The Best Weapons in ‘Dark Souls 3: The Ringed City’

The Dark Souls series has reached a steadfast conclusion with the release of The Ringed City for Dark Souls 3, set to be the last downloadable expansion and additional chapter added to the franchise for quite some time. While it’s true that we’ll certainly miss all the challenging boss encounters, beautifully detailed environments, and fan-interpreted lore Dark Souls has brought us over the years, the good news is that Dark Souls 3 went out with a bang. It brought a new set of weapons for players to dig into over the coming months.

Like the first downloadable expansion Ashes of Ariandel, The Ringed City introduces some pretty unique weaponry into Dark Souls 3 which can be used by players on existing character builds or inspire entirely new builds. Here are some of our favorites from the DLC, along with how you can obtain them for yourself.

Needless to say, but there are minor spoilers beyond this point.

Frayed Blade

Easily one of the best weapons added to Dark Souls 3 in The Ringed City expansion, the Frayed Blade is now considered to be one of the best main weapons for players interested in pursuing a pure dexterity build revolving around katanas. Since the Frayed Blade shares the same basic moveset as most katanas available in Dark Souls 3, it retains the damage potential and speed needed for PvP while being able to dish out plenty of damage against bosses in PvE combat. Plus, thanks to its weapon art, it can tear into enemies with a series of quick slashes or a shockwave that travels in a linear path in front of you.

Obtaining this weapon is one of the most difficult things to do in The Ringed City DLC since it requires you to defeat Darkbringer Midir and transpose his soul into the weapon. You’ll find him behind an illusionary wall off the elevator near the Ringed Inner Wall bonfire and down a massive pit that leads into a lake.

Ringed Knight Paired Greatswords

If you’re planning to build a completely new character for The Ringed City, these are the weapons you’ll want to grab for yourself due to the insane amount of damage potential they offer if your character attributes line up with the requirements. These paired ultra greatswords focus on combo attacks, building up ludicrous amounts of damage with each successful hit, much like the dexterity-based Farron Greatsword from the base game. The weapon art also allows you to cross them together, igniting a short flame bonus which can be paired with a regular attack for additional damage. Keep in mind though that these weapons are easy to predict due to their slow movement, so you’ll have to get creative in PvP engagements.

Unlike most of the other Ringed Knight equipment which you must farm from enemies, the Ringed Knight Paired Greatswords can be found as a drop from the Ringed Knight carrying them right before the cathedral housing the Halflight, Spear of the Church boss encounter.

Gael’s Greatsword

The weapon of the final boss you’ll ever cross paths with in the Dark Souls series, Gael’s Greatsword is a powerhouse designed for players who are interested in a strength-based weapon with the potential for quick attacks that catch your enemies off guard. While it shares a few of the same basic moves with your average, everyday greatsword, Gael’s Greatsword gives you access to a series of quick, overhead and sweeping slashes which can catch your opponent by surprise while you swing away at them in the meantime. What’s great about this weapon is that you’ll also get access to a weapon art Blade of Peril, giving you the ability to perform Gael’s signature leap and slam attack to deal massive amounts of damage. It may be difficult to land, but the tradeoff is worth it.

To get a hold of Gael’s Greatsword for your own collection, you’ll actually have to complete The Ringed City entirely and obtain his soul from the final boss fight. Then, simply head back to Firelink Shrine and transpose his soul for the weapon.

Repeating Crossbow

Despite being a relatively weak ranged weapon, the Repeating Crossbow serves as one of the more interesting weapons in Dark Souls 3 because of the potential it has in the hands of a good player. While many might dismiss it due to the basic attacks doing little more damage than the standard Short Bow, the weapon art Repeat Fire offers a dangerous damage opportunity for those who use it correctly. When paired with Lightning or Exploding Bolts, Repeat Fire allows you to throw a barrage of bolts which can build up bleed and stun to lock your enemies down with. Even though it consumes ammunition like a wood chipper, it’s a unique ranged weapon for those interested in giving it a shot.

Like Gael’s Greatsword, the Repeating Crossbow requires you to complete the final boss encounter of The Ringed City and obtain Gael’s soul as a reward. Then, head back to Firelink Shrine and transpose his soul to receive the weapon.

Harald Curved Greatsword

Even though it may be relatively easy to dismiss the Harald Curved Greatsword at first glance because its damage potential doesn’t surpass the Exile Greatsword you can obtain outside of Farron Keep, this beauty has a few tricks up its sleeve worth spending some time with. It may be slower and have less damage potential from a statistical standpoint, but this decorated blade has a much longer range and more useful weapon art which can give you an edge in combat against enemies or other players. Provided you have a decent amount of stamina, you can use Sever to continuously slash at your enemy like the warriors of the Harald Legion you encounter throughout the Ringed City. Not only does it lock enemies down, but it intimidates them too since it’s difficult to hit you from the front while using this chain attack.

To find the Harald Curved Greatsword, head to the Earthen Peak Ruins bonfire and then into the poison swamp through the broken castle. On the back-right end of the swamp, look for a small area with a member of the Harald Legion standing guard. The greatsword will be on a corpse nearby for the taking.

If you’re interested in seeing any additional weapons added within the DLC or the movesets of the weapons on this list, you’ll find them above.