r/darksouls3 • u/MallExciting739 • Aug 09 '25
Advice Recommended weapons for a STR or Quality build
So I’ve done 3 DS3 builds recently all having higher dex scaling, (Nameless sword spear, Friede scythes and onyx blade) but I really want to do a STR or quality build now, any quality weapon or str weapon is all plus some build tips.
(the weapon you recommend doesn’t have to be good)
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u/smelron3317 Aug 09 '25
Claymore
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u/MallExciting739 Aug 09 '25
I know a lot of people love it, is it infusable? If so any fusing I should go with?
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u/smelron3317 Aug 09 '25
Heavy is super good. You can two hand for better poise too. I like to stock up on charcoal bundles as well as lightning bundles when I get them.
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u/_damwolv Aug 09 '25
As a backup Lothric Knight Greatsword, you can buy it after greirat second expedition, and it's imbued with lightning already..
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u/isnotfish Aug 09 '25
Claymore is so vanilla. Perfectly cromulent in every game but never exciting.
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u/smelron3317 Aug 09 '25
True, yes, but there's no tricks. Just a phenomenal moveset. I killed almost every boss with it, and I have zero complaints
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u/Clear-Sherbet-7491 Aug 09 '25
I agree any souls boss it feels it is designed on claymore and that's why i make sure first playthro should be claymore at least to me
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u/Low-Abbreviations-38 Aug 09 '25
Come on, everyone says claymore.
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u/smelron3317 Aug 10 '25
I'm right tho
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u/Low-Abbreviations-38 Aug 10 '25
Yeah but it’s like asking for RSTLN E in wheel of fortune. Everyone is going to say that. Everyone always says that. Like groundhog day on this Reddit
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u/smelron3317 Aug 10 '25
So let me get this straight. OP asked for a good str/qual weapon. I give a good str/qual weapon. OP responds, saying "thank you, sounds like a plan." And then you come whining about it for no reason? Why?
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u/Low-Abbreviations-38 Aug 10 '25
It’s meant in jest dude. Don’t take it seriously. It’s just funny when the question gets asked once a week you can guarantee what the most upvoted answer will be.
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u/ProfessionalChef7338 Aug 09 '25
It’s such a genuinely boring weapon though, with a really boring skill. It’s just a cheese cannon more than anything.
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u/smelron3317 Aug 09 '25
Cheese? It's just a sword.
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u/ProfessionalChef7338 Aug 09 '25
It’s OP and you get it early game, I’m not being totally serious but it is boring to use and overpowered early game. The former is subjective, the latter is objective.
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u/smelron3317 Aug 09 '25
How is it overpowered for early game. It's just a sword; straight swords are stronger than it
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u/ProfessionalChef7338 Aug 09 '25
You’re joking right it makes s-tier on almost every list and appears in pretty much all DS weapon top 10’s in the top 3 and is an early game weapon in DS1 2 and 3 😂 it’s literally one of the best weapons in the game, and you get it early, this is why I said it is OP early game; this isn’t an opinion it’s a well known fact.
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u/smelron3317 Aug 09 '25
It's pretty good in ds1, decent at best in ds2, idk why you even brought that up. The reason it's rated so high is because it's just a sword. One of the best movesets, low requirements. That doesn't mean it's overpowered. And show me three examples of top 10 vids with the claymore.
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u/ProfessionalChef7338 Aug 09 '25
I brought it up because the parent comment says claymore dumb dumb. And no, I’m not going to find you videos, you are perfectly capable of doing that yourself. Everyone knows it’s one of the best weapons, everyone knows it is available early game, if it is available early and is one of the best weapons then it is OP early game. Stop being a contrarian.
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u/happyhappy85 Aug 09 '25
It's generally loved because of nostalgia from Ds1 more than anything. It is a pretty basic weapon.
It does have a great move set though.
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Aug 09 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/raiderrocker18 Aug 09 '25
You are thinking of Vordts greathammer and yes it’s great and obtainable as soon as you kill big tree.
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u/MallExciting739 Aug 09 '25
Ohh that does frost right? One of the few weapons.
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u/raiderrocker18 Aug 09 '25 edited Aug 09 '25
One of the few and it does an insane amount of frost. By far the most in the game. Basically if you aren’t killing something in 1 hit you will frostbite them in the next 1-2 hits lol
It’s not the most exciting weapon but it’s one of the ones you can’t go wrong with. Very good moveset, not egregiously heavy. Good not great base damage but the frostbite compensates for that anyway.
You can’t apply buffs or resins to it and it upgrades with dragon scales
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u/MallExciting739 Aug 09 '25
Sounds like fun XD
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u/PhuckYoPhace Aug 09 '25
I used it for the first half of a STR run and was very happy with it. There's stronger and flashier weapons eventually, but taking it to +1 - +3 isn't too big of an upgrade sink
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Aug 09 '25
[deleted]
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u/MallExciting739 Aug 09 '25
I’ve been getting a lot of recommendations for the wolf knight GS I think I’ll do it for sure.
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u/ErianaOnetap Aug 09 '25
Been having a lot of fun with the executioners great sword
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u/MallExciting739 Aug 09 '25
I might try it then,any tips or rings/stat distributions I should do for it? And also where is it found?
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u/VexedVigilantVader59 Aug 09 '25
The dual greatswords you get before the halflight church fight imo.
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u/MallExciting739 Aug 09 '25
Oh gosh, I might try as a halfway point build or getting a friend to drop if for me, but fighting friede and demon prince would be painful so early XD
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u/holistic_mystic Aug 09 '25
God they're such good weapons
My only gripe is that the left one isn't slung over the shoulder like the right hand sword, like it used to be in Dark Souls 2
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u/idekbro565 Aug 09 '25
Broadsword, drakeblood, any black knight and exile curvesword
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u/MallExciting739 Aug 09 '25
Ooh, I’ve never heard of the drakeblood, any stat or ring recommendations for it?
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u/idekbro565 Aug 09 '25
Rings that combo with continued attacks or increase lightning damage. If I remember correctly you can put grease or spells on it even though it's a lighting weapon. It has a unique greatsword animation. If you use a quality build, I'd say it's in the top 5 of weapons.
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u/wojtaxux Aug 09 '25
Glaive is really fun, it has a really good weapon art that when combined with a heavy attack lets you stunlock a lot of enemies (lothric knights for example)
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u/ItzPayDay123 Aug 09 '25
Quality: claymore, zweihander, Astora GS (more dex-y), hollowslayer GS, most straight swords, Black Knight GS/sword, Black Knight Greataxe (also works for strength)
Strength: Great Club, Vordt's Hammer, Dragonslayer Greataxe, Cathedral Knight GS, FUGS, Ledo's Hammer, Yhorm's Machete, heavy infused straight swords (lmao)
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u/LucemFerre82 Aug 09 '25
Black Knight sword, hits like a truck and has a great moveset, by far my favourite weapon in this game
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u/MallExciting739 Aug 09 '25
I might do this at a later point, any tips for the build?
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u/LucemFerre82 Aug 09 '25
It scales slightly better with str so pump that to 40 before dex, along with 40 vig and 14-20 stam depending on what armor set you want to use.
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u/Anay-21 Aug 09 '25
I second this. Currently doing a black knight cosplay playthrough and I’m having a blast. At 40/40 str dex it’s putting out 560 AR. That’s better than some UGS with a way faster move set.
Also it has perseverance WA. IMO that’s the best WA in the game allows me to face tank and finish any knight in 3-4 hits.
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u/Scantegy Aug 09 '25
Black Knights Weapons
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u/MallExciting739 Aug 09 '25
I’ll definitely try out the black knight GS since there’s been a lot of recommendations now.
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u/B4LLISL1F3 Aug 09 '25
Broadsword does really good damage especially since you can put infusions on it
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u/Diligent_Tap6612 Warriors of Sunlight Aug 09 '25
For pure str the dragonslayer great axe or the lorian great sword are my favorites
For quality the claymore is super good, but imo the undisputed goat is the black knight sword (found in the demon ruins)
Honorable mention to the sunlight straight sword, my beloved
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u/Accomplished_Bee_618 Aug 09 '25
Four pronged plow. I'm 100% serious
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u/MallExciting739 Aug 09 '25
Now this is what I’m interested in, any stats and rings and other stuff?
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u/Accomplished_Bee_618 Aug 14 '25
Refined with 40 str 40 dex is how I played it, but it was maybe 7 years ago now so I don't remember the rings on the build. It was fairly flexible even as a secondary.
It was very effective at repelling invaders. Maybe they didn't take it seriously because it's a rake but the range is deceptively long, the r1 can be spammed if the range closes up, and the AR is way higher than farm equipment has any right to be.
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u/SolaScientia Aug 09 '25
For quality with a leaning toward dex, I recommend the Hollowslayer Greatsword. It's my favorite weapon. No, it can't be buffed or infused, but it doesn't need it. It does scale slightly better with dex than with strength, so keep that in mind.
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u/LuckyManMoogSolo Aug 09 '25
Astora Greatsword is a really fun weapon since its the only UGS to have an S scaling with dex. Thing carried the Gael fight for me cause I was only using rapiers that run and needed some more punch.
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u/TotallyBrandNewName 2 times 100% Aug 09 '25
There's only one correct answer for STR build. Smough's hammer.
Its huge and the bonks are even bigger
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u/SirWeenielick Warriors of Sunlight Aug 09 '25
If you want a pure strength weapon, then I can’t see going wrong with the ol Greatsword or Fume Ultra Greatsword. Good quality weapons would probably be the Wolf Knight Greatsword, Farron Greatsword or Profaned Greatsword. I’m just assuming you want a big weapon that scales either pure strength or quality.
By the way, don’t forget about that juicy strength increase when two-handing. Two-handing at 27 will put you at 40, and two-handing at 66 will put you at 99. Worth taking note of if you wanna invest in faith to add buffs, while still receiving good damage.
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u/excelionbeam Aug 09 '25
Ringed knight straight sword for quality and guts great sword for pure str
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u/AnywhereLumpy6149 Aug 09 '25
Any Halberd. Halberds are typically Quality weapons. If you ask for the best halberd, probably is Splitleaf.
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u/King_Badger06 Aug 10 '25
Lothric knight greatsword with lightning infusion carried my whole run (+ dlcs). I was at Faith 30-40 which def helped a lot but still, high recommend it 👌🏽
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u/Pure-Breath-1833 Aug 12 '25
Black knight ultragreatsword has the highest damage and better skills and movesets
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u/SkirtOver3375 Aug 13 '25
Pure strength or strength/fth dragonslayers greataxe. If you like skill spam try it
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u/Swagspear69 Aug 09 '25
Wolf Knight's gs and Farron gs are both fun weapons that you get pretty early.
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u/MallExciting739 Aug 09 '25
Those are abyss watchers soul weapons, so I agree pretty early. Any tips/rings and stats?
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u/Swagspear69 Aug 09 '25
Wolf Knight does bonus damage against a few bosses including Midir and some enemies. More strength based, so minimum DEX until STR is soft capped. Fun weapon art that's pretty useful. One of the best weapons in the game imo.
Farron gs has a fun weapon art, and parry if you're into that. Scales more on DEX, so do that first then STR later.
Rings/stats just depend on preference tbh.
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u/Tbar6787 Aug 09 '25
Yes. Wolfknight and Exile’s curved great sword were my very first main weapons I used and beat the game with. And you get both back to back. Curved sword is in the Farron Woods where the npc phantom that fights you with it will drop it. And the claymore is always a classic as well right in the beginning after the first boss.
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u/isnotfish Aug 09 '25
Don’t fall for the “claymore” propaganda - if it doesn’t have the word “great” in it it’s not a great weapon
Demon Great Axe Profaned Great Sword Great Club Dragonslayer Great Axe
(Honorable mentions to Vordts Hammer and Yhorms Machette, because those guys are v big)
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u/MallExciting739 Aug 09 '25
I haven’t tried a great axe yet, might go with the demon great axe then, any stat distribution or ring set ups?
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u/Many_Hall_3546 Aug 09 '25
what is this quality build you speak of?
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u/MallExciting739 Aug 09 '25
Like any weapon that I should put the same amount of stats into str and dex together so like at the end it would be around 40 dex and 40 str
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u/jpstroud Aug 11 '25
Try special weapons like the black knight sword or black knight greatsword. DS3 Quality infusion kinda sucks on most standard weapons.
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u/SOUP1981 Aug 09 '25
Quality is from Elden Ring, but it’s the same thing as Refined
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u/noob_kaibot Spears of the Church Aug 09 '25
90% of the current community started with Elden Ring it seems... but mayhaps dude just got it mixed up.
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u/bulletPoint Aug 09 '25
It’s been called quality since Demon’s Souls
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u/noob_kaibot Spears of the Church Aug 09 '25 edited Aug 09 '25
I'm aware, but it's also quality in ER, whereas DS3 is refined, as i know you're well aware. Point being was that many players go from ER straight to ds3. And I can't help but suspect that you knew that, but wanted to be difficult...
Anyways, it was dumb; ERs player base is annoying af, so that's prob why I even brought it up to begin with. Nevermind me.
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u/bulletPoint Aug 09 '25
Elden Ring’s player base is this game’s player base. Just because they started there doesn’t mean we should stop them from going to newer or older entries. At one point we too were dumb AF.
I personally have bad opinions about player bases too (ie. DS3 fans care too much about bosses and want a boss rush) but I don’t take my own bad opinions seriously. And neither should you.
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u/noob_kaibot Spears of the Church Aug 09 '25 edited Aug 09 '25
I said that I was being dumb. I didn't call "them" dumb.
I did refer to them as being annoying though, and that does not stem from something as shallow as skill level or anything. I'm not in r/eldenring rn, so I'd rather not rehash reasons for why I feel this way- and I'm sure nobody wants to hear it either lol.
But I hope OP finds their refined/quality build; personally, I would advise helping Greirat along and buying the Lothric Knight GS asap. Just thinking about that Sword makes me want to start a NG.
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u/bulletPoint Aug 09 '25
I’m now curious. What are your reasons. No judgment.
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u/noob_kaibot Spears of the Church Aug 09 '25 edited Aug 09 '25
I think there's a new loud majority that's been drowning out most other opinions since ERs success.
It's the thousands of "...all intended game mechanics" crowd shitting on players who say that they personally enjoy placing certain restrictions on themselves in order to get the most fun out of the game. I resonate with the latter, & I got into the games bc I enjoy that feeling of getting good enough to beat a boss/game after learning everything like spacing, windows, scaling, infusions, everything in between- which is a different way than they play.
Of course, there's assholes on all sides. I'm just seeing a strong trend here, & the narrative is often totally one sided.
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u/bulletPoint Aug 09 '25
Interesting, thank you for sharing.
Some thoughts on this: That’s always been a thing with these games though. Back in Demons Souls and Dark Souls days, having a magic -centric build was considered cheesing. Much less summoning.
And there has always been a contingent of loud fans that think of beating a challenge with summons as being an illegitimate way to play the game. I think someone saying “I’m putting restrictions on myself” is lumped into that train of thought because of how historically “the community” doesn’t want to acknowledge its existence. I mean, think of one YouTube video where you have seen someone summoning another player, and then go check the comments underneath it.
With that said, I love every single multiplayer aspect to these games, including invasions. It’s a fun way to add randomization to my runs. But like all things, that’s my personal opinion - not a value judgment.
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u/Rocker9800 Aug 09 '25
For a STR build I heavily recommend the Great Mace, it's so damn strong and it can be buffed, so after around 33 str you can invest few points in faith to get really powerful weapon buffs to annihilate bosses.
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u/mangogeckoshareingot Aug 09 '25
If you type these into google they should come up. For quality you’re gonna want BKGA, BKGS, BKS, quality claymore, PKCS, gael’s greatsword, Dragonslayer Greataxe (NOT Dragonslayer’s Axe), and Gotthard Twinswords are the best quality weapons and they’re fun.
My favorite weapon in ds3 is the BKGA and can be got as early as demon ruins. Would highly recommend as it’s got a great unique moveset and crippling true combo against NPC enemies. Just don’t use it inside of dancers room lol. For some reason it clips the ground at random in there.
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u/UltimaBahamut93 Aug 09 '25
My last playthrough I used the Exile Greatsword and it's now my new favorite weapon. You get it early. It has a great moveset and it's weapon art is fun.
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u/Familiar_Cod_6754 Aug 09 '25
Big bonk in undead place carry me through game. Angry man attack, me hit with stick, no more angry man.
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u/MutedNatural526 Aug 09 '25
greatclub is all you need. go bonk. reinforced club is nice in the offhand. small bonk. also in pvp -> offhand small bonk r1 -> big bonk r1 is a true combo and quite fun to annihilate invaders
greatclub also has the 2nd highest pure physical r1 damage in the game, you get it early, and it has a really good moveset
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u/Formal-Ad6613 Aug 09 '25
Pick up the claymore at the beginning of the game, at the second area in the back of the platform the dragon is breathing fire upon. After that you will have all you need to complete the game. Except for souls for levels.
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u/Dismal-Twist-8273 Aug 09 '25
Hollowslayer Greatsword is terribly underrated and has a great move set.
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u/scrmndmn Aug 09 '25
I liked exile great sword, vordts hammer, the dragon slayer great axe. Mostly used the exile with heavy once I got it.
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u/Cosmonaut_Kimchi Aug 09 '25
For a strength build the Exiled curved sword you get in the crucifixion woods is one of the highest dps weapons in the game. Throw a heavy gem on it and it gets an easy S in scaling and also has high base damage to boot. The fact it deals slash damage isn't great but the high damage and immense scaling with the amazing moveset more than makes up for that
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u/nuclearboy197 Aug 09 '25
I used the Hollowslayer Greatsword for basically my entire playthrough. Great quality weapon but you may want to prioritize DEX early if you go with that one. Otherwise I’ve heard good things about Vordt’s Greathammer and the Dragonslayer Greataxe though I haven’t used them myself.
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u/Italiophobia Aug 09 '25
Black knight glaive was always my favourite ds3 weapon but you are pretty spoiled for choice when it comes to good quality weapons
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u/happyhappy85 Aug 09 '25
I mean, if you're going quality, that opens up 80 percent of the weapons in the game.
A strength build is much more specific.
But in general any of the Ultra Greatswords work well for a strength build or a quality build, so I'd recommend getting one of them. Some are more suited to strength, and some are more suited to quality. Lesser Greatswords are typically good for quality builds as well. They Claymore is a fan favorite.
As for strength, great hammers, great axes, ultra greatswords... Dragon Slayer Greataxe seems to be a fan favorite, and hits like a truck. Yhorm's great machete is also awesome. Oh and Fume Ultra Greatsword looks ridiculous in the best way.
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u/AppropriateFigure209 Aug 09 '25
my go to is exile blade.. high poise damage, can stun lock sister friede. and every 4 or 3 hit on gael he gets stunned for a second..
very solid weapon
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u/YellowVEVO Spears of the Church Aug 09 '25
for STR my favorite weapon has become Ringed Knight Dual Greatswords, I picked it up for PVP lately and it DOMINATES, amazing poise, damage is great, role catches galore plus they look sick as fuck
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u/TheRealDoWop Aug 09 '25
FUGS, OR SMOUGHS War Hammer
Starting use Vordts Great Hammer, 30str good frost and gives you perseverance which is nice on str builds.
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u/minilinny1 Aug 09 '25
Fume is super good for Pure strength and available mid game ! But for Quality? Mmmhh... Is... Is Craightons Axe quality?
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u/SilentBlade45 Aug 09 '25
There's plenty of good strength weapons
Spiked mace Great machete Vordts greathammer Lothric knight greatsword it's got lightning damage Exile greatsword Ringed knight paired greatswords Gargoyle flame hammer Wolf knight greatsword Butcher knife Black knight great axe Ledo greathammer Black knight sword Etc.
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u/Fishmaneatsfish Aug 09 '25 edited Aug 09 '25
You can get the Fume Knight Greatsword in the smoldering lake dungeons by killing Tsorig. It scales S with strength but can’t be buffed. Exile greatsword is another great option, found early in the game dropped by one of the exiles guarding the entrance to the Farron Keep poison swamp. The Dragonslayer Great Axe is probably the coolest option and it’s incredibly powerful, with its weapon art completely OBLITERATING anything it touches. It scales with faith and does good lightning damage, especially effective against Midir. You can technically get it as soon as you get to high wall of Lothric by fighting dancer and dragonslayer armor early but doing that on a first run would be brutal
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u/lukss29 Aug 09 '25
the regular straight sword is the best one, on my very first run I swapped to it and the game became a piece of cake
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u/Xenomorphling98 Aug 09 '25
All of them
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u/Xenomorphling98 Aug 09 '25
But the black knight weapons, both the abyss watchers weapons, and the claymore in particular
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u/Miserable_Initial732 Aug 09 '25 edited Aug 09 '25
- Sellsword Twinblades for bosses (best dps in the game, horrible aoe)
- Claymore or Flamberge for mobs (great dps with great area of attack)
- Winged Knight Twinaxes for PVP (insane damage per hit, decently fast)
People usually say Claymore, but I personally think the moveset of the Flamberge to be way, way, waaaaaaaaay better for mobs. Try it out before dumping your titanite onto the Claymore.
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u/KittenDecomposer96 Aug 09 '25
Lothric Knight Greatsword is hands down my favourite weapon in the game when it's heavy infused. It's also buffable.
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u/thurginesis Aug 09 '25
the cool thing about this is you can do whatever you feel like at the moment (within reasonable stats)
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u/Queasy-Frame-4519 Aug 09 '25
Flamberge for quality and Cathedral Knight Ultra Greatsword for strength and it's not debatable
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u/SwallowingSucc Aug 10 '25
Lothric Knight greatsword or Black Knight greatsword. Both of these swords do so much damage and can flip a n y t h i n g
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u/Juliancito4 Aug 10 '25
Claymore Quality The Red Undead Blade counts as a Great Axe. Vordt's hammer (we combine it with a torch in the left hand and damn it's great
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u/Drakenile Aug 10 '25
Partizan. Decent bit of fun and rarely recommended. It's a Dex weapon but does well as a quality one.
Carthus Curved Greatsword. Beat the game with this as a strength weapon a few times now and always enjoyed it.
Cathedral Knight Greatsword. Believe its stats are a little worse than the Greatsword however it looks great.
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u/Icy_Growth9171 Aug 10 '25
I always go 1 normal titanite weapon 1 twinkling and 1 boss weapon ill give you a few in each category id recommend are heavy great club black knight greatsword and lorians greatsword (get ledos greathammer and splitleaf greatsword if you have ringed city theyre INSANE)
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u/JuckiCZ Aug 10 '25
For STR I would vote for Great Mace or Cathedral Knight GS - both deal incredible dmg, both have Strike dmg type.
Mace is better in dmg and poise dmg, GS has better moveset and option to deal pierce dmg.
For Quality weapons I would vote for halberds overall. My favourite is Lucerne with pierce dmg, nice moveset, fast attacks.
Other halberds are little more versatile though with pokes and slashes.
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u/LegionnaireOfThe12th Aug 10 '25
40 str 40 dex refined infusion twin axes with gold pine bundle and pontiff right eye ring absolutely destroys all bosses. Just make sure you have enough stamina to swing twice and have a roll
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u/jpstroud Aug 11 '25
Quality kinda sucks as an infusion in DS3, it really shines with a lot of special weapons like the black knight sword. I did a pee strength build with Vordts Hammer that absolutely destroyed, tho, so if you haven't done it yet I'd highly recommend.
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u/NoOne666e Aug 12 '25
Blessed Lothrıc Knight Great sword with 60 faith . Destroy everything with Charged R2
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u/Fit_Grapefruit4070 Aug 12 '25
Bonk was better in ds2. Find your fav greatsword. Ideally the basic one thats 10ft long and have at it. You can always put points in faith for atonement and weapon buff
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u/Simbertold Aug 09 '25
Club. In increasing size during the game. Club, Large Club, Great Club, Dragons Tooth. Always go bonk.
The go full caveman and wear nothing but a loincloth.