Shadow of the Erdtree's Best Weapons Are Redefining Elden Ring Builds

Shadow of the Erdtree dropped over 100 new weapons into ELDEN RING, and while most of them are solid additions, a select few are genuinely changing how players approach builds in the Lands Between. From unblockable katanas to a twinblade that fires a holy version of Comet Azur, FromSoftware clearly had some fun with this batch.

The weapons that actually change how you play

At the top of the pile sits Rellana's Twin Blades, obtained by trading the Remembrance of Rellana to Enia. Think of it as a spiritual successor to the Sword of Night and Flame from Caria Manor, but split into two light greatswords. One-handing deals magic damage. Two-handing pulls out the second blade for fire damage. The weapon art then lets you choose between a magic burst or a sweeping fire attack depending on your follow-up input. It rewards players who actually read what a weapon does before swinging it at a boss.

Right behind it is the Sword of Night, and this one deserves special attention. The pitch-black katana's standard attacks already ignore 50% of an enemy's block damage negation, making it the only katana in the game with that passive trait. Its weapon art, Witching Hour Slash, is a riff on Malenia's waterfowl dance but with one key difference: the slashes cannot be blocked at all. Against shield-heavy players in PvP, this thing is a problem.

New weapon types that FromSoftware introduced with the DLC

Shadow of the Erdtree also brought entirely new weapon categories to soulslike games, and two of them earned a spot on any serious player's shortlist.

Backhand Blades are fast, scale well with almost any infusion, and come with the Blind Spot weapon art that lets you sidestep attacks before closing the gap. The standard Backhand Blade found northeast of the Scorched Ruins Site of Grace is strong enough on its own, but it really opens up once you start experimenting with infusions.

Great Katanas are the other new class, and the Dragon-Hunter's Great Katana (dropped by the Ancient Dragon-Man in Dragon's Pit) is the standout. Equal strength and dexterity scaling makes it ideal for quality builds, and the Dragonwound Slash weapon art fires a projectile when charged. For anyone who always wanted a ranged option on a melee weapon without committing to the Dark Moon Greatsword, this fills that gap.

Dragonwound Slash projectile attack

The weapons worth the extra effort to find

Euporia, hidden along a secret path in Belurat Tower Settlement, is one of the more mechanically unique weapons in the DLC. As a twinblade, its attack pattern is familiar, but its passive illumination system is not. Hitting enemies charges the weapon's luster, and at peak illumination, the Euporia Vortex weapon art releases a Comet Azur-style beam in front of the blade. The holy damage output at that point is significant.

The Ancient Meteoric Ore Greatsword, weighing in at 22.0 on the weight scale, is one of the heaviest weapons in the game. Its White Light Charge weapon art launches you forward at speed, impaling enemies in your path. A follow-up input triggers a massive AOE flash that deals additional damage and poise damage. For strength builds that felt underserved by the base game's colossal weapon options, this is the answer.

The Star-Lined Sword, dropped by Demi-Human Queen Marigga, extends the katana tradition of being slightly too good. Its Onze's Line of Stars weapon art extends the blade's reach through magic and chains into multiple slash attacks with repeated inputs, with each additional hit dealing more damage than the last.

Rounding things out, Dane's Footwork turns your entire body into the weapon. No armament equipped, just fists and feet moving at speed. Applying a bleed infusion here is genuinely effective given the attack rate, and swapping in the Dryleaf Whirlwind skill adds range to the kick combos.

What this means for build variety going forward

The key here is that Shadow of the Erdtree did not just add more weapons to an already large pool. It added weapons that enable genuinely different playstyles: unblockable katanas, dual-element light greatswords, a twinblade with a charging passive, and a thrusting shield that lets you block and attack simultaneously. The Carian Thrusting Shield, found near the Storehouse Back Section Site of Grace, is its own category of broken with a bleed infusion applied.

For players still working through the DLC or planning a return run, the ELDEN RING guide collection has detailed breakdowns on where to find each of these and how to build around them effectively. The DLC's weapon design is some of FromSoftware's most inventive work yet, and most of these armaments hold up even against the base game's strongest options.