Highlights

• A strength build focuses solely on your weapon, allowing you to maximize damage potential in Elden Ring combat.
• Matching stats to your weapon in a strength build ensures the ability to wield massive weapons effectively for great results.
• Opting for a straightforward strength build simplifies gameplay and allows for versatile weapon choices for optimal damage output.

A strength build in Elden Ring can be straightforward, and a precise build can lead to great results. Magic builds requires multiple stats to be leveled up to use your abilities properly, but a strength build focuses only on your weapon.

Focusing on only a few stats in your character allows you to take those stats to the max. Elden Ring is full of massive weapons, and with the proper strength stat will allow you to wield weapons as big as your character is. Here are the best weapons your need to hunt down for Strength build.

Updated By Joshua Leeds On March 13th 2024: This article has been updated to include additional information for each weapon including their required stats and what stats it scales best from.

15 Nightrider Glaive

Quick Attacks With Decent Range

• Requirements: 26 Strength and 10 Dexterity.
• When fully upgraded: B scaling from strength and E from Dexterity.

The Nightrider Glaive is a large Halberd that deals a decent amount of damage over a significant range. This weapon can be fairly versatile to scale off other stats to perfectly fit your build.

This weapon comes with the skill Spinning Strike, and can be infused with other ashes of war. While this weapon can be infused to be more efficient, it fails to do anything special in a standard build but is a great earlier option for strength-build players looking to fight with a halberd.

14 Lion Greatbow

Powerful Damage Over Great Range

• Requirements: 22 Strength and 18 Dexterity.
• When fully upgraded: D scaling from strength and Dexterity.

The Bow of Radahn himself, this bow can deal a decent amount of damage for those with the strength to pull back its bowstring. This weapon can be difficult to obtain as players will need to defeat Radahn first.

This weapon comes with the skill Radahn's Rain, and cannot be infused with other ashes of war. This skill is heavily limited from the one we see Radahn use, but is still a great skill to deal with larger enemies or small crowds. Overall this weapon begins to fall off in damage in the late game but is a great ranged option for strength builds.

13 Onyx Lord's Greatsword

Powerful Physical and Magic Damage

• Requirements: 20 Strength, 16 Dexterity, and 16 Intelligence.
• When fully upgraded: B scaling from Strength, E from Dexterity, and B from Intelligence.

This weapon is a strength greatsword that also deals magic damage to your enemy, with a bonus to gravity-type enemies. This weapon is great for strength, and intelligence builds due to its bonus Magic damage and scaling for it.

This weapon comes with the unique skill Onyx Lord's Repulsion, and cannot be infused with other ashes of war. This skill does a decent amount of damage with a focus on it's knockback capabilities. This weapon is also perfect for a niche intelligence/strength build.

12 Fallingstar Beast Jaw

A Colossal Weapon That Hits Hard And Slow

• Requirements: 34 Strength, 12 Dexterity, and 20 Intelligence.
• When fully upgraded: C scaling from Strength and Dexterity, and D from Intelligence.

This weapon also deals both physical and magic damage, with a moderate bonus to gravity-type enemies. While this weapon's magic damage does scale from intelligence, the bulk of damage will come from this weapon's physical damage.

This weapon comes with the unique skill Gravity Bolt, and cannot be infused with other ashes of war. This skill can be cast quickly in rapid succession for great amounts of damage from a distance. This weapon is best used in a pure strength build, with only enough intelligence to equip the weapon.

11 Battle Hammer

A Blank-Slate Strength-Focused Weapon

• Requirements: 26 Strength and 8 Dexterity.
• When fully upgraded: B scaling from Strength and E from Dexterity.

Like Robert Baratheon, taking a giant hammer into battle can easily crack skulls. While this hammer isn't a unique weapon, it has very high base damage and can get to a B in scaling after being fully upgraded.

Should you infuse the weapon to make it "Heavy," its Strength scaling reaches an A, a rare find in Elden Ring. It's starting Ash of war; Braggart's Roar slightly increases your damage, defense, and stamina recovery, and should you like this, Ash can be replaced.

10 Zweihander

A Long-Reach Sword With Decently Quick Attacks

• Requirements: 19 Strength and 11 Dexterity.
• When fully upgraded: D scaling from strength and C from Dexterity.

A recurring weapon from the Souls franchise, the Zweihander makes an appearance in Elden Ring. Wither lower stats to wield; this is an excellent option for Strength builds earlier in the game. It has moderately good base damage and scales with youStrengthth decently.

This greatsword has a heavy piercing attack, unlike most other greatswords in this game. This piercing attack gives this sword more viability as it can bypass enemies that are resistant to slashing damage or have a very high slashing defense.

9 Dragon Greatclaw

Heavy Physical And Lightning Damage

• Requirements: 30 Strength and 14 Dexterity.
• When fully upgraded: C scaling from both Strength and Dexterity.

While this weapon won't have massive damage in the late game, it is an excellent option for early to mid-game. Its damage is mainly based on your strength, but it also has a decent amount of lightning damage. It also does a moderate bonus amount of damage to dragon enemies.

This weapon's Ash of War is Endure, allowing you to further a potential tank build. This skill briefly absorbs incoming damage and also increases your poise. The higher poise will enable you to fight through potentially staggering attacks with this weapon's slower attack animations.

8 Ruins Greatsword

Heavy Physical Damage With Slight Magic

• Requirements: 50 Strength and 16 Intelligence.
• When fully upgraded: S scaling from Strength and D from Intelligence.

Ruins Greatsword is one of the few weapons in the game that mainly scales from the weapon's level instead of your stats. It does require high Strength to wield it, limiting its usage unless you're investing greatly in Strength. Ruins Greatsword also deals additional magic damage, and the bulk of that damage comes from the weapon's level, not your intelligence.

This allows a Strength-heavy build to add decent amounts of magic damage without needing to level another state. This weapon's unique skill also deals gravitational damage, with the bulk coming from Weapon level and strength scaling.

7 Giant Crusher

Heavy Single-Focused Strength Damage

• Requirements: 60 Strength
• When fully upgraded: B scaling from Strength.

Being another massive hammer, you can expect enormous damage. This weapon requires 60 strength, significantly limiting those who can use it. This high requirement means you'll already be doing incredible damage right when you pick it up. Should you infuse this weapon to be "Heavy," it's one of the few weapons in the game to achieve an "S" scaling.

This weapon also has a unique skill that allows players to leap forward, closing the distance and striking the enemy. This weapon also offers a very high defense if you block using it in both hands, making it incredibly versatile and a tremendous late-game weapon.

6 Dragon Halberd

High Damage Halberd With Bonus Anti-Dragon Damage

• Requirements: 22 Strength and 10 Dexterity.
• When fully upgraded: B scaling from Strength and D from Dexterity.

Being a Halberd, this weapon has a much quicker attack speed than most of the entries on this list. Also, being one of the dragon weapons, there is an additional damage bonus when fighting dragon enemies. While there are many dragon enemies in this game, the weapon is already very powerful against other enemies without the bonus.

It's starting Ash is Spinning Slash, perfect for crowd control. This version of Spinning Slash is slightly different in that it also imbues your weapon with little lightning and ice damage for the next few seconds. With this Ash being slightly different on this weapon and unique, it cannot be switched off.

5 Prelate's Inferno Crozier

Heavy And Slow Physical Damage

• Requirements: 45 Strength and 8 Dexterity.
• When fully upgraded: B scaling from Strength and E from Dexterity.

Not only does Prelate's Inferno Crozier look awesome, but it also deals incredible amounts of physical damage. This weapon requires 45 strength and 8 dexterity to wield, which makes sense when looking at its immense size. This weapon scales most from the player's strength, with only a minor boost from dexterity.

This weapon comes with the unique skill Prelate's Charge and cannot be infused with other ashes of war. This skill is an incredible charge, allowing you to plow through hordes of weaker enemies with ease. This skill also deals fire damage, offering another elemental damage type to this already incredible weapon. At base stats, this massive weapon swings slowly but hits incredibly hard and is worth the longer wind-up.

4 Starscourge Greatsword

Great Physical And Magic Damage

• Requirements: 38 Strength, 12 Dexterity, and 15 Intelligence.
• When fully upgraded: B scaling in Strength, D from Dexterity and Intelligence.

This is the weapon of Radhan himself. This greatsword packs a massive punch, scaling on your strength with an added small scale of magic damage from intelligence. Instead of using this weapon two-handed, your dual wield like Radhan himself, getting the two-handed damage bonus, of course.

This weapon comes with a unique skill: Starcaller Cray. This is a massive AOE gravity attack that brings enemies in before slamming the energy down on top of them. This weapon helps a magic-less strength build and have more options for armored enemies in the later stages of the game.

3 Axe of Godrick

High Damage Early In The Game

• Requirements: 34 Strength and 22 Dexterity.
• When fully upgraded: C scaling from Strength and Dexterity.

Axe of Godrick does a lot of damage and scales too well off of strength to be found early in the game. This is one of the few weapons that will take you longer to be worthy of wielding than to find. Its base damage is very great and has a unique heavy attack different from other weapons in its class.

It has a unique skill: I Command Thee Kneel (We've all heard that too many times from Godrick himself). This Ash helps make this weapon stand above the rest, releasing shockwaves into the ground, causing bursts of quakes around the player for massive damage. Strength builds usually fight on the front lines, and this skill will greatly make enemies regret that.

2 Greatsword

Versatile Attack Pool For With Great Stagger

• Requirements: 31 Strength and 12 Dexterity.
• When fully upgraded: B scaling from Strength and D from Dexterity.

Having a striking resemblance to Gut's sword in Beserk, this weapon lives up to that legend. While this weapon is only physical damage, it has incredible base damage. Adding on your strength skill to further boost the damage allows this sword to have one of the highest attacks in Elden Ring.

Its Ash of War is Stamp (Upward Cut), similar to many greatswords. While it doesn't have a unique skill, this version of the Ash will feel special with its damage output. This weapon only has moderate requirements and is highly recommended for any strength build at some point during their playthrough.

1 Grafted Blade Greatsword

Very High Damage And Stagger

• Requirements: 40 Strength and 14 Dexterity.
• When fully upgraded: B scaling from Strength and D from Dexterity.

Running around the Lands Between holding a piece of what could easily be part of the Iron Throne is the high point of strength builds in Elden Ring. This weapon grants high base damage and moderate scaling. While it may not achieve the heights of other weapons, its Ash of War is like no other.

Oath of Vengeance grants 5 points to all attributes of your character. This Ash of War boosts your character in every way, practically giving you 40 levels for free for thirty seconds. While some of these stats may not work in your build, getting all of them means it will work with any build. For a strength build, this is perfect for frontline fighting, staying in the fight, and dealing massive damage.