Look, we’ve all been there. You are standing in the middle of a swamp or a crumbling castle, killing the same knight for the four-hundredth time. You want that spear. You need that spear. But instead of a shiny new toy, you get another pair of pants. Or worse, just a handful of Thin Beast Bones.
The elden ring weapon drop system is a fickle beast. It’s a mix of cold math, hidden stats, and sometimes, what feels like pure spite from the developers. Honestly, the way people talk about "luck" in this game usually ignores how the code actually decides whether you’re getting a Magma Blade or a headache.
The Math Behind Every Elden Ring Weapon Drop
Most players think if a weapon has a 2% drop rate, they’ll definitely see it after 50 kills. That’s not how probability works. Every single time an enemy dies, the game rolls a fresh die. It doesn't care that you've been farming for three hours.
The actual formula for your drop chance is $BD / (1 - B + BD)$.
In this equation:
- B is the base drop rate (expressed as a decimal, like 0.02 for 2%).
- D is your Discovery stat divided by 100.
Basically, if you have 100 Discovery, you’re just getting the base rate. If you pump that up to 200, you aren't exactly doubling your chances in a linear way, but you're getting close. It’s more of a curve. Even with a massive Discovery stat of 334 (the maximum possible with 99 Arcane and every buff), a 0.5% drop only climbs to about 1.67%.
Still tiny. Still frustrating.
What Actually Boosts Your Discovery?
You can’t just pray to the Greater Will. You need gear. If you’re serious about farming, you need the Silver Scarab talisman. It’s tucked away in a hidden chest in the Hidden Path to the Haligtree. It adds a flat 75 to your Discovery.
Then there are the consumables.
The Silver-Pickled Fowl Foot gives you +50 Discovery for three minutes.
If you’ve ventured into the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, you probably found the Silver Horn Tender. That one gives +60.
Important tip: These do not stack. If you eat a foot and then a tender, you’re just wasting resources.
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The Hall of Fame for Rare Drops
Some weapons are legendary not because they’re good, but because they’re a nightmare to find. Take the Noble’s Slender Sword. It has a 0.5% drop rate. You have to find those specific Wandering Nobles—the ones who look like they’ve given up on life—and hope they’re carrying the gold-coated version.
Then there’s the Magma Blade.
You have to head to Volcano Manor. You have to find the Man-Serpents actually wielding the glowing orange sword. There are only a couple of them near the Temple of Eiglay. Most people spend more time running back and forth from the Site of Grace than actually fighting.
- Celebrant’s Sickle: 0.5% drop from the dancing ladies in Dominula. They give you 10 runes per hit, which is... okay?
- Envoy’s Greathorn: 2% drop. The problem? It only drops from the giant Oracles at the Haligtree. You know, the ones perched on branches that can knock you into the abyss with one bubble.
- Cleanrot Spear: This one is a bit of a myth. People farm the knights in the Swamp of Aeonia for hours, but the drop rate is abysmal there. You’re better off heading to the Haligtree or the War-Dead Catacombs if you can handle the heat.
Why Some Drops Feel Rigged
Have you ever noticed that an enemy drops four items at once? That’s because the game processes a "drop list" for every mob. Most enemies can drop up to 10 different things, but the game hard-caps the total rewards at 6 items per kill.
If a monster is supposed to drop a guaranteed item (like a boss or a special NPC), that usually sits in a different part of the code. A weird thing happened recently where players were getting two versions of the same weapon from the Putrid Avatar in the Haligtree. This usually happens because one drop is a "mapped" reward (guaranteed) and the other is a random elden ring weapon drop from the enemy's standard loot table.
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It’s rare. It’s weird. It’s FromSoftware.
Farming Smarter, Not Harder
If you’re going to spend your Saturday night looking for a Monk’s Flameblade, don’t just wing it.
First, respeccing into Arcane at Rennala is the single best thing you can do. Arcane increases Discovery by 1 point for every level. At 99 Arcane, you’re a loot magnet.
Second, use the Silver Tear Mask. It’s ugly as sin, but it gives you +8 Arcane.
Third, don't forget the Marika’s Soreseal or the Albinauric Mask if you're scraping for every point.
Locations That Actually Matter
For those hunting the new DLC gear, the Fire Knight's Greatsword is the current obsession. It drops from the Fire Knights in Shadow Keep. Specifically, the ones wielding the colossal sword. Don't bother with the dagger-wielders if you want the big blade.
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The Bloodfiend's Arm was the star of the early DLC meta. You can farm it from the Bloodfiends in Prospect Town. It’s a random drop, but the pack density there makes it relatively quick compared to the nightmare that is the Magma Blade farm.
Final Advice for the Frustrated Tarnished
Stop counting kills.
The moment you start saying "I've killed 100, I'm due for a drop," the RNG gods laugh. Probability has no memory. Your 500th kill has the exact same odds as your 1st.
To maximize your efficiency for any elden ring weapon drop, follow this checklist:
- Respec to 99 Arcane if you have the Larval Tears to spare.
- Equip the Silver Scarab and the Silver Tear Mask.
- Use the Silver Horn Tender after you arrive at the farming spot.
- Set your "Discard" menu to quickly get rid of common armor pieces so your inventory doesn't clutter.
- Watch a podcast or a movie. Farming is a Zen activity, not a combat challenge.
Once you get that weapon to drop, take it to Hewg immediately. The high of seeing that purple item glow on the ground is great, but using it to smash a boss is better.