Elden Ring offers players a great variety of weapons, many of which are reminiscent of previous FromSoftware games. Whatever the player's preference, Elden Ring is likely to satisfy their desires as the open-world game offers 31 different weapon types, each with distinct variants. As players travel the vast world of Elden Ring, they will undoubtedly come across fantastic weapons and armor that will empower them or encourage them to try other builds. However, those wishing to start off the game as strong as possible can aim to acquire a few powerful weapons that become available early on, assuming players know where to look.
Although Elden Ring does not possess an official difficulty setting, there are many things players can do to gain an edge against the unforgiving world they will be facing. One such method is obtaining good weapons as soon as possible, as their impact will be felt the most during the early part of Elden Ring. Doing this can be very helpful for players struggling with the game, especially newcomers to FromSoftware games that may not be used to their characteristical difficulty.
Weapons in Elden Ring have unique abilities called weapon skills, the effects of which can range from bestowing buffs to performing special moves. Although some of the weapons on this list will have good weapon skills, it is not often the deciding factor when deciding their quality. Some great weapon attributes can include a good moveset, excellent attribute scaling, long-range, or even requiring a very low stat investment to properly wield it. The latter can give players more freedom when allocating attribute points, as they will not need to spend them suboptimally in order to wield their desired weapon in Elden Ring.
The Best Weapons to Get Early in Elden Ring
Twinblade
This weapon works very well in a quality build, meaning a build that uses both Dexterity and Strength as a scaling attribute. Although it can be used with one hand, the Twinblade shines when it is wielded with both due to its wide and fast moveset that is perfect to handle crowds of enemies. The attribute requirements for this weapon are 10 Strength and 18 Dexterity, making it ideal for early Dexterity builds before transitioning into quality. The Twinblade can be upgraded with Smithing Stones and can be infused with Ashes of War and buffed with magic and consumables.
Getting the Twinblade requires players to have first unlocked mounts in Elden Ring, which can be done after finding three Sacred Sites at the beginning of the game and speaking with Melina. After that, head to the south of the Dragon-Burnt Ruins and find a building that has all four of its walls intact. Jump over it using the mount to find an underground area with a chest containing the Twinblade. There are two underground areas in these ruins, but if players see enemy rats, they will know they are in the wrong one.
Reduvia
This dagger is not only excellent during the early game, but it is also pretty powerful overall, especially for arcane users, as its damage scales with both Dexterity and Arcane. Although its range is lacking, Reduvia's weapon skill in Elden Ring more than makes up for it by shooting long-reaching arcs of blood, making it effective in most combat situations. Another reason why this weapon is ideal for Arcane users is its very low attribute requirements as it only needs 5 in Strength, 13 Dexterity, and 13 Arcane. Unfortunately, upgrading the Reduvia will require somber smithing stones, and it cannot be infused with Ashes of War or buffed with magic and consumables.
Reduvia is dropped by Bloody Finger Nerijus, an NPC invader that appears in a canyon to the northeast of Agheel Lake. Shortly after Nerijus invades, another NPC will appear that will begin attacking him. If players have trouble defeating Nerijus, they can try to kite him until the allied NPC appears to help out; otherwise, they can keep trying as he will keep invading players in Elden Ring regardless of how many times they die to him.
Great Épée
Often referred to by fans of previous FromSoftware games as the "big Estoc," the great Épée is a large rapier that synergizes greatly with shields as players can block and attack simultaneously. Additionally, its large size and moveset give it great range when poking enemies and allow players to perform horizontal sweeps, giving it great flexibility in combat. The Great Épée scales with both Dexterity and Strength, making it a great candidate for a quality build, and requires 15 Strength and 16 Dexterity to be properly wielded. It can be upgraded with smithing stones and can be infused with Elden Ring's Ashes of War and buffed with magic and consumables.
Players can find this rapier on the southern edge of Limgrave to the east of Forlon Hound Evergaol. The Great Épée is in a chest located in the middle of an enemy encampment in this area. Players will have to defeat several enemies to get the weapon and should be careful if fighting out in the open as a caster enemy will keep flinging spells from atop the building next to the chest.
Greataxe
This weapon is clearly intended for Strength users as its ridiculous Strength requirement of 30 means players will need at least 20 in that stat to be able to properly wield it. This is because holding a weapon with two hands in Elden Ring, just like in Dark Souls, "increases" the user's Strength by 50%. However, players that meet these requirements will most likely find it was worth it, as each weapon swing does immense damage and has a just as impressive stagger potential. Its weapon skill, Barbaric Roar, will buff its attacks by 10% and transform its heavy attacks into a three-hit combo. The Greataxe can be upgraded with smithing stones and can be infused with Ashes of War and buffed with magic or consumables.
The Greataxe can be a hard weapon to find as the chest containing it is aboard a carriage being pulled by two giants along the Limgrave roads. Although they should be reliably spotted across the bridge on the road leading east of the Gatefront Ruins, players may be unlucky and need to search the roads of Limgrave for these hulking giants. Luckily, players don't need to kill any of them and can instead attack one to bait him away from the carriage to have him break his chains. After that, proceed to the back of the vehicle and loot this Elder Ring Greataxe from the chest.
Elden Ring is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.