Elden Ring’s DLC dropped on June 21st, so we’ve put together the list of some of the best new weapons of the 95 the DLC has to offer. Each weapon will be ranked as either; Good, Great or Best based on how it sits within YOUR build. So, let’s get started.
Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana (Best)
The Rivers of Blood she tells you not to worry about
The Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana is one of the new weapon types exclusive to the DLC; the Great Katana. Somewhere between a Greatsword and a Katana it combines the passive blood loss of it’s smaller namesake whilst utilising long pokes and wide swings.
Not only is this weapon quite easy to obtain (more on that in a minute) but the moveset allows you to easily deal with multiple enemies at once, something the Katana struggled with, but at a much safer distance. It’s Ash of War is called Dragonwound Slash and is a long range projectile similar to the Black Blade incantation, meaning that this weapon is deadly at any range. It also passively increases damage against dragon type enemies, something you’ll be fighting a lot of in the DLC.
This weapon is great for;
- Fast Dex builds that want some crowd control abilities
- Anyone who wants to RP as a Dragon Hunter
- Poking enemies whilst staying relatively safe
- Trivialising the many Dragons scattered around the Lands Between and the Land of Shadow
- Quality builds that are looking for some big damage numbers, this weapon gives C scaling in both
Required Stats; 15 Strength and 20 Dexterity
How to Obtain; Kill the Ancient Dragon-Man in Dragon’s Pit, Ellac River
Dryleaf Arts (Good)
Is this from the Elden Ring DLC or the new Mortal Kombat?
Sometimes you just want to hit an enemy in the face, really, really hard. The quick natured moveset of the Dryleaf Arts and low stamina cost allows you to build statuses really quickly and dump points easily into other, more important, damage stats.
I particularly enjoy this with a frost AoW, the additional 20% damage from frostbitten enemies really shows when they’re assaulted by that many punches and kicks.
This weapon is great for;
- Sorcery or Incantation builds with the low stat investment
- Status builds really benefit from the fast punches and kicks
- Anyone who was a fan of the Sekiro monk tree
- Moving around enemies, a lot of attacks work best when coming off back steps or running.
Required Stats; 8 Strength and 8 Dexterity
How to Obtain; Defeat Dryleaf Dane, Scardu Altus
Rellana’s Twin Blades (Great)
Rellana ready to dish out some Carian justice
Rellana’s Twin blades are not to be confused with the twinblade weapon category. This is actually 2 different Light Greatswords, another new weapon type, that fight like a mix of the Greatsword moveset and Thrusting Swords powerstance.
This weapon comes with an inexplicably long attack combo which can easily see you take out 3 or 4 enemies without pause and the Ash of War gives you 2 different moves based on your attack input, whether that be a series of magic infused slashes with directional waves similar to the legendary Dark Moon Greatsword, or a fire whirlwind that is excellent at dealing with big bosses. The damage is split 3 ways, and 4 different stats, through which can be both a blessing and a curse.
This weapon is great for;
- Quality builds that want to utilise some magic and fire damage, the swings scale off both Str and Dex
- Int/Fth builds that want to have a bit more melee capability. The AoW scales off Int and Fth respectively for the magic and fire attacks
- Sword of Night and Flame users - this is a direct upgrade
- Shield users that want to easily have a powerstance option without having to switch weapons. Paired weapons immediately powerstance when you 2 hand them
Required Stats; 13 Strength, 16 Dexterity, 16 Intelligence and 16 Faith
How to Obtain; Use Rellana, Twin Moon Knight’s Remembrance in Roundtable Hold
Smithscript Greathammer (Best)
Straight outta Valhalla
Strike damage has always been king in Elden Ring, not many enemy types are particularly resistant to it and it’s great at poise damage. Now take the Greathammer’s one weakness and literally throw it out the window. Yep, ranged unga bunga!
Like all Smithscript weapons in the DLC, this greathammer allows you to throw it with your heavies.On a run this comes out lightning fast allowing you to start chipping away at that poise whilst running into the fray. But when standing you become a champion hammer thrower, slowly winding up a spin before letting loose, this whole move counts as an attack easily racking up big damage and leaving you with that sweet stance break.
This weapon is great for;
- Strength builds that want some quick range without investing in Greatbows
- Turning your charge attacks into high damage nukes, almost a 2nd AoW
- Making you deadly at any range
- Dumping all your stats into Strength, giving you free reign to spread out your utility stats in Vigor, Mind and Stamina
Required Stats; 20 Strength, 10 Dexterity, 11 Intelligence and 11 Faith
How to Obtain; Taylew’s Ruined Forge, Scardu Altus
Backhand Blade (Good)
Effortless, sleek, timeless…the blades of a pro
This weapon is on the list for it’s ease of access. If someone were to help you defeat Mohg, which you can do after you’ve killed 1 Demi-God, you can grab this new weapon type 90 seconds into the Land of Shadows and never have to encounter an enemy.
The Backhand Blade, the weapon AND the weapon type, is a pair of fast hitting blades. It’s Ash of War being akin to Quickstep with an extra damage element to it. It’s not the best but you’re never going to be unhappy at the work it puts in.
This weapon is great for;
- Pure Dexterity builds
- Powerstancing whilst keeping that weight down to maximise items like Dancers Blue Cloth
- Blending the utility of Quickstep with direct attacks
- Status builds, particularly poison or the new Scarlet Rot AoW
Required Stats; 10 Strength and 13 Dexterity
How to Obtain; Gravesite Plain
Euporia (Great)
No, it’s not Euphoria…but it is euphoric
For the eagle-eyed readers you may recognise this model as the leaked Godwyn/Miquella twinblade in the base game, it’s been slightly changed and now drops from the last area of the DLC. I won’t put spoilers here but you’ve been warned. I’d also recommend watching the video because this one is hard to get by yourself.
Euporia suffers from the Holy damage and Twinblade moveset, unfortunately a lot of enemies in the lategame (both base and DLC) have high resistance or straight up immunity. For enemies that aren’t resistant though, be warned. Not only does the weapon hit hard but the Ash of War; Euporia Vortex. Each kill made with this weapon increases its “luster” of the blades and at each level, capping at 2 obviously, it does more base damage and increases the moveset of the AoW. At Level 0 you have a move similar to Renalla’s spinning weapon attack, at level 1 you get to fire holy laserbeams and at level 2 it's a small Comet Azur…and hits just as hard
This weapon is great for;
- People who love the twinblade moveset
- Any Faith users jealous of Comet Azur
- Faith users who want a strong melee weapon without putting points into Str or Dex
- Using the tiered AoW to mix up gameplay without changing your weapon
- Seal of the Crusade users. Every kill will make you stronger AND your weapon stronger
Required Stats; 16 Strength, 16 Dexterity and 24 Faith
How to Obtain; Enir-Ilim
Star-Lined Sword (Best)
Believe it or not, this is a katana
This is the Moonveil she tells you not to worry about. Anyone who has completed Belurat Gaol will understand the pain of facing this weapon, on the surface it performs like every other Katana, a strong moveset and inherent bleed buildup.
Where this weapon truly shines is in it’s Ash of War; Onze’s Line of Stars. The blade extends with tiny glintstone and launches you into an assault of swings, slashes and jumps which culminate in a teleporting attack above your enemies head.
This weapon is great for;
- Dexterity and intelligence builds, the weapons swings will scale with Dex and the AoW with Int respectively.
- Intelligence users that want to be a bit more melee focused, the AoW isn't FP intensive but you’re going to want to use it…a lot.
People wanting a direct upgrade to Moonveil, especially since it’s recent nerf
Required Stats; 10 Strength, 23 Dexterity and 21 Intelligence
How to Obtain; Defeat Demi-Human Queen Marigga, Charo’s Hidden Grave
Rabbath’s Cannon (Good)
There’s something much better than a Memory Stone at the top of this tower
I’d never recommend building around this weapon but it’s a fantastic addition for Strength users who want some ranged attacks. This Ballista takes the Jar Cannon, makes the explosion deal magic on top of its hefty physical damage numbers, oh, and the “arrows” home in on their target.
There’s not much to say about this, it’s a giant magic cannon. You aim it at something and that thing dies, the explosion also knocks enemies down which also works in PvP, just incase you were fighting near a cliff…
This weapon is great for;
- Strength builds who want some boom
- Jar Cannon users wanting that direct upgrade
- PvP players
Required Stats; 28 Strength and 16 Dexterity
How to Obtain; Rabbath’s Rise, Scardu Altus
Staff of the Great Beyond (Great)
It might not be much to look at but it does it’s job
A Glintstone Stave that allows you to cast both sorceries and incantations. Whilst most staves and seals focus on increasing the damage of a specific school, this stave allows you to cast everything at an ok level.
The utility brought on by this build is fantastic, mixed stat staves and seals like the Prince of Death and Golden Order Seal will slightly outperform this but you also need to constantly make sure your weapon type is matching your spell type. So whilst you may not get the biggest numbers, you can get some interesting combos; I like Ruin of Stars into a Giantsflame
This weapon is great for;
- Buffs, Heals, Dragon magic AND Glintstone all at once
- Combining with a shield due to the AoW: No Skill. Meaning you can still parry
- Inventive players who want to try some interesting combos, it's almost limitless… well, limited by your FP
Required Stats; 7 Strength, 25 Intelligence and 25 Faith
How to Obtain; Use Remembrance of the Mother of Fingers in Roundtable Hold
Spear of the Impaler (Best)
The Iconic spear and boss of the DLC is surprisingly not that far into the game
So you have the pretty good moveset, the ability to attack whilst your shield is up and then throw your weapon to attack enemies from afar. It seems to cover all bases right? Oh, and the Ash of War is a close to mid range barrage of pokes and sweeps that then explodes and then has a delayed AOE attack and then you get a pony! Ok, so I was kidding about that last part, but you can throw the weapon from Torrent’s back which instantly makes it better than every other Smithscript weapon in the game.
This weapon is great for;
- Fth and Dex builds wanting to make the most out of all the new fire incantations
- Defensive builds that want to bring in big bursts of damage
- PvP with Vyke’s War Spear
- Quick ranged damage from Torrent without spells
Required Stats; 14 Strength, 35 Dexterity and 18 Faith
How to Obtain; Use Mesmer the Impaler’s Remembrance at the Roundtable Hold
