Elden Ring BEST Greatswords With Locations

What are Greatswords In Elden Ring?

Greatswords are one of the most balanced weapons in Elden Ring, similar to their Dark Souls 3 counterpart where they existed somewhere between straight swords and ultra greatswords (now known as Colossal Swords in Elden Ring). If you’re looking for a weapon that is neither as weak as a straight sword nor as slow as a colossal sword, then greatswords might be what you are searching for.

Comparison table for Greatswords;

No.	Name	FP Cost	Weight	Sell Price	Physical Attack	Physical Guard
1	Banished Knight’s Greatsword	5 (-8)	10	200	142	68
2	Knight’s Greatsword	5 (-8)	10	200	141	68
3	Flamberge	5 (-8)	10	100	129	69
4	Bastard Sword	5 (-8)	9	100	138	65
5	Blasphemous Blade	30	13.5	100	121	72
6	Sword of Milos	30	10	500	141	68
7	Ordovis’s Greatsword	15	12	1000	107	69
8	Gargoyle’s Greatsword	18	11.5	200	133	71
9	Lordsworn’s Greatsword	5 (-8)	9	100	136	65
10	Darkmoon Greatsword	32	10	1000	82	57
11	Golden Order Greatsword	20 (-20)	10	500	86	55
12	Claymore	20	9	100	138	65
13	Gargoyle’s Blackblade	20	11.5	200	102	60
14	Albaster’s Lord Sword	15	8	500	128	56
15	Mararis Executioner Sword	15	11.5	1000	94	68

Their base damage is usually greater than that of a straight sword due to their heavier design, which does come at the expense of mobility. So while you can squash smaller enemies in a swing or two, recklessly swinging around will leave you more vulnerable in comparison to straight swords.

However, you need not exercise such a high level of caution as is seen in the wielding of colossal swords, which are much slower in comparison while inflicting even higher damage numbers. Furthermore, colossal swords are mostly meant to be two-handed due to their increased weight and strength requirements, which makes sense when you think about the mechanic of two-handing, as it increases your strength by 50%, making it easier to meet these requirements early on.

However, this does leave you with little to no options when it comes to equipping a shield or catalyst on your off-hand – another reason why you should consider using a Elden Ring greatsword that rectifies this issue at the cost of damage.

Best Greatswords in Elden Ring

Another important characteristic of Greatswords is that resting in between straight swords and colossal weapons, allows them to harness an equally moderate level of poise. In terms of hyper armor, which you may be more familiar with, Greatswords come with more hyper armor than straight swords but less hyper armor than colossal swords, which nonetheless still puts them above more than half the weapons in the game. This means that you can freely exchange blows against all weapons in the game except colossal weapons and expect to come out on top!

Similarly, Greatswords are also reasonably simple to learn as their learning curve, while steeper than straight swords, is not as steep as colossal swords. This is why you can get away with a few reckless wings here and there, as its attack/swing speed is nowhere as slow as it is with colossal swords.

At this point, if you’re interested in wielding a Elden Ring greatsword, bear in mind that you will find several of them in the playthrough, each unique in its way, reigning from a different region in the vast world of the Lands Between. However, some will stand out from the rest and be crowned the best greatswords in Elden Ring.

Banished Knight’s Greatsword

Stat Requirement and Class Recommendation

The Banished Knight’s Greatsword serves as the first entry on my list of Elden Ring Best Greatswords, coming at you with a relatively achievable stat requirement of 17 strength and 9 dexterity. These stat requirements can be easily met by picking a suitable starting class. My recommendation would be to go for the Hero Class, which comes with 16 strength and 9 dexterity, naturally meeting 95% of the requirement.

All you need to do is level up strength one more time, and you’re good to go! However, if you’re not a fan of the Hero’s Battle Axe, you may opt for Vagabond instead, which comes with the epic Longsword and 14 strength and 13 dexterity, also taking care of much of the stat requirement.

Stat	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith
Requirement	17	9	–	–
Scaling	D	D	–	–

Upgrade and Build Affinity

The Banished Knight’s Greatsword comes with a natural scaling of D in both strength and dexterity, already giving off vibes of either a pure strength build, a pure dexterity build, or even a quality build. Furthermore, these scalings can be improved if you choose to trek down any of the three aforementioned build paths aside from smithing stone reinforcement.

Related: Elden Ring Carian Greatsword

For instance, standard ash of war infusions will grant a C-scaling in strength, keen ash of war infusions will grant a B-scaling in dexterity, while quality ash of war infusions will balance the two, giving you a B-scaling in both. Therefore, I would recommend running the Banished Knight’s Greatsword on a quality build as it is more affine to it. Lastly, in that case, going Vagabond would be better than Hero since it starts with similar attribute points in strength and dexterity.

Weapon Art and Location

The Banished Knight’s Greatsword naturally comes with the Stamp (Upward Cut) weapon art, which also naturally occurs on other weapons such as the Zweihander. Your player will plant their feet firmly in a low stance upon activation, tanking any incoming attack and trading it out with a powerful upward strike.

Costing around 5 FP, this is an excellent weapon art that can allow you to tough it out in most situations.

However, you can always replace it for something like Storm Blade amongst other standard/keen/quality ashes of war. Lastly, as you may have expected, this weapon drops from the Banished Knights, a common enemy you will encounter in Stormveil Castle, Cathedral of Dragon Communion, and Castle Sol – happy farming!

Knight’s Greatsword

Stat Requirement and Class Recommendation

The Knight’s Greatsword, from my findings so far, tops the foregoing Banished Knight’s Greatsword on my list of the Best Greatswords in Elden Ring. It is a far more versatile weapon and fiercely competes with the Banished armaments base physical damage (141 compared to 142). However, this comes at the cost of having slightly more weight, thus demanding 16 strength and 12 dexterity to wield with one hand properly. This time, however, I would recommend you to choose either Hero (16 strength and 9 dexterity) or Vagabond (14 strength and 13 dexterity) as both make meeting the Knight’s Greatsword’s requirements equally easy. Thus, their starting kit should be your only choice criteria.

Stat	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith
Requirements	16	12	–	–
Scaling	D	D	–	–

Upgrade and Build Affinity

The Knight’s Greatsword comes with a natural scaling of D in strength and dexterity, both of which can be improved through reinforcement and infusions. More specifically, at +25 smithing stone reinforcement, the Knight’s Greatsword can be best fitted onto pure dexterity and quality builds.

In that respect, it achieves a B scaling in dexterity when infused with anyone of the keen ashes of war and a B-scaling in both strength and dexterity when infused anyone of the quality ashes of war. Furthermore, it also has a much better affinity towards cold, poison, and blood ashes of war in comparison to the Banished Knight’s Greatsword, making it much more versatile.

Weapon Art and Location

Like the Banished Knight’s Greatsword, the Knight’s Greatsword comes with the Stamp (Upward Cut) weapon art, which also naturally occurs on other weapons such as the Lordswon’s Greatsword. Upon activation, your player will expend 5 FP to plant their feet firmly in a low stance, tanking any incoming attack and trading it out with a powerful upward strike.

However, if that’s not your style as far as weapon arts are confirmed, you have the option to choose from any standard, keen, or quality ash of war! Lastly, it is also a widespread drop as it drops from just about any enemy that qualifies as a knight, including Mausoleum Knights, Gold Dragon Cult Knights, Cuckoo Knights, and Banished Knights.

Flamberge

Stat Requirement and Class Recommendation

The Flamberge is one of the several weapons that FromSoftware decided to keep in Elden Ring from their past Dark Souls games. It is one of the few greatswords in Elden Ring that possess pierce damage, which is often associated with spears and halberds, being super effective against shielded or armored enemies.

Moreover, weighing in at 10.0 units, the Flamberge requires 15 strength and 14 dexterity to wield, a fairly reasonably investment. Hence, I would mainly recommend choosing Vagabond for this one as it comes with 14 strength and 13 dexterity, leaving you to allocate one attribute point to each.

Stat	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith
Requirement	15	14	–	–
Scaling	D	C	–	–

Upgrade and Build Affinity

The Flamberge comes with a natural scaling of D in strength and C in dexterity, which is fairly good consider its light stat requirement. These can furthermore be improved through reinforcement via Smithing Stones as well as infusions with various types of Ashes of War. This opens up the door to a diverse set of different builds, such as a bleed build by infusing with a blood ash of war, or a faith build by infusing with a sacred ash of war. My personal recommendation would be to go for a bleed build as bleed is very viable in this game, and the Flamberge naturally inflicts bleeding. Read more on this in Elden Ring Bleed Weapons.

Weapon Art and Location

The Flamberge, as is the case with most infusable greatswords on this list, comes with the Stamp (Upward Cut) weapon art. Upon activating, your player will spent around 5 FP to firmly take hold of a tight stance, tanking any incoming attacks before blowing away its enemies with a deadly vertical strike.

If you’re not a fan of such weapon arts, primarily due to how common and generic they are, you have the choice to change it with a wide variety of ashes of war, including blood-typed ones. Lastly, the Flamberge is obtained later in the middle of the game, in the Redmane Castle found in Caelid, the third continent you should explore in Elden Ring.

Bastard Sword

Stat Requirement and Class Recommendation

The Bastard Sword was widely used back in Dark Souls 3, and it makes its appearance once again in Elden Ring. Right off the bat, it makes a name for itself by being the lightest Elden Ring greatsword in its category, up there with the Claymore and the Lordsworn’s Greatsword.

Weighing in at just 9.0 units, it is no surprise that the Bastard Sword only requires its wielders to have 16 strength, and 10 dexterity. You can very quickly meet this requirement by choosing the Hero class at the beginning of the game, which comes in with 16 strength and 9 dexterity – from that point, all you need to do is level up dexterity once and you’re good to go!

Stat	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith
Requirement	16	10	–	–
Scaling	D	D	–	–

Upgrade and Build Affinity

The Bastard Sword, much like the Knight’s Greatsword, comes with a natural scaling of D in both strength and dexterity. Its scaling can be tuned to meet the demands of a wide variety of builds because it allows for infusions with ashes of war. For instance, it can achieve a solid affinity with intelligence and faith if infused with a magic or sacred ash of war. 

And rest assured, it can easily be fitted onto a strength, dexterity, or quality build if your playstyle leans towards those attributes. Let’s not forget that the Bastard Sword gets better over time when reinforced with Smithing Stones, which go up to +25. Just remember that Smithing Stones come in different forms and should match the current level of your Bastard Sword for reinforcement to take place successfully.

Weapon Art and Location

The Bastard Sword, much like the Knight’s Greatsword, comes with the Stamp (Upward Cut) weapon art. Upon activation, your player will tightly grip the Bastard Sword and assume a low stance, bracing for incoming attacks before returning the favor with a powerful upward strike.

This weapon art requires around 5 FP to execute, and if you’re not satisfied with its performance, remember that you can always switch it out for something else due to its compatibility with various ashes of war. Lastly, as far as its location is concerned, the Bastard Sword is easy to obtain as it can be purchased off the Nomadic Merchant located in east Weeping Peninsula for 3000 runes!

Blasphemous Blade

Stat Requirement and Class Recommendation

The Blasphemous Blade is the first greatsword on this list of Best Elden Ring Greatswords that poses a relatively heavy stat requirement, demanding you to not only have 22 strength and 15 dexterity, but 21 faith as well. This isn’t that bad in the long run, as this is a relatively late-game weapon.

Regardless, you can choose a wide variety of classes for this one, though I would recommend going either Prophet (11 strength, 10 dexterity, and 16 faith) or Confessor (12 strength, 12 dexterity, and 14 faith) if you prefer melee weapons over magic. Regardless, while this won’t make up for most of the requirement, it will put you at an excellent start where you can work towards wielding the Blasphemous Balde.

Stat	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith
Requirement	22	15	–	21
Scaling	D	D	–	D

Upgrade and Build Affinity

The Blasphemous Blade comes with a natural scaling of D in all three attributes, strength, dexterity, and faith, all of which can only be improved through reinforcement. As is the case with all boss/remembrance weapons, the Blasphemous Blade can be reinforced upto +10 with a Somber Smithing Stone. Keep in mind there are different levels to these stones, highlighted in parenthesis, which should be compatible with the current level of your weapon.

So, for example, you need Somber Smithing Stone [6] to upgrade the Blasphemous Blade from +6 to +7. Additionally, at +10 reinforcement, it achieves a C scaling in both dexterity and strength as well as a B scaling in faith, making it  a solid greatsword for incantation-users. More on this in our Elden Ring Faith Weapons.

Weapon Art and Location

The Blasphemous Blade comes with its very own weapon art known as Taker’s Flame, something that doesn’t exist in the form of ash of war. Upon activation, your player will raise the greatsword towards the sky, imbuing it with blasphemous flames that will fire a giant fireball – what’s more is that this fireball will drain the HP of anyone who is burnt by it.

In addition, on top of not supporting ash of war infusion, such a powerful weapon art naturally costs you 30 FP to use, so be sure to have one or two Flasks of Cerulean Tears on you at all times. Lastly, this weapon can be obtained from trading the Remembrance of the Blasphemous (obtained from beating Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy in Mt. Gelmir) with Enia at Roundtable Hold.

Also read this: Elden Ring Grafted Blade Greatsword

Sword of Milos

Stat Requirement and Class Recommendation

The Sword of Milos is one of the most unique looking weapons on this Elden Ring Best Greatswords list, featuring a pretty dark origin because it was literally carved out of a giant’s backbone. Moreover, it comes with a stat requirement of 15 strength and 19 dexterity, which is relatively easy to meet compared to other weapons on this list.

To make it even easier to achieve, I would recommend choosing either Vagabond (14 and 13 dexterity) or Warrior (10 and 16 dexterity) as your starting class as they cover half the requirements. From there, you should be able to meet this stat requirement by the time you clear out Limgrave.

Stat	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith
Requirement	15	19	–	–
Scaling	D	D	–	–

Upgrade and Build Affinity

The Sword of Milos comes with a natural stat requirement of D in both strength and dexterity where they can only be improved through reinforcement due to the fact that it doesn’t support ash of war infusions. This is a common trait that you will see in other more unique weapons on this list.

Furthermore, being a special weapon, the Sword of Milos also requires Somber Smithing Stones to upgrade – these are rare upgrade materials that can take your weapon up to +10. Do bear in mind that when upgrading, the tier of the Somber Smithing Stones must be compatible with the current level of the Sword of Milos. With that said, at +10 reinforcement, the Sword of Milos attains a C scaling in both strength and dexterity on top of 345 base physical damage.

Weapon Art and Location

It is no surprise that the Sword of Milos comes with its own unique weapon that is not found on any other weapon in the game known as Shriek of Milos. Upon activation, your player will use 30 FP to let out a terrifying scream that will curse all nearby enemies into having their damage negation and status resistances nerfed for a short time.

Anyone who is affected by this will become more vulnerable to all kinds of damage, both physical and auxiliary. Lastly, the Sword of Milos is obtained by killing the Dung Eater who is initially located at the Roundtable Hold. As violence is forbidden in the hold, you will need to progress through his questline to get him to reallocate to the Subterranean Shunning-Ground, where you will be able to attack him.

Ordovis’s Greatsword

Stat Requirement and Class Recommendation

The Ordovis’s Greatsword belongs to Crucible Knight Ordovis, one of the most honorable of all Crucible Knights you’ll encounter in the Lands Between. It demands anyone who wishes to wield it to invest 25 attribute points into strength, 13 attribute points into dexterity, and 15 attribute points into faith. This is a relatively heavy requirement for strength, which makes sense when you realize it weighs 12.0 units.

Hence, I would mainly recommend running Confessor as your starting class as it comes with 12 strength, 12 dexterity, and 14 faiths, making up for much of the stat requirements. Conversely, you can make do with Prophet (11 strength, 10 dexterity, and 16 faith) as well as Wretch (10 strength, 10 dexterity, and 10 faith).

Stat	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith
Requirement	25	13	–	15
Scaling	C	E	–	D

Upgrade and Build Affinity

The Ordovis’s Greatsword comes with a natural scaling of C in strength, E in dexterity and D in faith, already indicating towards some kind of a strength-faith hybrid build. Unfortunately, these scalings can only be improved through reinforcement via Somber Smithing Stones as the greatsword does not support ash of war infusion.

Moreover, at +10 reinforcement, it achieves a whopping A scaling in strength (the weapon on this list to achieve an A scaling) and a C scaling in faith while dexterity remains untouched. Keeping this in mind, you can easily fit it onto a pure strength build and get some amazing results, though I would recommend a strength-faith hybrid build for more flexibility.

Weapon Art and Location

The Ordovis’s Greatsword comes with its very own weapon art known as Ordovis’s Vortex, which is found on no other weapon on this list of the Best Greatswords in Elden Ring. Upon activation, your player will harness the power of the crucible itself to perform an overhead swing before bringing the greatsword down to unleash a ferocious slam. What’s more is that this skill is chargeable, meaning you can hold down L2/LT to charge it up, resulting in a delayed but more powerful execution. Lastly, the weapon itself is dropped from Crucible Knight Ordovis, who is encountered in Aurizia Hero’s Grave.

Gargoyle’s Greatsword

Stat Requirement and Class Recommendation

The Gargoyle’s Greatsword is a very ancient sword that has been passed down through several champions over the centuries and its half-rusted appearance goes to show that. Being a patchwork of legendary warriors, the greatsword comes with a stat requirement of 18 strength and 10 dexterity, which is ridiculously low compared to the slightly heavier Ordovis’s Greatsword.

Regardless of this oddity, the greatsword can be most quickly wielded if you choose the Hero class, which comes with 16 strength and 9 dexterity – all you need to do is invest two attribute points into strength and one into dexterity!

Stat	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith
Requirement	18	10	–	–
Scaling	B	E	–	–

Upgrade and Build Affinity

The Gargoyle’s Greatsword In Elden Ring comes with a natural scaling of B in strength and E in dexterity, standing out for having some of the best natural strength scaling I’ve seen in a good while. Furthermore, while the armament can not infused with ashes of war, limiting your options severely, you should be more than satisfied with it if you’re passionate about strength.

This is because at only +14 reinforcement with Smithing Stones, the Gargoyle’s Greatsword achieves an A scaling in strength, pumping out massive damage values. From this point onwards, the only reason you should upgrade it further upto +25 is if you want to increase its base physical damage.

Weapon Art and Location

The Gargoyle’s Greatsword, by default, features the Vacuum Slice weapon art, which while exists as an ash of war, only naturally occurs on this weapon. Upon activation, your player will raise the greatsword aloft, outlining it with a layer of literal vacuum before launching it towards the enemy in the form of a blade-like projectile.

Despite costing 18 FP to use, the weapon art has a decent range, which allows you to inflict damage from further optimal distances. You’ll come to experience this weapon art when you take on the Valiant Gargoyle in Siofra Aqeuduct, the optional boss which drops this magnificent weapon.

Lordsworn’s Greatsword

Stat Requirement and Class Recommendation

The Lordsworn’s Greatsword is a very common greatsword that you will find wielded by regular Godrick soldiers. However, much like the Lothric Knight Straight Sword from Dark Souls 3, do not underestimate its generic nature, for it ranks well up the Gargoyle’s Greatsword on my list of Elden Ring Best Greatswords.

It comes with a stat requirement of 16 strength, and 10 dexterity, a very light demand that we have not seen on this list for a while. If you couple the preference of choosing the Hero class (16 strength, and 9 dexterity) with the fact that this is the first greatsword you obtain in the game, you’ll be able to easily wield this bad boy within the first hour of any playthrough!

Stat	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith
Requirement	16	10	–	–
Scaling	D	D	–	–

Upgrade and Build Affinity

The Lordsworn’s Greatsword comes with a natural scaling of D in both strength and dexterity, which while arguably not as good as the Gargoyle’s Greatsword, does grant it much more flexibility. Furthermore, it earns a spot on my list because it allows for infusions with ashes of war, opening up many paths for build fitting.

For instance, you can go for a quality build by infusing it with any quality ash of war or go for a pure dexterity build by infusing it with any keen ash of war – the possibilities are endless! Let’s not also forget that this weapon can be reinforced upto +25 with Smithing Stones, being the only greatsword to achieve a critical modifier of 110!

Weapon Art and Location

The Lordsworn’s Greatsword comes with the Stamp (Upward Cut) weapon art, which may sound familiar to you from the Banished Knight’s Greatsword or the Knight’s Greatsword. Upon activation, your player will assume a tight, low stance, bracing and absorbing any incoming damage before retaliating with a powerful upward strike to send your enemies flying.

While this is a very self-sufficient weapon art, if it’s not your style, you can always switch it up for a standard, keen, or quality weapon art of your choosing. Lastly, as said before, the Lordsworn’s Greatsword is obtained very early in the game, more specifically from the chest embedded in a large black wagon found outside Gatefront Ruins.

Dark Moon Greatsword

Stat Requirement and Class Recommendation

The Dark Moon Greatsword is the closest weapon I’ve seen so far that resembles the OG Moonlight Greatsword from past soulsborne games. But before you think that’s why I’m putting it on my list of the Best Greatswords in Elden Ring, allow me to explain what exactly makes this weapon good. But before that, let’s look at its stat requirements which say that you must have 16 strength, 11 dexterity, and 38 faith to wield properly.

While that indicates that the weapon leans towards sorcerers who wish to use a synergized greatsword, you don’t necessarily need to opt for an intelligence-based starting class. You may choose any of the following based on preference: Hero, Vagabond, Astrologer, and Prisoner.

Stat	Strength	Dexterity	Faith	Intelligence
Requirement	16	11	38	–
Scaling	D	D	–	C

Upgrade and Build Affinity

As one may have expected, the Dark Moon Greatsword should have an especially good scaling in intelligence, which it does – it comes with a natural scaling of D in both strength and dexterity and C in intelligence. Additionally, being a unique weapon, one can also expect it only to support Somber Smithing Stone reinforcement, devoid of any capabilities to undergo Ashes of War infusions.

While that is correct, one must not underestimate the fact that it achieves 200 physical and 240 magic damage, which is something you’ll rarely see on greatswords. Moreover, the Dark Moon Greatswoord also retains its natural affinity with inflicting frost buildup, which coupled with relevant sorceries can make it a force to be reckoned with.

Weapon Art and Location

The Dark Moon Greatsword comes with the weapon art interestingly named Moonlight Greatsword. Costing 40 FP and being chargeable, activating it causes your player to subject it to the light of the dark moon which imbues it with increased magic attack and frost buildup. What’s more is that charged heavy attacks emit blade-like moonlight projectiles in this state, making it very similar to the OG Moonlight Greatsword.

Despite being a very good greatsword that competes for the top spot on my list of Best Elden Ring Greatswords, the only thing that stops it from reaching that point is how you obtain it. The Dark Moon Greatsword is found under the Catehdral of Manus Celes after giving Renna the Dark Moon Ring, which requires you to progress through Renna’s long, complex questline.

Golden Order Greatsword

Stat Requirement and Class Recommendation

The Golden Order Greatsword is one of the Best Greatswords in Elden Ring, and what makes it legendary is that it is imbued with the light of Elden Ring itself. It is a unique weapon, which, similar to the Flamberge I listed long ago, comes with pierce damage, making it particularly effective against armored opponents. Moreover, it comes with an interesting stat requirement of 16 strength, 21 dexterity, and 18 faith.

Thus, while you can go for any starting class of your choice, I would high recommend going for Confessor as it comes with 12 strength, 12 dexterity, and 14 faith.

Stat	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith
Requirement	16	21	–	18
Scaling	E	D	–	C

Upgrade and Build Affinity

The Golden Order Greatsword comes with a natural scaling of E in strength, D in dexterity, and C in faith, being one of the very few greatswords on this list of Elden Ring Best Greatswords that are outright bad on strength builds. However, let’s not forget that while it doesn’t allow for infusions, upgrading it to +10 with Somber Smithing Stones actually improves its faith scaling to B-tier.

Moreover, at +10 reinforcement, it also accomplishes a physical damage of 210 and a whopping holy damage of 252, making it undisputedly the best greatsword for incantation-users. Just don’t forget that when upgrading, the kind of Somber Smithing Stones you use should coincide with the current level of your Golden Order Greatsword.

Weapon Art and Location

The Golden Order Greatsword comes with its very own weapon art known as Establishing Order. Upon activation, your player will raise the greatsword towards the sky, invoking the power of the Elden Ring to release a golden explosion. Do note that repeated inputs will send out waves of golden light. Lastly, the Golden Order Greatsword is dropped from the Misbegotten Crusader boss found in the Cave of the Forlorn, a tough boss yielding an equally tough weapon!

Claymore

Stat Requirement and Class Recommendation

It is not a surprise to see the Claymore make its triumphant return in Elden Ring – it has been a fan favorite weapon for as long as I can remember, and no list of Elden Ring Best Greatswords is complete without it. The Claymore comes with a relatively taxing stat requirement compared to the preceding Banished Knight Greatsword, which is 16 strength and 13 dexterity.

Therefore, if you wish to meet these requirements as soon as possible, I would recommend going Vagabond as it comes with 14 strength and 13 dexterity. It already meets the dexterity requirement of the Claymore, and all you need to do is dump two more attribute points into strength!

Stat	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith
Requirement	16	13	–	–
Scaling	E	D	–	–

Upgrade and Build Affinity

The Claymore comes with a natural scaling of D in strength and dexterity, much like the previous Banshed Knight’s Greatsword. However, where it differs from the Banished armament is its versatility with regards to build fitting. While you can go for a pure strength, dexterity or quality build based on its natural scalings, you can also opt for an auxiliary build.

The Claymore, at +25, achieves a C-scaling in both strength and dexterity as well as a D scaling in arcane with both poison and bleed ashes of war. On the other hand, it achieves a C-scaling in both strength and intelligence and a D scaling in dexterity with cold ashes of war. You’ll rarely find such flexibility on any greatsword on this list of Elden Ring Best Greatswords.

Weapon Art and Location

The Claymore, being the unique greatsword that it is, also features its own weapon art, Lion’s Claw. Upon activation, your player, similar to the Redmanes of General Radahn will leap forward and slam down on your enemy, much like a somersault.

Although this weapon art exists as an ash of war, it only naturally occurs on the Claymore. This powerful weapon art costs 20 FP, and I would recommend against changing it. Last but not least, the Claymore can be obtained from Castle Morne in the south end of the Weeping Peninsula – you’ll find it in a chest in one of the northern buildings of the castle.

Gargoyle’s Blackblade

Stat Requirement and Class Recommendation

While the Gargoyle’s Blackbalde comes off as a reskin of the Gargoyle’s Greatsword, the rusty parts being readjusted to show a black discoloration, it is pretty different performance-wise. Firstly, while the two weigh the same (11.5 units), the Gargoyle’s Blackblade requires its wielders to come equipped with the same 18 strength, 10 dexterity but 22 faith as well.

Therefore, I recommend you go Prophet when you start the game as it comes with 11 strength, 10 dexterity, and 16 faith, giving you a strong headstart on the hefty faith requirement.

Stat	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith
Requirement	18	10	–	22
Scaling	D	E	–	D

Upgrade and Build Affinity

The Gargoyle’s Blackblade comes with a natural stat scaling of E in dexterity and D in both strength and faith, already hinting towards a strength-faith hybrid build similar to the Golden Order Greatsword. Furthermore, similar to the Golden Order Greatsword, it can only be reinforced upto +10 with Somber Smithing Stones, where the stones themselves should have the appropriate level to them.

Other than that, the Gargoyle’s Blackbalde is also unable to undergo any sort of infusions with any of the many ashes of war that are found in the game. However, similar to the Golden Order Greatsword, it must not be underestimated as at +10 reinforcement, it achieves not only a C scaling in strength and a D scaling in dexterity, but also goes from a base physical and holy damage of 102 and 122, respectively to 249 and 298.

While it is not as great as the Golden Order Greatsword, it can be used as the perfect replacement until incantation-users get their hands on it.

Weapon Art and Location

The Gargoyle’s Blackblade comes with the unique weapon art that is only found on it and does not exist in the form of ash of war: Corpse Wax Cutter. Upon activation, your player will raise the armament to the sky and call upon the power of the corpse wax to unleash a powerful blade-like projectile.

While this projectile itself doesn’t do nearly as much damage as other projectile-based weapon arts on this list of Elden Ring Best Greatswords, it is sufficient enough to exert control at range at the cost of 20 FP. Lastly, the Gargoyle’s Blackbalde is dropped from the Black Blade Kindred optional field boss that is found in both Caelid and Forbidden Lands. Also, take a look at Best Elden Ring Bosses to get more familiar.

Alabaster Lord’s Sword

Stat Requirement and Class Recommendation

The Alabaster Lord’s Sword is said to have been forged from blue meteoric ore and if you have the faintest idea of what meteorite is capable of, you’d appreciate its gravity-bending capabilities. Its magical origin closely ties in with why it is one of the Best Greatswords in Elden Ring. Regardless, the greatsword comes with a stat requirement of 16 strength, 12 dexterity and 18 intelligence.

Therefore, I would recommend running Prisoner as your starting class as it comes with 11 strength, 14 dexterity and 14 intelligence, although Astrologer, which comes with 8 strength, 12 dexterity, and 16 intelligence would work too.

Stat	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith
Requirement	16	12	18	–
Scaling	D	E	D	–

Upgrade and Build Affinity

The Alabaster Lord’s Sword comes with a natural scaling of D in both strength and intelligence and E in dexterity, already giving off vibes of a strength-magic hybrid build. Furthermore, it cannot be infused with any of the many ashes of war present in Elden Ring, really limiting your options as far as build-fitting is concerned.

However, on the bright side, its scalability can still be improved through unique reinforcement via Somber Smithing Stones. Just don’t forget to look at the tier of stone you have specified in the item name – it must match the Alabaster Lord’s Sword’s current level!

Weapon Art and Location

The Alabaster Lord’s Sword comes with a unique weapon art which you may have already guessed to be gravity-manipulative. It is known as Alabaster Lords’ Pull, where your player will shove the greatsword into the ground, expending 15 FP to create a gravitational field that will pull in nearby enemies, inflicting solid damage in the process.

Lastly, the greatsword itself is a little tedious to locate as it is dropped from an enemy found in the underground section of the Lake of Rot. You must lift the platforms to reach the enemy’s area, upon killing which the Alabaster Lord’s Sword will be dropped (refer to the video).

Mararis Executioner’s Sword

Stat Requirement and Class Recommendation

We finally arrive at what is undisputedly the best greatsword to have been discovered in Elden Ring thus far – the Marais Executioner’s Sword, one of the legendary armaments. Furthermore, it is the only greatsword on this list of Elden Ring Best Greatswords that actually features arcane as a stat requirement. Overall, it demands its wielders to approach it with 24 strength, 14 dexterity, and 23 arcane in order to properly use.

Therefore, I recommend Wretch as your starting class in Elden Ring because it starts with 10 strength, 10 dexterity, and 10 arcane, a solid headstart. But if you’re not a fan of the Wretch’s starting kit, you may opt for Bandit instead as it is the second-best class to use in this regard (9 strength, 13 dexterity, and 14 arcane).

Upgrade and Build Affinity

The Marais Executioner’s Sword comes with a natural scaling of C in strength, E in dexterity, and D in arcane, something you will only witness on this specific weapon in the greatsword class. Moreover, these scalings can only be improved through reinforcement via Somber Smithing Stones which upgrade their corresponding weapons to up to +10. Unfortunately, this is the only upgradability that this greatsword is capable of as it does not allow for any ash of war to be infused with it, lacking in versatility.

However, on the bright side, it achieves some pretty high physical and magic damage values at +10 as well as a decent scaling in strength and arcane, meaning you can fit it onto a pure strength or a strength-arcane hybrid build, the first and last this list will ever see.

Weapon Art and Location

The Marais Executioner’s Sword comes with a one-of-a-kind weapon art known as Eochaid’s Dancing Blade, which only costs 15 FP to activate. Your player will imbue the greatsword with magical energy upon activation before flinging it towards your enemy, inflicting consistent damage in a spinning motion.

What’s more is that this weapon art is chargeable, meaning that if you hold down L2/LT before flinging, the attack will have additional reach and duration. Lastly, the Marais Executioner’s Sword is dropped from Elemer of the Briar, a Great Enemy tier optional boss that is found in the Shaded Castle Inner Gate. While it is a tough foe to beat, its reward makes it absolutely worth it, no doubt!