There are a few workhorse weapon types in Elden Ring, and when it comes to variety and utility, few are as well-positioned as greatswords. An Elden Ring greatsword tier list, then, should cover the best and brightest of them, which is exactly what we plan to do here.
S-Tier Greatswords in Elden Ring
Knight’s Greatsword and Banished Knight Greatsword
It’s a touch hard to choose between these two, but Knight’s is a bit better, thanks to a few extra inches of range. That said, they’re both fantastic weapons with a relatively unique moveset that’s good for roll-catching in PvP. Both weapons also accept status infusions and are great for applying Bleed to anything unfortunate enough to be in their path.
Dark Moon Greatsword
No Elden Ring greatsword tier list would be complete without the Moonlight Greatsword, called the Dark Moon Greatsword here. It maintains the iconic weapon’s laser beams but now also applies Cold buildup whether its attacks are enhanced or not. Even unenhanced, the weapon’s damage is fantastic, its range solid, and it looks damn cool in your hands.
Blasphemous Blade
The chosen weapon of Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy, the Blasphemous Blade is so powerful because it trivializes most PvE encounters and can do work in PvP thanks to its Ash of War. Sure, an experienced invader probably won’t get hit by it, but anything that takes the fire from the Blasphemous Blade will be losing a massive chunk of their health. Its regular damage is top-of-its-class as well.
Sacred Relic Sword
If you absolutely, positively must kill every enemy in your zip code, accept no substitute for the Sacred Relic Sword. The massive wave of Holy damage it sends on has needed a nerf to both scale and damage since launch, and its only real downside is it deals Holy damage (everything in the game is resistant, sadly). It’s one of the longest greatswords in Elden Ring, too, making it great for any situation you can think of
A-Tier Greatswords in Elden Ring
Marais Executioner’s Sword
“Turn your greatsword into a drill” was the thinking behind the Marais Executioner’s Sword, and if you build into the drill correctly, it can one-shot almost any invader in PvP and chunk most boss health bars by at least 30%. It’s also a solid greatsword on its own if a little on the short side, but it does good damage with or without investment in its Ash of War.
Claymore
It’s tough to beat a classic, and while the Claymore isn’t nearly as dominant in Elden Ring as it was in the Dark Souls games, in the hands of an expert, it remains a threat to any player or PvE enemy in the game. Its biggest downside is its simplicity. It specializes in nothing, can do a bit of everything, and is good at what it does. If it had just a bit more uniqueness, it would be so much better.
B-Tier Greatswords in Elden Ring
Golden Order Greatsword
If the Golden Order Greatsword didn’t deal mostly Holy damage, I think it’d rank higher for me. Its Ash of War is incredibly strong and confers a lot of stagger resistance (hyper armor), the slash and energy wave deal knockdown on top of a surprising amount of damage of their own, and the weapon is fun to use besides.
Death’s Poker
The biggest advantage Death’s Poker has over something like Ordovis’s Greatsword is the utility of its Ash of War, as it applies Cold and can either explode or send out a wave of fire that lingers. It’s on the shorter side but has good damage to make up for it. It also doesn’t entirely rely on its Ash to be competitive, but the specialty there puts it a bit ahead of the competition.
Sword of Milos
The Dung Eater’s chosen weapon, the Sword of Milos has a very niche use case for its Ash of War, but between the weapon’s inherent Bleed buildup and its Ash’s applied debuff, it can do work if you know what you’re doing. Setting things up can be a little tricky, though.
The remaining greatswords in Elden Ring are either just below B-Tier or don’t warrant much additional conversation, though that statement might be a tad controversial. In any event, for more content like this, check out our Elden Ring guides hub.
