We’ve collected the weirdest weapons in Shadow of the Erdtree, and now we’re hunting down the very best. These are the weapons that make the Realm of Shadow possible – and some of these weapons are straight-up broken. There are severed arms, graceful great swords and exploding spears that you’ll want to grab ASAP to make the challenges of the expansion so much more beatable. We’re not here to get into all the intricacies of putting together a perfect build for each weapon, we’re here to tell you where to find the best weapons in the Elden Ring expansion. Here’s how to get the absolute best weapons in the DLC.
#10 Lightning Perfume Bottle
The Lightning Perfume Bottle was once the strongest weapon in Elden Ring. Players were using the perfumer to defeat big bosses in just a handful of attacks – the most challenging fights in the game can end in an instant thanks to a very broken combo of buffs and equipment. Attacking with the Lightning Perfumer Bottle launches handfuls of lightning-infused dust. It doesn’t look that impressive, but add a stack of buffs and you’ll be dealing exponential damage with this thing. Even after the patch, this is still a strong weapon you’ll want to try.
To find the Lightning Perfume Bottle, you’ll need to reach the Cerulean Coast – a blue beach in the southern reaches of the Realm of Shadow. You can reach this area by dropping down from Charro’s Hidden Grave – then going to the west side of the beachfront. There’s a ravine that leads to an open exterior area – go to the pond surrounded by lightning-infused goats. You’ll know you’re in the right place if lightning strikes are happening randomly all over.
The Lightning Perfume Bottle is found on a corpse in the middle of the pond. Grab it and you’ll be able to lay waste to literally everything. Give yourself the Golden Vow buff, equip the bottle for some two-handed perfume-slinging, and you’ll be dealing incredible damage. If you infect yourself with frenzy and equip the hidden talisman dropped by those scary Aged-One enemies, you can deal even more damage. Hitting yourself with every weird multiplier makes you so strong you’ll be able to break the game. Just search for Lightning Perfume Bottle builds and you’ll see just how strong this weapon can be.
#9 Carian Thrusting Shield
While not as absurdly powerful as the Lightning Perfume Bottle, the Carian Thrusting Shield can make many encounters in the game an absolute breeze. There are two items with similar properties that you can grab, but I prefer the Carian Thrusting Shield, which is available to collect in the Shadow Keep Specimen Storehouse area. From the initial Storehouse Site of Grace, progress around the room to find an interior guarded by a Fire Knight. Look behind the table and search the dead body to get this shield.
The Carian Thrusting Shield is both a shield and a weapon. To break the game wide open, you’ll want to equip the shield and switch to a two-handed stance. This gives you more guard ability and allows you to attack at the same time – basically, you can shield yourself from attacks while unleashing a barrage of weak strikes. While the attacks are pretty weak, the shield still protects you from harm, essentially making you invincible with the right build, talismans and armor.
There’s another busted Dueling Shield found even earlier in the main Shadow Keep area. Explore the small castle section before the Specimen Storehouse thoroughly and you’ll find it – it works exactly the same as the Carian Thrusting Shield with its own ridiculous strengths. There aren’t any other weapons like this in Elden Ring, so if you think the best offense is a good defense, you’ll want to grab both ASAP.
#8 Bloodfiend’s Arm
Here’s a weapon we never thought we’d talk about again. The Bloodfiend’s Arm is a big ugly severed chunk of meat wielded by the ugly Bloodfiend enemies found throughout the Realm of Shadow. It’s literally an arm being used like a weapon, and while that’s fun enough for our list of early weapons you need to get right away, I never thought it’d turn out to be one of the best weapons in Elden Ring. It’s all thanks to the ridiculous bleed build-up.
The Bloodfiend’s Arm will randomly drop from any Bloodfiend enemy – you can find lots of them to the east of the camp outside Castle Ensis. Follow the low road instead of the high road to Scadu Altus plateau. There’s a forge mini-dungeon here where soldiers and bloodfiends are fighting. You can also find a guaranteed drop at Prospect Town. From the road to Belarut, Tower Settlement look to your left to spot a narrow path leading up to the top of the mountain. There’s a town up here you can raid right away to get this item… or just get lucky with the Bloodfiend loot drops like we were.
What makes the arm so special is its heavy attack. A charged heavy attack sprays the area with blood that infects enemies with even more blood build up. Once the status effect is applied, you’ll deal incredible damage to your target – the bleed status effect is always strong, even when you’re much lower level than your enemies. The arm is a colossal weapon so you’ll need a lot of Equip Load to wield it properly, but once you do, everything is going to start hemorrhaging blood. Against most enemies, you’ll be able to trigger the blood status effect after a single attack. That’s ridiculously strong.
#7 Dragon Hunter’s Great Katana
Great Katanas are a new sub-class of weapons only found in the Elden Ring DLC – but they’re really very similar to the Great Curved Sword category. They’re so similar that they’re both completely overpowered and stronger than most other weapons. You don’t even need a dexterity build to hit hard with the Dragon Hunter because it scales just as well with Strength. And it isn’t just for cutting down dragons. It’s a great weapon for literally anyone. A perfect beginner sword for players that don’t need to get too fancy. Like all the other best curved swords, it deals high bleed damage and poise damage. You can hammer your foes into submission while dishing out high damage. And because the Realm of Shadow is so difficult, the bar for broken weapons has increased. The Dragon Hunter’s Great Katana isn’t broken. It’s just very, very good.
You’ll earn the Dragon Hunter’s Great Katana by defeating the Ancient Dragon-Man boss at the bottom of the Dragon’s Pit dungeon. Reach this area by traveling on the road east of the Castle Ensis military encampment, between the castle and the great bridge. Take the upper road to Scadu Altus and follow the dragon statues to the dungeon. This dungeon is also required to access the southern section of the map, including the Jagged Peaks and Cerulean Coast. If you’re an explorer, you’re basically guaranteed to get this weapon. Might as well use it.
#6 Smithscript Axe
You’d never think a big dumb throwing axe would be the best weapon for wise wizards in Elden Ring, but we’ve reached the point where all logic is out the window. The Smithscript Axe is an incredibly good weapon for Intelligence builds – but you’ll need to customize it a little bit before it becomes a monstrously strong magic weapon.
The Smithscript Axe, like all the Smithscript weapons, can be found in one of the Forge dungeons. You’ll get this weapon in Taylew’s Ruined Forge – a small dungeon you’ll find in the Rauh Base area of the map. To find this optional section of the map, travel north from Moorth Ruins and find the small pond with a cave entrance marked by a statue. Follow that cave path and you’ll reach Rauh Base. From here, go to the north to find the ruined forge.
The Smithscript Axe is a great weapon for taking out annoying wizards and other ranged enemies, but it becomes even stronger if you modify it. Add Cold Infusion and it scales almost exclusively with Intelligence – scaling all the way up to 80. Infuse it with magic and boost your Intelligence ridiculously high, and this is literally the best weapon for wizards. You’ll be throwing ice axes all day, freezing enemies and making them weaker. The charged throw is also much faster than other Colossal weapons, including the Smithscript Greathammer.
#5 Milady
The Milady is a new favorite and it’s all because of the totally unique moveset. The Milady is a light greatsword that’s seemingly slow – your light attacks seem sluggish, but try using heavy attacks to see just how fast this weapon can be. By chaining heavy attacks and light attacks together you can perform graceful quick strikes that are devastatingly powerful with the right build. This weapon is versatile and scales well with different magic infusions. Some players prefer the Lightning Milady, the Cold Milady or the Bleed Milady – whatever your preference, customizing the Milady only makes it even better.
You’ll find this graceful sword early in Castle Ensis. Search the tower to find a chest with this weapon – which is accessible even at the start of the game. Cross the entrance bridge and you’ll reach a small field of tall grass. To the right there’s a cave leading deeper into the castle – you’ll want to go left. Climb the ladder of the watchtower to find a treasure chest containing the Milady. The Milady has exceptional reach and speed for a sword of its class – but it also takes a lot of finesse to learn and master. That’s why the Milady is so popular. Swords don’t get more elegant than the Milady in Elden Ring.
#4 Backhand Blade
The strongest of the backhand weapons, the Backhand Blade is one of the best Dexterity weapons in Elden Ring – you’ll become a spinning psycho-killer, and you can find the set of weapons very early in the game. Even better, if you add the Keen modifier, the fully-upgraded Backhand Blade has Dexterity scaling S.
You’ll find the Backhand Blade in the starting area of the map. From the Gravesite Plains, travel north of the Scorched Ruins and see the small shrine building near the ravine. This is to the east of the greatbridge – the area is guarded by Inquisitor type enemies. Grab the item from the coffin. You don’t need to kill the enemies. Just grab it and run.
The Blind Spot weapon skill is one of the best aspects of the Backhand Blade – unleash it to dodge sideways then dash forward, giving you plenty of mobility for PVP. The speed and odd timing of this weapon make it very difficult to guard against when you’re playing against online opponents, so here’s another example of an extremely useful weapon that’s also basically fair. Mostly. It isn’t ridiculously broken, at least.
#3 Greatsword of Solitude
Another weapon that hits way above its weight class. The Greatsword of Solitude is a simple greatsword that hits as hard as a colossal weapon – it’s as strong as the Zweihander but with the speed of a Claymore, making it one of the best early weapons in the expansion. You can find it right from the start, but you’ll have big problems trying to get it without grabbing a bunch of Scadutree Fragments.
The Greatsword of Solitude drops from Blackgaol Knight in the Western Nameless Mausoleum, a boss arena directly west of the Scorched Ruins in the starting area of the DLC. It’s literally almost impossible to miss, but the Blackgaol Knight packs a punch if you’re not fully prepared for the DLC. Defeat the NPC boss to collect his Greatsword and a full set of Solitude Armor. The Armor is fun too, but we’re really impressed by the sword.
The Greatsword of Solitude has a unique weapon skill called the Solitary Moon Slash that launches an arc of magic energy forward, giving you ranged options. And with 89 physical damage negation, that makes it better at blocking than most shields. Don’t even bother with a shield. Two-hand this sucker and roll into battle with one of the speediest giant swords in the game.
#2 Spear of the Impaler
Make two of the toughest bosses in Shadow of the Erdtree easy with the Spear of the Impaler. This killer spear is one of the two boss weapons you can generate after defeating Messmer the Impaler – one of the major progression bosses you’ll need to beat for the DLC. Messmer is found at the end of the Shadow Keep – a giant fortress north of Castle Ensis. You’ll need to defeat the Golden Hippopotamus, progress through the Shadow Keep then reach the upper floors of the Specimen Storehouse. You’ll find Messmer chilling out in his weird room. Beating him gets you the Remembrance of the Impaler, which you can use to trade at the Roundtable Hold.
The Spear of the Impaler is one of the best weapons you can use against Bayle the Dread. The giant dragon boss is normally extremely difficult, but this weapon makes him a pushover. Fully upgrade and then use the special heavy attack that hurls the spear at your opponents – charging the throw causes it to explode and leave a spot of fire on the ground or on your target.
By targeting Bayle’s head, you’ll deal extra damage and eventually break his poise completely. Later in the expansion, you’ll need to take on Needle Knight Leda and a small army of unique NPCs. The spear absolutely decimates this encounter. Just summon your own allies, let them fight, and throw the explosive Spear of the Impaler into the group of enemies. They’ll go down surprisingly fast and with very little skill required. Because the Spear of the Impaler is so useful in two different circumstances, we had to mark this as one of the best weapons in the DLC.
#1 Flame Knight Greatsword
And we’ve reached yet another completely busted weapon in Shadow of the Erdtree. This colossal sword might be the best big weapon in the game – and it’s all about the big fire effects. The greatsword is a rare drop from the Fire Knights in the Shadow Keep – you can find multiple of them wielding massive swords in the Speciment Storehouse. Defeat the giant sword-wielding knights in red for a chance to get one of these. It can be a painfully slow farm, but it’s worth it for the result.
The Flame Knight Greatsword is faster than other colossal weapons and chains directly from one light attack into another, making it ridiculously strong in PVP. Throw on a Flame Infusion and a fire-based Ash of War to deal extreme damage. It scales A in Strength when upgraded and doesn’t even bounce off walls while swinging it around. There’s nothing particularly fancy about the Flame Knight Greatsword. It’s broken in all the best ways. You can even infuse it with a different type of elemental damage – you can shock or freeze enemies while burning them at the same time.
And those are our ten picks for best weapons we’ve found in the Elden Ring expansion. There are so many more unique weapons like Rellana’s Twinblades or the Shadow Sunflower Blossom that we’d love to list but had to squeeze out – there are too many amazing weapons in the Realm of Shadow.
