This page details the Top 5 Dexterity (DEX) weapons in Elden Ring as of Patch 1.04. Dexterity weapons are a lot quicker than their Strength counterparts and usually come with status effects that you can inflict on the enemy.

What are the Best Dexterity (DEX) Weapons in Elden Ring?¶

The classification that players use for Dexterity weapons are weapons that require you to place a huge number of points into the DEX stat. With Elden Ring, there are very few DEX weapons that require the kind of commitment that STR requires and often, you’ll be required to mix in some other stats alongside to be able to wield them, such as Faith, Intelligence or Arcane.

The main difference with DEX weapons is their speed, you attack a lot quicker than you would with a STR weapon and often or not, they inflict status effects on the enemies, especially Blood Loss which is one of the more popular status effects as of Patch 1.04 due to how potent it can be on not just regular enemies, but also bosses. Due to their lower weight, they are also good weapons to dual-wield or with a shield should you require one.

With this in mind, this page is created with weapons that require a larger focus on DEX to wield the weapon as due to the way Elden Ring works, you can take most weapons and apply the Keen scaling to them to give them greater DEX scaling.

#5 - Dragon King’s Cragblade¶

As you may expect from the name, this Heavy Thrusting Sword is obtained via a dragon and one that you will not be able to obtain until the closing stages of your first playthrough. You must defeat Dragonlord Placidusax in Crumbling Farum Azula and then use the Remembrance you obtain with Enia back at Roundtable Hold. This is the weapon with the second highest DEX requirement in the game, requiring 37 DEX and 18 STR and it has split damage with Physical and Lightning while it will reach a B in scaling for DEX at +8 and beyond. The Dragon King’s Cragblade requires Somber Smithing Stones to upgrade.

The basic attack string for the Dragon King’s Cragblade is a five-hit string featuring three thrusts, followed by a slash and then finished with an upward thrust while the Heavy Attack is a stronger (that can be charged) thrust. If you choose to two-hand the weapon, then the string becomes a five-hit thrust combo and the recovery rate between thrusts will quicken.

The Ash of War, Thundercloud Form, will cause the tarnished to levitate with a cloud of dark lightning and then come crashing down with a downward lightning-based thrust dealing heavy lightning damage to any target. What makes this excellent Ash of War even greater is that you can hold the button down to increase the distance allowing you to shoot across the battlefield before crashing down with this lethal attack.

#4 - Godskin Peeler¶

Where to start with the Godskin Peeler? It arguably has the potential to be one of the most useful weapons in the game and the only reason why it’s not top of this list is because to get the best out of it requires a heavy Arcane stat investment (where this is the #1 weapon). To obtain this weapon, you will need to head to the northeast of the Altus Plateau to Dominula Windmill Village and climb to the highest point where you’ll encounter the Godskin Apostle (Dominula, Windmill Village) boss who drops this upon his defeat.

This weapon has a modest commitment of 22 DEX and 17 STR while the scaling to DEX will change to a B at Standard +25 or an A at Keen +25 (which requires losing the unique Ash of War). The Godskin Peeler requires regular Smithing Stones to upgrade. Despite the stat requirements, you’ll want to invest heavily in Arcane to make the most of this weapon.

The basic attack string for the Godskin Peeler is a five-hit string featuring regular slashes while the Heavy Attack is a damaging (that can be charged) thrust. If you choose to two-hand the weapon, then the string becomes a five-hit spin and slash combo and you can charge the Heavy Attack to spin the weapon followed by a thrust. You can also perform this same attack quicker by pressing the Heavy Attack button while sprinting.

The Ash of War, Black Flame Tornado, can be charged to conjure up a tornado of black flames that persist around you before slamming the weapon into the ground to cause another large gust. This is great for when fighting multiple enemies at once however this is not the main draw of the weapon. This weapon, when changed to the Blood scaling, is the quickest at inflicting the Blood Loss status effect in the game and provided you pump a lot of stats into the Arcane stat, will handedly trounce almost any encounter in the game.

#3 - Hand of Malenia¶

The next three weapons can be arranged in any order mostly, they just require different levels of skill to get the most out of them and are available at different points of the game. The Hand of Malenia is one such weapon as you won’t be able to obtain it until you defeat the optional, and arguably toughest boss in the game, Malenia, Blade of Miquella at the base of Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree. This is the weapon with the highest DEX requirement in the game, requiring 48 DEX and 16 STR and it causes blood loss buildup by 50 while it will reach a B in scaling for DEX at +3 and beyond. The Hand of Malenia requires Somber Smithing Stones to upgrade.

The basic attack string for the Hand of Malenia is a five-hit string featuring regular slashes while the Heavy Attack is a damaging (that can be charged) thrust. If you choose to two-hand the weapon then the string becomes a five-hit slash combo with faster recovery while the Heavy Attack changes completely to a downward strike (that can be charged) followed by an upward strike for a two-hit string.

The Ash of War, Waterfowl Dance, is one that I’m sure you’ll be very familiar with as it’s arguably the toughest attack in the Malenia, Blade of Miquella boss battle to avoid. You’ll jump into the air and then do three circular slashes all around yourself. If you keep pressing the button at the end of this, you can chain it into another two slashes followed by a final double slash that performs one final slash once you’ve stopped swinging. What makes this so good is that every single hit of this is causing blood loss buildup making it an excellent way to inflict the status effect. This does require some skill however, as it does leave you open during the start of the attack so make sure you wait for an opening on a boss before using it.

#2 - Rivers of Blood¶

Katanas are great all around for DEX focused characters, but the Rivers of Blood is the king of them all due to its incredibly powerful Ash of War. The downside to the weapon, like above (although not as bad) is that it requires you to venture to the Mountaintops of the Giants in the later stages of the game. In the east of the region, you’ll find the Church of Repose and as you head toward it, you’ll be invaded by Bloody Finger Okina who drops the weapon upon her death.

This weapon requires a mixture of stats consisting of 18 DEX, 20 ARC and 12 STR and although ARC is the highest required stat, the scaling to DEX will change to a B at +10 (compared to an E for STR and a D for ARC). The Rivers of Blood requires Somber Smithing Stones to upgrade.

The basic attack string for the Rivers of Blood is a five-hit string featuring regular slashes while the Heavy Attack is a damaging (that can be charged) thrust. If you choose to two-hand the weapon then the string becomes a five-hit slash combo with faster recovery while the Heavy Attack changes completely to a downward strike (that can be charged) followed by an upward strike for a two-hit string.

The Ash of War, Corpse Piler, is where this weapon shines is one of the best Ash of Wars in the game. When used, you will perform a blood-soaked double slash which can be chained into a triple slash followed by a final single slash. Not only do these all inflict heavy blood loss, but they also have great range on them, making this one of the best boss killers in the game.

#1 Bloodhound’s Fang¶

You can put Bloodhound’s Fang or Rivers of Blood in any order really, but what gives this weapon the slight edge is the fact that you can acquire it easily right from the very start of the game and it can comfortably carry you through the entire game. To obtain it, you’ll need to head to the Forlorn Hound Evergaol found to the east of Limgrave and defeat Bloodhound Knight Darriwil who drops the weapon upon his defeat. This weapon has a modest commitment of 17 DEX and 18 STR while the scaling to DEX will change to a B at +7 and beyond (and C for STR). The Bloodhound’s Fang requires Somber Smithing Stones to upgrade.

The basic attack string for the Bloodhound’s Fang is a four-hit string featuring three regular slashes followed by a delayed final slash while the Heavy Attack is a damaging (that can be charged) three-hit string starting with a horizontal slash followed by a two-hit overhead slash. If you choose to two-hand the weapon, then the string has quicker recovery rate (and less delay for the final slash) while the Heavy Attack starts with an overhead slash that can be chained into another two-hit overhead slash.

Like many of the unique weapons, the Ash of War, Bloodhound’s Finesse, is what makes this weapon truly special. You’ll begin with a powerful slash that takes you away from your enemy and can be followed up with an additional input from the Heavy Attack button to cause you to dash back in with an upward slash. Not only does this help you dodge plenty of attacks, but it deals massive amounts of damage along with adding blood loss buildup making it one of the most effective boss killers in the entire game (including the final boss) once it has been upgraded.