Dexterity scaling weapons have been popular with soulslike fans ever since Demon’s Souls and they continue to be highly sought-after in Elden Ring as well. Unlike Strength scaling weapons, which mainly rely on brute force to get the job done, Dexterity scaling weapons are all about speed and precision.

Related: Elden Ring: 15 Best Intelligence Scaling Weapons

Dexterity armaments are just as varied as other weapon types, if not more so. Among other things, you’ve got katanas, daggers, rapiers, claws, spears, and many other weapons to choose from. Given that Elden Ring features hundreds of different weapons, it can be a real hassle to find the right ones for your dream build. Don’t worry, though, because we already did the heavy lifting for you and put together a list of the absolute best Dexterity scaling weapons currently available in Elden Ring, listed in no particular order.

10 Bolt of Gransax

The Bolt of Gransax is a lightning-imbued spear that requires a fair amount of Dexterity but offers amazing damage potential in return. The weapon comes with a unique skill that transforms into a giant lightning bolt that can be thrown at enemies for massive damage. The skill functions more or less like the Lightning Spear incantation but its damage scales with Dexterity rather than Faith, making it ideal for players looking to invest as few runes as possible into secondary skills.

The Bolt of Gransax is perhaps best known for deleting players in the Colosseum. Even though spears were nerfed in Patch 1.08, the Bolt of Gransax continues to be one of the best Dexterity scaling weapons in Elden Ring so don’t expect people to stop using it anytime soon. The spear is a fantastic weapon for PvE as well thanks to its ability to deal 20% more damage to Dragons and 10% more damage to Ancient Dragons.

9 Nagakiba

Katanas, in general, are very good Dexterity scaling weapons and this one is no exception. The Nagakiba is the longest katana in the game, which automatically gives whoever is wielding it a distinct advantage in both PvP and PvE. While other lengthy armaments take a while to swing, the Nagakiba is just as fast as many short weapons. Of course, it’s not quite as fast as something like a dagger or a pair of claws.

Similar to a lot of other Dexterity scaling weapons, the Nagakiba’s passive effect allows it to inflict Blood Loss build-up with every swing. The amount of build-up per swing isn’t huge, but it quickly adds up thanks to the weapon’s speed. The Nagakiba doesn’t have a unique skill but can be infused with a wide variety of Ashes of War. By default, the katana comes with the Piercing Fang weapon art.

8 Guardian’s Swordspear

Despite what its name might suggest, this weapon is neither a sword nor a spear, but rather a halberd. While seemingly a Strength scaling weapon, the Guardian’s Swordspear scales much better with Dexterity once upgraded, especially with the Keen affinity. Although a bit on the short side for a halberd, the Guardian’s Swordspear makes up for it by offering good damage and speed. It’s also fairly easy to get early on, which is always a plus.

Related: Elden Ring: 10 Best Colossal Weapons, Ranked

The Guardian’s Swordspear comes equipped with the Spinning Slash skill and can be infused with Ashes of War. Interestingly enough, the Guardian’s Swordspear has a different (and better) moveset for light attacks compared to other halberds. Regular light attacks with this weapon are remarkably fast and come in the form of upward slashes. Meanwhile, running light attacks work more like spear thrusts and heavy attacks are identical to those of other halberds.

7 Misericorde

There are a couple of better daggers in Elden Ring for hybrid builds, however, Misericorde is probably your best option for a pure Dexterity scaling build. This is the longest dagger in the game and comes with the highest critical stat of any weapon in Elden Ring. Misericorde is a must for anyone roleplaying as a silent assassin who mostly relies on backstabbing, smoke and mirrors, poison, and maybe even some Night sorceries while adventuring through the Lands Between.

Misericorde comes equipped with the Quick Step skill, which certainly feels very appropriate for an assassin build. However, the dagger can be infused with much better Ashes of War that will allow it to deal more damage and/or apply status effects. Misericorde doesn’t have any passive effects by default, so you’ll need to add one via upgrades in order to get the most out of this beautiful dagger.

6 Scavenger’s Curved Sword

The Scavenger’s Curved Sword is a mean-looking weapon that feels surprisingly elegant when wielded. This is the only curved sword in Elden Ring that can apply bleeding without any upgrades and is very popular because of that. Even though bleed builds were nerfed on multiple occasions, they’re still reasonably effective in many situations. Besides, the weapon has other things going for it as well, including good base damage and speed.

The Scavenger’s Curved Sword is one of those weapons that needs to be dual-wielded in order to reach its full potential. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to find more than one per playthrough so paired Scavenger’s Curved Swords are only available in NG+. Alternatively, the weapon can be paired with the Bandit’s Curved Sword to achieve a similar result. Both curved swords can be infused with Ashes of War and imbued with a variety of damage types.

5 Sacred Relic Sword

The Sacred Relic Sword is more of a hybrid weapon that scales with both Dexterity and Faith, though the Dexterity scaling is a bit higher. Anyone who is familiar with this weapon knows that the greatsword’s biggest selling point is its unique skill, Wave of Gold. The skill eats up a lot of FP but does good damage in a gradually expanding arc in front of the player. It’s not necessarily something you would use for boss fights, but it’s a great skill to have when dealing with groups of enemies and farming runes.

Related: Elden Ring: 10 Best Faith Scaling Weapons

Wave of Gold’s damage scales with Faith and can be further boosted with various Talismans and Crystal Tears. If you don’t want to invest too heavily into a secondary stat, you can get away with fulfilling the minimum Faith requirement and using the weapon like a regular greatsword, which just so happens to come with a useful skill as a little bonus. The Sacred Relic Sword deals decent damage even without the skill and is the longest greatsword in Elden Ring, so you can’t go wrong with it either way.

4 Raptor Talons

Claws are shorter than most of Elden Ring's other Dexterity scaling weapons but what they lack in range they make up for in speed and damage. The Raptor Talons are arguably the best claw weapons in the game thanks to their unique animations. Normal heavy attacks hit twice with every press of the button while charged heavy attacks allow players to jump forward or backward while delivering multiple powerful blows in the process.

Like all claw weapons, the Raptor Talons work best when dual-wielded, however, combining them with other claws wouldn’t be a bad idea either. For instance, you can pair a Raptor Talon with a Venomous Fang to both bleed and poison enemies as you eviscerate them. While many other weapons, including a few on this list, were nerfed in recent patches, claws received a number of buffs in Patch 1.08 so now’s as good a time as any to take them out for a spin.

3 Bloodhound’s Fang

Bloodhound’s Fang is a weapon that needs little introduction. This curved greatsword can be acquired very early on and has carried many a player through the first few portions of Elden Ring. Or, in some cases, even though the entire game; that’s how good this weapon is. While the Bloodhound’s Fang initially requires more Strength than Dexterity to wield properly, this is most definitely a Dexterity scaling weapon through and through.

The reason Bloodhound’s Fang is so popular is that this weapon is highly versatile, packs one hell of a punch, causes bleeding, and comes equipped with a unique two-phase skill known as Bloodhound’s Finesse. While not as flashy as other unique skills, Bloodhound’s Finesse is an amazing ability that acts as both an offensive and defensive move. In addition, players are invincible for a few moments during the second phase dash. With good timing, the dash can be used to dodge attacks that would otherwise be lethal.

2 Uchigatana

The Uchigatana is another weapon that can carry players through most of the game and this one can also be acquired early on. In fact, it’s part of the Samurai’s starting equipment, so if you’re playing that class you won’t have to worry about switching weapons anytime soon. Although shorter than other katanas, the Uchigatana is no less deadly. The weapon has similar stats to the Nagakiba while being just as effective at bleeding enemies dry. However, the Uchigatana is lighter and has lower stat requirements, allowing you to get more out of it at lower levels.

Related: Elden Ring: 10 Best Arcane Scaling Weapons

By default, the Uchigatana comes with the Unsheathe weapon art, which feels very appropriate. That said, the weapon can be infused with other Ashes of War. An interesting thing to note is that the Uchigatana can become a very good Strength scaling weapon when infused with the Heavy affinity. If you change your mind about playing a Dexterity scaling build at some point, simply change the affinity to Heavy and you’re all set. No need to look for Strength scaling weapons.

1 Hand of Malenia

Malenia is one of the toughest bosses in Elden Ring and this weapon is a very suitable reward for defeating her. The Hand of Malenia is the strongest of all katanas while being almost as long as the Nagakiba. Meanwhile, the weapon can inflict Blood Loss at a very fast rate and comes equipped with a neat unique skill. The downside is that Hand of Milenia requires a ton of Dexterity to wield properly, however, that is to be expected since this is very much a late-game and NG+ weapon.

Although perhaps not the most practical unique skill in the game, Waterfowl Dance is incredibly fun to use and can make short work of groups of weaker enemies. It’s interesting to note that the skill can be used even if the player doesn’t meet the minimum Dexterity requirement, albeit it will be much weaker and slower. It won’t look nearly as fancy either. On the bright side, using Waterfowl Dance with less than 48 Dexterity won’t consume any FP. It’s possible to dual-wield Hand of Malenia but only during NG+.

Next: Elden Ring: 10 Best Staffs, Ranked