Elden Ring: The Zweihander is the Best Colossal Sword

[@Ziggylata]

I will never say Zweihander properly no matter how many times you correct me, I know it is wrong and I will continue to be wrong out of spite.

[@ocel6037]

IT PRONONCE HOW IT SPELL as an swiss person

[@are3287]

Actually you said it properly on video and anyone "correcting" you is wrong.

[@The_Warden]

@@are3287 Incorrect.

[@aytuz]

In german, Z is pronounced with a “ts” sound and w as a v so phonetically it would be pronounces “tsveihander”

[@ocel6037]

@@aytuz i dunno dzwei sound like it.

[@thecompanioncube4211]

So with Claymore also having one of the best moveset in Longswords, the OG duo of Claymore and Zweihander still reign strong in Lands between

[@You0nlyLiveonce]

Claymore is my go to right now… lions claw to punish in pvp and a miscericode with flame of the red manes for pve

[@TheMadStone94]

@@You0nlyLiveonce lol i use claymore with the flaming strike ash of war and miscericode with flame of red manes. The fires melt away groups ( i only play pve)

[@carlsmith4568]

Claymore sucks lol

[@oncerain]

@@You0nlyLiveonce please explain how flame of the redmanes can stagger. no matter how many times i cast in on malenia, it never staggers her

[@You0nlyLiveonce]

@@oncerain you’re missing her? Or you’re waiting too long in between hits.. enemy poise recovers after a few seconds

[@Landishery]

Yes

[@runningoutofnames3CS]

Based

[@averageringedfingerenjoyer9443]

Yes

[@victorBQ27]

Based and zweipilled

[@remy333]

But of course.

[@tchanthaphaeng]

Name checks out

[@noriman4335]

Zwei looks cool as hell without any magic bullshit don't need any other reason to use it and also LEGEND NEVER DIES

[@bobross4447]

I use a keen zwei with my magic bullshit build (faith dex because dex buffs casting speed) mixing combos of incants and crouch pokes and r2s is just so much fun and shreds in pvp.

[@doctorhealsgood5456]

Infuse with fire to make the Legend proud

[@InsaneGreatsword]

Can you hear them screaming out your name?

[@Владислав-ы9м5у]

@@doctorhealsgood5456 unfortunately, it's not that good. Just as all the split damage.

[@insertedgynamehere___969]

*BECOME GIANT*

[@AWACS_Snowblind]

Arcane builds are funny when they hit you with that dollar store Rivers of Blood and your sword's heavy attack has enough reach to poke them from outside the range of Corpse Piler.

[@AshenHollow7]

What's even funnier is when you also have an arcane build and slap those stupid rob spammers with a nice poisonous mist in their face with a blood greatsword and instantly deplete their health with the far superior bleed buildup

[@JustOneMoreTaskMom]

@@AshenHollow7 bloody helice for high physical and passive bleed, reduvia off hand for getting the proc off after 2 bloody helice r2s so they dont roll proc the bleed. Outranges everything and the off hand gets quick hits in when they roll into you or fail a long recovery attack. I could run occult godskin poker and occult dagger instead and the extra physical damage would perform better but i like the style points.

[@jackrobinson1073]

@@stillhuman4662 silence, child

[@NCRRanger7753]

I love countering that crap with a lil blue pebble to the face, followed by a greatsword gut buster lol. That, or Giant Hunt, but that's kinda stale now.

[@anthonysteible5475]

@BLVNCO but, but that's not fun. They have to tear others down to feel better about themselves.

[@jackpollard550]

The Zweihander-an ultra-greatsword with history. With legacy! And you can’t turn down good legacy.

[@imjonathan6745]

And it never dies...

[@pablosoto6325]

Guts Sword, Moonblade, Zweihander, Claymore the four horseman of Fromsoftware

[@stickyy_fingaas]

@@pablosoto6325 you mean moonlight greatsword

[@pablosoto6325]

@@stickyy_fingaas yea

[@thenson1Halo]

SO ELEGANT! GIANT FOLGER-DAD NEVER DIES!

[@theodoax]

Truly, the fashion bonus Zwei provides over the other colossals is the most important deciding factor. Having one of the few historically accurate giant weapons makes any kind of knight or swordsman build that much more stylish. If only you could give it the spinning slash or wild strikes ash of war to better emulate the flowing, sweeping motions IRL greatsword wielders employ.

[@SkyNinja759]

Does it get the helicopter that spears/halberds get? Imagine the range the zweihander would have on that ash. It would rival the pike. I really wish they had more unique instances of the ash system. So the "in between" weapons would have the options of a select few of each class; this case being greatsword/colossal/(maybe) halberd.

[@dream8870]

the claymore is also accurate as well

[@SkyNinja759]

@@dream8870 The claymore is classifed as a greatsword, but yes it is accurate as well.

[@SkyNinja759]

@@onefrostysoldier6658 Imagine if the zweihander got the treespear/Loretta's polearm moveset. 45 degree slashing motions along with the claymore poke R2/rolling R1. It would be God tier and historically accurate. It wouldn't happen though because it's a legacy weapon. They can't change the moveset because people would get angry at the inconsistencies between games.

[@SadoKurosaki]

But Guts

[@slappzzz]

I felt this way about the Astora GS in DS3. Not the highest damage but the moveset made it so good and punishing. It was my go to

[@red_boi9059]

Astora GS looks so clean

[@nhoj4375]

The Astoria gs with a chaos gem and faith and pyro spells was my favorite build I did

[@ActionMan153]

Lothric Knight Greatsword was sick, had great damage with lightning AND could be buffed on top of that.

[@yanli111]

Speaking of Astora ugs, gosh do I miss the occasional unique/different rolling attacks from ds3. Astora UGS’s slamming roll is what made it stand out amongst other UGS(ds3 ugs thrusting r2 are pretty common), it has good range, good tracking, and extremely quick hyper armor, making it basically impossible to interrupt, guarantee a trade. Imo it is one of the best horizontal UGS moveset, alongside Zwei’s unique r2. This kind of “special moveset” made these weapons feel way more unique than, say, a boss weapon UGS with the standard moveset. Now in eldenring, every single weapon uses the same run/roll of their respective weapon class, which makes them feel so much more like a reskin.

[@LongFingerL]

@@nhoj4375 a man of taste.

[@niklasmitfussl2639]

0:58 did this dude just use his erdtree greatshield to deflect his own halo? That's sick! Feels so much more like an intended mechanic than the abusing from release!

[@SkyNinja759]

I really hope it does decent damage and doesn't get patched. It's extremely cool, thematic, and telegraphed after people understand that it exists. Not broken at all, but a nice unintended feature.

[@xkidgey]

I saw that too. Blew my mind lol

[@sluttyMapleSyrup]

Yeah that was a cool AF combo

[@mwperk02]

I can maybe see some mix ups with that too. Bait a roll to dodge the reflection when you instead hit em with a roll catch

[@red_boi9059]

I personally think that the Elden Ring Zweihander is the best looking Zweihander out of all Fromsoft games.

[@zsDUGGZ]

It's the curved cross guard and the side rings that do it for me. Absolutely gorgeous weapon

[@MonkeyDefenceForce]

Hell yeah 👍

[@Nine-Oh-Five]

Oh absolutely

[@Alltorn-N56]

Agreed

[@alastor1052]

It's also realistic, not a dumb, overly thick hunk of steel. Makes it feel gracious like it is irl

[@rashiro]

Zwei for life. My first playthrough I did truly blind and was absolutely ecstatic to find my ol' favorite in Weeping Peninsula. I figured I would use it until it stopped being good, and many hours later I sent the Elden Beast back to hell with it.

[@wayner396]

Same for me and the claymore. Got through about half the game with it before I switched styles

[@rashiro]

@@wayner396 being a jumpy boy with a claymore and a banished knight’s sword is hella legit.

[@bimmer8602]

Same claymore was my go to because of the lion claw until I found that lovely zwei and greatsword.

[@WaffleyTime]

⁠@@bimmer8602zwei is also pretty good with lions claw, but also giant hunt later on

[@WUZLE]

The zweihander is one of my favorite weapons in DS1. Sadly they removed the pancake effect for most greatswords in DS2 and later games.

[@stephencardone]

Lion's claw AoW pancakes reliably, I've had good success with lion's claw -> r1 -> r2 with zweis at meta level pvp

[@BrainlessV2]

@LargeCockDisorder is it the barbaric roar or the warcry? because I know warcry changes heavies to charging attacks, while barbaric roar changes them to wild swings

[@mwperk02]

Pancake is nice but watching enemies crumble into the fetal position after being hit by my charged black knight ugs heavy is the maximum satisfaction.

[@yoigin3763]

I miss the vertical moveswt of the ultra greatswords from ds3

[@istolethispfpfromreddit]

You pick the Zweihander for the moveset, thrusting mechanics, damage output and active hyper armor. I pick the Zweihander for the moveset, thrusting mechanics, damage output, active hyper armor AND the legacy behind the weapon. *We are both the same*

[@mephistophelesthesilentchi3446]

Post-pach zweihander is amazing the moveset, light weight, and not clipping into your shoulder more than makes up for the ~100AR difference.

[@trustypatches669]

Zweihander and Claymore are both my favorite of their classes because of the pokes.

[@lonelyshpee7873]

I don't play PvP, but I knew you'd mention the R2. It served me well early-game. Its poke + posture damage allowed me to destroy early bosses with ease. I didn't stop using it until I got the Dragonsl- I mean Greatsword, which, with the Lion's Claw, allowed me to absolutely destroy bosses in under a minute at times, and I wasn't even overleveled (well, I might've put too many points into STR and not enough into vigor, but I learned my lesson afterwards)

[@rmo9808]

Hey if they're too busy trying to recover from the last time you hit them then health doesn't matter.

[@RendezvousWithRama]

I always loved the way the Zweihander looked, as opposed to the silly looking giant caricature swords like Greatsword. Thank you for giving me a reason to give it a serious try.

[@harrypeterlewis]

The swords more like a large hunk of iron

[@VeXeDZERO]

Gotta agree. The comically huge weapons detract imo.

[@Killicon93]

True, noticed that the Greatsword can get visually in the way when fighting smaller enemies. The Zweihander doesn't have that problem.

[@Killicon93]

@impracticality2312 god it's such a beautiful weapon

[@dragonwings206]

As a souls vet and zweihander enjoyer, i completely ignored any considerable downsides on my first run and mained the zweihander all the way through. I dont regret a thing.

[@a177rhythm2]

Its important to note that the way of the strength build is the same as the Russian army. Throw bodies (or your body) at the problem until it dies. You wouldn't even notice if the Zwei made your game harder.

[@inadover]

The only thing I hate about colossal swords in ER is the fact that FS completely removed the overhead R1 from previous games.

[@callanharvey6264]

I loved that moveset in ds3 man

[@RadishHead7]

that thing was broken.

[@mwperk02]

Ahh using the great swords second r1 to catch backstab fishers was the best.

[@ShaunRF]

As a Souls noob, this sword is great for early game. Fat rolling is very tough on us newcomers, which makes the Guts Greatsword harder to deal with in some situations. With the Zwei, I can just take off my Confessor boots and I’m light enough to mid roll, which is so nice.

[@ferod7732]

There are talismans which raise your max. load if you didnt know

[@ShaunRF]

@@ferod7732 I 'm well aware, that is why I explicitly said early game for people new to Souls games.

[@demoniob4019]

@@ShaunRF just use lighter armor

[@ShaunRF]

@@demoniob4019 it's the starter Confessor armor, and like I said, I just take off the pants.

[@demoniob4019]

@@ShaunRF but by the time you actually get guts gs in caelid you should be more than capable of wielding it without goin into heavy? unless youre doing a very low lv run

[@luislaracuente]

A man of culture. :) I'm proud to say that I've kept the Zweihänder as main weapon since I found it and upgraded it to +25. Feels good to see it getting recognition.

[@redsol3629]

I remember shifting from sword and shield to walk the path of the barbarian in the first dark souls. The Zweihander was the first true greatsword I discovered. I fought the gargoyles and crushed them, I have walked the path of strength ever since always using great weapons, the path of reckless power.

[@_Salok]

THE LEGEND NEVER DIES

[@JamrockHobo]

I want to add that it's also the lightest of the greatswords, allowing for better armor/poise, or even LIGHT ROLL. There are also basically no stats requirements, which is weird for such a huge weapon. A lv1 wretch with 10STR/10DEX can two-hand it with minimal stat investment, or with Radagon's Soreseal. EDIT: you mentioned it haha

[@tannerkennedy4192]

I don’t know why they decided to give jumping r2s higher motion value than normal r2s cause jumping r2s are faster stronger and deals more damage on top of the poise breaks no wonder why literally every player uses jump attacks 85 percent of the time in pve

[@Ziggylata]

Probably to encourage you to use it. I think it might have more recovery than a standing R2, but what do I know?

[@zatoby6705]

There is more recovery now with the faster recovery between R2s

[@wzj7067]

Obvious enough. Try comparing spamming standing heavies and jumping heavies. Normal heavy attacks are much faster with significantly more dps despite lower motion value.

[@Necrotaku999]

because now you have 2 of the most powerfull things in videogames ever, and combining them with a big sword makes for a devastating attack functioning knees + gravity+ big bonk sword= profit

[@ScrodumHat]

for invasions I’d also recommend waves of darkness, great staggered damage as well as aoe that can true combo into most attacks if you time it well

[@SkyNinja759]

It would be better if the startup wasn't so long. The third wave is great for invasion though, because people never expect the delayed hit.

[@Charlie1313]

There was a guy who used to use the key sword in ds 2 to kill invaders. It was supposed to be an item but he used it as a weapon and it was ridiculously weak and he would smash people with it.. it's not always about damage sometime it's just being able to out class others.

[@BigDBrian]

that's entirely besides the point, which was that Zweihander is really good despite its comparatively lower AR. Since as you said yourself, it was ridiculously weak.

[@Mido_]

I didn't search for video and I clicked on it out of boredom, expecting another low-effort invasion-compilation video. Yet what I got was a surprisingly knowledgeable youtuber that has even heard of motion values, wow! You earned a sub, sir.

[@Ziggylata]

I wouldn't upload a video I think is shit, honestly. At the same time, uploading every day has a ton of challenges and getting out watchable, quality content on a daily basis (7 videos a day) is incredibly difficult without having some of it seem low-effort. This video took me more than a few hours to make and thats on top of trying to find the time to edit other videos, record videos and stream for 6+ hours, 5 days a week. Its tough to find the time, but I am hoping to keep providing stuff of this level of quality.

[@longquan8915]

Yeah I was surprised that it was such a small channel. The production value of the video is incredibly high, hope to see more content like this.

[@coletrain218]

I ran dual zweihanders for my first playthrough and that’s been the most fun out of all my playthroughs

[@BigDBrian]

in that clip at 1:13 the transition from from grafted gs to ruins gs looks so clean (thanks to the momentum covering the imperfection) Very nice graphic, and a good example of how clean visuals and presentation elevate the video beyond good points presented concisely, which is already great. just one thing: I feel like you could've made the point on motion values more clear with an example. With the 50 strength ARs provided earlier in the video, the Zweihander R2 will do 959 damage compared to the greatsword crouch poke at 851 damage (both before defenses). It really is a very significant difference, a motion value of 139 compared to 107. As a side note, that really makes you wonder why the two moves deal the exact same poise damage.

[@TheKnightDrag0n]

Another thing is that the zweihander is extremely light and has low stat requirements compared to other colossals, it can be purchased and used from the get go so all of the above makes up for it's lower damage imo

[@stardustandashes]

This is really well explained, and I was interested despite not using a Colossal Greatsword or even PvPing that much. Well done, friend.

[@Sluggu]

i actually like the zweihander in game because of how accurate it is to history. the sword itself was never really meant to be swung quickly due to it's mass, but it was excellent for clearing pike lines. not to mention the thrust was so strong and effective it pierced armor quite well, allowing for brutal strikes on any armored opponent.

[@suitnuggerat1123]

0:58 Wtf the thing that Adversary did where he Golden Retaliated his own ring, that's fucking awesome!

[@Outlaw7263]

I personally use the War Cry ash of war for my Barbarian build with the zweihander, it changes the R2 charge attacks into running into your opponent and slamming the blade onto them, good for 1 to 2 shotting most enemies

[@timehusk]

props for the king's field music, and insightful video.

[@HelplessTeno]

A cold Zwei with Chilling Mist has been a great content clearing weapon for me on most builds. Really solid colossal but overlooked due to the lack of damage. I'm also guilty of this, I'm normally using the Watchdog.

[@ashreh]

braggart’s cry is so fun on the Zwei

[@mrcoolbgames]

Great video! Would love to see more elden ring content like this. Keep up the hard work bro!

[@Ziggylata]

You will.

[@TheAverageNerd]

See, I argue Zweihander isn't best because of what you said, though it for sure helps... No, it's because the Legend never dies. Giant dad will always return, and his signature weapon is the Zweihander

[@BiggsBababooey]

I just like seeing the big counter hit damage numbers tbh, even back in 2 the Grand Lance was my jam because that was my playstyle

[@cazihel]

nothing is more stylish than slow walking into a duel with a full bannished knight set and that absolute beauty of a weapon on your shoulder.

[@gewoon8781]

First time I ever listened to "smash the subscribe button and hit that bell". I figured you must've had 500k subscribers and was surprised you had less than 5k, because this is much better than most other youtubers in this category. Very professional and concise with no needless filler. Good luck with the channel Ziggy!

[@Ziggylata]

Incredibly kind of you. I'll do my best to not disappoint.

[@decal4707]

Making use of the Lion’s Claw for split damage is an incredibly useful idea! I’ve been running a 60FTH Zweihander build since 1.02, using the red lightning incantations and other Faith buffs (Golden Vow and Lightning Tear in the flask) to give myself a VERY versatile toolset while still being tanky, and doing long-range lightning damage / close-range split damage. I WAS using Hoarah Loux’s Earthshaker, but swapping to Lion’s Claw seems to boost my red lightning infused Ash attack to over 1000 damage, and I’ve been destroying PvP AND PvE (SL150)! Thanks for the video :)

[@Ziggylata]

No problem.

[@spy-v-spy1848]

Zweihander with waves of darkness is one of my favourite weapons...just never seem to know what to do. Open with the ash of war then crouch poke as they roll away, if they are smart enough the stay away from the 3rd wave of darkness & not rush back in they eat the R2 counter then when they realize all their health is gone they either panick heal or roll away then you crouch poke finish. "Chase the bro" deserves all the props I stole this all from him.

[@ExplosiveStare]

So much good info and passion packed in 6 minutes, would love analysis for more weapons

[@Ziggylata]

I can and likely will, but nothing has captured my desire to do so like the Zweihander.

[@hermes932]

STAMINA HEALTH ENDURANCE EVERYTHING YOU NEED

[@gary4014]

DS1 veterans: the return of the king

[@NATEHIGGERS97]

Colossal weapon's bread and butter may be the crouch pokes but its other movesets like running heavy and lights come out quick and also the backstep light attack is also clean. However another attack which is good in colossals is the counterattack. Shield talisman along with curved sword talisman and finally with the DLC deflect tear you get a pretty hefty damage boost if you have the hp and stamina to tank shit. In pvp the counter attack works pretty well for colossal if you've got the health and stamina for it.

[@cat_in_a_sock1948]

i love how they made the actual sword, the one most modelled after actual swordfighting the secret powerhouse. like ofcourse the thing handles better it has a secondary guard and pommel position. also giant dad

[@lefix3425]

Zweihänder is the absolute OG "big heavy metal" weapon. It is perfection...

[@Engineer_Heathen]

This is how I felt about the cathedral knight greatsword in ds3. It had lower damage than the greatsword, but the moveset was better and had a ridiculous true combo.

[@sirfijoe450]

It also did strike damage which basically negates its lower damage stat because strike is OP as fuck in DS3

[@stewforwords]

My favorite ugs. The move-set coupled with strike damage, and invaders not being used to facing an experienced user.. that sword is a force to be reckoned with.

[@mwperk02]

I sadly never got it to drop on any strength runs so didn't get much chance to use it.

[@Psyopcyclops]

I love when I find a great KZbinr out of nowhere. Liked, subbed, commented, and watched till the end. Look forward to more videos bro.

[@nurolkel3750]

you sold me the Zweihander. I started a new character to try strength builds and went straight to the Greatsword. Definitely going to try the Zweihander.

[@jasonlandonai6670]

The kings field sound track takes me back, must have cheesed that kraken in the beginning 20x as a young lad. Great vid

[@Koballin]

Love it, I’ve been using the serpent hunter as a replacement for guts sword because it has the same crouch poke but great spear move set but using the zwei would let me use an ash of war so I’ll give it a try

[@uhuju1]

its amazing at everything, from roll catching to trading to punishing to mixups (with the roll poke)

[@breakmutiny5733]

Preach my brother! has R2 it’s as long as guts gs and looks so much better also royal knights resolve plus the spear talisman is the sauce

[@dimKiriyenko]

So many explanations before you came with an actually important reason - fashion. After I've played whole 100% bosses while looking as Guts, it's time to look like a crusader for a little. P.S. Awesome info about pierce resistance, this is something I was really not aware of.

[@ceboots]

Zweihänder looks better so it's the best, simple

[@cawleary3975]

Cebob youre so sophisticated with that beautiful umlaut.

[@stevenobrien7686]

I’ll be honest I think Guts sword looks much better.

[@dud5606]

@@stevenobrien7686 weeb

[@stevenobrien7686]

@@dud5606 Bro, what a brain dead comment. It's a series that is one hundred percent purely about badass western medieval combat and western fantasy/mythology. Get a life.

[@Coloszian]

Bringing back some King's Field music. Brings me back to my childhood.

[@lllXanderlll]

When I made my strength build I mainly used the guts gs and then later the Godslayer's since it looked cool and had an interesting weapon art. I tried the Zwei but was disappointed by the damage and ultimately I went back to the guts gs, but next time I make a new character I'll give the Zwei a second try. It deserves at least that much

[@msarge2853]

This man made a 6 and a half minute video just to keep the GiantDad legend alive

[@RunEscaqe3]

I really like RKR with the zwei since the poke can hit really hard and accurately while catching people off guard and then the follow up can kill them.

[@GhostProdigy]

Great vid you did a very good job of explaining the meta.

[@ferod7732]

Nice explanation. The moveset really makes up for the damage but i still prefere the Greatsword. I think it looks kinda funny when you do such heavy attacks with a „relatively" small weapon

[@Sombriio]

the editing of this video was very good, and my next build i will try the zweihander

[@jakedave6169]

I don’t know Zweihander I only know basscannon

[@spoderman2399]

Glad to see this vid, I was a zweihander boy in ds3 and used it all the way till lord or cinder

[@solomon9655]

Okay so hear me out. Two zweihanders.

[@Reuben-bi5tq]

Nooo you can’t it’s too dangerous 😱

[@Yawunik]

@@solomon9655 zwei, zweihänder

[@enkiduthewildman]

Vierhänder?

[@MasterChiefCOOLMCC]

Ahhh. . . My old friend - My guiding Chaos infused blade. It was always you who was at my side.

[@elialadame6613]

Great explanations and nicely done as always.

[@LAK_770]

Zwei also has a fantastic backstep R1 with surprisingly long forward movement and a nice hard overhead chop. The running R2 also comes out scary fast. Also the fact that the Zwei is perceptibly faster than the other UGS can really throw people off. Giant Hunt and Lion’s Claw are indeed great, though the latter is so popular that you really need to catch someone slipping. Stamp-slice can be brutal if you keep it in your pocket for extreme calculated surprise. If they know it’s coming they’ll be fine, but if they don’t they might get demoralizingly ragdolled. Several of the most likely reactions to the stamp will result in getting wrecked, and the reactions that don’t connect at least force urgent evasion.

[@deucifer4170]

When I found the Zweihander, I was giddy with joy. I'd found my ultimate weapon, the one I'll take all the way to the end! I beat Gwyn with the Zweihander. I beat the Soul of Cinder with the Zweihander. I will beast on EVERY boss from here on out, with my Zweihander!

[@deucifer4170]

@@GleebyDeebyEeby I do not care for Dark Souls 2.

[@blaspheed]

Once I found this sword I stopped using the greatsword on my str character.

[@korvin312]

After BKGS being retired from the series, I was sad to find out that the majority of Greatswords in Elden ring were just cookie cutter movesets. I hadn't even considered the Zweihander until now - thank you!

[@mwperk02]

When the black knight sword dropped from the undead burg knight. You knew right there and then what build you would be doing this run.

[@nialencapefet5154]

I gave a try to the trollknight yesterday, and while it is not optimal, it wins the fashion contest. The sword is beautiful. And it's weapon art can be crazy strong with the right talismans and the pocket highland axe. Does like 700-900 damage to heavily armored opponents with almost unbreakable hyperarmor.

[@LPAtkins]

Been a Zweihander main since DS1 (I even bought a cold steel one just because), when they added the 2h thrust in DS2 the weapon was damn near perfect.... when they put the garbage slam back in DS3 I was devastated. Great breakdown of why the Zweihander is so good, but I am glad people pick guts greatsword only the truly worthy can run the Zwei. One thing I would like to add apart from the damage numbers is that the Zweihander doesn't obstruct your vision like the greatsword and it doesn't really telegraph because its not a giant hunk of dung.

[@davidcardozo290]

Let's go, found another Zweihänder main. Anyways, the slam was such an inappropriate move for a sword that can and should be used as a polearm or spear, not to mention the little to no uses it has besides the poise that it gives.

[@xjudgedreadx2482]

First weapon I beat the game with. Claymore and Zwei will always be bae. Good video Ziggy!

[@Shyguymask]

The problem is that in PvE not only are most of these major advantages irrelevant or less impactful, but Colossal swords in general struggle to hit many lategame bosses let alone deal decent damage compared to other builds. And then you add Zweihander's already subpar AR and it's plain outclassed if not unviable against bosses like Maliketh and Malenia among others because of its pathetic damage output at that point of the game compared to the better options. On my first playthrough I mained Heavy Zweihander (STR build), and on my second playthrough I used Cold Zweihander (Dex/Int build) for most of it. It's good early and midgame but the damage is too low to keep up with lategame PvE. It should at least reach A scaling in Heavy/Keen.

[@Ziggylata]

Just level up to 250, but yes youre correct. There are better options in the level 100 to level 200 range, along with colossal weapons generally being harder against some of the bosses. There are things you can do to make them more effective but its still difficult.

[@CheeseOfMasters]

just parry malenia and use a dagger for crit

[@DRGNSLR]

Thank you! You are amazing! You are a reason I come back to Elden!

[@dantucho203]

Me, a pve player: “Ooooh a guide on the best colossal sword lemme see”. Video:”Stay viable in PVP” Me: “Fuck”

[@Ziggylata]

Its still good.

[@MrZoorab]

Man, spell parrying your own holy discs when they come back is a big brain move.

[@NotAuxell]

I've been saying the zweihander is the claymore of its class since DS1, finally someone agrees!

[@goldencomedy4377]

My class is based entirely around the Zweihander. Giant Dad shall rise again

[@mreboric8406]

It's the same with the claymore for greatswords. The standard r2 is a thrust attack. As it's the only greatsword with a standard thrust attack it is the best greatsword. It also is a beast in pvp because other players forget that it has a thrust attack because it's the only one that has it. Can't tell you how many times that thrust has gotten me a pvp kill. Other players just don't see it coming.

[@dream8870]

and the recovery from it is so good, because if you miss you can immediately follow up with an r1 upward slash, so good

[@HarshMarsh]

got recommended this vid, very nice breakdown dawg

[@silasstryder]

Its low stat requirements and minimal scaling means you can focus those points on vigor or spell casting too, viable in PVP and makes the game a little easier for new players? Definitely a strong choice

[@magiicZed]

Zweihändler got me through the crucible knight ever goal on my first playthrough. I now run a faith caster build but every new game, i dust off ol reliable and relive that moment.

[@Jonathan-ob7oy]

It would be cool if the Zweihander had the same r1's as the Godslayer sword because they both seem a lot lighter than the other colossal swords

[@Altair02901]

great video dude, u gotta love the good old zweihander

[@WeeabooPocky]

as a ds old weapons enjoyer all i can say that yeah, this weapon and the claymore are amazing, they are viable as always they were in the souls series.

[@saymyname2618]

Its my favorite weapon in the whole franchise, and like it so much that i did a bit of research about it to know the history of this sword in real life. So im gonna share with you what i know: -The Zweihänder is a german sword that was famous during the XVI century. -Zweihänder means "two hands", that tell you how the weapon is supposed to be held.(if its not obvious enough) -Its pronounced Zvi-han-der.(Think about Vi from League of Legends.) -It was primarily used to cut spears from a distance and break the armies front lines, that were hard for other weapons and the cavalry to deal with. -Men armed with this sword were called DoppelSöldner and recieved DOUBLE payment of other soldiers, to compesate the risk of being in the frontlines. -The dull piece of the blade above the handle was to give the user a better grip of the weapon and allow the weapon to be used like a spear, thats why there is second guard over this part. -The most famous Zweihander user was a guy named Piers Gerlofs Donia. -This man was so strong that it was said that he could kill *multiple enemies* with a single blow of the sword and capable of bending coins with his fingers. -His Zweihander was 2,13cm, wich is the biggest found, weighted 6,6kg (like 5 times the weight of a simple Straight Sword in real life) and it's in a musuem nowadays.

[@Ziggylata]

I did actually know a lot of this. Not all of it, but a lot. I also find it very cool.

[@ryanbrandes1929]

Do you know where that sword is

[@saymyname2618]

@@ryanbrandes1929 You mean the sword wielded by Piers Donia? Couldnt remember but i searched and it says its in the Fries museum of Leeuwarden.

[@coolnamebro7363]

Thanks for the motion value sheet.

[@sirsmoothie8502]

Compared to some of the bullshit that other souls channels put out, this video was excellently constructed. I understood why the Zweihander could more viable for some based on motion values and thrust counter attacks. Well done sir. Although, I still prefer slamming every moving thing in this beautiful game with a hunk of metal.

[@kuro5869]

Just gotta say the guy in 0:57 using miquellas rings of light to proc the Erdtree greatshield is such a good play

[@spy_balloon]

I already said it 1month after this game release (pre 1.04) that Zweihander is the best collosal weapon in the game, not because the damage but because the moveset are extremely versatile both pve and pvp

[@cullenpinney2997]

Combining it with a heavy war cry i was able to defeat most early bosses including godrick, Margit, and the red wolf in just 3 or 4 fully charged heavy attacks

[@lk69ak65bl1]

Been using the Zweihander since Dark Souls. Always been my first play through weapon in all the Souls games. When I found it in Elden Ring I was so happy.

[@bender535]

I fell in love with the moveset and newish design of Zwei from the start and stuck with it. Though I'm only PVE it's great there too

[@TúrinTurambar07]

Alright, you convinced me to use it. So many greatswords that i kinda ignored Zweihander, it is one hell of a fashion sword, I will give it a go.