Best Arcane Weapons in Elden Ring

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Reviewed by Jeffrey Hsu

Elden Ring players tend to create their builds around one or two primary offensive attributes. The most common of these are Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, and Faith. However, Arcane is a unique choice that is often overlooked by players. As an attribute, it governs a player’s resistance to Holy attacks and Death Blight, as well as providing scaling for the Poison, Frost, Bleed, and Madness status effects. An Arcane-focused build tends to focus on inflicting one of these statuses as a result. Finding the best weapon for an Arcane build can be tough, so we’re breaking down the best Arcane Weapons in Elden Ring, looking at where to find them, and how they fit onto an Arcane build.

Best Arcane Weapons in Elden Ring, Ranked

Let’s cut right to the chase with our list of the best Arcane Weapons in Elden Ring, ranked from sleek to sinister!

5/5

Serpent Bow

Kicking off our list of the best Arcane weapons in Elden Ring, we have the Serpent Bow! While not the best conventional weapon, the Serpent Bow has solid Arcane scaling and can quickly inflict Poison buildup on foes.

Stats

The Serpent Bow has a base Physical attack of 75 and a range of 50. These stats land it in the mid-range among other bows. However, as an Arcane weapon, it benefits from a variety of other tricks. It requires 8 Strength, 15 Dexterity, and 11 Arcane to wield. It scales best with Dexterity and Arcane, with consistent D grades in both. Meanwhile, Strength starts with a base E grade that reaches a D by upgrade +9.

Where to Find It

This bow can be found in a pool of rot within the Abandoned Cave, making its retrieval a bit hazardous. The cave can be found just to the north of Aeonia Swamp in Caelid. Players will have to cross a ravine to reach the cave, starting from the Smoldering Wall site of grace and heading east until they reach the ravine. There should be a downed tree nearby that players can use to cross over to the mouth of the cave.

How to Use the Serpent Bow

What makes the Serpent Bow so great for Arcane builds is the additional base 15 Poison buildup rate it grants to all arrows. Since Arcane governs status effect buildup scaling, this bow heavily benefits from higher investments in Arcane. It also comes with the default Weapon Skill Might Shot, which fires a guard-piercing shot that deals heavy damage. This skill on its own isn’t that useful, but when taking advantage of the Serpent Bow’s solid Dexterity scaling, it can be quite fearsome.

The best option for arrows on this bow are Serpent Arrows, since they have a higher Poison buildup rate than regular Poisonbone Arrows. Poisonbone Arrows will also do well in a pinch, though. This bow works best when used to pick off enemies at a distance using Poison. As such, the Kindred of Rot’s Exultation talisman is recommended, as it boosts your attack power when an enemy takes Poison damage in the vicinity. Getting a jump on foes by poisoning them and then getting a power boost from the talisman to finish them off is a great strategy with this build.

4/5

Bloody Helice

Next up, we have the Bloody Helice! This heavy thrusting sword makes for a great weapon to deal Blood Loss buildup while keeping enemies at a distance with its long reach.

Stats

The Bloody Helice has a base Physical attack of 121. It needs 16 Strength, 19 Dexterity, and 17 Arcane in order to wield. It’s one of the best Arcane scaling weapons in Elden Ring, starting with a base D grade that reaches a B by max upgrade. It also has solid Dexterity scaling, with a base D grade that reaches a C by upgrade +9. Strength is the worst for damage scaling, with only a consistent E grade.

Where to Find It

To find this weapon, players will have to head into the Writheblood Ruins, located to the southeast of the Shaded Castle in the Altus Plateau. Follow the path southwest from the Road of Iniquity site of grace and you will eventually reach the ruins. Actually obtaining the Bloody Helice requires players to beat the boss of the dungeon, the Sanguine Noble. Afterward, grab the weapon from the nearby chest.

How to Use the Bloody Helice

The Bloody Helice can make quick work of foes thanks to its long reach and ability to inflict Blood Loss buildup. It has the longest reach of any heavy thrusting sword. By default, it has the unique Weapon Skill Dynast’s Finesse. This skill lets players perform a backward dodge before thrusting forward across a fairly long distance. An additional attack input has the player perform a sweeping slash. This can be used to keep enemies at a distance while inflicting them with Blood Loss, which has a faster buildup rate the higher the player’s Arcane level.

Since the primary status this weapon aims to inflict is Blood Loss, using the Lord of Blood’s Exultation talisman is recommended, since, like the Kindred of Rot’s Exultation, it provides a damage boost when Blood Loss occurs in the vicinity of the player. The Spear Talisman is another great choice, since it provides a buff to counterattacks with thrusting weapons. Marika’s Soreseal can also be useful for the additional points to Arcane it provides. However, its increase to damage taken makes it a bit risky.

3/5

Mohgwyn’s Sacred Spear

Next on our list of Elden Ring’s best Arcane weapons is Mohgwyn’s Sacred Spear. This is one of the best great spears in the game, perfect for Arcane builds thanks to its great damage scaling and powerful Weapon Skill.

Stats

Mohgwyn’s Sacred Spear has its base stats split between 96 Physical attack and 62 Fire attack. It works best on an Strength/Arcane build due to needing 27 points in Arcane in order to wield. You’ll also need 24 Strength and 14 Dexterity. In return, it has a base D grade in both Strength and Arcane that reaches a C by upgrade +7. It also has a base E grade in Dexterity that reaches a D by upgrade +9.

Where to Find It

To claim this powerful spear, players will have to defeat Mohg, Lord of Blood. He is one of the Shardbearers and a Demi-God boss located inside Moghwyn Palace in Siofra River. He can be quite challenging to beat, and requires players to make their way through the treacherous Mohgwyn Palace. To access the palace, players will have to either take a portal in the Yelough Anix Ruins located in the Consecrated Snowfield or complete White Mask Varre’s questline and use the Pureblood Knight’s Medal received as a reward. Defeat Mohg and bring the Remembrance of the Blood Lord to Enia in Roundtable Hold to exchange it for his weapon.

How to Use Mohgwyn’s Sacred Spear

While this spear already has great damage scaling in both Strength and Arcane, it also can inflict Blood Loss buildup at a faster rate with higher levels of Arcane. It has the fantastic Weapon Skill Bloodboon Ritual, which has players lift the spear into the air three times, dealing heavy damage with each thrust. It then coats the spear in Bloodflame, which deals increased fire damage and Blood Loss buildup while applied. This can be an effective way to tackle large groups of enemies, thanks to its wide area of effect.

The Lord of Blood’s Exultation is a necessary talisman to pair with this weapon, since the two have great synergy together. The Starscourge Heirloom can also work well, since it provides +5 to Strength. Otherwise, Marika’s Soreseal might be a good option if you feel the need to boost your Arcane level a bit.

2/5

Morgott’s Cursed Sword

Next, we have Morgott’s Cursed Sword. While it requires a heavy investment in Dexterity, this curved greatsword is fearsome as an Arcane weapon with crazy Blood Loss capabilities.

Stats

Morgott’s Cursed Sword has a base Physical attack stat of 120. It requires 14 Strength, 35 Dexterity, and 17 Arcane to wield. Thankfully, it is one of the lightest curved greatswords, with a weight of 7.5, making it manageable on a Dexterity/Arcane build. It scales great with both of those stats, starting with a base C grade in Dexterity and a base D grade in Arcane, as well as a base E grade in Strength. Dexterity reaches a B by upgrade +7, Strength a D by upgrade +9, and Arcane remains at a D throughout each upgrade.

Where to Find It

To claim this weapon, players will need to defeat the Shardbearer boss Morgott the Omen King in Leyndell, Royal Capital. This boss is required for beating the game, so players will naturally encounter him during their playthrough. Morgott is located at the Elden Throne, just past the Queen’s Bedchamber site of grace. Defeat this boss to gain the Remembrance of the Omen King, which can be traded for Morgott’s Cursed Sword with Enia at Roundtable Hold.

How to Use Morgott’s Cursed Sword

This is another weapon that takes advantage of Arcane status buildup scaling by quickly inflicting enemies with Blood Loss buildup. The sword naturally inflicts the status with each hit. However, its unique Weapon Skill, Cursed-Blood Slice, is the real source of its Blood Loss power. The skill allows players to perform a sweeping slash that leaves a trail of bloodflame in its wake. With the wide range and Blood Loss capabilities of this sword, it can be devastating against online opponents in PVP.

As another weapon focused on inflicting Blood Loss, the Lord of Blood’s Exultation is highly recommended. If the weight requirements are too high for a Dexterity/Arcane build, consider raising your equip load with the Great-Jar’s Arsenal or Erdtree’s Favor talismans. Since this curved greatsword also scales with Dexterity, the Prosthesis-Wearer Heirloom can work well for this build, too.

1/5

Rivers of Blood

Considered the best Arcane weapon in Elden Ring and one of the best weapons in the game in general, Rivers of Blood is an excellent weapon for almost any Arcane build.

Stats

This katana has its attack stats split between 76 Physical and 76 Fire attack. It requires 12 Strength, 18 Dexterity, and 20 Arcane. Damage scaling is very similar to Morgott’s Cursed Sword, with a base D grade in Dexterity that reaches a B by max upgrade. It also has a base E in Strength and a base D in Arcane that do not change with upgrades.

Where to Find It

Rivers of Blood is dropped by the NPC invader Bloody Finger Okina, who invades players near the Church of Repose in the Mountaintops of the Giants. This area can be found just south of the Guardians’ Garrison and just before reaching the Flame Peak and Fire Giant boss. This can be a tough NPC fight due to the tendency Okina has to inflict Blood Loss on the player. Defeat the invader, and they’ll drop Rivers of Blood.

How to Use Rivers of Blood

This is a powerful katana that is best used on a Dexterity/Arcane build. It works much better than Morgott’s Cursed Sword for this type of build thanks to its lower weight, making it our pick for the best Dex/Arcane weapon in Elden Ring. Like most of the weapons mentioned previously, Rivers of Blood excels at inflicting Blood Loss on enemies, and is particularly lethal with its Weapon Skill, Corpse Piler. This skill allows players to perform successive, wide-sweeping slashes of blood that can quickly build up the status effect on foes. It also deals both Physical and Fire damage.

Despite the D grade, its actual Arcane damage scaling is about the same as Dexterity. As such, this weapon is well-suited for a build that heavily invests in Arcane. The Lord of Blood’s Exultation talisman is a must-have for this build, as Corpse Piler will have it activating frequently. The Erdtree’s Favor and Great-Jar’s Arsenal talismans shouldn’t be as necessary here, since Rivers of Blood has a fairly manageable weight. However, Marika’s Soreseal could be quite useful for squeezing a few extra points into Arcane.

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Do you agree with our list of the best Arcane weapons in Elden Ring? What weapons do you recommend for an Arcane build? Let us know in the comments down below. While you’re there, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter so you don’t miss any of our Elden Ring guides!

Happy gaming!

Best Arcane Weapons in Elden Ring