In the many Soulsborne games, melee builds are considered the best way to play. In these games that value quick reactions and knowledge of the enemy's abilities, being up close is high risk and high reward thanks to the incredible damage available to melee players. This is especially true in Elden Ring.
Elden Ring has a large number of weapons available to players from the very start, but most weapons will fall flat if players don't know how to use them. Players should make sure they know their own goals for statistics and abilities when considering their endgame builds - and players should know which weapons will best suit their needs.
Moonveil
Moonveil is a katana, one of the most flexible and dextrous sword types in the game. The Moonveil might not appear to be impressive at first glance, due to its sub-par scaling which only improves slightly with upgrades. The main draw to this weapon is its unique skill and cheaper upgrades.
The Moonveil's most attractive feature is its special skill "Transient Moonlight." With this, the wielder charges a stance and then sends a blade of energy flying with an instant slash, dealing impressive damage. The Moonveil is received after defeating a magma wyrm in Caelid's Gael Tunnel.
Banished Knight’s Halberd
The Banished Knight's Halberd is not a difficult weapon to find, as it can be found randomly in Stormveil Castle or received as a random drop from banished knights. Despite being so common, this weapon can deal an impressive amount of damage thanks to its impressive scaling and the safety provided by its reach.
This halberd scales very well with strength and dexterity, at a D rate which can be improved to a C through standard upgrades. Because this weapon is not unique, it can be customized via Ashes of War, providing it with superb flexibility. This is a simple weapon with incredible potential.
Blasphemous Blade
For melee builds that have splashed in faith, the Blasphemous Blade is one of the most powerful tools available. This greatsword scales with strength, dexterity, and faith at a rate of D, and deals additional fire damage on hit. But this weapon's most desirable trait is its skill, Taker's Flames.
Taker's Flames causes the sword to be covered in fire, burning and stealing health from opponents. Considering the scarcity of healing in Elden Ring, this is an incredibly powerful skill. This greatsword is available for purchase from Enia in the Roundtable Hold, purchasable with the boss remembrance Remembrance of the Blasphemous, which is the reward for defeating Rykard.
Starscourge Greatsword
As a colossal sword, the Starscourge Greatsword is one of the largest weapons in the game and is suitably powerful. This blade is received from Enia in exchange for the Remembrance of the Starscourge, the reward for defeating Starscourge Radahn - one of the most difficult bosses in the game.
The sword scales very well with strength and dexterity, with a little bit of intelligence scaling for flavor. The sword's 129 physical damage and 80 magical are among the highest in the game, and the weapon's special skill Starcaller Cry pulls enemies in before slamming the swords into the ground.
Dark Moon Greatsword
The Dark Moon Greatsword is a calling card of FromSoftware's Souls-type games, having appeared in every Souls game from the company. This iteration of the blade is received as a part of Ranni's questline, which affects the ending player's receive and is very long and difficult for it. The sword itself is suitably powerful for it.
This sword scales very well with strength, intelligence, and dexterity. This weapon's unique skill, Moonlight Greatsword, allows the player to fire off blades of moonlight with every swing for a short duration, providing the user with impressive reach. This skill's nature as a buff also provides multiple ways to improve the damage - magic damage and weapon damage are both valuable for it.
Reduvia
This dagger is an early option for weapons and is remarkably powerful throughout the game. For players who are interested in a quick-hit playstyle that utilizes daggers, the Reduvia is the weapon of choice. Reduvia is found by beating Bloody Finger Nerijus in Limgrave's Murkwater Catacombs.
The dagger's special skill fires off a small wave of blood which causes blood loss buildup from a range. This dagger's skill provides a dagger user with the ability to keep distance from most enemies, providing safety and impressive damage without much risk.
Cipher Pata
Unique among melee builds is the faith build, which utilizes the fist weapon Cipher Pata. Cipher Pata looks like a single claw sticking out of the player's hand when wielded, inscribed with holy scripture. The weapon only scales with faith and has a unique skill that is very powerful - Unblockable Blade.
The Cipher Pata can be found in the Roundtable Hold, near where the preset invade from Mad Tongue Alberich occurs. The unblockable blade is just that - unblockable. This, thanks to the impressive faith scaling and damage, makes the Cipher Pata one of the best weapons for a faith-based Elden Ring class like the confessor.
Bloodhound’s Fang
Another weapon that can be found early in the game, the Bloodhound's Fang is a curved greatsword that is earned by defeating Bloodhound Knight Darriwil in Limgrave's Forlorn Hound Evergaol. The sword is most useful because it can be upgraded very easily and has a powerful skill.
The Bloodhound's Finesse is an upward slash followed by a quick retreat and attack combo that can deal incredible damage if the user utilizes the dexterity and strength stats. Additionally, the sword inflicts a good amount of baseline blood loss, adding to the potential damage output by a fair amount.
The Grafted Blade
The Grafted Blade is one of the silliest - or coolest, depending on opinion - weapons in the game. This weapon is a reference to the Game of Thrones' own Iron Throne, a collection of swords hammered together. The Grafted Blade is found by defeating the Leonine Misbegotten boss in Castle Mourne.
This weapon's unique skill is the Oath of Vengeance, which is a buff skill that raises all of the user's stats for 30 seconds, including the incredibly valuable poise, which prevents stagger and knockback. This sword is most valuable for well-armored builds that can make use of every stat while withstanding damage.
Sword of Night and Flame
Found in Caria Manor behind a locked door, the Sword of Night and Flame is one of the most powerful and flexible weapons available in the late game of Elden Ring. The sword scales with intelligence, faith, strength, and dexterity, providing it with many ways to build towards its usage.
The sword's unique skill, Night-and-Flame Stance, is a charge-up with two options for releasing the charged power. Players can either use a quick attack to release a powerful long-range beam attack or a strong attack that causes the user to swing with a flaming blade that does massive damage.