Dark Souls 3 BEST Straight Swords + Locations

Straight Swords, as the name suggests, are swords that are shaped straight and devoid of any curves (important to note as there is a separate class of weapons known as Curved Swords).

While they are considered the most basic type of weapons in the game (or any RPG game, for that matter), one should not underestimate them as they are statistically the most used class of weapons in the entire franchise.

They consume little stamina per strike and are very fast, which in a game like Dark Souls 3, where enemies are agile, and openings against boss fights are frustratingly short, Straight Swords prevail.

My Straightsword Picks Compared

Best Straight Swords – All Compared

Here is a comparison table of my best Straight Swords in Dark Souls 3 . Each stat can be sorted to view the highest and lowest values, which has been done for your convenience:

No	Swords	Best For	Physical Attack	Physical Defence	Magical Attack	Magical Defence	Fire Attack	Fire Defence	Light Attack	Light Defence	Dark Attack	Dark Defence	Critical Attack	Critical Defence	FP Cost	Soul Value
1	Ringed Knight Straight Sword	Dealing Fire Damage & Crowd Control	120	45.0	-	30.0	11	25.0	-	25.0	-	30.0	100	-	-(7/10)	800
2	Lothric Knight Straight Sword	Early game & Critical Strikes	103	45.0	0	35.0	0	25.0	0	25.0	0	35.0	110	-	-(17/20)	500
3	Irythill Straight Sword	Sword with Frostbite Effect	124	50.0	-	35.0	-	30.0	-	30.0	-	35.0	100	-	-(17/20)	500
4	Dark Sword	Slashing Attacks	110	50.0	-	35.0	-	30.0	-	30.0	-	35.0	100	-	13(-/13)	500
5	Gotthard Twinswords	Combo Attacks	100	50.0	-	30.0	-	25.0	-	25.0	-	30.0	100	-	5(-/17)	500

Ringed Knight Straight Sword

Best Sword for Fire Damage and Crowd Control

	Physical	Magic	Fire	Light	Dark	Critical
Attack	120	-	11	-	-	100
Defence	45.0	30.0	25.0	25.0	30.0	-
	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith
Scaling	C	D	E	E
Requirement	17	15	-	-
Skill	Ember
Stability	30
Range	-
Durability	70
Weapon Category	Straight Sword
Wgt.	4.5
Attack type	Slandard/Thrust
FP Cost	-(7/10)
Purchasing Value	-
Soul Value	800

The Ringed Knight Straight Sword has one of the flashiest Weapon Arts in the entire game, which admittedly earned it some quick and easy popularity points back when the Ringed City DLC was released. However, it is much more than that – Ember, its Weapon Art, puts your character into a stance where they two-hands the weapon, imbuing it in hot flames, doubling the range and buffing its 20 fire damage.

From here, you can either use the light attack, which can easily connect up to four consecutive hits without the enemy escaping, or the heavy attack, which will initiate a charging poke attack. It should also be noted that the doubled range makes it incredibly doable to hit multiple enemies simultaneously, making the Weapon Art great for crowd control.

Given that the Weapon Art is very effective, I highly recommend you invest in your Attunement stat, as using this weapon with a small FP bar is doing an injustice to it. While the Weapon Art itself may seal the deal for many players, the real game changer here is the additional buff, which increases the Ringed Knight Straight Sword’s 20 fire damage by a flat 90.

However, while pretty good, the base weapon itself does pale compared to its buffed variant – it cannot be infused, albeit at +5 reinforcement, and it attains a B-tier scaling with strength. Other than that, its heavy attack is a thrusting attack (complemented by the weapon’s already long range), which is very ideal for cautious playstyles that tend not to get too close or too far from their foes, be it in PvP or PvE.

Location: On a ruined building in the swamps of the ringed city, near the bonfire.

Lothric Knight Straight Sword

Best Sword for Critical Strikes

	Physical	Magic	Fire	Light	Dark	Critical
Attack	103	0	0	0	0	110
Defence	45.0	35.0	25.0	25.0	35.0	-
	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith
Scaling	D	D	-	-
Requirement	11	18	-	-
Skill	Stance
Stability	35
Range	-
Durability	80
Weapon Category	Straight Sword
Wgt.	4.0
Attack type	Slandard/Thrust
FP Cost	-(17/20)
Purchasing Value	4000
Soul Value	500

If you’ve delved even a little into the invasion scene on this game, you must’ve seen this weapon unusually more than others, and chances are that when you did, more than half the time, you were put 6 feet under. That isn’t exactly surprising, coming from the King of all Straight Swords. It earns its title quite frankly because it is the perfect all-in-one package, being blessed with the best traits Dark Souls 3 has to offer.

It competes fiercely with other straight swords in terms of range, is renowned for having the highest possible damage output that can be achieved on any straight blade, and has one of the best critical damage stats on backstabs and reposts. Moreover, it is very beginner-friendly, being one of the easiest weapons to roll catch enemies with, and possesses a moveset that very much rewards “R1 spamming,” as the Dark Souls community likes to call it.

The Lothric Knight Straight Sword has Hyper armor, allowing you to activate its Weapon Art without getting staggered. Its Weapon Art Stance involves assuming a two-handed stance, breaking guard with a normal attack, and following up with a strong upward slash.

For upgrades, infusing it with a Sharp Gem is one of the best choices. While this reduces base damage, it greatly improves scaling with Dexterity, elevating it to S-tier quality. You can easily boost its damage output with buffs like Lightning Blade and reinforcement.

Location: Dropped by Lothric Knights, which can be easily farmed down the stairs from the Tower on the Wall bonfire and also sold by Greirat for 4000 souls after pillaging Irithyll Valley.

Irithyll Straight Sword

Best Sword for Frostbite Status effect

	Physical	Magic	Fire	Light	Dark	Critical
Attack	124	-	-	-	-	100
Defence	50.0	35.0	30.0	30.0	35.0	-
	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith
Scaling	D	D	-	-
Requirement	12	14	-	-
Skill	Stance
Stability	35
Range	-
Durability	80
Weapon Category	Straight Sword
Wgt.	4.0
Attack type	Standard/Thrust
FP Cost	-(17/20)
Purchasing Value	-
Soul Value	500

The Irithyll Straight Sword is one of the best Straight Swords in Dark Souls 3, which, similar to the Lothric Knight Straight Sword, can be obtained much earlier in the game. It is one of three weapons in the game that naturally inflict the frostbite status, which, by the way, can not be manually imbued using items (as is the case with most imbued buffs).

Frostbite is a new status condition introduced in Dark Souls 3. Like bleed and poison, it builds up as you land hits with the Irithyll Straight Sword. When the frostbite meter caps, it inflicts immediate damage equal to 11% of the target’s max HP, plus an additional 85 flat damages.

For example, if you inflict frostbite on an unnumbered player with 40 vigor (equivalent to 1213 max HP), they will take 133 + 85 = 218 damage. Additionally, the affected target experiences a 15 stamina regeneration point loss and, for the next 28 seconds, takes 7% more damage from all sources.

In PvP, frostbite adds pressure to duels due to its multiple effects. The Irithyll Straight Sword, with its long range and Stance Weapon Art, enhances frostbite buildup.

In PvE, frostbite is effective on bosses with larger health pools. The Irithyll Straight Sword is more viable by introducing spells like Snap Freeze in the Ashes of Ariandel DLC, making frostbite easier to inflict. It’s a strong choice for both PvP and PvE.

Location: Dropped by Outrider Knight in the Undead Settlement zone, located at the bottom of the elevator shaft that hosts Siegward of Catarina just before the Road of Sacrifices.

Dark Sword

Best Slashing Sword in Dark Souls 3

	Physical	Magic	Fire	Light	Dark	Critical
Attack	110	-	-	-	-	100
Defence	50.0	35.0	30.0	30.0	35.0	-
	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith
Scaling	C	D
Requirement	16	15	-	-
Skill	Stomp
Stability	35
Range	-
Durability	80
Weapon Category	Straight Sword
Wgt.	4.5
Attack type	Standard/Thrust
FP Cost	13(-/13)
Purchasing Value	-
Soul Value	500

Soulsborne veterans will recognize this weapon wherever they go. Introduced in Dark Soul 1, the Dark Sword was wielded by the dreaded Darkwraiths, who hunted down humans, seeking to steal their humanity and make it their own.

What stands out about this weapon is its moveset and Weapon art. Its moveset is mainly geared toward slashing attacks. In contrast, its heavy attack is a sweep attack (good for roll-catching enemies who roll towards you) instead of a thrust attack, which is rather unorthodox for straight swords. In my opinion, the primary factor that makes it a versatile choice is its ability to perform a thrust attack, which is its rolling attack.

What’s even more unorthodox is its Weapon Art Stomp, which, if you’ve guessed it right, is usually found in Greatswords. When Stomp is activated, your player will lunge forward in a low stance with increased poise and follow it up with a strong slash – given the hyper armor, you can tank incoming hits and commit to some nasty exchange of blows.

As for upgrading, I recommend using a Heavy gem infusion on the Irithyll Straight Sword, reducing base damage but boosting its strength scaling to A-tier. With full reinforcement and buffs like Dark Blade, it can achieve significantly high damage output.

Location: Dropped by Darkwraiths in High Wall of Lothric (the Tower on the wall bonfire) and Farron Keep located just before Abyss Watchers boss fight.

Gotthard Twinswords

Best High DPS Sword in Dark Souls 3.

	Physical	Magic	Fire	Light	Dark	Critical
Attack	100	-	-	-	-	100
Defence	50.0	30.0	25.0	25.0	30.0	-
	Strength	Dexterity	Intelligence	Faith
Scaling	D	D	-	-
Requirement	12	18	-	-
Skill	Spin Slash
Stability	30
Range	-
Durability	70
Weapon Category	Straight Sword (paired)
Wgt.	6.5
Attack type	Slandard/Thrust
FP Cost	5(-/17)
Purchasing Value	-
Soul Value	500

The Gotthard Twinswords are the only dual-wielding straight swords, which alone is very intriguing and, as you may have guessed, complements a very aggressive playstyle.

Given their aggressive nature, it is no surprise that these twin swords reign supreme compared to most straight blades in terms of DPS (Damage Per Second). On the other hand, however, it lacks defensive capability as you can not hold a shield or equip a catalyst for spell-casting in your offhand once you’re dual-wielding – high risk, high reward, as they say.

Another weapon aspect that adds even further to the diehard mindset is its Spin Slash Weapon Art, which deals immense damage as your character unleashes a large spinning slash followed by a double-bladed thrust.

The Gotthard Twinsword excels in thrust attacks due to its impressive range, rivaling the best options. Although its damage slightly lags behind the Lothric Knight Straight Sword, the extended range often outweighs this drawback.

For a reliable combo, I recommend using the left light attack followed by the left heavy attack, finishing with a right serious attack. Spamming the right heavy attack immediately afterward can catch opponents rolling away.

Opt for a refined infusion with a Refined gem to enhance dexterity and strength scaling, benefiting the Gotthard Twinswords since they scale equally with both stats.

Location: It can be found on Black Hand Gotthard’s corpse outside the Grand Archives. You must have defeated Aldrich, Yhorm, and the Abyss Watchers, or this Sword will not be there.

What Would I Recommend?

I love the Lothric Knight Straight Sword and believe it is the best Straight Sword in the game. However, I am also a big fan of the Irithyll Straight Sword because of its frostbite status effect, which makes PVP more fun when the other person stacks enough frostbite and can’t be as agile as you. I also recommend the Gotthard Twinswords because they can be very fun to chain combos with and stun your opponent.

Up Next:

• Best Dark Souls 3 Mage Builds.
• Dark Souls 3 Dex Weapons.
• Dark Souls 3 All Daggers Ranked.