Elden Ring Best Straight Swords After 1000 Hours Experience

Straight Swords are considered to be one of the most beginner-friendly classes of weapons. They have it all: range, damage, agility, and you’re not required to accustom yourself to a particular skill curve to utilize them maximally.

In many cases, simply letting out a flurry of light attacks (or “R1-spamming,” as the community likes to term it) would shred your foe and make them regret crossing paths with you in the first place.

In Elden Ring, there are over 15 straight swords, all of which hail from different parts of the Lands’ Between, symbolizing cultural diversity. However, as is the case with every weapon class, not all straight swords have been forged equally, and some outshine the rest.

Comparison Table For Straight Swords

Here is a comparison table of my best Straight Swords in Elden Ring. Each stat can be sorted to view the highest and lowest values, which has been done for your convenience:

No.	Weapons	Best for	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith	Arcane
1	Lordworn’s Straight Sword	Best Phy Damage Straight Sword	10	10	0	0	0
2	Regalia of Eochaid	Best Early Arcane Build Straight Sword	12	18	0	0	15
3	Miquellans’s Knight Sword	Best Str-Faith Build Straight Sword	11	11	0	16	0
4	Rotten Crystal Sword	Best Straight Sword With Rot Damage	13	10	15	0	0
5	Warhawk’s Talon	Best Early Dex Build Straight Sword	10	16	0	0	0
6	Carian Knight’s Sword	Best Str-Int Build Straight Sword	10	10	18	0	0
7	Sword of St. Trina	Best Dex-Int Build Straight Sword	10	12	14	0	0
8	Ornamental Straight Sword	Best Early Game Straight Sword	10	14	0	0	0
9	Coded Sword	Best Faith Build Straight Sword	0	0	0	20	0
10	Sword of Night and Flame	Overall Best Straight Sword	12	12	24	24	0

Comparison Table.

10. Lordsworn’s Straight Sword

Best Phy Damage Straight Sword

Stat	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith	Arcane
Requirement	10	10	-	-	-
Scaling	D	D	-	-	-

It can be obtained quite early in the game, warranting its low stat requirement of just 10 strength and 10 dexterity.

I would recommend Vagabond if you’re going for a quality build, Prisoner if you’re going for a sorcerer-melee hybrid build, and Confessor if you’re going for a faith-melee hybrid build.

Being a non-unique weapon, the straight sword allows for infusions with different kinds of Ashes of War, allowing for a versatile build composition. It can be upgraded up to +25 through Smithing Stones, which are abundantly found across the Lands Between.

The Lordsworn’s Straight Sword comes with the Square Off weapon art, a relatively common technique that exists in the form of an obtainable Ash of War. Apart from the Lordsworn’s Straight Sword, it is also found naturally on the Broadsword and Cane Sword.

Regardless, upon activation, your player will assume a horizontal stance – from here, you can use your light attack to execute an uppercut or heavy attack to thrust into your foe ferociously.

1. The Lordsworn’s Straight Sword, being an excellent starting straight sword, does require a bit of farming to obtain.
2. Unfortunately, it is not found as an item across the world of the Lands Between.
3. Because it belongs to the Lordsworn’s lineage, you’d be right to guess that it is dropped from Godrick Soldiers.
4. Godrick Soldiers can be found in abundance quite early in the Gatefront Ruins, so take your time farming (preferably with a Silver-Pickled Fowl Foot to maximize item drops).

9. Regalia of Eochaid

Best Early Arcane Build Straight Sword

Stat	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith	Arcane
Requirement	12	18	-	-	15
Scaling	E	D	-	-	D

As far as class recommendation goes, two classes give you the best, albeit equal, headstart when it comes to wielding this straight sword as quickly as possible. The first is Samurai, which comes with 12 strength, 15 dexterity, and 8 arcane – just 10 points off the requirement of Regalia of Eochaid.

The Regalia of Echoaid comes with a natural scaling of E in strength, D in dexterity, and D in arcane – a little underwhelming for its stat requirements.

It is incompatible with other Ash of Wars when it comes to infusions, which limits the number of different builds it can be mapped onto. 

The Regalia of Eochaid, given its unique nature, rightfully so has its weapon art: Eochaid’s Dancing Blade. This is very similar to the weapon art featured on Marias Executioner’s Sword.

Upon activation, your player will imbue the sword with energy before launching it forward in a corkscrew attack that hits multiple times, dealing with continuous damage. The weapon art is chargeable, and the more you charge it, the longer the corkscrew attack will last.

1. The Regalia of Eochaid is found at the end of Gaol Cave by dropping down to the other side of the border between Limgrave and Caelid.
2. You can also obtain it by jumping on the cliffs near the Third Church of Marika – these jumps are required to be very precise so, it’s up to you!
3. I would personally recommend taking the intended route and exploring Gaol Cave, at the end of which you will face the Frenzied Duelist and obtain the Putrid Corpse Ashes.

8. Miquellan Knight’s Sword

Best Str-Faith Build Straight Sword

Stat	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith	Arcane
Requirement	11	11	-	16	-
Scaling	D	D	-	E	-

Next, I have the Miquellan Knight’s Sword, which in my opinion, being underwhelming for a weapon obtained quite late in the game, still performs much better than the foregoing straight swords.

The Miquellan Knight’s Sword does not allow for infusions with different Ashes of Wars and only experiences an improvement in its scalings through reinforcement with Somber Smithing Stones.

Don’t forget to match the tier of the stones with the current level of the straight sword, though!

1. Fortunately, the Miquellan Knight’s Sword does not require you to farm Miquellan Knights.
2. Instead, it can be found in Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree.
3. To get the straight sword, make your way to the Haligtree Roots Site of Grace and take the elevator nearby.
4. From here, climb up to the top of the bell tower with the available ladder, and you should find yourself the Miquellan Knight’s Sword!

7. Rotten Crystal Sword

Best Straight Sword With Rot Damage

Stat	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith	Arcane
Requirement	13	10	15	-	-
Scaling	D	E	D	-	-

The Rotten Crystal Sword is a much better version of the Crystal Sword, making it nearly impossible for anyone to choose the latter over the former. Its rotten description implies that it is naturally imbued with Scarlet Rot (50 to be exact), making it stand out from its brethren.

As far as class recommendations are concerned, your best choice is to go for the Prisoner class. While it overcompensates one of the stats, Prisoner nonetheless brings you the closest to the Rotten Crystal Sword’s stat requirements out of every other class.

As far as build fitting goes, the Rotten Crystal Sword, given its natural scarlet rot auxiliary effect, is best utilized on a scarlet rot build.

Such a build can be further reinforced with sorceries and incantations that afflict scarlet rot build-up, making it cheesy in PvE and extremely annoying in PvP.

The Rotten Crystal Sword comes with the Spinning Slash weapon art, which, while underwhelming at face value, is pretty good for inflicting scarlet rot.

1. The Rotten Crystal Sword, similar to the Miquellan Knight’s Sword, is found in Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree, near the Elphael Inner Wall Site of Grace.
2. From the Site of Grace, make your way down the flight of stairs and head to the rubble on the left.
3. Here, you will encounter three Crystalians enemies guarding a chest.
4. You may have guessed it, but this very chest contains the Rotten Crystal Sword.

6. Warhawk’s Talon

Best Early Dex Build Straight Sword

Stat	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith	Arcane
Requirement	10	16	-	-	-
Scaling	D	C	-	-	-

The Warhawk’s Talon, as the name implies, refers to the blade attached to the legs of Stormveil’s Warhawks that make up some of the most difficult enemies in the area.

As such, since Stormveil Castle is usually the first legacy dungeon new players face, that makes Warhawk’s Talon a relatively early-game straight sword. 

It can also be upgraded up to +25 with the utilization of Smithing Stones, ensuring that stones compatible with the current level of your weapon are used.

You could also just stick to a simple dexterity build, as a keen infusion grants it an amazing A scaling in dexterity. My recommendation would be to dual-wield these bad boys, rocking bleed on one and poison on the other.

Similar to the foregoing Rotten Crystal Sword, the Warhawk’s Talon comes with the Spinning Slash weapon art, already hinting towards some auxiliary build.

That is not to say that you have to make do with this weapon art, as Ash of War infusion allows you to equip different kinds of weapon art on your weapons.

The Warhawk’s Talon, as you may have expected, is dropped from the Bladed Talon Eagles encountered in Stormveil Castle. So yes, you need to essentially farm for it, and I hate to break it, but the chances of dropping the straight sword are low.

Statistically, the Warhawk’s Talon has a 2% drop rate at 100 Item Discovery – but is it worth it? Yes! The Warhawk’s Talon is the best early straight sword out there.

5. Carian Knight’s Sword

Best Str-Int Build Straight Sword

Stat	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith	Arcane
Requirement	10	10	18	-	-
Scaling	D	D	D	-	-

As far as wielding this weapon is concerned, I would recommend going Astrologer as your starting class. You are only required to invest two attribute points into strength and two into intelligence to be fit enough to wield the Carian Knight’s Sword.

While it may seem equally favorable towards all three stats, its favorite begins to reveal itself as the weapon approaches the higher levels of upgradability.

In other weapons, the weapon experiences scaling improvements only through reinforcement via Somber Smithing Stones, being unable to be compatible with Ash of War infusions.

At +10, the Carian Knight’s Sword achieves a C scaling in strength and a D scaling in dexterity and intelligence.

The Carian Knight’s Sword’s best quality, which earns it this spot on my list of the best straight swords, is its fantastic weapon art: Carian Grandeur.

Upon activation, your player will raise the straight sword to the sky, imbuing it with the inherited power of Carian royalty transforming it into a magic greatsword before bringing it down on your foes. 

1. The Carian Knight’s Sword is found in West Liurnia, a long strip of land to the right of the Liurnia of the Lake.
2. The sword is found in a chest at the back of a heavily guarded caravan passing through the area.
3. The quickest way of getting to this caravan is fast-traveling to the Northern Liurnia Lake Shore Site of Grace and backtracking till you come across it.

4. Sword of St Trina

Best Dex-Int Build Straight Sword

Stat	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith	Arcane
Requirement	10	12	14	-	-
Scaling	D	D	E	-	-

The straight sword, at a glance, may appear to be very normal, with no over-the-top damage or scaling, but what makes the weapon menacingly good is its passive sleeping effect.

As far as class recommendations go, I would suggest going Prisoner if you want to start using this bad boy as quickly as possible. The Sword of St Trina comes with a natural scaling of D in both strength and dexterity as opposed to an E in intelligence.

Being rather unique, being one of two weapons in the game capable of passively building up sleep, the straight sword does not allow for any infusions with Ashes of War. The only way to upgrade it is simply through reinforcement up to +10 with Somber Smithing Stones.

The Sword of St Trina comes with its special weapon art known as Mists of Slumber. Upon activation, your sword will emit a faint purple mist that will stretch far and wide, enveloping anyone caught in it with sleepiness.

1. The Sword of St Trina is rather easy to obtain, although it does require you to venture off into the barren wastelands of Caelid.
2. Nonetheless, you can still obtain it very early on if you’re willing to take a risk – the only requirement is having a Stonesword key.
3. Anyhow, make your way to the Forsaken Ruins, just around the border between Limgrave and Caelid, near the Rotview Balcony Site of Grace.
4. Lastly, unlock the Imp Statue in the area’s vicinity and collect the Sword of St Trina!

3. Coded Sword

Best Faith Build Straight Sword

Stat	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith	Arcane
Requirement	-	-	-	20	-
Scaling	-	-	-	B	-

The Coded Sword is closely tied to the Roundtable Hold and all those who serve the Two Fingers, vassals of the Greater Will. It has the unique property of being “unblockable,” to the point that it does not flinch when striking a shield, even when one-handed, unlike all the other Straight Swords.

Given its pure faith stat requirement, the Coded Sword only comes with a B scaling in faith. As one may expect, it does not allow for any infusions with Ashes of War, as it would completely ruin the weapon.

The sword is pretty much perfect for a pure incantation user who doesn’t want to go out of their way to level up strength or dexterity to wield a sword.

The Coded Sword reinforces its unblockable nature even more with the presence of its weapon art: Unblockable Blade. Apart from being the weapon art of the Cipher Pata, as the name implies, this weapon art can not be blocked by any kind of shield.

Upon activation, your player will enchant the sword with light and extend it in length (just like a lightsaber) before striking in a ferocious, sweeping fashion.

The sweep, being impossible to block, is also very difficult to dodge, so have fun using it in PvP!

1. The Coded Sword is obtained relatively late into the game in Leyndell, Royal Capital.
2. To obtain it, first fast travel to the Fortified Manor, First Floor Site of Grace.
3. From here, you need to enter the manor from the top, using the abandoned horse stable as a stepping stone to get up to the roof.
4. Upon entering, you will see a broken roundtable, which will indicate that the Throne room is close by – here, you will find the Coded Sword.

2. Ornamental Straight Sword

Best Early Game Straight Sword

Stat	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith	Arcane
Requirement	10	14	-	-	-
Scaling	E	D	-	-	-

The Ornamental Straight Swords stand out for a very good reason – they are a pair of straight swords naturally meant to be dual-wielded. On top of that, they are also quite easy to obtain and can even be obtained within the first 30 minutes of the game.

I would recommend choosing Samurai, as its ranged bow-and-arrow combination makes it much easier to kill the Grafted Scion optional boss at the very start of the game. Doing so will get you the Ornamental Straight Swords right there and then!

Since there is no concept of infusions, it becomes quite obvious that these straight swords work best on pure dexterity builds. It’s pretty simple – leave strength as it is and just dump an atrocious amount of points into dexterity and enjoy the massive DPS values!

1. The Ornamental Straight Swords, as mentioned earlier, drop from the Grafted Scion that you encounter within the first few moments of your playthrough.
2. Since you’re technically supposed to die to the boss, it’s perfectly natural to lose to the abomination at this point in the game.
3. You can go back to the Chapel of Anticipation later through the Four Belfries found in West Liurnia and claim more than just vengeance!

1. Sword of Night & Flame

Overall Best Straight Sword

Stat	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith	Arcane
Requirement	12	12	24	24	-
Scaling	D	D	E	E	-

The Sword of Night and Flame is arguably the best of the best straight swords in Elden Ring, sitting at the top despite being nerfed. It is considered to be one of the legendary armaments found across the game, and its uniqueness shows when you try it out.

As far as the recommended class for this weapon is concerned, do note that you will require some degree of grinding to meet the required stats no matter what you choose.

As such, the Confessor class gives you the biggest headstart in this regard, coming with 12 strength, 12 dexterity, 9 intelligence, and 14 faith.

You are essentially 25 points behind the requirement, but you should be able to meet it by the time you reach the area from where the Sword of Night and Flame is obtained.

That does open up a few options as far as build fitting is concerned – you go for a pure intelligence, pure faith, or a melee hybrid build even. I have found the most success at maximizing the sword’s performance by rocking it on an intelligence-faith build along with powerful sorceries and incantations.

1. The Sword of Night and Flame is obtained in Caria Manor and is hidden in a rather obscure location.
2. First, fast-travel to the Manor Lower Level Site of Grace and proceed to the rooftop until the first intersection.
3. From here, head straight north until you reach the very end of the ledge, from where you should jump down to the left.
4. Once again, drop down to the lower roof in front and take the ladder down into one of the little buildings.
5. Lastly, you will spot a chest in the room you end up in, which will contain the Sword of Night and Flame!

Why Others Were Not Choosen?

• Golden Epitaph: Only good against undead enemies. Better alternatives like Coded Sword for Faith Build.
• Lazuli Glinstone Sword: Better option for Str-Int is present i.e. Carian Knight Sword.
• Noble’s Slender Sword: Too rare and requires a lot of farming to acquire. Ornamental Sword as pure Dex is a better choice.
• Crystal Sword: Toned down version of Rotten Crystal Sword. It lacks the Scarlet Rot effect.
• Longsword: Less Phy Damage and Crit Chance than the Lordsworn’s Straight Sword.

My Recommendations For Straight Swords

In my experience, you can opt for any straight sword early in the game according to the preference of the build you wish to make later. However, I recommend going with the Sword of Night and Flame as it’s the best one out there for Faith or Int build users.

If you wish to side with the Dex Builds, then Ornamental Sword is the right choice, and you can get it early as well. Moreover, I suggest you test out different weapons and build combinations to find the right one that suits you.