The fist weapon is the most overlooked class of weapons in Elden Ring because of their size and their lower damage. From the outside, this definitely seems like the case when you see that most of the weapons barely reach over 200 base damage when fully upgraded. However, when looking closer at these weapons and dedicating yourself to them, these weapons can actually be some of the most useful weapons in the game. Due to the dual wield function of most fist weapons, the damage is actually doubled when two-handing fist weapons. With the correct talismans, ashes of war, and magic buffs you can achieve damage comparable to or even greater than greatswords. Combined with the staggering potential, quick speed, and passive effects of some of these weapons, it’s surprising that the fist weapons haven’t received more attention. With that said join me as we look through the top nine fist weapons of Elden Ring.
9. Katar (best used as a dex/arcane build)
Katar is a bladed fist weapon that can be found early on in Fort Gael at the western edge of Caelid. The Katar is a very viable weapon in terms of stats, and it canbe infused with your preferred ash of war. Depending on the ash of war you use and how you upgrade the weapon, the Katar can scale a B in either strength, dexterity, or arcane. Thiswill help you incorporate the Katar into whatever build you’re trying to create.
I would recommend this weapon to players due to its versatility and the fact that it can be found quite early on. However, other weapons on this list will offer more benefits in terms of passive affects/abilities.
What's good about Katar
- Can be infused with the player’s preferred ash of war
How to get the Katar
- Head to the western Caelid and make your way to Fort Gael
- Make your way up to the top section of the Fort (above the Lion)
- Drop down onto a stone platform also above the Lion and you’ll find a room with a treasure chest
- Open the treasure chest to get the Katar
Full details on Katar: Elden Ring Wiki
8. Clinging Bone (best used as a dex/arcane build)
The Clinging Bone is a powerful fist weapon with a few unique traits that allow it to stand out even among the other powerful fist weapons. Unfortunately, this weapon can’t be infused with ashes of war. Additionally, the damage on this weapon is a bit less than most other fist weapons.
The shining grace of this weapon however is its (C) scaling in arcane, its (B) scaling in dexterity, and its special ability. The special ability is called “Lifesteal Fist” which does exactly what you’d expect. The ability allows you to stab a human-sized opponent, rendering them unconscious and regening 30% of your max HP. This weapon is a nice one to keep on you because it’s an easy way to gain HP and it weighs next to nothing. However,I recommend having another weapon that deals more reliable damage as your main weapon..
What's good about the Clinging Bone
- Comes with the skill “Lifesteal Fist” which stabs an opponent and gives the player 30% of their max HP back
How to get the Clinging Bone
- After obtaining the Haligtree Secret Medallion (Right) head to the round table
- You’ll be invaded by Ensha of the Royal Remains
- Kill Ensha and you’ll get the Clinging Bone
Full details on the Clinging Bone: Elden Ring Wiki
7. Grafted Dragon (best used as dex/arcane build)
The grafted dragon is a weapon that players can attain very early on after beating Godrich the Grafted. Despite its cool design, and the idea of having a dragon attached to your arms, this weapon was a bit of a letdown. Its damage feels significantly less than other fist weapons and the scaling isn't too good with strength only reaching (C).
The one saving grace of this weapon is the special ability called “Bear Witness” in which you’ll hit your target with a blast of fire while shooting fireballs into the air. Your target will be damaged by your initial blast, the fireballs, and then from the lingering fire on the ground. This move is very powerful and can do some pretty big damage to bosses compared to the other fist weapons.
Unfortunately, the move is a bit slow on the wind-up. Additionally, most of the damage comes from the initial blast which means you’ll have to be up close and personal when delivering your special move to bosses, which could cost you your life. Overall this weapon is more trouble than it's worth, which is unfortunate because it does look so cool having dragons for hands.
However, if you can perfect the use of “Bear Witness” then you’ll be able to take out bosses in 4-5 shots, which is pretty useful.
What's good about the Grafted Dragon
- Comes with the skill “Bear Witness” which allows the player to unleash a barrage of fireballs after unleashing an initial blast of fire at close range (fireballs leave lingering fire on the ground)
- Deals 10% damage to dragons
- Deals 5% damage to ancient dragons
How to get the Grafted Dragon
- Defeat Godrick the Grafted to get his remembrance
- Trade in Godrick’s remembrance for the Grafted Dragon
Full details on the Grafted Dragon: Elden Ring Wiki
6. Veteran’s Prosthesis (best used as strength build)
The Veteran’s Prosthesis is a bladed fist weapon that can be found late game in Castle Sol. This weapon can’t be infused with any ashes of war because it comes with the skill “Stormkick”. This skill allows you to create a storm around yourself and then launch into a lightning-infused jump attack. This skill is a bit hard to use due to its small AoE range, and the fact that you’ll have to judge the distance for the jumping attack.
On the bright side, this skill is quite powerful so it can deal a lot of damage to high-level enemies. Besides the skill, the running R1 and the backstep R1 moves have some really good range that will keep you out of danger before you launch your attack. Overall this weapon has a good skill and good basic moves that can deal some solid damage.
What's good about the Veteran’s Prosthesis
- Comes with the skill “Stormkick” which allows the player to stab the Prosthesis into the ground causing a storm around the player, an additional input will make the player perform a lightning-infused jump attack
How to get the Veteran’s Prosthesis
- Make your way to Castle Sol in the Mountain Tops of the Giants
- Kill Captain Niall to receive the Veteran’s Prosthesis
Full details on the Veteran’s Prosthesis: Elden Ring Wiki
5. Cipher Pata (best used as a faith build)
The Cipher Pata is the perfect fist weapon for any faith builds out there looking for a good fist weapon. The Cipher Pata scales exclusively in faith and reaches an (A) scaling when fully upgraded. Unfortunately, this makes it only effective for faith-based players because your other stats won’t have any effect on the damage of this weapon.
The Cipher Pata comes with the skill “Unblockable Blade” which will propel you forward to deliver a thrusting attack that cannot be blocked by shields. This is a very helpful skill when dealing with pesky knights or even in PvP if your attacker is hiding behind their shield. Additionally, the Cipher Pata is a very fast swinging fist weapon that can quickly cut down your basic enemies.
Overall this weapon is super deadly and effective in the hands of a dedicated faith build. Outside of faith builds it’s completely useless.
What's good about the Cipher Pata
- Scales an (A) in faith
- Comes with the skill “Unblockable Blade” which allows the player to perform a long range thrust that can’t be blocked by shields
How to get the Cipher Pata
- Head to the Roundtable and head straight to the Balcony overlooking a large room
- Jump off the balcony and you’ll see a room off to the left
- Head into the room to loot the Cipher Pata off a corpse
Full details on the Cipher Pata: Elden Ring Wiki
4. Caestus (best used with a strength build)
The Caestus is an iconic weapon that has made an appearance in many of the Dark Souls games. In previous games, the Caestus was not a very strong weapon in terms of damage, and many players couldn’t find a good use for it. In Elden Ring, the Caestus is once again a weaker weapon than most, but it does have some advantages that make it a useful weapon for players.
For one this weapon can be infused with your preferred ash of war. However, the main reason this weapon is a viable option is because of its strong R2 charged combo attack. The charged R2 attack combo on the Caestus can stun most enemies, including bosses and giant enemies like stone golems, in one or two combos. This is a major advantage that can help you land powerful visceral attacks on stunned enemies.
I would recommend adding this weapon to your arsenal as a secondary weapon. Once you use the Caestus to stun the enemy then you can switch to your main weapon for incredible damage in your visceral attacks.
What's good about the Caestus
- Can be infused with the player’s preferred ash of war
- Charged R2 attacks can stun most enemies in one or two attempts
- Can scale (A) in strength when upgraded as a heavy weapon
How to get the Caestus
- Can be purchased from Gatekeeper Gostoc before killing Godrick after exhausting his dialogue
- Can be bought after beating Godrick and talking to Gostoc at the boss room
Full details on the Caestus: Elden Ring Wiki
3. Iron Ball (best used as a strength build)
The Iron Ball is one of the simplest yet most hard-hitting weapons in the game as you are simply bashing your opponent's head in with a lump of iron on your fists. This weapon is similar to many of the other fist weapons with the ability to switch out the ash of war and heavy R2 attacks that will quickly stun enemies.
However, this weapon deviated from the norm with its ash of war called “Braggart’s Roar”. This skill increases your attack power, defense, and stamina recovery. It will also turn heavy attacks into double blows/running attacks making this weapon even more lethal.
Overall, this weapon is another solid choice in the fist category, and with its unique skill, it’s able to dish out damage at a faster rate than many of the other fist weapons in the game.
What's good about the Iron Ball
- Causes blood loss build-up
- Comes with the skill “Braggart’s Roar” which increases attack power, defense, stamina recovery speed, and it also changes heavy attacks to double blows/charge attacks
- Can be infused with the player’s preferred ash of war
How to get the Iron Ball
- Dropped by Blackguard Big Boggart in Liurnia of the Lakes
Full details on the Iron Ball: Elden Ring Wiki
2. Spiked Caestus (best used as a strength build)
If you liked the Caestus then you’ll love the Spiked Caestus as it’s essentially the same thing. The main difference between the two weapons is the fact that the Spiked Caestus naturally causes blood loss. This weapon can still be infused with your preferred ash of war while keeping its intrinsic blood loss build-up.
The Spiked Caestus retains the powerful R2 attacks of the regular Caestus and the (A) scaling in strength. Overall if you’re deciding between the Spiked Caestus and the regular Caestus, I highly recommend you choose the Spiked Caestus. The only negative difference between the two is the weight with the Spiked Caestus weighing 0.5 more than the regular Caestus.
What's good about the Spiked Caestus
- Can be infused with player’s preferred ash of war
- Charged R2 attacks can stun most enemies in one or two attempts
- Can scale (A) in strength when upgraded as a heavy weapon
- Comes with a passive blood loss build-up
How to get the Spiked Caestus
- Sold by the Isolated Merchant Shack in Dragonbarrow
Full details on the Spiked Caestus: Elden RIng Wiki
1. Starfist (best used as strength build)
The Starfists are much like the Spiked Caestus in both its R2 staggering ability and its passive bloodloss build-up. This weapon can also be infused with your preferred ash of war while retaining its passive blood loss much like the Spiked Caestus. The main difference between the Starfist and the Spiked Caestus is that the Starfist deals a bit more damage.
There are a lot of ashes of war that can make this weapon unstoppable, but I recommend the beast roar so that you can also have a ranged attack. Then boosting the Starfist with magic (blood flame is what I’d use) will add a passive effect which will further increase the power of this weapon. This combination will make the Starfist super powerful at close range and far range.
If you fully commit yourself to a fist build, then the Starfists can be a powerful close-quarters and ranged weapon that shreds through enemies.
What's good about the Starfist
- Can be infused with the player’s preferred ash of war
- Charged R2 attacks can stun most enemies in one or two attempts
- Comes with a passive blood loss build-up
- Can scale (A) in strength when upgraded as a heavy weapon
How to get the Starfist
- Found on the left side of the Colosseum near the West Capital Rampart site of grace
Full details on the Starfist: Elden Ring Wiki
You may also be interested in:
- Elden Ring Best Weapons for Dual Wield
- Elden Ring Best Shields and How To Get Them
- Elden Ring Best Keepsakes and How To Get Them
- Elden Ring Best Dex Weapons
- Elden Ring Best Bleed Weapons
