Elden Ring takes players into the Lands Between, a beautiful ethereal realm filled with endless deadly and intimidating foes. FromSoftware’s open-world masterpiece has proved a commercial and critical success, winning several Game of the Year awards and selling more the 20 million copies. Taking the combat mechanics of the Dark Souls franchise and bringing it to a layered fantasy open world does come with considerable challenges. Surviving as a Tarnished in the Lands Between demands the player acquire and master numerous weapons and armor sets to equip themselves for consistently demanding foes.

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Among the many imaginative and ghastly enemies the player encounters are some dread-inducing Dragons across the realm. While an endeavor to defeat the Dragons of Elden Ring is far from insurmountable, here are some of the very best weapons to do so.

Updated April 15, 2024 by Evan Arnoldi: Varieties of choice for defeating a dragon have never been short on options thanks to the diverse weaponry and attacks in Elden Ring. One can argue that a dragon can be defeated even with the most basic weapons, as long as the player handling it is a veteran knowledgeable enough to defeat the dragon without any trouble.

However, having capable weaponry and attacks to defeat a dragon is also preferable since it will both make the fight safer, easier, and quicker to finish, rather than using less effective weapons against the humongous enemy. Therefore, it is always worth seeing which weapons and attacks are effective against this dangerous type of enemy.

1 Greatsword

High Staggering Sword With High Reach

• Scaling:
  • Str C
  • Dex E

• Requirements:
  • Str 31
  • Dex 12

• Type:
  • Colossal Sword

A renowned colossal weapon that will remind players of Berserk, the Greatsword can bring massive damage with high stagger on each swing. This colossal sword can be found early on the Caelid road, located in the first moving tombstone cart the player encounters in the area.

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Aside from its significant damage, the Greatsword also has a huge reach that makes catching up with dragons a walk in a park, hyper armor to tank each massive hit from the winged monstrosities, and fast swings to adapt to every attack phase.

2 Dragonscale Blade

Lightning Dragon Slaying Sword

• Scaling:
  • Str D
  • Dex C

• Requirements:
  • Str 12
  • Dex 20

• Bonuses:
  • +20% damage against Dragon type enemies
  • +10% damage against Ancient Dragon type enemies
  • Imbues the weapon with Lightning damage +160, and Frost buildup 60, for 45 seconds

The lightning-imbued katana here is tailored for dragon-slaying, true to its name. Dragonscale Blade can be found at Lake of Rot, which is pretty far into the game, and looted from the Dragonkin Soldier at the location.

The Dragonscale Blade offers two multipliers against dragons and has an imbue damage, which dragons are weak against. The blade has an alternate two-hit slash-charged attack that is powerful enough to be used to take down dragons.

3 Uchigatana

A FromSoftware Favorite

• Scaling:
  • Str D
  • Dex D-C

• Requirements:
  • Str 11
  • Dex 15

• Bonuses:
  • Blood Loss (45) Buildup
  • Can be infused

A famous blade of FromSoftware’s Dark Souls games makes a fitting return in Elden Ring. This Katana grants the player a strong damage output and scales with Dexterity and Strength stats. Any player starting the game in the Samurai class will begin the game with one, those otherwise can find the Uchigatana in the Deathtouched Catacombs in Limgrave. This is an agile blade that offers fast pierce and slash damage. The Uchigatana is of most use to players in its bleed status effect damage.

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An upgraded Uchigatana can dish out high levels of physical damage, single-handed and dual-wield, all the while stacking a bleed-out effect. The ability to stack hemorrhage over multiple blows and strikes is only a boon when taking on dragons.

4 Moonveil Katana

Mixed Magical And Physical Damage

• Scaling:
  • Str E
  • Dex D
  • Int C

• Requirements:
  • Str 12
  • Dex 18
  • Int 23

• Bonuses:
  • Blood Loss (50) Buildup
  • Weapon Skill: Transient Moonlight
  • Can't be infused

A unique slash and pierce weapon, the Moonveil Katana has standout attributes of speed and swiftness. The weapon has a split damage output of physical and magic, titling in favor of magic damage. Its unique attack is the ability to draw the weapon at extraordinary speed to unleash a beam of light as well as a blade strike. This means this Katana can be used at a distance and for melee combat, an added use when circling a dragon with Torrent.

This Katana does have more attribute requirements than others but offers a powerful 50 blood loss effect among the highest in the weapon class. A fully scaled Moonveil Katana is among the most useful weapons in the game for taking on dragons.

5 Bloodhound's Fang

Unique Curved Greatsword With Bleed

• Scaling:
  • Str D
  • Dex C

• Requirements:
  • Str 18
  • Dex 17

• Bonuses:
  • Blood Loss (55) Buildup
  • Weapon Skill: Bloodhound's Finesse

A stylish curved Greatsword, the Bloodhound's Fang is one of the most capable slash-and-bleed weapons in the entire game. The player will have to take down the Bloodhound Knight Darriwil at the Forlorn Hound Evergoal. It is an optional boss, but worth the reward. Granting the players higher jumping attacks than other Greatswords, strong reach, and some of the highest damage output of its weapon class, the Bloodhound’s Fang is a sound choice for taking on Elden Ring’s many dragons.

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Offering a 55 Blood loss status effect with enough stacked attacks, this dynamic, powerful weapon makes short work of many enemies and deals considerable damage to dragons. If a player wants the most of the Bloodhound’s Fang scaling it to +10 offers a whopping 345 physical damage output.

6 Spells & Sorceries

A Classic, Ranged Choice

• Commonly useful:
  • Comet Azur
  • Cannon of Haima
  • Night Comet
  • Rock Sling
  • Cath Flame
  • Roiling Magma

Taking on a dragon requires strategy in Elden Ring. Most players are wholly advised to stay on Torrent for the battle weaving in and out of the dragon’s proximity to land hits and escape. However, not every player will be taking on the game with melee and many will be using ranged combat. For players using sorcery and spells, physical damage is available in this form. Comet Azur, Connon of Haima, Night Comet and Rock Sling are ranged casts and spells that dish out physical damage to dragons from afar.

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There’s every likelihood a player building sorcery stats will have less investment vitality and strength so keeping a distance in dragon encounters is vital. For battles with Ekzykes and Borealis, fire damage spells like Cath Flame and Roiling Magma are advisable.

7 Rivers Of Blood

Infamous Bleed Specialist

• Scaling:
  • Str E
  • Dex D
  • Arc D

• Requirements:
  • Str 12
  • Dex 18
  • Arc 20

• Bonuses:
  • Blood Loss (50) Buildup
  • Weapon Skill: Corpse Piler
  • Can't be infused

A weapon that has developed a degree of infamy online, Rivers of Blood is a blood-stained katana with a wicked special bleed-out ability. The Corpse Piler ability sends slashes of blood, damaging any enemies in the nearby vicinity. This stylish fast and gory katana can only be retrieved once the player has felled Bloody Finger Okina near the Church of Repose, a far from easy encounter. Promising split physical and fire damage, the Rivers of Blood requires attributes of strength, dexterity, and arcane.

Once famously overpowered, the Rivers of Blood has since been patched for its scaling. Yet the build of damage it offers in both blood loss and fire damage makes a scaled-up Rivers of Blood a fearsome weapon and one befitting a dragon encounter.

8 Dragon Greatclaw

Special Colossal Dragon-Hunting Weapon

• Scaling:
  • Str D
  • Dex D

• Requirements:
  • Str 30
  • Dex 14

• Bonuses:
  • Weapon Skill: Endure
  • Can't be infused

A brilliant weapon as much for its accessibility as its damage output, the Dragon Greatclaw is a fantastic colossal weapon for dragon fights. The player will need to take down the Draconic Tree Sentinel at Capital Outskirts to gain this weapon. Promising a great range, the weapon’s damage is split between physical and lighting damage. Where this colossal weapon shines is its ability to break a dragon's stance with direct blows to its head, giving the player ample opportunity for further strikes and damage.

This is the lightest colossal weapon in the game, offering huge stagger effects and damage for the smallest cost. Moreover, it holds a 30% added damage to dragon-type enemies, making it a number one choice for the game's numerous dragon battles.

Elden Ring

Platform(s)

PS5 , Xbox One , PS4 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , PC

Released

February 25, 2022

Developer(s)

From Software

Genre(s)

RPG , Action