The Best Strength Weapons in Elden Ring DLC

Summary

• Anvil Hammer: Best for Strength/Faith builds due to high Stance damage & fire infusion boosted by Faith.
• Sword Lance: Underrated weapon with Ash of War options, fits different build types than just Strength.
• Beast Claw: Allows for fast, flurry of blows with Heavy infusion, Also has innate blood loss buildup.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree brings a whole host of brand-new weapons for players to experiment with and build around. And while new weapon types are all mostly Dexterity and Intelligence-focused, Tarnished favoring Strength have plenty to look forward to, as well.

There is no shortage of heavy bonk sticks in the Land of Shadow, but there are some surprisingly nimble options here as well. From hammers to greatswords to axes, here are the best Strength weapons introduced in the DLC.

Updated February 15, 2025, by Hamza Haq: Continuing the trend from the base game, stacking Strength as a primary stat remains one of the most popular ways to build a character in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, and Strength weapons are a key part of that equation. Players are presented with a huge variety of Strength-scaling weapons in the DLC that are either pure STR, STR/DEX, STR/FAI, STR/INT, or even STR/ARC. Some of the strongest Strength weapons in SotE don’t naturally scale with Strength, but because their BiS configuration is Strength affinity, they are counted among their number. Two new Strength weapons from Shadow of the Erdtree have been added to the article to give players even more options.

8

Ancient Meteoric Ore Greatsword

• Location: Ruined Forge Starfall Past
• How to Get: Pull the lever at the end of the Ruined Forge Starfall Past to unlock the altar containing the Ancient Meteoric Ore Greatsword.

Ancient Meteoric Ore Greatsword

is a Strength, Dexterity, and Arcane scaling weapon that can be built in multiple ways. Players can easily use it as a makeshift club to smack enemies around by pumping Strength and ignoring everything else. Alternatively, it can also be built as a balanced damage dealer that focuses on both physical attacks and the Ash of War’s damage by leveling up both Arcane and Strength.

The White Light Charge Ash of War is an incredibly powerful weapon skill that can deal devastating damage to a single target in a flash. It is also great in PvP as it can close distances quite effectively, a problem many Strength builds have. Combined with crouch poking, it is an extremely annoying weapon to deal with for other players.

7

Sword Lance

The Sword Lance

is one of the most underrated weapons in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC because of the flashy Ash of War it comes equipped with. For Strength builds, infusing the Sword Lance with a Heavy infusion increases the Strength scaling to A, giving the weapon a chance to stand with the best of the best.

Having the ability to slap on different Ashes of War for different enemies is a major boon, allowing the weapon to fit in with different build types than a simple Strength-only loadout. Against bosses, the Sword Lance functions like a spear when wielded with a Greatshield in the left hand, allowing players to poke and block at the same time.

6

Beast Claw

Strength builds typically don’t have a fast, nimble moveset, relying instead on slow, heavy attacks that deal a lot of poise damage. A Heavy-infused Beast Claw (Weapon)

changes that dynamic, allowing players to perform a flurry of blows that do incredible damage at close range.

The Ash of War variety is also there, as every single AoW allows for a Heavy infusion, pushing the Str scaling for a +25 Beast Claw to A. But the cherry on top is the fact that the Beast Claw has innate blood loss buildup (45), which is as good as any close-range weapon is likely to get. This gives Str builds the best of both worlds, an infusable bleed weapon that doesn’t require sacrificing damage for the status effect.

5

Greatsword of Solitude

The Greatsword of Solitude

is a great option for players who want to graduate from using the Guts Greatsword and want something with a similar playstyle and aesthetic. The Greatsword of Solitude is a Str/Dex weapon that gets A scaling in Str at +10. The amount of damage it does per swing, relative to the speed of the moveset, puts it up there with the best weapons in the game.

The weapon skill, Solitary Moon Slash, provides a decent ranged option that’s quick, travels a fair distance, and deals respectable damage. Having said that, its true power lies in its balanced moveset and quick pace of play. Overall, it’s a balanced weapon that won’t have players feel like they cheated when they beat a boss with it.

4

Shadow Sunflower Blossom

The Shadow Sunflower Blossom

is a Str/Fai weapon, leaning more towards Faith than Strength. The power of the weapon lies in its unique ash of war, Shadow Sunflower Headbutt, which slams the face of the sunflower down on the ground three times in quick succession.

The move has a small AoE, but the true power lies in its ability to break the poise of bosses when used in conjunction with its heavy attack. The downside to this is that the windup to start the animation for the weapon skill is somewhat awkward, especially against nimbler targets. However, if players manage to catch someone with the first slam, it becomes incredibly easy to break the stance to deal massive damage with the follow-ups. Keep in mind that much of the damage dealt here is holy, meaning putting a lot of points in Faith is required to make the Shadow Sunflower Blossom work.

3

Death Knight’s Longhaft Axe

For players looking for something a bit more PvP-focused, Death Knight’s Longhaft Axe

comes equipped with perhaps one of the coolest Ashes of War in the entire DLC: the Blinkbolt: Long-hafted Axe. The main difference between this and the standard Blinkbolt is that the one on the Longhaft allows players to perform a lightning-infused follow-up to the dash swinging down on the target in an overhead arc.

Do note that while increasing Faith does increase the lightning damage, it’s negligible at best. Players looking to craft a build around this weapon are better off increasing Strength instead, as that is where most of the damage comes from.

2

Anvil Hammer

For a Strength/Faith build, the Anvil Hammer

is an incredible option. At +10, it gets B scaling Strength and D with Faith, making Strength the primary stat players should focus on. While there are other Strength weapons that technically do more damage per hit, the Anvil Hammer deals more Stance damage per hit than anything else in the DLC. Additionally, the weapon has innate fire damage that gets boosted by Faith.

Damage-wise, it works as a permanently fire-infused greathammer rather than a unique weapon that cannot be buffed. The weapon skill, Smithing Art Spears, is even better at Stance break than the regular heavy attacks because it has a shorter animation, a bigger AoE, and persists on-field for a short duration afterward.

1

Fire Knight’s Greatsword

• Location: Shadow Keep
• How to Get: Has a low chance to drop from Fire Knights wielding the Fire Knight’s Greatsword.

The Fire Knight’s Greatsword

is hands down one of the best weapons in the entire DLC, with incredible AR, an excellent moveset, and a deceptively long reach that shines in PvP. There are two main ways to build this weapon. Players can either lean towards a pure Strength build by using Fire affinity on the Ash of War or make it a Strength/Faith weapon by using the Flame Art infusion. Flame Art scales primarily with Faith and has the edge when it comes to pure DPS, but players cannot go wrong with Fire affinity either.

Both Flame Skewer and Flame Spear are excellent Ashes of War for both variants and provide the weapon with even more poke damage. Combined with Flame, Grant Me Strength, Golden Vow, Fire Scorpion Charm, and the appropriate Talismans, this build can easily enter the top 5 most broken builds in Elden Ring without an issue.