Lothric is a mess. It’s a literal dumping ground for crumbling kingdoms, filled with hollowed-out knights and gods who’ve seen better days. But if you’re standing at the High Wall for the first time—or the fifty-first—you aren't thinking about the lore. You’re thinking about what’s in your hand. Dark Souls 3 weapons are arguably the peak of FromSoftware’s design philosophy because they bridge the gap between the slow, methodical clunk of the original game and the breakneck speed of Bloodborne.
It’s about the feel. The weight.
You swing a Greatsword and the screen practically shakes. You poke with a rapier and it feels like a needle. Honestly, after nearly a decade, most modern RPGs still haven’t caught up to the "Weapon Art" system that defined this entry. It changed everything. Instead of just having a light attack and a heavy attack, suddenly your sword had a personality. A stance. A weird, magical scream.
The Straight Sword Problem and Why It Persists
If you’ve spent more than five minutes on a Reddit thread about this game, you know the meme. The Lothric Knight Straight Sword is basically the "easy mode" of the franchise. It’s fast. It has incredible reach. The critical modifier is high. But it’s also kinda boring, right?
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There’s a reason speedrunners and "no-hit" runners like GinoMachino or SquillaKilla often gravitate toward simple, high-DPS tools. In Dark Souls 3, efficiency is king. The Longsword you start with as a Knight can literally carry you to the final boss, the Soul of Cinder, without a single hitch. That’s rare in gaming. Usually, starter gear is trash. Here? It’s meta.
But sticking to the "best" weapon means you miss the soul of the game. You miss the weird stuff. Have you ever actually tried to main the Heysel Pick? It’s a pickaxe that’s also a magic catalyst. It’s awkward as hell until it clicks, and then suddenly you’re true-comboing people in PvP with a soul-arrow-to-the-face move that feels like cheating. That’s where the real depth lies.
Moving Past the "Big Bonk" Mentality
Strength builds are a religion in this community. We’ve all seen the "Greatsword" (which is actually a massive slab of iron inspired by Guts from Berserk). It’s iconic.
Using ultra-greatswords requires a specific kind of brain rot. You have to be okay with missing. You have to be okay with being slow. But the trade-off is "Hyper Armor." This is a hidden stat, basically. It determines if you get knocked out of your animation when an enemy hits you. If you’re swinging the Ledo’s Great Hammer, you aren't moving. You are an immovable object.
What People Get Wrong About Dex Builds
People call them "weeb" builds. They see the Uchigatana or the Washing Pole and roll their eyes.
But Dexterity in this game isn't just about katanas. It’s about the Winblades. If you know, you know. The Sellsword Twinblades are widely considered the highest sustained DPS in the entire game. If you buff them with Lightning Blade or Darkmoon Blade, you can melt bosses like Pontiff Sulyvahn in seconds. It almost feels like you’re playing a different genre—less a dance, more a shredder.
- Sellsword Twinblades: The speedrun king. L1 is your best friend.
- Crow Quills: From the Ashes of Ariandel DLC. It’s a rapier with throwing knives. High skill ceiling, looks cool as hell.
- Frayed Blade: High-end boss soul weapon. The Weapon Art does a multi-slash that procs bleed almost instantly.
The nuance here is that Dex builds scale better into the late game for physical damage than almost anything else, especially when you factor in the "Sharp" infusion.
The Magic of Infusions and Why You’re Doing It Wrong
Most players find a weapon they like, upgrade it to +10, and call it a day. That’s a mistake. The infusion system is the actual heartbeat of the Dark Souls 3 weapons ecosystem.
If you’re a Mage, you shouldn't just be casting spells. You should have a Moonlight Greatsword or a Crystal-infused Astora Straight Sword. Why? Because the scaling changes. A "Heavy" infusion removes all Dexterity scaling and pumps the Strength bonus. A "Raw" infusion removes scaling entirely but boosts base damage—perfect for early game or for Clerics who want to put all their points into Faith.
Then there’s the "Hollow" infusion. This is for the weirdos. It scales with your Luck stat. Back in the day, the "Hollow Warden Twinblades" bleed build was so broken it basically forced FromSoftware to patch the entire game's bleeding mechanic. It was glorious and terrible.
The DLC Power Creep is Real
When The Ringed City dropped, the meta shifted overnight. They introduced the Ringed Knight Paired Greatswords. Two massive ultra-greatswords, one in each hand. It looked ridiculous. It was ridiculous. In PvP, the L1 combo was an automated death sentence for anyone who didn't know how to parry or roll-backstab.
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And don't even get me started on the Crucifix of the Mad King. It’s a halberd. It’s a club. It’s a miracle catalyst. It has a random RNG weapon art where you might blow yourself up or you might get a massive damage buff. It’s chaotic. It represents the "Dark" side of the lore perfectly—unpredictable, heavy, and punishing.
PVP vs PVE: A Tale of Two Toolsets
A weapon that kills a boss isn't always the weapon that kills a player.
In PVE, you want reach and stagger. In PVP, you want "mix-ups." This is why the Splitleaf Greatsword (which is actually a glaive, because FromSoftware likes to lie to us) is so terrifying. Its weapon art involves spinning the blade over your head like a helicopter. If you get caught in the first hit, you’re stuck for the whole ride.
But then you have the daggers. A simple Murky Hand Scythe. It looks like nothing. In the hands of a pro, it’s the most hated weapon in the game. It has the "Quickstep" skill, which gives you more invincibility frames than a standard roll. You can’t hit them. They just poke you, step, poke, step. It’s infuriating.
Finding Your "Forever" Blade
Honestly, the best advice for anyone digging into this is to ignore the tier lists. Yeah, the Claymore is "Baemore" for a reason—it has a perfect moveset. But have you tried the Great Corvian Scythe? It bleeds the enemy and it bleeds you. It’s high stakes. It’s fun.
The game rewards experimentation. You can respec your stats at Rosaria in the Cathedral of the Deep (there’s even a glitch to do it infinitely, look it up). This means you aren't locked in. You can be a pyromancer with the Demon’s Scar—a sword made literally out of fire—one day, and a heavy-armored tank with the Vordt’s Great Hammer the next.
Hidden Mechanics Most People Miss
There are things the game doesn't tell you.
- Sweet Spots: Some weapons, like axes and halberds, deal more damage if you hit with the blade rather than the hilt.
- Stance Break: Larger weapons deal more "poise damage," which eventually breaks an enemy's guard and lets you do a riposte.
- The "Off-hand" Meta: Carrying a Caestus or a Small Shield in your left hand isn't for blocking. It’s for parrying. The parry windows for a Buckler are significantly wider than a standard shield.
The complexity is why we’re still talking about this in 2026. Elden Ring took these ideas and went wild with them, but there’s a tightness to the DS3 combat loop that feels more focused. It’s less about "Ash of War" spam and more about the fundamental moveset of the tool you’re holding.
Final Steps for the Aspiring Lord of Cinder
If you want to actually master the arsenal available to you, stop hiding behind a 100% physical block shield. It’s a crutch. It stops you from learning the nuances of your weapon's range.
Start by picking a "quality" build (30-40 points in both Strength and Dexterity). This lets you use about 80% of the items in the game. Go to the High Wall, find a weapon that looks cool, and just swing it. Don't look at the numbers yet. Look at the moves. Does it swing horizontally for crowds? Does it have a thrust for hallways?
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Once you find that "click" moment, head to Andre the Blacksmith. Learn the infusion paths. If you’ve got high Dex, go Sharp. If you’re a Strength monster, go Heavy. If you’re just starting out, go Fire or Raw to get a flat damage boost without needing high stats.
The beauty of these weapons is that they aren't just tools. They’re the way you tell your story in a world that’s trying to kill you. Whether you’re using a broken straight sword for the challenge or the Twin Princes' Greatsword for the flair, the choice defines the experience. Now go out there and find something that feels right. The fire is fading, but your build doesn't have to.