5 Best Straight Swords 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 Benjamin Barr

Even within Elden Ring’s plethora of weapons, you can still find the humble straight sword. These bread-and-butter weapons may seem unassuming at first, but upon closer inspection, you’ll find they’re some of the best weapons in the game. There are a variety of straight swords to suit a variety of builds. You can go with the classic straight sword and shield combo, or pair them with a glintstone staff or sacred seal for a magic/melee hybrid build. If you’re really feeling daring, you might even try dual wielding straight swords!

With Elden Ring’s character customization comes the potential to unlock some powerful weapon and skill combinations. Straight swords offer no exception. Today, we’re going to be looking at our top five straight swords in Elden Ring, where to find them, and how to use them.

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5 Best Straight Swords, Ranked from Good to Best Overall

Here’s our list of the five best straight swords in Elden Ring, ranked. We’ll start with the bottom of the list and move our way up!

5/5

Lordsworn’s Straight Sword

When using a straight sword, you usually have to decide which attribute to focus your damage scaling on. Typically, you’d want to prioritize Strength or Dexterity. With the Lordsworn’s Straight Sword, you can choose either or both! This makes the Lordsworn’s Straight Sword a great all-around melee weapon.

Stats

This sword only requires 10 Strength and 10 Dexterity to wield. Combine that with a base 115 Physical damage stat, and you have a really solid early game weapon. Plus, it has base D grade damage scaling in both Strength and Dexterity. This straight sword can also be upgraded to +25 quite easily using Smithing Stones, keeping it competitive in terms of damage output with later game weapons.

Where to Find It

The Lordsworn’s Straight Sword can be found very early in the game, which means you can start upgrading it sooner than a lot of the other weapons on this list. It’s dropped by Godrick Soldiers, the first of which are found near the Gatefront Ruins. You can find a Smithing Table and your first Smithing Stone just before this point at the Church of Elleh. If you want to start upgrading this sword as soon as possible, we advise heading back to the Church of Elleh once you pick it up.

How to Use the Lordsworn’s Straight Sword

The weapon skill that comes with the Lordsworn’s Straight Sword, Square Off, is a pretty solid option in its own right. Square Off lets you perform an upward swing or an upward thrust if you run and hit the strong attack button. This skill is great for breaking the guard of enemies with shields. But the Lordsworn’s Straight Sword is excellent because of its versatility when using different Ashes of War. 

Try pairing it with the Storm Blade Ash of War. This skill engulfs your blade with wind energy that can be fired as projectiles in rapid succession. This gives a melee-based class an option for ranged combat. This Ash of War also gives the equipped weapon the Quality affinity, which balances damage scaling across Strength and Dexterity. This compliments the Lordsworn’s Straight Sword’s already balanced damage scaling, making it a great option for a Strength/Dexterity hybrid build. 

4/5

Miquellan Knight’s Sword

If you’re playing a Paladin or another Strength/Dexterity and Faith-based build, consider using the Miquellan Knight’s Sword. Just don’t expect to use it for the majority of your playthrough. 

Stats

This sword requires 11 Strength, 11 Dexterity, and a little investment in Faith (16 levels, to be exact) to use. It deals a base 105 Physical attack damage with an additional 68 Holy damage. Another fairly well-rounded sword, Miquellan Knight’s Sword has a base D grade in both Strength and Dexterity scaling, with the addition of a base E grade in Faith scaling. If you’re looking to do some extra Holy damage and have the Faith requirements, this sword is a great option. 

Where to Find It

The downside to this weapon is where you acquire it. The Miquellan Knight’s Sword is found at Elphael, Brace of the Haligtree. This late-game optional dungeon has you descend Miquella’s Haligtree through tight corridors filled with powerful enemies. 

To find this sword within this dangerous place, look for a bell tower connected to the castle by a flying buttress. You’ll notice a root coming off of it — that’s the key to reaching it. Enter an alcove along the eastern walkway and ascend the stairs. From there, you’ll be on a balcony within jumping distance of that root. Make the jump and follow the root up to the bell tower. Here, you can claim the Miquellan Knight’s Sword.

How to Use the Miquellan Knight’s Sword

So, what do you get for going through all that trouble? A blade with an excellent Holy damage-dealing skill, that’s what. To properly take advantage of the Miquellan Knight’s Sword’s weapon skill, Sacred Blade, you’ll want to make sure you’ve been leveling Faith in addition to Strength and/or Dexterity. Sacred Blade charges the sword with a Holy aura and fires an arc of Holy energy. The skill also adds a buff of 85 additional Faith damage for 20s after use. If you stack that damage on top of the base Holy damage that scales with your Faith, you have yourself quite the powerful Holy weapon. 

This sword also has a unique secondary attack that allows you to lunge forward with a thrusting attack. Taking all of this into consideration, this is a very effective weapon for keeping your enemies at a distance. If you’re patient enough to wait for it, the Miquellan Knight’s Sword won’t disappoint. 

3/5

Sword of St. Trina

The Sword of St. Trina is an interesting little weapon with a unique gimmick. It’s best used in a build that invests in Intelligence along with Strength and/or Dexterity. 

Stats

It requires 10 Strength, 12 Dexterity, and 14 Intelligence to use. It primarily deals Physical damage with a base attack stat of 107, but this is supplemented by an additional base Magic damage of 32. As expected, the Sword of St. Trina has a base D grade damage scaling in both Strength and Dexterity, and an E grade in Intelligence.

Where to Find It

Finding this sword isn’t too difficult, provided you have a Stonesword Key. When you first enter Caelid from the eastern edge of Limgrave, the first site of grace you’ll likely find is the Rotview Balcony. Just below this cliffside site of grace is the Forsaken Ruins. Head down to these ruins and look for a fog wall with a gargoyle statue. Use your Stonesword Key and head inside to claim your prize. Since you don’t  have to venture too far into Caelid to find this sword, it’s possible to obtain it fairly early in the game. Be sure to exercise caution, however, as the enemies you’ll encounter can be brutal.

How to Use the Sword of St. Trina

The neat little trick the Sword of St. Trina offers that ranks it at number three on our list is its weapon skill, Mists of Slumber. This skill creates a cloud of mist that inflicts sleep when used. The sword is also then able to inflict additional sleep build-up when an enemy is hit. While this gimmick is somewhat situational, it has the potential to be incredibly useful. Dealing with a large group of foes is made much easier if you can put them to sleep. While asleep, enemies are susceptible to critical hits. Take advantage of this skill to make even the toughest foes much more manageable. 

Since this skill is pretty situational, the Sword of St. Trina is best used as a secondary weapon. It already pairs nicely with an Intelligence build. Try pairing it with a glintstone staff in your off hand to keep your enemies at bay and put them to sleep if they get too close.

2/5

Noble’s Slender Sword

One of the best Dexterity-based swords in the game is the Noble’s Slender Sword. This unassuming sword may seem pretty basic upon first glance, but it holds hidden potential. 

Stats

This weapon requires only 8 Strength and 11 Dexterity to wield, making it a pretty appealing choice. It only has a base 101 Physical, but a 110 base critical damage stat. Looking at the damage scaling, you’ll notice it has a base E grade in Strength but a base C grade in Dexterity. That alone makes it a great weapon to pick up. Just don’t expect to find it easily.

Where to Find It

The Noble’s Slender Sword is a rare drop from the Common Nobles found around Limgrave. As such, you can technically find it early in the game, making it a superb weapon choice for taking on much of Elden Ring’s early and mid game. However, since it is a rare drop, you may have to spend some time farming for it. A good place to do so is east of Lake Agheel, where a group of Wandering Nobles follows the troll-drawn carriage. You can rest at the Agheel Lake South site of grace to respawn the Nobles, allowing you to farm them repeatedly until they drop the sword.

How to Use the Noble’s Slender Sword

Your efforts won’t be in vain — this simple weapon may not look it, but it’s actually one of the longest swords in the game. Combine its default weapon skill, Square Off, low wielding requirements, and hefty Dexterity scaling, and you have a straight sword able to keep your enemies at bay with an ease even greatswords wish they could achieve.

You can also equip it with various Ashes of War if Square Off doesn’t suit your fancy. Try pairing it with the Double Slash Ash of War. This skill allows you to follow up a combo with two quick slashes, which can in turn be followed up with a quick spin and triple slash by inputting the Skill button again. With the length of the Noble’s Slender Sword, this skill can be incredibly powerful. It extends the reach of an already long sword and can catch opponents off guard with its quick strikes.

1/5

Sword of Night and Flame

The only straight sword that can top the Noble’s Slender Sword is the Sword of Night and Flame. This sword is infamous amongst Elden Ring players for being one of, if not the best weapon in the game. Prior to the Version 1.03 update, this sword was undeniably the best sword in the game. Even after the update, this weapon is still incredibly powerful.

Stats

It has a base Physical attack stat of only 87. What it lacks in Physical damage it makes up for with 56 base Magic attack and 56 base Fire attack. This weapon is an ideal melee weapon for Intelligence/Faith hybrid builds. It requires 24 Intelligence and Faith, as well as 12 in Strength and Dexterity. It scales with all of these attributes, having a base E grade in Strength and Dexterity, and a base D grade in Intelligence and Faith.

Where to Find It

The Sword of Night and Flame is tucked away in a room in Caria Manor, located in the north western section of Liurnia of the Lakes. Make your way through the manor until you reach the Manor Lower Level site of grace. Follow the path forward across the rooftops. When able, turn northward and progress until you see some rooftops you can safely jump down to. Do so and you’ll see a hole in the roof with a ladder. Descend the ladder and you’ll find a chest containing the Sword of Night and Flame.

How to Use the Sword of Night and Flame

As a magic user, this sword is invaluable. What makes it stand out among all other weapons is its incredible weapon skill, Night and Flame Stance. This skill acts exactly like its name implies. Input the Skill button to assume an initial stance. Then follow up with a normal attack to cast the Comet Azur sorcery or a heavy attack to cast a sweeping wave of flames in front of you. 

Both of these attacks are devastating to foes, with their large area of effect and high damage potential. The Comet Azur sorcery is notorious for its beam of magic that blasts foes straight ahead of the caster. In the Sword of Night and Flame’s case, Comet Azur scales specifically with Intelligence, while the burst of flames scales with Faith. Whether you want to take advantage of one or both of these skills, you won’t regret choosing one of the best weapons in the game.

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