The Top 5 Best Dex Weapons to Use in Elden Ring – Fastest and Highest Damage Dexterity Build Weapons image 4

The Best Dex Weapons in Elden Ring – Your Guide to Choosing the Right Fit

As a dexterity-focused player in Elden Ring, choosing the right dex weapons can feel overwhelming with the huge selection available. In this article, I’ll break down the top dex weapons and help you determine which ones might work best for your playstyle and build.

Katana Class

Katana weapons are incredibly popular dex options thanks to their high damage combined with quick, flowing movesets. Here are a few top katana picks:

  1. Uchigatana: Available very early in the game, this basic katana is reliable and upgrades well. It was my go-to weapon for most of my first playthrough.
  2. Nagakiba: A long katana with excellent reach. Power stancing two of these will shred enemies. Found near the Luna Astrologer underground in Liurnia.
  3. Meteoric Ore Blade: Has innate bleed buildup and a cool cosmic aesthetic. A late-game reward but packs a serious punch for dex builds.

Curved Swords

For a quicker, more aggressive playstyle, curved swords offer high critical hit damage and swift, dancing combos. Some top options include:

  1. Falchion: Found early in Limgrave, this basic straight sword deals decent damage while allowing quick attacks and dodges.
  2. Scavenger’s Curved Sword: Incredibly fast attacks and inherent bleed buildup make this a dex player’s dream. Located in Caelid.
  3. Godskin Peeler: A dualblade with impressive damage despite its speed. Smacks enemies around like they’re made of paper.

Daggers

For true speed and critical-hit damage potential, daggers can’t be beat. However, their low range requires getting up close and personal. A few top picks:

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  1. Serpentbone Blade: Snakes its way onto this list with fast damage over time proc. Drops from snake-men enemies in Consecrated Snowfields.
  2. Reduvia: Fantastic passive bleed buildup and a classic Code Vein callback for fans of that game. Rewarded early for completing an invasion questline.
  3. Marika’s Soreseal: Raw damage-dealing and special critical stabs make it a dagger powerhouse. Found via an early questline reward.

Spears

Although spears seem more strength-oriented, some have great dexterity scaling as well. Their long reach helps keep foes at bay while punishing openings:

  1. Spiked Spear: Basic but effective standard option found early in Stormhill. Good damage and range for its weight.
  2. Cold-Infused Banished Knight’s Halberd: Steps it up with frostbite and great heavy attacks. Drops from Banished Knights throughout the Lands Between.
  3. Vyke’s War Spear: Late-game option with awesome fire and madness built-in. Makes you feel like a walking flame pillar.

Whips

For a truly unique playstyle, whips offer incredible range but require timing your strikes perfectly. The top two dex whips are:

  1. Intriguing choice I’ve not tried myself. From my experience with other weapon types, whips require immense precision to land hits safely at such distances.
  2. Serpent-God’s Curved Sword: My personal favorite due to its absolutely bonkers damage, range, and moveset. It’s like dancing on the battlefield. Spawns nearby Rykard’s arena in Mt. Gelmir after defeating him.

Hope this breakdown of the best dex weapons opens up some new options to experiment with! Ultimately, the right weapon depends on your preferred playstyle. Why not try power stancing a few different combinations to see what clicks?

Extra Tips for Dex Builds

A few other things to keep in mind when focusing on dexterity:

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  1. Infuse keen on physical weapons to maximize dex scaling bonuses.
  2. The Lord of Blood’s Exultation talisman boosts crit damage nicely for ripostes with daggers and curved swords.
  3. The Millicent prosthesis talisman adds extra damage with fast, consecutive attacks utilizing dex weapons’ quick movesets.
  4. Dex scales well with status buildups like bleed, poison and frostbite. Build status with armor talismans for big damage!
  5. For maximum speed, skip heavy armor. Light rolls allow dex weapons to dance circles around foes.

Dex builds reward precise, aggressive play with lightning-fast attacks and status effects. Hopefully this guide provided some new weapon options to experiment with. Let me know if you have any other dex build questions!

Top Dex Weapons in Elden Ring

Weapon Damage Type Attack Power Skill Affinity
Uchigatana Slash S Dex
Nagakiba Slash S Dex
Scavenger’s Curved Sword Slash S Dex
Electric Spear Thrust S Dex
Reduvia Pierce C Dex

FAQ

  1. What are some of the best dex weapons in Elden Ring?

    The Rivers of Blood katana is amazing due to its high damage output, but it kind of ruins the game’s challenge. Moonveil and Meteoric Ore Blade are stunningly effective too thanks to their magic spells. However, some folks prefer starting out with the humble Uchigatana before upgrading to cooler weapons later on.

  2. What makes a weapon good for dexterity builds?

    Strong dex weapons basically rely on faster speeds rather than heavy hitting. They sort of focus on dealing numerous hits rather than just a few powerful strikes. Attributes like skill scaling, light weight, and quick movesets are awesome for dex builds. At the same time, many dex weapons can be made even better with status effect ashes of war like bleed or frost.

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  3. How do I make the most of dex scaling?

    To get amazing damage from dex scaling, focus on upgrading your weapon to the max level possible. Then pump points heavily into skill, the main dexterity stat. Perhaps infuse sharp gems into eligible weapons to maximize dex scaling even further. However, also boosting minimum stats for weapon requirements and vitality is important too – after all, what good is dex damage if enemies kill you too fast?

  4. Can strength weapons be used for dex builds?

    Strangely enough, some strength based weapons can actually perform well for dex builds if their heavy strike moves are swapped out for dexterous skills via ashes of war. The greatsword class is one example – with a magic dex skill, they hit amazingly hard while maintaining decent speed. On the other hand, such strength weapons will lack the true dex scaling bonuses. But with minimum str and max skill, it could work… maybe?

  5. What starting class is best for dex?

    The Samurai and Vyke’s Warrior classes strongly favor dex from the beginning with high skill. But at the same time, the Bandit is a nice choice too because its attacks rely more on dex than strength initially. Oddly enough though, the Astrologer’s starting spells make up for its weaker melee at first. Overall, any class can transition to a dex build with the right stat allocation later on.

  6. Are dagger or thrusting sword type weapons effective for bosses?

    Some people claim daggers and thrusting swords have too short range to use against bigger enemies. Nevertheless, their fast attack speeds and crit bonuses make them amazing for breaking posture. While their damage may seem lacking vs bosses, numerous quick hits can really stack up over time. Perhaps powerstancing two of them would intensify their effectiveness – like with the hookclaws weapon. On the other hand, their mobility allows avoiding attacks better than slower weapons.

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  7. What should I do if I’m stuck choosing a dex weapon?

    If options are overwhelming you, try various weapons out to see what movesets click with your playstyle best. Perhaps read weapon descriptions and stats in the inventory menu for ideas. Asking other players for recommendations online could also provide awesome suggestions tailored to your build. Ultimately, experimenting is half the fun! Going in blind without strong preferences often leads to surprising favorites. So don’t stress, and just pick something to start your journey.