5 Best Halberds in Elden Ring, Ranked

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Drew has been a fan of games since he could hold a GameCube controller. Nowadays, he plays everything from mobile and PC games, to PS5 and Switch.

Reviewed by Ashley Johnson

An often-overlooked class of weapons, the halberds in Elden Ring are some of the most useful weapons in the game. They tend to favor a balanced play style, offering a middle ground between damage and range. The combination of a spear’s long reach and a sword’s slashing attacks makes halberds an intimidating weapon to be sure. But which of these weapons are worth using and which aren’t? We’ve got you covered! Today, we’re breaking down the five best halberds in Elden Ring, where to find them, and how to use them to their full potential!

5 Best Halberds in Elden Ring

Let’s dive right into our list of the five best halberds in Elden Ring, ranked from worthwhile to wondrous!

5/5

Gargoyle’s Black Halberd

Starting off strong, the Gargoyle’s Black Halberd has fantastic base damage stats! It lacks versatility and doesn’t have the Faith scaling to back up the high base Holy damage, but it is a worthy weapon nonetheless.

Stats

Proficient at dealing both Physical and Holy damage, the Gargoyle’s Black Halberd has its base attack stats divided between 103 Physical attack and 123 Holy attack. With power like this, it’s no surprise the requirements to wield are a bit on the hefty side. You will need 26 Strength, 10 Dexterity, and 22 Faith to use it.

For having such a high Holy attack, its Faith scaling is rather poor, with a constant D grade. It scales best with Strength, starting with a base D grade that reaches a C by upgrade +4. Scaling in Dexterity is reduced with only a base E grade that reaches a D by upgrade + 9.

Where to Find It

This weapon is obtained by defeated the Black Blade Kindred field boss located outside the Bestial Sanctum in Dragonbarrow. An easy way to access this boss is by talking to D, Hunter of the Dead in Roundtable hold and taking the teleporter that he marks on your map. Be careful of taking this boss on too early. You can access the teleporter to the Bestial Sanctum fairly early in the game, yet the Black Blade Kindred is a mid-to-late-game level boss. Once defeated, it will drop the Gargoyle’s Black Halberd.

How to Use the Gargoyle’s Black Halberd

The best feature of the Gargoyle’s Black Halberd is its high base damage. It fits nicely in a Strength/Faith build that is looking for a weapon with long reach. It cannot be infused with ashes of war, so we are limited to its default Weapon Skill: Spinning Slash.

This skill is still quite good, as it allows the user to spin their weapon around finishing with a powerful downward strike. Although it lacks the ideal Faith scaling, the base Physical and Holy damage, combined with a decent scaling in Strength, make this weapon more than worthy of your consideration.

If you want to boost its Holy damage, consider using the Sacred Scorpion Charm talisman, as it boosts Holy damage by 12%, at the cost of a 10% increase in damage taken. You can use the Starscourge talisman to increase your Strength by 5 if you want to boost your Physical damage thanks to the C grade in Strength scaling.

4/5

Loretta’s War Sickle

The signature weapon of Loretta, Knight of the Haligtree, Loretta’s War Sickle is a massive, Magic-infused monster. Its great damage scaling and unique Weapon Skill make it a contender for any Intelligence class looking to add a melee weapon to their arsenal.

Stats

This weapon has its base damage spread across 110 Physical and 71 Magic attack. If you’re intent on using it, Loretta’s War Sickle requires a bit of investment across a few attributes. You will need 20 Strength, 15 Dexterity, and 20 Intelligence. With a fairly even stat distribution like this comes balanced damage scaling. Each of these attributes has a base D grade in damage scaling that will reach a C by max upgrade, making this a well-rounded weapon overall.

Where to Find It

As the signature weapon of Loretta, Knight of the Haligtree, you will have to defeat her in order to claim it. She is located at the bottom of Miquella’s Haligtree and blocks your path to Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree. Although she is a fairly straightforward boss, she lacks any distinct weakness, so be careful if you have been relying too heavily on status effects up to this point. Defeat her and she will drop her War Sickle.

How to Use Loretta’s War Sickle

As a fairly well-rounded weapon, Loretta’s War Sickle can find a spot on many types of builds. That being said, it would be a shame not to take advantage of its Magic potential. Part of that Magic potential is its unique Weapon Skill: Loretta’s Slash.

This skill has the user perform a leaping slash that deals Physical and Magic damage to enemies in range. While this attack scales with all three attributes, we can boost the Magic damage it deals through talismans.

The first talisman we recommend is the Magic Scorpion Charm to increase your Magic damage by 12%, at the cost of an increase in damage taken by 10%.

Aside from that, you can use either the Starscourge Heirloom, Prosthesis-Wearer Heirloom, and/or the Stargazer Heirloom to increase your Strength, Dexterity, or Intelligence respectively, depending on what suits your build the best.

3/5

Commander’s Standard

Wave the warrior’s banner with this war-torn halberd. The Commander’s Standard offers great Physical damage and a unique Weapon Skill to help rally the troops during co-op play.

Stats

With a solid base 138 Physical attack, the Commander’s Standard sets the standard for halberd damage potential. It requires 24 Strength and 14 Dexterity to wield, and as such, fits nicely on a Strength build. Damage scales best with Strength as well, with a base D grade that reaches a B by upgrade +8. Dexterity has a base D grade that does not change with upgrades. This is a powerhouse of a weapon for Strength users.

Where to Find It

Commander O’Neil wields this mighty weapon, so you must duel him for it. He is located in Caelid’s Aeonia Swamp. Head southwest of Sellia, Town of Sorcery and you will find him in a clearing of trees.

However, this can be a tricky fight since the battlefield is surrounded by Scarlet Rot-inflicting poison and Commander O’Neil summons spectral soldiers to fight for him. With all of this to deal with, the fight can get overwhelming quickly. Hold fast and defeat the commander to gain the Commander’s Standard.

How to Use the Commander’s Standard

This weapon works wonders for online co-op play as its unique Weapon Skill, Rallying Standard, is incredibly helpful. This skill has the user raise the banner of war, boosting damage by 20% and damage negations by 20% for both themselves and allies within the area.

It also works well in single player, especially if you’re summoning spirit ashes to assist you. The effect lasts for 30 seconds, but we can extend that time with the appropriate talismans.

The Old Lord’s Talisman pairs excellently with the Commander’s Standard because it extends the duration of Rallying Standard by 30%. If you’re looking to be a defensive tank with this weapon, consider using either the Dragoncrest Shield Talisman or the Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman, which both offer increased Physical damage negation that stacks with Rallying Standard.

If you’re more into the offensive side of things, the Starscourge Heirloom is your best bet to increase your Strength and take advantage of that B grade damage scaling.

2/5

Guardian’s Swordspear

If you’re looking for a Dexterity weapon with insane damage scaling potential, the Guardian’s Swordspear is the weapon for you. It has low requirements to wield and a solid base Physical attack that scales to monsterous levels with the right set up.

Stats

The Guardian Swordspear has the highest base Physical attack of any halberd at 139. However, other halberds have it beat in terms of total base attack. It has a relatively low cost to wield, needing only 17 Strength and 16 Dexterity. Damage scales best with Dexterity with a base C grade that reaches a B by max upgrade. Strength, on the other hand, has a constant E grade.

Where to Find It

This weapon has a 2% chance to drop from defeated Erdtree Guardian enemies. These enemies can be found around Minor Erdtrees throughout the Lands Between.

A good place to farm them is the Minor Erdtree Church on the outskirts of Leyndell, Royal Capital in the Altus Plateau. Here there are six Guardians within a short radius of the site of grace inside the Church. This makes for an easy way to reset spawns while farming for the weapon.

How to Use the Guardian’s Swordspear

What sets the Guardian’s Swordspear apart from others in its class is its fantastic damage scaling when used with the Keen affinity. It already has decent damage scaling in Dexterity by default. But the Keen affinity changes the B grade to an A grade in Dexterity.

However, this grade performs more like and S grade, as the damage scaling outpaces any other halberd. To gain the Keen affinity, we need to infuse the Guardian’s Swordspear with an ash of war. We recommend the Impaling Thrust ash of war. Not only does it grant the Keen affinity, but it allows the use of the skill Impaling Thrust, which has the user perform a powerful thrust attack with a long reach, perfect for breaking enemy guards.

To enhance the power of the Guardian’s Swordspear further, you will want to use the Prosthesis-Wearer Heirloom to boost your Dexterity and take advantage of that fantastic damage scaling. The Shard of Alexander is also a good talisman to use, as it increases the attack power of skills by 15%. This is great for getting more damage out of Impaling Thrust.

1/5

Golden Halberd

The gold standard of halberds is the Golden Halberd. Not only does it have great base damage split between Physical and Holy, but it also has a Weapon Skill to rival that of the Commander’s Standard.

Stats

With its base 134 Physical attack and base 87 Holy attack, the Golden Halberd is perfect for those looking for heavy hits with a side of Holy damage. It comes with a pretty hefty cost, however. You will need 30 Strength, 14 Dexterity, and 12 Faith in order to wield it.

Damage scales best with Strength as it has a base D grade that reaches B by upgrade +10. It has a base E grade in Dexterity that reaches a D by upgrade +9. And it has a D grade in Faith that does not change with upgrades.

Where to Find It

This halberd is dropped by one of the first bosses you will likely encounter in Elden Ring — the Tree Sentinel found in Limgrave. Although this boss is found very early on — just outside the Church of Elleh — it’s unlikely you will be able to defeat it just yet.

It’s even more unlikely that you will be able to wield the Golden Halberd at this point, either. So, once you feel strong enough to take on this boss, you’ll be well on your way to owning one of the best weapons in the game. Defeat this foe and you’ll gain the Golden Halberd.

How to Use the Golden Halberd

The Golden Halberd is arguably one of the best weapons in the game for a Strength build. Its long reach and high damage potential are only part of what makes this weapon so fearsome. The unique Weapon Skill of the Golden Halberd, Golden Vow, functions very similarly to Rallying Standard on the Commander’s Standard. It raises the attack power and damage negation of you and your allies —11.5% attack increase and 7.5% damage negation increase — for 45 seconds.

While it does not buff you as much as the Rallying Standard, you get the buff for longer. What gives the Golden Halberd the edge over the Commander’s Standard is the incredible base Physical and Holy attack stats.

Similarly to the Commander’s Standard, you will want to use the Old Lord’s Talisman to extend the duration of Golden Vow. We also recommend using the Sacred Scorpion Charm to increase the Holy damage of the Golden Halberd.

The reduced damage negation that comes with the Sacred Scorpion Charm is negligible because it can be offset by using Golden Vow. Use these talismans in conjunction with Golden Vow to become a shining paragon for your allies!

Join the High Ground

Do you agree with our list of the five best halberds in Elden Ring? Which halberds have you found success with? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to sign up for our newsletter so you don’t miss any of our upcoming Elden Ring content.

Happy gaming!

Related Reading: Elden Ring Weapon Guides