Elden Ring: 22 Best Strength Weapons, Ranked (2024)

Even though some hardcore fans believe that Elden Ring is one of the easiest FromSoftware games (one fan even beat it in an hour!), newcomers to the series have struggled to pass even the first Major Boss. But of course, it wouldn't be a Souls-like game if it didn't mean players would need to die, rinse, and repeat continuously to cleanse the world of the ill-omened creatures.

Fortunately, players have access to powerful god-like weapons that can conquer even the largest foes. And one powerful weapon class is that of Strength Weapons, which mostly take the form of Greatswords, Warhammers, and Halberds. With so many options available in Elden Ring, players will need to know which one is the best of them all.

Updated on October 26, 2023, by Nahda Nabiilah: There are various builds players can explore while playing Elden Ring. Some might prefer light and quick weapons that depend on Dexterity and may add some Spells or Incantations in the mix to spice it up, whereas others are more into heavy weapons that scale with Strength and make staggering bosses easier. There's definitely nothing better than swinging a giant weapon that takes care of multiple small enemies at the same time. In Elden Ring, Tarnished will find different types of Strength-based weapons, and wielding one depends on a variety of factors such as players' stats and preferences.

22 Zweihander

Location:

• Purchased from the Isolated Merchant for 3,500 Runes found west of the Weeping Peninsula.

Active Skill:

• Stamp (Upward Cut)

Zweihander primarily scales with Strength and Dexterity in Elden Ring. Although it's considered a Colossal weapon, Zweihander possesses the lightest weight which makes it a bit versatile. This is perfect for players who prefer fast and heavy swing attacks instead of the usual three-hits attack that consumes the Stamina bar.

The weapon comes with a Skill called the Stamp (Upward Cut) which can be found on a plethora of weapons in Elden Ring. The Skill basically means players deliver a deadly upward strike that can easily stagger large enemies.

21 Ordovis's Greatsword

Location:

• Dropped from Crucible Knight Ordovis at Auriza Hero's Grave in Altus Plateau

Active Skill:

• Ordovis's Vortex

Ordovis's Greatsword mainly scales with Strength and Faith. The former starts with C at level one and ends with an A at level 10, which provides great damage for Tarnished interested in a STR/FAI build in Elden Ring.

The Unique Skill, Ordovis’s Vortex, allows players to charge the Greatsword and slam it on the ground, dealing Holy Damage. Keep in mind that the Strength scaling is much better than the Faith one, so Ordovis’s Greatsword is not a bad option as a Strength-based weapon.

20 Troll's Hammer

Location:

• Looted from a shack at the Old Altus Tunnel in Altus Plateau

Active Skill:

• Troll's Roar

Troll’s Hammer is one of the most undererated weapons in Elden Ring. Although its Active Skill, Troll’s Roar, is found on other weapons while exploring the Lands Between, the Hammer can be considered one of the heaviest Strength-based weapons among them.

While the skill does allow players to unleash a powerful shockwave that has a high chance of stunning enemies, the Troll’s Hammer's true powers lie in its powerful attack which will cause heavy damage once the weapon reaches +25. Additionally, maxing out the Hammer will upgrade the Strength scaling from a normal C to a decent B.

19 Winged Greathorn

Location:

• Purchased from Enia at Roundtable Hold upon receiving the Remembrance of the Regal Ancestor's

Active Skill:

• Soul Stifler

As of Patch 1.09, the Winged Greathorn was buffed to have a better speed, range, recovery time, and many more. That doesn’t mean the weapon wasn’t useful before, but it had many disadvantages that may put players in a difficult or vulnerable position.

Other than the heavy damage inflicted by swinging around the Winged Greathorn, Tarnished can take advantage of the unique Skill which debuffs enemies upon contacting the harmful aura released by the Greathorn. The Skill may hinder players since the enemy must pass through the fog to get debuffed, but the results are worth it since the weapon’s damage increases.

18 Serpent-Hunter

Location:

• Held by a corpse near the entrance of Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy boss area

Active Skill:

• Great-Serpent Hunt

The Serpent-Hunter in Elden Ring is similar to the Storm Ruler in Dark Souls 3. Although it’s possible to use it on other enemies, and it will deal great damage, the Serpent-Hunter is especially effective against the Shardbearer, Rykard Lord of Blasphemy. Although the boss is considered mid to late-game, players can acquire the Serpent-Hunter quite early by interacting with the Abductor Virgin in the lowest part of Raya Lucaria Academy.

One of the Serpent-Hunter’s great features is that the initial Strength scaling is B and will, later on, become A once fully upgraded. Players can take advantage of such skill to wield one of the best Strength Weapons in Elden Ring. While the weapon does scale with Dexterity, the E won’t be upgraded later on.

17 Watchdog's Greatsword

Location:

• Dropped from Watchdogs enemies found in Mountaintops of the Giants

Active Skill:

• Stamp (Upward Cut)

Similar to the Zweihander, Watchdog's Greatsword has the same Skill which allows players to deliver a powerful upward attack that has a high chance of staggering enemies. The Watchdog's Greatsword scales mainly with Strength and starting from +3 upgrade, the scaling becomes a decent B.

Watchdog's Greatsword can be a great option for large crowds as its attacks can take out multiple enemies at once. As a result, Tarnished should consider using it for Runes farming in Elden Ring as well as beating bosses.

16 Magma Wyrm's Scalesword

Location:

• Ruin-Strewn Precipice

Active Skill:

• Magma Guillotine

Despite needing 18 Faith to wield, the Magma Wyrm's Scalesword is a decent strength weapon that deals 114 Physical Damage and an additional 74 Fire Damage. Moreover, its Active Skill creates a large puddle of magma around the player, which deals Fire Damage for a few seconds.

But, players will need to defeat the powerful Magma Wyrm Makar boss to be able to obtain it, which can prove challenging if fought solo. Fortunately, this boss is susceptible to Madness, which means using Incantations like Inescapable Frenzy is highly recommended.

15 Ghiza's Wheel

Location:

• Volcano Manor

Active Skill:

• Spinning Wheel

Most Elden Ring players agree that any weapon that deals Blood Loss is automatically a powerful weapon, and that's why Ghiza's Wheel is one of the best STR weapons in Elden Ring. Apart from dealing Blood Loss (70 points), this heavy-strength weapon has a decent reach, making it ideal for poking enemies.

But, obtaining Ghiza's Wheel is no easy task as it means traveling to the harsh environment of Volcano Manor. On top of that, players will need to kill Inquisitor Ghiza, which primarily uses Blood Loss damage.

14 Dragon Greatclaw

Location:

• Capital Outskirts

Active Skill:

• Endure

Even though obtaining the Dragon Greatclaw involves defeating the Draconic Tree Sentinel (one of the most challenging world bosses in Elden Ring), it's well worth the struggle since it's a powerful colossal weapon that no strength enthusiast can ignore.

But, this isn't only one of the best strength weapons in Elden Ring since its Active Skill, Endure, boosts a player's poise stat while reducing incoming damage. Players can pair this strength weapon with the Dragonclaw Shield, making them an unstoppable force in PVE and PVP battles.

13 Maliketh's Black Blade

Location:

• Roundtable Hold

Active Skill:

• Destined Death

Like any boss weapon in Elden Ring, Tarnished must trade the boss' Remembrance to Enia at Roundtable hold to get Maliketh's Black Blade. In this case, defeat Maliketh the Black Blade in Crumbling Farum Azula and trade it. Maliketh's Black Blade scales with Strength, Dexterity, and Faith, making it the perfect weapon for inflicting heavy and holy damage. Additionally, upgrading the weapon will eventually reward players with a decent B for both Strength and Faith.

Maliketh's Black Blade possesses a Unique Skill that allows Tarnished to unleash a heavy holy attack which melts away opponents' HP. Additionally, the weapon removes a good chunk of the HP for a certain amount of time.

12 Beastman's Cleaver

Location:

• Any Azula Beastman

Active Skill:

• Spinning Slash

The Beastman's Cleaver is one of the fastest strength type weapons in Elden Ring since it has an equip load of 16.5, significantly less than other strength weapons. Moreover, the Beastman's Cleaver has a powerful Active Skill, Spinning Slash, that slashes enemies with several strikes and ends with a powerful heavy attack.

The only issue that holds the Beastman's Cleaver back as the best strength weapon in Elden Ring is that the drop rate is quite inconsistent, which may lead to hours of farming. But, players have found that farming the Azula Beastmans near the Dragon Temple Lift Site of Grace in Crumbling Farum Azula is the best farming location.

11 Mohgwyn's Sacred Spear

Location:

• Mohgwyn Dynasty Mausoleum

Active Skill:

• Bloodboon Ritual

Mohgwyn's Sacred Spear is perhaps one of the best Great Spears in Elden Ring since it has Physical and Fire Damage, not to mention that its Active Skill coats it with Bloodflame, which further increases its Fire Damage. Unfortunately, the damage scaling of its Active Skill scales with Arcane and not Strength, so players will need to invest a little in Arcane to increase its damage potential.

But, obtaining Mohgwyn's Sacred Spear means players will need to defeat the Blood Lord Mohg. The good news is that players can team up with other Tarnished to take him down with relative ease.

10 Forked Greatsword

Location:

• Any Catacomb with Imps

Active Skill:

• Stamp (Upward Cut)

Despite not looking as epic as the other entries, the Forked Greatsword is a decent Strength Weapon that can crush foes in a couple of thrusts once upgraded enough. Moreover, Stamp (Upward Cut) is a useful skill to manage stance and positioning since it can absorb a blow (Stamp) and then follow up with an Upward Cut that can knock up most enemies, except for large ones.

On top of that, the Forked Greatsword's Passive Skill causes Hemorrhage, which will slowly bleed the enemy out. Players can easily farm this weapon in the Black Knife Catacombs or Road's End Catacombs.

9 Prelate's Inferno Crozier

Location:

• Fort Laiedd

Active Skill:

• Prelate's Charge

Players into Fashionborne will absolutely love how FromSoftware designed the Prelate's Inferno Crozier since it's an aesthetically pleasing Colossal Weapon with flames all over it. What's more, alongside the god-like appearance, Prelate's Inferno Crozier has powerful stats that will fling enemies up in the air.

Moreover, if players use Radagon's Soreseal (one of the best Talismans in Elden Ring), they can further increase this weapon's damage output. Sadly, farming the Prelate's Inferno Crozier can take a while since only one enemy drops it (the Prelate). At least the Site of Grace isn't too far from its spawn location.

8 Giant-Crusher

Location:

• Outer Wall Phantom Tree

Active Skill:

• Strike

As the name implies, Giant-Crusher is a Colossal Hammer that will do just that: crush giants. Moreover, its Active Skill (Strike) is the perfect skill to obliterate armored enemies or those made out of rocks. Wielding this Strength Weapon requires a lot of Strength — 60, to be exact — which means players will need to be ready to spend lots of Runes.

The good news is that there are plenty of areas that are perfect to farm Runes (one player was even able to farm over 5 million Runes in an hour). But, the main reason why the Giant-Crusher is not ranked higher is its slow swing animation, which enemies or players can dodge easily.

7 Ruins Greatsword

Location:

• Redmane Castle Plaza

Active Skill:

• Wave of Destruction

The Ruins Greatsword is one of the few Colossal Swords that have an Intelligence requirement (15), but other than that, it's a decent weapon to use against bosses. But the main reason that the Ruins Greatsword ranks here is that the Active Skill (Wave of Destruction) can clear waves of enemies in a single burst.

Players who want to spam its Active Skill will want to make sure to have the Cerulean Hidden Tear, which grants unlimited FP for a short period of time.

6 Godslayer's Greatsword

Location:

• Divine Tower of Caelid

Active Skill:

• The Queen's Black Flame

The Godslayer's Greatsword has one of the fastest swing animations for Colossal Swords, making it an ideal choice for players who can't stand the long attack animations that most Strength Weapons have. Moreover, it's a powerful boss killer, since The Queen's Black Flame ignites enemies and slowly eats up their HP.

Sadly, this Strength Weapon is not so great for Mounted Combat. Players should avoid fighting Lesser Runebears or Giant Lobsters (which are among the most annoying enemies in Elden Ring) with it, and instead use a different weapon for these fights.

5 Nightrider Glaive

Location:

• Between East Raya Lucaria Gate and Bellum Church

Active Skill:

• Spinning Slash

Despite looking nothing like a Glaive, the Nightrider Glaive is a Halberd weapon perfect for PVP. This is because it has a long-range attack, making it the perfect poking machine.

Moreover, Spinning Slash is essentially a crowd control skill, as it attacks all enemies around the player with a powerful spin attack. The only downside of this weapon is that players will need to defeat a Night's Cavalry near Raya Lucaria Academy Gate in order to obtain it, which can prove challenging.

4 Starscourge Greatsword

Location:

• Roundtable Hold

Active Skill:

• Starcaller Cry

Starcaller Cry is arguably one of the best Active Skills in Elden Ring. It pulls in enemies with a gravitational wave and then slams them into the ground. Most players use this Strength Weapon by performing Jump Attacks since it has a 1.5x damage multiplier. Unfortunately, it has low Stagger Damage, which is why it's not ranked higher.

Obtaining the Starscourge Greatsword will require players to get the Remembrance of the Starscourge and give it to Enia. This means they'll need to defeat Starscourge Radahn, a powerful Demi-God found in Wailing Dunes.

3 Grafted Blade Greatsword

Location:

• Castle Morne

Active Skill:

• Oath of Vengeance

The Grafted Blade Greatsword is the perfect companion for die-hard sword enthusiasts — it's literally a sword made out of more swords. But, the real reason why the Grafted Blade Greatsword is among the best Strength Weapons in Elden Ring is that it has a powerful Active Skill that increases all Attributes by 5 for 30 seconds.

Moreover, it has 100 points into Critical Damage, which can one-shot some enemies once upgraded. But, with such a great weapon comes a massive ill-omened boss that protects it. For this particular Strength Weapon, players will need to defeat Leonine Misbegotten, which will require several tries — but it's worth it.