The Dark Souls series is not for the faint of heart. Whatever the cost of the game may be, gamers familiar with the franchise know to bank an extra one or two hundred dollars for when controllers are inevitably smashed out of frustration. As nearly immortal bosses literally dance on the graves of fallen players, one can only wonder how and why these games are so infuriating and fun at the same time.

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Characters of all builds and specialties attempt to claw their way through the game until finally getting a taste of that sweet victory. The problem is that many players claw through Dark Souls 3 when they should plow through or dig through. Speaking plainly, they are using the wrong tools for the job. If the player comes across one of the items from this list, it's best to ditch it and move on.

10 Broken Straight Sword

Dark Souls 3 Broken Straight Sword

As if the game weren't difficult enough, one of the first early-game weapons is a humiliating broken sword. Many a gamer has died on their very first encounter, and, watching the enemy cackle with glee, asked to themselves, "what are you laughing about, bonehead? All I had was a broken weapon!"

But, before getting too down on this introductory weapon, one might consider that about half of the weapons on this list actually do worse damage. The damage isn't the problem so much as the fact that the range and speed are both terrible. Replace it before taking on any tough enemy.

9 Bare Hands

Dark Souls 3 Bare Hand Boss Gauntlet

Many have tried a complete run through the game with other weapons on this list. Few, if any, would dare consider using their fists to try and complete the same challenge. Bare hands might be useful for those prioritizing mobility, but they're awful offensive weapons.

Most gamers would sooner give up their armor than their weapon and that's perfectly rational. Rolling around in a loincloth might be embarrassing, but it's much less enraging than delivering over one thousand unarmed blows to the first boss and dying despite the heroic effort.

8 Torch

Dark Souls 3 Lighting A Torch

Dark Souls 3 is filled with over-the-top difficult encounters. Most of them are satisfying to defeat after finally understanding their techniques. Perhaps the least satisfying way to try and beat them, though, is with a torch.

The player's impulse is to hold a flaming thing and to try and make that flaming thing turn enemies into flaming things. The torch is useful as a light, but it is not useful as a shield or as a weapon. Instead of wailing on enemies and wondering why they don't burst into flame, remember that the torch is meant to be ignited, not to do the igniting.

7 Dark Hand

Dark Souls 3 Dark Hand Dungeon

Alright, it's time to get down to some real weapons. Common sense tells the gamer that the previous entries on this list are not going to be viable methods to dispatch enemies, but the rest of these entries are deceptively bad, and many are even worse.

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The Dark Hand is a good example. Statistically, the weight is nothing, the weapon is melee and ranged, and it doubles as a shield. What's not to love? As it turns out, it's almost impossible to aim and absorbs next to nothing. Bare hands might sound like a joke, but at least they can reliably hit a target. Don't mistake this for one of the perfectly viable magic weapons in the game.

6 Cleric's Candlestick

Dark Souls 3 Cleric's Candlestick

Is this a typo? How can one of the game's most iconic weapons be one of its worst? No one would ever say the most memorable weapons in Final Fantasy 7 were no good, so, why is this Dark Souls 3 weapon deserving of such an ignoble designation?

The answer is that it lives on borrowed time. The starting statistics are actually pretty great, and the effects of the flames are spectacular. However, as other gear levels up nicely, the Cleric's Candlestick is stuck with its initial value and nothing more.

5 Parrying Dagger

Dark Souls 3 Parrying Dagger Character Face

As players scour the internet to find the best weapons to suit their builds, one might find it surprising that the Parrying Dagger isn't on any of these lists. Sure, the name kind of implies that it isn't meant for damage, which is true, but being able to deflect blows in a game as punishing as Dark Souls 3 must be useful, right?

Correct! But the dagger isn't all that good at its namesake either. Players that upgrade to a shield instead of a dagger will immediately notice better defensive capabilities, and doing such little damage means the fights will take longer, which means taking more damage. It's a death spiral that should be avoided.

4 Dancer's Enchanted Swords

Dark Souls 3 Dancer's Enchanted Swords

Some players might read this entry and the last one and conclude that the author is biased against the fantastic dexterity weapons this game has to offer. This isn't the case. In fact, the animations of this weapon's attacks are so cool that the bias is actually pulling in the opposite direction.

Sadly, even after several patches boosted these daggers, they are still too dependent on four different attributes. This results in virtually any build doing better off without them. Factoring in upgrades actually widens the chasm between these and the other swords.

3 Handmaid's Dagger

Dark Souls 3 Handmaid's Dagger

Another dagger? Yes, and there's another to come; daggers didn't work in PvE and they don't crack the top lists in PvP either. Sure, the Handmaid's Dagger looks sinister. When it is first discovered and equipped, the weapon is fast and does some decent damage.

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Unfortunately, it can't be buffed or infused. The backstab and riposte is more difficult to pull off when compared to other daggers. Anyone using it later in the game better be ready to see the death screen pop up over and over again. Though they should be commended for taking this paperweight so far!

2 Mailbreaker

Dark Souls 3 Mailbreaker Fan Art

The Mailbreaker calls itself a "short sword" in the description. Yet, there is no class of short swords, so it should technically be classed as a dagger—a really big, heavy dagger. The upside is that it breaks shields, and that's technically true, so why does it lack a purpose?

The trick is that it only breaks through shields if aimed very carefully, landed perfectly, and executed as a forward lunge. No enemy is slow enough or stupid enough to see the player forward lunge with this hunk of iron and stay still. The player must try to predict movements, and, even after getting through these defenses, the dagger still does inferior damage to other options.

1 Soldering Iron

Dark Souls 3 Soldering Iron

Now the time has come to address the most infamous of the terrible weapons in Dark Souls 3: The Soldering Iron. Viewers will see streamers use it and think, "hey, I bet they use this because this weapon makes the game really easy!"

That's the wrong impression. These hardcore gamers use it to increase the game difficulty because everything about it is awful. The range, the speed, the recovery, it's all bad. And the worst part? It famously claims to block Estus healing, but do not be fooled, it doesn't even do that.

NEXT: Dark Souls 3: The 10 Hardest Zones Ranked By Difficulty