This has the vibe of an employee training video lol. Very informative too. DS2 has such a wide variety of weapons. It's by far the game's biggest strength imo.
@@OfficialMetalhead You did great! It's just refreshing to get recommended a vid for DS2 that isn't OMG THIS GAME IS HATED BY EVERYONE?? WHY???? Ugh lol. It just cracks me up, at launch people on the forums loved the game, and the only real complaints were that people were split on soul memory, ADP, and durability. YT is a strange beast. Thanks for giving Best Souls 2 some love :)
Perfect timing as I plan to finish this game again soon. I have purchased the original PS3 version to compare and contrast the sotfs edition I'm used to playing @@OfficialMetalhead Really enjoyed this video and it makes me wanna do multiple playthroughs lol
11:40 Another point for the KUGS is the very high durability compared to other Greataxes and the Crypt Blacksword, which is pretty important in some parts of the game. It also has a special effect in PvP where it deals bonus durability damage to enemy equipment.
It's refreshing to see a video like this on DS2! It's not my favorite DS game, and I never touched it again after getting the platinum, but I'm gonna try it again sometime just to switch things up a bit from my usual DS1 and ER Great video! Really chill editing and narration
I plan on starting DS2 as soon as I finish my DS1 playthrough, so this video couldn’t have come at a better time. Told me exactly what I needed to know without getting too deep into spoilers, while also helping me set expectations as far as when I would be able to find certain weapons. The tips for lightning buffs and strike damage were also greatly appreciated! Thank you for putting this together!
this game has so many good early weapons. the basic spear you can buy from lenigrast is actually really good for new players imo. the two handed r2 is a sweep attack that counts as strike damage and just melts armored enemies (which are plentiful). it's basically a long range mace
rapier is the best weapon and you get it right away - every speed/challenge runner uses it, but it ruins the progression and makes 99% of weapons redundant when you get the best one early
💯% The basic spear is one of the most underrated weps in the game for exactly the reasons you mentioned. Also a really good choice for a Hexer before you get to the Silverblack Spear which shares the same moveset…
I actually really like the Greatsword for the horizontal moveset. You need 28 strength to 1hand it, but that's still a lot less stat investment than something like Ivory King and this game gives levels away like candy on Halloween.
Very informative. I’ll have to give some e of these weapons a try next time I play DS2. I’m glad to know that I wasn’t being a complete idiot by using the broadsword for a while.
Recently got my little brother to play ds2 since he's played all the other ones. Watching him play it made me start a new playthrough. I've been playing since vanilla on the ps3 and it's so nice to see how many people still play on Playstation.
I love dark souls 2, still play it on my 360. sadly though, my Shrine of Amana never renders properly making me reload and pray it renders otherwise I get soft locked. as for how bad? npcs don't spawn, doors don't spawn (hello free King's set), no enemies, and no boss, hell even the invader NPC doesn't get to spawn in, he just gets sent right back to invader limbo. I have never found a way to fix it, and its a disc copy and none of my other games have problems like it.
@@ColetheFlame01 I still have my ps3 copy somwhere in my old game box. I need to bring it out again and re live some old vanilla memories. I remember my final fantasy 12 ps2 disk would never load past the desert phoenix bird boss as a kid and no matter what I did trying to reload the save it would crash the ps2. Old games had some hank to the disk. I wish ps3 servers were still online.
@@yurtthesilentgod1225 sounds like a nightmare, never played Final Fantasy 12 but I can only imagine the frustration of the crashing. I will be honest dark souls 2 vanilla is nice though some areas feel empty compared to scholar version (heide's tower of flame is a great example). hopefully you enjoy ds2 again when you decide to play again.
not sure if still true but as far as I remember the lost sinner sword losing its damage is more or less cosmetic thing that you see in your character sheet but the actual damage you do is more or less the same no matter your sin level
I’ve beaten this game 8 times and have used a few of these weapons but only beat it once using a best in class, the Ice Rapier. I also want to mention the Mace and the Mace of the Insolent because that lets you put dark weapon on the Mace of the Insolent and then you can use that mace to put Sunlight Blade on the left hand mace for two spell buffed maces at once. Pretty fun. Thanks for this video, I’ll play this game again using some of the weapons listed in this video!
I like a Dual Blue Flame (also Sorcery Catalysts) + Warped Blade. The RH Blue Flame Magic Weapons the LH, then change RH to Warped and Magic Weapon with LH and POWERSTANCE for that beautiful spinny moveset. Also, Dual Broken Swords, Poison and Bleed. You get SO MANY attacks off, it is so stamina efficient. Dual Royal Greatswords, Lightning and Dark (+ double Bleed innately) is kinda nice too.
Really nice video! I really like the editing style and the overall aesthetic of the video if you could call it that, but I kind of don't understand the disclaimer before the best weapon in each category, if a weapon outperforms other option it does mean it is a good choice overall, but I understand it might be from a perspective of different build
When you compare a class like Thrusting Swords to classes like Whips or Claw weapons the difference is pretty stark. Whips, Claws, Fists etc are not good classes to pick overall. Just because Old Whip is the best in its respective class doesn't mean that it is good compared with the best weapons of other classes. It just means that it is specifically the best whip overall if a person would like to use a whip.
dang I was hoping the Longsword would get a mention. The two-handed R2 being a solid thrust attack makes the trusty Longsword very strong and versatile. Also glad some of the Black Dragon weapons were mentioned. They always seem underrated or maybe it's just the bad drop rate that holds them back.
@@EinSilverRose Logsword is a pretty underwhelming weapon for pve, all straightswords are at best very mid, and while yes the R2 can be useful at that point a thrusting sword would just be better, the main thing that holds back straight swords is that they don't have a very high counter dmg modifier which is what makes a lot of the best weapons shine.
Dark infused long sword has become one of my favorite weapons recently. Not as completely broken as the rapier and has a more versatile moveset, and with the stone ring, the 2H R2 will stagger most enemies. Currently plowing through the Brume tower and wrecking shit. 😄 I do generally like to pick an early game weapon and use it all the way through the game rather than switching part way through
@@Sabreur23 lightning infusion would be a lot better since on average enemies are a lot less resistant to it, and for brume tower specifically all the soldiers are weak to magic so that'd be the best infusion
@OfficialMetalhead Yeah maybe, I just like how early you can get dark weapon/dark infusion. Honestly, even supposedly dark resistant enemies and bosses just melt to dark damage anyway, so it seems like either works just fine. I'm going through Brume tower right now actually and the damage seems a bit nuts anyway. My last playthrough I went with a dark rapier and dark mace, that shit is just plain broken lol. So yeah, I would agree that the longsword isn't necessarily the best at any one thing, but works really well if you want to just pick one pretty versatile weapon for the whole game right at the beginning and stubbornly refuse to switch to anything else 😄
@@Sabreur23 not sure why you like dark so much but there is far more enemies weak to lightning than dark, on most dlc bosses lightning performs better too, sinh is especially weak to lightning, and alonne is fairly weak to it too
@@birdfacemd you can beat the game with anything, but I would never recommend fist weapons to a new player or someone who's struggling, just like claw weapons, they're okay for more experienced players. not to mention farming 50 awestones
Using the Bandit Axe it's worth going up to being able to 1H it eventually because of the 1H moveset having deceptively long range and a quick vertical hit.
Really enjoy your vids, despite having most hours spend in DS2 due to it being my favoutire of the series I never quite got into best weapons as throughly as you do here. Maybe collabing with some pvp guys (though not quite relevant today) maybe an interesting idea for a vid. Also as I have my favourite character/build having 4vitality versus 67/67 intfaith + 75 atunment I would like to see some kind of guide of best weapons for low physical and high magical stats.
My favorite weapon is the longsword! It’s perfect in every situation, sure it doesn’t have that crazy counter damage synergy with Old Leo Ring like the rapier/ice rapier but it has horizontal swings and slashes that help in the many multi fights this game has. Being able to easily hit two or more enemies at once is better than single target dps. Plus with the Old Leo Ring it does have counter damage with its 2hand thrust. Seriously this game has so many multi fights that the 2hand swings can easily hit many enemies locked off and it does do counter damage with the 2hand swings. It’s boring but it’s good enough to play the entire game and every boss with easily. I always use the fire longsword for the beginning, then change it to dark infusion and then get another one for lightning infusion and change them according to which enemy I’m facing. Plus it’s lowkey the best PvP weapon due it’s very versatile moveset.
@@Kamawan0yeah I know, that’s what I was trying to convey in my original comment, that with Leo Ring 2Hand Thrust it does do counter damage. It’s not as good as a thrusting sword but it is nice.
Just finished my run through rocking ultra great swords. I mainly used the Greatsword because I could get it early and it had the best scaling. I also enjoyed the wide swinging one handed R1 for CC. :)
What the heck, did i fall into a portal that sent me a decade into the past? Great video, I'm stoked to see people still playing ds2 in the modern era! I'm a bit surprised with the Caestus setup you mentioned, though, as i definitely think the Bone Fist far outperforms it even with its slower moveset.
@@kazj4908 vanq seal + caestus at 40 str out damages bone fist due to how fast they hit, I tested it, a single tap of the attack button deals more dmg than bone fist, not to mention how awkward bone fist moveset is
The big advantage of the axes are the good directionnal moveset (your character follow easily the enemy while attacking locked in). The Battle axe is better than the Bandit axe due to its longer range, increasing the advantage of the axes
@@oliviergirard1362 battle axe is absolutely not better than bandits, the range isnt very important for pve and bandits just deals significantly more dmg to ever consider battle axe
@@oliviergirard1362 if we are talking noticeable range, sure, but the difference between the 2 is very small as you can see here, dps is what determines an axe efficiency th-cam.com/video/8cVaBql0YUE/w-d-xo.htmlsi=p-J-W8eZpf04Zxv8
The range makes a difference on the gameplay PvP and PvE. It depends on what you prefer. On the playstyle like i was saying. And i know that you can get a little more damage with the bandit axe
@@oliviergirard1362 for pvp sure, but the range of battle axe is probably never gonna make a significant difference in pve especially on bosses, thats just cucking your dmg for an imaginary advantage
I'm subbing. I agreed with 95% of what you presented [I'm more of a sorceries & hexes kind of guy, so magic or dark are my go-to infusions,] but No, great video, and your voice is pleasant. You should make some long form content for people to sleep to. :) Also, Cool display name. \m/
Oh, that is actually me. Metal and I write scripts together. He gathers the footage and edits and I do the voice overs. Though I will be doing script work and voice overs for all of his other videos that need it. We will have a long one about rolling coming out soon and then another about spells and spell tools soonish.
it's been 9 years and I didn't know two handing halved the str req, It was also my first souls game I remember getting 19 str for Bluemoon what is going on?
@@OfficialMetalhead I was originally going to use the Spear bc I read that it can do strike and pierce damage which it seems both have useful applications but I was not happy with the damage even after getting it to +4. I switched to the craftsman’s hammer but got bored of it after awhile. I switched to the Lance and I really like the lightning damage and moveset, I like finding ways to dodge and strafe around enemies, like with the boar guys in the shaded woods, I wait till they swing, forward roll through their swings, then turn around and backstab 😝. The pursuer encounters are still a pain for me though. I’ve been leveling my ADP like crazy. I read some info on i-frames and I’ve been aiming for 111 agility so I can get close to the DS1 ninja flips.
@@nickoliekeyov746 Hi, I worked on this video with Metalhead. We will be making a video on AGL/ADP soon to combat bad information about the mechanic. You should know that in terms of AGL your breakpoints are 92/96/99. You really should not have to go past 99 AGL for any reason. It can be confusing because there is a lot of bad advice on this mechanic floating around but hopefully we will be able to share some resources soon to put the misinfo to rest. We have frame data on our side. 💝
@@PenPenPlon to add into what pen said 96 agl is the same s as ds1, with 99 you have an extra than in ds1, which is more than enough to comfortably dodge any attack in the game
@@joshgildred3906 Thank you! You don't know how much this means to me that you say that, we might do content for ds1 at some point but for now ds2 is my priority
I wonder, is investing in faith on lighting infused weapons worth the dmg increase? Sure, in case of sunlight blade then investing for max duration makes sense, but if buffing isn't something I care about for a particular build(since I don't much care of optimizing builds over what looks cool & feels good to use), then does it make sense to still level faith for dmg?
@@Skrallizar absolutely not, the faith scaling for lightning infused weapons is atrocious. It genuinely might as well not exist so don't waste your points there.
and where do shields come into this? What do you think about sword and board? Is there a way to play the game slowly and carefully, with minimal rolling, and more a focus on blocking?
Waiting out the rain in Lucy's dinner Lofi whisper Urban jazzy hip hop On a night like this instrumental Metamora Blissed out Thats all I can tell you because its all royalty free music that comes with my editing software lol
Fantastic video and very informative! I do have a side question - how do you get your damage numbers to be so large on standard enemies? I am playing DS2/SotFS on PC with no mods and my damage numbers are very small but have seen tons of videos with damage numbers around the size you show in this video.
That's weird. It's a standard size i believe. I think it's on your end. Im also on PC w sotfs no mods or anything, the size of the dmg number is the same in the video. Same goes with every other ds2 video i saw.
@@NoVa_Dragoon I will be doing a video on that at some point but Dragonrider bow is the best bow until you get Bow of want which you wanna use lightning infused, all bows except Bow of Want are best used uninfused. Heavy crossbow and Avelyn are the best crossbows and should be used raw.
To add to what Metal said Bow of Want is considered best infused with lightning only for its special lightning projectile attack according to the data that is currently available. We are going to have to do some calculations and also take ammo type into consideration with in-game testing to be absolutely sure.
After watching this video i may give ds2 another shot, it had its issues the only nail in the coffin was the adaptability stat bs. Outside of that i was enjoying my time playing it
I hope you enjoy it this time, you can get 92 agl after the first boss which is a perfectly fine amount of s, and then once you get to 96 agility you basically the same s as ds1
I disagree with a couple of choices but a bunch of these weapons have unlocked....memories...of pvp back in the day. Also about the Bluemoon, the damage isn't really worth it if obtained early and the durability is just atrocious. It feels much better when you're deep into the game imo, unlike some weapons like the mace that are just great from the getgo.
You mentioned that it's better to get half of the str requirements and twohand most of the weapons, but what if my playstyle involves lots of parrying and using torches? Love both of these mechanics, but at the same time feels bad wasting 25 extra points to onehand my dragon tooth. Prob not the right weapon to use for that lol
@@tokitamuscleupper if you want to 1 hand then you would want a weapon that doesn't have a high str requirment, weapons like homunculus mace and ice rapier are great weapons to one hand, they have low requirements and deal great dmg
@@alexhastings1227 Lightning infused rapier with dark weapon Rings: Ring of Blades (the highest version you have available), Flynns Ring, Old Leo Ring, and Third Dragon Ring Stats: 50 vigor Endurance: up to preference but at least 20 (the more the better) Vitality: 10 (no more or you'll lose flynns ring damage) Dexterity: 15 Strength: enough to 2 hand rapier Attunement: 10 Adaptability: Enough to reach 99 Agility INT: 24 for max duration of dark weapon FAITH: 14 to be able to cast dark weapon. Once you killed fume knight and acquire the Iron Crown which regenerates spell uses over time you can swap dark weapon for Sunlight Blade and sacred oath. You will want 54 faith for max duration of sunlight blade and 5 attunement slots to fit Sacred oath and sunlight blade.
Bro!!! I ONLY use Fire and Lightning infused longswords switching between them if needed for a boss and otherwise as their durability runs out🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣Why!?!?
Not so long ago i did a character on which i powerstanced the craftman hammer and dragon slayer axe and jesus never realize how weak most enemies are to blunt/strike weapons. I thought the great axe from the black knights and the dragon shrine would b among the best ones
@@elektra8535 the black knight greataxe behaves like a halberd and utilizes the obnoxious sweetspot mehcanic, on top of blakc knight weapons already being weak due to them dealing innate fire damage which is the single most resisted element in the game.
@@OfficialMetalheadi was talking about the great axe of the Drakekeepers I forgot their name so i just call them black knights lol didn't knew the black knight great axe had a sweetspot
Fire is the most resisted damage type on average, lightning is the least resisted hence why most but not all things should be lightning infused. Sometimes other things should be Raw infused or left on the base infusion path depending on scaling.
Hey, just found your channel and your videos are amazing. I have recently finished ds2 and like the game a lot. Your videos help me understand the game more and give me fun ideas for runs i would like to do in the next few weeks. Would you mind explaining to me why you prefer dark weapon on a lightning infused ice rapier instead of sunlight blade? Coming from other games, splitting your damage into different damage types (in this case 3 different types) doesn't seem worth it because every damage type has to go through the flat defense of the enemy @@OfficialMetalhead
@dbzchecher hey thank you for the comment! Contrary to dark souls 1, in ds2 split dmg is actually quite good because defendes don't work the same, instead here you get more damage for targeting the enemy's elemental defenses, and for most enemies in the game lightning happens to be the element they are weakest to or second weakest to. We use dark weapon due to many reasons: it's generous cast amount combined, 99 second of duration and the fact that it adds more damage than a lot of other buffs due to it's buff formula, making it the best choice for about 80% of the game. Sunlight blade adds the same damage as dark weapon, but it requires a lot of stats and the cast amount is miserable, that's why is it not worth UNTIL you get the crown of the old iron king which regenerates spell uses over time giving you virtually infinite casts, at that point sunlight blade is better.
As you might expect, I disagree with some of these suggestions and have my own opinions. First and foremost - I think it's bad advice to tell everyone to rely on two-handing a weapon. Not only does this lock out an entire different moveset, it also precludes the use of a shield in the offhand. It's a lot easier to parry with a shield than barehanded and having access to a shield makes learning the game a *lot* easier. I usually recommend people new to Souls games use the lightest 100% physical resist shield they can find and keep their equip load as low as they reasonably can while still having at least one piece of armor in every slot to benefit from the base defense bonus (though I think this last bit is more relevant to DS3 and ER than DS2.) This lets you block things you have difficulty rolling (or things that aren't really worth rolling), gives you the option to parry, and still gives you the option to roll. But to do this, you're going to need to be able to 1H your weapon. That, together with the fact that a majority of your damage coming from just the weapon's upgrade level rather than stats (although for some weapon classes like claws or fists, you get a *lot* of damage from stat scaling), to me means that you should generally pick weapons from your favorite class of weapons to use for the majority of your run, and they should be obtainable and upgradeable by the mid-game at the latest (which I'd say is anything short of Drangleic Castle/DLCs.) Save the advanced/late game weapons for NG+ runs, where you'll already have the weapons on hand as well as all the petrified dragon things or twinkling titanite or whatever you need to max em. That said, my general recommendations for weapons would be along the lines of: - Club. Accessible early, low stat requirements, and a lot of enemies early on are vulnerable to strike damage (if it's a dude in armor, it probably hates hammers.) Good on its own, but power stancing clubs is available very early and is a ton of fun. Lots of damage, pretty good coverage, and you can stunlock a lot of bosses and almost any basic enemy with chained L2's. - Longsword. Just flatly better than the Broadsword unless you're doing an SL1 run and can't use it right away. Available early on, or you can even pick up the Fire infused one in Forest of Fallen Giants. The running thrust attack and standing R2 thrust attacks are extremely useful for adding important coverage, adding the pierce damage option, and giving you a reliable way of dealing damage even in confined spaces. There's a reason this weapon dominates PvP. If you favor big swords, the Claymore is the Longsword's big brother and available almost as early. - Halberd. Yeah, you need to learn the sweet spots but it's not really that hard. Hit em with the sharp end! Excellent coverage and variability in moveset between 1H and 2H and the backstep beyblade is particularly good for killing groups. Spacing is important in many things in DS2 and the Halberd is especially good at teaching you spacing. - Spear. Available extremely early and unlike the recommended Winged Spear, the R2 has a sweep that deals strike damage that leads into a thrust - great for crowds and for enemies vulnerable to strike damage (which is a lot of them.) Lower stats are especially nice since you'll need some Strength to use a shield with a spear. Being able to thrust while blocking is a major feature of spears and thrusting swords, another reason to not fixate solely on two-handing weapons. - Great Club. Take a visit to The Gutter to pick up this oversized stick and pancake your way to victory. The Large Club is slightly smaller and you can get it from The Lost Bastille if you're heading that way to start off, instead. And as far as shields go, your best options are Iron Parma for small shields (it's basically a small shield with the weight and defenses of a medium shield), Royal Knight Shield for medium shields (lightest 100% shield in the game and available from McDuff), and Twin Dragon Greatshield (essentially DS2's Eagle Shield, but not so gamebreakingly overpowered) for big shields. One last thing: I have a soft spot in my heart for the mixed-moveset weapons. Heide Knight Sword is my personal favorite weapon, with Dragonslayer Crescent Axe a close second. Both are accessible early on, but DCA needs Twinkling Titanite to upgrade so it might be a bit before you can get it to +10.
@@TGMMargaret In Dark Souls 2, the Great Club stands out as one of the best weapons due to its unique combination of high damage output, versatile scaling, and effective stagger potential. Its immense strength-based damage makes it a formidable weapon in the hands of players who prioritize raw power, with each strike capable of overwhelming enemies and bosses alike. The Great Club’s scaling with Strength, paired with its large size and reach, allows it to maintain effectiveness throughout the game, providing consistent damage without requiring excessive investment in other stats. Its wide swing arc enables it to hit multiple enemies in close quarters, making it invaluable for both crowd control and single-target engagements. Moreover, the Great Club’s staggering ability is unmatched, often breaking through enemy poise and leaving foes vulnerable to follow-up attacks. This characteristic makes it highly advantageous in both PvE and PvP, as it can interrupt enemy actions and prevent them from retaliating. Its slow but deliberate swing speed encourages careful timing and positioning, rewarding players who can master its rhythm while offering a sense of power that few other weapons can replicate. While the Great Club’s slow speed and heavy weight may limit some mobility, the sheer damage and utility it offers make it a top-tier weapon for those who can handle its heft, solidifying its status as one of the best weapons in Dark Souls 2.
DS2 videos in 2024 are very appreciated. I'm playing this game for the first time
I hope you enjoy the game and that my video can help!
check out yazmania bro
Nice!!! I wish I could experience this foe the first time again
This has the vibe of an employee training video lol. Very informative too. DS2 has such a wide variety of weapons. It's by far the game's biggest strength imo.
We are training new employees (DS2 new players) and hopefully correcting some of the misinformation on youtube lol
It’s nice to see that we have wrapped back around to enjoying DS2 again lol. Thanks TH-cam. 🎉
@@Kamawan0 haha I'm doing my part, as small as it is
@@OfficialMetalhead You did great! It's just refreshing to get recommended a vid for DS2 that isn't OMG THIS GAME IS HATED BY EVERYONE?? WHY???? Ugh lol.
It just cracks me up, at launch people on the forums loved the game, and the only real complaints were that people were split on soul memory, ADP, and durability. YT is a strange beast. Thanks for giving Best Souls 2 some love :)
@@Kamawan0 no problem, this is just the first on a series of videos I have planned🫡
Perfect timing as I plan to finish this game again soon. I have purchased the original PS3 version to compare and contrast the sotfs edition I'm used to playing @@OfficialMetalhead
Really enjoyed this video and it makes me wanna do multiple playthroughs lol
@@OfficialMetalhead there is only ds1 and ds3 in the Dark Souls trilogy
“Dagger is best dagger” based 🔥🔥🔥
@@artofwar420 LOL listen there was no other way of writing that
@@OfficialMetalhead love your editing 😎😎
11:40 Another point for the KUGS is the very high durability compared to other Greataxes and the Crypt Blacksword, which is pretty important in some parts of the game. It also has a special effect in PvP where it deals bonus durability damage to enemy equipment.
It's refreshing to see a video like this on DS2! It's not my favorite DS game, and I never touched it again after getting the platinum, but I'm gonna try it again sometime just to switch things up a bit from my usual DS1 and ER
Great video! Really chill editing and narration
@@meru2695 thank you! I hope you enjoy your return to the game this time
I plan on starting DS2 as soon as I finish my DS1 playthrough, so this video couldn’t have come at a better time.
Told me exactly what I needed to know without getting too deep into spoilers, while also helping me set expectations as far as when I would be able to find certain weapons.
The tips for lightning buffs and strike damage were also greatly appreciated!
Thank you for putting this together!
@@michaelherron7643 hey thank you for the support! It means a lot. Always glad to help.
27:35 more people in this community need to hear this 💀
I do my first runs on any soul game with a guts greatsword, i felt personally attacked when she said that :sob:
@@zenodagraph XD
Loved facing guts build #3645 in my elden ring pvp session 🤣
Fantastic stuff metalhead, thanks for doing all this work!
@@Blobertson thanks a lot bloberston, I'm happy you guys like it☺️
omg this video appeared to me at exactly the right time thank you this is so entertaining
@@valerievalerievalerievalerie happy to entertain🫡
Nice vid. Crazy amount of work thank you
this game has so many good early weapons. the basic spear you can buy from lenigrast is actually really good for new players imo. the two handed r2 is a sweep attack that counts as strike damage and just melts armored enemies (which are plentiful). it's basically a long range mace
Zweihander... Used to send invaders flying off the map... Superman dive! Ahh the nostalgia. Don't get me started on filthy ice rapier mage builds grrr
rapier is the best weapon and you get it right away - every speed/challenge runner uses it, but it ruins the progression and makes 99% of weapons redundant when you get the best one early
💯%
The basic spear is one of the most underrated weps in the game for exactly the reasons you mentioned.
Also a really good choice for a Hexer before you get to the Silverblack Spear which shares the same moveset…
Silverback spear, I forgot about that one. Nasty lovely pokey thing that was.
I actually really like the Greatsword for the horizontal moveset. You need 28 strength to 1hand it, but that's still a lot less stat investment than something like Ivory King and this game gives levels away like candy on Halloween.
Playing this again.
so thanks for the refresher.
Very informative. I’ll have to give some e of these weapons a try next time I play DS2.
I’m glad to know that I wasn’t being a complete idiot by using the broadsword for a while.
Recently got my little brother to play ds2 since he's played all the other ones. Watching him play it made me start a new playthrough. I've been playing since vanilla on the ps3 and it's so nice to see how many people still play on Playstation.
There is a lot more players than people think for sure
I love dark souls 2, still play it on my 360. sadly though, my Shrine of Amana never renders properly making me reload and pray it renders otherwise I get soft locked. as for how bad? npcs don't spawn, doors don't spawn (hello free King's set), no enemies, and no boss, hell even the invader NPC doesn't get to spawn in, he just gets sent right back to invader limbo. I have never found a way to fix it, and its a disc copy and none of my other games have problems like it.
@@ColetheFlame01 I still have my ps3 copy somwhere in my old game box. I need to bring it out again and re live some old vanilla memories. I remember my final fantasy 12 ps2 disk would never load past the desert phoenix bird boss as a kid and no matter what I did trying to reload the save it would crash the ps2. Old games had some hank to the disk. I wish ps3 servers were still online.
@@yurtthesilentgod1225 sounds like a nightmare, never played Final Fantasy 12 but I can only imagine the frustration of the crashing. I will be honest dark souls 2 vanilla is nice though some areas feel empty compared to scholar version (heide's tower of flame is a great example). hopefully you enjoy ds2 again when you decide to play again.
U helped le learn a lot about this game on discord :) glad to see you making content for everyone else
@@ZORIANE thank you for your comment! I love helping people
such a hidden gem of channel
@@MustafaAladili-n5e thank you this means a lot to us
Great video I was having trouble deciding what weapon to use. I always use the rapier but had no idea lighting infusings were peak lol
@@widdlebuck3925 well now you know! Make sure to check out our video about dark weapon to boost your dmg even futher
@ will do thanks!
Thank you for making content for this game. We appreciate it greatly
Thank you for your comment! I appreciate it greatly
not sure if still true but as far as I remember the lost sinner sword losing its damage is more or less cosmetic thing that you see in your character sheet but the actual damage you do is more or less the same no matter your sin level
Thanks, this is just what I was looking for!!!
On my first playthrough I used the Mace because Reddit told me to. Next time I will use a weapon I like and have even more fun
Can never go wrong with golf swing or pancake weapons. It just never stops being fun!
Finnally a good video about ds 2 weapons with very good explanation ❤
@@miasma.imp8680 thank you so much for the kind words!
I LOVE DARK SOULS 2
Awesome Vid!
Thank You very much for Your Work! Greetings from Germany!
@@melancholoid Thank you for the support! Glad you enjoyed it.
Wow thanks metalhead!!! now i know the best pve weapons for Dark Souls 2: Scholar of The First Sin!!! Keep up the great work!!!!
@@Afis518 now you can do last giant flawless
@OfficialMetalhead :steamhappy:
@@OfficialMetalhead :steamhappy:
"Just remember you are not him, and that you created your own struggles" 😂😂😂
super in depth thank you for your hard work
@@conievel9285 thank you for the support! You can check out our latest video as well if you want ;)
I'm not Guts...but I like big ass swords. I even have a tradition to complete every souls game first time strictly with UGS😁
Thank you, great vid.
This is a great guide, thanks
Thanks for this video
27:42 why must you give me a reality check, loved the vid btw
Watched 24 minutes just to check you included the Varangian sword. Cheers.
Just started journey 2 lvl 223 or something. Such a fun game. Didn't realize how awesome toxic mist and acid fog are. Great vid.
I’ve beaten this game 8 times and have used a few of these weapons but only beat it once using a best in class, the Ice Rapier. I also want to mention the Mace and the Mace of the Insolent because that lets you put dark weapon on the Mace of the Insolent and then you can use that mace to put Sunlight Blade on the left hand mace for two spell buffed maces at once. Pretty fun.
Thanks for this video, I’ll play this game again using some of the weapons listed in this video!
amazing, great work 😎
@@Victorlnc thank you Victor😏
Fax, spit them!
finally i heard someone else pronounce caestus the same way as me
I like a Dual Blue Flame (also Sorcery Catalysts) + Warped Blade. The RH Blue Flame Magic Weapons the LH, then change RH to Warped and Magic Weapon with LH and POWERSTANCE for that beautiful spinny moveset.
Also, Dual Broken Swords, Poison and Bleed. You get SO MANY attacks off, it is so stamina efficient. Dual Royal Greatswords, Lightning and Dark (+ double Bleed innately) is kinda nice too.
Really nice video! I really like the editing style and the overall aesthetic of the video if you could call it that, but I kind of don't understand the disclaimer before the best weapon in each category, if a weapon outperforms other option it does mean it is a good choice overall, but I understand it might be from a perspective of different build
When you compare a class like Thrusting Swords to classes like Whips or Claw weapons the difference is pretty stark.
Whips, Claws, Fists etc are not good classes to pick overall. Just because Old Whip is the best in its respective class doesn't mean that it is good compared with the best weapons of other classes. It just means that it is specifically the best whip overall if a person would like to use a whip.
@@PenPenPlon ah yeah I didn't look at it from that perspective
Thank you for clarifying!
dang I was hoping the Longsword would get a mention. The two-handed R2 being a solid thrust attack makes the trusty Longsword very strong and versatile.
Also glad some of the Black Dragon weapons were mentioned. They always seem underrated or maybe it's just the bad drop rate that holds them back.
@@EinSilverRose Logsword is a pretty underwhelming weapon for pve, all straightswords are at best very mid, and while yes the R2 can be useful at that point a thrusting sword would just be better, the main thing that holds back straight swords is that they don't have a very high counter dmg modifier which is what makes a lot of the best weapons shine.
Dark infused long sword has become one of my favorite weapons recently. Not as completely broken as the rapier and has a more versatile moveset, and with the stone ring, the 2H R2 will stagger most enemies. Currently plowing through the Brume tower and wrecking shit. 😄 I do generally like to pick an early game weapon and use it all the way through the game rather than switching part way through
@@Sabreur23 lightning infusion would be a lot better since on average enemies are a lot less resistant to it, and for brume tower specifically all the soldiers are weak to magic so that'd be the best infusion
@OfficialMetalhead Yeah maybe, I just like how early you can get dark weapon/dark infusion. Honestly, even supposedly dark resistant enemies and bosses just melt to dark damage anyway, so it seems like either works just fine. I'm going through Brume tower right now actually and the damage seems a bit nuts anyway. My last playthrough I went with a dark rapier and dark mace, that shit is just plain broken lol. So yeah, I would agree that the longsword isn't necessarily the best at any one thing, but works really well if you want to just pick one pretty versatile weapon for the whole game right at the beginning and stubbornly refuse to switch to anything else 😄
@@Sabreur23 not sure why you like dark so much but there is far more enemies weak to lightning than dark, on most dlc bosses lightning performs better too, sinh is especially weak to lightning, and alonne is fairly weak to it too
DS2 Lore in 4 words:
Lindelt is the Illuminati
What? Vanquishers seal is absolutely a viable option for a non challenge run. This is like the only souls game where fists are a legit weapon type.
@@birdfacemd you can beat the game with anything, but I would never recommend fist weapons to a new player or someone who's struggling, just like claw weapons, they're okay for more experienced players. not to mention farming 50 awestones
@@OfficialMetalhead this is based. When I was new people recommended fists and it was a bad time.
Using the Bandit Axe it's worth going up to being able to 1H it eventually because of the 1H moveset having deceptively long range and a quick vertical hit.
Really enjoy your vids, despite having most hours spend in DS2 due to it being my favoutire of the series I never quite got into best weapons as throughly as you do here.
Maybe collabing with some pvp guys (though not quite relevant today) maybe an interesting idea for a vid.
Also as I have my favourite character/build having 4vitality versus 67/67 intfaith + 75 atunment I would like to see some kind of guide of best weapons for low physical and high magical stats.
My favorite weapon is the longsword! It’s perfect in every situation, sure it doesn’t have that crazy counter damage synergy with Old Leo Ring like the rapier/ice rapier but it has horizontal swings and slashes that help in the many multi fights this game has. Being able to easily hit two or more enemies at once is better than single target dps. Plus with the Old Leo Ring it does have counter damage with its 2hand thrust. Seriously this game has so many multi fights that the 2hand swings can easily hit many enemies locked off and it does do counter damage with the 2hand swings.
It’s boring but it’s good enough to play the entire game and every boss with easily. I always use the fire longsword for the beginning, then change it to dark infusion and then get another one for lightning infusion and change them according to which enemy I’m facing.
Plus it’s lowkey the best PvP weapon due it’s very versatile moveset.
Pro tip: you get great counter damage with Leo Ring/two-hand R2. Equip stone ring and yes, you can pretty much deal with anything!
@@Kamawan0yeah I know, that’s what I was trying to convey in my original comment, that with Leo Ring 2Hand Thrust it does do counter damage. It’s not as good as a thrusting sword but it is nice.
Same! Fire long sword early -> dark long sword late game
@@Sabreur23 you know exactly what I’m talking about!
This is awesome lmao I’m just starting ds2!
@@vulnr01.28 hope you like the game
Currently I'm using a +10 great sword, do you think the ice rapier would be a good replacement?
@@hussien04 if you switch to a lightning infused ice rapier your damage will skyrocket
@@OfficialMetalhead
Thx
crazy cool video! nice work @metalhead!
@@Radwalls thanks Rads!🫡
Just finished my run through rocking ultra great swords. I mainly used the Greatsword because I could get it early and it had the best scaling. I also enjoyed the wide swinging one handed R1 for CC. :)
Awesome video!
@@Mercah_koondial thank you!
Pen's voice is so melodic and soothing, I actually had to rewind the video to watch it properly cuz I got hit with the ASMR effect
I know right? They were born for souls asmr
Thank you Vix 💞
@@PenPenPlon YOUR VOICE IS SO PRETTY AND SOOTHING ❤️❤️❤️
Really good video ❤
Im at end game and yt is recommending this video now 😮💨
Endgame is finishing NG3 including the expansions.
What the heck, did i fall into a portal that sent me a decade into the past? Great video, I'm stoked to see people still playing ds2 in the modern era!
I'm a bit surprised with the Caestus setup you mentioned, though, as i definitely think the Bone Fist far outperforms it even with its slower moveset.
@@kazj4908 vanq seal + caestus at 40 str out damages bone fist due to how fast they hit, I tested it, a single tap of the attack button deals more dmg than bone fist, not to mention how awkward bone fist moveset is
The big advantage of the axes are the good directionnal moveset (your character follow easily the enemy while attacking locked in). The Battle axe is better than the Bandit axe due to its longer range, increasing the advantage of the axes
@@oliviergirard1362 battle axe is absolutely not better than bandits, the range isnt very important for pve and bandits just deals significantly more dmg to ever consider battle axe
@@OfficialMetalhead Range is important. I guess it depends on the playstyle
@@oliviergirard1362 if we are talking noticeable range, sure, but the difference between the 2 is very small as you can see here, dps is what determines an axe efficiency
th-cam.com/video/8cVaBql0YUE/w-d-xo.htmlsi=p-J-W8eZpf04Zxv8
The range makes a difference on the gameplay PvP and PvE. It depends on what you prefer. On the playstyle like i was saying. And i know that you can get a little more damage with the bandit axe
@@oliviergirard1362 for pvp sure, but the range of battle axe is probably never gonna make a significant difference in pve especially on bosses, thats just cucking your dmg for an imaginary advantage
Rapier and power stance double mace is the best
31 minutes of DS2? Peak
@@lIlIlIlIllIl peak souls 2
I'm subbing. I agreed with 95% of what you presented [I'm more of a sorceries & hexes kind of guy, so magic or dark are my go-to infusions,] but No, great video, and your voice is pleasant. You should make some long form content for people to sleep to. :) Also, Cool display name. \m/
Oh, that is actually me. Metal and I write scripts together. He gathers the footage and edits and I do the voice overs. Though I will be doing script work and voice overs for all of his other videos that need it. We will have a long one about rolling coming out soon and then another about spells and spell tools soonish.
@@PenPenPlon Epic, compliments remain.
Damn, great video!
@@Panthro-lo2lh thanks!
it's been 9 years and I didn't know two handing halved the str req, It was also my first souls game I remember getting 19 str for Bluemoon what is going on?
@@GoonCommander haha it's never too late to learn these things
I’ve been playing ds2 for the first time and I have really liked the Heide Lance
Lances are my favourite weapon class in this game and I wish all games had it
@@OfficialMetalhead I was originally going to use the Spear bc I read that it can do strike and pierce damage which it seems both have useful applications but I was not happy with the damage even after getting it to +4. I switched to the craftsman’s hammer but got bored of it after awhile. I switched to the Lance and I really like the lightning damage and moveset, I like finding ways to dodge and strafe around enemies, like with the boar guys in the shaded woods, I wait till they swing, forward roll through their swings, then turn around and backstab 😝. The pursuer encounters are still a pain for me though. I’ve been leveling my ADP like crazy. I read some info on i-frames and I’ve been aiming for 111 agility so I can get close to the DS1 ninja flips.
@@nickoliekeyov746 Hi, I worked on this video with Metalhead. We will be making a video on AGL/ADP soon to combat bad information about the mechanic. You should know that in terms of AGL your breakpoints are 92/96/99. You really should not have to go past 99 AGL for any reason. It can be confusing because there is a lot of bad advice on this mechanic floating around but hopefully we will be able to share some resources soon to put the misinfo to rest. We have frame data on our side. 💝
@@PenPenPlon to add into what pen said 96 agl is the same s as ds1, with 99 you have an extra than in ds1, which is more than enough to comfortably dodge any attack in the game
Going to be studying this lol
@@wizzardswing that's a good idea lol
I think the drakekeeper gresthammer is the best, next to the giants club
amazing video
@@joshgildred3906 thanks! It means a lot
@@OfficialMetalheadyour editing style mixed with the in depth description of each weapon class is really impressive. also really entertaining
@@OfficialMetalheadplease consider making this kind of video for the other games 🥺
@@joshgildred3906 We might be making stuff for Dark Souls 1 at some point, we will definitely be making more Dark Souls 2 videos though.
@@joshgildred3906 Thank you! You don't know how much this means to me that you say that, we might do content for ds1 at some point but for now ds2 is my priority
I love dark souls. 2 it was my first
Its peak!!!!
I wonder, is investing in faith on lighting infused weapons worth the dmg increase? Sure, in case of sunlight blade then investing for max duration makes sense, but if buffing isn't something I care about for a particular build(since I don't much care of optimizing builds over what looks cool & feels good to use), then does it make sense to still level faith for dmg?
@@Skrallizar absolutely not, the faith scaling for lightning infused weapons is atrocious. It genuinely might as well not exist so don't waste your points there.
nice video
@@LyllianaofMirrah thank you😎
Yeah being a veteran from when it came out originally (yes I had that special preorder katana) I've noticed it suddenly seems to be... Cool again
and where do shields come into this? What do you think about sword and board? Is there a way to play the game slowly and carefully, with minimal rolling, and more a focus on blocking?
great video. i love dark souls 2☺
I didn’t see maces on here and I’m playing the whole game with a mace.
Maces are not a class of weapons, but Mace and other maces belong to the hammer class.
Great video! Track list? This music is banging
Waiting out the rain in Lucy's dinner
Lofi whisper
Urban jazzy hip hop
On a night like this instrumental
Metamora
Blissed out
Thats all I can tell you because its all royalty free music that comes with my editing software lol
Sooo much fun
Fantastic video and very informative! I do have a side question - how do you get your damage numbers to be so large on standard enemies? I am playing DS2/SotFS on PC with no mods and my damage numbers are very small but have seen tons of videos with damage numbers around the size you show in this video.
That's weird. It's a standard size i believe. I think it's on your end. Im also on PC w sotfs no mods or anything, the size of the dmg number is the same in the video. Same goes with every other ds2 video i saw.
@@whiteincolour Thank you very much for your reply! I'll keep looking into it but it probably has to do with my resolution (2560x1440).
@nadakaineko ah ic. I hope you find a way to make those numbers larger soon.
@@nadakaineko oh I believe it depends on your resolution? I play on a fairly low res bc potato pc
RAPIER RAHHHHHH🗣🗣🗣🗣🗣
@@jamesrwc4738 Rapier mentioned🤑😩🗣🗣🗣🗣
I just used the battleaxe all the way through. And you can buy it from the start
Good video but what about bows and crossbows?
@@NoVa_Dragoon I will be doing a video on that at some point but
Dragonrider bow is the best bow until you get Bow of want which you wanna use lightning infused, all bows except Bow of Want are best used uninfused.
Heavy crossbow and Avelyn are the best crossbows and should be used raw.
To add to what Metal said Bow of Want is considered best infused with lightning only for its special lightning projectile attack according to the data that is currently available. We are going to have to do some calculations and also take ammo type into consideration with in-game testing to be absolutely sure.
It’s not the hardest game. Just use what You like, the move set, visuals, etc. pretty much any weapon will work just fine.
After watching this video i may give ds2 another shot, it had its issues the only nail in the coffin was the adaptability stat bs. Outside of that i was enjoying my time playing it
I hope you enjoy it this time, you can get 92 agl after the first boss which is a perfectly fine amount of s, and then once you get to 96 agility you basically the same s as ds1
Good video
This was a really good video. Very informative and I like your editing jokes 😂
Glad someone appreciates the jokes
I disagree with a couple of choices but a bunch of these weapons have unlocked....memories...of pvp back in the day.
Also about the Bluemoon, the damage isn't really worth it if obtained early and the durability is just atrocious. It feels much better when you're deep into the game imo, unlike some weapons like the mace that are just great from the getgo.
You mentioned that it's better to get half of the str requirements and twohand most of the weapons, but what if my playstyle involves lots of parrying and using torches? Love both of these mechanics, but at the same time feels bad wasting 25 extra points to onehand my dragon tooth. Prob not the right weapon to use for that lol
@@tokitamuscleupper if you want to 1 hand then you would want a weapon that doesn't have a high str requirment, weapons like homunculus mace and ice rapier are great weapons to one hand, they have low requirements and deal great dmg
Ur best kill yet homeslice. GGs it was me. Skibidi toilet.
How would you build the cheesiest ice rapier build?
@@alexhastings1227 Lightning infused rapier with dark weapon
Rings: Ring of Blades (the highest version you have available), Flynns Ring, Old Leo Ring, and Third Dragon Ring
Stats: 50 vigor
Endurance: up to preference but at least 20 (the more the better)
Vitality: 10 (no more or you'll lose flynns ring damage)
Dexterity: 15
Strength: enough to 2 hand rapier
Attunement: 10
Adaptability: Enough to reach 99 Agility
INT: 24 for max duration of dark weapon
FAITH: 14 to be able to cast dark weapon.
Once you killed fume knight and acquire the Iron Crown which regenerates spell uses over time you can swap dark weapon for Sunlight Blade and sacred oath.
You will want 54 faith for max duration of sunlight blade and 5 attunement slots to fit Sacred oath and sunlight blade.
@OfficialMetalhead wow that's amazing, saved and trying it on my newest playthrough, thank you!
Bro!!! I ONLY use Fire and Lightning infused longswords switching between them if needed for a boss and otherwise as their durability runs out🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣Why!?!?
Not so long ago i did a character on which i powerstanced the craftman hammer and dragon slayer axe and jesus never realize how weak most enemies are to blunt/strike weapons.
I thought the great axe from the black knights and the dragon shrine would b among the best ones
@@elektra8535 the black knight greataxe behaves like a halberd and utilizes the obnoxious sweetspot mehcanic, on top of blakc knight weapons already being weak due to them dealing innate fire damage which is the single most resisted element in the game.
@@OfficialMetalheadi was talking about the great axe of the Drakekeepers I forgot their name so i just call them black knights lol didn't knew the black knight great axe had a sweetspot
oh hello there metalhead
Hello
@@OfficialMetalhead hello
You should mention the biggest downside of the Old Knight hammer, its really low durability. Pack some repair powder if you want to give it a try
I did later on when I went into detail about it 12:59
@@OfficialMetalheadYou even mention the spell! Damn, i always think that im the only one who use it
Mostoden halberd is the beast
96 brightbugs?! How many NG plus plus did you play?
TOO MANY
@@OfficialMetalhead Given about 24 brightbugs per cycle, it is at least NG+5! Dang, this is quite a lot of cycles.
Purse user in shambles rn 💪
I still dont understand why i shoulnt use fire longsword ?
Fire is the most resisted damage type on average, lightning is the least resisted hence why most but not all things should be lightning infused. Sometimes other things should be Raw infused or left on the base infusion path depending on scaling.
But what is the best universal weapon I can decently kill anything like say oh the ancient dragon?
@@BladesOfAltair4Ezio Lightning infused ice rapier buffed with dark weapon
Hey, just found your channel and your videos are amazing. I have recently finished ds2 and like the game a lot. Your videos help me understand the game more and give me fun ideas for runs i would like to do in the next few weeks. Would you mind explaining to me why you prefer dark weapon on a lightning infused ice rapier instead of sunlight blade? Coming from other games, splitting your damage into different damage types (in this case 3 different types) doesn't seem worth it because every damage type has to go through the flat defense of the enemy @@OfficialMetalhead
@dbzchecher hey thank you for the comment!
Contrary to dark souls 1, in ds2 split dmg is actually quite good because defendes don't work the same, instead here you get more damage for targeting the enemy's elemental defenses, and for most enemies in the game lightning happens to be the element they are weakest to or second weakest to. We use dark weapon due to many reasons: it's generous cast amount combined, 99 second of duration and the fact that it adds more damage than a lot of other buffs due to it's buff formula, making it the best choice for about 80% of the game.
Sunlight blade adds the same damage as dark weapon, but it requires a lot of stats and the cast amount is miserable, that's why is it not worth UNTIL you get the crown of the old iron king which regenerates spell uses over time giving you virtually infinite casts, at that point sunlight blade is better.
Ok, thank you for the clarification!
As you might expect, I disagree with some of these suggestions and have my own opinions. First and foremost - I think it's bad advice to tell everyone to rely on two-handing a weapon. Not only does this lock out an entire different moveset, it also precludes the use of a shield in the offhand. It's a lot easier to parry with a shield than barehanded and having access to a shield makes learning the game a *lot* easier. I usually recommend people new to Souls games use the lightest 100% physical resist shield they can find and keep their equip load as low as they reasonably can while still having at least one piece of armor in every slot to benefit from the base defense bonus (though I think this last bit is more relevant to DS3 and ER than DS2.) This lets you block things you have difficulty rolling (or things that aren't really worth rolling), gives you the option to parry, and still gives you the option to roll. But to do this, you're going to need to be able to 1H your weapon.
That, together with the fact that a majority of your damage coming from just the weapon's upgrade level rather than stats (although for some weapon classes like claws or fists, you get a *lot* of damage from stat scaling), to me means that you should generally pick weapons from your favorite class of weapons to use for the majority of your run, and they should be obtainable and upgradeable by the mid-game at the latest (which I'd say is anything short of Drangleic Castle/DLCs.) Save the advanced/late game weapons for NG+ runs, where you'll already have the weapons on hand as well as all the petrified dragon things or twinkling titanite or whatever you need to max em. That said, my general recommendations for weapons would be along the lines of:
- Club. Accessible early, low stat requirements, and a lot of enemies early on are vulnerable to strike damage (if it's a dude in armor, it probably hates hammers.) Good on its own, but power stancing clubs is available very early and is a ton of fun. Lots of damage, pretty good coverage, and you can stunlock a lot of bosses and almost any basic enemy with chained L2's.
- Longsword. Just flatly better than the Broadsword unless you're doing an SL1 run and can't use it right away. Available early on, or you can even pick up the Fire infused one in Forest of Fallen Giants. The running thrust attack and standing R2 thrust attacks are extremely useful for adding important coverage, adding the pierce damage option, and giving you a reliable way of dealing damage even in confined spaces. There's a reason this weapon dominates PvP. If you favor big swords, the Claymore is the Longsword's big brother and available almost as early.
- Halberd. Yeah, you need to learn the sweet spots but it's not really that hard. Hit em with the sharp end! Excellent coverage and variability in moveset between 1H and 2H and the backstep beyblade is particularly good for killing groups. Spacing is important in many things in DS2 and the Halberd is especially good at teaching you spacing.
- Spear. Available extremely early and unlike the recommended Winged Spear, the R2 has a sweep that deals strike damage that leads into a thrust - great for crowds and for enemies vulnerable to strike damage (which is a lot of them.) Lower stats are especially nice since you'll need some Strength to use a shield with a spear. Being able to thrust while blocking is a major feature of spears and thrusting swords, another reason to not fixate solely on two-handing weapons.
- Great Club. Take a visit to The Gutter to pick up this oversized stick and pancake your way to victory. The Large Club is slightly smaller and you can get it from The Lost Bastille if you're heading that way to start off, instead.
And as far as shields go, your best options are Iron Parma for small shields (it's basically a small shield with the weight and defenses of a medium shield), Royal Knight Shield for medium shields (lightest 100% shield in the game and available from McDuff), and Twin Dragon Greatshield (essentially DS2's Eagle Shield, but not so gamebreakingly overpowered) for big shields.
One last thing: I have a soft spot in my heart for the mixed-moveset weapons. Heide Knight Sword is my personal favorite weapon, with Dragonslayer Crescent Axe a close second. Both are accessible early on, but DCA needs Twinkling Titanite to upgrade so it might be a bit before you can get it to +10.
Every one of these weapons is worse than better options. I don't know what you were cooking.
@@TGMMargaret In Dark Souls 2, the Great Club stands out as one of the best weapons due to its unique combination of high damage output, versatile scaling, and effective stagger potential. Its immense strength-based damage makes it a formidable weapon in the hands of players who prioritize raw power, with each strike capable of overwhelming enemies and bosses alike. The Great Club’s scaling with Strength, paired with its large size and reach, allows it to maintain effectiveness throughout the game, providing consistent damage without requiring excessive investment in other stats. Its wide swing arc enables it to hit multiple enemies in close quarters, making it invaluable for both crowd control and single-target engagements.
Moreover, the Great Club’s staggering ability is unmatched, often breaking through enemy poise and leaving foes vulnerable to follow-up attacks. This characteristic makes it highly advantageous in both PvE and PvP, as it can interrupt enemy actions and prevent them from retaliating. Its slow but deliberate swing speed encourages careful timing and positioning, rewarding players who can master its rhythm while offering a sense of power that few other weapons can replicate. While the Great Club’s slow speed and heavy weight may limit some mobility, the sheer damage and utility it offers make it a top-tier weapon for those who can handle its heft, solidifying its status as one of the best weapons in Dark Souls 2.
where is fire longsword
24:09
oh, it is in there and we made our feelings about it known. 🙈