For some,Dark Souls 3is the pinnacle of the FromSoft experience, and it’s easy to see why. A vast world to explore, the Souls formula applied to perfection, and a huge variance of viable builds and weapons to choose from. It’s arguably the mostpolished Dark Souls gamemoney can buy.
Dark Souls 3: 10 Best Greatswords, Ranked
There are several Greatswords in Dark Souls 3, but these are some of the best and most deadly ones in the game.
For players starting out on their adventure, planning out a build from the start can be a tall task since there is so much to choose from. Strength builds utilize weapons that scale with the Strength stat. It’s usually the heavier weapons that fall under this category, so if you’re a player who likes watching a big chunk of the enemy’s health bar going down as a result of an earth-shattering hammer strike, you’ll like these weapons.
Updated by Vlad Mazanko on July 01, 2025:Several years later, Dark Souls 3 remains one of the most beloved and refined soulslike games, offering players plenty of options to approach its combat. In this list, we’ve included five more strong melee positions specifically for players who favor Strength builds above all else. We’ve also expanded each entry with more detailed specifics, adding detailed explanations of how each active Weapon Art works and guidance on where you may find every weapon below.
15Harald Curved Greatsword
A gold-decorated corroded blade that’s great for chopping
Requirements
22 Strength, 18 Dexterity
Strength scaling tier
Base damage
Max upgrade damage
Harald Curved Greatswordcould rank higher on this tier list, but its availability only as part of The Ringed City DLC pretty late causes it to be outclassed by other more notable options. However, its Sever skill can be quite useful for dealing massive damage. When activated, the character wields it with two hands and performs two fast vertical slams on the ground, followed by a powerful jump attack.
To get this weapon, search for a corpse located in a cave-like area in the swamps near the Earthen Peak Ruins bonfire. Harald Curved Greatsword also boasts an appealing appearance, making it attractive to fashion-conscious players who favor Strength-based builds.
14Cathedral Knight Greatsword
Highly destructive weapon that combines strike and thrust damage
26 Strength, 10 Dexterity
TheCathedral Knight Greatswordis another excellent choice for Strength builds. This weapon is relatively light and offers extreme versatility, combining two of the most useful physical damage types: strike and thrust. It also comes with the classic Stomp skill. When activated, Stomp provides a poise boost and increases all absorption stats by 50, while also transitioning your stance for a quick and powerful follow-up R1 attack.
Cathedral Knight Greatsword is farmable from Cathedral Knights found in the Cathedral of the Deep (which is a recommended farming spot) or in the Consumed King’s Garden. Keep in mind that it will only drop from the sword-wielding version of this enemy, not the ones wielding a shield.
13Winged Knight Halberd
An enormous, bloodstained blade wielded only by the strongest
Chain Spin
26 Strength, 16 Dexterity
This heavy Halberd is very similar toWinged Knight Twinaxes, including the same active skill and an even longer reach. Its Chain Spin skill is sustainable as long as you have stamina, deals heavy damage, and stuns enemies throughout the entire skill duration. Moreover, this weapon can be buffed for additional damage, making it a simple yet effective choice.
Dark Souls 3: Every Starting Class, Ranked
From the stalwart Knight to the lowly Deprived, Dark Souls 3 offers players a range of classes to pick from. Here’s how they all rank.
To get Winged Knight Halberd, you’ll need to farm rare enemies that wield this weapon. You can find one such knight in the High Wall of Lothric. Alternatively, there’s an elite version of the Winged Knight that spawns atop the roof above the Grand Archives bonfire when taking up the elevator.
12Spiked Mace
For those who enjoy inflicting great pain and bleeding
21 Strength, 13 Dexterity
Spiked Maceis a menacing-looking weapon that you can obtain relatively early in the game. It has a chance to drop from Evangelists, who can be found in various locations such as Undead Settlement, Irithyll of the Boreal Valley and Cathedral of the Deep. However, farming these enemies can be challenging at an earlier stage, so if you’re not having luck at Undead Settlement, it may be better to wait for another opportunity later on.
Spiked Mace boasts great A-tier scaling in Strength when heavily infused, decent overall damage, and on top of that, it can be buffed. Its active skill, Spin Bash, allows you to land devastating spinning strikes all around yourself, quickly damaging all nearby foes or even knocking them off if you’re surrounded.
11*Quakestone Hammer
An elegant hammer from a naturally-formed stone with a unique skill
40 Strength
This weapon can only be obtained during the Painted World of Ariandel DLC by looting the corpse guarded by a strong red-eyed Millwood knight shortly after the Snowy Mountain Pass bonfire. Despite being somewhat of a late-game weapon, Quakestone Hammer is worth your attention due to a very solid damage output, great scaling, and unique active skill, which is a slightly improved version of Vordt’s Hammer’s Perseverance.
When activated,Quakestone Hammeris spun above your character’s head, delivering a heavy strike on the ground in front of you and producing a small shockwave that staggers all nearby enemies. Additionally, it grants infinite poise and a 45 percent increased absorption for six seconds.
10Winged Knight Twinaxes
Paired beheading axes for a true executioner
20 Strength, 12 Dexterity
TheWinged Knight Twinaxesare paired axes that drop from the Winged Knight in Lothric Castle (check the Winged Knight Halberd section). Having a low Str/Dex requirement means players can use these weapons in the early game for devastating results. With a Heavy infusion, they gain an A-tier scaling in Strength, meaning the more points you put into Strength, the more damage they do.
Dark Souls 3: 15 Best Armor Sets, Ranked
Dark Souls 3 provides many incredible armor sets, both new and classic sets from previous games in the series. This list breaks down the best.
Although a bit of investment Stamina-wise, the Weapon Art, Chain Spin, is sustainable and can stun-lock enemies in PvP unless they have very high poise. Landing the first hit with this skill is the hardest part, but it’s impossible to get out of once you do.
9Vordt’s Greathammer
An early boss weapon with a rare frostbite ability
Perseverance
30 Strength
Frostbite isVordt’s Greathammer’sbread and butter. This weapon is one of the most effective in the game at causing the Frostbite effect on enemies. This great hammer is available after players defeat Vordt of the Boreal Valley, the second boss in the game. Its unique skill, Perseverance, grants some serious buffs like infinite poise for six seconds and a 45 percent increased absorptions for four seconds. It also produces a small shockwave that staggers nearby enemies.
Frostbite deals a percentage of the player’s max HP plus some flat damage to enemies hit by this effect. This means that for players going the Vordt build, getting more HP means dealing more damage. A virtuous cycle with an incredible payoff.
8Yhorm’s Great Machete
A choice of those who value great reach above all else
38 Strength, 10 Dexterity
A boss weapon you can get after killing Yhorm the Giant,Yhrom’s Great Machetedoesn’t disappoint. With a really good Strength scaling and an easy upgrade route via Titanite Scales, players can use this weapon to beat the game quite handily. The skill, Warcry, effectively stuns all nearby enemies and provides an eight percent physical damage boost that lasts 30 seconds.
The reason Yhorm’s Great Machete is considered one of thebest weapons in Dark Souls 3is because of its incredible range that allows a lot of room for mistakes. Despite its nerf that now prevents the weapon from getting a 2-hit combo off in a 2-handed stance, its range still provides value. It’s just not as broken as before.
7Ringed Knight Paired Greatswords
Size really matters, huh?
40 Strength, 15 Dexterity
Added in the Ringed City DLC, TheRinged Knight Paired Greatswordsare the only paired Ultra Greatswords in the game. Powerstanceing (wielding two colossal weapons in two hands) is not a thing in Dark Souls 3, but this weapon is the closest thing to it. Its Ember skill covers both blades in flames to then deal a heavy finishing strike.
Dark Souls 3: Every Katana, Ranked
There are very few Katana swords in Dark Souls 3, but they all work well against the enemies. Here’s how each sword ranks from best to worst.
Wielding two large, lumbering greatswords in both hands, you can do some brutal damage if you manage to land this weapon’s hits on enemies. Landing a full combo of L1 attacks on an enemy unit is as satisfying as it is rare. Almost everything in the game will be dead by the time you get to the third attack in the combo. These beauties dropped by an unmissable Ringed Knight wielding them in front of the city’s church.
6Greatsword
A highly destructive, versatile classic
28 Strength, 10 Dexterity
The Greatsword’s appearance is inspired by the main weapon of the character Guts in the manga series, Berserk, a cult classic if there ever was one. TheGreatswordisone of the best weapons in its own class, and available fairly early on, from a corpse on top of a broken bridge in Farron Keep, and you don’t even have to fight anyone to wield it.
Heavy and Hollow are the best infusions for this weapon, but for Strength-builds, Heavy is the way to go. This weapon has incredible reach and a devastating R2 attack that feels like you’ve unleashed the wrath of God against high-health targets. Since the R1 combo hits enemies behind you as well, it can effectively be used to crowd-control a horde of mobs surrounding the player too. Its classic Stomp skill can be used to get a nice poise boost and damage reduction.
