Lightning damage is most often associated with hunting or battling dragons, as it is seen primarily on weapons that are connected to the gods and mighty warriors who have spilled the most dragon's blood. Appropriately, the weapons that innately possess this damage type are almost always useful against the many draconic fiends found in Dark Souls 3.
However, they are also immensely effective on a great number of other enemies and bosses in Dark Souls 3, including all of the Lords of Cinder. There are 6 weapons that come with lightning damage, though some pack more of a punch than others thanks to higher stats, better weapon skills, and cooler movesets.
Updated on September 16, 2021, by Reyadh Rahaman: Before the Ashen One can galavant around the decrepit land of Lothric to literally shock foes with their might, players will have to find these weapons first. While some are pretty straightforward to obtain, others can be tricky in the usual way Souls games makes gathering goods difficult.
For the ideal lightning weapons, one will need to travel to some of the toughest areas in the game as well as defeat singularly powerful enemies in order to transpose their souls. However, these challenges are worth the effort if the Ashen One can muster courage and skill enough to overcome them, as the rewards greatly outweigh the risks.
Dragonslayer Spear
Dragonslayer Spear Overview
Instantly recognizable for being the weapon of Dragonslayer Ornstein, a boss from the first Dark Souls, the Dragonslayer Spear offers excellent reach and decent scaling, though its weapon skill and base damage are a bit disappointing when compared to other lightning weapons.
The Lightning Charge skill is a very obvious forward charge that ends in a thrust that sends out lightning in a linear path, which, while cool and effective if it hits, is difficult to aim and easy for foes to dodge. When this unique weapon is upgraded to the max level of +5, it gets 170 physical attack, 122 lightning attack, and triple scaling: D-tier in both Strength and Faith as well as B-tier in Dexterity.
How To Get The Dragonslayer Spear
- Start from the Dragon-Kin Mausoleum bonfire at Archdragon Peak
- Head through the doorway into the building
- Ascend the stairs on the right and exit through the central doorway
- Walk up to the closed gate directly ahead
- Loot the mostly-hidden corpse there to get the Dragonslayer Spear
Dragonslayer Swordspear
Dragonslayer Swordspear Overview
The impressive yet strangely proportioned spear offers a novel moveset that combines attacks from both regular spears and glaives, which makes the Dragonslayer Swordspear a fun lightning weapon to use in DS3, especially since its weapon skill, Falling Bolt, can call down a literal bolt of lightning onto a foe's head.
Many players will recognize it as the weapon belonging to the Nameless King, and may also remember its destructive power first-hand. Sadly, its base damage and scaling are lower than one would expect, leaving this very cool weapon lacking when compared to others that deal lightning damage. When fully upgraded, the Dragonslayer Swordspear gets 234 physical attack, an almost meaningless 63 lightning attack, as well as middling scaling with 3 stats; D-tier with Strength plus C-tier with Dexterity and Faith.
How To Get The Dragonslayer Swordspear
- Defeat the Nameless King to acquire his soul
- Transpose the Soul of the Nameless King with Ludleth of Courland to get the Dragonslayer Swordspear
Dragonslayer's Axe
Dragonslayer's Axe Overview
With decent attack speed, relatively low stamina consumption, and great damage output, the Dragonslayer's Axe is an excellent lighting weapon to chop down enemies and has somewhat low stat requirements as well, making it a solid armament choice for almost any melee build.
The Warcry skill is basic yet is a reliable and quick buff to damage that enables players to use this axe's high stats even more effectively. Player's should take the Regular upgrade path instead of the Lightning infusion, as the latter causes this weapon to lose out on too much physical damage to remain deadly. At the +10 Regular upgrade, the Dragonslayer's Axe attains 210 in both physical and lightning attack, making it evenly split a total of 420 attack. The scaling, D-tier in Strength and E-tier in Dexterity, are not very impressive, though still offer small damage boosts.
How To Get The Dragonslayer's Axe
- Players must first help Sirris of the Sunless Realms defeat Creighton the Wanderer on the bridge leading into Irithyll of the Boreal Valley via the summon sign located there
- After doing so, start from the Church of Yorshka bonfire and head down the stairs into the graveyard
- Hug the right wall and follow it until one reaches an area near a cliff with a large tombstone
- Creighton will invade here and defeating him will automatically give the player the Dragonslayer's Axe
Drakeblood Greatsword
Drakeblood Greatsword Overview
Despite looking relatively plain, this greatsword is one of the rare weapons that innately possess 3 kinds of damage types: physical, magic, and lightning. This alone means that almost nothing will have great damage reduction against attacks made by the wielder of this blade. In terms of lore, the Drakeblood Greatsword is one of the few lightning weapons in DS3 that are connected to those that worship dragons as opposed to slaying them.
There are many potential options that look good to this greatsword's wielder, however, the Regular path offers the best overall damage, though with only moderate scaling. When fully upgraded to +10, the Drakeblood Greatsword obtains 178 physical attack along with 142 for both magic and lightning attack respectively, totaling well over 450 attack combined. It also gets D-tier scaling with both Strength and Dexterity for a small bump to the already high damage output.
How To Get The Drakeblood Greatsword
- Dropped by the Drakeblood Knight after they are defeated in the Dragon-Kin Mausoleum
Lothric Knight Greatsword
Lothric Knight Greatsword Overview
Named misleadingly, the Lothric Knight Greatsword is actually an ultra greatsword as well as one of the hardest-hitting lightning weapons in DS3. Like other greatweapons, it has a slow attack speed but does excellent health and poise damage in addition to possessing solid poise health to shrug off lighter attacks while mid-swing.
It also comes with awesome damage potential and should be given a Heavy infusion, for this is the path that grants it the most overall base damage and scaling bonuses that fits with its stat requirements. At +10, the Lothric Knight Greatsword reaches 242 physical attack and 174 lightning attack that gets boosted by a significant A-tier scaling in Strength.
How To Get The Lothric Knight Greatsword
- Can be bought from Greirat for 7,000 souls after he has successfully pillaged Irithyll of the Boreal Valley
- If Greirat dies, his ashes can be given to the Shrine Handmaiden, who will begin selling the Lothric Knight Greatsword for the same price
- The Lothric Knight Greatsword can also be a rare drop from the Lothric Knights who wield them in Lothric Castle
Dragonslayer Greataxe
Dragonslayer Greataxe Overview
As the heaviest out of all the greataxes at 20 weight, the Dragonslayer Greataxe, notable for being the weapon of the Dragonslayer Armour, is also the most powerful of them as well as all lightning weapons. The massive amount of damage potential, combined with a variant of the Falling Bolt skill that strikes at melee range, grants its wielder great ways to dominate almost any fight.
When this mighty boss weapon is upgraded to the max level of +5, it achieves a colossal 364 physical attack, 136 lightning attack, and triple scaling: C-tier in Strength, E-tier in Dexterity, and D-tier in Faith.
How To Get The Dragonslayer Greataxe
- Defeat the Dragonslayer Armour to obtain its soul
- Transpose the Soul of Dragonslayer Armour with Ludleth of Courland to get the Dragonslayer Greataxe