Best Early Weapons in Elden Ring and Where to Find Them
October 30, 2026 · 6 min read
On this page
- Best early weapons in Elden Ring: locations and requirements
- How does two-handing help you use heavy weapons early?
- What to do first for an early weapon
- Where to find the Uchigatana
- Where to get Bloodhound's Fang
- Claymore or Lordsworn's Greatsword?
- Best early weapons for sorcerers and hybrids
- Did patches nerf these weapons?
- FAQ
- What is the single best early weapon for a new player?
- Can you get Moonveil right at the start?
- Do you need to upgrade early weapons?
The strongest early weapons in Elden Ring are the Uchigatana for Dexterity builds, Lordsworn's Greatsword or the Claymore for Strength, and Bloodhound's Fang for anyone able to meet its 18 Strength and 17 Dexterity. All four can be collected in Limgrave or on the nearby Weeping Peninsula without entering a late-game region.
Casters have good options too, but the best ones sit further away: the Meteorite Staff is in Caelid, Moonveil is in a Caelid dungeon, and Sword of Night and Flame is at Caria Manor in Liurnia.
Best early weapons in Elden Ring: locations and requirements
| Weapon | Type | Requirements | Where to get it | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uchigatana | Katana | 11 Str, 15 Dex | Deathtouched Catacombs, Stormhill | Unsheathe |
| Lordsworn's Greatsword | Greatsword | 16 Str, 10 Dex | Carriage chest, western road from Gatefront Ruins | Stamp (Upward Cut) |
| Claymore | Greatsword | 16 Str, 13 Dex | Chest in Castle Morne, Weeping Peninsula | Lion's Claw |
| Bloodhound's Fang | Curved greatsword | 18 Str, 17 Dex | Boss drop, Forlorn Hound Evergaol, Limgrave | Bloodhound's Finesse |
| Moonveil | Katana | 12 Str, 18 Dex, 23 Int | Magma Wyrm drop, Gael Tunnel, Caelid | Transient Moonlight |
| Sword of Night and Flame | Straight sword | 12 Str, 12 Dex, 24 Int, 24 Faith | Locked room, Caria Manor, Liurnia | Night-and-Flame Stance |
| Meteorite Staff | Staff | 6 Str, 18 Int | Street of Sages Ruins, Aeonia Swamp, Caelid | None |
Requirement figures come from the Fextralife pages for each weapon.
How does two-handing help you use heavy weapons early?
Holding a weapon in two hands effectively raises your Strength by half for requirement purposes, which wiki.gg shows on Sword of Night and Flame as 12 Strength one-handed and 8 two-handed. This means a 16 Strength greatsword needs roughly 11 Strength in two hands, so a Samurai could swing a Lordsworn's Greatsword at the start. Dexterity, Intelligence and Faith requirements do not get this discount.
What to do first for an early weapon
Start with your class, then work outward in a short route:
- Activate a few overland Sites of Grace in Limgrave, such as Gatefront, and rest until Melina appears, which unlocks levelling and gives you Torrent. Riding makes every route below much easier.
- Pick up Lordsworn's Greatsword if you are a Strength character. The carriage is on the western road out of Gatefront Ruins, one of the first areas most players pass through.
- Go to Deathtouched Catacombs if you want the Uchigatana, unless you are a Samurai and already own one.
- Spend spare levels to reach the requirements of your chosen weapon. If you are short on runes, the rune farming guide covers quick spots in Limgrave.
- Attempt Bloodhound's Fang, Moonveil or the Claymore once your stats and health are up to it.
Your class changes this order. A Samurai already meets Uchigatana requirements, and a Vagabond can use both greatswords here straight away with a two-handed grip. The starting class guide has every class's numbers if you are still choosing.
Where to find the Uchigatana
Deathtouched Catacombs lies west of Saintsbridge in Stormhill. Go past the Site of Grace, down the stairs and left through the skeletons, then find the statue lever in the second large room. Return to those first stairs, drop down, take the narrow corridor and turn left to reach the raised platform used by the ranged skeletons. The sword hangs on a body at the far end. Skeletons can get back up unless you hit them again after they fall.
The Uchigatana has D scaling in both Strength and Dexterity at base. Affinities can shift that, with Keen raising Dexterity scaling and Heavy raising Strength scaling.
Where to get Bloodhound's Fang
Bloodhound Knight Darriwil drops it in the Forlorn Hound Evergaol, close to the Agheel Lake South grace in Limgrave. Spirit Ashes cannot be used in this fight and multiplayer is off, but Blaidd can be summoned if you have spoken to him first. The kill also pays 1,900 runes in a first playthrough.
Its stats are the catch: 18 Strength and 17 Dexterity put it out of reach at the start for all classes, though two-handing cuts the Strength need to 12. Samurai needs two levels to get there in a two-handed grip and Warrior needs three.
Claymore or Lordsworn's Greatsword?
Both ask for 16 Strength. Lordsworn's Greatsword is the more convenient of the two, since it is in Limgrave and needs only 10 Dexterity. The Claymore asks for 13 Dexterity and a trip to Castle Morne, where it sits in a chest in the northern building past the burning corpses in the main courtyard. Its Lion's Claw skill costs 20 FP. A Hero with 9 Dexterity needs one level for Lordsworn's Greatsword and four for the Claymore.
Best early weapons for sorcerers and hybrids
Meteorite Staff. It needs just 6 Strength and 18 Intelligence, two levels above an Astrologer's start. It lies in the southwestern building of the Street of Sages Ruins, on a corpse in a small room with poison flowers. It cannot be upgraded, so you will eventually replace it.
Moonveil. You must beat the Magma Wyrm in Gael Tunnel. The Limgrave door stays barred until you have cleared the dungeon from the Caelid side, so plan on crossing into Caelid first. The boss is highly vulnerable to magic, and it pays 7,500 runes. An Astrologer needs about 13 levels to meet the requirements while two-handing, and a Prisoner needs a similar amount.
Sword of Night and Flame. It is in a chest in a locked room at Caria Manor. From the Manor Lower Level grace, cross the rooftops east, drop to a platform with a ladder, and climb down. You do not need to beat Rennala or any other boss for it: Fextralife, wiki.gg, TheGamer and Dexerto's own location guide list no such requirement, although a separate Dexerto weapons list says otherwise. The 24 Intelligence and 24 Faith requirement is steep for any class.
Did patches nerf these weapons?
Patch 1.09 changed scaling values on most of these weapons and improved speed, recovery or range on many weapon classes. Patch 1.10 adjusted poise damage for PvP only. Katanas also had PvP-only poise changes in 1.08 and 1.13, and straight swords had similar PvP changes.
Sword of Night and Flame is the main PvE exception. Patch 1.03 lowered its skill damage. The official notes give no figure: one community estimate was about 30% for Comet Azur and 22% for the flame sweep, and another guide claims nearly half. Patch 1.07 then raised the skill's attack power, again without a published figure. It remains usable but not the instant answer it once was. The official Patch 1.17 notes, the latest major update, do not mention any weapon in the table above.
FAQ
What is the single best early weapon for a new player?
For most new players it is the Uchigatana or Lordsworn's Greatsword, depending on the build. Both have modest requirements and are reachable in Limgrave without a major boss fight. Pick by which stat your class already favours.
Can you get Moonveil right at the start?
You can attempt it early, since you only need to get into Caelid and into Gael Tunnel. The requirement of 18 Dexterity and 23 Intelligence is the real barrier, and the tunnel holds miners, soldiers and lava hazards before the boss. Treat it as a target for after your first levels.
Do you need to upgrade early weapons?
Upgrades raise damage quickly, so it pays to focus materials on one weapon you plan to keep. The Meteorite Staff is the exception here, as it cannot be strengthened at all.