I don't agree with the method to decide which weapon is the best. Giving yourself the required stats heavily shifts the balance of which weapon is better than the others, not only because the higher the requirement, the higher the scaling bonus will be, but it also removed the main thing making some of these weapons bad to begin with: their stupid stat requirements. Great Sword of Artorias and Smough Hammer are prime exemples: they require about 40 levels of investment (and in a disgusting split in the case of Artorias GS) while weapons like Quelaag's Furysword gets absolutly 0 levels from you for its scaling despite having a B in DEX. Each weapon should get a 50 levels of investment in the stats so it is more fair. The only other option is to go 60 in every stat woth all of them so you are at the hard cap in every offensive stat.
@@saikyue4462 iirc queelags at the end of that sewer city whose name I can't remember. Once you kill her, then you unlock the fire area. Bear in mind I played this game just once so I might be wrong.
@@camilocagliolo yeah thats true, but usually you do ceaseless and quelaag way before anor londo and the giant blacksmith being unlocked which is needed for the furysword, so you already beat half of the fire resistant bosses in the first half of the game, then only firegiant and centipede demon are left and those you do quite far into the game after the giant blacksmith and by then u should be able to craft the furysword and another weapon for example the great scythe to substitute in those 2 fights, after those 2 fights you wont ever encounter anything that that has so much fire resistance that the furysword is unuseable
Dark Souls 1 has so many features that isn't really used in the newer games. that risk vs reward with the chaos weapons and Priscilla scythe are pretty cool.
That feature of the chaos blade is retained in DS3 (don't remember if it was present in DS2) but otherwise I agree. Demon's Souls and Dark souls 1 had some interesting features I'd like to see again in some way. I might be the only because I've rarely heard it discussed but one thing I kinda like is the curse effect you get in DS1 and how difficult it could be to reverse it (if you hadn't already bought purging stones like me lol)
DS2 also had a bunch of these and other wacky stuff like the butterfly armor. One of the great clubs poisons you while you hold it and then you got Sir Alonnes katana with its seppuku ability.
I’m going to be honest, outside of the DLC bosses, it’s probably Quelaag’s Furysword. The GLGS, AGS, and CGSA have exceedingly high physical damage on single hits, the Chaos blade is a boss deleter, the scythe demolishes absolutely everything of you’re willing to rig your build for bleed resistance, but the consistent dps, reach, and not harming yourself in any way of the furysword is great
Also the most important, the cool curved sword moveset + fire trails. Quelaag’s Furysword is my favorite boss weapon by far. I also like and have used in NG+ the AGS because of the special sommersalt attack. The Dragonslayer Spear is also very cool because Ornstein, but it's a shame that its damage is underwhelming.
Yeah it's the only weapon we can see in his video reach 3000+ damage against a boss, yet he puts it behind the greatswords because of (1) fire resistant bosse (that you get the weapon from anyway). Also, his sword did no damage to Quelaag because he invested 0 stat points for that sword, while weapons like Smough GH of the Artorias weapons had 40+ levels of scalling to them, which is a very poor way of testing the weapons. By his standarts, a weapon that had S in every stat scaling but had only 10 Str as a requirement would be the worst weapon in the game even tho it would be utterly busted. His way of testing the weapons is just bad and inconsistant (like saying the Chaos Blade drains your estus fighting trashmobs even tho backstabing/parrying doesn't damage you and using Evil Eye ring, which enyone using that sword will equip when killing trashmobs, will pretty much negate the health loss since it will overheal the damage on a one-shot and a 2 shots results in 10 damage only).
yeah, it just really falls off in the DLC, i used it to challenge myself against artorias on NG+, and i almost no hit him but i was dealing like 80 damage per hit lol, other than that, fun af to use
@dearcastiel4667 he didn't specify in this video but he said he was starting with minimum stats required to use the weapon, not that he would not be leveling up at all. I would assume that means no farming for levels but any souls gained through the course of the game is fair to use. He also isn't going out of his way to buy every armor and weapon in the game and only upgrading the current weapon so that means extra souls for leveling too.
Dude forgot the Blood Shield. Combined with the Bloodbite you practically have to TRY to bleed yourself with Lifehunt Scythe. And yes the shield works if your two handing the scythe and the shield is on your back.
13:33 It's also the weapon with the highest divine modifier in the game, dealing 40% extra damage to all skeletons, crow demons, and the 2 giant slimes in new londo ruins (instead of the usual 10% that generic divine weapons get), It also gets a unique 20% damage boost against Darkwraits, Kirk, and The Four Kings.
- My ranking - #12: Dragon Bone Fist. I pretty much agree. Trash weapon with no upsides, even within its own weapon category. #11: Artorias's Greatsword (Uncursed). Weapon requirements are way too high for the minimal scaling you get from the weapon. The divine modifier is rarely beneficial, and the split damage means that you'll be doing mediocre damage until the very, very end of your run. #10: Smough's Greathammer. Way too heavy and stat-dependent, even when two-handing. Most strength weapons only need 27 strength, which is 12 points lower than what you need for this weapon. That is easily a sixth of your leveling in a run dedicated strictly to using this specific weapon. Health gain is negligible. #9: Dragonslayer Spear. Yet again low damage for the weapon's requirements, you would do better with the spear you used to make it. Fragile, heavy, and not worth the special attack. #8: Artorias's Greatsword (Cursed). The main upside to this weapon is the fact that it is not split damage, meaning that you can stop leveling Intelligence and Faith at 18. This weapon is basically a Claymore with higher stat requirements and worse heavy attacks. (At this point, the weapons become much better) #7: Great Lord's Greatsword. A mediocre weapon you get more than halfway through your second run, which is rather light on requirements for the damage it has... while it's technically alright, its existence is benign beyond NG. You will already have a weapon that does as much or more damage than this. Not bad but not good. #6: Abyss Greatsword. Has lower stat requirements than both of Artorias's other greatswords, with the main benefit of scaling off of humanity. With the massive damage it deals, it can compete with the Claymore (kinda) at the level you get it. Also lighter and has the coolest attacks of any boss weapon here. #5: Golem Axe. Heavy, but only requires Strength and can be two-handed and spammed very easily. While I would recommend the ordinary Battle Axe, its one-handed heavy attack makes it the only Strength weapon with a ranged option (and a decent one at that). #4: Moonlight Butterfly Horn. It is also a mediocre weapon, but is actually surprisingly easy to make. Distill the Lightning Spear and boom! Already done. Very good weapon for the middle of an Intelligence build, and much faster to make than an Enchanted Spear, with higher range. Low damage, but can be easily substituted with magic, making its main weakness negligible against enemies that are weaker to magic than physical damage. #3: Priscilla's Scythe. Extremely high damage, but extreme self bleed. It is the best weapon of its own class, and can be paired with bleed resistance to mitigate the self damage. Its running attack is very quick, and its light attacks can be easily chained together. However, I would advise not using it against targets immune to bleed, as you can easily screw yourself over. #2: Chaos Blade. Very good damage with a moderate amount of self damage. Highest damage katana in the game that scales with humanity, making it an easy choice for any Dexterity build. While the self damage can be concerning, it can be used to synergize with RTSR (without Power Within lol) for even more damage. At 1500 hp, you will have 300 hp, or 14 hits, to kill the boss with RTSR (which will always be possible at that point). If you build for it, the Chaos Blade will serve you well. #1: Quelaag's Furysword. Solid damage, humanity scaling, light weight, minimal stat requirements, and a curved sword. The Furysword can be used with any build and still pack a punch. Since you need to kill Quelaag for it, you really won't need to worry about fire resistance, since all of the other bosses can just be skipped. With how efficient this sword is, you can also quite easily make a pyromancer and just burn everything into the ground. As a note, don't bother leveling Dexterity for this weapon. It has nice returns, but is not at all required for its good damage.
The context of these weapons I feel really should have been considered in this video. Artorias weapons too stat heavy to be usable. Quelaag's furysword is only bad against the boss you get it from, who you'll have already beaten to get it. Gwyn Greatsword makes 0 sense to get as by the time you're able to get it, you should have other weapons that have outscaled it, unless you're a mage build barely making minimum requirements or something, by at which point you should be using MLGS or an enchanted weapon. Anyways, I mostly agree with your list. I personally would switch Lifehunt Scythe and Furysword, as even against bosses who don't bleed I feel like Lifehunt just plainly does more damage.
100% agreed. The MLBH is a really good weapon for INT builds and is a perfect weapon to use before switching over to the MLGS due to it's lower upgrade cost compared to a magic/enchanted claymore. I haven't used QFS since my first playthrough 10 years ago, maybe it's time to dust it off for another run.
The Lifehunt Scythe is probably one of my favorite Weapons in the game. I love having a strong weapon with a caveat and the Blood Shield helps out a lot in that regard. Anything that helps me against my grass crest shield addiction
I'm of the opinion that none of the Artorias swords are really worth the bother. I'd rank them fairly low on the list. Something you didn't mention aside from its basic requirements is that you need to have an obscenely high soul level to actually exceed the normal AR you'd get from an ordinary weapon. At that point, you'd be one shotting everything anyway. Below that level, they don't do much damage. And aside from that, the unique R2 is often more of a detriment. I consider the top weapons to probably be Quelaag's and the Golem Axe, both of which are not slow, have good movesets, low requirements and good attack ratings across most builds within reasonable soul level ranges. The Artorias swords are mostly famous for their total inaccessibility; they're more victory lap weapons for people on NG+.
i was looking to see if anyone else brought up the swords being ng+ weapons. I never got any use for them beyond the cursed sword in new londo. Liked it in ds2 best myself. Could easily make use of it in a 1st playthru, albeit after getting thru most of the brume tower 😂
Knew I could find someone i could trust. This list felt wrong to me in a way I couldn't describe. I did still like the True Greatsword of Artorias for My 100% run, however.
A lot of the ds1 weapons feel like they were still experimenting. Shield that shoots magic, R2s turning into weapon arts/ash of war, humanity scaling. Even if some are borderline unusable there are so many fun mechanics in the early souls games
unrelated to the weapons, but i kinda liked how in ds1 most of the bosses were more of a puzzle, rather than raw tests of timing and reaction time (like later from software games). pretty much each boss in ds1 has something you can do to make the bossfight much easier
13:20 That is the True Blade of Artorias. Deals insanely high extra damage to Abysal creatures like Darkwraiths, 4 Kings, Bloated Ones, Humanity Souls and Manus (roughly 35% more physical damage) Edit: Ironically also works on Artorias himself due to him being consumed by the abyss. His own sword works against him. But DLC scaling makes the damage increase negligible on NG+ and beyond
It's not a given that an Enchanted Spear will always outdamage the Moonlit Butterfly Horn; it depends on the mix of thrust defense and magic defense. The enchanted spear's physical AR is too low to contribute much against most bosses but the difference in magic AR means there's enemies that the horn can hit somewhat effectively that the spear can't (the formula is set up so your damage falls off a cliff if your AR is less than the matching Def.) Either way, the damage difference between them will generally be small, but the difference in range is noteworthy. Also if something is heavily resistant to magic you're not going to want to use either weapon so I don't consider that to be an argument in favor of the enchanted spear.
Man the Quelaag weapons were absolutely robbed. They should both be in the top 3 based on availability alone. You can aquire and wield either of them shortly after the game started. Contrast that with Artorias final sword, which asks you to invest a massive 36 levels for just the base requirements and has to be aquired from a late game boss in the DLC. The Gwynn sword is even worse, the game is literally over before you even get it. It could do 1 trillion damage per hit and shoot lasers with every swing and it would still be completely useless.
How did I not know the Abyss Greatsword has Chaos scaling?! (probably because I always give Artorias' soul to Ciaran every time 😅) 10 years later and I'm still learning something new about Dark Souls 1. Great video as always ❤
Being a completionist myself, if I'm doing a melee build(Which almost always is the case) I use the souls on the 1st time, give it to Ciaran in NG+, and then don't speak to Ciaran at all after that because I'm greedy and want a lot of souls(Though I never ever killed her like many do...I have standards).
The dragon bone fist will always have a special place in my heart because it's one of the greatest low level miniboss role-playing noob invasion weapons because the uppercut is so flashy. This way the noob can have some breathing room to figure out pvp since you're role-playing a miniboss. The black knight ultragreatsword is another good one for this because of the flashy golf swing. Just make sure to test the weapons vs a friend without armor or many levels to ensure you can NEVER one-shot your opponent. The hits should be threatening but not unfair when training noobs. :)
I particularly liked using Quelaag's Furysword. It's fast and it deals a good amount of damage. Greatswords may deal more damage, but they take up more stamina. Depends on your build type preference.
So what did this experiment teach us? If Gwyn didn't encourage EVERYONE to be hostile against Priscilla and leading her to be banished into a different dimension, she could have taken Artorias' spot in the Four Knights after he disappeared in the Abyss (the Chosen Undead sends his regards). If the lore of DS about everyone being afraid of her power isn't incorrect, you would normally assume that Anor Londo could have been at its peak especially if Artorias was present too. Even the Chosen Undead couldn't just walz in and own the place, unless the Chosen Undead somehow got prior knowledge before heading in.
Great editing mate and a very solid list👏 One thing you forgot to mention about the abyss greatsword is that it has a special R2 attack even in the one handed version which is a 720° spin slash
This is one of the few times that a UA-cam video has had "opening credits" and I've been like, "Damn, this is cool" instead of "Ugh, time to skip ahead" Major kudos!
"The Elden Ring DLC us just around the corner, so if there are more than 4 boss rememberances in that..." *Morgan Freeman's Voice "Little did he know that there were, in fact, much more than four boss remembrances in the DLC."
The Greatshield of Artorias absolutely carried my ass through the late game and DLC on my first ever playthrough years ago, combined with the Black Knight Halberd
@@xaitatsince in this Video they are regarded as the best of all the boss weapons, you need to elaborate on this bold claim. Tossing in a 'Nah they are trash' in a discussion that highly praises them does not advance said discussion at all.
@@unnameduser5647 This video's whole ranking is messed up and I'd need a long comment to elaborate. On artorias' weapons, they have super high and weird requirements for very mediocre damage, with abyss GS being a bit better thanks to the humanity scaling, as well as high weight and slower attacks (the video says they are as fast as all other greatswords, but that is false, weapons of the same class can have different R1 combo speed). The Great lord Greatsword which the video put right behind them is definitely better, not requiring any int/fth, doing more damage and being faster.
@@xaitatyou have to use “good” weapons to beat the game? Damn i hate to say it but thats kind of a skill issue since a normal person can beat the game with whatever they want
@@Venkullix Almost all weapons are good enough to beat the game, but that doesn't justify spreading misinformation on what is good or bad. I myself almost never play optimally but I am honest and conscious about what is and isn't when giving advice
I gotta do a pyromancer build with Quelaag’s fury sword as my main weapon. With another weapon as my backup for enemies resistance or immune to fire damage
Something i rarely see anyone do is run the crystal shield and spear together on an int/stam build. Weapon art jank aside it lets you enjoy a playstyle that gets the benefits of a mage with the perks of a tank. The main reason (cope) its weaker than an infused spear is bc its one of the longest spears in game. Also you should do a part two to this which includes "boss" weapons (gravelord sword, tail weapons ect)
I'm going to let you in on a secret. Basically every boss weapon unless you crank your level into the heavens will be out damaged by the weapon class's basic weapons that have been upgraded into their element.
This is gratifying. I ended up trying to make a pseudo Artorias cosplay build on my first ever playthrough of any souls game and I was gutted that the great sword of artorias had that awful split damage making it less useful than a fully upgraded black knight sword. It got me through Nito’s fight but that was it. When I finally got around to doing an abyss great sword run I was so happy. I had to farm rats like a maniac, though.
You also forget the abyss greatsword R2 i think shifts his hurtbox into a duck which can help the player dodge sometimes conveniently at the split second
You can get the bloodshield in the painted world which ups your bleed resistance even more, basically impossible to proc with the gold hemmed set, and blood bite ring
18:05 you heard that? All 2 people who didn’t level HP by the time you kill Priscila. Or the 4 people who moded that weapon without moding other items for some reason.
0:22 Damn, that's dedication. I don't know nor care which one you chose, you deserve a like. 14:10 Probably my favorite, above good damage paired with a wonderful moveset and a range attack that is not just for show like I could say about Dragonslayer spear(Despite loving it as well). 22:30 JUST DO IT! Honestly speaking, this video might be even more interesting than this one. Since the average of tail weapons are somewhat higher than boss weapons for no reason, also as the name said, they're all weapons, there's no shields or fists to make comparison harder.
The "true" Greatsword of Artorias may have insane stat requirements and split damage, but on a high level character, the only thing that will hit harder is Dark Bead. Then, there's the divine modifier, which is a nice little bonus for Catacombs and Nito. Plus, as a "divine" weapon, it also gets a damage bonus against "abyssal" enemies. Darkwraiths, Four Kings, basically everything in Oolacile. That's handy too.
I did a semi-blind playthrough of Dark Souls my first playthrough, and I chose the Great Scythe and subsequently the Lifehunt Scythe - with no idea about the bleed effect. The first time I used it I hit a group of enemies, proc'ed bleed immediately, and died 😂
Funny little trick for the dragonbone fist: you can go for a Crystal weapon/Sunlight blade/Darkmoon blade build with the tin crystallization catalyst/Darkmoon talisman and get at around 40-60 int/faith alot of damage on it
U just know that Artorias is the goat when he has 3 swords
And two shields as well
And all 3 are shit
Not the goat when you need 3 swords for the plat
@@yeetducks9168*patches
Now if only you could Zoro them in DS1
I don't agree with the method to decide which weapon is the best.
Giving yourself the required stats heavily shifts the balance of which weapon is better than the others, not only because the higher the requirement, the higher the scaling bonus will be, but it also removed the main thing making some of these weapons bad to begin with: their stupid stat requirements. Great Sword of Artorias and Smough Hammer are prime exemples: they require about 40 levels of investment (and in a disgusting split in the case of Artorias GS) while weapons like Quelaag's Furysword gets absolutly 0 levels from you for its scaling despite having a B in DEX.
Each weapon should get a 50 levels of investment in the stats so it is more fair. The only other option is to go 60 in every stat woth all of them so you are at the hard cap in every offensive stat.
fair enough
Mosty of these weapon are for new game plus though.
@ghoulbuster1 Which is exactly why stats should be higher for the ones you get earlier.
imagine playing dark souls the legit way and not soul glitching to level 400 to play the game any way you want
Ew @@blu4390
Queelag's fury sword got done a little dirty. Artorias' awkward requirements are a massive downside for most players.
Queelags fury sword is just mid. Chaos Blade was really done dirty
Queelags fury sword is useless against enemies with fire resistance, that's a huge minus since there's an entire fire area in the game
@@caspertheemoghost1482 well but arent you basically done with the fire area once u even get the furysword?
@@saikyue4462 iirc queelags at the end of that sewer city whose name I can't remember. Once you kill her, then you unlock the fire area. Bear in mind I played this game just once so I might be wrong.
@@camilocagliolo yeah thats true, but usually you do ceaseless and quelaag way before anor londo and the giant blacksmith being unlocked which is needed for the furysword, so you already beat half of the fire resistant bosses in the first half of the game, then only firegiant and centipede demon are left and those you do quite far into the game after the giant blacksmith and by then u should be able to craft the furysword and another weapon for example the great scythe to substitute in those 2 fights, after those 2 fights you wont ever encounter anything that that has so much fire resistance that the furysword is unuseable
I literally search for this exact video 2 hours ago and was disappointed when I didn't see you had one. Thank you.
Same
I searched for any vid like it a couple of days ago and didn't find a good one, then this pops up today 😊
That's literally so literal that it literally never happened. Literally.
Dark Souls 1 has so many features that isn't really used in the newer games. that risk vs reward with the chaos weapons and Priscilla scythe are pretty cool.
That feature of the chaos blade is retained in DS3 (don't remember if it was present in DS2) but otherwise I agree. Demon's Souls and Dark souls 1 had some interesting features I'd like to see again in some way.
I might be the only because I've rarely heard it discussed but one thing I kinda like is the curse effect you get in DS1 and how difficult it could be to reverse it (if you hadn't already bought purging stones like me lol)
@@rizon98 Yep, it's actually the most punishing in DS2, doing 50hp per hit instead of 30hp like in ds1.
@@podstepmistrzem8200you can infuse it in that game however.
@@rizon98 Its in DS2
DS2 also had a bunch of these and other wacky stuff like the butterfly armor.
One of the great clubs poisons you while you hold it and then you got Sir Alonnes katana with its seppuku ability.
I’m going to be honest, outside of the DLC bosses, it’s probably Quelaag’s Furysword. The GLGS, AGS, and CGSA have exceedingly high physical damage on single hits, the Chaos blade is a boss deleter, the scythe demolishes absolutely everything of you’re willing to rig your build for bleed resistance, but the consistent dps, reach, and not harming yourself in any way of the furysword is great
Also the most important, the cool curved sword moveset + fire trails. Quelaag’s Furysword is my favorite boss weapon by far. I also like and have used in NG+ the AGS because of the special sommersalt attack. The Dragonslayer Spear is also very cool because Ornstein, but it's a shame that its damage is underwhelming.
Yeah it's the only weapon we can see in his video reach 3000+ damage against a boss, yet he puts it behind the greatswords because of (1) fire resistant bosse (that you get the weapon from anyway). Also, his sword did no damage to Quelaag because he invested 0 stat points for that sword, while weapons like Smough GH of the Artorias weapons had 40+ levels of scalling to them, which is a very poor way of testing the weapons. By his standarts, a weapon that had S in every stat scaling but had only 10 Str as a requirement would be the worst weapon in the game even tho it would be utterly busted. His way of testing the weapons is just bad and inconsistant (like saying the Chaos Blade drains your estus fighting trashmobs even tho backstabing/parrying doesn't damage you and using Evil Eye ring, which enyone using that sword will equip when killing trashmobs, will pretty much negate the health loss since it will overheal the damage on a one-shot and a 2 shots results in 10 damage only).
yeah, it just really falls off in the DLC, i used it to challenge myself against artorias on NG+, and i almost no hit him but i was dealing like 80 damage per hit lol, other than that, fun af to use
Chaos blade is better
@dearcastiel4667 he didn't specify in this video but he said he was starting with minimum stats required to use the weapon, not that he would not be leveling up at all. I would assume that means no farming for levels but any souls gained through the course of the game is fair to use. He also isn't going out of his way to buy every armor and weapon in the game and only upgrading the current weapon so that means extra souls for leveling too.
Dude forgot the Blood Shield. Combined with the Bloodbite you practically have to TRY to bleed yourself with Lifehunt Scythe. And yes the shield works if your two handing the scythe and the shield is on your back.
Oh, that's really neat. I'm going to have to try that combo out.
That’s literally what I do lol it honestly removes the bleed downside
13:33 It's also the weapon with the highest divine modifier in the game, dealing 40% extra damage to all skeletons, crow demons, and the 2 giant slimes in new londo ruins (instead of the usual 10% that generic divine weapons get), It also gets a unique 20% damage boost against Darkwraits, Kirk, and The Four Kings.
never knew this lol
- My ranking -
#12: Dragon Bone Fist. I pretty much agree. Trash weapon with no upsides, even within its own weapon category.
#11: Artorias's Greatsword (Uncursed). Weapon requirements are way too high for the minimal scaling you get from the weapon. The divine modifier is rarely beneficial, and the split damage means that you'll be doing mediocre damage until the very, very end of your run.
#10: Smough's Greathammer. Way too heavy and stat-dependent, even when two-handing. Most strength weapons only need 27 strength, which is 12 points lower than what you need for this weapon. That is easily a sixth of your leveling in a run dedicated strictly to using this specific weapon. Health gain is negligible.
#9: Dragonslayer Spear. Yet again low damage for the weapon's requirements, you would do better with the spear you used to make it. Fragile, heavy, and not worth the special attack.
#8: Artorias's Greatsword (Cursed). The main upside to this weapon is the fact that it is not split damage, meaning that you can stop leveling Intelligence and Faith at 18. This weapon is basically a Claymore with higher stat requirements and worse heavy attacks.
(At this point, the weapons become much better)
#7: Great Lord's Greatsword. A mediocre weapon you get more than halfway through your second run, which is rather light on requirements for the damage it has... while it's technically alright, its existence is benign beyond NG. You will already have a weapon that does as much or more damage than this. Not bad but not good.
#6: Abyss Greatsword. Has lower stat requirements than both of Artorias's other greatswords, with the main benefit of scaling off of humanity. With the massive damage it deals, it can compete with the Claymore (kinda) at the level you get it. Also lighter and has the coolest attacks of any boss weapon here.
#5: Golem Axe. Heavy, but only requires Strength and can be two-handed and spammed very easily. While I would recommend the ordinary Battle Axe, its one-handed heavy attack makes it the only Strength weapon with a ranged option (and a decent one at that).
#4: Moonlight Butterfly Horn. It is also a mediocre weapon, but is actually surprisingly easy to make. Distill the Lightning Spear and boom! Already done. Very good weapon for the middle of an Intelligence build, and much faster to make than an Enchanted Spear, with higher range. Low damage, but can be easily substituted with magic, making its main weakness negligible against enemies that are weaker to magic than physical damage.
#3: Priscilla's Scythe. Extremely high damage, but extreme self bleed. It is the best weapon of its own class, and can be paired with bleed resistance to mitigate the self damage. Its running attack is very quick, and its light attacks can be easily chained together. However, I would advise not using it against targets immune to bleed, as you can easily screw yourself over.
#2: Chaos Blade. Very good damage with a moderate amount of self damage. Highest damage katana in the game that scales with humanity, making it an easy choice for any Dexterity build. While the self damage can be concerning, it can be used to synergize with RTSR (without Power Within lol) for even more damage. At 1500 hp, you will have 300 hp, or 14 hits, to kill the boss with RTSR (which will always be possible at that point). If you build for it, the Chaos Blade will serve you well.
#1: Quelaag's Furysword. Solid damage, humanity scaling, light weight, minimal stat requirements, and a curved sword. The Furysword can be used with any build and still pack a punch. Since you need to kill Quelaag for it, you really won't need to worry about fire resistance, since all of the other bosses can just be skipped. With how efficient this sword is, you can also quite easily make a pyromancer and just burn everything into the ground. As a note, don't bother leveling Dexterity for this weapon. It has nice returns, but is not at all required for its good damage.
Absolutely agree with your list!
The context of these weapons I feel really should have been considered in this video. Artorias weapons too stat heavy to be usable. Quelaag's furysword is only bad against the boss you get it from, who you'll have already beaten to get it. Gwyn Greatsword makes 0 sense to get as by the time you're able to get it, you should have other weapons that have outscaled it, unless you're a mage build barely making minimum requirements or something, by at which point you should be using MLGS or an enchanted weapon.
Anyways, I mostly agree with your list. I personally would switch Lifehunt Scythe and Furysword, as even against bosses who don't bleed I feel like Lifehunt just plainly does more damage.
The Chaos Blade ranking was especially crazy to me, I felt like a god when I made a build with that beast!
100% agreed. The MLBH is a really good weapon for INT builds and is a perfect weapon to use before switching over to the MLGS due to it's lower upgrade cost compared to a magic/enchanted claymore.
I haven't used QFS since my first playthrough 10 years ago, maybe it's time to dust it off for another run.
What about obsidian greatsword 😢
The Lifehunt Scythe is probably one of my favorite Weapons in the game. I love having a strong weapon with a caveat and the Blood Shield helps out a lot in that regard. Anything that helps me against my grass crest shield addiction
Thats literally what I did, I hated that the crass crest was my default shield everytime I played.
I'm of the opinion that none of the Artorias swords are really worth the bother. I'd rank them fairly low on the list.
Something you didn't mention aside from its basic requirements is that you need to have an obscenely high soul level to actually exceed the normal AR you'd get from an ordinary weapon. At that point, you'd be one shotting everything anyway. Below that level, they don't do much damage. And aside from that, the unique R2 is often more of a detriment.
I consider the top weapons to probably be Quelaag's and the Golem Axe, both of which are not slow, have good movesets, low requirements and good attack ratings across most builds within reasonable soul level ranges. The Artorias swords are mostly famous for their total inaccessibility; they're more victory lap weapons for people on NG+.
i was looking to see if anyone else brought up the swords being ng+ weapons. I never got any use for them beyond the cursed sword in new londo. Liked it in ds2 best myself. Could easily make use of it in a 1st playthru, albeit after getting thru most of the brume tower 😂
Thank you for the Dark Souls summary video lol
Knew I could find someone i could trust. This list felt wrong to me in a way I couldn't describe. I did still like the True Greatsword of Artorias for My 100% run, however.
Facts, furysword as low as it was didn't make any sense to me
The man, the myth, the legend. Still quote the ancient dragons from the dark souls summary with the homie I watched it first 10 years ago :)
A lot of the ds1 weapons feel like they were still experimenting. Shield that shoots magic, R2s turning into weapon arts/ash of war, humanity scaling. Even if some are borderline unusable there are so many fun mechanics in the early souls games
unrelated to the weapons, but i kinda liked how in ds1 most of the bosses were more of a puzzle, rather than raw tests of timing and reaction time (like later from software games). pretty much each boss in ds1 has something you can do to make the bossfight much easier
13:20 That is the True Blade of Artorias. Deals insanely high extra damage to Abysal creatures like Darkwraiths, 4 Kings, Bloated Ones, Humanity Souls and Manus (roughly 35% more physical damage)
Edit: Ironically also works on Artorias himself due to him being consumed by the abyss. His own sword works against him. But DLC scaling makes the damage increase negligible on NG+ and beyond
It's not a given that an Enchanted Spear will always outdamage the Moonlit Butterfly Horn; it depends on the mix of thrust defense and magic defense. The enchanted spear's physical AR is too low to contribute much against most bosses but the difference in magic AR means there's enemies that the horn can hit somewhat effectively that the spear can't (the formula is set up so your damage falls off a cliff if your AR is less than the matching Def.) Either way, the damage difference between them will generally be small, but the difference in range is noteworthy. Also if something is heavily resistant to magic you're not going to want to use either weapon so I don't consider that to be an argument in favor of the enchanted spear.
Man the Quelaag weapons were absolutely robbed. They should both be in the top 3 based on availability alone. You can aquire and wield either of them shortly after the game started. Contrast that with Artorias final sword, which asks you to invest a massive 36 levels for just the base requirements and has to be aquired from a late game boss in the DLC. The Gwynn sword is even worse, the game is literally over before you even get it. It could do 1 trillion damage per hit and shoot lasers with every swing and it would still be completely useless.
I'm giving the blade a shot in my recent play through and I really like it so far, next time I'll try fury sword next
@@aliyan247 the roll attack of the fury sword is amazing (and cool af). I defeated artorias with it and he is super resistant to fire.
Too bad this isn’t a “ranking the boss weapons on availability”
Ng+ tho
Queelag's Sword must be higher 😢
Chaos Blade is better
@@Jim-Bagelchaos blade is mid
uchigatana is better as it can be buffed
@@comicsans6487 facts
The rapier is better since you can just use Darkmoon blade and spam r2
blood shield goes really well with priscillas scythe
How did I not know the Abyss Greatsword has Chaos scaling?! (probably because I always give Artorias' soul to Ciaran every time 😅) 10 years later and I'm still learning something new about Dark Souls 1. Great video as always ❤
Being a completionist myself, if I'm doing a melee build(Which almost always is the case) I use the souls on the 1st time, give it to Ciaran in NG+, and then don't speak to Ciaran at all after that because I'm greedy and want a lot of souls(Though I never ever killed her like many do...I have standards).
The dragon bone fist will always have a special place in my heart because it's one of the greatest low level miniboss role-playing noob invasion weapons because the uppercut is so flashy. This way the noob can have some breathing room to figure out pvp since you're role-playing a miniboss. The black knight ultragreatsword is another good one for this because of the flashy golf swing. Just make sure to test the weapons vs a friend without armor or many levels to ensure you can NEVER one-shot your opponent. The hits should be threatening but not unfair when training noobs. :)
4:43 Messi????
18:37 Sif going bonk mode
This is so cursed
You forgot to mention the unique spin move the Artorias sword has when in the left hand
Lifehunt scythe is my favorite out of these, its bleed is so satisfying amd fast to get off
I love these types of lists. and they are the reasons i used blasphemous blade and dragonslayer greataxe in my playthroughs
21:30 Bro! you can one shot bed of chaos with the abyss greatsword! it must be the best weapon in the game
I learned today that the Abyss Greatsword has Chaos scaling
And here I am doing my runs with bandit's knife, it was cool to see the tierlist tho
I particularly liked using Quelaag's Furysword. It's fast and it deals a good amount of damage. Greatswords may deal more damage, but they take up more stamina. Depends on your build type preference.
I would love to watch a video of tail cut weapons. Love that mechanic, thats why some of my favourite weapons are tail cut
3:46 at launch this shield was absolutely busted with how much damage it did
Thanks for your videos man, super high quality and fun to watch
So what did this experiment teach us? If Gwyn didn't encourage EVERYONE to be hostile against Priscilla and leading her to be banished into a different dimension, she could have taken Artorias' spot in the Four Knights after he disappeared in the Abyss (the Chosen Undead sends his regards).
If the lore of DS about everyone being afraid of her power isn't incorrect, you would normally assume that Anor Londo could have been at its peak especially if Artorias was present too. Even the Chosen Undead couldn't just walz in and own the place, unless the Chosen Undead somehow got prior knowledge before heading in.
I did not just hear him complain that the fury sword the COMES FROM QUELAAG isnt very good against QUELAAG
I love, a lot, the little intro clips with the bosses. Sweet touch
I'd put the Lifehunt scythe in 1 due to lower requirements, add the ring and blood shield you practically won't need red moss
As someone who beat his first playthrough of Dark Souls 1 cosplaying as the Iron Golem, I am more than happy with a #5 spot.
I've probably done about ten full playthroughs of dark souls 1. I had no idea that chaos scales with humanity.
Great editing mate and a very solid list👏
One thing you forgot to mention about the abyss greatsword is that it has a special R2 attack even in the one handed version which is a 720° spin slash
11:35 LOL WHAT A FART IN THE WIND THAT WAS 😂😂😂😂
Lifehunt scythe was so good in my current playthrough, used the bloodshield for extra bleeding resistance and the ring.
The best boss weapon doesn’t even require a boss soul. Just get the Gravelord sword and power within spell when you reach lordran and break the game
This is one of the few times that a UA-cam video has had "opening credits" and I've been like, "Damn, this is cool" instead of "Ugh, time to skip ahead"
Major kudos!
Im realizing idk like half the content in this game despite playing it ever since i was a kid (just always went with big strength weapons)
So glad Artiorias’s swords got as high as they did. Love it when he gets even more respect
They just don't deserve that place though, abyss greatsword is ok at best and the other two are just bad
"The Elden Ring DLC us just around the corner, so if there are more than 4 boss rememberances in that..."
*Morgan Freeman's Voice
"Little did he know that there were, in fact, much more than four boss remembrances in the DLC."
The Greatshield of Artorias absolutely carried my ass through the late game and DLC on my first ever playthrough years ago, combined with the Black Knight Halberd
Literally my build ATM.
Love the GOAT Artorias showing of with 3 swords and two of them being top 2
Abyss greatsword is just ok, the other two are hot trash
@@xaitatsince in this Video they are regarded as the best of all the boss weapons, you need to elaborate on this bold claim. Tossing in a 'Nah they are trash' in a discussion that highly praises them does not advance said discussion at all.
@@unnameduser5647 This video's whole ranking is messed up and I'd need a long comment to elaborate. On artorias' weapons, they have super high and weird requirements for very mediocre damage, with abyss GS being a bit better thanks to the humanity scaling, as well as high weight and slower attacks (the video says they are as fast as all other greatswords, but that is false, weapons of the same class can have different R1 combo speed). The Great lord Greatsword which the video put right behind them is definitely better, not requiring any int/fth, doing more damage and being faster.
@@xaitatyou have to use “good” weapons to beat the game? Damn i hate to say it but thats kind of a skill issue since a normal person can beat the game with whatever they want
@@Venkullix Almost all weapons are good enough to beat the game, but that doesn't justify spreading misinformation on what is good or bad.
I myself almost never play optimally but I am honest and conscious about what is and isn't when giving advice
I gotta do a pyromancer build with Quelaag’s fury sword as my main weapon. With another weapon as my backup for enemies resistance or immune to fire damage
Something i rarely see anyone do is run the crystal shield and spear together on an int/stam build.
Weapon art jank aside it lets you enjoy a playstyle that gets the benefits of a mage with the perks of a tank.
The main reason (cope) its weaker than an infused spear is bc its one of the longest spears in game.
Also you should do a part two to this which includes "boss" weapons (gravelord sword, tail weapons ect)
I'm going to let you in on a secret. Basically every boss weapon unless you crank your level into the heavens will be out damaged by the weapon class's basic weapons that have been upgraded into their element.
That was a fantastic intro, I’m sold on this video
This is gratifying. I ended up trying to make a pseudo Artorias cosplay build on my first ever playthrough of any souls game and I was gutted that the great sword of artorias had that awful split damage making it less useful than a fully upgraded black knight sword. It got me through Nito’s fight but that was it. When I finally got around to doing an abyss great sword run I was so happy. I had to farm rats like a maniac, though.
Makes me extremely happy to know people still play one of my favorite games
the dramatic slow motion 'praise the sun' was EPIC!!!
XDDDDD THE INTRO boy truly has too much time on his hands
what is the track playing on 21:00 this shit nice
“Journey’s End” from Dark Souls III
@Pain_and_disdain i have that shit 100%d from last year i didnt recognize the track...
Quelagg's sword will forever be my favourite soulsbourne weapon
You also forget the abyss greatsword R2 i think shifts his hurtbox into a duck which can help the player dodge sometimes conveniently at the split second
You can get the bloodshield in the painted world which ups your bleed resistance even more, basically impossible to proc with the gold hemmed set, and blood bite ring
18:05 you heard that? All 2 people who didn’t level HP by the time you kill Priscila. Or the 4 people who moded that weapon without moding other items for some reason.
That intro was incredible.
the effort for this video is insane!!
I know they aren't made from boss souls, but they do technically drop from bosses. But I wish you included that Tail Weapons.
Some items help with the bleed buildup from the lifehunt scythe, such as that rad ass shield found in the painted world.
Great editing! I really enjoyed that intro!
I had 0 clue that the dragon bone fist even existed😂
My favorite is chaos blade, somehow it's also have regular damage, not just slash damage. And it's fun to use along with quelaaq furysword.
The abyss sword also has a very fast sweeping attack with similar damage to the heavy attack , it’s one of the main reasons I use it so much
Been waiting for this one my favorite is moonlight butterfly it has pure magic scalling and is great for a mage
It's a funny shield
@@soulsearcher9620 Blocking + homing solar mass =ez W
He did it! Now it's time for ds2 snuppet
It seems strangely fitting that in a game all about preserving light, the ultimate weapon is a cursed blade that scales off of darkness.
I like Darkmoon catalyst... not because of it's exceptional qualities, but because later down the line it is reintroduced as a golden ritual spear.
Now we just wait for a year or so for the last video of the trilogy.
And yes tail weapon review please and thank you :3
Man the editing in this video is really enjoyable. You took time to create cool and unique shots aswell as matching font. I really appreciate that.
0:22 Damn, that's dedication. I don't know nor care which one you chose, you deserve a like.
14:10 Probably my favorite, above good damage paired with a wonderful moveset and a range attack that is not just for show like I could say about Dragonslayer spear(Despite loving it as well).
22:30 JUST DO IT! Honestly speaking, this video might be even more interesting than this one. Since the average of tail weapons are somewhat higher than boss weapons for no reason, also as the name said, they're all weapons, there's no shields or fists to make comparison harder.
The "true" Greatsword of Artorias may have insane stat requirements and split damage, but on a high level character, the only thing that will hit harder is Dark Bead.
Then, there's the divine modifier, which is a nice little bonus for Catacombs and Nito. Plus, as a "divine" weapon, it also gets a damage bonus against "abyssal" enemies. Darkwraiths, Four Kings, basically everything in Oolacile. That's handy too.
For the Lifehunt Scythe, the Blood Shield from The Painted World can also help with bleed resistance
Been looking forward to this. Thanks for another great video!
I'd definitely be interested in seeing a video on the dragon tail weapons!
Dragon bone fist in last place?
He clearly doesn't like fun...
5:40 | Counterpoint. It looks cool
Ds1 is such a goated game in every aspect.
Sif with the bonk dog mod made me tear a bit 😂
I've been playing this game for about 7 years and didn't know about the dragonbone fist
Damn! That intro song is fire! Where couldst I find it perchance? Pray tell!
Intro be Profaned Vangaurd by Alex Roe
He really didn’t need to do the crystal shield run. Lemon already did that a couple years ago. Oh well, to late now
I did a semi-blind playthrough of Dark Souls my first playthrough, and I chose the Great Scythe and subsequently the Lifehunt Scythe - with no idea about the bleed effect.
The first time I used it I hit a group of enemies, proc'ed bleed immediately, and died 😂
So much dedication just for one video 👏👏
0:45 Doge spotted❤
Damn the editing and narration on these videos is peak.
Bad ass
Awesome to see a scythe doing so well on the list
It’s here everyone
The Chaos Blade and Lifehunt Scythe are my favorite, they make for a strong and interesting "masochist" DEX build.
This will be my way of knowing how I eventually will play DS1. Yay.
Bruh I did a whole playthrough with the dragon bone fist. Ngl you're right about it. Still holds a place in my heart though 😂
Funny little trick for the dragonbone fist: you can go for a Crystal weapon/Sunlight blade/Darkmoon blade build with the tin crystallization catalyst/Darkmoon talisman and get at around 40-60 int/faith alot of damage on it
It’s black knights halberd or the broken straight sword glad I could help
Lifehunt scythe against enemies weak to bleed is absolute lethal.
Honestly the abyss greatsword is my favorite weapon in the game. Glad it got its love
Great video mate :)
One thing i like about the moon horn is that its the second longest spear in the game, and a great pvp weapon for mage builds
Amazing video quality and editing. I discovered your channel through the Dark Souls 3 boss weapon challenge.