Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin Weapons Guide#
“A sword serves its wielder. But without a wielder, a sword is nothing.”
Dark Souls II ships the largest arsenal in the series — more than two hundred weapons, and the Power Stance plus infusion systems give builds enormous room to grow. This chapter only lists stat anchors verified item-by-item against the community wiki; for everything else it gives criteria, never invented numbers. First learn how to read the panel and how upgrades are calculated, then learn how to pick a weapon.
How to Read a Weapon Panel#
A second-generation weapon panel has three parts: five damage segments, stat requirements, and scaling letters. Using the Longsword as an example:
| Block | Meaning | Longsword Example |
|---|---|---|
| Five damage segments | Physical/Magic/Fire/Lightning/Dark; the last four stay at zero without elemental damage | 112/0/0/0/0 |
| Stat requirements | Strength/Dexterity/Intelligence/Faith; falling short discounts physical damage | STR 10/DEX 9 |
| Scaling letters | Six grades from S, A, B, C, D to E in decreasing order; they determine the bonus damage gained on upgrade | STR C/DEX C |
| Physical motion property | Slash/Strike/Thrust; determines which enemy types it counters | Slash/Thrust |
Note: there is no “secondary stat” column in this game — stamina consumption, durability and similar details live on the weapon’s detail page. The core of the panel is those four rows above.
Verified Weapon Data Anchors#
Every entry in the table below was checked item-by-item against the community wiki (DarkSouls II Wiki): values are +0 base panels, numbers in parentheses are values at max upgrade; normal weapons cap at +10, boss soul weapons cap at +5; scaling letters reflect the +0 state.
| Weapon | Physical | Magic/Fire/Lightning/Dark (if any) | Scaling | Requirements | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longsword | 112 (+10 = 225) | none | STR C/DEX C | STR 10/DEX 9 | Standard straight sword with both slash and thrust motions; the all-rounder for STR/DEX builds |
| Rapier | 115 (+10 = 230) | none | STR D/DEX B | STR 5/DEX 12 | Thrust rush-down with a massive 140 counter modifier; can poke behind a shield, and its one-handed heavy attack parries |
| Zweihander | 180 (+10 = 360) | none | STR D/DEX C (becomes STR B at +10) | STR 24/DEX 12 | Ultra greatsword with long sweeping reach; at 12.0 weight it sits in the lightest tier of its class |
| Great Club | 210 (+10 = 420) | none | STR B (becomes STR A at +2) | STR 28/DEX 4 | Strike damage with a class-leading 60 poise damage; built to crack shields and heavy armor |
| Smelter Sword | 132 (+5 = 350) | Fire 100 (+5 = 170) | STR D/DEX D/Fire C | STR 40/DEX 10 | Boss soul weapon; its heavy attack detonates fire on impact and it can never be infused or buffed |
Supplementary Data for the Anchor Table#
- Weight and durability: Longsword 3.0/60, Rapier 1.5/45, Zweihander 12/60, Great Club 15.0/70, Smelter Sword 22/70;
- Counter modifier (damage multiplier when striking an enemy mid-attack): Rapier 140, Zweihander and Smelter Sword 130, Longsword 110, Great Club 100;
- Poise damage (stagger power): Great Club 60, Zweihander and Smelter Sword 50, Longsword 20, Rapier 10 — strike weapons’ shield-breaking advantage is obvious at a glance;
- Requirement math: two-handing sharply lowers the strength gate; the Great Club demands 28 strength one-handed but only 14 two-handed;
- The Zweihander ties with the Lost Sinner’s Sword and the Curved Dragon Greatsword as the lightest ultra greatswords (12.0), its reach second only to the Greatsword and the Smoke Ultra Greatsword.
Upgrade Criteria#
The normal upgrade path follows remarkably tidy arithmetic — you can do it in your head:
- Each level adds roughly 10% of the starting base damage: Longsword 112 → 123 → 134 → … → 225;
- At +10 the base damage exactly doubles: Longsword 112 becomes 225, Rapier 115 becomes 230, Zweihander 180 becomes 360, Great Club 210 becomes 420;
- Stat scaling is calculated on top of the base: a Longsword with 99/99 STR/DEX upgraded to +10 shows a 225 base plus 150 bonus damage from scaling;
- Boss soul weapons follow the Petrified Dragon Bone path, costing 1/2/3/4/5 bones for levels +1 through +5, capping at +5;
- An infused weapon can no longer receive temporary buffs from items or spells — if you want resin-style buffs, don’t rush to infuse.
Upgrade Material Ladder (verified level by level)#
| Level | Material | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| +1 to +3 | Titanite Shard | 1/2/3 per level |
| +4 to +6 | Large Titanite Shard | 1/2/3 per level |
| +7 to +9 | Titanite Chunk | 1/2/3 per level |
| +10 | Titanite Slab | 1 |
| Boss soul weapons +1 to +5 | Petrified Dragon Bone | 1/2/3/4/5 per level |
Normal upgrades also consume souls, and the bill grows with each level (the Longsword’s +10 costs around two thousand souls; the Great Club’s +10 approaches three thousand).
For more upgrade details see the upgrade system.
Infusion Criteria#
Infusion is the other half of the panel system, and its rules are just as verifiable:
| Infusion | Panel Change | Scaling Owner | Best Build |
|---|---|---|---|
| Magic | Physical drops to 70%, Magic gains equal damage (Longsword 112 becomes 78/78) | Intelligence | Sorcerers |
| Fire | Physical drops to 70%, Fire gains equal damage | INT and FAI both | Pyromancers |
| Lightning | Physical drops to 70%, Lightning gains equal damage | Faith | Faith builds |
| Dark | Physical drops to 70%, Dark gains equal damage | The lower of INT/FAI | INT/FAI hybrids |
| Raw | Base rises about 15%, scaling nearly zeroes out | — | Low-stat characters |
| Bleed/Poison | Physical drops to 70%, adds a status buildup value | — | Status builds |
- Raw-infused base panels: Longsword 128, Rapier 132, Zweihander 207, Great Club 241;
- A Magic-infused Longsword upgraded to +10 reaches 157 physical/157 magic; pair it with a staff in the left hand and you have the standard mage-fencer;
- Each infusion uses its own stone: Magic uses Faintstone, Fire uses Firedrake Stone, Lightning uses Boltstone, Dark uses Darknight Stone, Raw uses Raw Stone, and every infusion also charges 2000 souls;
- Heavy hammers like the Great Club cannot take a Bleed infusion — for bleed damage you can only apply a temporary bleed enchantment with items.
Choosing by Weapon Category#
Choose by Physical Damage Type#
| Type | Criterion | Verified Representative |
|---|---|---|
| Slash/thrust hybrid | The most complete moveset, covers every range with no obvious weakness | Longsword |
| Strike | Super effective against shields and heavy armor; highest poise damage of all types | Great Club |
| Thrust | Consistently high counter modifiers; best in narrow corridors | Rapier |
| Slash | Wide sweep arc; efficient against light-armor packs | Zweihander |
Choose by Weapon Class#
| Class | Selection Criteria |
|---|---|
| Straight swords | Fast swings, low stamina cost, complete moveset; any build can lean on one while leveling |
| Ultra greatswords | Trade speed for reach and stagger; pick a 12.0 lightweight model if the weight bothers you |
| Thrusting swords | Poke safely behind a shield the whole game with high counter multipliers; first pick for turtles and narrow paths |
| Curved swords/katanas | Fast combos and close-range pressure; naturally suited to Bleed and Poison infusions |
| Axes/greataxes | Strong per-hit stagger; the horizontal sweep catches flankers |
| Hammers/great hammers | The byword for strike and poise damage; dedicated shield and armor breakers |
| Polearms/spears | Longest attack range; attack from behind your shield and keep a safe distance |
| Bows/crossbows | Bows snipe a single point with a charge; crossbows suppress with rapid fire — both are aggro-control tools |
| Catalysts | Staves cast sorceries, chimes cast miracles and hexes; their panels only scale with the matching stat |
Recommended Weapon Routes#
Early Game#
| Weapon | Requirements | Source | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rapier | STR 5/DEX 12 | Sold by Majula’s blacksmith Lenigrast for 1000 souls | Trivial requirements, 140 counter modifier, and 1.5 weight barely touches your equip load |
| Longsword | STR 10/DEX 9 | Same blacksmith, 1300 souls | Slash and thrust in one package with balanced scaling; can last a whole first playthrough |
| Zweihander | STR 24/DEX 12 | Metal chest in the Iron Keep | A transition pick if you want to adapt to ultra greatsword pacing early |
| Great Club | STR 28/DEX 4 | Wooden chest in The Gutter | The strength build’s opening tool: two-handing drops the gate to just 14 strength |
Mid-to-Late Routes (criteria-based)#
- Strength: take the Great Club to +10 (420 base with an A strength scaling), then graduate to the Smelter Sword (+5 panel of 350/170 with a built-in fire explosion on heavy attacks);
- Dexterity: build the skeleton around a Rapier +10 (230 with DEX B), then pick the curved swords and katanas with better dexterity letters in the same class;
- Caster: a straight sword with Magic infusion is the base (a Magic Longsword at +10 hits 157/157); the staff does the damage while the sword finishes survivors;
- Faith: Lightning infusion scales off Faith alone; Dark infusion reads the lower of INT/FAI, so hybrid builds should favor Dark;
- Low-stat characters: Raw infusion feeds the base panel (anchors in the infusion table) and zeroed scaling wastes no stat points.
Boss Soul Weapons#
The Exchange Mechanic#
Boss soul weapons are all traded to Straid of Olaphis in the Lost Bastille: wake him from petrification first, then trade a boss soul plus souls for the weapon. These weapons only upgrade with Petrified Dragon Bones, capped at +5 (costs listed in the material ladder).
Verified Source Pairings#
| Weapon | Boss Soul Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Smelter Sword | Smelter Demon | Fully verified stat anchor (see table above); ultra greatsword moveset but heavy attacks carry a fire explosion |
| Pursuer’s Ultra Greatsword | The Pursuer | Strength-oriented ultra greatsword |
| Lost Sinner’s Sword | The Lost Sinner | The lightweight (12.0) of the ultra greatswords |
| Butcher’s Knife | The Rotten | Large curved knife |
| Sacred Chime Hammer | Velstadt | Strike weapon for faith and hex builds |
| Moonlight Greatsword | The Duke’s Dear Freja | Magic-damage greatsword, a sorcerer favorite |
| Curved Dragon Greatsword | Ancient Dragon | Heavy attack fires a sword-beam wave |
| King’s Uchigatana | King Vendrick | Dexterity-oriented katana |
| Scythe of Want | Nashandra | Hex-oriented scythe |
The table above only guarantees the weapon-to-boss-soul pairing; apart from the Smelter Sword, the individual stats have not been verified one-by-one — trust the in-game panel before citing numbers.
Acquisition Summary#
| Weapon | Source |
|---|---|
| Longsword | Sold by Majula’s blacksmith (1300 souls); uncommon drop from the Dark Stalker; a fire-infused chest version exists in the Forest of Fallen Giants |
| Rapier | Sold by Majula’s blacksmith (1000 souls); rare drop from Goblins |
| Zweihander | Metal chest in the Iron Keep, directly opposite the Smelter Demon’s fog gate; rare drop from Parasite Spiders |
| Great Club | Wooden chest in The Gutter |
| Smelter Sword | Trade the Smelter Demon’s soul plus 1500 souls to Straid |
| Other boss soul weapons | Trade the matching boss soul to Straid (see table above) |
Power Stance#
The Power Stance is a mechanic unique to this entry: equip same-class weapons in both hands, meet 1.5 times the requirements of the weapon in your right hand, then press the left-hand light attack button to enter the exclusive stance. Verified example: the Great Club’s base requirements are 28/4, and its stance requires 42/6 — exactly 1.5 times.
Combo criteria:
- Dual thrusting swords: relentless poke pressure with extremely high sustained close-range damage;
- Dual ultra greatswords: double sweeps control crowds, at the cost of a huge stamina drain;
- Dual strike hammers: stagger combos that exist to dismantle turtle builds;
- Weapon plus catalyst: this is not a stance, just a normal left-hand setup — a staff or chime in the left hand casts anytime while the right hand keeps attacking; the mage’s standard configuration.
Survival Tips#
- Two-handing sharply lowers strength gates: the Great Club needs 28 strength one-handed but only 14 two-handed;
- Above 70% of your equip load your roll slows; at 100% you can only walk — the Zweihander is 12.0 and the Great Club 15.0, so do the weight math before finalizing gear;
- Match the infusion to your scaling owner before infusing: Intelligence pairs with Magic, Faith with Lightning, INT/FAI hybrids with Fire and Dark; once infused you can no longer receive item buffs;
- Durability is a hidden health bar: the Smelter Sword burns an extra 10 durability on every fire heavy attack, so repair it fully before boss fights;
- Use strike (Great Club) against shield-bearers and heavy armor, thrust (Rapier) in corridors, and sweeps (Zweihander) in open ground — countering the enemy type matters more than raw panel numbers.
Summary#
Weapon decisions in Dark Souls II compress into four steps: filter weapons by stat requirements (two-handing lowers the gate further), match the physical damage type to the enemy’s weakness, align infusion scaling with your stat spread, then compare upgraded panels within the same class. Remember the upgrade rule — “about a tenth of base per level, exactly double at +10” — and you can compute any weapon’s growth curve in your head. As for the weapons on this page without numbers: that is not an omission, but a rule — no reliable data, no invented numbers. The in-game panel will always beat a fabricated table.