Strength builds are one of the most fun builds you can make in a Soulsborne game, whether it be running around with clad in heavy iron armor tanking through everything and pulverizing enemies with your giant hammer, or cosplaying Guts from Berserk with the iconic “Greatsword” or even just running around naked with a giant club, Strength builds in souls provide some of the most fun and varied melee playstyles in the game.
This is why we’ve made this tier list for players who are considering a respec into strength or just starting off as one and to give them an idea of the best STR based weapons in the game, or for the people who just want the popularity of their favorite weapons to be validated. (It’s okay Greatsword mains, I got you). Also before deciding on a build, also consider checking out our Ranged or Melee in Dark Souls 3: Which is Better?.
Dark Souls 3 STR Weapons Tier List:
This tier list will be divided into 5 categories, S-tier to C-tier. I’m sorry if your favorite weapon wasn’t in the S or A tiers, you should have just used the giant club. And to keep things simple, this list will ONLY include pure STR-scaling weapons, so while weapons like the Heavy Infused Longsword are very powerful, they won’t be in this list.
S-Tier:
These are some of the real bad boys, real powerhouses that can easily carry you throughout your first playthrough and even into later NG+ cycles. Although it should be mentioned that if you’re good enough in these games you can beat Dark Souls 3 using even the weaker weapons like the Mail Breaker or the starting thief dagger.
| Weapon | Description |
| Great Club | Its always the simple weapons that are the most special, the Great Club is a giant club that can pulverize anything in the game. It has decent speed and very high damage with great scaling in strength. Making Great Club one of the best weapons in the entire game. |
| Greatsword | The Greatsword is-you guessed it-an Ultra Greatsword in Dark Souls 3 that can destroy nearly everything in the game. This weapon can be found in Farron Keep and with the appropriate upgrades it can easily carry anyone through their first playthrough because of its high damage and insane reach. |
| Black Knight Greatsword | Black Knight Weapons are often considered to be the “easy mode” weapons of the Souls series, but that shouldn’t stop you from absolutely destroying anything with the Black Knight GS. |
| Ledo’s Great Hammer | If the name didn’t give it away, Ledo’s Great Hammer is one of the best STR based hammers in the entire game while also boasting an insanely good weapon art that’s great in both PvP and PvE. Its only downside is its downright absurd STR requirement of 60. |
| Spitleaf Greatsword | A highly popular weapon at the time of The Ringed City’s release, the Spitleaf Greatsword is a beast with some of the highest scaling with STR in the entire game. Its also one of the most unique Greatswords in Dark Souls 3. |
| Greataxe | Another solid contender for one of the best STR weapons in Dark Souls 3, the Greataxe can be found as early as one of the starting levels in the game. Once you reach its high STR requirement, this weapon can melt both enemies and bosses alike. |
A-tier:
These weapons may not be among the very best but you can beat the game with ease using any of these choices.
| Weapon | Description |
| Vordt’s Great Hammer | A boss weapon, Vordt’s Great Hammer is an excellent weapon to carry you through most of the game. The weapon has excellent scaling with Strength and can also cause frostbite enemies due to its freeze element. |
| Fume Ultra Greatsword | The Fume Ultra Greatsword (or FUGS for short) is, again, one of strongest weapons in Dark Souls 3. Brought in as a homage to Dark Souls 2, Fume Knight’s iconic greatsword can take down any foe in the game with relative ease even after its nerf. |
| Yhorm’s Great Machete | A STR scaling Greataxe, Yhorm’s Great Machete boasts some of the highest pure damage in the entirety of Dark Souls 3. An absolute monster of a weapon for PvE only slightly held back by an underwhelming moveset. |
| Dragonslayer’s Greataxe | Another boss weapon, you get this weapon upon beating the Dragonslayer Armor in Lothric Castle. While its split damage holds it back a little, its excellent weapon art and high damage make for some incredibly fun stomps against bosses. |
| Zweihander | A staple in the Souls series, the Zweihander is the poster boy of Strength builds in Souls and the main component of the most infamous build in the entire series. This staple made its return to Dark Souls 3 and still retained all the things that made this weapon so iconic. |
| Millwood Battle Axe | Obtained in the Ashes of Ariandel DLC, the Millwood Battle Axe is a fantastic STR weapon if you prefer faster weapons instead of all the chunky monsters in the rest of the list. Even better, infuse it with a heavy stone and just watch those numbers fly. Did I mention it also has a sick weapon art? because it does. |
B-Tier:
These are the simple weapons that can get the job done, none of these weapons are pushovers and can even better than some of the A or S-tiers if they fit your preferences or playstyles.
| Weapon | Description |
| Mace | The Mace is a very good hammer that can be obtained as early as the beginning of the game as one of the starting classes has the mace as the starting one. A great choice of weapon for starting players and another weapon that can be improved even further with a heavy infusion. |
| Exile Greatsword | The only Curved Greatsword in this list, the Exile Greatsword is a fun alternative if you want to use a weapon with a more fancier moveset. It also has good damage and a great weapon art. |
| Dragonslayer’s Greataxe | Another boss weapon, you get this weapon upon beating the Dragonslayer Armor in Lothric Castle. While its split damage holds it back a little, its excellent weapon art and high damage make for some incredibly fun stomps against bosses. |
| Butcher’s Knife | A giant strength based sword, the Butcher’s Knife is one of the most fun STR weapons to use in Dark Souls 3. It has high scaling, fast attacks, does great damage all while having great reach. |
| Ringed Knight’s Paired Greatsword | An infamous weapon in PvP at the time of the Ringed City’s launch, these flashy dual wielded Greatswords are super strong weapon that can plow through most enemies and bosses. The only thing holding this weapon back is its split damage into fire, making it a little underwhelming for pure STR builds. |
C-tier:
These are the weapons you use as a challenge or if you just really like how they look or enjoy the moveset.
| Weapons | Description |
| Smough’s Great Hammer | Obtained in Irithyll of The Boreal Valley, Smough’s Great Hammer brings some absurdly high damage but the reason its so low in the list is due to very slow speed and extremely high weight. Its still nice seeing a neat homage to Dark Souls 1 in the form of this weapon. |
| Caestus | One of the few fist weapons in Dark Souls 3, and the only fisting weapon in this list. The Caestus are the perfect weapon for the players who want to unleash their Saitama and just punch every thing to death. Another weapon that’s made very good with a heavy infusion. |
| Dragon Tooth | Another iconic weapon in the series, the Dragon Tooth is exactly what it says on the tin. A dragon’s tooth that you can smash people with. It is obtained from killing Havel The Knight in an endgame secret area. The Dragon Tooth is an immensely strong weapon but is also among the heaviest weapons in the entire game, if not being the heaviest. So if you’re content with fat rolling, this is a perfect weapon. |
| Profaned Greatsword | This boss weapon is an Ultra Greatsword that can be obtained upon beating Pontiff Sulyvahn, it has a flashy weapon art that can infuse it with fire and while its a great weapon. Its outclassed by the other weapons in the list. |
We hope this tier list gave you an idea on what weapons to go for in your journey through Dark Souls 3, for more helpful guides, stay tuned right here at our Guides Section!
