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For most PvE Faith builds, Blasphemous Blade is the best all-round weapon. Taker’s Flames combines long range, fire damage, knockdown potential, and healing. However, it is not the universal winner: Sacred Relic Sword is better for clearing groups, Flame Art weapons offer superior customization, and Holy-resistant enemies can dramatically change the ranking.
This tier list covers Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree on the latest verified version, App Ver. 1.16.1 / Regulation Ver. 1.16.1, released August 21, 2025. It does not include Elden Ring: Nightreign, which is a separate game with its own weapons and balance.
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Elden Ring (PS5) (European Version) | $34.00 | Buy on Amazon |
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Elden Ring, 1 PS5-Blu-ray Disc | $73.93 | Buy on Amazon |
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Elden Ring: Nightreign - Seekers Edition /PS5 | $43.95 | Buy on Amazon |
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Bandai Namco Entertainment Elden Ring (PS5) | $40.00 | Buy on Amazon |
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How this Faith weapon tier list works
FromSoftware has not published an official ranking of the best Faith weapons. The tiers below are an editorial PvE ranking based on boss performance, damage type, skill quality, range, stance-breaking potential, stat efficiency, availability, weapon moveset, and compatibility with common Faith builds.
“Faith weapon” means more than a weapon with a Faith requirement. Faith increases attack power when the weapon has Faith scaling, including unique Faith weapons and weapons using the Flame Art or Sacred affinity. A displayed scaling letter is only a rough guide: base attack power, the actual numerical scaling, damage type, stat spread, and moveset all matter.
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S-tier Faith weapons
Blasphemous Blade
Best overall Faith weapon for PvE. This greatsword scales with Strength, Dexterity, and Faith, and its unique skill, Taker’s Flames, is the reason it sits at the top. The skill sends a ranged fire attack forward, can knock down many enemies, and restores HP when it connects. That combination gives the weapon damage, safety, crowd control, and sustain in one button.
Blasphemous Blade is particularly strong for boss fights where the target can be staggered or hit reliably from mid-range. Its main limitation is fire resistance: enemies resistant to fire take substantially less damage from Taker’s Flames. It also requires Strength and Dexterity investment, so it is not automatically optimal for a low-Strength, pure-Faith character.
As a unique remembrance weapon, it cannot receive an Ash of War, affinity, grease, or ordinary weapon buff.
See Blasphemous Blade’s weapon details.
Sacred Relic Sword
Best Faith weapon for large-scale PvE clearing. This greatsword is obtained by trading the Elden Remembrance. Its unique skill, Wave of Gold, sends an exceptionally long-range Holy wave across the ground and can destroy groups of enemies before they reach you.
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It is less reliable as a universal boss weapon. Holy-resistant enemies reduce its damage, and the skill’s recovery and target spacing matter more in single-target fights. Sacred Relic Sword cannot be infused, buffed, or assigned another Ash of War, so its value comes almost entirely from Wave of Gold and its fixed weapon profile.
See Sacred Relic Sword’s weapon details.
Euporia (Shadow of the Erdtree)
Best DLC option for sustained twinblade pressure. Euporia has a Faith-oriented damage profile and a unique skill that becomes stronger after the weapon’s blades are revitalized by repeatedly hitting enemies. It rewards staying engaged and maintaining a steady attack rhythm rather than relying on one burst of damage.
That sustained-hit requirement is both its strength and its drawback. Euporia can perform extremely well when you can remain close to a boss, but it is less convenient when the encounter frequently forces you away. It is unavailable in the base game.
Fire Knight’s Greatsword with Flame Art
Best customizable greatsword choice for many Faith builds. The Fire Knight’s Greatsword can use Ashes of War and the Flame Art affinity, shifting much of its attack profile toward Faith-based fire damage. Its strong greatsword moveset gives it dependable normal attacks while customization lets you select a skill suited to the encounter.
Unlike a remembrance weapon, it can be adapted to your build and playstyle. Flame Art fire damage is excellent in some matchups but loses effectiveness against fire-resistant targets, so a second weapon or a different damage type remains useful.
See Fire Knight’s Greatsword’s weapon details.
Ordovis’s Greatsword
Best stance-breaking Strength/Faith greatsword. Ordovis’s Greatsword uses Strength/Faith scaling and has Ordovis’s Vortex, a charged skill with strong stance-breaking potential. Repeated charged uses can pressure grounded bosses and create critical-hit opportunities.
It is less flexible than a normal Flame Art greatsword because its skill and affinity are fixed. It also favors a Strength/Faith distribution rather than a minimal-Strength pure-Faith setup.
See Ordovis’s Greatsword’s weapon details.
A-tier Faith weapons
Maliketh’s Black Blade
This colossal sword combines Strength, Dexterity, and Faith scaling with Destined Death. The skill deals physical and Holy damage, temporarily reduces the target’s maximum HP, and applies damage over time. Those effects make it valuable against high-health bosses.
Rank #3
- Elden Ring: Nightreign - Seekers Edition /PS5
The trade-offs are substantial requirements and a slow colossal-sword moveset. It is powerful, but less comfortable for general use than Blasphemous Blade.
See Maliketh’s Black Blade’s weapon details.
Godslayer’s Greatsword
This colossal sword has Strength, Dexterity, and Faith scaling. The Queen’s Black Flame applies percentage-based fire damage over time, giving it a useful boss-focused identity.
Despite its Faith association, its substantial Dexterity requirement makes it inefficient for a character investing almost exclusively in Faith. Its slow attacks also demand more commitment than most greatswords.
See Godslayer’s Greatsword’s weapon details.
Coded Sword
Coded Sword deals exclusively Holy damage and has pure Faith scaling. Its Unblockable Blade skill bypasses conventional guarding, making it a strong answer to shield users.
Its all-Holy damage profile is the key limitation. Enemies with high Holy resistance sharply reduce its damage, and the weapon has no physical component to compensate. It is therefore excellent for a Holy-focused build in favorable matchups, but not the safest single weapon for the entire game.
See Coded Sword’s weapon details.
Cipher Pata
Cipher Pata is a short-range fist weapon with pure Faith scaling, Holy damage, and the Unblockable Blade skill. It is especially useful against shield users and works well for players comfortable fighting at close range.
Its short reach and fist-class moveset make it less versatile than Coded Sword. Also, only the named skill is unblockable; its normal attacks do not all ignore shields.
See Cipher Pata’s weapon details.
Siluria’s Tree
This great spear uses Strength/Faith scaling and provides reach, a reliable spear moveset, and physical/Holy damage. Siluria’s Woe fires a spiraling projectile and can be charged.
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See Siluria’s Tree’s weapon details.
Envoy’s Long Horn
The great hammer’s Bubble Shower launches multiple bubbles. When many projectiles connect, especially against large targets, the skill can inflict extremely high damage.
Its performance is matchup-dependent. Small or mobile enemies can evade or interrupt the bubbles, making the weapon far less consistent than its best damage clips suggest.
See Envoy’s Long Horn’s weapon details.
Golden Halberd
Golden Halberd is one of the strongest early-to-mid-game choices for a Strength/Faith character. It has high physical base damage, uses Strength, Dexterity, and Faith scaling, and carries Golden Vow, an attack and defense buff.
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See Golden Halberd’s weapon details.
Halo Scythe
Halo Scythe has Strength, Dexterity, and Faith scaling, with Miquella’s Ring of Light launching a returning Holy projectile. The skill gives the reaper useful mid-range pressure while retaining a distinctive scythe moveset.
It is a somber weapon and cannot be infused or buffed. Holy resistance also limits it in some late-game matchups.
See Halo Scythe’s weapon details.
Winged Scythe
Winged Scythe combines Strength, Dexterity, and Faith scaling with Angel’s Wings. The skill deals damage and, in PvP, temporarily prevents the target from using a Flask of Crimson Tears. Its range and bleed buildup make it useful during exploration and against suitable enemies.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFor PvE, its overall skill performance is less universally dominant than the leading S-tier options. The PvP flask effect should not be treated as a PvE damage advantage.
See Winged Scythe’s weapon details.
B-tier Faith weapons and weapon categories
Flame Art-infused regular weapons
For a primarily Faith-based melee build, Flame Art is generally the best starting point among customizable fire weapons. It converts the weapon toward Faith-based fire damage while preserving the normal weapon’s moveset and allowing you to choose an Ash of War.
The best individual choice depends on base damage, weapon class, moveset, upgrade level, requirements, and your Strength/Dexterity/Faith distribution. A Flame Art greatsword, curved sword, spear, or halberd can all be correct for different characters. This category is ranked below the standout unique weapons because it has no single fixed winner, not because customizable weapons are weak.
Sacred-infused regular weapons
Sacred is the Faith-oriented Holy affinity. It can be excellent for exploration and against enemies that are not resistant to Holy damage, but damage may fall sharply against several late-game bosses and other Holy-resistant targets.
Flame Art and Sacred are not interchangeable: one produces Faith-based fire damage and the other produces Faith-based Holy damage. Keeping both options available is often more valuable than insisting on one affinity for every encounter.
Gargoyle’s Blackblade
This greatsword emphasizes Strength/Faith and deals physical/Holy damage. Corpse Wax Cutter gives it an area-focused attack, but it generally competes poorly with Blasphemous Blade, Ordovis’s Greatsword, and customizable Flame Art greatswords.
See Gargoyle’s Blackblade’s weapon details.
Magma Wyrm’s Scalesword
This curved greatsword scales with Strength, Dexterity, and Faith. Magma Guillotine deals fire damage and creates a magma pool, giving it useful area denial and burst potential.
It is a better fit for a Strength/Faith hybrid than for a low-Strength pure-Faith character. Fire resistance also affects its performance.
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Best Value
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See Magma Wyrm’s Scalesword’s weapon details.
Gargoyle’s Black Halberd
This halberd has physical/Holy damage and Strength/Faith scaling. It is functional, but normal halberds offer more build flexibility because they can receive Flame Art or Sacred affinity and use a wider selection of Ashes of War.
See Gargoyle’s Black Halberd’s weapon details.
Staff of the Avatar
This colossal weapon scales with Strength, Dexterity, and Faith, and Erdtree Slam creates a chargeable shockwave. It offers good area damage, but its slow weapon class and high requirements make it a niche choice rather than a general-purpose Faith weapon.
See Staff of the Avatar’s weapon details.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Which Faith weapon should you choose?
| Build or priority | Best starting point | Why |
|---|---|---|
| One dependable PvE weapon | Blasphemous Blade | Damage, range, knockdowns, and healing from Taker’s Flames |
| Rune farming or group clearing | Sacred Relic Sword | Wave of Gold covers a long distance and hits many enemies |
| Pure Faith with customization | Flame Art regular weapon | Faith-based fire damage plus selectable Ashes of War |
| Strength/Faith and stance breaks | Ordovis’s Greatsword | Charged Ordovis’s Vortex has strong stance-breaking potential |
| Holy-focused playstyle | Coded Sword | Pure Faith scaling and an unblockable skill |
| Shield-heavy opponents | Coded Sword or Cipher Pata | Unblockable Blade bypasses conventional guarding |
| Sustained DLC melee pressure | Euporia | Its skill improves after repeated hits revitalize the blades |
| Large bosses and projectile connections | Envoy’s Long Horn | Bubble Shower can deal exceptional damage when many bubbles connect |
How to upgrade and apply Faith affinities
Apply Flame Art or Sacred at a Site of Grace
- Rest at a Site of Grace.
- Select Ashes of War.
- Choose the weapon.
- Choose an Ash of War compatible with that weapon class.
- Select the desired affinity, such as Flame Art or Sacred, then choose Apply.
The relevant Whetblade is required when the desired affinity is not supplied by the Ash itself. Unique and somber weapons such as Blasphemous Blade, Sacred Relic Sword, Coded Sword, and Halo Scythe cannot be customized this way.
See the Ashes of War reference.
Upgrade at Roundtable Hold
At Roundtable Hold, speak to Smithing Master Hewg and select Strengthen armament. Standard weapons normally upgrade from +1 to +25 using ordinary Smithing Stones. Somber weapons normally upgrade from +1 to +10 using Somber Smithing Stones.
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Check requirements, scaling, and skill cost
Open Menu → Equipment and select the weapon. The equipment panel shows attack power, guard stats, attribute scaling, and requirements. If you do not meet a requirement, you do not receive normal scaling from that attribute and suffer a damage penalty.
Two-handing increases effective Strength for wielding a weapon, but it does not increase Faith or Dexterity. You can meet a Strength requirement by two-handing and still fail the weapon’s Faith requirement.
To check a skill’s FP cost, open the weapon’s Ashes of War information display. Version 1.12 added FP consumption values to that display.
Read about weapon scaling and Bandai Namco’s version 1.12 patch notes.
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Important ranking caveats
- Damage type can overturn the tier list. Fire-resistant enemies weaken Blasphemous Blade and other Flame Art weapons. Holy-resistant enemies weaken Sacred Relic Sword, Coded Sword, Cipher Pata, and other Holy weapons.
- Unique skills do not necessarily scale exactly like the weapon panel suggests. Skills can use separate scaling behavior; some depend on weapon attack power while others follow their own rules.
- Faith scaling does not automatically increase stance or stamina damage. It improves attack power where Faith scaling exists, not every secondary combat property.
- Unblockable Blade applies to the skill. Coded Sword and Cipher Pata do not make every normal attack unblockable.
- PvE and PvP results differ. Patch 1.07 introduced separate PvP damage scaling for weapons, skills, spells, and incantations. PvP observations should not be used as unlabelled PvE evidence.
Why older tier lists may be wrong
Patch history matters when comparing Faith weapons. Patch 1.09 improved scaling for affinities including Flame Art and Sacred and added Holy damage and Faith scaling to the Great Club, making pre-1.09 comparisons outdated.
Patch 1.12.3 fixed a bug that prevented Gazing Finger’s Faith scaling from applying correctly. Patch 1.13 changed several Shadow of the Erdtree weapons and skills, including skill damage and attack behavior. Results labeled only 1.09, 1.10, 1.12, or 1.13 should not be treated as current damage tests.
The latest verified entry in the available patch archive is App Ver. 1.16.1 / Regulation Ver. 1.16.1, released August 21, 2025. It fixed incorrect affinities and status effects during specific actions and addressed a multiplayer blocking bypass.
Check the Elden Ring patch archive, version 1.09 notes, version 1.12.3 notes, and version 1.13 notes.
Quick Recap
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