Best Curved Greatsword in Elden Ring - Ranking All 9 Curved Greatswords
Apr. 26, 2024Best Curved Greatsword in Elden Ring – Ranking All 9 Curved Greatswords
In thisElden Ring Best Curved Greatsword and Ranking Guide, we’ll be taking a look at the 9 Curved Greatswords in Elden Ring, and discussing why you might use them in combat. We’ll take a look at attack power, damage type, length, Weapon Skills, and other factors such as how long it takes you to acquire them, to determine if they are best suited for you. We are doing a guide for all Weapon types in Elden Ring, and these will be updated to reflect those added withShadow of the Erdtreeas well.
Curved Greatswords in Elden Ring:
Curved Greatswords are one of the 31 Weapon types in Elden Ring, soon to be 39 whenShadow of the Erdtreereleases on June 21st. Curved Greatswords have a longer reach than other weapon types. Considering their weight, they attacks faster than some of the heavy weapon types in the game. Also, 3 Curved Greatswords set status effects natively, and 5 of the 9 Curved Greatswords have Unique Weapon Skills, that are only available to them.
However, a Curved Greatsword’s Block Counter hits at a shorter distance. Also, the best Curved Greatswords are usually found late in the game, so you have to wait before being able to use them for builds that have these specific Greatswords in mind.
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TheMonk’s Flamebladeshares the default attack of most Curved Greatswords, and deals Physical Damage. It has an average weight for a Curved Greatsword in Elden Ring, weighing 9, and requires some points in Strength and some Dexterity in order to wield.
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Conclusion: The Monk’s Flameblade has the lowest Attack Rating of all infusable Curved Greatswords, it’s the third shortest Curved Greatsword, and you cannot find it until near the end of the game inGiant-Conquering Hero’s Graveby farming theFire Monksthere, which can take a while. This makes the only real reason to use this weapon is because of it’s cosmetic appearance, which is one of the best in the game.
Fire/Lightning takes the top spot for damage, followed by Magic with Flame Art and Sacred being a close third. Keen outperforms Heavy, with Cold just behind them.
Consider using this weapon with the Cold Infusion in a dual wield setup with something like the Bloodhound’s Fang in order to rip off huge chunks of health betweenFrostbiteandHemorrhage, though you likely will already have a suitable replacement with Dismounter much earlier on in the game.
TheOnyx Lord’s Greatswordshares the default attack of most Curved Greatswords, and deals Physical and Magic Damage. It has an average weight for a Curved Greatsword in Elden Ring, weighing 11.5, and requires some points in Strength, Dexterity and some Intelligence in order to wield.
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Attack Rating: 757
Conclusion: The Onyx Lord’s Greatsword is an interesting Curved Greatsword because it has relatively good damage of which some is Magic, and it is the only Curved Greatsword with native Intelligence Scaling. It’s got average reach, and it deals increased damage to Gravity based enemies like otherAlabaster Lords. However, you cannot find it until further on in the game in theSealed Tunnelin theCapital Outskirts.
Its weapon skill:Onyx Lord’s Repulsionknocks enemies backward, often off their feet, and the sword itself does additional damage if you can strike an enemy with it. The AoE does 100% Magic Damage, which is a touch problematic as the sword itself scales much better with Strength than Intelligence, despite both having B scaling at max upgrade. Still it hits many enemies at once at medium range, and hits them for relatively good damage as well. It can also strike through objects, allowing you to stay out of harm’s way. Note that as of patch 1.07 its repelling effect power and poise during casting have been increased.
The sweet spot for this weapon is about 50 Strength and 30 Intelligence with minimum points invested into Dexterity. Strength out scales Intelligence from this point onward up to about 80, but Intelligence does well until 50 where it will drop off sharply. However, because Onyx Lord’s Repulsion scales with Intelligence only and not Strength, I recommend prioritizing Intelligence to about 40 or so once you have enough Strength to wield the weapon. This will allow you to get the most from this Weapon Skill, while only sacrificing a small amount of melee damage to do it.
Build wise I suggest two-handing this weapon taking advantage of its solid Strength Scaling, and leaning into it’s weapon skill when needed. Block Counters are not particularly effective with this weapon as it has short range, so I don’t recommend using a Shield with this Weapon. UseShard of AlexanderorWarrior Jar ShardandMagic Scorpion Charmfor increased Repulsion damage, and make sure you have over 51Poiseso that you can tank through some hits while using your weapon skill as it has a long wind up.
TheDismountershares the default attack of most Curved Greatswords, and deals Physical Damage. It has an average weight for a Curved Greatsword in Elden Ring, weighing 10, and requires some points in Strength and some Dexterity in order to wield.
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Conclusion: The Dismounter is the second longest Curved Greatsword, it has decent Attack Rating, it’s rather light at 9 weight, and can be found very early on in Elden Ring by farming theKaiden Sellswordswho wield it. However, it is outperformed damage wise by the Omen Cleaver, which isn’t much harder to acquire, making the choice between these weapons really about the length of the weapon and their weights as the Omen Cleaver is 2.5 heavier, aside from their very different R2 attacks (they have the same exact STR and DEX requirements).
However, unlike the Omen Cleaver, Magic is the leading damage infusion here, followed by Sacred/Flamed Art and Fire/Lightning just behind that. Keen actually outperforms Heavy here, so you might want to consider this option if you plan to one-hand the weapon with a Shield. I don’t recommend Magic or Sacred/Flame Art even though they have the highest damage, since you need to invest several points into Strength and Dexterity to use this weapon, which won’t leave you with as many points for Faith or Intelligence early on.
If you decide to use this over the Omen Cleaver either lean into a strong Ash of War, or one-hand it with a Shield. I’m not a fan of Block-Counters with Curved Greatswords, but this one is one of the longest, and makes the best case for it if you insist on a Block Counter focused Build with a Curved Greatsword.
TheMorgott’s Cursed Swordshares the default attack of most Curved Greatswords, and deals Physical Damage. It is the lightest Curved Greatsword in Elden Ring, weighing 7.5, and requires some points in Strength and Arcane, and a lot of points in Dexterity in order to wield.
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Attack Rating: 611
Conclusion: While Margott’s Cursed Sword has markedly lower Attack Rating than most other Curved Greatswords, it has a lot going for it. It’s the lightest and longest Curved Greatsword, it has native Bleed Build Up on hit that does improve with Arcane Scaling, and it has the highest Critical Multiplier of all Curved Greatswords at 110. Unfortunately it cannot be acquired until after you beatMorgott, which is approaching the end of the gamish.
Cursed-Blood Slice, its Weapon Skill, actually adds Fire Damage to its attacks, and the trailing slices deal 100% Fire Damage, so you can get some Fire Damage out of this weapon. This makesFlame, Grant Me Strengtha really great buff for this Weapon Skill since it will buff all aspects of its damage. Cursed-Blood Slice also deals fantastic damage if you can land the whole combo, which can sometimes be difficult to do on Boss unless you have goodPoise. However, it’s quite expensive at 20 FP and 20 more for the follow up, meaning you cannot use it regularly without planning for it. I recommend using theCarian Filigreed Crestif you use this since it’ll reduce the FP cost of the initial attack and follow up by a total of 10 FP, which is nothing to sneeze at.
The sweet spot for this weapon is about 50 DEX and 50 ARC, which DEX outperforming ARC in terms of damage, but ARC adding Bleed Build Up. Which you prioritize really depends whether or not you plan to use theDragon Communion Sealto cast some Incantations. If you do, you might want to prioritize ARC after meeting the initial DEX requirements. If not, focusing on DEX for more damage should probably be the play.
Because of the native Arcane Scaling Morgott’s Cursed Sword makes a great candidate for Dragon Communion Seal pairing and a small assortment of Incantations like Flame, Grant Me Strength,Golden Vowand either Madness/Blood Spells like I did in my Mad King Build, or Dragon Spells, since these have lower Faith requirements. However, you could just as easily play with only the weapon, maxing its weapon damage.
If you plan to go the Hybrid route, focus on Arcane, meeting the minimum DEX requirement of 35, and add enough Faith to cast the Incantations you want. Add things like theFire Scorpion CharmandRitual Sword Talismanwhich boost the damage of Fire Incantations and Cursed-Blood Slice, as well as your overall damage at full health. Note that theRoar Medallionnow affects Dragon Spells, so make sure you slot it if you use those.
If you plan to go pure melee, you’ll wantShard of AlexanderorWarrior Jar Shard,Carian Filigreed Crest, and possibly evenAncestral Spirit’s HornandSacrificial Axeto increase your Cursed-Blood Slice damage, while also reducing its cost and providing a means to get FP back with kills. Make sure you have good Mind with this setup as well.
TheZamor Curved Swordhas a unique R1 chain that spins the character between each strike with 2x the damage multiplier per strike as that of other Curved Greatswords, and deals Physical Damage. It has an average weight for a Curved Greatsword in Elden Ring, weighing 9, and requires some points in Strength and some Dexterity in order to wield.
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Attack Rating: 635
Conclusion: The Zamor Curved Sword is a bit of a strange weapon because it has very low Attack Power and is the shortest Curved Greatsword in Elden Ring. However, it is the lightest Curved Greatsword, it’s the only one that doesFrostbiteBuild Up natively, and it does more damage per R1 hit (after the first) than other Curved Greatswords, maxing out at 1.2x the damage on the 4th swing vs. the 1.1x damage of other Curved Greatswords on the 4th. This last bit though is less important, since the lower base damage means you’ll essentially come out the same as other Curved Greatswords damage wise, but only if you complete your R1 chain. This also makes it a good candidate for theTwinblade Talismanthat boosts the damage of your final R1 chain swing. It’s just too bad you cannot acquire it until near the end of the game in Giant-Conquering Hero’s Grave.
Where this weapon really shines though is its Weapon Skill:Zamor Ice Storm. It operates in a similar manner to Onyx Lord’s Repulsion, only it doesn’t knock enemies away or down, does Frostbite Build Up with each hit, and hits repeatedly instead of one blast. Note that these repeated hits only count as one combined attack, so it does not trigger Talismans likeRotten Winged Sword Insignia, etc, even if it hits multiple enemies.
Like Onyx Lord’s Repulsion, it also deals 100% Magic Damage, which is strange considering the weapon deals no Magic Damage and neither Strength nor Dexterity boost the damage of this Weapon Skill.Warrior Jar Shard/Shard of Alexander,Magic Scorpion CharmandMagic-Shrouding Cracked Tearall boost the damage of this skill significantly, and it deals about twice the damage of Onyx Lord’s Repulsion with each cast, costs 12 FP less, and as I mentioned, inflicts Frostbite build up with each hit. Note that its Attack power and frostbite status buildup has been increased. Casting speed has been increased, Recovery time has been shortened as of patch 1.07.
The sweet spot for this weapon is about 45 Strength and 55 Dexterity, though the weapon scales ok up to 80 with both of these stats making it an ok choice for NG+. However, since there is no way to increase the damage of Zamor Ice Storm via scaling, you’ll have a hard time on a 3rd playthrough as it takes more and more casts to wipe out enemies.
I recommend two-handing this weapon and leaning into its weapon skill, spamming it as much as needed to set Frostbite on tough enemies and to wipe out groups when out numbered. Or using it in a dual wield setup with something like Bloodhound’s Fang for Bleed Build Up as well, using either weapon skill depending on the boss you are facing.
TheOmen Cleavershares a unique R2 attack with the Magma Wyrm’s Scalesword, and deals Physical Damage. It has an average weight for a Curved Greatsword in Elden Ring, weighing 11.5, and requires some points in Strength and some Dexterity in order to wield.
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Conclusion: The Omen Cleaver is the king of early game Curved Greatswords since it’s longer than most Curved Greatswords, has higher Attack Rating than all but the Beastman’s Cleaver, and can be farmed inStormveil Castlefrom theOmenenemy there rather easily. If you like Curved Greatswords but don’t know where to begin then this a great option as it will be hard to beat later on unless you want a specific Weapon Skill. The R2 attack on this weapon has very short range but it executed extremely quickly, allowing you to spam it at point blank range easily.
Fire/Lightning come in first place for damage, then Magic with Sacred/Flame Art just behind that. Heavy and Keen are after these, with Cold just behind them. The relatively low requirements for this weapon and it’s average weight make it possible to play this two-handed or two dual wield a pair of them utilizing Jump Attacks.
I strongly suggest using the Heavy or Cold Infusions if you’re not going Fire or Lightning, and two-handing this weapon with a strong ash of war likeSword Dance. It often one shots most enemies on the first hit, and if not the second hit surely does, meaning you rarely need to use the follow up.
TheBeastman’s Cleavershares the default attack of most Curved Greatswords, and deals Physical Damage. It is the heaviest Curved Greatsword in Elden Ring, weighing 16.5, and requires a lot of points in Strength and some Dexterity in order to wield.
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Conclusion: The Beastman’s Cleaver is the king of Curved Greatswords when it comes to damage, and it has exceptional Guard Boost as well, making it great for Blocking and Block Counters while two-handing it. You can also get one relatively early on in the game by taking lowest Waygate on the hill ofThe Four BelfriesinLiurnia of the Lakes. However, it is also the heaviest Curved Greatsword and has the second shortest reach so you’ll have to consider that as well.
Fire/Lightning take the top spot here with Magic a distant second and Sacred/Flame Art coming in third. Heavy is miles ahead of Keen in terms of damage, which is also coincidently outperformed by Cold as well, making it a decent option.
Because this is primarily a Strength-based weapon, and one that blocks well while two-handing it, I suggest using it in this manner, particularly because it’s so heavy, and using Jump Attacks, R2s, Block Counters and a solid Ash of War likeWild StrikesorSword Danceto take out enemies in any manor that is fitting. If you don’t like the length of the weapon or it’s too heavy, Omen Cleaver is a solid second choice.
TheMagma Wyrm’s Scaleswordshares a unique R2 attack with the Omen Cleaver, and deals Physical and Fire Damage. It has a very heavy weight for a Curved Greatsword in Elden Ring, weighing 15, and requires some points in Strength, Dexterity and Faith in order to wield.
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Attack Rating: 794
Conclusion: Magma Wyrm’s Scalesword has incredibly high Attack Rating for a Curved Greatsword and can be acquired not terribly far into the game if you know where to go in Ruin-Strewn Precipice, especially compared to some other Curved Greatswords. It is extremely heavy though, and it’s in the bottom half of Curved Greatswords when it comes to length, but its weapon Skill magma Guillotine more than makes up for it.
Magma Guillotinecan often 1 or 2 shot Bosses with its initial attack and follow up, and it’s damn near impossible to interrupt once it’s far enough into its animation, making it one of the deadliest Weapon Skills in Elden Ring. Once you use this Weapon Skill it’s pretty much easy mode from there on out. This weapon skill does use a ton of Stamina though, making it hard to use it back to back unless you’ve got good Endurance or the right gear, so plan accordingly.
The sweet spot for this weapon is about 55 STR and 50 Faith with minimum points into Dexterity, but it scales rather well up to 80 Strength and 50 Dexterity as well, making it a weapon that performs well in NG+ and beyond.
I recommend making something like my Drake Knight Build with this weapon, leaning into its weapon skill as it really is the best thing about this weapon. UseFlame, Grant Me StrengthandGolden Vowto buff before Boss fights for increased damage, and useShard of AlexanderorWarrior Jar Shard, andFire Scorpion Charmto further boost your Magma Guillotine damage.
TheBloodhound’s Fangshares the default attack of most Curved Greatswords, and deals Physical Damage. It has an average weight for a Curved Greatsword in Elden Ring, weighing 11.5, and requires some points in Strength and some Dexterity in order to wield.
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Attack Rating: 764
Conclusion: Bloodhound’s Fang is an absolute banger of a Curved Greatsword. It’s one of 2 Curved Greatswords with native Bleed Build Up on hit, it has increased Jump Attack damage, it’s the third longest Curved Greatsword, it can still be buffed with magic or grease, AND you can acquire it within the first 10 minutes of the game by defeatingBloodhound Knight Darriwil. There are almost no negatives to this weapon!
Bloodhound’s Finesseis a great weapon skill as well providing you a means to quickly get away from a difficult enemy or Boss and then darting back in if you want to follow up with another slash. Both of these animations have some i-frames associated with them, so you can learn the timing to outright negate damage while you deal it.
The sweet spot for this weapon is about 45 Strength and 55 Dexterity, though the weapon has phenomenal scaling for Dexterity all the way up to 80 and Strength is not bad either. Which you prioritize after this point though depends on whether or not you are two-handing the weapon or single handing it, Strength being the better option if you’re two-handing. Because the weapon scales so well up to 80 in both of these stats, this weapon will perform well in NG+ and NG++.
I strongly recommend making a Build with this weapon like my Bloodhound Build that leans into the weapon Skill as well as Jump Attacks, which are 2 of the 3 strongest aspects of the Weapon. Don’t prioritize Bleed, as it’s not something you will trigger often due to the high damage of the weapon itself, but do remember to use Grease in Boss fights for increased damage or bleed build up when needed.
TheRaptor’s Black Feathersworks well, further boosting your Jump Attack damage, as does theClaw Talisman. I’d also includeWarrior Jar ShardorShard of Alexanderto boost Bloodhound’s Finesse damage, and theGreen Turtle Talismanand/or theGreen Turtle Shield(even if just on your back) to boost Stamina Recovery because Bloodhound’s Finesse is a Stamina monster.
If you enjoyed thisCurved Greatswords Ranked Guide, be sure to check out our other Weapon Guides, and also our article on how to Prepare forShadow of the Erdtree!
Castielle
Senior Editor at Fextralife. I enjoy gaming, playing and watching sports, cooking yummy food, watching a good movie and hanging out with Fex.
