How to Get the Black Knight Sword in Dark Souls 3
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How to Get the Black Knight Sword in Dark Souls 3
Black Knight Sword Tips
The Black Knight Sword is a series tradition — it has appeared in every Dark Souls game as a powerful weapon dropped rarely by the iconic Black Knights. Dark Souls 3’s version is no exception: its combination of innate fire damage, high base AR, and the Perseverance Ash of War makes it one of the more interesting greatswords in the game for Strength builds who want something beyond the standard Claymore. The farming grind is real but with maximum item discovery it rarely takes more than 15–20 attempts — less than half an hour of farming for a weapon that serves you comfortably through the entire game. Check our complete build guide for context on how it fits into different playstyles.
FAQ
⚡ Quick Answer
How to Get the Black Knight Sword
The Black Knight Sword drops from Black Knight enemies — most reliably from the lone Black Knight on the High Wall of Lothric (on the bridge near the Tower on the Wall bonfire area) and Black Knights in the Untended Graves. The drop rate is low — roughly 20% — so equip the Covetous Gold Serpent Ring and Symbol of Avarice to boost item discovery.
1
Find Black Knight enemies. Black Knights are large armoured enemies wielding different weapons — swords, greataxes, greatswords, and glaives. Only Black Knights wielding the Black Knight Sword specifically can drop it. The most accessible Black Knight Sword wielder is on the High Wall of Lothric — on the rooftop near the Tower on the Wall bonfire, past the wyvern bridge area.
2
Maximise item discovery before farming. Equip the Covetous Gold Serpent Ring (+50 item discovery, found in Irithyll Dungeon), the Symbol of Avarice helmet (+50, drops from Mimics), and the Crystal Sage’s Rapier in your offhand (+50 passive). Use a Rusted Gold Coin (+50 for 60 seconds) during each attempt. At 300+ discovery the drop rate becomes much more consistent.
3
Farm the High Wall of Lothric Black Knight. Rest at the Tower on the Wall bonfire, climb the ladder up, navigate to the rooftop area, and fight the Black Knight there. After killing it, rest at the bonfire to reset and repeat. This is the most accessible farm loop in the game — the walk from bonfire to Black Knight takes under a minute.
4
Alternative — Untended Graves Black Knights. The Untended Graves (secret dark version of Cemetery of Ash, accessed via a hidden wall in Consumed King’s Garden) contains multiple Black Knights in a concentrated area. They respawn like normal enemies here — a farming run through Untended Graves hits 3–4 Black Knights per loop for more attempts per run than the single High Wall knight.
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A Somber weapon at +5 max: the Black Knight Sword is a Somber weapon — it upgrades with Somber Smithing Stones to a maximum of +5 (not +10 like standard weapons). At +5 with 40 Strength it achieves excellent AR. The lower upgrade ceiling is compensated by its inherently high base damage and innate fire damage on every hit.
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Innate fire damage: every hit from the Black Knight Sword deals both physical and fire damage — making it naturally effective against enemies weak to fire and bypassing pure physical defenses simultaneously. It requires no infusion to deal fire damage, unlike standard weapons that need Chaos or Fire affinity applied.
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Requires 20 Strength and 18 Dexterity: the Black Knight Sword sits in the greatsword category — good range, solid damage, and a two-handed moveset with a powerful horizontal sweep. With a quality or Strength build, it competes with the best greatswords available at its point in the game.
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Perseverance Ash of War for poise: the Black Knight Sword’s built-in Ash of War — Perseverance — gives you brief hyper-armor poise, letting you tank through enemy attacks to land your own hit. This is the same mechanic used by the Pontiff’s Right Eye combo — equip that ring to stack attack power with consecutive hits while using Perseverance.
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Scales primarily with Strength: unlike many greatswords, the Black Knight Sword scales better with Strength than Dexterity. Invest 40 Strength as your damage breakpoint — the innate fire damage adds a secondary damage component that does not scale with stats, making it more consistent than pure physical weapons against mixed-defense enemies.
What is the drop rate for the Black Knight Sword in Dark Souls 3?
The base drop rate is approximately 20% at 100 item discovery. With maximum item discovery (Symbol of Avarice + Covetous Gold Serpent Ring + Crystal Sage’s Rapier = 300 discovery) the rate increases significantly — most players obtain it within 10–15 kills at maximum discovery, typically less than 20 minutes of farming.
Where is the best place to farm the Black Knight Sword?
The High Wall of Lothric Black Knight near the Tower on the Wall bonfire is the most accessible farm location — short loop, respawns on bonfire rest, and available from the start of the game. For more attempts per run, the Untended Graves contains multiple Black Knights in a compact area for 3–4 kills per circuit.
What stats do I need for the Black Knight Sword?
The Black Knight Sword requires 20 Strength and 18 Dexterity to wield. It scales primarily with Strength. For a dedicated build target 40 Strength as your damage breakpoint — two-handing the sword gives you effective 60 Strength for scaling purposes, meaning you only need 27 Strength to two-hand at maximum scaling efficiency.
Does the Black Knight Sword deal fire damage?
Yes — the Black Knight Sword has innate fire damage on every hit, combining physical and fire damage types automatically without any infusion. This dual damage type is effective against enemies with mixed defenses and particularly useful against foes weak to fire. The fire damage component does not scale with stats but adds consistent bonus damage regardless of your stat investment.