Dark Souls Remastered: Top 5 Best Starting Weapons (And How To Get Them)

[@fionn7631]

1:12 you gonna have to kil... *nervous solaire noises*

[@TheRealPots]

am I the only one who noticed he said Taurus wrong

[@whiterose8601]

EyeLikeBud it varies from person to person

[@theguy3851]

Solaire is the speedwagon of darksouls. And I know no one is gonna wanna kill speedwagon.

[@mortalkombatworld9707]

@@theguy3851 even the nazis don't want to kill him

[@fraves9372]

You can throw firebombs over the fog door wall and kill the dogs before you fight the demon.

[@J.J.Barrientes]

I would’ve never killed the merchant simply cause I just love it when he says “neh he he he”

[@themadhattress5008]

Plus you can get the repair box and the bottomless box, which can be insanely useful for first time players. I wouldn't recommend killing him outright until you've at least got those, in addition to the residence key if you haven't got the Master Key.

[@shotty.]

The Mad Hattress What do both of those items do? Big time Sekiro & BB fan, played a little of DS3 long ago & i just today picked up ds1 & 3. trynna make sure i don’t miss any big things first time through cause i know fromsoft be locking players out of all types of rewards based on choices in these games

[@themadhattress5008]

@@shotty. The bottomless box just allows you to store items whenever you're at a bonfire. The repair box allows you to repair weapons and armour at the bonfire without having to go to Andre or any other smith in the game. It's more of a convenience thing than anything else, but it can still be beneficial.

[@samdickinson5475]

@@themadhattress5008 you can buy the repair box at Andre for cheaper and the bottomless box from domhnall so there is no reason not to kill the undead merchant

[@themadhattress5008]

@@samdickinson5475 Oh okay. I knew you could get the repair box from Andre, but I didn't know you could get the bottomless box from Domhnall

[@Chr15auk]

"if you do it right you will probably get a nasty message afterwards too, which is nice you know because sometimes its nice to read" I can relate. Great video man.

[@williamriggs1972]

One of my favorite things about Dark Souls 1 is how non-linear the game is from the very beginning. You can become OP early with any type of build if you know where you are going. DS2/3 are much more balanced in that regard but in a way that is a lot less fun.

[@aiskye2295]

I would argue ds2 is more unbalanced when it comes to becoming OP very fast. Watch some of ymfahs' videos on it. Also loads of options on where to go early on. Its possible to max a weapon with little to no bosses killed.

[@williamriggs1972]

@@aiskye2295 thanks I'll check it out.

[@QuackEternal]

I would call it more of an open linear game. Sure, there are a bunch of ways to go at the start, but if you look at the big picture, you need to ring both bells to go to the funhouse, then you need to go through anor londo, kill o+s for the lordvessel, and then get the souls and then fight gwyn. But that doesn’t take away from how many options from soft gives you in the way of routes

[@guyman9655]

@@QuackEternal I'd say a lot of it is also kind of nonlinear, seeing as if you get the master key, you could take out quelaag before the bell gargoyles, also you could get the lord souls in any order you want. But you are right it is linear all things considered.

[@Nonlifting_breezy]

You can get a plus 15 weapon before anor londo by killing only 3 bosses

[@themadgamer4571]

Claymore is amazing. One of the best balanced weapons IMO, it's a great starting weapon but also solid enough to upgrade and clear the whole game with.

[@Zapdos7471]

The fact it can be two handed with 11 STR is crazy good. My favorite non-standard path weapon.

[@bbfan84]

It was so good it got nerfed like 3 times

[@oliverqueen6124]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@whatta-rr3uu]

Claymore is the best greatsword in game. Unquestionable. Has straight attack,horizontal attack and thrust attack.can't be better than this for a 6 unit weight wep.

[@oliverqueen6124]

@@whatta-rr3uu Gravelordsword does 1 attack 362 damage to a boss, and Claymore does 109 damage 1 attack, so yeah Claymore is the best greatsword 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 you smoking some new staff and is affecting you 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@link0714]

The claymore got me through so much in Dark Souls 1. I remember just wandering around swinging that thing around lol. Such a reliable wepaon.

[@rooster4450able]

One of the best Fr

[@bbfan84]

But is a quality weapon not a str weapon

[@enn1924]

@@bbfan84 don't tell any1 you leveled up your dex!

[@RestlessSpin]

@@enn1924 why?

[@cibo889]

@@RestlessSpin Its a meme

[@owl3752]

I "killed" a black knight when it fell through the tower. Truly a great remaster

[@BeanSprouts02]

Lol I also “killed” the Taurus Demon when it back stepped from the castle and fell

[@ghoulbuster1]

Goofy yell ensued

[@kaiserkhazuto]

Omg, that stupid Black Knight on top of the tower just glitched through wall and fell off lmao.

[@lefteralex481]

@@BeanSprouts02 Man, happened to me too one week ago, I laughed my ass off but also felt pretty darn good that I won. A victory's a victory!

[@WhiteIkiryo-yt2it]

Being able to Ciaphus Cain your way through the game is the sign of a true master.

[@astrealove1]

Astora's Straight Sword is really easy to get as well, you just have to run to the Valley of the Drakes where the Undead Dragon is and pick it up, and while you're there you can also get the Spider Shield a bit further down where the electric wyverns are, and if you make it past all of them and climb the tower you can also get the Red Tearstone Ring.

[@prophetmaster4997]

You need to pick the master key item in character build and if you grab the shield the dragon will attack and the sword will kill the skeletons near the entrance to the Tomb of the Giants since it's a divine weapon btw

[@jacobday3826]

It's what I used on my second play through, so damn good. :3

[@yarugatyger1603]

If you don't find the twinkling titanite to upgrade it, the damage falls off pretty soon...just wanted to add a con...that I experienced.

[@brendacairncross8941]

.

[@dhrubi]

@@yarugatyger1603 twinkling titanite is pretty easy to get tho i use the astora straight sword ever playthrough only switching if i need more damage if i suck

[@XemnasKH]

4:24 we all know what happened here

[@Arcxzal]

FALLLL DAMAGE!!!!!

[@TheGhostInitiative]

You guys know too much, I have to delete this video.

[@Zanemob]

I don't get it...

[@moe7157]

@@Zanemob well as he is near the cliff there is his bloodstain

[@Zanemob]

I get it now lol

[@RB_Slayer_64]

Personally, I believe the best weapon is Smough's Hammer, and its quite easy to obtain all you have to do is easily walk your way to Anor Londo and kill the bosses but dont forget to kill Smough last . Then “Forge any hammer or great hammer to +10 and ascend it with Soul of Smough at the Giant Blacksmith.” Congrats you have the easiest and best weapon to obtain in dark souls!

[@FuryousD]

So is that why I always do so well with mt Smough builds in the souls games?

[@1337wafflezz]

I always thought it was just a meme weapon

[@FuryousD]

@@1337wafflezz i mean it is a big giant hammer so i can see why

[@jar_knight]

Demon's Greataxe.

[@RB_Slayer_64]

@@jar_knight This U? kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZ3MomujbbajnpI

[@Itsmeyourdad666]

I got mad at my boyfriend for taking the controller out of my hands and killing the merchant for a sword. Turns out the gucci katana became my favorite weapon and I don’t want to use anything else

[@asugarush8970]

Gucci katana 😂. I'm using that from now on.

[@felipemiguel9907]

U should try the Black Knight Halberd, it's hard to get first try,cuz u have only 20% chance,anyways,if ur lucky,u can get it in 15 minutes of game,needing only 22 Strength and 18 Dexterity to wield it

[@945045able]

Good choice.

[@945045able]

I beat with katana all DS2 bosses, but thats another story. DS1 is like walking in the alley compared to my first experience.

[@pointblank986]

For a initial weapon i like the zweihander and gargoyle halberd. If it is a class weapon, i choose the cleric, the mace is a monster

[@maximcharest]

I would add to this The Great Scythe. Consider by many to be the best dex weapon in the game. You can have it as soon as you arrive and you don't even need the master key. Still got a picture of this bad boy in my wallet on top if my wife's picture.

[@frosttroll3411]

Maxime Charest It’s so hard to get. You’ll die like 60 times before you even get an inch close to it

[@davidsosa507]

@@frosttroll3411 not if you know the place around. I'd say watch a guide on how to run to it, and just go back by the way ladder. It shouldn't be so difficult if you aren't doing a heavy route.

[@dustinarcher6655]

In front of your wifes pic, lol!!!

[@macky1660]

@@frosttroll3411 I die like 3 or 4 times getting it. Just do multiple suicide runs with little or nothing to lose. It's not that hard once you've done it a couple of times.

[@patrickmaldonado9447]

Gravelord Sword is a joke to find as well

[@anshveerg8341]

Goes to blight town for falchion forgets about the great club :'(

[@Ett.Gammalt.Bergtroll]

A bit massive on the Str requirement to qualify as a “starter weapon”. I mean, you could pump the Str for it but then you’d not have enough End to swing it more than one time etc.

[@hunterlamb5086]

Fr and the club is way easier to get too

[@moonset9419]

SHUT UP GREAT CLUB IS THE BEST I found it then never changed it since(T-T )

[@blindtreeman8052]

@@moonset9419 most definitely the best in ds2, not so much for ds1

[@moonset9419]

@@blindtreeman8052 thx for the info

[@jeffreysammon4119]

For anyone checking out the comments, the Astora Straight Sword is a good early game faith weapon. You’ll need to start with the master key and go to drake valley through the new Londo Ruins. It’s awesome early on, but gets outclassed by the time you are making your own divine weapons. You can also grab the dragon crest shield while you’re at it

[@bbfan84]

It will always beat a regular devine long sword any time everytime it scales better only strength sword that beats it is balder side sword and sun strength sword

[@jeffreysammon4119]

@@bbfan84 I used to like using an occult claymore for my go to faith weapon

[@dorian4426]

Halberd is really underrated. The normal attack is a thrust attack, so you can use the halberd in narrow spaces, and there’s the big attack that is basically a swing that goes around your back and also your front, so if you’re ambushed you can just use that. Pretty good. I would say zweihander is better but it takes off a lot more of your stamina.

[@dorian4426]

Oh, I forgot to mention the long range.

[@enriquemendez1507]

Yes!! I loved using the gargoyle halberd especially. I'd say that is pretty easy to get too if you just have a bit of patience. But at the end of the day the manserpent great sword was my baby.

[@ainz2579]

And the heavy attack you become a beyblade

[@Grey_World1]

Fellow Halberdiers!

[@noti7510]

I started playing gain recently (played a smidge as a small child). I just wanted a weapon that did high-ish damage, not too long of a swing animation. plus five-ed it, took it to bell gargoyles. the reason it made the fight easy, though, was because I could get the first gargoyle down in like three swings after getting it to half, practically before the second one came over. wacky damage, with a really quick stab. though it's parameter bonuses are a little poor, I think it could hold it's own really far if you like it and stick with it. unfortunately I lost that save, I wish I could play it through, having fun as the most basic build in the game, warrior medium weight quality.

[@Greenman422]

No Gravelord Sword? Parkour your way down to catacombs, avoid the headless demon get eye of death and hide in coffin = gg

[@piercetibbets2925]

seriously its the only one to use its wayyyy too good

[@soporific9212]

It's good for the first half of the game for sure but the scaling is way too low to be beneficial late game...only useful aspect of that weapon is the toxic damage.

[@Gogofan240]

I was thinking this all the time while watching the vid. Like seriously gravelord sword will carry you for most of the game if you’re a first time player. Tons of damage early game and not too many requirements.

[@Lilycade]

but if your new to the game getting the gravelord sword is very difficult to get to, blighttown isn't too bad but the catacombs are

[@TheGhostInitiative]

This was pretty much my thought process. Everyone’s got a different opinion on the matter, but I think blighttown is a lot easier and you’re supposed to to there pretty early anyways

[@eetunhauskatpelihetket9275]

When he started heading to the graveyard, instantly knew it was gonna be zwei

[@colewilder7353]

I perfer the winged spear i play dark souls like i play dead spare holding LT block in DS aim in DS oh the intals are the same hehe

[@oldfridge5059]

Cole Wilder Did you have a stroke?

[@colewilder7353]

@@oldfridge5059 no but it does seem i typed spare instead of space... Dead space and dark souls have the dame initials DS I said i perfer the winged spear from the grave yard has longer range then anything else your get for a while and can be used with shield up also at like the halberd you get at the parish it doesn't send you flying forward aswell. I play darksouls like i play dead space with my block button held down In dead space its the aim button im always aimed in ready to fire. Now that i over explained myself on a simple concept

[@aidenallen5922]

Gravelord sword?

[@akiideal4622]

when i go to the graveyard im going for the scythe most of the time

[@clueless6763]

ive finished the game twice and still had no idea you could get the uchigatana so early. love ds for the fact that there is always so ething new you can find out about it

[@Tinhamodic]

If you're lucky getting the Black Knight Sword or BK Halberd early would make the 1st half very manageable and comfortable.

[@jouz4253]

i think that the gravelord sword is the best starting weapon. you get it from the catacombs and you only need to do 1 faith jump, then just run to the titanite demon to grab the undead eye and at last just go inside the sarcophagus near the demon and you'll be transported to the nito arena, you join his covenant and you get a weapon with 290 damage that can be 2 handed with 16 strength

[@bbfan84]

Or you can just get Astoria strength sword which can be one handed with little to no investment or the Drake sword which only needs nothing and still one shot everything without having to even look at the direction of the catacombs

[@conesnail1]

The problem with the gravelord sword is that it's moveset is ass and its range is also ass for a greatsword

[@Grey_World1]

The Gravelord Sword was too slow and heavy in my experience.

[@cralo2569]

@@conesnail1 untrue, i call for a skill issue it has the advantage of having a thrust attack on the strong attack, the only curved greatsword capable of doing so. good damage, easy acquire...

[@conesnail1]

@cralo2569 I don't have a skill issue, beat it many times solo no summoning and can use the gravelord sword and my opinion is still the same about it... I've beat many in pvp using it because it sucks so bad... it's only a good weapon for early beginners

[@azizkash286]

Black knight sword❤

[@colewilder7353]

Can 1 hit kill tarus demon badass fucking sword i haven't gotten all that far in this game... But so far i loooove this

[@Aiman-yu6qg]

Cole Wilder I’m about to play dark souls 1 remastered and I’m trying to figure out what weapon I should try to get before I can continue the game. Is the black knight sword really that good and also how do you get it?

[@colewilder7353]

@@Aiman-yu6qg i honesty can't say bout end game but as far as ive gotten its hella boss.

[@PokerSoto]

Cole Wilder I’m on my first run, and I got it dropped on the first black night... I’m getting this to endgame for sure.

[@colewilder7353]

@@PokerSoto on my first run i got it but i didn't know it was a rare drop i also had other rare drops and i restarted little did i know i done fucked up

[@PainfulJoy]

In the Firelink Shrine graveyard area you can also get the Winged Spear, which has amazing scaling and at +15 upgrades and 40 or more Dexterity is one of the best dex weapons in the game.

[@psterud]

Thank you! I already posted a big comment about it, but after 3k+ hours in the game on PS3, and using most of the weapons in the game in PvE and PvP, the Winged Spear is my all-time favorite.

[@enriquemendez1507]

Guys please don't skip out on the gargoyle halberd which you get from the gargoyle boss. If you play your cards correctly you can get the helmet and the helmet and the halberd from the same run which provide much needed poison resistance for the swamp level which I hear a lot of people have issues with.

[@davidtownsend6092]

Halberd is really underrated and solid af. Upgrade to +5 does 200dmg thrust and reg. Good reach. Fast and light.

[@immortalX7]

a man of culture i see? killed the gargoyles with halberd +1 just a minute ago

[@davidtownsend6092]

@@immortalX7 fuck ya ev3n 3nd gam3 I still use it t8me t9 t8me. Lucerne too

[@davidtownsend6092]

@@immortalX7 or zweihnder

[@jakehey6924]

Great SCythe in the catacombs is a good dex weapon, and not hard to get. It has bleed damage and B dex scaling until you get it to +14 then it's got A. Only need to get used to the length and slow-ish speed of it then your good.

[@kylebutler9865]

The running attack on that thing is beastly.

[@Ascentyon]

It's not a "good dex weapon", it's pretty much the best weapon in the entire game. I got my ass handed to me until I got the Scythe. Then I did the entire game, very rarely dying. It has awesome range, running attack is super fast and it hits like a fucking truck.

[@jakehey6924]

StormCrow I'm not a big fan of dex weapons my self, but it would definetly be in my top 5 weaopns and I was able to do ease a NG run with it. Whether it is is the best weapon is up for discussion as personal preferance comes in to play, but I can see why you would view it is the best weapon.

[@TheMorfeorp]

One thing that make this weapon a beast: it's not heavy. Not at all. Perfect to low weight equip builds. And it's fully buffable.

[@soporific9212]

Great Scythe statistically is the best Dex weapon in the game, followed by the Balder Side Sword only because it's moveset is so damn good...

[@kyleg1912]

Uchigatana was my first dark souls weapon. It will always hold a special place in my heart

[@solaireofastora4978]

Nathan Milne for me its the claymore

[@racist4595]

Weeb

[@idontthinktheysawthatcomin6792]

Zweihander all the way. Being able to stagger bigger enemies is a boon.

[@link0714]

@@racist4595 bruh

[@JoeBloggs42069]

I picked Knight, but hated the broadsword. Luckily, the shield hollow to the right of the Asylum Daddy fog gate dropped a longsword and I used from start to finish. Loved the moveset, speed and reach. That R2 thrust attack came in handy in narrow hallways, too! Also switched to the full crimson robes when I found them and the FAP ring to keep the fast roll. I really love this game ❤

[@PrimetimeCasual]

"Not strong enough to wield the sword with one hand" - It isn't called a Zweihänder ( = "Two-hands") for no reason. Great video, might have to go after the merchant now. :D

[@justrobin8155]

4 years later, still using this guide! I just finished Elden Ring and am trying to get the Platinum trophies for the souls games now, so I figured I should start out with a few good weapons

[@MazzVG]

Not sure why I watched this, played far too much Dark Souls to need it. Left this on in the background and got a few laughs out of it, great video!

[@Goonsquad1149]

Top 5 with honorable mentions had a nice ring to it

[@chamzilla8661]

I used the estoc, you don't even have to kill a single enemy once you get to fire link, and it's range is epic

[@thekaz5225]

Early game Estoc is great. Shield poke your way to Victory.

[@principivmangvis443]

Solid guide, and I got a nice laugh out of how you handled Blighttown. Regarding the Drake sword, small bit of advice for new players and/or anyone who always gets that weapon for each playthrough -- it is possible to hit the dragon 4 times "per round" (from the perched position, to the bridge, til it lands back at the perched position) - 1st hit is of course the arrow to the end of the tail to make it fly over to the bridge. - 2nd hit is to the thicker part of its tail, closer to the body, which hangs over the bridge once it lands (very easy target if you just stand near the edge and dont let the wall block your shot) - 3rd & 4th hits must be fired immediately after the 2nd at its wings, which are huge targets and hard to miss if timed correctly. The catch is you may have to release your arrow at the spot in the sky where the wings *will be* before they actually appear there, so for the first time I'd say just observe and take note of where to shoot so next time you can do it, then do it the same til you get it. That may seem like a small tip and I'm sure lots of people do it that way, but the uploader did it the slower way in the vid and this is significantly faster, if you care about that kind of thing. I do for some reason. Efficiency, I guess. So if you have good aim and know the pattern, then you don't have to endure the tedious process of waiting for the dragon to go back and.forth so much for only one or maybe two hits each time. Anyway, I think its more fun this way because it's a relatively more skillful approach that keeps you engaged instead of mostly waiting, plus Souls games are all about those tricks and shortcuts both big and small, and it's kind of a shortcut/timesaver IMO

[@TheGhostInitiative]

Thanks for watching, and I appreciate you actually explaining this method instead of just complaining that I didn’t show it in the video like some other people haha.

[@ryanmalik3378]

Zweihander maybe the best weapon you can got at early game before you get drake sword. Or... Kill merchant at undead burg for uchigatana.

[@urbandecayed79]

But drake sword is a noob trap, leaving new players to disregard upgrading and it's a complete pain to upgrade regardless due to its need for dragon scales. It's best to just be collected for the rare weapons achievement/trophy

[@ahamsandwich5528]

Great scythe...

[@druffner]

Imagine being a dex user

[@marcosdheleno]

@@urbandecayed79 i disagree, its the other way around, its a great weapon for builds that require late equipment. like any boss weapon. if you 2-hand it its requirements drop alot, making it a no brainer to use. i still think the reinforced club is a better investment, as it gets better and better for a minimal requirement weapon(12 str to 1-hand). if you play something like a lightning cleric, a pyromancer or even a sorcerer, its an amazing starter that will carry you for most of the game(specially after you upgrade it into chaos or lightning).

[@HornyHamster]

LMAO drake sword

[@mavcotm8006]

the claymore is my favorite weapon overall, it's so simple, so normal yet so effective. i always do a only great sword run and later a only claymore run. in ds 1,ds1 remastered, ds3 and eldenring

[@paulflood1183]

Literally started my first souls game last week and started with ds1. This is such a helpful guide. I've subbed

[@NourArt02]

My favorite early game weapon is actually the Battle Axe and what's great about it is that you can get it as a starting weapon for the Bandit class, it carried me through the entire first half of the game in my 1st (blind) playthrought.

[@psterud]

Battle Axe is great, but its range sucks. It's a fun weapon, but I wouldn't recommend it.

[@bigchungus8538]

Much like other people mentioned, I was extremely lucky and managed to get a black knight sword early on my first playthrough. I used it the entire game.

[@PistolaoBR]

Yeah the int and dex weapons are on point, but the str weapons that you recommended are actually for quality build, for both dex and str, for strength build the best early one are the 2 clubs on blightown, the one that drops from the fat dudes, and the one down there guarded by the fat dudes with bolders, and if you don't have str needed, go for the reinforced club bought from the 1st vendor that drops the uchigatana. If you want swords, than the butcher knife or the big serpent sword are the ones for you, you can get the butcher knife drop pretty early on blightown from the NPC invader near that one bonfire on the poisonous swamp

[@sirprize8572]

While you're right about Claymore, Zweihander is most definitely not a quality weapon, it is firmly in the Strength category. Claymore has even 51%/51% scaling in both stats (the definition of a quality weapon) whereas Zwei has 66% STR scaling and a measly 28% DEX scaling. Most people who invest in Zweihander don't even bother leveling DEX beyond the initial stat requirement.

[@Callyn9x]

I am one of those that have, mostly because I am also going FTH, so the higher cast speed from hitting 20 Dex helps, not much, but enough that it's saved me quite a few times when I otherwise would have died.

[@aaronbrooks3259]

Never liked the butchers knife until it got a revised moveset in DS3. Always my go to on a strength build for early to mid game

[@sirprize8572]

In Dark Souls 1, dex doesn't really do anything for casting speed until you hit about level 40-45. And even then, it seems to only speed miracle casting time by about 10%. If you're going that deep into dex, you should consider a dex-scaling (or quality) weapon with relatively fast attacks and buff it with sunlight blade.

[@Gnurklesquimp]

Posted this here as well: ''Zwei is arguably better on a Quality build, it's AR isn't too great on STR when compared to the similar in weight Large/Great Club or the heavier Ultra-greats, but iirc it's in the slightly faster tier of UGS animations with Greatsword, and reaches the furthest of them without having TERRIBLE AR. Still highly recommend giving those clubs a try if you want something relatively light with better dmg, but the Zwei's 2hr1 is so nice it makes the Zwei decent on pure str. (Recommend starting with a STR build and also getting 40 dex in the end if you end up loving it, also offers fast weapons to compliment it) Claymore's 50/50 str/dex though'' ~60%/30% is pretty firm into one category, but, these weapons usually pull ahead in Quality (Which also offers versatility, not just that relatively small boost), while there's often more efficient options on pure str. Zwei's definitely flexible though, just cause it has things going for it vs. those efficient options. Hell, if you're buffing on a str build, I'd even go with Claymore > Man-serpent for the same reason.

[@TheGhostInitiative]

Hey Guys, I really appreciate all the people who have watched this video, liked it, and even decided to subscribe, I've never had a video do this well before, so thank you. That being said, there are quite a few who disliked the video (not hit the dislike button, I don't care about that quite frankly) but thought that this was a bad list, or that I missed some weapons. But please remember that this is intended for people who have not played dark souls before. This isn't a list of the best weapons in the game, so don't comment a list of what you think are the best weapons in the game because that's not at all what I was going for here. You can get nearly any weapon "early game" if you are skilled enough but I think a lot of you have forgotten what it was like to play this game for the first time. The weapons in this video are located in areas that players should be going through anyways because I didn't want to lead anyone too far off the normal path. These are reliable, easily attainable weapons that are meant to replace whatever weapon your class starts with, and to that end, I stand by every weapon on this list even if it won't carry you through the entire game on easy mode, which seems to be the only acceptable choice for a lot of you. Maybe I made some mistakes in this video, but I only had 45 subscribers at the time I uploaded it and most of my videos got 10-20 views. So to the 6000 people(and counting) who watched this one, know that I am always improving and I want to make every new video better than the last.

[@nickyjay9750]

The Ghost Initiative I would have added the great scythe, and the titanite catch pole. great video.

[@sirprize8572]

The only real thing I would fix is removing Tin Banishment Catalyst from the list entirely. It's actually pretty crappy for Sorcery builds-- as long as you picked sorcerer as a starting class then you already have a better catalyst that deals more damage. If you didn't pick sorcery as your starting class, then just go buy a sorcerer's catalyst from Rickert down in New Londo. You can do that immediately after Asylum Demon without even having the Master Key (and you can even pick up another copy of Soul Arrow while you're at it!).

[@TheGhostInitiative]

It isn't great for sorceries, that's true, but it's melee attacks are incredibly powerful at this point in the game. It actually outdamages all of the other 4 weapons I mentioned at base level with its melee. I thought that would be useful as it eliminates the need to carry another weapon early on and will really get you out of trouble should you be overrun while trying to cast since it should be able to one shot hollows.

[@sirprize8572]

I guess that's true, but it's not upgradeable and its dex scaling is garbage. By the time you get to gargoyles, it's already pretty much worthless... even the drake sword is at least useful until you get to Quelaag. Personally I'd take the winged spear if you need a good self defense weapon for a sorcerer build. Damage is good enough even with base stats, can poke from behind shield (which I believe Tin Banishment Catalyst lacks), it's buffable with magic weapon, upgradeable, and can be crafted into the moonlight butterfly horn which is one of the best pure INT weapons in the game behind MLGS.

[@lieblingsleguan1591]

The Ghost Initiative Your video is well made and deserves the high number of views. However, I find the thought rather sad that new players, instead of venturing of on their own into the best level design of the entire Souls series, watch a video to find out where the good stuff can be found immediately. It takes away a lot of oneself's experience. Fortunately though, I think it's mostly veteran DS1 players who watch this who want to find out if they missed anything or if you missed their favourite early game weapon.

[@emeraldkat2167]

You can proc the hollow guy near the undead merchant (in the room before) without getting any sin for killing him. Just get him to agro you and burst through the boxes, then run behind the merchant. The hollow will try to kill you and hit the merchant. Once the merchant is down, just kill the hollow and grab your uchigatana!

[@theqeffect37]

2 years late but to get all the Black Knight Weapons and shield, it's easier to make a save before the Black Knight and take a back up. Kill the Black Knight and if you don't get the weapon, just reload your save from back up and try again. Don't need to make a new character from scratch. Hope this helps !!!

[@MSDGAMEZ]

The Black Knight Halberd+5 carried me the whole game

[@赴大家惡化不得好死時]

There's not a better weapon for DLC

[@potaterzjuice9270]

My black knight sword is carrying me like crazy

[@hussien04]

I love the drake sword, it’s perfect for my play style

[@CumAss]

Got the black knight sword and it does busted damage literally easy mode

[@efowner]

same 😭

[@ashenone4989]

Personally, my favourite starter weapon, might even just be my favourite weapon is the grave lord curved greatsword. You can grab it by doing a suicide run into the catacombs and it doesn't have super high requirements so you can use it almost immediately.

[@aleckermit]

Crimson robes are really good early on. I'm wearing then post Sen's fortress (~level 45).

[@oformakelvin3568]

I prefer gold rimmed robes

[@BlondeMcGuinn]

“Top 5 sounds better than Top 8 so...” Lol. Helpful video man, thanks!

[@TheGhostInitiative]

No problem

[@CatOnACell]

very surprised the winged spear wasn't on this. it's in the graveyard with the Zwei and is great for the tight corridors of the early game since its all long range forward thrusts that hit all enemies in the range.

[@soporific9212]

I guess compared to the Uchi or BSS it's not as useful for early game dex builds...I do agree though it is a pretty Essential weapon for dex players early on.

[@marcosdheleno]

@@soporific9212 dont forget it has some very heavy requirements for the amount of damage you can get from it(13-str 15-dex). with a diferent distribution(16-str 12-dex), you can use the halberd, a more reliable weapon.

[@rustyjones7908]

I started out using the wing spear but once I got better at the game I find thr claymore to be better.

[@jokerzwild00]

For cutting the Hellkite drake sword I always hit em with an arrow then when he flies down do an r2 with the halberd to his tail. Only takes a few swings even with an unupgraded halberd and the reach is so long on the swing it's hard to miss. Also the regular halberd is a great weapon in general. Very underrated. It's straight poke is good for tight corridors and the wide r2 is good for crowd control. Good damage too. The BK version is better of course but it's not guaranteed on every run.

[@targard.quantumfrack6854]

I'm on my first DS run, lvl 72 and I only use the halberd, I love it. A friend of mine swears by the Balder side arm but i fail to see why.

[@surg23]

Not a super early-game weapon, but the Lightning spear that drops from a Mimic in Sens fortress is a really solid option. It's fast and does fantastic damage to early game mobs and bosses. Low stat requirements too.

[@psterud]

Nah, just get the Winged Spear from the cemetery and level it up super-early. Easy.

[@GucciestCuzOutThere]

Uchigatana, Zweihander and the Black Knight Halberd are my top 3 favs

[@TheGhostInitiative]

Tasteful

[@anonssr9514]

Great Club in blighttown is extremly powerful and always overlooked. If you're gonna considere blighttown "starting weapon", I would just go for the great club too.

[@cuddlequeen3225]

I like that I have almost all of the locations of these memorized. I’ve probably played this game too much.

[@ClovesnSpice]

Same

[@cuddlequeen3225]

Xiofo XOX well hello friend

[@user-qk1xt3yb7i]

Exactly how a tutorial should be. Short, simple, and accurate.

[@imjonathan6745]

Yeah a 21 minute tutorial video is "short"

[@user-qk1xt3yb7i]

@@imjonathan6745 I didn't really think so but ig it is pretty short

[@Kendizzle]

I just got into This game the other day. I have the balder side sword. With I had 0 humanity so I got it completely by chance on my very first run. And one of my first few encounters with it. Wow I had no idea

[@semiawesomatic6064]

I prefer Dex builds in ds3, but my first ds playthrough, I got the black knight great sword. Decided to level and use it because why tf not. It owns the entire game. Decimates pretty much every boss if you have the timing to use it well. And a strong majority of enemies will be one shots pretty early on. Even the sentinels in anor Londo are one shots if you use the jump attack.

[@TheGhostInitiative]

Yeah black knight weapons of all types are no joke in this game. Doesn’t take long before you can upgrade them to +5 either

[@FlavioAntoniofull]

Black Knight greataxe is the best. Fast, use less stamina and give more damage than the black knight greatsword

[@Joyfk]

@@FlavioAntoniofull but it has the whiff property, doesn't it?

[@TheGhostInitiative]

I can’t attest to it using less stamina but in my experience I found it’s moveset to feel the most inconsistent. Despite how large the weapon is I always felt it had deceptively short range. Still hits plenty hard though.

[@mac1bc]

I used it until I got the black knight great sword. I loved that one, but the great club was my favorite weapon in DS1.

[@lightskin_exe8723]

Who else coming to this game from elden ring 💀

[@dustintownsend8939]

Nice selection of weapons, although as a few others have said the zwei and claymore are more for quality/infusion builds. Also, you don't actually need to have the master key to get the falcion (probably mispelled that) rather early, although you will need to kill the taurus demon and the run up can be a bit more dangerous. If you take the elevator behind the halberd black knight you can reach drakes valley and if you dodge the drakes (or cheese them with the bow) take the left cliff and dodge the drake on the ledge (can get him to jump off the edge with the right positioning) you can reach the special dragon corpse. After that you can reach the tunnel to blight town and at the end of that passage is the key for the new londo ruins so you can go straight up to fire link from there. Also, at the base of that dragon corpse you can grab one of the best medium fire shields as well as the astora straight sword, a rather good divine weapon for faith builds and can make those dreaded catacombs a bit easier. Edit: Remembered after posting that the winged spear is located in the same area as the zwei which is an ok spear to use, and since its in the same area you may as well pick it up.

[@TheGhostInitiative]

Yeah I meant for the claymore and zwei to be a start for strength builds, I know they are quality and I really didn’t do a good job of specifying that in the video but they will do better than pretty much anything you leave the asylum with. As for that valley of drakes shortcut, I was going to add it in the video but for some reason the elevator didn’t move for me. I really couldn’t tell you why as I’ve never had that issue before.

[@nhatnguyenminh9369]

For drake sword at 8:24 I would recommend aiming closer to the base of his tail since it didn't move as much as the tip.

[@Pwnicus187]

^ this, just did this again last night and there's almost no movement near the middle of his tail vs the end.

[@presidentdeadpool3198]

1:08 You could get back out, but just not the way you came, if you take the path that leads to the winged spear you can get back out through there. Edit: you also forgot to mention that another good early weapon, is Solaires straight sword...but I wouldn't recommend it, only monsters would kill a sun bro!

[@strangeperson700]

I dismantled many imvaders in game by using the large axe with a strength/defense/stamina character build. I crush through their blocks like nothing. It's especially deadly when you start putting shards into it and leveling up the weapon.

[@LuisFAoki]

Zwei And Claymore are quality, not strength weapons

[@Whitewingdevil]

The Club is probably the best Strength starting weapon.

[@sirprize8572]

Claymore is indeed a quality weapon, but Zweihander is NOT. To be a quality weapon, the scaling needs to be the same or nearly the same between STR and DEX. Claymore is an even 51%/51% scaling between both stats, whereas Zweihander scales 66% in STR and only 28% in DEX.

[@shadoeboi212]

claymore has shit scaling

[@aaronbrooks3259]

JDL2150 ive finished the game multiple times with a claymore. I find it to be a very good weapon with a great move set 😁

[@sirprize8572]

JDL2150 You're... joking. Right? Two-handed with 28 STR/40 DEX, claymore has the second-highest AR of all the greatswords in the game, just losing out by a couple points to the Bastard Sword which has an inferior moveset IMO. Sure, if you only invest in STR, then other weapons like the Black Knight Sword may be better for you, but for a quality build you'd be extremely hard-pressed to find a better weapon.

[@stonefangheavymetal]

watching this for ideas for my second playthrough and man, the shade at oroboro in this is absolutely on point

[@TheGhostInitiative]

Lol

[@bonelessman56]

uchigatana? more like gucci katana!

[@authenticbaguette6673]

The Black Knight's Halberd is pretty OP, actually. In the glitchless speedrun of DS1, the strategy revolves around going through the valley of drakes and baiting that guy off the edge. Yes, it's not a guaranteed drop meaning 1 out of 4 runs end there, but the weapon is so damn powerful it's worth the reset. High damage, fast moveset, can stagger bosses easily. OP weapon especially with RTSR (which, conveniently, you can grab on your way to the black knight.)

[@shawnb1919]

Estoc is easy weapon to get also with zero fighting required to find.

[@DStrormer]

I know, right? I always fetch the estoc for any DEX build, even if I won't use it for long. It's free!

[@idontthinktheysawthatcomin6792]

It’s a meh weapon, but it’s good at what it does.... useless against the Capra Demon.

[@whiterose8601]

It’s one of those weapons that’s thrives of dark moon blade same as the flachion and great scythe

[@gamershead9924]

The Estoc is one of my top favorite dexterity weapons in the entire Dark Souls games.

[@DamjanNovakovic]

Best weapon is Longsword. On close second and third there are Claymore and Zweihander.

[@ZeruVia]

You should have shown exactly where the grass crest shield is, it is near one of the black knight and it's a quite good combo with weapons that use a lot of stamina like the falshion.

[@TheGhostInitiative]

Only reason I didn't is because I uploaded a video of the top 5 things to do when starting a new playthrough the same day I uploaded this, and grabbing the grass crest shield was on that list. Can't deny how useful that stamina regen is.

[@painfullyaware5221]

I'm liking the Astora Straight Sword as an early weapon. It's easy to get, the move set is nice, the Divine damage component is great and it's light and fast. It works well no matter what kind of melee build you're going for, imo, because it scales equally well with Str, Dex, and Faith. And, bonus, you can find 2 Twinkling Titanite to upgrade it to +2 before you even get to the Taurus demon. A +2 Divine weapon that early is nice, I'm using the Astora and the Zweihander, but mostly the Astora because it handles so well.

[@BoopaKing]

I might be crazy, but the Demon Greathammer is a fun alternative for me when I run strength builds.

[@TheGhostInitiative]

nah you're not crazy, smashing things with a big hammer is fun lol. But with a 34 STR requirement just to hold it with two hands its not really an early game weapon ya know?

[@BoopaKing]

The strength req for two hands is 31, but yeah, it is a bit excessive. I generally get it right after gargoyles, but I don't know if that counts as "early" anymore.

[@prophetmaster4997]

Yeah isn't that weapon need a plus 50 strength to wield? Good luck getting that for the beginning.

[@BoopaKing]

It requires 46 strength to wield. If you're confident in your dodging skills you can pour all your levels into strength until you have 31, then start getting other stats if you feel like it.

[@soporific9212]

Weapon just requires too much strength for very little pay off...Grant or Demon's Greataxe are far better alternatives for strength builds.

[@jakeyh0081]

For anyone new try and rush for gravelord great sword it’s so good early to mid game depending on your build but I’ve completed the game a few times using only the great sword

[@nathanieljernigan1147]

This video makes me wish I could be playing Dark Souls for the first time all over again. What an experience.

[@fourcrippledhorses]

bro this shit is giving me an ulcer i'll trade you. i'm sitting here wigging out over stat points and weapon scaling so much i don't want to play for fear i'll fuck up more

[@wildernessrick9278]

@@fourcrippledhorses Two years later, but hoping you realized fucking everything up is how you get great at Dark Souls. 🤣🤙🏻😎

[@Grey_World1]

@@wildernessrick9278 After alot of screwing up, I can say I became a decent player.

[@guythasawesome]

you forgot my bois titanite catch pole and the gravelord sword

[@TheGhostInitiative]

guythasawesome well, This video was intended for new players and I kinda figured that titanite demons/the catacombs and new players don’t mix well haha

[@guythasawesome]

what are you talking about that's my best advice for new players! It's step 2 on my master plan of dark soulsing

[@TheGhostInitiative]

All I know is I got slapped by the first titanite demon I tried to fight, plus the catacombs are just terrible lol

[@TheGhostInitiative]

Not a bad idea actually, I find that if you just leave them alone until you actually need demon titanite though, they're not really too difficult to deal with because your character will be much stronger by that point.

[@jakehey6924]

Titanite catch pole is shit, and gravelord sword is only good for the first half of NG

[@nadir4562]

i love the fact that enemies drop rare loot , give you more game time to do something also drake sword hands down the best , 1 swing and everyone is a goner (early game)

[@Alfred_the_IV]

BKH is always my first goal. Need the halberd.

[@prototype3779]

There are 2 sword black knights in the Northern Undead Asylum that you can get back to shortly after killing the Taurus Demon. The biggest challenge about getting to them is dealing with the torch hollows infront of the asylum and their incredibly spammy attacks.

[@sedanmage531]

their running attack is an instakill for low vit characters

[@tankofun]

Hay man, I really appreciate this. Thanks! Wish you much success with your channel. Kind regards, random passerby

[@andrewheintz7149]

The zwiehander has carried me through every souls game it's appeared in

[@MajesticJERRY]

I’m on my first play through of dark souls, already taken down one lord soul and I’m fairly close to 2 others, (still far from Seath) I’ve been using the long sword and various other elemental variants of it. From when I first got it as a loot drop in the undead burg, I instantly fell in love with it and have been using it ever since. I’ve swapped to other weapons, but they just didn’t feel right to me. I am longsword all the way!

[@LargeHamsterCollider]

I would also mention winged spear that can be found in the cementary at Firelink. I actually used it in my very first playthrough and found it rather stronk for starters.

[@thepearled0120]

5: Gravelord Sword 4: Gravelord Sword 3: Gravelord Sword 2: Gravelord Sword 1: Gravelord Sword

[@kartoffel128]

No

[@trajanuslarocque7572]

Damn bro got the black knight sword and baldur side sword on both of the first enemies of each type in Undead Parish. This is a blessed run

[@ashchain-thelonelycat1879]

The drake sword is actually easier to get than he's explaining, go into the same place as him but walk through the arches and kill the shield guy after killing him go to the middle column and start shooting the base of the tail under the dragons wing. No need to wait, as soon as the dragon lands you can fire and hit 100% of the time

[@Avrysatos]

This video actually came out around when I first played DS1. I'm looking around on youtube to see ideas to try something new than my standard favorites. I have a story for you about my first encounter with the black knight in the basin. I was so bad at killing them starting off because of course i was. I managed to roll off the edge after grabbing the grassroot shield i had seen, and .. the knight followed me. And dropped the shield. I was baffled. it was new player luck. I've never seen that shield again. The list here is pretty decent from when I was a new player this is all the weapons most people recommended or liked. Thank you. Didn't help me decide what to do, but well done for an older video.

[@kharekelas4259]

I played dark souls straight to 6th new game+ only used zweihander.

[@stevesmith9447]

I'm addicted to the Black Knight Sword; if I miss the Burg drop, I go through the Parish to activate the elevator so I can get two more tries back at the Asylum. Also important to go downstairs and kill Havel so I can keep up fast roll. #casual4lyfe

[@tunakann7629]

I've been trying to find a way to get to the lower level of blight town for tye whip, for DAYS... and I just figured out how yesterday! Why couldn't I find this video earlier!!! ;~;

[@Gorlami90]

The drake sword cheese makes it super easy to get and will carry you through the early game

[@Dripzy_1]

First black knight I killed on my new character got the sword the second one I got the shield. I was freaking out lmao

[@zachattack40130]

Thanks for showing me the exact stop for you to shoot an arrow at the dragon tail and get the drake sword, thank you very much 😉

[@jawn93]

" cuz you know sometimes it's fun to read" lolll

[@TheDARAKAN]

I've just finished Dark Souls and i wish i saw this video before starting it. Damn, it would be so much easier at the start

[@shadebinder9969]

The Claymore isn't just a strength weapon, it's also dex. It's got C ratings in both so it's the perfect quality weapon Also when I finally took out the Drake in the endgame it took me a single arrow from dragon slayer great bow to take off the tail lmao

[@PrivateJoker0119]

Drake sword was very useful to me early game and easy to get. I didn't want to spend soul upgrading any weapon so it was useful to me until anor londo where I got bored with it and upgraded my laito

[@victormog]

Nito's sword & Dragon tail... But best is Sword of Black Knight!

[@shellthomas6940]

Personally, I think the best weapon is the black knight halberd.

[@frosttroll3411]

Dragons tail is shit

[@711ramen3]

Silver Knight long sword is sweet.

[@river7874]

Drake Sword is a noob trap. The Ravelord Sword is a monster.

[@whiterose8601]

Shell Thomas the black knight halberd is the strongest weapon in the game I believe if I temper correctly with the great scythe being the hardest hitting dex weapon

[@xuanathan]

Theres also a little bit harder black knight weapon to get. The Black Knight in the Catacombs drops the black knight axe, an extremely powerful weapon.

[@deadmoonscriptures1556]

Here I am, watching tutorials for a game I don't own at 1AM again

[@devinshilightsdale9738]

Straight sword of Astora not being in the popular/op early game category is always surprising to me with how many playthroughs have been carried up to O&S using it

[@NecroGarfunk]

i think you’re overlooking the catacombs. great scythe, the fourth bk weapon (axe) is in there, and you can get a weapon that’s even more broken at the start than any of these: gravelord greatsword. i find removing the drake’s tail with it pretty easy, particularly thanks to its running attack also estoc deserves more love

[@kennycastillo3094]

Damn, this video is very well made, I was expecting some no effort video listing off good weapons but this is planned out and it never drags on. Great job man

[@primaldark1724]

Great video and straight to the point with good information! One of the best top weapons vid imo. Thanks!

[@TheGhostInitiative]

Thanks glad you enjoyed it

[@primaldark1724]

The Ghost Initiative that was quick

[@TheGhostInitiative]

Happened to be on youtube haha

[@theboi9676]

You forgot about Astora straight sword. That thing is damn well worth a quality/faith build