With over 400 weapons scattered across the Lands Between and the Realm of Shadow, Elden Ring continues to offer one of the deepest arsenals of any Soulsborne title. Choosing the right armament can single-handedly change how the game feels, and after years of patches, DLC additions, and community testing, the meta has settled into a clear hierarchy for both PvE and PvP play. With this Elden Ring Weapon Tier List, we compile the top-performing weapons for both modes in 2026, ranking each based on damage output, move set quality, weapon skill efficiency, and versatility.
Elden Ring Weapon Tier List 2026 (PvE & PvP)
Following the release of Shadow of the Erdtree, which added 103 new weapons on top of the base game's 300, the weapon meta has become both richer and more competitive. Colossal swords, katanas, and colossal weapons still dominate PvE thanks to their raw damage and skill spam potential, while the DLC introduced new categories like light greatswords, thrusting shields, and backhand blades that have reshaped duel and invasion play entirely. Passive bleed, projectile heavy attacks, and hyper armor remain the defining traits of top-tier picks, and weapons that combine multiple of these features consistently top every ranking. With that context set, let's get into the specifics for each mode.
Elden Ring Best PvE Weapon Tier List 2026
Top 1 - Blasphemous Blade (SSS Tier)
Years later, tier lists later, the Blasphemous Blade is still the best PvE weapon in the game. This strength/faith greatsword with split fire damage has a weapon skill that does ridiculous damage, travels incredibly far, hits multiple enemies at once, and grants HP regen on hit. Even after the DLC nerfed the skill's knockback, the addition of a talisman and crystal tear that indirectly buff it made this weapon even stronger.
Top 2 - Blood Fiend's Arm (SSS Tier)
A strength/arcane colossal sword that can be infused, dealing some of the highest damage in the game. Its charged heavy attack shares the fast Great Club animation but adds an extra AoE that boosts both damage and stance damage to roughly 53 per swing. Pair it with a bleed infusion for absurd bleed buildup, or use a flame art infusion for even higher raw numbers.
Top 3 - Dark Moon Greatsword (SS Tier)
A greatsword with passive frost and a weapon skill that transforms its heavy attack into a free projectile. Once buffed, you can spam heavy attacks for a full minute without consuming FP, dealing great damage, procing frost, and covering short-to-medium ranges perfectly.
Top 4 - Mohgwyn's Sacred Spear (SS Tier)
The best great spear in the game, with the longest range in its class and passive bleed. Its weapon skill, Bloodboon Ritual, is an AoE monster that deletes rooms of enemies while also buffing your weapon damage afterward.
Top 5 - Wing of Astel (SS Tier)
A dex/int curved sword with the best stance-breaking potential on paper. Its Nebula skill fires stun-locking magic explosions, while its charged heavy doubles as a free projectile that hits alongside the physical swing at close range for insane stance damage.
Top 6 - Greatsword (Guts Greatsword) (SS Tier)
The highest-damaging colossal sword in the game with the longest infusible range. Slap on Lion's Claw or Giant Hunt and you can beat the entire game by clicking one button.
Top 7 - Death's Poker (SS Tier)
A pseudo-quality/int greatsword whose weapon skill, Ghostflame Ignition, is the fastest way to proc frost in the game. The ghost flame trail it leaves melts anything not heavily resistant to magic.
Top 8 - Star Fist (SS Tier)
The challenge run darling. Its two-handed charged heavy attack is arguably the best stance-breaking tool in the game, with lightning speed, high poise damage, and passive bleed built in.
Top 9 - Sword Lance (S Tier)
A DLC heavy thrusting sword with the light attack combo of a heavy thrusting sword and the heavy attacks of a great spear. Broken damage numbers that outclass even great axes, plus excellent guard counter potential.
Top 10 - Sword of Night and Flame (S Tier)
One of the few int/faith weapons in the game, with a stance skill offering both a magic beam and a fire AoE. Pair it with Rana's Cameo Talisman for a 45% damage boost at range.
Top 11 - Nagakiba (S Tier)
The best katana in the game thanks to its ridiculous range and fast uncharged heavy attack pokes. Amazing for skill spamming with Blood Tax, Unsheathe, or Double Slash.
Top 12 - Bloodhound's Fang (S Tier)
The beginner's dream. High damage, easy to obtain, uses somber stones, has passive bleed, buffable, and its skill Bloodhound's Finesse offers i-frames mid-animation.
Top 13 - Raptor Talons (S Tier)
The best claw in the game due to its excellent charged heavy attack that lunges far and hits with both weapons simultaneously, offering the best stance-break potential among claws.
Top 14 - Sacred Relic Sword (S Tier)
The best holy weapon in the game. Wave of Gold is the strongest crowd control skill available, capable of clearing entire rooms of trash mobs in a single swing.
Top 15 - Bandit's Curved Sword (S Tier)
The highest-damaging infusible curved sword. Power-stance any two curved swords, slap on multi-hit talismans, and spam jumping attacks for one of the strongest builds in the game.
Top 16 - Euporia (A Tier)
A faith-scaling twin blade with the Luster mechanic. Two charged heavy attacks fully activate the buff, turning it into the hardest-hitting twin blade in the game.
Top 17 - Marais Executioner's Sword (A Tier)
A strength/arcane sword with one of the hardest-hitting and most FP-efficient skills in the game. Pair it with Thorny Cracked Tear and Godfrey Icon for absurd damage.
Top 18 - Rusted Anchor (A Tier)
The best great axe in the game due to its piercing damage type. Power stance it with the Pickaxe for jumping attacks that shred bosses on counter hits.
Top 19 - Venomous Fang (A Tier)
The only claw without bleed, but with deadly poison that ticks harder. Combined with Poison Flower Blooms Twice, it becomes a top-tier late-game weapon, especially at high levels with a bleed infusion.
Top 20 - Fire Knight's Greatsword (A Tier)
The best colossal sword move set in the game, with an amazing piercing heavy attack. Best paired with a flame art infusion for optimal damage.
Top 21 - Milady (A Tier)
The Wing Stance ash of war unique to Milady offers ridiculous stun lock and stance damage. Paired with Rana's Cameo, the 45% damage boost applies to the entire combo.
Top 22 - Great Stars (A Tier)
The best great hammer in the game with passive bleed and HP regen on hit. Two guaranteed per playthrough, perfect for power stancing.
Top 23 - Ordovis's Greatsword (A Tier)
Its charged skill hits 66 stance damage on a 16 FP cost, one-shotting the poise of Banished Knights, Omens, and Crucible Knights. Combined with the Stonebarb Tear, it can stance break even 80-poise enemies.
Top 24 - Moonveil (A Tier)
An early-game int/dex katana with passive bleed and Transient Moonlight, one of the best ashes of war for projectile spam. Pair it with Rana's Cameo for a full-power ranged play style.
Top 25 - Marika's Hammer (A Tier)
A strength/faith hammer whose AoE skill grants infinite hyper armor and massive stance damage, capable of stun-locking ganks and cheesing crowds of mobs.
Elden Ring Best PvP Weapon Tier List 2026
Now that PvE has been ranked, the PvP scene tells a very different story. Speed, hyper armor, priority, and mix-up potential all matter more here than raw damage. Below is the definitive ranking for invasions and duels.
Top 1 - Backhand Blades (SSS Tier)
Currently the most broken weapon for PvP. Insanely fast move set with huge forward momentum, a crouch attack that deals great spear damage on a dagger animation, and a running heavy attack that hits four times. Its Blind Spot ash of war can dodge attacks and bypass shield defenses, letting it beat even the Carian Thrusting Shield.
Top 2 - Star Fist (SSS Tier for Duels / SS Tier for Invasions)
The heavy attack deals absurd damage and always stuns regardless of the opponent's poise. Great stamina damage lets it easily guard-break shield users, and its bleed buildup finishes off anyone left standing.
Top 3 - Carian Thrusting Shield (SSS Tier for Duels / S Tier for Invasions)
The best pure dueling weapon in the game. Can block and attack simultaneously, deals disgusting damage with the Two-Handed Sword Talisman and Spear Talisman, and pairs with the Great-Shield Talisman for absurd defense. Struggles in invasions due to multi-angle attacks.
Top 4 - Clawmark Seal (Claws of Night) (SS Tier)
The Claws of Night's Scattershot Throw ash of war actually gets more damaging when out of FP because of concentrated AoE. Its innate bleed buildup and headshot stagger potential make it one of the strongest PvP weapons introduced.
Top 5 - Cleanrot Knight's Sword (SS Tier for Invasions / SS Tier for Duels)
The longest and most damaging thrusting sword in the game. Combined with Bloodhound Step, it becomes the fastest attack in the game with the lowest recovery, bullying slow weapons and matching faster ones with ease.
Top 6 - Poleblade (Poleblade of the Bud) (S Tier)
Has the speed of fists but the range of a spear. Bugged DLC damage values and a running heavy that combos into standing heavy make it borderline cheating for chase-down play.
Top 7 - Rakshasa's Great Katana (S Tier)
The only great katana with hyper armor. All attacks have incredible range and speed, tanks colossal swords with its ash of war, and applies bleed on top. Only countered by great shields like Fingerprint.
Top 8 - Shamshir (S Tier for Duels / A Tier for Invasions)
Fast, elegant broad swings with huge forward momentum. A roll-catching machine when combined with the Two-Handed Sword Talisman and Rotten Winged Sword Insignia.
Top 9 - Nuts Frombherk's Sword (Greatsword) (A Tier)
One of the longest colossal swords in the game with absurd damage when strength-infused. Trades into nearly anything with its high hyper armor and can equip Waves of Darkness, one of the best ashes for invasions.
Top 10 - Banished Knight's Halberd (A Tier)
The best halberd in the game with the poke-based move set, hyper armor on two-handed attacks, and a running light attack that synergizes with three of the best talismans in the game.
Top 11 - Fingerprint Stone Shield (SS Tier for Duels / A Tier for Invasions)
Second-highest guard boost in the game. Ideal for turtling duels with shield-poke thrusting swords or Madness-infused ashes. Fails hard against ganks in invasions.
Top 12 - Milady (A Tier)
Backed by Wing Stance, this weapon retains dominance in PvP thanks to fluid combos, poise trades, and thrust-based finishers.
Top 13 - Hand Axe (A Tier – Best Off-Hand)
The undisputed best off-hand weapon in the game. Its 13-frame attack lands true combos off halberds, thrusting swords, colossal sword crouch pokes, and more. Deals 150 poise damage on its first L1, one of the only small weapons capable of breaking max poise.
Top 14 - Greatsword of Damnation (A Tier)
Its Golden Crux weapon skill skewers enemies from a surprising range with tons of hyper armor. Excellent counter to shield-poke and aggressive ash spam teams.
Top 15 - Dark Moon Greatsword (A Tier)
Solid hyper armor, good damage, and projectile heavy attacks that trade well. Struggles against colossals and in high latency but remains viable in most scenarios.
Top 16 - Sword Lance (A Tier)
Broken damage and stance damage numbers translate into PvP too, making it a top guard-counter and roll-catching weapon.
Top 17 - Death Knight Twin Axes (A Tier)
One of the best chase-down weapons in the game, covering massive ground with its running attacks and dealing consistent poise damage.
Top 18 - Falling Star Beast Jaw (A Tier)
An excellent long-range punish weapon that roll-catches reliably once you learn the timing, ideal for strength/int builds.
Top 19 - Starscourge Greatsword (A Tier)
Its gravity pull skill is uniquely built for terrain-based kills. Perfect for pulling enemies off cliffs in invasions.
Top 20 - Devonia's Hammer (A Tier)
A strong strength/faith hammer that fits into hybrid builds and delivers heavy poise damage in trades.
Elden Ring Best Weapon Tier List (Overall) 2026
To wrap everything together, the following overall ranking combines both PvE and PvP performance, with star ratings out of 5 for each mode. Weapons that perform strongly across both categories rank highest, while specialists in one mode fall slightly lower on the combined list.
Star Fist (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
Blood Fiend's Arm (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆)
Dark Moon Greatsword (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆)
Wing of Astel (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆)
Greatsword (Guts Greatsword) (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆)
Sword Lance (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆)
Nagakiba (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆)
Bloodhound's Fang (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆)
Bandit's Curved Sword (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆)
Blasphemous Blade (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆)
Backhand Blades (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
Cleanrot Knight's Sword (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
Rakshasa's Great Katana (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
Poleblade of the Bud (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
Claws of Night (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
Shamshir (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
Fire Knight's Greatsword (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆)
Milady (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆)
Greatsword (Nuts Frombherk's Sword) (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆)
Banished Knight's Halberd (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆)
Mohgwyn's Sacred Spear (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆)
Death's Poker (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆)
Sword of Night and Flame (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆)
Raptor Talons (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆)
Sacred Relic Sword (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆)
Carian Thrusting Shield (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
Fingerprint Stone Shield (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)
Euporia (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆)
Marais Executioner's Sword (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆)
Rusted Anchor (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆)
Venomous Fang (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆)
Great Stars (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆)
Ordovis's Greatsword (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆)
Moonveil (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆)
Marika's Hammer (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆)
Greatsword of Damnation (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆)
Death Knight's Twin Axes (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆)
Falling Star Beast Jaw (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆)
Starscourge Greatsword (PvE: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆)
Hand Axe (PvE: ⭐⭐☆☆☆, PvP: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)