Best Dagger in Elden Ring – Ranking All 16 Daggers
May. 19, 2024Best Dagger in Elden Ring – Ranking All 16 Daggers
In thisElden Ring Best Dagger and Ranking Guide, we’ll be taking a look at the 16 Daggers in Elden Ring and discuss 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.
Daggers in Elden Ring:
Daggersare one of the 31 Weapon types in Elden Ring, soon to be 39 whenShadow of the Erdtreereleases on June 21st. Daggers have very fast Attack Speed compared to most weapons in Elden Ring, and they typically have higher Critical Rating than just about every other weapon. They are also extremely light weight, allowing you to pack one as a backup without incurring a heavy equip load. Their Dual wield moveset is also extremely strong.
However, they have lower Attack Rating than just about every other weapon type, and dual wielding to set status effects is not nearly as strong as it used to be. Additionally, their short reach can make you miss many attacks, especially when dual wielding.
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TheCelebrant’s Sickleshares the default moveset of most other Daggers, and deals Physical Damage. It is tied for the lightest Dagger in Elden Ring, weighing 1.5, and requires 6 Strength and 11 Dexterity in order to use effectively.
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Conclusion: TheCelebrant’s Sickleis not the greatest Dagger in Elden Ring. You won’t find it until late into the game inWindmill Villageif you can be bothered to farm it, and it has 100 Crit Rating, which is bad for a Dagger. However, it is tied for Lightest Dagger in Elden Ring, it does grant 10 Runes per hit, and some of its damage goes through enemy Shields.
Infusion-wise Fire/Lightning comes in first with 470, with Magic just behind at 467, and Sacred/Flame Art coming in third at 454. Keen outperforms Heavy by 40 Attack Rating, and Cold splits the difference.
It’s likely that you will have a better Dagger by the time you can farm this weapon, but if you insist on doing so, probably the best way to play it is by using two of them in order to get 10 Runes per hit very quickly. Stack buffs fromMillicent’s ProsthesisandWinged Sword Insigniato boost attack power.
TheIvory Sickleshares the default moveset of most other Daggers, and deals Physical and Magic Damage. It has an average weight for a Dagger in Elden Ring, weighing 2, and requires 6 Strength, 11 Dexterity and 13 Intelligence in order to use effectively.
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Attack Rating at level 150 with optimal stat spread: 456
Conclusion: There are not a lot of great ways to use this Dagger. It cannot be buffed or infused, despite not being unique, and it has 100 Crit Rating which is terrible for a Dagger. The upside is that you can find it pretty early on in Village of the Albinaurics, and it’s one of the Longest Daggers in Elden Ring.
The sweet spot for this weapon is right about 55 INT and 45 DEX, with nearly 50/50 split damage between Physical and Magic. You could prioritize INT if you want a spellcaster with this weapon as a back up if you want.
I like to put it in my off-hand and use it in a dual wield build where you will neither need its weapon skill nor its Critical Rating, and it scales similarly to the Glintstone Kris which is a good pairing, with the Kris in the main hand for a better skill and Crit Rating. You could also use a Cold infused Dagger of some kind as well with another weapon skill in the main hand if you don’t want to wait to get the Kris.
TheCrystal Knifeshares the default moveset of most other Daggers, and deals Physical and Magic Damage. It has an average weight for a Dagger in Elden Ring, weighing 2, and requires 8 Strength, 12 Dexterity and 9 Intelligence in order to use effectively.
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Attack Rating at level 150 with optimal stat spread: 480
Conclusion: Similar to the Ivory Sickle, the Crystal Knife cannot be buffed nor infused, but is not a unique Dagger. It is also one of the shortest Daggers in the game and has 100 Crit Rating, which is not good for a Dagger. However, you can find it quite early in Raya Lucaria Academy, and it has pretty high Attack Rating for a Dagger.
The sweet spot for this weapon is around 50 STR and 50 INT, though DEX doesn’t scale too badly and its likely you will take it up to 50 after these two. This makes it a good weapon for NG+.
I like to put it in my off-hand and use it in a dual wield build where you will neither need its weapon skill nor its Critical Rating, and it scales similarly to the Bloodstained Dagger when set to the Cold Infusion. This allows you to select a betterAsh of Warfor the Bloodstained Dagger, while still getting the high Attack Rating from the Crystal Knife.
TheCinquedeashares the default moveset of most other Daggers, and deals Physical Damage. It has an average weight for a Dagger in Elden Ring, weighing 2, and requires 10 Strength, and 10 Dexterity in order to use effectively.
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Attack Rating at level 150 with optimal stat spread: 482
Conclusion: TheCinquedeacan be found pretty quickly outside Bestial Sanctum, it is one of the longest Daggers in Elden Ring, has high Attack Rating for a Dagger and buffsBestial Incantationsby 10% which stacks with theSacred Seal. However, it has only 100 Crit Rating, which is lower than most Daggers.
Quickstepis an ok weapon skill, especially since it can help position you for backstabs more easily. You won’t use it all the the time though.
The sweet spot for this weapon is 50 STR and minimum DEX, but scales well up to 80 Strength and Dexterity doesn’t scale that poorly. However, this makes this a much better first playthrough weapon than second playthrough.
This weapon is in a weird spot because you’re either using it simply as a buff stick to cast Bestial Incantations and not using it for attacks at all, or if you decide to build for damage you have to add points into Faith in order to cast Bestial Incantations which lowers your overall attack rating of the weapon, and you cannot buff the weapon with Incantations like other daggers. And if you simply use it as a Dagger and don’t worry about its Incantation buff, you will have high attack rating, but you will have poor Critical Damage, making it sort of a bad trade unless you are dual wielding.
I’d either use this in a Bestial Incantation Build, splitting points between Strength and Faith, and meleeing with this weapon only as needed. Or using it in a dual wield dagger build that focuses on high damage per swing, and doesn’t worry about status effects.
TheGreat Knifeshares the default moveset of most other Daggers, and deals Physical Damage. It is tied for the lightest Dagger in Elden Ring, weighing 1.5, and requires 6 Strength and 12 Dexterity in order to use effectively.
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Conclusion: TheGreat Knifeis a solid Dagger. Bandits begin the game with it, it has native bleed build up on hit, and it’s one of the Lightest Daggers in Elden Ring. The only real negative is it’s one of the shortest Daggers.
Infusion-wise Fire/Lightning comes in first, with Magic a close second and Sacred/Flame Art in third. Keen outperforms Heavy 426 to 399, with Cold splitting the difference at 419.
I recommend using this weapon for a status effect Build that either focuses on Poison and Bleed or just Bleed, although I think Reduvia is better for a pure Bleed Build. UseLord of Blood’s Exultation,Kindred of Rot’s ExultationandMillicent’s ProsthesisorRotten Winged Sword Insigniafor Attack Power boosts.
TheWakizashishares the default moveset of most other Daggers, and deals Physical Damage. It is the heaviest Dagger in Elden Ring, weighing 3, and requires 9 Strength and 13 Dexterity in order to use effectively.
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Conclusion: TheWakizashiis an interesting weapon, because even though it is classified as a ‘Dagger” it cannot be powerstanced with other Daggers, but can be with other Katanas, has native bleed build up just like they do, and has the highest Attack Rating of all Daggers generally. This would lead one to believe it’s not really one, especially since it has 100 Crit Rating like other Katanas.
Infusion-wise Magic comes in first at 522 Attack Rating, with Sacred/Flame Art and Fire/Lightning basically tied for second. Keen outperforms Heavy by a small amount, and Cold outperforms them both.
You can powerstance this weapon with anUchigatanaif you don’t happen to have a second one, but I don’t really see much other way of using it since you would likely just use an Uchigatana if you wanted a single weapon or single weapon and shield.
TheParrying Daggershares the default moveset of most other Daggers, and deals Physical Damage. It is tied for the lightest Dagger in Elden Ring, weighing 1.5, and requires 5 Strength and 14 Dexterity in order to use effectively.
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Conclusion: TheParrying Daggeris aptly named, as it gives similar i-frames to a Small Shield using the Parry skill, if only slightly worse. It can be acquired early on in Limgrave, and is tied for the lightest Dagger in the game. However, it is one of the shortest Daggers and has higher DEX requirements than any other Dagger.
If you’re using the Parrying Dagger you might as well lean into this aspect of it in order to play a parrying Build, however since you can do this effectively with the Parrying Dagger, you can dual wield Daggers and still Parry just fine. Make sure to use theDagger Talismanfor increased Critical Damage, and useMillicent’s ProsthesisorRotten Winged Sword Insigniafor increased Attack Power via repeated attacks.
TheScorpion’s Stingerhas a unique R2 attack shared with the Misericorde and Glintstone Kris, and deals Physical Damage. It has an average weight for a Dagger in Elden Ring, weighing 2.5, and requires 6 Strength, and 12 Dexterity in order to use effectively.
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Attack Rating at level 150 with optimal stat spread: 441
Conclusion: TheScorpion’s Stingeris the only Dagger withScarlet RotBuild Up, it’s one of the longer Daggers in Elden Ring, and it can deal Slash or Thrust damage effectively thanks to it’s thrusting heavy attack. However, you won’t find this until late into the game in theLake of Rot.
Repeating Thrustis a decent weapon skill, especially since 2 uses of it is usually enough to set Scarlet Rot on Bosses, and is faster than trying to set it while dual wielding Daggers. The downside is that Daggers have a short range in general, making it so you need to be very close to the target to hit easily with Repeating Thrust.
The sweet spot for this weapon is around minimum Strength and 50 Dexterity, but the weapon scales well up to 80 Dexterity where it drops off significantly. Strength does provide some damage, but not a ton, making this weapon better used on first playthrough than subsequent ones. However, since you cannot get it until late into the game, you won’t be able to do that unless someone drops you one.
I like to use this weapon as a means to set Scarlet Rot as a back up weapon since it weighs very little, or you can use it with theJellyfish Shieldbuffing your Attack Power with it, leaning into the rapid attacks and high Critical Damage of Daggers in general.
TheDaggershares the default moveset of most other Daggers, and deals Physical Damage. It is tied for the lightest Dagger in Elden Ring, weighing 1.5, and requires 5 Strength and 9 Dexterity in order to use effectively.
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Conclusion: The Dagger is actually one of the better Daggers in Elden Ring. Not only can you get it quite early fromRoundtable Hold, but it’s tied for lightest Dagger and more importantly it has the second highest Crit Rating of all weapons in Elden Ring, behind the Misericorde. The biggest downsides are that it’s the shortest Dagger in Elden Ring, and also has pretty low Attack Rating for a dagger.
Infusion-wise Fire/Lightning comes in first at 474, with Magic just behind at 468, and Sacred/Flame Art at 465. Keen outperforms Heavy 416 to 397, with Cold in between at 406.
I like to use this weapon in a Critical focused Build that takes advantage of the high Critical Rating of the weapon. You can use it withGlintstone Phalanxfor easy Stance Breaks or you can use it in a Parry Build, both are good options. Make sure to use theDagger Talismanfor increased Critical Damage.
TheBlack Knifehas a unique R2 attack shared with the Erdsteel Dagger and Blade of Calling, and deals Physical and Holy Damage. It has an average weight for a Dagger in Elden Ring, weighing 2, and requires 8 Strength, 12 Dexterity and 18 Faith in order to use effectively.
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Attack Rating at level 150 with optimal stat spread: 498
TheBlack Knifeis a fan favorite Dagger for a lot of reasons. The heavy attacks strikes twice rapidly just likeBlade of Calling, it has the highest Attack Rating of unique Daggers, andBlade of Deathrips off 10% of the Max HP of the target. However, it might not be better than Blade of Calling and here is why.
Blade of Death does less damage overall when compared withBlade of Gold, and Blade of Gold costs 17 FP compared to the 25 FP of Blade of Death. Faith impacts the damage of Blade of Gold and Blade of Death, and Blade of Calling has slightly better FTH scaling. You can get Black Knife earlier than Blade of Calling though, making it better for a first playthrough.
The sweet spot for this weapon is around 55 DEX and minimum FTH, but the weapon scales ok up to 50 FTH as well. Since only FTH impacts Blade of Death damage, you might want to consider prioritizing this stat, particularly if you want to cast Incantations effectively while using this weapon.
I like to use this weapon to stack Max HP debuffs on bosses when combined withDestined Deathor Blade of Death, or using it in a similar manner as Blade of Calling, but with less FTH and meleeing a bit more.
TheBloodstained Daggershares the default moveset of most other Daggers, and deals Physical Damage. It has an average weight for a Dagger in Elden Ring, weighing 2, and requires 9 Strength and 12 Dexterity in order to use effectively.
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Conclusion: TheBloodstained Daggeris the go-to option for those wanting to use a Dagger with superb Strength scaling. This weapon can be farmed early on inWeeping Peninsula, and has native bleed build up on hit. The biggest downside is that it’s rather short for a Dagger.
Infusion-wise Magic comes in first at 484, with Fire/Lightning nearly the same at 482, and Sacred/Flame Art pulling up a distant 3rd. Heavy outperforms Keen by nearly 30 Attack Rating, with Cold outperforming Heavy.
Use this weapon in a dual wield setup like I did with the Crystal Knife, or use it in a build that uses aGreatshieldto give you a blocking option while you slash away at enemies with quick Block Counters and R1 attacks.
TheBlade of Callinghas a unique R2 attack shared with the Erdsteel Dagger and Black Knife, and deals Physical and Holy Damage. It is tied for the lightest Dagger in Elden Ring, weighing 1.5, and requires 6 Strength, 13 Dexterity and 15 Faith in order to use effectively.
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Attack Rating at level 150 with optimal stat spread: 465
Conclusion: TheBlade of Callingis a solid Dagger. It’s extremely light weight, and its heavy attack hits twice rapidly allowing you to useMillicent’s ProsthesisorRotten Winged Sword Insigniaeasily. However, you can’t get this weapon until way late into the game nearMountaintops of the Giants, Holy Damage is resisted by many end game bosses, and it’s one of the shorter Daggers.
Blade of Gold, its weapon skill, does 100% Holy Damage and does a substantial amount of it at decent range, and can knock enemies down. This allows you to pick off enemies at range, and if you can get into the air then you’re almost uninterruptable. You can also buff this damage easily withSacred Scorpion Charm,Shard of Alexander,Ritual Sword TalismanandHoly-Shrouding Cracked Tear.
The sweet spot for this weapon is around 50 FTH and 50 DEX, but Blade of Gold only increases in damage with FTH and if you want to cast Incantations effectively you’ll likely want to sacrifice some DEX in order to reach higher FTH initially, but eventually you’ll want to increase DEX.
I like to play this weapon with very high Faith, allowing you to get the most from Blade of Gold, but also use theErdtree Sealto cast Incantations effectively.
TheGlintstone Krisshares a unique R2 attack with the Misericorde and Scorpion’s Stinger, and deals Physical and Magic Damage. It is tied for the lightest Dagger in Elden Ring, weighing 1.5, and requires 5 Strength, 12 Dexterity and 16 Intelligence in order to use effectively.
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Attack Rating at level 150 with optimal stat spread: 466
Conclusion: TheGlintstone Krismight be my favorite Dagger in Elden Ring. At first glance there isn’t a lot that separates this from other Daggers, and you can’t find it until quite late into the game from doingSellen‘s questline. But let me tell you why it’s so good.
Glintstone Dart, its weapon skill is similar toGlintstone Pebblein a lot of ways, but there are some key differences. Glintstone Dart does more damage than Glintstone Pebble when it comes to the projectile portion, and not by a small amount. Additionally, Glintstone Dart can pierce enemies while Glintstone Pebble cannot, though Glintstone Dart does cost 2 more FP to use per cast, which I think is more than worth it. However, you can Charge Glintstone Dart by holding L2 increasing its damage further. This gives you a deadly ranged option as well as a quick melee option without the need of any spells.
The sweet spot for this weapon is around 40 DEX and 50 INT, but you can increase INT higher instead of DEX in order to use spells if you prefer, reducing your melee damage by a very small amount. Additionally, INT increases Glintstone Dart damage and DEX only increases the follow up attack.
I like to use this weapon in a dual wield setup with another INT/DEX scaling Dagger like the Crystal Knife, using Glinstone Dart as needed when range is called for. Use Talismans like Shard of Alexander,Magic Scorpion Charm,Millicent’s ProsthesisandGodfrey Iconto further boost your Glinstone Dart damage.
TheMisericordehas a unique R2 attack shared with the Scorpion’s Stinger and Glintstone Kris, and deals Physical Damage. It has an average weight for a Dagger in Elden Ring, weighing 2, and requires 7 Strength and 12 Dexterity in order to use effectively.
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Conclusion: TheMisericordehas the highest Critical Rating of any weapon in Elden Ring while simultaneously also being the longest Dagger in the game. You can also get this inStormveil Castle, which is very early on in the game, allowing you to use this fairly quickly.
Because the Critical Rating of this weapon is so high, it makes sense to play a Critical-focused build with this weapon that allows you to take advantage of it. And because Heavy is nearly as good as Keen, you can even use a STR based large weapon, and then swap to this weapon for the Critical Attacks if you want. Otherwise, you can Parry withCarian Retaliationon Shield rather easily. Make sure to use theDagger Talismanfor more Critical Damage.
TheErdsteel Daggerhas a unique R2 attack shared with the Blade of Calling and Black Knife, and deals Physical Damage. It has an average weight for a Dagger in Elden Ring, weighing 2, and requires 7 Strength, 12 Dexterity and 14 Faith in order to use effectively.
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Conclusion: TheErdsteel Daggeris quite special as its the only Faith Scaling weapon in Elden Ring that does 100% Physical Damage that can still be buffed. You can acquire two of them as well, but it has the lowest Attack Rating of any Dagger in Elden Ring, except if your playing it with the Sacred or Flame Art infusion, then it has the highest Attack Rating of all Daggers.
Sacred and Flame Art come in at a whopping 544 Attack Rating with Magic way way far behind at 410, with Fire/Lightning in third at 384. Keen outperforms Heavy by 13 Attack Rating, and Cold barely breaks 300 Attack Rating.
The best way to use this weapon is probably to dual wield two of these set to Flame Art or Sacred, or using one in the offhand with another unique Dagger in the right like Black Knife or Blade of Calling. Crank Faith and buff withGolden VowandFlame, Grant Me Strengthfor even more damage. You can reach over 1000 Attack Power with 2 Erdsteel Daggers when setup this way, which is ridiculous.
TheReduviashares the default attack of most Daggers, and deals Physical Damage. It has an average weight for a Dagger in Elden Ring, weighing 2.5, and requires 5 Strength, 13 Dexterity and 13 Arcane in order to use effectively.
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Attack Rating at level 150 with optimal stat spread: 409
Conclusion:Reduviais a fantastic Dagger for those looking to take advantage of the Hemorrhage status effect, and is probably the best Dagger for it since the dual wield status effect nerf. You can also get this weapon very early on in the game inLimgrave, allowing you to take advantage of it right away.
Reduvia Blood Bladeis an exceptional Weapon Skill that does 100% Physical Damage, is relatively cheap and doesHemorrhageBuild Up at range, even though its damage is modest. However, when connecting with the blade and the projectile at the same time, you get insane Hemorrhage Build Up, allowing you to trigger it in one hit many times, or at most two times, making the strategy of this weapon to range when necessary, but generally get up close and spam this weapon skill.
The sweet spot for this weapon is around 55 ARC with minimum points in DEX, but DEX scales ok up to 50. Arcane will increase the Hemorrhage Build Up though, so you want to prioritize this when leveling up.
I like to play this weapon with Reduvia in one hand, and theDragon Communion Sealin the other, which will allow you to cast some spells effectively while also using Reduvia Blood Blade.Flame, Grant Me Strengthis particularly effective with this weapon, so 15 Faith is a solid investment.Swarm of Fliesis also a good Incantation to use as well. Be sure to useLord of Blood’s ExultationandWhite Maskwith this weapon for the Attack Power increase.
If you enjoyed thisDaggers 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.
