Highlights

  • Some Elden Ring players think the Stone-Sheathed Sword is one of the ugliest weapons FromSoftware ever made.
  • The unusual-looking armament was introduced in the recently released Shadow of the Erdtree expansion.
  • Its design was likely intentionally made to look unimpressive, as there's actually a way to prettify the sword while making it much more powerful in the process.

Some Elden Ring players appear to be in agreement that the newly debuted Stone-Sheathed Sword is one of the ugliest weapons FromSoftware has ever designed. The unusual-looking armament was introduced on June 21 as part of Shadow of the Erdtree, Elden Ring's first and only expansion.

Immense weapon variety is something that many of FromSoftware's past soulslikes focused on delivering. Elden Ring continued that trend by offering 308 unique armaments at launch. Its DLC further increased that figure, with Shadow of the Erdtree adding another 103 new weapons.

Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree red sky and mountains north of Grand Altar of Dragon Communion with game logo edit
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But one of those additions, the Stone-Sheathed Sword , has seemingly left the fandom deeply unimpressed. This sentiment was recently articulated by Reddit user SbeveGobs, who proclaimed the unusual-looking blade "the ugliest sword FromSoft has ever created." Their post amassed thousands of upvotes, promptly emerging on the front page of soulslike's largest subreddit, suggesting many Elden Ring players are in agreement with that assessment.

Minor gameplay spoilers for Shadow of the Erdtree ahead.

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree's Stone-Sheathed Sword Can Be Prettified

At the same time, some fans chiming in on the ensuing discussion were quick to point out that the Stone-Sheathed Sword's unimpressive design is likely intentional. That's because it's actually possible to pull it out of its stone sheath, with that Excalibur-like process being an inherent part of obtaining Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree's Sword of Light and Sword of Darkness . The former can be produced by interacting with the Ruins of Unte altar with the Stone-Sheathed Sword in one's inventory, while the latter requires visiting the altar at Rauh Ancient Ruins. Both interactions will essentially prettify the original design, making the weapon look much more like a sword instead of a pointy rock with a handle.

Neither ultimate variant of the sword is necessarily better than the other, with both having identical damage output and stat requirements, in addition to offering damage scaling that's primarily tied to Strength while offering some smaller bonuses for Dexterity and Faith. Aside from appearances, the main difference between the two is that the Sword of Light 's Ash of War boosts Holy Damage, while the Sword of Darkness offers a unique skill that deals with Holy Damage and reduces Holy Damage negation.

The decision to turn the Stone-Sheathed Sword into either one of these variants isn't permanent, with the game allowing players to alternate between the two by visiting the appropriate altars at any time. But those who'd like to have both of them at once will have to venture into Elden Ring's New Game Plus mode, which makes Shadow of the Erdtree even more difficult.