The release of Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition is the perfect excuse to jump back into the Lands Between, roll up a fresh playthrough, and finally topple every boss on your list. Patch 1.17 arrived alongside the Tarnished Pack DLC and the Switch 2 version of the game, delivering seven brand-new armaments plus a fat batch of balance tweaks that reshuffle the PvE meta from top to bottom. If you're wondering which weapons hit hardest, feel the best in the hand, and lend themselves to the strongest builds after all this dust settles, this ranked guide is for you. What follows is a PvE-focused personal top 25 list, ordered from the bottom up to #1, with a star rating for each pick's key performance factors, and yes, every new Tarnished weapon has been slotted into the ranking where it belongs.
Before jumping straight into the numbered picks, it helps to get a quick lay of the land on what's actually new and what changed in 1.17.
Elden Ring Weapon Tier List 2026 - Top 20+ Best Weapons in 1.17 Tarnished Edition
The Tarnished Pack ships seven brand-new armaments into the Lands Between. Five of them are infusible smithing-based weapons and the other two are unique somber-scaling picks. The infusible five are the Reverse-Bladed Sword (an infusible backhand blade), the Idus Sword (a light greatsword), the Ritual Thrusting Shield, the Reed Great Katana, and the Hefty Scimitar (curved greatsword category). The two somber weapons are Leontiel's Greatsword and the Golden Order Flail. On top of that, a new medium shield called the Silver Grooved Shield was added, the lightest 100% physical-block shield in the game. All of these can be picked up fairly early, which is a nice touch, though most of the infusible five function as early-game equivalents of DLC weapons you'll want to swap into later.
On the balance side, 1.17 hands out buffs to Smithscript Dagger, Rellana's Twin Blades, Smithscript Axe and Spear, Spear of the Impaler, Smithscript Greathammer, Golem Fist, the whole family of Perfume Bottles, the Carian Sorcery Sword, a long list of greatshields (guard boost up, weight down), and the Haligtree Crest Greatshield (lighter now). Sorcery-wise, Founding Rain of Stars, Carian Retaliation, and Meteorite improved, while incantations like O, Flame!, Rain of Fire, and Feather of the Divine Bird got stronger. On the nerf side, Rakshasa's Great Katana caught a targeted PvP hit plus a right-hand cooldown after off-hand attacks, and Gravitational Missile got dialed back. With the housekeeping done, here is the ranked list starting from the bottom.
27. Ritual Thrusting Shield (New)
The base-game thrusting shield of the Tarnished Pack. Unfortunately it's a strictly worse version of the Dueling Shield you find in Shadow Keep, lower damage on every infusion, lower guarded damage negation, and lower guard boost. Since the whole point of a thrusting shield is being able to block and attack at the same time, those defensive stats matter more than the offense. Perfectly serviceable as an R1 spammer with decent stagger and stance damage, but it won't feel as cheesy as the Carian Thrusting Shield. Once you get to the DLC and equip Deflecting Hardtear, this style truly comes online - until then, this is a fine placeholder.
Damage: ★★★☆☆
Guard Boost: ★★★☆☆
R1 Spam Utility: ★★★★☆
Availability: ★★★★★
26. Hefty Scimitar (New)
The only infusible curved greatsword you can grab in the base game without farming. It comes free from the Heavy Knight starting class or from the Nomadic Merchant in Limgrave. The bad news: it has some of the worst range of any infusible curved greatsword and the lowest damage on every infusion except Heavy (where it edges out the Dismounter). Curved greatswords in general get outclassed by regular greatswords because of slower move sets and fewer skill options. Still, if you want to power-stance curved greatswords without farming and don't want to lean on Bloodhound's Fang, this is a fine pick.
Damage: ★★★☆☆
Range: ★★★☆☆
Availability: ★★★★★
Power-Stance Access: ★★★★☆
25. Idus Sword (New)
The second infusible light greatsword in the game, dropping in early Liurnia or included with the Idus Knight starting class. It has the same move set, model, and range as the Milady, just with higher base damage and worse scaling — better for level-one and early-game runs, then swap to Milady once you reach the DLC. The problem is that Wing Stance stays locked behind the DLC, so Idus never quite reaches its ceiling. Even so, the light greatsword heavy attack synergizes with multi-hit talismans and doubles as your guard-counter animation, opening the door to a charged-heavy/guard-counter hybrid build.
Early-Game Power: ★★★★☆
Move Set: ★★★★☆
Late-Game Scaling: ★★☆☆☆
Weapon Skill Options: ★★★☆☆
24. Great Stars
A fantastic mid-game one-hander hammer that's surprisingly light for its range, which matters a lot when you plan to power-stance two of them. It brings free bleed build-up, and even with zero arcane investment those procs land regularly. Two-handing works fine, but power-stanced jump attacks are king — great damage, big stagger, and constant bleed procs.
Damage: ★★★★☆
Bleed Build-Up: ★★★★☆
Move Set: ★★★★☆
Versatility: ★★★★☆
23. Euporia
Still one of the coolest weapons in the game. This twinblade builds up a holy luster as you attack and then spits out a wide holy beam once fully charged. Patch 1.13 reduced the hits needed to restore luster, extended the duration, and pumped up the holy damage while active. Running heavies and charged heavies are your bread-and-butter to fill the meter fast, then you dump the beam up close for maximum value. Slower and two-hander-locked, but for high-faith builds it's one of the better picks in the game.
Faith Scaling Payoff: ★★★★★
Damage Output: ★★★★☆
Mobility: ★★☆☆☆
Style Points: ★★★★★
22. Claws of Night
One of the better claw options in a competitive weapon category. Their blades are semi-corporeal, so they can't be fully guarded against. Light-attack combos and running attacks have surprising reach for claws, and the innate bleed passive rewards classic light spam. The Ash of War Scattershot Throw is a shotgun-style cone that dumps massive burst and bleed build-up at close range. A top-tier claw pick.
Damage: ★★★★☆
Bleed Build-Up: ★★★★☆
Range: ★★★★☆
Guard-Piercing Trait: ★★★★★
21. Reed Great Katana (New)
Acquired in the Dragon Barrow just north of Fort Faroth. Like the other new infusible weapons, it's the early-game counterpart to the DLC's Great Katana with higher base damage and slightly worse scaling. Where it earns its slot is elemental infusions: because of that higher base damage, the Reed Great Katana actually out-damages the regular Great Katana with Flame Art, Sacred, Cold, and Magic infusions. That makes it the go-to great katana for INT or FTH builds. You lose a little range and add a unit of weight, but the trade-off is well worth it. It also makes curved greatswords look even more obsolete.
Damage (Elemental Infusions): ★★★★★
Bleed Build-Up: ★★★★☆
Range: ★★★☆☆
Move Set: ★★★★☆
20. Falx
A pair of curved swords you can power-stance while carrying only one weapon's weight, since they come as a duo. The familiar curved sword move set is here — jump attacks, running attacks, standing lights, but scaling isn't as clean as the two bleed kings we'll get to later. It makes the list purely on the Ash of War Avenger's Blade, which spams out a nasty attack string with disgusting DPS. A one-note pick, but that note is loud.
Weapon Art Damage: ★★★★★
Move Set: ★★★☆☆
Scaling: ★★★☆☆
Ease of Use: ★★★★☆
19. Reverse-Bladed Sword (New)
The only backhand blade you can grab in the base game — just purchase it at the Roundtable Hold. Same move set and range as the DLC backhand blades, with higher base damage and worse scaling. Better for early game, and better than the DLC backhand blades even at high levels if you're using a Cold infusion (which favors its strength/dex scaling). It's a paired weapon, so you only upgrade one and only bear one unit of weight, and weapon buffs like Blood Flame Blade apply to both hands. The catch is that infusing it costs you the Blind Spot skill, which is much of the reason to run backhand blades in the first place, so you'll have to sub in something like Spinning Slash or Flaming Strike.
Damage: ★★★★☆
Move Set: ★★★★☆
Weapon Skill Ceiling (post-infusion): ★★★☆☆
Convenience: ★★★★★
18. Backhand Blades
Super light, satisfying, and effective, you get two in one. Built-in bleed, fast attacks, and a unique dual-wielding move set with a nice consistent gap-closing step forward through the combo. The reason it makes the list is the Ash of War Blind Spot, which side-dashes with i-frames into a high-damage follow-up that hits especially hard as a counter. You can spam the weapon art all day, but the base move set feels good enough that you won't want to.
Weapon Art: ★★★★★
Move Set Feel: ★★★★★
Bleed Build-Up: ★★★★☆
DPS Ceiling: ★★★☆☆
17. Milady
The fan-favorite light greatsword, cool as hell, fast, and stylish. The base move set has issues, so what really matters is Wing Stance. The light-attack combo does impressive burst damage, but the heavy thrust is the real star: fantastic gap-closer, high initial damage, and absurd stagger build-up. You can chain light into heavy or heavy into light freely. To make it truly sing, you need Rellana's Cameo, hold the stance button through the attacks, keep the buff active, and the numbers pop off.
Weapon Art Damage: ★★★★★
Stagger Build-Up: ★★★★★
Move Set (base): ★★★☆☆
Setup Required: ★★☆☆☆
16. Bolt of Gransax
Not the god-tier weapon it used to be, but still a favorite. One-handed with a shield, two-handed, or power-stanced, the spear move set gives you long-range running attacks, quick light combos, and heavy pokes with big stagger. The Ash of War tosses a lightning-bolt version of the spear at range, and with the right talisman setup that alone can carry a fight.
Move Set: ★★★★☆
Ranged Ash of War: ★★★★★
Range: ★★★★★
Versatility: ★★★★☆
15. Nagakiba
Katanas remain one of the most flexible weapon types in the game — solid move set, good range, and options for bleed, occult, keen, or hybrid builds. Blood Flame Blade layers fire and extra bleed on top, and Ashes of War like Blood Blade or the wind shots give you a strong ranged threat. The Nagakiba earns the nod over the Uchigatana thanks to its extended reach and harder hits.
Range: ★★★★★
Bleed Build-Up: ★★★★☆
Build Flexibility: ★★★★★
Move Set: ★★★★☆
14. Bloodhound's Fang
Available ridiculously early and it never really falls off. The strength requirement is tiny, and once you have it, jump-attack spam alone will carry you deep into the mid-game. The weapon art — smack, hop back, dive in again for a big hit — pumps out stagger and damage in equal measure. An all-time classic that has ferried more playthroughs from start to finish than most weapons in the game.
Early-Game Power: ★★★★★
Move Set: ★★★★☆
Weapon Art: ★★★★★
Scaling into Late Game: ★★★★☆
13. Greatsword
The colossal sword, plain and simple. Absurd range on every swing, a versatile move set (AoE cleaves one-handed, huge single-target hits two-handed), and unbelievable jump-attack and crouch-poke potential. Because you can slap almost any Ash of War onto it — Lion's Claw, various Wind attacks, Lightning Slam, Stamp thrusts — it flexes into more builds than nearly any other strength weapon.
Damage per Hit: ★★★★★
Range: ★★★★★
Ash of War Flexibility: ★★★★★
Move Set: ★★★★☆
12. Marais Executioner's Sword
The classic corkscrew Ash of War spammer. Ignore it as a normal greatsword — there are better picks for that. It shines when you commit to Eochaid's Dancing Blade and build around consecutive-hit damage, scaling arcane alongside strength and dex to pump both magic and physical numbers. When you chain the skill, you chew through boss health bars comically fast, and the FP cost is low enough that you can keep spamming.
Weapon Art Damage: ★★★★★
FP Efficiency: ★★★★☆
Base Move Set: ★★★☆☆
Consecutive-Hit Payoff: ★★★★★
11. Sword of Night and Flame
Once arguably the best weapon in the game and still no slouch after its nerfs. The straight-sword move set pairs beautifully with a spellcaster setup, but you can also ignore spells entirely and build around pumping magic damage. Holding the stance gives you a fire AoE cleave for mobs and mobile bosses, or the Night Comet laser beam for pure single-target burst. It'll carry a whole playthrough.
Weapon Art Versatility: ★★★★★
Damage: ★★★★☆
Move Set: ★★★★☆
Build Synergy: ★★★★★
10. Mohgwyn's Sacred Spear
Some players rate this even higher. The great spear move set brings excellent range, strong running attacks, and heavy pokes with great stagger. The real draw is Bloodboon Ritual, a huge AoE spin around your character that racks up bleed procs. Landing it repeatedly in a boss fight is devastating, and once you activate it once, the spear gets a self-buff with fire damage and extra bleed that improves the entire move set.
Weapon Art Damage: ★★★★★
Bleed Build-Up: ★★★★★
Move Set: ★★★★☆
Range: ★★★★☆
9. Star Fist
Simple, effective, and murderous. Works with a strength focus or occult for arcane. The whole play style is: land charged heavies over and over. The damage is big, humanoid mini-staggers proc every hit, and stagger build-up is absurdly fast. Standing light combos are also solid for successive-hit bleed procs, and running attacks are strong too. One of the easiest hard-hitting picks in the game.
Charged Heavy Damage: ★★★★★
Stagger Speed: ★★★★★
Ease of Use: ★★★★★
Move Set Variety: ★★★★☆
8. Blood Fiend's Arm
The colossal weapon with innate bleed build-up. Set it up with bleed or occult and pump arcane, then two-hand it and just do charged heavies. The multi-slam combos hit like a truck, build stagger fast, and proc bleed regularly despite the slower nature of the weapon. Pair it with an Ash of War like Endure or Royal Knight's Resolve and each swing pops even harder.
Damage per Hit: ★★★★★
Bleed Build-Up: ★★★★★
Stagger Build-Up: ★★★★★
Speed: ★★★☆☆
7. Golden Order Flail (New)
The new somber weapon deserves a shout. It's unique enough in move set and mechanics to warrant its own dedicated coverage once the community has more playtime on it. Early impressions put it in the same "worth building around" conversation as Leontiel's Greatsword, so expect it to earn a firm spot on future revisions of this list.
Damage: ★★★★☆
Move Set Uniqueness: ★★★★★
Build Potential: ★★★★☆
Ease of Use: ★★★☆☆
6. Leontiel's Greatsword (New)
The spiritual successor to the Mirror's/Hollow Slayer Greatsword, dropped by the invader Leontiel near Radahn's arena. As a raw greatsword it's fine — Banished Knight Sword light attacks and Claymore-style thrusting heavies on a Keen infusion, but the reason it sits this high is the Ash of War, Muleta. This stance-based skill grants 14 i-frames on its opening pirouette (a normal dodge roll only gives 13), a light input that dashes left into a very quick strike, and a heavy input that dashes right into a slower, harder thrust with a follow-up. Fully charged versions get 270 motion values and 44 stance damage, bigger than a normal charged poking heavy.
Now pair it with Rellana's Cameo, the Shard of Alexander, and Godfrey Icon. The Cameo's 45% stance-skill buff persists through the follow-up input, so both hits of a charged combo benefit from the boost, and the numbers get absurd. The trade-off is that this weapon punishes greed hard — you cannot brain-off spam it, and every opening demands you choose between light input, heavy input, charge, or moveset attacks. High skill ceiling, huge payoff.
Weapon Art Damage: ★★★★★
Weapon Art Stagger: ★★★★★
Move Set: ★★★★☆
Ease of Use: ★★☆☆☆
5. Wing of Astel
A magic-scaling curved sword and one of the best intelligence weapons in the game. Whether you're one-handing it or power-stancing it alongside another Wing of Astel or a different curved sword, the base move set gives you great running and jump attacks. The real reason it's this high is Nebula, which fires a cosmic energy burst that pops for enormous stagger and multiple damage instances per cast. You can chain them quickly, and the DPS is stupid.
Ash of War Damage: ★★★★★
Stagger: ★★★★★
Sorcerer Synergy: ★★★★★
Move Set: ★★★★☆
4. Death's Poker
An INT weapon where the greatsword itself is basically irrelevant — you're here for the Ash of War. Press it for a little explosion, then follow up with a light or heavy. The light fires a line of ghostflame that sits on the ground and ticks huge damage as bosses walk through it. The heavy is a big AoE explosion with excellent knockback in PvE. Drop a ghostflame line under a boss, weave in incantations or basic swings, and you've built a very strong, very simple gameplay loop.
Ghostflame DoT: ★★★★★
Ash of War Flexibility: ★★★★☆
Base Move Set: ★★★☆☆
Simplicity of Play Loop: ★★★★★
3. Dark Moon Greatsword
Still absurdly strong for a high-intelligence build. Per-hit damage feels huge, especially after you activate the frost-magic buff. While buffed, heavies fire a fast magic projectile that you can tap or fully charge for enormous damage and stagger. Get close and you become a melee shotgun, hitting with both the blade and the projectile at once. Play at range for safe punishes, or stack multi-hit talismans for shotgunning. Frost procs ice up on top for extra damage and a debuff.
Damage per Hit: ★★★★★
Range Threat: ★★★★★
Frost Build-Up: ★★★★☆
INT Scaling: ★★★★★
2. Scavenger's / Bandit's Curved Sword
The bleed-focused curved sword duo. Grab two Scavenger's, two Bandit's, or one of each — Bandit's gives the highest raw output. Power-stance them and the goal is simple: pile on bleed build-up and successive hits as fast as physically possible. Power-stance running attacks and jump attacks are the best inputs. Successive-hit stacks, constant bleed procs, and the stagger from spammed jump attacks combine into a play style that has been broken since day one and still is. Officially tied with Dark Moon at #2 in my book.
Bleed Build-Up: ★★★★★
Successive-Hit Damage: ★★★★★
Stagger Build-Up: ★★★★★
Ease of Use: ★★★★★
1. Blasphemous Blade
No shock here. As you deal damage, it doles out physical and fire damage, both easily buffed with something like Flame, Grant Me Strength. The greatsword move set is easy to control, lands cleanly, and combos well with a shield, incantations, or almost any hybrid play style. The Ash of War, Taker's Flames, is a long fire line with huge damage and stagger that hits even harder at point-blank range, and can be spammed. On top of that, you get HP back on every kill for open-world exploration. Everything you could want stuffed into one weapon, and still one of the strongest picks in the entire game.
Weapon Art Damage: ★★★★★
HP Regen on Kill: ★★★★★
Move Set: ★★★★★
Build Flexibility: ★★★★★
