Greatswords are the most recognizable weapon types in all of souls-like. Greatswords in Elden Ring are a cut above the rest, even when compared to FromSoftware’s other creations. These bulky swords pack quite a punch while being agile compared to their bigger brothers, the Colossal weapons.
There are 24 greatswords in Elden Ring; for the sake of brevity, we are only listing down the cream of the crop S-tier greatswords in the game.
7) Claymore
The Claymore stands out as the top choice for the best infusible/affinity greatsword in Elden Ring. Another reason is its heavy attack, a poke (pierce damage). While it might not have the same range or raw damage as some other infusible greatswords, its versatility is unmatched.
Most greatswords already offer horizontal and vertical swings with light attack combos, but adding a poking heavy attack (both one-handed or two-handed) gives you so many more options. This is especially useful since many enemies in the game are vulnerable to piercing damage.
Pairing charged heavy attacks with items like Spear Talisman and landing counterattacks can lead to absurd amounts of damage. Even without that setup, the Claymore still holds its own as a decent damaging greatsword.
You can mix in different ashes of war and spam them while piggybacking on the awesome damage output of the sword.
Now, you might wonder why it doesn’t rank higher if it’s such a great weapon; that’s because the Claymore is pretty well-balanced. The greatswords going forward will progressively get more broken.
6) Sacred Relic Sword
The Sacred Relic Sword is a Dexterity and Faith-based greatsword with split holy and physical damage. It leans more towards physical damage, meaning if you face enemies resistant to holy damage, you can still rely on regular attacks and get solid results. Plus, if you manage to break an enemy’s stance, you’ll benefit even more since the sword has 110 Critical damage.
It also has the most extended range of all greatswords. But the real highlight of this weapon is its skill, Wave of Gold.
It’s an absolute powerhouse for crowd control; there’s no better skill for clearing out mobs of enemies in Elden Ring. The skill covers a massive area, travels far, deals knockback damage, and is incredibly easy to use. It is the go-to rune farming tool, but you’ll be missing out if you limit it to that.
The only downside is that this skill is not as practical in boss fights. The FP cost is high, the stamina drain is heavy, and the overall damage output isn’t as great for single targets. Still, because the skill is so easy to land, you can cheese some boss battles, especially NPC bosses like Dancer of Ranah.
5) Ordovis’s Greatsword
Ordovis’s Greatsword is easily one of the best stance-breaking weapons in Elden Ring. It has strong Strength and Faith scaling, with a bit of split holy damage. Its total attack rating (AR) is comparable to the Blasphemous Blade. However, what really makes this weapon stand on its own is its skill, Ordovis’s Vortex.
For just 15 FP, you can unleash a short-range AOE attack that comes out fast, deals substantial damage, staggers enemies well, and inflicts around 20 stance damage. But when you fully charge it, this skill becomes insane. You elevate it further by equipping Godfrey Icon talisman.
Although the animation takes a bit longer, the hyper armor won’t allow it to be canceled, and the damage output is through the roof. You can knock smaller enemies flat and deal a whopping 66 stance damage, meaning tougher foes can be stance-broken in just one hit.
You can take things further by pairing it with the Stonebarb Cracked Tear, boosting your stance damage to over 80. Since many humanoid bosses in the game have around 80 poise, you’ll break their stance in no time.
The only real downside is its short range and slightly longer animation.
4) Marais Executioner’s Sword
The Marais Executioner’s Sword is similar to the Ordovis’s Greatsword; both have a skill with a longer animation and potentially shorter range, but the benefits make up for it. While Ordovis’s Greatsword excels at high stance damage, the Marais Executioner’s Sword’s skill, Eochaid’s Dancing Blade, focuses on pure raw damage.
This weapon is a Strength and Arcane-based greatsword that can reach surprisingly high AR. Due to this weapon’s split scaling, you might lose out on different incantations and synergies.
However, you’ll more than make up for it by boosting your skill damage by epic proportions with multi-hit items like Rotten Winged Sword Insignia and Thorny Cracked Tear. There is no point in using this sword without these things.
The sword’s skill delivers massive damage, has good hyper armor, and is very FP efficient. You also get an uncharged and fully charged version of the skill, and you can even cancel the animation midway if needed. You can further enhance it with the Dancer of Ranah armor set.
The skill might not look the part at first glance, but when you use it right, you’ll be literally shredding bosses left and right.
3) Death’s Poker
Death’s Poker is an Intelligence and Dexterity-based greatsword. Its damage might not match up to some other greatswords in Elden Ring, it’s still compelling in its own right.
Even though the INT scaling is D, it is much better than it seems. Dumping points into Intelligence will pay off, mainly because the weapon’s skill, Ghostflame Ignition, scales with it. This skill alone raises this weapon to newer heights.
Ghostflame Ignition summons a ball of ghostflame that you can either explode (R2) or turn into a fire trail on the ground (R1), both of which deal massive damage.
The fire trail is particularly deadly because it goes so far and lingers for quite a while. Enemies standing in it build up frostbite at breakneck speeds, which leads to huge chunks of their health disappearing.
Even the tick damage is so high that it can even decimate enemies who aren’t affected by frost, making the skill a game-changer in almost any situation. Bigger bosses do not stand a chance.
However, the weapon does have a few downsides. The most noticeable one is its heavy attack. While this lunging attack that closes a reasonable distance is good, it deals significantly less stance damage than other great swords.
Even the skill lacking in the stance-damage department. Do not choose this weapon if you are into stance-break and critical attack build.
But who cares! Just spam Ghostflame Ignition and freeze everything in sight.
2) Dark Moon Greatsword
The legendary Dark Moon Greatsword is a pure Intelligence weapon with some Strength scaling, though focusing on INT is where you’ll see the highest returns. It has passive frost buildup and a high overall attack rating, but this weapon’s skill, Moonlight Greatsword, is really what matters.
Activating this skill buffs the weapon, adding even more magic damage and frost buildup, turning it into one of the hardest-hitting magic weapons in Elden Ring. Frost is a fantastic status effect, as it reduces enemy health by 10% and debuffs them to take 20% more damage for the next 20 seconds.
Also, this buff transforms the greatsword’s heavy attacks into magic projectiles. Since the projectiles are heavy attacks, they don’t consume any FP. You get free projectile attacks that deal noteworthy damage and hit pretty hard if you hit the weapon and the projectile at the same time.
Not only do the heavy attacks hit like a truck, but they also break stances fairly quickly and proc frost fast. The fact that you can deal this much damage without using any FP makes it this weapon incredibly unique and powerful.
You can sit at a safe distance, spam projectile attacks, and cheese through the game without engaging enemies up close. For something that deals this much damage and doesn’t consume FP, it’s pretty broken.
1) Blasphemous Blade
The Blasphemous Blade sits comfortably at number one, not just on this list, but on many Elden Ring weapon rankings, and for good reason. This weapon is beyond broken. As a Strength and Faith-based weapon, it has an insane attack rating, hits extremely hard, and grants health regeneration on kills and even on each hit.
Its bread and butter is its weapon skill, Taker’s Flames. This skill travels insanely far and deals stupid amounts of damage, especially when paired with items like the Talisman of the Dread from Shadow of the Erdtree. The HP regen bit synergizes so well with the Bloodsucking Cracked Tear.
What makes the Blasphemous Blade stand out is how effortless it is to use. Stand near the enemy or boss and keep pressing the L2 (weapon skill) button until they evaporate. Steamrolling bosses has never been so easy.
Honorable Mentions
A weapon category so packed with excellent options, some are bound to be left on the cutting floor. Here are some A-tier greatswords in Elden Ring that are worth looking into:
- Iron Greatsword: It is similar to the Claymore. A reliable, infusible greatsword that packs quite a punch. It has excellent scaling with every kind of affinity in Elden Ring. It could be used with any build with the right affinity.
- Alabaster Lord’s Sword: Has the Colossal Sword heavy attacks with identical damage numbers. The skill is an upgraded, farther-reaching version of the Gravitas ash of war.
- Greatsword of Solitude: Has the best blocking stats out of all greatswords. Perfect for guard-countering builds. The skill adds a projectile to the weapon and a great gap closer that deals significant stance damage.
- Flamberge: The best bleed-based greatsword in Elden Ring.
- Banished Knight’s Greatsword: The unique, faster light attacks can result in surprisingly high DPS. Most affinities complement this sword, too.
- Gargoyle’s Blackblade: This weapon’s skill is a somewhat reskin of the Blasphemous Blade’s skill. Instead of fire damage, it inflicts the blackflame damage over time effect. It is very spammable.
Greatsword is the most popular weapon category in Elden Ring. Weapons like the Blasphemous Blade trivialize this game’s whole “challenging” experience. Every Tarnished must once witness this weapon type and see for themselves what the hype is about.