In the Elden Ring Guide, we are going to show you why straight swords are the best weapon in the Elden Ring and rank them from the best to the worst!
Elden Ring Best Weapons - Straight Swords Breakdown
Here we go through all straight sword weapons and tell you the pros and cons of each of those weapons to help you make a better-informed decision about whether or not you want to use that weapon in your build.
Elden Ring Straight Sword Pros & Cons
Before diving into the weapons themselves, let's talk a little bit about the pros and cons of this weapon category:
Pros
Straight swords have a rather lightweight in Elden Ring meaning that it doesn't take a lot of equip load in order to use them they range from about 2.5 to 5.5
Straight swords also have very good hit boxes, usually slashing like left to right or right to left in sort of a 45 degree angle that'll tend to hit things that are up above you or below you with that attack., which is really nice making them hit the hitboxes of enemies a lot more reliably than some other weapon type.
Straight swords also attack a lot faster than a lot of other weapons allowing you to R1 spam a lot of enemies to death without ever getting hit
Straight swords also have a bit longer reach than some other weapons like axes meses or curved swords allowing them to hit a little bit further.
Additionally quite a few of these weapons have thrust attacks, in addition to slashing attacks giving you a different damage type against enemies that might resist one or the other.
Cons
Straight swords typically don't support status effect play as well as some other weapon types, that's not to say that you can't make a status effect build with straight swords, but they don't attack as rapidly as some others.
The dual wield moveset of straight swords isn't as good as twinblades or curved swords at applying status effects. So if you want a status effect buildup you're better off going with one of those two weapon types than you are with straight swords even though you can do it with straight swords if you.
Straight swords deal a lot less damage than many different weapon types in the game, and because they don't excel at status effect buildup, it puts them in this weird place in the middle where they're not good at like jump attack one shot builds or One-Shot builds and they're not good at Stats effect buildup, but they're somewhere in the middle.
Elden Ring Straight Sword Playstyle
Most people will use with straight swords with either a shield or they'll dual wield straight swords, and that's because Straight Swords just lend themselves very well to a block counter style of build. They aren't ever really going to one shot too many things with a jump attack sort of build unless you're dual wielding and dual wielding gives you the option to not only do those jump attacks but also do some status effect build up, because even though their attacks aren't as good as curved swords or twin blades at setting status effects, they're still pretty good and it also allows you to use items to build up your attack power with repeated strikes a lot more easily, getting their attack power higher and putting them into like a higher class of weapon essentially when that Buffs up, so that they're attacking faster than those other weapon classes but they're dealing the same or more damage.
Elden Ring 1.07 Straight Swords Tier List
Now let's go over each straight weapon in Elden Ring and rank them from the best to the worst!
1 - Sword of Night and Flame (S Tier)
The Sword of Knight and Flame share the default moveset of most straight swords and deals physical magic and fire damage. It has an average weight for a straight sword in Elden Ring with 4, and requires some points in strength, dexterity, intelligence, and faith in order to wield.
Pros
Is found somewhat early in the game in Caria Manor
Has an extremely deadly weapon skill in the Night-And-Flame stance
Cons
Poor scaling in dexterity and strength makes this primarily a caster weapon
Deals 3 different damage types which aren't ideal
The Sword of Night and Flame is legendary in Elden Ring and for good reason, it has the highest attack rating for astraight sword, particularly at minimum requirements where it deals 615 damage. It's weapon skill Knight and Flame stance is deadly dealing either fire or magic damage depending on what the situation calls for the caveat is that it doesn't scale well with strength or dexterity but rather intelligence and faith instead making this weapon much more suited to a spell Caster than appear melee build. Night and Flame stance was nerfed and then rebuffed in patch 1.07 increasing its damage once again the Knight Comet ability allows you to shoot a stream of magic forward giving you a very good range for such a short weapon and the fire sweep ability is excellent at aoing down groups of enemies and those weak to fire damage.
2 - Carian Knight's Sword (A Tier)
Carian Knight's Sword an R2 that blocks incoming attacks before striking similar to the Lazuli Glintstone Sword, and deals Physical and Magic damage. It has an average weight for a straight sword in Elder Ring weight 4 and requires some points in strength charity and intelligence in order to use.
Pros
Third Longest Straight Sword in Elden Ring
Can be acquired rating early and easily
Has about 505 attack rating at minimum requirements, which is quite high
Cons
Carian Grandeur does less damage with this weapon than if you use it on magic or cold-infused straight sword
Carian Knight's Sword outperforms the Lazuli Glintstone Sword in terms of attack rating but shares the same blocking R2 attack that makes r2s a bit strange and not likely to be used for blocking specifically. It also has an exceptional attack rating at minimum requirements with a whopping 505 which is a lot for a weapon that weighs 4. However Carian Knight's Sword's weapon skill does less damage with the same stats than any other cold or magic infused straight sword, additionally, it does 100 magic damage and doesn't increase with strength or dexterity, and what this means is that you lose attack rating to get more carrying grander damage or you lose carrying grander damage to get more attack rating which is far from ideal, and isn't an issue for magic infused straight swords in short if you really like Carrion Grandeur. We advise using magic or cold and few straight swords instead of this weapon note that this weapon skill benefits from the Godfrey icon so make sure to use it, it also is quite expensive at 26 FPS so you may want to use carry and filigree Crest to bring that cost down and make sure to use magic scorpion charm for added damage.
3- Sword of St.Trina (A Tier)
The Sword of St.Trina shares the default moveset in most straight sores, and deals physical and Magic damage. It's a very light straight sword in Elden Ring with 3 weight, and requires some points in strength, dexterity and intelligence in order to use.
Pros
Does sleep build up with each strike
Can be acquired rather easily
Mists of slumber further boost the sleep build up of the weapon by +70
Cons
One of the shortest straight swords in Elden Ring
Not all enemies and bosses are vulnerable to sleep
The Sword of St. Trina is near the bottom in terms of unique straight swords attack rating and has very short reach, however it does have sleep build up on every hit which can be a game changer in Elden Ring as a surprising amount of enemies are affected by it, even if they can't be completely put to sleep these enemies usually stagger slightly allowing for extra attacks or backstabs. If you're quick Mists of Slumber not only deals damage, but it does some sleep build up in a small AOE and adds an additional 70 sleep build up to your attacks for 30 seconds which over doubles your sleep build up per hit, this allows you to build up sleep much more easily on hard to kill enemies even if you have to buff with it out of melee range.
4 - Lordsworn's Straight Sword (C Tier)
The Lordworn's Straight Sword shares the default moves out of most straight sores, and deals physical damage. It's a light straight sword in Elden Ring weighing 3.5, and requires some points in strength and dexterity in order to use.
Pros
Top half of straight swords in terms of weapon length
Higher critical rating than all other straight swords but two (Noble's Slender Sword & Ornamental Straight Sword)
Easy to farm and can be obtained extremely early, and you can get 2
Cons
None
The Lordworn's Straight Sword might be the most well-rounded straight sword in Elden Ring, it has the third highest attack rating of all infusible straight swords, it's in the top half of straight swords when it comes to length, it's lighter than most straight swords and is tied for the highest critical rating. However if you're not doing critical attacks that often with this weapon, there are better straight swords sacred and Flame art are the highest damage with fire and lightning pulling into close second and Magic not too far behind keen and heavy have nearly identical scaling, but we don't recommend using heavy since the broadsword has much better heavy scaling. Because this weapon has high critical attack, it makes a good candidate for a block counter build that can take advantage of staggers particularly using the fire infusion, which will give you solid strength scaling and allow you to use upgrade Shield. Another good option is using the magic infusion and some sort of spell blade build that takes advantage of Glintstone failings Ash of war or the great blade failing spell up.
5 - Coded Sword (A Tier)
The Coded Sword shares the default move set of most straight swords and Deals holy damage. It's the lightest straight sword in Elden Ring with weight 2.5 and requires some points in faith in order to wield.
Pros
Second longest straight sword in Elden Ring
Zero dex/str requirements make it ideal for a pure faith caster
Is not repelled by shields or enemies that attacks would normally bounce off like the miners
The unblockable blade goes through shields
Cons
Found rather late in the game in the Lyndell Royal Capital
Deals 100% holy damage which is resisted by many early and late-game bosses
The Coded Sword might be the most unique straight sword in Elden Ring if you don't include the ornamental straight sword, it deals 100 holy damage and only scales with the faith attribute making it perfectly suited for Faith casters who will pump this attribute. Anyways, its normal attacks are not repelled by Shields and its weapon skill unblockable blade goes through them unblockable blade was buffed in patch 1.07 and now has a reduced FP cost at 18, and the motion speed and weapon skill itself is much faster allowing for it to be used more often and more easily. The ability itself doesn't deal a ton of damage though it's nothing to sneeze at, and its medium range allows you to begin swinging before enemies get too close to you.
6 - Ornamental Straight Sword (A Tier)
The Ornamental Straight Sword shares the default moveset of most Street swords and Deals physical damage. It's a very light straight sword with weight of 3 and requires some points in strength and dexterity in order to use.
Pros
The earliest possible obtainable weapon
It is a paired weapon, allowing you to dual wield without equipping another weapon
Golden Tempering boots damage and change your R2 attack into a flurry or attacks that hit rapidly
Can use the Jellyfish Shield while using the unique R2 attack of this weapon when buffed with Golden Tempering
Maks a Good Candidate for the bule dancer charm due to its light weight
Cons
In the middle bottom of the pack when it comes to straight spword length
Very low attack power.
The Ornamental Straight Sword has some really amazing features even though it's one of the lowest attack power straight swords, and even though it doesn't have very long reach. It's one of two paired weapons that aren't claws or fists and the R2 attacks hit with both weapons if golden tempering has been used, even if you're only one handing the weapon. Golden tempering was buffed in patch 1.07 to be faster and deal more Poise damage and now adds a hundred fully damage instead of 85 fuel weapon attacks and now lasts 60 seconds in short this weapon skill was already strong as we showcased in our golden Champion build but now it's even stronger.
7 - Noble's Slender Sword (B Tier)
The Noble's Slender Sword shares the default moves out of most straight swords, and Deals physical damage. It's a light straight sword and Elden Ring weigning 3.5, and requires some points in strength and dexterity in order to use.
Pros
Very low stat requirements for a straight sword
Longest Straight Sword in Elden Ring
Higher critical rating than all other straight swords, but the Lordswon's Straight Sword and Ornamental Straight Sword
Cons
Extremely low drop rate
Can take many hours to farm
The Noble's Slender Sword is the longest straight sword in Elden Ring giving an exceptional reach and it deals more damage than most other infusible straight swords. Even though it doesn't have the highest attack rating, it also has high critical attack allowing you to dispatch staggered enemies effectively. However it can take you hours to farm one. Fire and lightning deal the most damage with this weapon with magic, just behind in the second spot in flame art and sacred pulling up third the weapon does much more damage with the Keen infusion when compared to heavy, so we recommend using this one if you can't decide between the two because the Noble's Slender Sword scales better with Keen than heavy. It doesn't lend itself as well to block counter builds because strength is needed for great Shields which make block counters easier to pull off, however the fire infusion solves this issue. And we recommend using this one if you want to use it for Block counters taking advantage of its length, additionally keen and cold are still great options for Perry builds that don't need heavy Shields but still deal regular critical damage.
8 - Miquellan Knight's Sword (B Tier)
The Miquellan Knight's Sword has a unique R2 attack that lunges and slashes forward when charged and Deals physical and holy damage. It is a light straight sword in Elden ring weight 3.5 and requires some points in strength, dexterity, and faith in order to wield.
Pros
One of the longest straight swords in Elden Ring
Cons
Not found until extremely late in the game in Michelle's haligtree making it an NG+ weapon
Deals some holy damage, which is resisted by many early and late-game rosses
The Miquellan Knight's Sword deals fairly good damage, has great reach for a straight sword and has a unique R2 attack that can pull you closer to enemies allowing you to use it more easily while standing outside their attack range. You'll also only need 9 more faith in order to be able to use Golden Vow which will boost your damage by another 15 percent. However it does deal about 30 percent of its damage is Holy which isn't a good damage type in Elden Ring, and sacred blade only increases this more sacred blade is a much better weapon skill since patch 1.07 as it's at its speed and range increased. The blade can now connect for damage making it great at point-blank range and it now adds 90 holy damage to your attacks instead of 85 and lasts twice as long at 40 seconds. However this weapon has terrible fate scaling and the damage of sacred blade is not increased by strength or dexterity only the faith attribute the sacred scorpion charm is not a bad choice to use here, as it can boost this weapon's skills damage by a good amount since it's a hundred percent holy damage.
9 - Rotten Crystal Sword (B Tier)
The Rotten Crystal Sword shares the default moveset of most straight swords and Deals physical and magical damage it's one of the heavier straight swords in Elder Ring.
Pros
Top half of straight swords when it comes to length
Deals scarlet rot build up with each hit
Cons
Isn't found until the very end of the game, making it a NG+ weapon
Does less damage than the crystal sword
For all intents and purposes, the Rotten Crystal Sword operates nearly identically as the crystal sword, they have the same appearance except for the color, the same length, and share almost the same exact scaling and weapon skill. The only real difference is that the Rotten Crystal Sword add scarlet rot build up to its attacks has slightly lower attack rating and isn't found until the very end of the game. Because of this you're almost always better off with the crystal sword on regular enemies while using the Rotten Crystal Sword on bosses in NG Plus or when cooperating where they have higher Health pools and Scarlet Rock can really put in some work. Spinning slash is also a better weapon skill in this weapon compared to the Crystal Sword, because it allows you to strike rapidly building up Scarlet rot more quickly than if you were just attacking with R1 attacks though not by much in short the Rotten Crystal Sword while dealing less damage than the Crystal Sword trades outright damage for scarlet rot this is really only helpful in Boss encounters where enemies live long enough to benefit from this or in PvP where it can pressure players, otherwise you're better off going with the Crystal Sword particularly because there are no other straight swords that have Scarlet rot build up on them that you can pair it.
10 - Crystal Sword (B Tier)
The Crystal Sword shares the default move set of most straight swords and deals Physical and Magic damage, it's one of the heavier straight swords in Elden Ring weight 4.5 and requires some points in strength dexterity and intelligence in order to use.
Pros
Top half of straight swords when it comes to length
Can be found rather early on in the game
Cons
Spinning Slash is not a great weapon skill for the length of this weapon
Worse intelligence scaling than either the Lazuli Glintstone Sword or the Carian Knight Sword
The Crystal Sword has one of the highest attack ratings of unique straight swords that deal magic damage as the best strength scaling of the bunch but is in the middle of the pack when it comes to straight sword length, it has a normal R2 attack which we think is an improvement over the Lazuli Glenstone sword and carries a knight sword adding another reason to use it. Its weapon skill Spinning Slash is not particularly effective especially because the weapon doesn't have the greatest reach but it can work in a pinch if you have high enough Poise.
11 - Reglia of Eochaid (C Tier)
The Reglia of Eochaid shares the default moveset of most straight swords, and deals physical magic damage. It's the heaviest straight sword in Elden Ring with weight 5.5, and requires some points in strength, dexterity and Arcane in order to wield.
Pros
Can be acquired fairly early in Elden Ring
Eochaid's Dancing Blade is one of the deadliest weapon skills in Elden Ring
Decent arcane scalingmakes it pair with Dragon Communion Seal rather well
Cons
One of the shorter straight swords in Elden Ring
Heaviest straight sword
The Reglia of Eochaid has high attack rating but has a short reach, and is the heaviest straight sword in Elden Ring however you can get it quite early in Elden ring with a little jumping. It has one of the deadliest weapon skills in the game in Eochaid's Dancing Blade, that not only hits repeatedly allowing you to make excellent use of Rotten Wing sword Insignia melison's prosthesis and the thorny cracked here, it can also be charged for longer spins allowing it to hit more times and increase its damage via Godfrey icon this allows you to defeat bosses in one or two casts of this ability ability if you can land the whole thing.
12 - Golden Epitaph (C Tier)
The Golden Epitaph shares the default moveset of most straight swords and deals physical and holy damage. It's a light straight sword in Elden Ring weight 3.5 and requires some points in strength, dexterity and faith in order to wield.
Pros
One of the longest straight swords in Elden Ring
Deals +30% damage vs. undead by default and prevents their revival
Last rites boot the damage of those around you and increase their damage vs undead while adding holy damage to attacks
Last rites boost the damage of your off-hand
Cons
Deals some holy damage, which is resisted by many early and late-game bosses
Found rather late in the game in Azura Hero's Grave
Last rites don't stack with Golden Vow
The Golden Epitaph is in a strange place because it has a high attack rating, but it does a fair bit of holy damage which is less than ideal on top of this. Its weapon skill last right does not stack with Golden Vow which is a better buff and is obtained earlier than Golden Epitaph this makes this weapon really only useful for builds that don't intend to increase their faith to 25, which would likely be few given that you need 14 in order to wield this weapon effectively or when you're facing Undead enemies. Still the weapon only has slightly less damage than a sacred long sword and has longer reach, so if you weren't factoring in Golden Vow - it would sort of be a trade-off last rites was buffed in patch 1.07 though increasing its duration to 60 seconds adding 10 damage to your attacks and spells, and increasing the damage you deal versus Undead by a whopping 100 percent that's on top of the 25 holy damage. It adds to both weapons you're holding this all looks great on paper, but the Golden Vow Ash of War gives you in party members 12.5 damage and 7.5 protection lasts 45 seconds and costs 40 FP. The spell gives you in party members 15 damage and 10 protection and lasts 80 seconds but still costs the same 40 FP which means if you can use the spell then there is no reason to use last rights since they don't stack unless you were simply facing Undead enemies .
13 - Broadsword (C Tier)
The broadsword's R2 attacks are both slashes unlike most other straight swords and its rolling R1 attack is also a slash, and deals physical damage. It has an average weight for a long sword in Elden Ring weighing 4, and requires some points in strength and dexterity in order to use.
Pros
One of the easiest straight swords to acquire
The confessor starts with this weapon
Cons
In the bottom middle of the pack when it comes to straight sword reach
The Broadsword is the pound-for-pound king when it comes to attack rating for infusible straight swords and is the only infusible straight sword that can hang with the unique straight swords when it comes to damage. The downside is that it's shorter than over half the straight swords in Elden Ring including the long sword Lord sworn Straight Sword and the noble slender sword. It also cannot deal any thrust damage with its R2 attacks making it less versatile. In some ways fire and lightning take the top spot when it comes to damage followed by sacred and Flame art magic and heavy pulling up close in the fourth spot with cold not far behind in fit the heavy scaling on this weapon is exceptional and so is cold by extension since it scales with strength as well this puts this weapon in a great spot to use great Shields and still deal excellent damage.
14 - Lazuli Glintstone Sword (C Tier)
Lazuli Glintstone Sword has an R2 that blocks incoming attacks before striking and deals physical and magic damage. It's a light straight sword in Elden Ring weighs 3.5 and requires points in strength, dexterity and intelligence in order to use.
Pros
Glintstone Pebble is its weapon skill, which is quite good, and also cheap
Cons
One of the shorter straight swords in Elden Ring
Can take a long time to farm
The Lazuli Glintstone Sword is an interesting weapon because it has rather high attack rating for a straight sword but it doesn't have very long reach, and it has an R2 attack that blocks incoming attacks before attacking which is improved by two-handing the weapon or by using the great Shield Talisman. However it has terrible protection and guard boost natively making it a strange choice to use for blocking this makes its R2 less useful than other weapons. Glenstone Pebble is a decent weapon skill that is very inexpensive FP wise and the projectile portion is improved by increasing intelligence and Magic damage but not strength dexterity or physical damage. While the follow-up attack seems to be the same ratio of physical magic damage as the weapon itself, that is to say depending on how you're set up, about 55% magic damage and 45% physical damage and you'll get more damage out of this no matter whether you pump strength dexterity intelligence or increase physical or magic damage.
15 - Warhawk's Talon (D Tier)
The Warhawk's Talon has a unique R2 that swipes two times rapidly and if charged on the second R2 does another two attacks, and deals physical damage. It's a light straight sword in Elden Ring weighing 3.5 and requires some points in strength and dexterity in order to wield.
Pros
One of the longest straight swords in Elden Ring
Cons
Can take a long time to farm for
Has a higher dexterity requirement than every other straight sword save for the regilia of eochaid
Has spinning slash instead of square off
The Warhawk's Talon has roughly the same attack rating, as the noble slender sword at nearly every infusion can take nearly as long to farm, but it is a bit shorter and has the spinning slash as its Ash of War instead of square off. However its true claim to fame is its unique R2 that slashes twice, and if you hold R2 will attack two more times, and if you don't hold R2 it will only attack once more because the R2 is really the reason to use this weapon. We recommend using it in a build with a shield with a flame art infusion, or in a spellblade build that uses sorceries or incantations with the magic or sacred, and flame art infusions make sure to use talismans that reward multiple hits like the winged sword Insignia and Millicent's prosthesis and the Axe Talisman for charge to R2 damage.
16 - Longsword (D Tier)
Long Sword shares the default moveset of most straight swords, and deals physical damage. It's a light straight sword in Elden Ring weighing 3.5, and requires a few points in strength and dexterity in order to use.
Pros
Can be obtained from roundtable hold
The vagabond class starts with this weapon
Cons
Despite its name, it's only in the middle of the pack in terms of longsword reach
The Long Sword is a direct upgrade in pretty much every way over the short sword for only two more strength and 0.5 equip load, you gain 20 to 40 attack rating over every short sword infusion much longer reach, and you can still deal thrust damage with your R2. The long sword also has the second highest attack rating of all infusible straight swords being about 10 to 20 points behind the broadsword in nearly every infusion, but it is slightly longer iron. Lightning deal the most damage followed closely by sacred and Flame art with magic pulling up third heavy and Keen deal about the same damage and have about the same scaling, so it doesn't matter which of those you choose because both the Lord sworn's straight sword and Noble slender sword deal only slightly less damage both have longer reach and both have higher critical rating, they make a better choice for any sort of block counter build.
17 - Short Sword (D Tier)
The Short Sword's R2 attacks are both thrust unlike most other straight swords, and it deals physical damage. It's very light straight sword and Elden Ring weighing 3, and requires a few points in strength and dexterity in order to use.
Pros
Very lightweight
Very low requirements
Better damage than daggers and only slightly heavier
Extremely easy to acquire and astrologers begin with it
Cons
Shortest reach of all straight swords
Starts with kick, which isn't a very good weapon skill
One of the lowest attack ratings of all straight swords
The Short Sword has the shortest reach of all straight swords, it has some of the lowest damage of all straight swords but it does have a few things going for it - it's lightweight, it has low requirements, it can deal thrust damage with r2s, and it's easy to acquire. However nearly every other straight sword has longer reach and higher attack rating as long as you can spare the extra 0.5 equip loa, the long sword is already an upgrade the sacred and Flame art infusions are at the top of the list when it comes to Total attack rating. For this weapon followed closely by fire and lightning and Magic, the weapon also scales better with the Keen infusion when compared to heavy. If you insist on using this weapon we recommend using it in a dual wield build that focuses on low equip load trying to make use of the blue dancer charm, since this weapon doesn't weigh much. You could also cast some incantations if you use the sacred to Flame art affinities which have the most damage and there are sacred seals that weigh zero so they won't add to your flipload up.
18 - Weathered Straight Sword (D Tier)
The Weathered Straight Sword shares the default move set of most straight swords and Deals physical damage it's a very light straight sword and Elden Ring weighing 3, and require some points in strength and dexterity in order to use.
Pros
Very low stat requirements for a straight sword
Better damage than daggers and is only slightly heavier
Can be acquired very early in the game, and 2 can be obtained
Cons
The second shortest reach of all straight swords
very low damage for an straight sword
The Weathered Straight Sword is essentially a lower attack rating version of the short sword , but with slightly longer reach a cool visual appearance and it costs slightly less stamina to swing in short the best reason to use. This weapon is the lower stamina consumption particularly if you want to do a will, this will allow you to hit more times before draining your stamina bar, even though your attacks will deal less damage, either go with fire or lightning for Max damage or go with bleeder poison for status effect buildup.
19 - Cane Sword (D Tier)
The Cane Sword shares the moveset of the broadsword and deals physical damage. It's the lightest straight sword in Elden Ring weighing 2.5, and requires few points in strength and dexterity in order to use.
Pros
Very low stat requirements for a straight sword
The lightest straight sword in Elden Ring
Cons
One of the shortest straight swords in Elden Ring
Not found until leyndell royal capital
The cane sword and ornamental straight sword are the two lowest attack rating straight swords in Elden Ring, but this one is infusible it has very short reach and it's not found until late into the game making it most likely obsolete by the time you find it. The fire and lightning infusions are the best with it and Magic is just behind with sacred and Flame art pulling up third, and Keen edging out heavy by about 20 attack rating and much like the weathered straight sword and short sword this weapon lends itself well to a dual wield build that takes advantage of the blue dancer charm.