Best Weapons in Dark Souls 3 for Beginners
Home → Dark Souls → Best Weapons in Dark Souls 3 for Beginners
Dark Souls
Best Weapons in Dark Souls 3 for Beginners
Tips
Dark Souls 3 gives beginners a lot of strong weapon options, but the most important factor is not the weapon itself — it is upgrading it, learning its moveset, and sticking with it long enough to build muscle memory. The Longsword, Claymore, and Uchigatana are recommended because they are reliable, easy to learn, and strong enough to stay viable for the entire game.
⚡ Quick Answer
Top 5 Best Beginner Weapons in Dark Souls 3
The best beginner weapons in Dark Souls 3 are the Longsword, Claymore, and Uchigatana. They are easy to use, strong from the early game, and good enough to carry a full playthrough if upgraded properly. For the early game, a Raw infusion is often the fastest way to increase damage before your stats are fully developed.
1
Longsword — best all-rounder. The Longsword is the safest beginner weapon in Dark Souls 3. It has fast attacks, low commitment, solid range, and a very reliable moveset for learning spacing and punish windows. If you start as Knight, you already have one of the best weapons in the game for a first playthrough.
2
Claymore — best for beginners who want range and power. Found in the High Wall of Lothric, the Claymore hits harder than a straight sword while still keeping a very beginner-friendly moveset. Its mix of horizontal and vertical attacks makes it strong in both open fights and narrow corridors.
3
Uchigatana — best for aggressive dexterity players. The Uchigatana has fast slashes, bleed buildup, and a strong weapon art, making it one of the strongest early choices in Dark Souls 3. It is slightly less forgiving than the Longsword, but in the right hands it can carry the entire game.
4
Lothric Knight Sword — best scaling upgrade later on. It is not the easiest weapon to obtain because it drops from Lothric Knights, but the payoff is huge. Once upgraded and infused properly, it becomes one of the strongest straight swords in the game for players who like fast, precise melee combat.
5
Astora Straight Sword — easy backup option. Found in the High Wall of Lothric, it has low requirements and is simple to use. It is not the strongest weapon on this list long term, but it is a decent fallback option if you want a straightforward early-game weapon with low stat investment.
→
Infuse with Raw at a blacksmith early game — it removes scaling but increases base damage significantly before your stats are high enough to benefit from scaling. This is especially strong if you picked a beginner-friendly setup like the best starting class in Dark Souls 3.
→
Upgrade your weapon consistently — a +6 Longsword destroys a +0 Claymore. Upgrading beats switching weapons every time early on.
→
Learn your weapon’s full moveset — R1, R2, rolling attack and backstep attack all behave differently. Knowing all your attacks doubles your combat options.
→
Pick one weapon and stick with it — switching weapons every area means never mastering any of them. Consistency beats variety in Dark Souls, especially against early bosses like Iudex Gundyr in Dark Souls 3.