Elden Ring is a triumph by FromSoftware, and it is easily one of the most expansive experiences that the team has created. There are many fun builds to try, but a Strength-focused build is easily one of the most destructive, due to a focus on high-damage, unique weapons.
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Elden Ring takes inspiration from past games with some of its Strength weapons, but the new entries to the series are some of the most devastating, heavy-hitting, and brutal yet. Whether you're going for a pure Strength character, or pivoting to an Intelligence and Strength hybrid, these are some of the best Strength weapons Elden Ring has to offer.
Updated July 7, 2024, by Andrew Scariati: We've updated the best Strength weapons in Elden Ring with some new inclusions from the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. Elden Ring's best strength weapons can vary heavily by preference, so we've included a selection of the best Strength weapons across classes in both the base game and the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
18 Iron Ball
Stat Requirements | Max Strength Scaling |
|---|---|
| C |
The 
Iron Ball is potentially the first fist-based weapon you may come across in the world of Elden Ring, though that depends on how thoroughly you explore the Lands Between. It's a lump of metal you wear around your hands as you punch enemies. Never before has the term "metal" described a weapon so well.
This weapon is dropped by Blackguard Big Boggart, who can be found in the Lakes of Liurnia by the Boilprawn Shack site of grace.
However, if you kill Blackguard Big Boggart here to retrieve the weapon, you will not be able to buy Boiled Crab — one of the better consumables in Elden Ring — later on, so choose carefully.
17 Brick Hammer
Stat Requirements | Max Strength Scaling |
|---|---|
| A |
The 
Brick Hammer is a great addition to Elden Ring's arsenal, and perfectly captures the game's aesthetic of using extremely unconventional weaponry. Though big hammers are a staple in the Souls series, this hammer is very clearly meant for building, and not crushing like in past games.
It can be found in Stormveil Castle, behind a locked door.
It can be opened with the Rusty Key, also found in Stormveil Castle.
Replete with A-scaling, and even S-scaling with a Heavy upgrade, this weapon is a powerhouse of damage for Strength builds. Depending on what else you come across, this weapon could last you quite a while if you invest in it.
16 Iron Cleaver
Stat Requirements | Max Strength Scaling |
|---|---|
| B |
One of the more annoying enemies you will come across while playing Elden Ring is the Misbegotten, found at Castle Morne and a couple of other places. These foes are especially difficult to deal with because they attack super quickly, with little room to counterattack.
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The Misbegotten that wields the Iron Cleaver at Castle Morne also drops it for use.
The 
Iron Cleaver features great Strength scaling and the axe weapon category moveset, which allows it to swing fast and hit hard. The best aspect of this weapon is its unique heavy attack, which sees you run forward before slashing down — dealing great damage.
15 Godskin Stitcher
Stat Requirements | Max Strength Scaling |
|---|---|
| C |
The 
Godskin Stitcher is a unique weapon to say the least. Part of what makes this weapon special is the fact that it is a part of a new weapon class: Heavy Thrusting Swords. These blades have the thrust attacks of rapiers, but are significantly larger than normal thrusting weapons.
The sword can be found at Volcano Manor after defeating the Godskin Noble.
The biggest downside is the dual scaling, which means that this weapon isn't suited to a pure Strength build. In this case, you'll want to complement your high Strength with Dexterity. Those interested in crafting a quality build will find the Godskin Stitcher a good candidate for a main weapon.
14 Greatsword
Stat Requirements | Max Strength Scaling |
|---|---|
| B |
Yet another weapon from the past, the 
Greatsword seems to be a reference to the Manga Berserk, in which the main character wields a similarly massive blade. This weapon features excellent Strength scaling that can be further improved if you decide to add an Ash of War to it and choose the heavy enchantment.
The Greatsword can be found in the Dragonbarrow region of Caelid, near the Caelem Ruins.
The Lion's Claw Ash of War is a particularly popular choice for this sword, as it also references Berserk. The only real downside is the same as most of the mighty Colossal weapons in Elden Ring: their very slow attack speed.
13 Dragon Halberd
Stat Requirements | Max Strength Scaling |
|---|---|
| B |
This one is another Strength-focused weapon that requires some investment in the Dexterity stat to reach its true potential. The 
Dragon Halberd has a long reach, as well as a rather fast attack speed and sweeping attacks for crowd control. However, its weapon Skill, Spinning Slash, truly shines.
This weapon is dropped by the semi-hidden Dragonkin Soldier boss in the Siofra River underground area.
Using this ability results in an average spin attack, but it also temporarily enchants the weapon with Frost and Lightning damage in addition to its existing physical damage.
12 Giant-Crusher
Stat Requirements | Max Strength Scaling |
|---|---|
| B |
The 
Giant-Crusher has the highest Strength stat requirement in Elden Ring, and for good reason. It's incredibly powerful, with very high stagger potential against enemies. Of course, the downside is that the weapon will leave you entirely open to attacks if you miss.
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The weapon is located in an endgame area, near the Outer Wall Phantom Tree Site Of Grace.
It could be worth it, though, to instantly kill any lower-level enemies you come across. While you may acquire it too late to do that often, there is always New Game Plus, as well as a significant amount of hidden areas you may have missed.
11 Lordsworn Greatsword
Stat Requirements | Max Strength Scaling |
|---|---|
| C |
This will probably be your first obtained weapon if you intend to use a Strength build in Elden Ring. Compared to most of the unique starting classes' weapons, this sword is a great deal more powerful.
The weapon is found in a carriage chest right next to the Gatefront Ruins.
It also has an effective Skill built-in, the Upward Cut, that can easily take care of lower-level enemies. The 
Lordsworn's Greatsword excels most of all at interrupting enemy attacks, so use this weapon if you prefer to overwhelm the enemy mid-attack rather than waiting to counter.
10 Zweihander
Stat Requirements | Max Strength Scaling |
|---|---|
| D |
The 
Zweihander is a classic weapon in the Souls series, tracing its roots back to the start. In Elden Ring, it features a similar move set to other weapons in the Colossal Sword category of weapons and allows for changing the Ash of War as well as the enchantment.
Simply scrounge together 3,500 runes and purchase the Zweihander from a trader in the south of the map, found near the Tombsward Cave on the Weeping Peninsula.
Luckily, this weapon can be acquired almost immediately after you begin playing and the requirements are extremely reasonable. Given that it's also available early in the original Dark Souls, this feels like an appropriate time to get your hands on Elden Ring's version.
9 Morning Star
Stat Requirements | Max Strength Scaling |
|---|---|
| C |
Another early-game weapon, is the 
Morning Star, a wonderful mace-like weapon with excellent secondary effects. The weapon has an excellent move set and the Kick skill, which can break guarding enemies' stances very effectively. The best feature of the weapon, however, is the Hemorrhage effect aka Bleed it applies when inflicting damage.
Morning Star can also be found on the Weeping Peninsula on the main road from Limgrave.
It is in the same kind of carriage as the previous Lordsworn's Greatsword
If you can land a couple of hits on a foe and build up the bleed, they will take a large chunk of damage. This damage is percentage-based, which means that even high-health enemies like dragons will take significant damage.
8 Axe Of Godfrey
Stat Requirements | Max Strength Scaling |
|---|---|
| C |
One feature that has returned from previous Souls games is crafting boss weapons using the remains of defeated bosses. The 
Axe of Godfrey is one of those weapons and is crafted from the Remembrance of Horah Loux. Unlike some weapons, it doesn't change much from its boss-fight counterpart.
Trade the Remembrance of Horah Loux at Roundtable Hold to claim this weapon.
A battle axe with a chipped blade, this colossal weapon features a similar moveset to many of the other weapons in the category — with a key difference. The weapon's skill sees you copy Godfrey in his boss battle, slamming it down and creating a massive shockwave that deals massive damage.
7 Bonny Butchering Knife
Stat Requirements | Max Strength Scaling |
|---|---|
| B |
The 
Bonny Butchering Knife is a very solid Strength weapon available in Elden Ring: Shadow of The Erdtree featuring the Hone Blade weapon skill. If you're a fan of the standard Butchering Knife weapon, then this one functions similarly, aside from the Hone Blade skill.
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This is one of the best Strength weapons in Elden Ring if you prefer unique Greataxes. The HP restoration effect on this weapon is helpful for use against the plethora of aggressive enemies in the DLC, though this weapon won't provide much help against the larger boss-tier enemies.
6 Stone-Sheathed Sword
Stat Requirements | Max Strength Scaling |
|---|---|
| B |
This sword may not seem like one of the best strength weapons Elden Ring has to offer, but there's more to the 
Stone-Sheathed Sword than meets the eye. Once you acquire the sword from one of the altars, you can transform it into one of two unique weapons.
You can acquire the Stone-Sheathed Sword in one of three locations: the Fog Rift Catacombs, the Ruins of Unte, or the Ancient Ruins of Rauh.
The Stone-Sheathed Sword can transform into either the Sword of Light or Sword of Darkness, which is where it gets to shine with its unique weapon arts. On stats alone, this sword isn't going to blow you away, but its potential and unusual gimmick make it a fun choice to use in your arsenal.
5 Rusted Anchor
Stat Requirements | Max Strength Scaling |
|---|---|
| B |
Elden Ring certainly throws items and weapons at you a lot more slowly than other FromSoftware titles, at least in the early game. This is probably due to the introduction of crafting to the series and the much larger map, but it results in the early game being a little rough if you end up disliking your starting weapon.
It can be found in Morne Tunnel in the south of the map on the Weeping Peninsula.
Luckily for you, the 
Rusted Anchor is easy enough to find for one of the best Strength weapons Elden Ring has to offer. While the weapon technically requires 26 Strength to wield, this can be lowered to 18 if you two-hand the weapon.
4 Clawmark Seal
Stat Requirements | Max Strength Scaling |
|---|---|
| B |
Usually, the spellcasting and melee playstyles are fairly separate in Souls games. This seal, which allows for the casting of Incantations, breaks that mold. The Clawmark Seal uniquely scales with Strength along with the usual Faith.
The seal is obtained through D, Hunter of the Dead's quest after talking and handing Deathroot to Gurranq.
The Clawmark Seal will deal high damage and works well with the Bestial Incantations' low Faith stat requirements. It makes a high-Strength build with a small amount of Faith usage viable and fun.
3 Greatsword Of Solitude
Stat Requirements | Max Strength Scaling |
|---|---|
| A |
The 
Greatsword of Solitude is one of the best Elden Ring strength weapons you can find, with an unusual combination to master due to its unique weapon skill. The Solitary Moon Slash hurls a vertical crescent projectile forward from the sword and includes follow-up combination attacks.
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This weapon drops from the Blackgaol Knight in the Western Nameless Mausoleum.
If you're a fan of the Dark Moon Greatsword and its unique skill but prefer to stick to a strength build, then this weapon provides the best of both worlds in one package.
2 Prelate's Inferno Crozier
Stat Requirements | Max Strength Scaling |
|---|---|
| B |
In the Souls series, references to classic weapons are common. The 
Prelate's Inferno Crozier is one example, clearly resembling Smough's Great Hammer from Dark Souls. The weapon has a similar low attack speed and moveset to its original form.
This formidable hammer can be obtained by killing an enemy who uses it at Fort Laiedd on Mount Gelmir.
The Weapon Skill is unique, with the Tarnished using the weapon like a shovel to charge at enemies and scoop them up in a fiery whirlpool. This is one of the few more unique weapons that can actually have its Ash of War changed, too. You're free to add your favorite to it.
1 Grafted Blade Greatsword
Stat Requirements | Max Strength Scaling |
|---|---|
| C |
The 
Grafted Blade Greatsword might be directly from the mind of George R.R. Martin, who helped with the creative process of Elden Ring. It heavily resembles the Iron Throne from Game of Thrones. The weapon Skill, Oath of Vengeance, may convince you to favor this one over other Strength-focused weapons.
It can be obtained by killing the boss at the southernmost point of the Weeping Peninsula.
When activated, the Skill increases all of your character's stats by five for 30 seconds. To make the deal even sweeter, your poise is increased during the buff, which means that enemy attacks will not interrupt your strikes. This additional effect could easily sway a tricky battle in your favor.
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