Elden Ring Weapons
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Every weapon tells you three things on its detail screen: what it requires, what it scales with, and how far it can be upgraded. Those three answers matter more than the damage number at the top.
Requirements and scaling
Requirements are the minimum attributes needed to wield a weapon properly. Miss them and your attacks bounce, cost more stamina, and do far less damage. Scaling is written as a letter grade from E to S, and it shows which attributes add damage as you level. A weapon with a B in strength and an E in dexterity wants strength levels, not a split.
Two-handing a weapon raises your effective strength by half again for wielding purposes, which can let you use a heavy weapon before you have the raw attribute. Raising the attribute for real is what improves damage.
The main families
| Family | What it is good at |
|---|---|
| Straight swords | Reliable speed and reach; a safe first weapon |
| Greatswords and colossal weapons | Stagger and reach, at the cost of commitment |
| Curved swords and katanas | Fast hits that build status effects quickly |
| Spears and halberds | Reach, and poking from behind a shield |
| Hammers and great hammers | Posture damage against armoured enemies |
| Daggers and claws | Critical hits and multi-hit skills |
| Bows and crossbows | Pulling enemies and dealing with ranged threats |
| Staffs and seals | Casting sorceries or incantations |
Upgrade paths decide the ceiling
Standard weapons improve with Smithing Stones up to a high upgrade level, while unique weapons use Somber Smithing Stones and have fewer steps. In practice a starting weapon taken up its upgrade path will outperform a fresh weapon from a later region for a long time, so pick something whose moveset you enjoy and commit stones to it.
Affinities change the scaling
An Ash of War sets an affinity, and the affinity changes which attributes the weapon scales with. That means the same sword can be a strength weapon, a bleed weapon, or a magic weapon without changing the sword. If a weapon you like is underperforming, check its affinity before you replace it.