Conquering the Lands Between requires more than just raw skill and impeccable dodge-timing; it demands the right tool for the job. Whether you are stepping into the fog for the very first time or returning to face the brutal challenges of the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, knowing which armaments reign supreme is crucial. With countless patches and balance updates, the meta has shifted significantly. Welcome to the ultimate best elden ring weapons tier list 2024, designed to help you crush bosses, dominate PvP, and build the ultimate Tarnished.
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Understanding the Elden Ring Weapon Meta in 2024
To truly understand a weapon tier list, we must first look at what makes an armament viable in the current game state. FromSoftware has continuously tweaked scaling, status effect buildups like hemorrhage and frostbite, and the recovery frames of heavy attacks. The best weapons in Elden Ring are those that offer a blend of high burst damage, excellent stagger potential, safe recovery frames, and versatile Ashes of War.
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SS-Tier: The Absolute Best Elden Ring Weapons
Weapons in this tier completely break the game. They trivialize even the hardest encounters, possess overpowered unique skills, and fit seamlessly into optimized builds. If you want to melt boss health bars with minimal effort, look no further.
Blasphemous Blade
If there is one weapon that has consistently held the crown as the best PvE weapon in Elden Ring, it is the Blasphemous Blade. Found by trading the Remembrance of the Blasphemous to Enia at Roundtable Hold, this greatsword is an absolute monster. Its signature skill, Taker's Flames, launches a wave of fire that knocks down most humanoid enemies and heals you for a massive percentage of your maximum HP upon hitting an enemy—even if the enemy has a shield up. Combined with high Faith scaling and fire damage buffs, this sword makes you practically unkillable.
Moonveil
For intelligence and dexterity builds, the Moonveil katana remains an undisputed king. Despite receiving minor nerfs to its poise damage in past patches, its unique skill, Transient Moonlight, is still lightning fast and deals incredible stance-breaking magic damage. Whether you are fighting fast-moving Malenia or massive dragons, Moonveil allows you to strike from a distance and punish openings that slower weapons simply cannot reach.
Rivers of Blood
Though it has seen its fair share of adjustments, Rivers of Blood is still a premier choice for bleed builds. The Corpse Piler skill unleashes a flurry of blood slashes that proc hemorrhage almost instantaneously on vulnerable targets. While it is no longer the undisputed PvP terror it was at launch, it remains exceptionally potent in PvE against bosses susceptible to blood loss.
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S-Tier: High-Performance Meta Contenders
S-Tier weapons might not be quite as game-breaking as the SS-Tier, but they are exceptionally strong, reliable, and capable of carrying you through New Game Plus cycles and high-level invasions with ease.
Eleonora's Poleblade
This twinblade has risen through the ranks to become a fan favorite for arcane builds. The Eleonora's Poleblade features a fluid, acrobatic moveset that rapidly stacks hemorrhage. Its unique skill, Bloodblade Dance, allows you to chain multi-hit combos while weaving backward to dodge incoming enemy attacks. It is stylish, incredibly fast, and deals devastating damage.
Starscourge Greatswords
Colossal weapons received massive buffs regarding their recovery times and poise damage. The Starscourge Greatswords shine brightly in this category. Wielded two-handed automatically, they offer incredible crowd-control capabilities with their Starcaller Cry skill, pulling enemies in and slamming them down with gravitational force. They scale heavily with Strength, making them ideal for heavy bruiser builds.
Dark Moon Greatsword
A staple of FromSoftware games, the Dark Moon Greatsword is phenomenal for dedicated Sorcery builds. Activating Moonlight Greatsword coats the blade in frost, launching powerful magic projectiles with heavy attacks that cost zero FP once buffed. It deals immense magic damage and rapidly inflicts frostbite, slowing down enemy stamina recovery and increasing damage taken.
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A-Tier: Niche, Balanced, and Reliable Choices
A-Tier armaments are fantastic choices that might require specific build synergies, stat investments, or a slightly higher skill ceiling to maximize their potential. They are entirely viable for the entire game, even if they lack the overt overpowered nature of the higher tiers.
Bloodhound's Fang
The Bloodhound's Fang is arguably the best early-game weapon in Elden Ring, and it easily holds its own in late-game scenarios. Available by defeating the Bloodhound Knight in Limgrave, its unique skill provides an automatic backflip evasion followed by a powerful lunging heavy attack. It can be buffed with greases or magic, inflicts passive bleed, and scales brilliantly with both Strength and Dexterity.
Reduvia
For players leaning into pure dagger builds or early-game bleed setups, Reduvia is an exceptional choice. The Reduvia Blood Blade skill flings bloody projectiles at range, allowing you to build up hemorrhage safely from afar while keeping your equip load remarkably low.
Godslayer's Greatsword
Colossal swords can often feel painfully slow, but the Godslayer's Greatsword defies this trend. It features a unique, faster moveset and its weapon skill, The Queen's Black Flame, unleashes sweeping black flame arcs that deal percentage-based damage over time to bosses. This makes it exceptionally strong against high-health enemies in the late game and DLC areas.
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B-Tier and Below: Fun, But Outclassed
While B-Tier weapons and below can still be used to beat the game thanks to Elden Ring's flexible upgrade system, they generally suffer from long recovery animations, lower scaling caps, or underwhelming weapon arts compared to the meta options. Weapons like standard daggers, certain flails, and hammers without unique status effects often fall into this category unless paired with highly specialized, creative builds.
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Optimizing Your Build for the Best Weapons
Having the best Elden Ring weapons means very little if your character attributes do not support them. To get the most out of your chosen armament, make sure to consider the following optimization strategies:
- Check weapon scaling letters (S, A, B, C, D, E) and invest heavily into the primary scaling attribute.
- Utilize appropriate Whetblades to change weapon affinities (like Heavy, Keen, Quality, Magic, or Blood) to match your build.
- Upgrade your chosen weapon using Smithing Stones or Somber Smithing Stones as quickly as possible; weapon level heavily outweighs character stat scaling in the early and mid-game.
- Equip matching Talismans, such as the Shard of Alexander to boost skill damage or the Rotten Winged Sword Insignia for consecutive attack builds.
By aligning your talismans, crystal tear flasks, and stat distributions with the top-tier weapons listed above, you will effortlessly glide through the toughest challenges the Lands Between and the Shadow Realm have to offer.
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FAQ
Q: What is currently the absolute best weapon in Elden Ring for PvE?
A:The Blasphemous Blade is widely regarded as the best PvE weapon in Elden Ring due to its incredible healing skill, knockdown potential, and massive fire damage scaling.
Q: Are bleed weapons still good after the recent patches?
A:Yes, bleed weapons like Rivers of Blood, Eleonora's Poleblade, and standard weapons infused with Blood affinity remain exceptionally strong, though pure physical burst builds have also received healthy buffs to compete with them.
Q: Can I beat the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC using base game weapons?
A:Absolutely. Many base game weapons scale brilliantly and perform exceptionally well in the DLC, provided you collect enough Scadutree Blessings to boost your defense and attack power.
Q: What is the best weapon for a pure Intelligence build?
A:The Moonveil katana and the Dark Moon Greatsword are tied for the best Intelligence weapons, offering fast magic stagger damage and powerful ranged projectiles respectively.
Q: Is Bloodhound's Fang viable for the entire game?
A:Yes, Bloodhound's Fang can easily carry you from the very beginning of Limgrave all the way to the final boss of the game and its DLC expansion, thanks to its high base damage, scaling, and evasive weapon skill.
Q: How do I increase my weapon damage quickly?
A:Prioritize upgrading your weapon at the Blacksmith using Smithing Stones over leveling up your character attributes early on, as weapon level has a much higher impact on your damage output.
Q: Are Colossal Swords worth using in 2024?
A:Colossal Swords are very strong after receiving major updates that increased their swing speed and reduced recovery frames, making stance-breaking bosses much easier than before.
