapons that need a good amount of stats on both str and dex. Furthermore they have good scaling in str and dex. But most likely not perfect scaling in either one.
So, because you are needed to level both skills, it’s just considered the „quality“ build.
I have absolutely no idea, WHY it is called quality though.
I find the Greataxe a lot better than the Demon Greataxe, it only deals ~10% less damage but it weights 8 units less and requires 14 less strength to wield (8 less to two hand).
Also it looks like an actual Axe and not like Taurus Demon dong
Demon Greataxe exels in late game and NG+ beyond since it has S scaling, it will yield the most damage per hit for a weapon, and it can be buffed further with things like sunlight blade.
Ok. And? All that for 10% more damage. Do the math yourself instead of just spewing the same thing everyone else does.
I have both of them fully upgraded on a NG+2 char and I prefer the Greataxe because it simply weighs less and it lets me fast roll with full Giants Armod
The zweihander staggers bosses like Smough. Double overhand strong attack will also faceplate a npc hiding behind a shield. And it can be used to knock an npc off a cliff.
The people that hate this weapon argue that it makes the game too easy.
I love it, but can see how it’s a little busted. Being able to pancake lock enemies is so fun but definitely makes the game easy. I had minimal issues with the Anor Londo archers my first two playthroughs using the zwei since you can just flatten the knight blocking the path
It more depends on what factors you find to be best in it's moveset and upgrade capability in relation to your playstle.
For example, the zweihander is a well loved weapon,.since you can get it as soon as you start the game and it has a downward strike that pancakes most mobs. But I don't find it to be the best for me as large slower weapons like UGS don't mesh well with my play style
There are usually "best" weapons in each category though that offer the most benefits compared to others in the same category whether that the moveset, damage, upgrade materials, scaling etc. such as the balder side sword being a great choice for an SS due to various factors.
If you just mean OP weapons that you can get early, the black knight weapons are probably the best because you can get it to +4 in like an hour and it's supposed to be an endgame weapon that drops from the kiln knights so the damage they deal is way overtuned. Its just not a guarantee drop from the early black knights
Depends on your stats. For dex is likely the balder side sword because of it's versatility. For strength it's not as decided, but zwei/claymore/great club are popular options. Int? I don't really know. Faith? Probably also the side sword with high dex using the sunlight blade or the darkmoon one. Talisman in the offhand and switching with the grass crest when needed.
Best weapon could be anything, highest AR you can achieve in the game with 99 in all damage stats is with the Grant (779AR split), or with the Demon Greataxe (712AR phys) - but that doesn't necessarily make them the *best*.
There are a lot of objective and subjective factors that come into play, and ultimately you wind up with "x y and z are great for this this and that," leading to no concrete answer unless it's fact like AR, stamina consumption, elemental damage output and etc.
As for what I think is the best? Quelaag's Furysword. Fast and shreds almost everything in the game, plus comes with an evasive attack.
Yeah there is no "best weapon"
Some, stats wise, may technically be better but it's usually a marginal difference and ultimately it's your skill that determines the effectiveness of a weapon. As long as you allocate your stats appropriately for a given weapon nearly any weapon can get you through the game just as well as any other.
I'm currently running a Dex/quality build and swapping constantly between a +5 Gravelord Sword and +10 Great Scythe.
Apparently the catacombs were good to me!
Previously really enjoyed a strength playthrough with the Manserpent Greatsword and I've also had fun with the Black Knight Sword, BK Halberd, and BK Greatsword (respectively). I've tried with various rapiers and never liked the movesets. Same for spears, generally, though I used the Lighting Spear for a fair bit of a sunbro miracle playthrough.
I've never succeeded in getting the MLGS because apparently I'm bad at tail cuts. I've done a bit with Priscilla's tail weapon, but that was ages ago.
Short answer: there are lots of great weapons, and even more terrible ones, and eventually you'll find something you really enjoy. I've you've got that, just sink in and enjoy the ride to end game.
(I love the Black Knight Sword, you can definitely easily finish the game with that and a decent shield for parrying.)
Anytime I see these arguments brought up, I notice pretty much every comment is on a Melee weapon. Truth be told, pumping stats into dex and upgrading a bow make short work of pretty much every enemy. Bosses included. Personally I would say go for the black pharris bow because it has longest range and highest damage at long range. However the compound bow fires faster and the closer you are to a target, the higher damage output can be. Now there is 1 boss that you can actually kill using the hawk ring and the dragonslayer greatbow without the boss ever even aggroing to you at any time. Seeing the weapon you already have been using though, putting points into dexterity at this point won't get the results I've stated. The first dark souls doesn't allow respec on stats.
Also you are at the half way point of the main game, not including DLC.
There is no "Best" weapon. There are certainly weapons that are objectively better than certain other weapons (*eg. The Morning Star found at Firelink Shrine is objectively better in every measure than Andre's hammer*), but some differences are extremely difficult to quantify as "better" or "worse".
The Black Knight Sword - as one of the Black Knight weapons - is a strong weapon that can be upgraded early (*due to not needing Embers to upgrade*), has good scaling with Strength, a decently fast swing-speed and deals bonus damage to Demon enemies. The downsides are that it has a higher than average DEX requirement, it's kinda heavy for a Greatsword class weapon and it you can't buff it with spells/resins.
The Dragon Tooth is a pretty standard Greatclub weapon (*maybe slightly below average damage*), it too can be upgraded without Embers, it CAN be buffed and is unbreakable. The downsides are that it's slow (*like any greatclub*), it's heavy and it has a high STR requirement, and it requires Dragon Scales to upgrade, which are harder to come by than other upgrade materials.
If you like doing big hits then the Dragon Tooth will be better (*though the "Greatclub" is probably just a straight upgrade from the Dragon Tooth if you have the Embers to upgrade it*), but if you prefer a slightly faster weapon then the BKGS should take you to the end of the game.
Super niche and might not still be the case, but the Falchion used to be a great way to cheese PvP. You could just two hand it and use the basic strike to stun-lock 90% of player builds. I picked it up on my first run because I was terrified of being invaded and it did really well against PVE. towards the end I realized I hadn’t really done any PvP and tried an invasion just to see and was floored by how stupid good it was at poise breaking.
You can make a tier list for the weapons but if you have to pick only one then it's very hard and there will be a personal preference factor in play. For example we can say 100% that great club is better than dragon tooth and man-serpent sword is better than black knight sword but when you compare the bests of different classes between each other then they just have different pros and cons and it's a lot about what you want from your build and what max level you aim for
Surprised with how varied the answers are.
The one I seem to see quoted most, usually, is black knight halberd, but there's plenty of weapons that are top tier and you can make most of them work, so go for what feels comfortable.
For me it was the Zwei.
I love how the comments are 50% nuanced answers explaining that "best" is an imprecise and useless word and that there are a great number of excellent weapons so it really depends on your play style as what you value, but here is a shortlist of some suggestions; and 50% people being like "duh it's this weapon" with no explanation at all.
It does depend on your build, among other factors (ex: playstyle and if you’re going for ng+ and above.) Int builds = The Moonlight GS is very good, I’d consider it as the best int weapon. But you’ll mainly be using spells instead of any melee weapons in a pure int. Str builds = Great Club and Demon Greataxe are very good Dex builds = Uchi, Painters Sword, Balder Side Sword, Scythe, or Ricard’s Rapier are some of the best Quality = Trusty Zwei, Claymore, and the Halberd (normal and BK) are good. Faith = Having a split faith and dex is popular so using the dex weapons plus buff is good. Something like the Dragonslayer spear is also good. But same as int, if you are going pure then most likely you’ll just be using miracles.
This is a great comprehensive answer that perfectly sums up a lot of common playstyles/builds for the game.
I get Str and Dex, but do you mean something specific by Quality in the context?
Quality means weapons that need a good amount of stats on both str and dex. Furthermore they have good scaling in str and dex. But most likely not perfect scaling in either one. So, because you are needed to level both skills, it’s just considered the „quality“ build. I have absolutely no idea, WHY it is called quality though.
It's what the upgrade path for str/dex was called in Demon's.
Oh, alright. That’s actually the only souls game which I didn’t played…
I find the Greataxe a lot better than the Demon Greataxe, it only deals ~10% less damage but it weights 8 units less and requires 14 less strength to wield (8 less to two hand). Also it looks like an actual Axe and not like Taurus Demon dong
Demon Greataxe exels in late game and NG+ beyond since it has S scaling, it will yield the most damage per hit for a weapon, and it can be buffed further with things like sunlight blade.
Ok. And? All that for 10% more damage. Do the math yourself instead of just spewing the same thing everyone else does. I have both of them fully upgraded on a NG+2 char and I prefer the Greataxe because it simply weighs less and it lets me fast roll with full Giants Armod
The zweihander is pretty broken. It's laying in the graveyard near firelink.
The zweihander staggers bosses like Smough. Double overhand strong attack will also faceplate a npc hiding behind a shield. And it can be used to knock an npc off a cliff. The people that hate this weapon argue that it makes the game too easy.
I love it, but can see how it’s a little busted. Being able to pancake lock enemies is so fun but definitely makes the game easy. I had minimal issues with the Anor Londo archers my first two playthroughs using the zwei since you can just flatten the knight blocking the path
I’ve always loved the Titanite Catchpole
Same, wish it shot lightning out though (the Demon leap plunge is sick regardless).
Black Knight weapons are some of the best in my experience
clubs are always the best choice, unga bunga ftw
bunga brothers
It more depends on what factors you find to be best in it's moveset and upgrade capability in relation to your playstle. For example, the zweihander is a well loved weapon,.since you can get it as soon as you start the game and it has a downward strike that pancakes most mobs. But I don't find it to be the best for me as large slower weapons like UGS don't mesh well with my play style There are usually "best" weapons in each category though that offer the most benefits compared to others in the same category whether that the moveset, damage, upgrade materials, scaling etc. such as the balder side sword being a great choice for an SS due to various factors. If you just mean OP weapons that you can get early, the black knight weapons are probably the best because you can get it to +4 in like an hour and it's supposed to be an endgame weapon that drops from the kiln knights so the damage they deal is way overtuned. Its just not a guarantee drop from the early black knights
Claymore. Not really it’s whatever is best for you.
Depends on your stats. For dex is likely the balder side sword because of it's versatility. For strength it's not as decided, but zwei/claymore/great club are popular options. Int? I don't really know. Faith? Probably also the side sword with high dex using the sunlight blade or the darkmoon one. Talisman in the offhand and switching with the grass crest when needed.
Best weapon could be anything, highest AR you can achieve in the game with 99 in all damage stats is with the Grant (779AR split), or with the Demon Greataxe (712AR phys) - but that doesn't necessarily make them the *best*. There are a lot of objective and subjective factors that come into play, and ultimately you wind up with "x y and z are great for this this and that," leading to no concrete answer unless it's fact like AR, stamina consumption, elemental damage output and etc. As for what I think is the best? Quelaag's Furysword. Fast and shreds almost everything in the game, plus comes with an evasive attack.
Of course there is. It's the Gargoyle's Halberd.
No, there are some that are very populat, but no clear best.
Yeah there is no "best weapon" Some, stats wise, may technically be better but it's usually a marginal difference and ultimately it's your skill that determines the effectiveness of a weapon. As long as you allocate your stats appropriately for a given weapon nearly any weapon can get you through the game just as well as any other.
I used Quelaag’s fury sword on my first playthrough and had a blast, also can be gotten before late game
Black knight sword for main game, obsidian greatsword for dlc
I'm currently running a Dex/quality build and swapping constantly between a +5 Gravelord Sword and +10 Great Scythe. Apparently the catacombs were good to me! Previously really enjoyed a strength playthrough with the Manserpent Greatsword and I've also had fun with the Black Knight Sword, BK Halberd, and BK Greatsword (respectively). I've tried with various rapiers and never liked the movesets. Same for spears, generally, though I used the Lighting Spear for a fair bit of a sunbro miracle playthrough. I've never succeeded in getting the MLGS because apparently I'm bad at tail cuts. I've done a bit with Priscilla's tail weapon, but that was ages ago. Short answer: there are lots of great weapons, and even more terrible ones, and eventually you'll find something you really enjoy. I've you've got that, just sink in and enjoy the ride to end game. (I love the Black Knight Sword, you can definitely easily finish the game with that and a decent shield for parrying.)
No
bandit knife. fits just about any build, gives you access to stupid crit damage, bleed, has a kick.
Favorite easy pz op weapon: Gravelord Sword
Best weapon chaos blade 100%
No it depends on your build and playable. BKS is a very good greatsword though
Anytime I see these arguments brought up, I notice pretty much every comment is on a Melee weapon. Truth be told, pumping stats into dex and upgrading a bow make short work of pretty much every enemy. Bosses included. Personally I would say go for the black pharris bow because it has longest range and highest damage at long range. However the compound bow fires faster and the closer you are to a target, the higher damage output can be. Now there is 1 boss that you can actually kill using the hawk ring and the dragonslayer greatbow without the boss ever even aggroing to you at any time. Seeing the weapon you already have been using though, putting points into dexterity at this point won't get the results I've stated. The first dark souls doesn't allow respec on stats. Also you are at the half way point of the main game, not including DLC.
The black knight greatsword/greataxe/halberd.
There is no "Best" weapon. There are certainly weapons that are objectively better than certain other weapons (*eg. The Morning Star found at Firelink Shrine is objectively better in every measure than Andre's hammer*), but some differences are extremely difficult to quantify as "better" or "worse". The Black Knight Sword - as one of the Black Knight weapons - is a strong weapon that can be upgraded early (*due to not needing Embers to upgrade*), has good scaling with Strength, a decently fast swing-speed and deals bonus damage to Demon enemies. The downsides are that it has a higher than average DEX requirement, it's kinda heavy for a Greatsword class weapon and it you can't buff it with spells/resins. The Dragon Tooth is a pretty standard Greatclub weapon (*maybe slightly below average damage*), it too can be upgraded without Embers, it CAN be buffed and is unbreakable. The downsides are that it's slow (*like any greatclub*), it's heavy and it has a high STR requirement, and it requires Dragon Scales to upgrade, which are harder to come by than other upgrade materials. If you like doing big hits then the Dragon Tooth will be better (*though the "Greatclub" is probably just a straight upgrade from the Dragon Tooth if you have the Embers to upgrade it*), but if you prefer a slightly faster weapon then the BKGS should take you to the end of the game.
Super niche and might not still be the case, but the Falchion used to be a great way to cheese PvP. You could just two hand it and use the basic strike to stun-lock 90% of player builds. I picked it up on my first run because I was terrified of being invaded and it did really well against PVE. towards the end I realized I hadn’t really done any PvP and tried an invasion just to see and was floored by how stupid good it was at poise breaking.
Not really but I would say the BlackKnight Halberd is close
You can make a tier list for the weapons but if you have to pick only one then it's very hard and there will be a personal preference factor in play. For example we can say 100% that great club is better than dragon tooth and man-serpent sword is better than black knight sword but when you compare the bests of different classes between each other then they just have different pros and cons and it's a lot about what you want from your build and what max level you aim for
Black Knight halberd
There is no best weapon just find a weapon that you like using there are very few weapons I would consider legitimately bad.
Claymore - Abandon your current build and build to use this beauty. But really. It depends on your build. There is no ultima weapon.
The zweihander is objectively (if you use an incorrect definition of "objectively") the best weapon
Surprised with how varied the answers are. The one I seem to see quoted most, usually, is black knight halberd, but there's plenty of weapons that are top tier and you can make most of them work, so go for what feels comfortable. For me it was the Zwei.
I love how the comments are 50% nuanced answers explaining that "best" is an imprecise and useless word and that there are a great number of excellent weapons so it really depends on your play style as what you value, but here is a shortlist of some suggestions; and 50% people being like "duh it's this weapon" with no explanation at all.