When one talks about some of the greatest and most impactful games of all time, then it goes without saying that Dark Souls would be an inevitable part of the conversation. After all, it was FromSoftware's bold title that served as a wake-up call to the AAA industry, which was getting increasingly complacent when it came to adding a degree of challenge in their games. With the release of Dark Souls, this entire dynamic was overhauled significantly. No longer were gamers being treated like children anymore — FromSoftware took care of this with their title, which compelled players to choose proper builds and utilize weapons tailor-made to that moveset to ensure that their damage was enough to take care of even the toughest of bosses.

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There are two main melee stats in Dark Souls that govern physical damage — Strength and Dexterity. While one can definitely opt to increase only one of these stats, investing in both can result in some better builds for certain weapons. For players who are seeking out a great weapon to go with this build, here are the best Quality build weapons in Dark Souls.

Updated on February 6, 2021, by Reyadh Rahaman: As opposed to the most recent game in the series, Dark Souls 3, upgrades are a bit more simplified. Instead of having multiple upgrade paths for physical damage, the only one that is useful for Quality builds is the Regular type of upgrade. This yields no elemental damage but instead increases the scaling level of a weapon with Strength and Dexterity (depending on a weapon's innate potential). This makes things more straightforward for players who want to pump resources into their favorite weapon before slashing, stabbing, or bluntly bashing foes into oblivion. There are a few more that stand out as particularly viable for those leveling both of the dominant physical stats.

10 Washing Pole

The Washing Pole might not be the first weapon that anyone thinks of when it comes to choosing a good Quality build weapon, but this katana is still a great option regardless.

This weapon is quite similar to the Uchigatana, so players who are used to that legendary weapon can opt for this counterpart if they're pursuing a Quality build.

At the maximum upgrade of +15, the Washing Pole gets D-tier scaling in Strength and C-tier scaling in Dexterity. This isn't very impressive, however, this weapon's reach and speed allow it to be deadly with even minimal boosts. 225 physical attack is not a figure that should be dismissed either.

9 Caestus

The Caestus is easily one of the more unique weapons on this list, essentially functioning as a dark fantasy knuckleduster of sorts. Good scaling in both Strength and Dexterity, coupled with a fast moveset, makes the Caestus one of the more entertaining weapons to use in Dark Souls.

Dual-wielding two Caestus weapons have become quite popular in Dark Souls, and people who decided to pursue this particular course of action will find themselves more than amazed by how different the game feels.

C-tier scaling in both melee stats allows this fist weapon's 165 physical attack to gain a moderate boost to its offensive rating. In combination with its rapid light and heavy attacks, as well as its wickedly swift parry speed, this grants its wielder great potential in combat.

8 Bastard Sword

The Bastard Sword might — ironically enough — be mostly forgotten when it comes to choosing a proper sword in Dark Souls, but there's no denying the validity of this weapon for people who are pursuing a Quality build.

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That being said, the Bastard Sword is certainly one of the faster greatswords in Dark Souls — even though its highest-damaging attack is extremely slow — and is a great pick for a person to finish their playthrough with.

At +15, this big blade gets C-tier scaling in both Strength and Dexterity that, despite being average, adds a decent boost to its substantial 262 physical attack. Its wide, sweeping light attacks are excellent for dealing with multiple foes at once and its overhead slam for a heavy attack is great to use in tight confines as well as to stagger most common enemies.

7 Warpick

The Warpick is easily one of the most underrated and underappreciated weapons in the entire game, and it's easy to see why this is the case once a person starts using this weapon.

With the second-highest reach of any hammer weapon and decent scaling with both Strength and Dexterity, it must be said that the Warpick is an easy recommendation for any player pursuing a Quality build.

With C-tier scaling in Strength and D-tier in Dexterity, it is geared a bit more towards beefier players, though this does not stop its maximum physical attack of 227 from allowing Quality builds to decimate a foe's health bar. As opposed to every other hammer in the game, the Warpick does thrust-type damage, meaning that it is the only weapon in this class that can take advantage of counterattack damage for even bigger hits on enemies in the middle of an attack animation.

6 Flamberge

The Flamberge is one of the safer weapons that players can use if they don't want to experiment too much with their moveset.

It's a reliable weapon in both PvE and PvP scenarios, and can definitely make one's journey with Dark Souls way easier once people are more familiar with the moveset.

The Flamberge is a bit odd for a greatsword in that it scales better with Dexterity, achieving B-tier in this stat at the maximum Regular upgrade level. It does get D-tier scaling with Strength, which allows it to be usable for Quality builds. As its item description and undulating blade imply, it can cause massive bleeding to adversaries for a bonus way to maim and massacre opponents.

5 Great Lord Greatsword

It goes without saying that the weapon of the final boss in the game was bound to make an appearance on this list, especially given the amazing scaling of said weapon with both Strength and Dexterity.

The Great Lord Greatsword isn't available for a person's first playthrough, which is quite a shame since this greatsword is easily one of the more fun weapons to play around with.

As a boss soul weapon, it can only be upgraded to +5 and cannot be infused, however, it doesn't need more than that to be a tool for utter devastation. The D-tier scaling in both Strength and Dexterity adds a minuscule boost to the attack rating, though its physical attack more than makes up for this with a tremendous figure of 384. This is one of the highest physical attack stats in the entire game.

4 Longsword

It boggles everyone's minds that one of the best weapons in the entirety of Dark Souls can be achieved from the very start if the player chooses the Warrior class.

The Longsword is easily one of the most reliable weapons in Dark Souls and a great weapon for anyone pursuing a Quality build. The weapon is fast enough to land two hits and then roll away from any danger, leaving the enemy with no clue as to what happened. It's one of the most beloved weapons in the entire game, and it's easy to see why this is the case.

This straight sword's combination of attack speed and relatively high damage for its weapon class make it a prime choice for Quality builds since it also gains C-tier scaling in both melee-oriented stats. 200 physical attack grants each swing of this blade sufficiently high damage per second that can see a player from the start of the game to the end without needing any other armament.

3 Demon's Spear

Technically speaking, most spears and halberds are quite viable with a Quality build, and this entire list could've been populated with weapons under these categories. However, none of them even come close to the brilliance of the Demon's Spear.

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The sheer amount of damage this weapon can do with a few quick hits simply puts it a cut above the rest of the spears and halberds present in Dark Souls. The fact that its scaling with Strength and Dexterity is serviceable makes it a perfect weapon for people pursuing a Quality build.

Dealing split damage comprising of 150 physical and 180 lightning attack makes this polearm excellent to get past the defenses of enemies with high physical damage reduction. Its thrusts also make it great for getting more damage on foes in the middle of an attack animation for great counterattacks. The C-tier scaling in both Strength and Dexterity is a great boon for Quality builds.

2 Zweihander

It would be impossible to talk about weapons that are compatible with a Quality build without mentioning the absolute monster that is the Zweihander.

The fact that this weapon is available fairly early in the game, coupled with the sheer damage it can deal with every hit, makes it one of the best weapons in Dark Souls by a country mile. In fact, the only weapon that is arguably better than the Zweihander is another popular greatsword.

C-tier scaling in Strength and D-tier in Dexterity gives a small yet appreciated boost to this two-handed sword's 325 physical attack. Its moveset is very similar to the Bastard Sword in that its light attacks unleash great sweeps in front of the wielder while the heavy ones bring this massive blade down upon the skulls of foes in a monstrous overhand smash.

1 Claymore

One doesn't need to give this legendary weapon an introduction — anybody who's played Dark Souls will attest to the fact that the Claymore is the best greatsword available in the entire game.

The moveset is incredibly entertaining, the damage is massive, and the weapon is available really early on in the game. Basically, the Claymore ticks all the boxes when it comes to being a great Quality weapon in Dark Souls.

The C-tier scaling it gets in both Strength and Dexterity are decent damage modifiers to this greatsword's 257 physical attack. What sets it apart from similar greatswords like the Zweihander is that the Claymore has both thrust and slashing attacks that make it extremely versatile and viable in pretty much every area in the game. Huge range, moderate speed, and solid damage grant this mighty blade the title of best Quality build weapon in the whole game.

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