DARK SOULS 3 Best Strength Weapons: 11 Powerful Picks

Which Strength Weapons Should You Upgrade?

A massive damage number means little if your swing never connects. This DARK SOULS 3 best strength weapons guide focuses on weapons that combine heavy damage with useful movesets, including the Great Club, Exile Greatsword, and Ringed Knight Paired Greatswords. Reach, stamina consumption, and upgrade flexibility determine how much of that power you can actually use.

The Heavy Great Club and Heavy Exile Greatsword are standout choices for a pure Strength playthrough. The Exile Greatsword becomes available early, accepts Heavy infusions, and supports weapon buffs. For later builds, the Splitleaf Greatsword adds reach, while Ledo’s Great Hammer delivers crushing strike damage.

The Ringed Knight Paired Greatswords offer another compelling direction: aggressive paired attacks and a distinctive moveset built around overwhelming openings.

Weapon	Weapon class	Heavy infusion	External weapon buffs
Great Club	Great hammer	Yes	—
Exile Greatsword	Curved greatsword	Yes	Yes
Claymore	Greatsword	—	Yes
Mace	Hammer	—	—
Greatsword	Ultra greatsword	Yes	—
Fume Ultra Greatsword	Ultra greatsword	No	Yes
Yhorm’s Great Machete	Greataxe	No	No
Dragonslayer Greataxe	Greataxe	—	—
Splitleaf Greatsword	Halberd	Yes	—
Ledo’s Great Hammer	Great hammer	No	No
Ringed Knight Paired Greatswords	Paired ultra greatswords	No	No

External buffs here mean spells or consumables applied to the weapon. Several weapons that reject those buffs still have skills that strengthen their own attacks.

Official page: DARK SOULS™ III (bandainamcoent.com)

Early Strength Weapons Worth Keeping

Great Club

The Great Club makes a strong case for keeping your build simple. A Heavy infusion makes it a straightforward option for a Strength-focused character.

Use the club’s stagger potential against enemies you can interrupt. Against bosses, wait for a clear recovery animation before committing; its damage does not make its windup disappear.

Exile Greatsword

The Exile Greatsword combines exceptionally high curved greatsword damage with faster attacks than the enormous hammers and ultra greatswords discussed here.

Heavy infusion makes it a powerful fit for a Strength-focused character. Because it also accepts resins and spell buffs, you can add elemental damage for a particular fight without changing its infusion.

Its main limitation is reach. The blade looks enormous, but other heavy weapons can connect from farther away.

Close the distance before attacking instead of relying on the weapon’s appearance to judge range. Use Spin Slash when an opening gives you enough time for its spinning attacks, and avoid extending every opening into a full sequence.

In PvP, its damage demands respect, but predictable swings leave you open to punishment. Mix your timing and avoid chasing opponents with repeated attacks that fall short.

Claymore

The Claymore offers a more flexible introduction to Strength combat.

Its broad swings help against groups, while its thrusting heavy attack gives you a different way to approach an opening. It also accepts weapon buffs.

Choose it if you prefer the handling of a regular greatsword. Practice both sweeping attacks and thrusts so you have an answer for open spaces and narrower approaches.

Mace

The Mace delivers strike damage in a much smaller package and accepts infusions.

Its short reach is the tradeoff. Move close enough to connect against opponents carrying longer weapons. Swinging from outside its range wastes stamina and leaves an opening for retaliation.

Greatsword and Fume Ultra Greatsword

Greatsword

Despite its plain name, the Greatsword belongs to the ultra greatsword class.

A Heavy infusion turns it into a powerful Strength weapon. Its long blade and substantial damage make it a dependable option for players who want an oversized sword without committing to an uninfusable unique weapon.

The one-handed and two-handed movesets give you different attack coverage. Test both before spending your best upgrade materials, especially if you regularly fight groups or use a shield.

Use its reach to punish an enemy’s missed attack from outside immediate retaliation range. Save longer heavy attacks for openings that justify their commitment.

Fume Ultra Greatsword

Its appeal comes from strong Strength scaling, strike damage, and substantial reach. Unlike many unique heavy weapons, it accepts external buffs, although it cannot be infused.

Weight is the major cost. Equipping it alongside heavy armor puts considerable pressure on your equipment budget.

Check your total equip load before replacing a lighter weapon with Fume. Its damage and reach are useful only if your armor and mobility still support the way you fight.

Yhorm’s Great Machete and Dragonslayer Greataxe

Yhorm’s Great Machete

It delivers enormous physical damage and excellent reach, with Warcry providing its own temporary damage increase.

You cannot infuse it or apply external weapon buffs. That makes its upgrade path straightforward, but removes the option to add a resin before a difficult encounter.

Its attacks also consume substantial stamina. Leave enough stamina to escape after a punish instead of spending the entire bar trying to squeeze in another hit.

Try its one-handed moveset as well as its two-handed attacks. The different handling matters, particularly if you prefer pairing a large weapon with a faster secondary option.

Dragonslayer Greataxe

The Dragonslayer Greataxe deals split physical and lightning damage.

That split damage makes direct comparisons with a purely physical weapon less useful. A larger attack rating does not automatically translate into a harder hit against every enemy because the damage types encounter different defenses.

The weapon also benefits from Faith investment, so it offers room for a Strength/Faith direction. You can still consider it on a Strength build, but its elemental component deserves attention when choosing a target.

Splitleaf Greatsword: Strength Scaling With Halberd Reach

The Splitleaf Greatsword is a halberd despite its name. The Stone-Humped Hag sells it for 11,000 souls at the beginning of The Ringed City DLC, near the Dreg Heap bonfire.

At +10 with a Heavy infusion, it reaches S scaling in Strength.

Wind Wheel supplies the weapon’s distinctive spinning attacks. Its spinning attacks consume stamina.

Practice the skill and its follow-ups before taking it into PvP. Connecting with an opening attack and choosing an appropriate continuation is more useful than spinning while an opponent waits outside your range.

Access to its merchant does not make the surrounding DLC an early-game area. Plan the purchase around when your character reaches the Dreg Heap rather than treating it as a replacement for your starting weapon.

Ledo’s Great Hammer: A Major Strength Commitment

Ledo’s Great Hammer is an enormous weapon with heavy strike damage and a demanding weight budget.

Its distinctive weapon art gives you a faster attack option alongside its slower basic swings.

It cannot be infused or externally buffed. Build around its existing Strength scaling and its own skill instead of reserving spell investment for a weapon enchantment it cannot receive.

The hammer’s size creates a large threat, but its basic attacks remain slow. Use them to punish committed actions rather than trying to match a fast enemy attack for attack.

Before upgrading it, equip it with your intended armor and check the complete loadout. Its Strength requirement is only part of the investment; carrying the hammer comfortably is another.

Ringed Knight Paired Greatswords: Devastating Combo Pressure

Their defining feature is the ability to wield two ultra greatswords through a single paired weapon.

The paired moveset delivers advancing attacks, broad coverage, and substantial combo damage.

These swords cannot be infused or externally buffed. Their appeal lies in their built-in moveset and damage potential.

Pontiff’s Right Eye increases attack power through successive hits, giving it a useful interaction with sustained paired attacks. Equip it when your combat rhythm lets you keep landing hits rather than relying on isolated swings.

In PvE, commit to extended sequences when an enemy’s recovery gives you the time. Against faster bosses, take the shorter punish and disengage.

In PvP, vary your approach instead of repeating the same paired attack. An opponent who recognizes the sequence can avoid it and punish your recovery. The threat of a devastating combo works best when your next attack is difficult to predict.

Strength Stats, Heavy Infusions, and Equipment

Choose a Heavy Infusion

Heavy infusion strengthens a compatible weapon’s Strength scaling.

Use Heavy on weapons such as the Great Club, Exile Greatsword, Greatsword, or Splitleaf when building primarily around Strength. Compare the infusion preview at your current stats before spending the gem.

Understand the 66 Strength Target

Two-handing increases effective Strength by 50%. At 66 Strength, that reaches 99 effective Strength for two-handed use, which explains the popularity of 66 Strength as a late-build target.

That target does not replace your other stats. Meet your chosen weapon’s requirements, reinforce it, and invest in enough Vigor and Endurance to survive and use its moveset.

Keep Dexterity investment tied to the weapons you actually intend to wield.

Budget for Weight and Stamina

Stay below 70% equip load to avoid the heavy roll. Vitality increases your equipment capacity, while Havel’s Ring and the Ring of Favor help accommodate demanding loadouts.

Endurance increases stamina. For heavy weapons, that affects both your attack opportunities and your ability to dodge afterward.

Heavy armor’s poise helps during attacks with hyper armor, but it does not make every action resistant to interruption. Time your swings around the attack animation’s protection instead of assuming armor lets you ignore incoming hits.

Compare Damage Under Matching Conditions

Compare weapons at equivalent upgrade levels, with the same stats and the same one-handed or two-handed stance. Include temporary buffs only when you intend to maintain them.

Attack rating is a useful starting point. Actual damage also depends on the attack, damage type, and enemy defenses. Test a weapon’s reach and recovery against familiar enemies before committing scarce upgrade materials; a slightly smaller hit that lands safely can be the more useful attack.