When it comes to the Dark Souls trilogy, Dark Souls II is literally the awkward middle child of the family. It's definitely a more refined game compared to the series' initial outing, but it's often thought of as the franchise's weakest entry. That said, it's still a wonderful game that ticks all of the essential boxes for a Dark Souls experience, from the iconic and epic boss battles to the generous selection of unique weaponry to master.
The latter is what brings GameRant here today. Dark Souls II definitely beefed up the armory when compared to its predecessor, so much so that choosing a weapon to focus on can be a daunting task. The fact that most of them can be made viable through a combination of skills and the right build simply compounds the issue, but some of them still stand out as outrageously powerful. If one wants the quick and dirty on what those weapons are, scroll down and check out the strongest weapons to be found in Drangleic.
Updated on December 30th, 2020, by Reyadh Rahaman: There is a weapon for every playstyle and a playstyle for every Bearer of the Curse. The tremendous arsenal that one can accumulate through their travels in Dark Souls II is staggering, though not as much as some of the most impressive implements of destruction that can be potentially wielded for more than satisfying combat results. Great weapons, in more than just name, proliferate Drangleic; although which ones can become the most powerful depends on the hands that harness them.
15 Sanctum Repeating Crossbow
Despite doing less damage per individual bolt, the Sanctum Repeating Crossbow, which can be dropped by sanctum knights from the dankest of the DS2 DLCs, launches three such minute projectiles in quick succession with each attack, leading to higher cumulative damage than any other Crossbow in the game if all three bolts hit their target. If wielded with two hands, the player can unleash the alternate fire mode which launches small dark orbs instead of bolts. This can be immensely useful against foes with high physical defense.
The developers at FromSoftware seem to be in love with such weapons as there are multiple iterations of repeating crossbows found throughout the Dark Souls franchise. This is likely due to the developer team being huge fans of Berserk and the protagonist's use of an arm-mounted repeating crossbow.
14 Demon's Great Hammer
Great hammers are renowned for being able to turn many foes into pancakes with a single overhead swing. The Demon's Great Hammer is one such armament that can be found very early on. In Things Betwixt, players can trade certain items with Dyna & Tillo, the invisible bird-beings in a conspicuous nest upon a ledge.
If the player gives them a few trinkets, they can receive this massive mace, which has one of the highest base damage stats in the game. This, in combination with its great strength scaling, can make it the best starting weapon for those looking to crush foes right out of the gate. At low levels, one will not be able to use it in a single hand due to its high strength requirement, but being able to one-shot almost every common early-game enemy will make this not matter too much.
13 Drakekeeper's Greataxe
The Drakekeeper's Greataxe cannot be acquired until very late in the game, possibly dooming it to New Game+ playthroughs. It is in a chest within the Dragon Shrine and can be the ideal endgame weapon for many builds. With high base damage, longer reach than most other Greataxes, and its relatively light weight, this is a very versatile armament.
However, the best thing about it is its moveset. Instead of having the typical attacks of a Greataxe, this champion of cleaving essentially has the moveset of the Crypt Blacksword. The only difference is its two-handed combo, which emulates that of a Great Hammer. These versatile wielding maneuvers can allow one to decimate generic enemies and confound invaders enough to catch them off guard.
12 Red Iron Twinblade
This unique tool for tearing adversaries asunder can be picked up in the Shrine of Amana from a corpse surrounded by the annoying shrine maidens who dwell there. Twinblades are a cool weapon type that has novel usage in that they are fast, crazy-looking, and are hard to counter for many builds.
The Red Iron Twinblades stand out from others in this category in that it is the only one that scales exclusively with strength, making it a great option for beefy builds looking for a faster alternative. In addition, it does higher poise damage than most other Twinblades, enabling the player to more easily stagger and stunlock foes into submission.
11 Dragon Tooth
One of the most iconic weapons in the series, Dragon Tooth is feared by all players for its massive damage to health, stamina, and poise. It is quite slow, though when it hits it makes an undeniable impact. It has huge base damage and can be upgraded for this to increase even more.
This behemoth also gets significantly better strength scaling when upgraded, making it one of the Great Hammers with the most damage output. The auxiliary effects of greater fire and magic defense make it even more of an attractive choice for players.
10 Curved Dragon Greatsword
Curved Greatswords are a bit of a niche offering in Dark Souls II. There really aren't very many of them to choose from, making them a relatively rare sight. But one of the strongest offerings among that class has to be the Curved Dragon Greatsword, and with good reason - it's a remarkably strong weapon.
The core moveset can be a little problematic, as it lacks the reach that most players would expect from a weapon of its size. The two-handed heavy attack, however, is a very long-ranged special attack reminiscent of the Drake Sword's from Dark Souls, which can be a nasty surprise for PVP opponents.
9 Greatsword
The straightforward Greatsword is a popular selection for several reasons. It's strong, it looks radical, and it's incredibly easy to find and upgrade. All of this combined with the fact that it's one of the most solid weapons in the game should make it less than surprising to see a player lugging around one, if not two, of these massive blades.
With a reliable moveset and great scaling, this is just an all-around sturdy weapon for strength builds. As a neat bit of trivia, the design of the weapon itself is another pretty clear nod to the signature weapon of Guts, from the popular dark fantasy manga Berserk.
8 Fume Ultra Greatsword
Forged by the Weaponsmith Ornifex from the soul of the Fume Knight boss found in the Crown of the Old Iron King DLC, this hulking two-hander even looks intimidating. The stat requirements to wield it can be a little brutal, requiring significant investment in both strength and dexterity. This makes it almost exclusive to quality builds.
In addition to high statistical necessities, this thing is ridiculously heavy, weighing in at a staggering twenty-eight units. Those that can manage to work it into their build will see an immense payoff in terms of damage, as its base damage is great and it carries an S rating in terms of strength scaling.
7 Roaring Halberd
The Roaring Halberd is definitely a unique, if not outright odd weapon, making it a less than popular selection among players at large. It is, however, incredibly strong with all things considered. It's one of the few weapons that have stat requirements across the board - strength, dexterity, faith, and intelligence all require a little investment to wield it.
It is capable of doing tremendous damage, but it falls into the unpopular category of "split damage," meaning that it deals physical damage in combination with other elements (dark damage, in this instance). Even so, this thing really hurts, and it features a great moveset with multiple two-hit combos and significant reach.
6 Smelter Hammer
If you're one of those players that operate on the assumption that "bigger is better," you really won't be too far off base when picking up the Smelter Hammer. Not only is it the heaviest weapon in the game, but it carries the highest strength requirement out of all the weapons, needing a seventy point investment before it can be used one-handed.
But even with its steep requirements, the Smelter Hammer is an undeniable beast of a weapon. It's ridiculously huge, and most attacks will result in a stagger, if it doesn't outright knock your opponent flat onto their back. Any Dark Souls II player owes it to themselves to at least test out this behemoth when given the opportunity.
5 King's Ultra Greatsword
You could be forgiven for seeing this weapon and confusing it for a club wrought from a statue, but rest assured, it is definitely classified as an Ultra Greatsword. Acquired by trading the soul of King Vendrick with the Weaponsmith Ornifex, this weapon has a tendency to knock opponents around like a ragdoll with its incredibly powerful strikes.
Standout features of the King's Ultra Greatsword include its absurd durability, meaning it will rarely break, even over the course of longer ventures between repairs. It also has high damage reduction and stability scores, meaning it can sort-of double as a shield in a pinch, so long as elemental damage isn't in the equation.
4 Giant Warrior Club
The use and application of the Giant Warrior Club is likely obvious from its appearance. It's a massive boulder that's been lashed to a tree branch. And it performs as you'd expect such a contraption, which is to say that it smashes things. And it does so quite well.
Though its statistical requirements are outpaced by the Smelter Hammer, they're still considerable, necessitating an epic sixty points of strength to carry in one hand. It's heavy, and it's slow, but it kicks out damage that is nothing short of impressively deadly to both the health and poise of foes.
3 Black Knight Greataxe
Although it isn't as flatly overpowered as its iteration in the original Dark Souls, the Black Knight Greataxe is capable of inflicting tremendous amounts of pain, even if it's a bit unwieldy at times. It has a spread of stat requirements, needing minor investments in dexterity, faith, and intelligence, in addition to its prime requirement of forty strength.
It also toes its way into the split damage category by doing some fire elemental damage, but that in no way means this weapon should be ignored. It hits like a five-ton truck, and its moveset features a roster of wide, sweeping attacks with surprising range that are sure to catch opponents off guard.
2 Crypt Blacksword
Received in trade from the Weaponsmith Ornifex for the Old Dead One Soul, the Crypt Blacksword is one of the most unique ultra greatswords in Dark Souls II, but it can be tricky to work into a build. However, doing so correctly yields what is easily one of the most powerful weapons available in the game.
The Crypt Blacksword is pretty heavy on Dark damage and scaling, achieving the coveted S rating in the latter if it is infused with Dark. Stacking other buffs on top of that, such as Resonant Weapon or Dark Weapon, will push that damage bonus to purely absurd heights.
1 Sacred Chime Hammer
Trading in the Soul of Velstadt with the Weaponsmith Ornifex will yield this beautiful instrument of blunt force trauma. Capable of easily breaking an attack rating of eight hundred with the correct buffs and upgrades, the fact that it isn't seen more often is a true wonder.
In addition to its predictably amazing damage output, the two-handed heavy attack will summon a triplet of affinity orbs that will home in on the nearest target, providing a neat, extra layer of utility and pressure on top of an already terrifyingly strong weapon.