The Demon’s Souls remake features the brutal challenge that FromSoftware titles are known for, but knowing what the best weapons are can make the game more manageable. Released in 2009, Demon’s Souls – the first entry in the so-called Soulsborne RPG subgenre – raised the bar for in-game equipment design. With 2020’s remake, a new generation of players can take up arms against the enemies that rove through the Kingdom of Boletaria.
With stunning designs, dozens of individual stats, and a clever mix of perks and debuffs, it can often be difficult for you to choose which weapons to use in your playthrough. While no weapon works the same in all scenarios, numerous weapons rise above their peers in terms of utility. As you war through Bluepoint Games’ remake of Demon’s Souls, you should take care not to miss these outstanding weapons.
Related
Soulsborne: 10 Biggest Differences Between Demon’s Souls And Elden Ring
FromSoftware has come a long way since Demon’s Souls, so while both it and Elden Ring are great in their own rights, there are clear differences.
17 Knight Sword
Pick Up The Perfect Starting Weapon
Knight Sword Base Stats |
||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Physical |
Magical |
Fire |
Bleeding |
Poison |
Plague |
Critical Strike |
Durability |
Weight |
85 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
220 |
3.0 |
Stat Requirement |
Damage Scaling |
---|---|
Strength – 14 |
Strength – D |
Dexterity – 0 |
Dexterity – E |
A classic starting weapon for Demon’s Souls is the Knight Sword, a simple weapon that can be wielded in one or both hands by your character. This tool is the ultimate example of flexibility, as you can upgrade it or infuse it however you want without the risk of it losing its best qualities. The low Stamina cost on each swing means that your strikes will be fast and reliable without putting your character at risk.
Although this weapon won’t deal nearly as much damage as others on this list, it boasts some of the most customization options in the game. For example, you could turn the Knight Sword into a Dragon Knight Sword for Fire damage or a Crushing Knight Sword to guarantee an S Rank of Strength scaling damage. Any build can use this weapon with minimal stat requirements, which can be something that holds builds back during the early game.
16 Scraping Spear
Make Your Enemies’ Defenses Worthless
Scraping Spear Base Stats |
||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Physical |
Magical |
Fire |
Bleeding |
Poison |
Plague |
Critical Strike |
Durability |
Weight |
100 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
400 |
4.0 |
Stat Requirement |
Damage Scaling |
---|---|
Strength – 15 |
Strength – E |
Dexterity – 15 |
Dexterity – A |
While its damage-dealing stats aren’t anything impressive, a weapon’s greatness is not always about raw numbers. No weapon in Demon’s Souls makes this case better than the Scraping Spear. This weapon, forged from the soul of the Phalanx Demon, possesses the unique ability to degrade the durability of enemy weapons and armor.
Related
Demon’s Souls PS5 Has Secret Items Still Not Discovered By Players
A dataminer has indicated that there are several hidden, new items in the Demon’s Souls remake, sending players on a wild scavenger hunt.
Even low-level players can benefit from this spear’s ability. Though they may not be able to inflict physical damage on enemies if they are below the Scraping Spear’s utility level, they can still inflict its durability damage. You can also reduce the effectiveness of enemy armor and weapons, making even the most tank-like foes and bosses more manageable to face.
15 Crescent Falchion
Regenerate Mana While Using This Weapon
Crescent Falchion +1 Base Stats |
||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Physical |
Magical |
Fire |
Bleeding |
Poison |
Plague |
Critical Strike |
Durability |
Weight |
55 |
68 |
0 |
120 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
120 |
1.5 |
Stat Requirement |
Damage Scaling |
---|---|
Strength – 9 |
Strength – N/A |
Dexterity – 10 |
Dexterity – N/A |
Magic – 0 |
Magic – A |
While plenty of other weapons can be imbued with the benefits of the crescent upgrade path by giving Blacksmith Ed Darkmoonstone, a Crescent Falchion can be found early in your journey through Demon’s Souls‘ fog-filled Kingdom of Boletaria. Obtainable in area 4-1, as you can see in the above video by YouTube creator Ashen One, you only need to defeat the Phalanx boss from level 1-1 to gain access to this weapon.
This weapon also does excellent Bleeding damage, taking out huge chunks of an enemy’s life bar when you can build up the Bleed status effect enough.
The Crescent Falchion isn’t well-suited for all builds, but it’s a must-have for anyone focusing on magic. The weapon scales very well with your Magic stat, and it allows you to passively regenerate mana while it is equipped. This extra ability is great if you are looking to use spells often either to get through an area or take down a difficult boss weak to magic damage.
14 Ritual Blade
Pick Up A New Tool Unique To The Remake
Ritual Blade Base Stats |
||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Physical |
Magical |
Fire |
Bleeding |
Poison |
Plague |
Critical Strike |
Durability |
Weight |
130 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
230 |
10 |
Stat Requirement |
Damage Scaling |
---|---|
Strength – 12 |
Strength – D |
Dexterity – 0 |
Dexterity – E |
For an axe of its stature, the Ritual Blade’s Weight rating is only 10, making it easily usable by most characters regardless of your build. Though its damage output dwindles mid-game once you begin to upgrade other weapons, the Ritual Blade is a powerful early-game tool, particularly for those who invest in Strength and Endurance stats in Demon’s Souls first stages.
Stylistically, the Ritual Blade resembles a powerful weapon from Dark Souls 3 used by the boss Yhorm the Giant. This weapon bears the distinction of being the only weapon on this list that is new to the 2020 remake of Demon’s Souls. Anyone who purchased the Digital Deluxe Edition of the game gains access to this mighty ax through Stockpile Thomas at the Nexus at any point in the game, making it easy to get early.
13 Adjudicator Shield
Slowly Regain HP Over Time
Adjudicator Shield Base Stats |
||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Physical |
Magical |
Fire |
Bleeding |
Physical Reduction |
Magic Reduction |
Fire Resistance |
Guard Break Reduction |
Durability |
60 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
90 |
50 |
10 |
50 |
150 |
Stat Requirement |
Damage Scaling |
---|---|
Strength – 14 |
Strength – D |
Dexterity – 0 |
Dexterity – N/A |
Encountered in a ruin roughly halfway through 4-1, the Adjudicator Shield, while not a weapon in a traditional sense, is an excellent complementary piece for builds that aren’t excessively reliant on parrying or dexterity. Classified as a large shield, it’s not practical in all situations, and it doesn’t even negate one hundred percent of incoming damage.
However, the Adjudicator Shield provides the precious resource of Demon’s Souls healing, passively healing two HP per second when equipped. This effect increases by one every time the shield is upgraded. This is extremely useful and can either mitigate health drain as a result of debuffs or help conserve the use of healing items in between combat encounters.
12 Kilij
Stay Mobile With A Fast Curved Sword
Kilij Base Stats |
||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Physical |
Magical |
Fire |
Bleeding |
Poison |
Plague |
Critical Strike |
Durability |
Weight |
90 |
0 |
0 |
120 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
140 |
3.0 |
Stat Requirement |
Damage Scaling |
---|---|
Strength – 14 |
Strength – E |
Dexterity – 10 |
Dexterity – D |
The Kilij is one of the fastest striking weapons in Demon’s Souls, acting as a Curved Sword with a surprising amount of reach when used by your character. This weapon almost acts as a prototype to katanas but with better Durability and more customization. Even when two-handed, you can easily get three or four swings of this weapon off with some of your Stamina still intact, allowing you to still dodge roll at the end of a combo.
Another reason why this weapon is so strong is how easy it is to get. You can simply pick this weapon off a corpse near the Vanguard boss very early into your adventures, giving you an extremely powerful tool for dealing with the first few Demon’s Souls bosses. With the right Infusions, you can make the Kilij even stronger and take it far further into the later stages of the game than you may expect.
Related
Demon’s Souls: 15 Most Difficult Bosses, Ranked
The game is punishing enough without having to deal with some of the hardest Demon’s Souls bosses. Here are the most difficult bosses, ranked.
11 Dragon Bone Smasher
Bolster Your Character’s Fire Defense
Dragon Bone Smasher Base Stats |
||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Physical |
Magical |
Fire |
Bleeding |
Poison |
Plague |
Critical Strike |
Durability |
Weight |
200 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
600 |
20 |
Stat Requirement |
Damage Scaling |
---|---|
Strength – 30 |
Strength – B |
One of only two weapons occupying Demon’s Souls‘ Very Large Swords category, the Dragon Bone Smasher is, as the name implies, a massive weapon forged with the intent of aiding in battle against dragons. With a strength requirement of 30 and B damage scaling in that stat, it’s an excellent mid-to-late game weapon for Strength builds. Ironically enough, it’s not all that useful against the Dragon God due to the puzzle-like design of the fight.
The Dragon Bone Smasher can be found just after entering the Demon’s Souls Dragon God boss arena, but it requires pure white World Tendency to find. This weapon also gives you slightly more protection against fire damage, making it almost like another piece of armor. This will help you make it through certain levels with a lot of enemies that use fire, such as the Flamelurker boss encountered in the game.
10 Claymore
Take Out Enemy Groups Reliably
Claymore Base Stats |
||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Physical |
Magical |
Fire |
Bleeding |
Poison |
Plague |
Critical Strike |
Durability |
Weight |
105 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
220 |
6.0 |
Stat Requirement |
Damage Scaling |
---|---|
Strength – 20 |
Strength – D |
Dexterity – 0 |
Dexterity – E |
The Claymore is an early-to-mid-game staple in most FromSoftware games, and Demon’s Souls is no exception. Sold by a vendor in 1-2, the Claymore is categorized as a Large Sword and can be purchased very close to the start of your adventures through different levels. However, its strength requirement of 20 means that builds that don’t emphasize the Strength stat will probably miss out on it.
According to the above video by YouTube creator
Youwy
, the Claymore is also extremely flexible with Infusions applied to the weapon. You can even push an S Rank Damage scaling for Strength if you turn the weapon into a Crushing Claymore.
A giant sword capable of broad, sweeping strikes that can hit multiple enemies, it’s perfect for taking out the dregs of Boletaria early on. This can prevent your character from ever getting overwhelmed by enemy groups, especially as you are still trying to build up your character’s health. Repeated attacks will also allow you to plow past an enemy’s guard, albeit at a significant stamina cost.
9 Penetrating Sword
Combine Strength And Dexterity For Versatile Balance
Penetrating Sword Base Stats |
||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Physical |
Magical |
Fire |
Bleeding |
Poison |
Plague |
Critical Strike |
Durability |
Weight |
90 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
240 |
6.0 |
Stat Requirement |
Damage Scaling |
---|---|
Strength – 22 |
Strength – E |
Dexterity – 16 |
Dexterity – C |
As the weapon of choice for the ultra-challenging Penetrator boss, fans of Demon’s Souls undoubtedly understand how devastating this versatile blade can be. Featuring a balanced weight-to-damage ratio, the Penetrating Sword’s great strength resides in its unique features as a medieval Demon’s Souls weapon, boasting unparalleled reach and high-damage thrusting attack.
Like other Piercing weapons, this sword scales with your Dexterity, making it an effective choice for character builds that focus on a weapon’s finesse. In combat, this massive blade feels like an unusual mix of slashing, thrusting, and polearm weapons, so you should make sure to familiarize yourself with its diverse attacks before running headlong into a horde of demons.
Related
Demon’s Souls Remake: How to Get Penetrator Armor Set
The Demon’s Souls Remake rewards the Penetrator armor to those that tackle its exclusive Fractured mode. To get it, players must collect 26 coins.
8 Meat Cleaver
Recover Health By Striking Enemies
Meat Cleaver Base Stats |
||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Physical |
Magical |
Fire |
Bleeding |
Poison |
Plague |
Critical Strike |
Durability |
Weight |
90 |
90 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
400 |
10 |
Stat Requirement |
Damage Scaling |
---|---|
Strength – 26 |
Strength – S |
Dexterity – 0 |
Dexterity – S |
Magic – 16 |
Magic – A |
Featuring a design that looks inspired by Pyramid Head’s sword from the Silent Hill franchise, the Meat Cleaver packs a hefty punch in its oversized blade. Belying its sword-like appearance, this weapon is classified as a Large Hammer in the game. As a result, it can only be created by imbuing a mace, war pick, or Great Club with the soul of the Adjudicator Demon boss.
As you can see in the above video by YouTube creator
PanFro Games
, some builds with the Meat Cleaver are incredibly broken because of how the weapon can continuously stagger enemies, preventing them from ever striking back.
This unorthodox weapon deals both Physical and Magic damage, giving it various damage types to exploit enemy weaknesses. This is also one of the few weapons capable of two S Ranks in damage scaling with both Strength and Dexterity. This crude blade also has the added benefit of restoring 1% of player health with every successful strike, making it a mechanical antithesis to other Demon’s Souls weapons that hurt the wielder.
7 Great Axe
Conserve Stamina With A Simple Weapon
Great Axe Base Stats |
||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Physical |
Magical |
Fire |
Bleeding |
Poison |
Plague |
Critical Strike |
Durability |
Weight |
130 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
230 |
10 |
Stat Requirement |
Damage Scaling |
---|---|
Strength – 26 |
Strength – D |
Dexterity – 0 |
Dexterity – E |
You should not be fooled by the common appearance of the Great Axe. Despite its utterly unmemorable design, it is a powerhouse of damage output with light stamina depletion. Indeed, when it is scaled and upgraded, the Great Axe is capable of as much damage as one of the so-called legendary axes in the game, all while requiring less stamina to wield.
These axes can be found dropped by Axe Soldiers at the Gates of Boletaria and as hidden loot in the Smithing Grounds and Tunnel City. For players new to Souls games or Demon’s Souls in particular, the Great Axe is an essential component to success in the early stages and scales well with your growing stats throughout the game.
6 Large Sword Of Moonlight
Wield The Ultimate Combination of Magic And Might
Large Sword of Moonlight Base Stats |
||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Physical |
Magical |
Fire |
Bleeding |
Poison |
Plague |
Critical Strike |
Durability |
Weight |
0 |
100 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
900 |
2.0 |
Stat Requirement |
Damage Scaling |
---|---|
Magic – 24 |
Magic – S |
A fan-favorite weapon that appears in each game of the Dark Souls series, the Large Sword of Moonlight doesn’t disappoint in the Demon’s Souls remake. It deals Magic and Physical damage to its targets, making it one of the most versatile weapons in the game despite its relatively slow speed.
What makes this glowing sword so powerful, however, is its ability to ignore all shield defenses, as the blade is made entirely of enchanted light. This also gives the Large Sword of Moonlight an exceedingly high durability rating of 900, allowing you to cleave to your heart’s content without needing to repair the blade. It also possesses an unparalleled defensive quality of being able to block almost all incoming Magic damage.
5 Magic Sword “Makoto”
Shed Blood For High Damage
Magic Sword “Makoto” Base Stats |
||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Physical |
Magical |
Fire |
Bleeding |
Poison |
Plague |
Critical Strike |
Durability |
Weight |
210 |
0 |
0 |
327 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
70 |
5.5 |
Stat Requirement |
Damage Scaling |
---|---|
Strength – 18 |
Strength – N/A |
Dexterity – 13 |
Dexterity – N/A |
One staple of the Dark Souls series is featuring high-tier weapons that, when equipped, drain your health in exchange for higher damage output. The Magic Sword “Makoto” is one such weapon, which consumes 1% of the player’s overall health for every second it’s drawn. Thankfully, you can easily offset this quality of the katana with buffs granted through various in-game rings and spells.
The low durability of this katana makes it difficult to use often alongside the risk of having your health constantly drained. Try to
save this weapon for bosses
or important enemies you need to take down quickly.
While it’s true that other katanas in the game do not sap your character’s Vitality, these blades pale in comparison to Makoto’s damage potential. Aside from its basic damage output, the Bleeding status effect Makoto inflicts on enemies deals 10 points of damage per second alone, easily ranking it among the best blades the Demon’s Souls remake has to offer.
4 Blueblood Sword
Try Your Character’s Luck
Blueblood Sword Base Stats |
||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Physical |
Magical |
Fire |
Bleeding |
Poison |
Plague |
Critical Strike |
Durability |
Weight |
100 |
100 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
400 |
5.0 |
Stat Requirement |
Damage Scaling |
---|---|
Strength – 18 |
Strength – D |
Dexterity – 18 |
Dexterity – N/A |
Magic – 18 |
Magic – E |
Faith – 18 |
Faith – E |
The Blueblood Sword has echoes of the recurring Dark Souls weapon the Moonlight Greatsword in its design, but this unusual weapon works very differently. When Blacksmith Ed has a Pureblood Demon’s Soul and a Broken Sword at his disposal, he’s capable of producing this blade, which deals equal parts Physical and Magic damage but uniquely scales this damage with your Luck stat.
Most players won’t focus on their Luck stat until New Game+, making this sword most useful in the hands of experienced veterans of the game. It also features a higher-than-average Durability rating of 400, making it one of the longest-lasting weapons in the game. Keep in mind that you do have to match four different prerequisite stat scores to wield this weapon properly, so only balanced or high-level builds can make use of the Blueblood Sword.
3 Uchigatana
Perfect For Dexterity Builds
Uchigatana Base Stats |
||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Physical |
Magical |
Fire |
Bleeding |
Poison |
Plague |
Critical Strike |
Durability |
Weight |
95 |
0 |
0 |
180 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
70 |
5.0 |
Stat Requirement |
Damage Scaling |
---|---|
Strength – 18 |
Strength – E |
Dexterity – 13 |
Dexterity – D |
Strength builds may seem more attractive with their incredibly high damage capabilities, but the speed and stamina afforded to well-planned Dexterity users make some characters formidable. The Uchigatana, which is guarded by the Vanguard Demon in Level 4-1, has a lot of potential to become extremely effective at PvP and inflicting Bleed damage consistently when leveled up.
The Uchigatana, which reappears in Elden Ring, also features a fairly versatile move set that’ll afford you plenty of different options in combat. It’s arguably at its best when upgraded with Sharpstone, which unlocks its highest damage and scaling abilities. The flexibility of this weapon allows you to customize it heavily to suit your needs without losing what makes it a strong tool to begin with.
2 Morion Blade
Fight Back Stronger When Health Gets Low
Morion Blade Base Stats |
||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Physical |
Magical |
Fire |
Bleeding |
Poison |
Plague |
Critical Strike |
Durability |
Weight |
210 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
400 |
3.0 |
Stat Requirement |
Damage Scaling |
---|---|
Strength – 14 |
Strength – N/A |
Dexterity – 14 |
Dexterity – N/A |
Despite its metal appearance, in-game lore describes the Morion Blade as being smithed from the marrow of Storm Beasts. Crafting this legendary sword requires the soul of the Storm King and a standard sword that has been upgraded to at least Level 8. With a base attack rating of 210, this two-handed Greatsword is capable of dealing tremendous damage despite its inability to accept buffs.
The Morion Blade truly shines, however, when its wielder is below 30% of its maximum health. At this point, the sword’s damage output increases by a stunning 60%, giving you an enormous advantage in combat if you can manage your Vitality. Though the mechanics of this weapon aren’t the most user-friendly, veterans of this particular genre should have no problem getting ample use out of this sleek sword.
1 Northern Regalia
Put Two Powerful Weapons Together To Make Something New
Northern Regalia Base Stats |
||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Physical |
Magical |
Fire |
Bleeding |
Poison |
Plague |
Critical Strike |
Durability |
Weight |
135 |
135 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
400 |
6.5 |
Stat Requirement |
Damage Scaling |
---|---|
Strength – 20 |
Strength – N/A |
Dexterity – 14 |
Dexterity – N/A |
Magic – 12 |
Magic – N/A |
Faith – 12 |
Faith – N/A |
This regal weapon is two swords in one – Soulbrandt, wielded by the game’s primary antagonist, King Allant, and Demonbrandt, a weapon originally sealed away with Old King Doran. This weapon is a combination of the final boss’ sword and the tool of someone who is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous NPCs in the Souls series. As a result, their weapons put together into the Northern Regalia is truly a sight to behold.
Related
All Tendency Events in Demon’s Souls Remake
Fromsoftware’s Demon’s Souls Remake can change drastically depending on a player’s choices. The Tendency mechanic can impact the worlds of Boletaria.
This weapon notably scales with the player’s Character Tendency, determined by their choices to ally with the forces of good or evil throughout the game. Whichever path you choose, if your Tendency reaches its maximum state, the sword will attain an Attack Rating of 540, which puts most other weapons to shame. Despite the number of stat requirements, this alone makes Northern Regalia by far the best weapon to use in Demon’s Souls.
Source: Ashen One/YouTube, Youwy/YouTube, PanFro Games/YouTube