Elden Ring: 19 Best Curved Swords (2024)

The list of Elden Ring’s Curved Swords contains weapons with some extremely niche effects, several of which are exceptionally powerful, while others are… less so. Looked at as a group, they are extremely strong, dealing good damage and causing rapid status buildup, especially when dual-wielding.

The weapon type has seen some nerfs, but you can still pick up any pair of Curved Swords and find a certain amount of success. Depending on what you are trying to do, though, some Curved Swords will be better picks than others. This list will help you decide which one fits your build best.

Updated by Lucas Ellinas on July 18, 2024: Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC added four Curved Swords, and all of them are Somber weapons, which means they have unique attributes. We’ve updated our list to include them, so you’ll know which are worth hunting down in the Land of Shadow.

19 Falchion

The Falchion runs into a problem shared by a few other weapons on this list: for a general-use Curved Sword, the Bandit’s Curved Sword is definitively the best. The Falchion consistently loses to it on damage and is significantly shorter, meaning there is little reason to use the Falchion beyond aesthetics.

If you want to make this weapon part of your build, it’s at its best when using the Sacred or Flame Art Affinities, which both scale with Faith. Like many Curved Swords, the Falchion can be acquired at the start of the game if you are willing to farm for it. The weapon drops from the Demi-Humans that wield them in various places around the Lands Between.

18 Grossmesser

The Grossmesser is a solid weapon. It is among the longer Curved Swords, and by only a narrow margin. And it has better damage than most other weapons in the class, performing especially well on the Heavy Affinity. Unfortunately, the Grossmesser suffers from the same problem as the Falchion, being outclassed by the Bandit’s Curved Sword in both reach and damage.

That said, the difference in damage on the Heavy Affinity is quite small (although the best Curved Sword for Strength builds isn’t actually either of these weapons), so if you really like how the Grossmesser looks, you won’t lose much by using it. Like the Bandit’s Curved Sword, the Grossmesser can be farmed from Skeletons, which can drop three different types of Curved Swords. The Skeletons you’re looking for have the Grossmesser in one hand, and their other hand is empty.

17 Scimitar

In most ways, the Scimitar is far from a powerhouse. Its damage is unimpressive, and its length falls right in the middle of the pack among Curved Swords. However, the weapon has one unique feature: a special one-handed light attack moveset. It’s extremely similar to the one most normal Curved Swords use, but it is faster and moves you further forward. Using Curved Swords one-handed generally isn’t optimal, but the speed of the Scimitar means it works well when paired with either a Shield or a Seal/Staff for casting Spells.

The Scimitar can be acquired in a number of different ways. The Warrior class starts with two of them, but if you want to choose a different class, you still have options. One can be bought from the Twin Maiden Husks at the Roundtable Hold. Alternatively, you can farm them from Skeletons that wield one (they’ll have a small Shield in their other hand).

16 Shotel

The Shotel is one of the shortest Curved Swords and has extremely low damage, no matter which Affinity you choose to give it. However, it does have the unique ability to do a certain amount of damage through enemy guards. Both the Nox Flowing Sword and the Eclipse Shotel share this property, but neither of those weapons can be given a unique Ash of War.

If enemy Shields are giving you trouble, and you don’t want to be limited to the relatively niche Weapon Skills of those other two Curved Swords, the Shotel is worth considering. It’s sold by the Abandoned Merchant in Siofra River, who can be accessed by climbing the scaffolding west of the Worshipper’s Woods Site of Grace.

15 Shamshir

See Also

curved sword vs. straight sword, katana cutting advantage | SBG Sword ForumCurved Sword Vs. Straight Sword: Which Is Better?Curved Swords vs Straight Swords: Combat, History, and DesignThe Complete Expert Guide to 11 Types of Swords - 33rd Square

The Shamshir is basically a better Scimitar. It shares the other weapon's unique, one-handed moveset, but is significantly longer and beats it in damage on most Affinities (although it still can’t compete with some of the weapons higher on this list).

So, if you like the unique moveset of the Scimitar but are unimpressed with its performance, the Shamshir will be an improvement more often than not. To get it, delve down to the bottom of Highroad Cave in Stormhill, where a corpse holding the weapon is being eaten by Giant Bats.

14 Flowing Curved Sword

The Flowing Curved Sword doesn’t have exceptional stats. However, it does have unique, flowing, heavy attacks that strike twice when uncharged and three times when charged. Maybe you won’t do the most damage, but you will do it with style.

Fun as it is, though, the Flowing Curved Sword is, unfortunately, an endgame weapon. You can find it in a Carriage in the Consecrated Snowfield. This area can only be accessed if you've gotten both halves of the Haligtree Secret Medallion during Latenna's quest line.

13 Spirit Sword

The DLC introduced a second Curved Sword that deals innate Magic damage, but, unfortunately, it pales in comparison to its base game counterpart, the Wing of Astel. It deals less damage, and doesn’t share the Wing’s fancy moveset. If the Spirit Sword had a strong Weapon Skill associated with it, that might help make up the difference.

Unfortunately, Rancor Slash is just a fancy version of Sword Dance that adds Frostbite buildup and summons some spirits that chase your enemies. But it turns out that giving a stronger Curved Sword Sword Dance and the Cold Affinity is just more effective.

If you want to see how they compare for yourself, the Spirit Sword can be found on the Cerulean Coast, in a ravine northeast of the Cerulean Coast West Site of Grace.

12 Nox Flowing Sword

On the surface, the Nox Flowing Sword is not an especially impressive weapon. However, it has some unique features that make it more useful than it seems, especially in PvP. Like the other two Shotel-style weapons, the Nox Flowing Sword will deal a certain amount of damage through Shields. Additionally, its Weapon Skill, Flowing Form, extends the sword and swings it in a wide area.

Both of these abilities are stronger in PvP, where Shields are more common and unique Weapon Skills force unprepared opponents to make difficult dodges. But it’s not like PvE enemies don't use Shields, and you often face crowds of enemies or those that try to distance themselves from you; in those cases, the Weapon Skill is rather useful.

If you want this interesting weapon, it is dropped by the Nox Swordstress & Nox Monk boss in Sellia, Town of Sorcery.

11 Mantis Blade

With its normal attacks, the Mantis Blade is the shortest Curved Sword by a wide margin. And its damage isn’t anything spectacular either. However, what makes the Mantis Blade substantially better than it appears is its unique heavy attack, which unfolds the blade, giving the weapon a substantial range boost. In fact, it’s so substantial that the Mantis Blade temporarily becomes the longest Curved Sword.

This allows you to keep your distance from enemies in PvE and catch your opponents off-guard in PvP. The Mantis Blade isn't too difficult to get, either; it's a guaranteed drop from the Lesser Cemetery Shade in the Gelmir Hero’s Grave in Mt. Gelmir.

10 Serpent-God’s Curved Sword

You aren’t going to use the Serpent-God's Curved Sword for its damage, which is outclassed by the best Curved Swords. In fact, you might not use it to attack at all. This weapon has a unique ability that heals you whenever you kill an enemy.Crucially, this effect still triggers even if the weapon is in your hand or on your back.

There are other ways to get this effect, but the Serpent-God’s Curved Sword is relatively light and doesn’t take up a Talisman slot or use your Great Rune.

The Serpent-God’s Curved Sword is not going to be of much use during boss fights, since there is usually only one enemy to kill, but it can help keep your health topped up while exploring dungeons without needing to waste charges of your Flask of Crimson Tears. You can find this utility tool in the shortcut to the Altus Plateau, the Ruin-Strewn Precipice, near the Giant Land Octopus.

9 Eclipse Shotel

Calling the Eclipse Shotel a good weapon is a real stretch, but its effect is so unique that it merits including on this list. Its Weapon Skill, Death Flare, gives it an attack buff of Holy damage and causes an explosion if you attack again, but the real boon is that it grants Death Blight buildup.

If Death Blight procs, it instantly kills your opponent. Unfortunately, Death Blight only works on opposing players (mostly), making it pretty much exclusively effective in PvP.

And even then, in many circ*mstances, hitting your opponent with the weapon enough times to trigger Death Blight will just kill them outright instead. However, it does put significant pressure on your opponents, especially if they aren’t ready for it. Alternatively, it could be useful in a coordinated team battle with other players using Death Blight. To get the Eclipse Shotel, head to one of the last areas of the game, Castle Sol, where it waits for you on a church altar.

8 Horned Warrior’s Sword

The Horned Warrior’s Sword is a paired weapon that gets its best scaling with Dexterity, although its Weapon Skill, Horn Calling, scales exclusively with Faith. As a result, the ideal use of the weapon is probably a mix between the two stats.

Horn Calling is a solid skill, causing you to thrust the sword into the ground, summoning horns from the ground near your enemy. It deals decent damage, but has a strangely high Stamina cost, which makes using it repeatedly challenging.

The weapon is a guaranteed drop from the Horned Warrior you can find in the swamp beneath Belurat Tower Settlement, but can also be farmed from the other Horned Warriors that wield it.

7 Magma Blade

As you would expect, the Magma Blade deals Fire damage. It has slightly better scaling in Strength than Faith when fully upgraded and is good for New Game Plus since it scales with three stats. Magma Blade’s Weapon Skill, Magma Shower, is visually similar to Spinning Slash, which appears on many Curved Swords, except that it creates pools of magma that will continue to deal damage after the skill ends.

The Magma Blade can be farmed for, so you can get two of them, but you probably won’t have a fun time doing so. It drops from the Man-Serpents in Volcano Manor; the ones carrying it, anyway. These enemies aren’t easy to kill, there aren’t many of them, and the drop rate for this weapon is frustratingly low. If this is a weapon you want, you’ll really need to put the work in.

6 Dancing Blade Of Ranah

The unique Weapon Skill of the Dancing Blade of Ranah , Unending Dance, is true to its name. So long as you keep the skill activated, you’ll spin and attack over and over again, dealing impressive damage if you find a window in which the enemy you’re fighting doesn’t interrupt you.

A DLC weapon, the Dancing Blade of Ranah drops from the Dancer of Ranah in the Southern Nameless Mausoleum. The Mausoleum is a bit tricky to find, as it’s on an island off the Cerulean Coast. It’s easy enough to get there if you know where it is, though; head southeast of the Cerulean Coast West Site of Grace is a tunnel that will take you to the island.

5 Bandit’s Curved Sword

The Bandit's Curved Sword has the highest base damage of any Curved Sword and is also among the longest weapon in the group. There are other Curved Swords that will outperform it depending on the exact build you are going for, but if you are looking for a strong, general-purpose Curved Sword, this is the weapon for you.

Additionally, unlike many of the other powerful weapons on this list, the Bandit’s Curved Sword can be found extremely early in the game, farmable from the Skeletal Bandits that carry it across the Lands Between. The drop chance is low, but the odds are better than they appear since these Skeletons are dual-wielding, and can drop two swords at once.

4 Falx

The Falx is a rather unusual-looking paired Curved Sword. It gets a solid B scaling in Dexterity and comes with an innate 55 Bleed, but its best feature is the unique and dangerous Weapon Skill, Revenger’s Blade.

You charge forward before attacking in a sweeping slash, and you can follow it up with a strong attack to perform a series of wild slashes. As you might expect, the skill does extremely well when combined with the various Bleed and multi-attack synergies. The weapon is dropped by Hornsent after you finish his questline, which can be completed in a few different ways, all ending in his death at your hands.

3 Beastman’s Curved Sword

The Beastman's Curved Sword hits like a truck, ending up with A scaling in Strength when fully upgraded if given the Heavy Affinity. It gives you the power of a Strength weapon with the attack speed of the best Curved Swords. And this particular Curved Sword comes with special, spinning jumping attacks, helping you shred enemies even faster.

Unfortunately, you won’t be able to take advantage of the weapon until the very end of the game, since you need to reach Crumbling Farum Azula and kill the Azula Beastmen carrying it.

2 Scavenger’s Curved Sword

Dual-wield status builds have been hit with nerfs since Elden Ring's launch, as has the Bleed-focused Seppuku Weapon Skill, but the Scavenger's Curved Sword is still an exceptional weapon. Bleed remains powerful, and this Curved Sword remains one of the best ways to trigger it.

To get it, head to Mt. Gelmir, where the Grafted Scion leaps down from the cliff to attack you. Sadly, if you want to dual-wield Scavenger’s Curved Swords, you’ll have to wait until New Game Plus (or find a friend willing to drop one for you). Until then, you can pair it with a different Curved Sword, the Bandit’s Curved Sword from earlier on this list being a solid option.

1 Wing Of Astel

The nerfs to the Scavenger’s Curved Sword mean the Wing of Astel is now the indisputable king of the weapon class if it wasn’t already. It is one of the best Magic weapons in the game, and arguably one of the best in general.

It has decent damage for Intelligence builds, unique, strong attacks that fire Magic projectiles, and a stellar Weapon Skill in Nebula, which creates an arc of stars that explodes for Magic damage.

The Wing of Astel also deals extra damage to Gravity-type enemies because this weapon clearly needs the extra bonus. Getting it is a bit tricky, though, since you need to head to the Uhl Palace Ruins after progressing Ranni's questline until you've reached Nokstella, Eternal City.