For some, Dark Souls 3 is the pinnacle of the FromSoft experience, and it’s easy to see why. A vast world to explore, the Souls formula applied to perfection, and a huge variance of viable builds and weapons to choose from. It’s arguably the most polished Dark Souls game money can buy.
For players starting out on their adventure, planning out a build from the start can be a tall task since there is so much to choose from. Strength builds utilize weapons that scale with the Strength stat. It’s usually the heavier weapons that fall under this category, so if you’re a player who likes watching a big chunk of the enemy’s health bar going down as a result of an earth-shattering hammer strike, you’ll like these weapons.
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Winged Knight Twinaxes
- Requirement: 20 Strength, 12 Dexterity
- Skill: Chain Spin
- Weapon Type: Axe
- Scaling: Strength (A)
The Winged Knight Twinaxes are paired axes that drop from the Winged Knight in Lothric Castle. Having a low Str and Dex requirement means players can use these weapons in the early game for devastating results. With a Heavy infusion, they gain an A-tier scaling in Strength, meaning the more points you put into Strength, the more damage they do.
Although a bit of investment Stamina-wise, the Weapon Art, Chain Spin, can stun-lock enemies in PvP unless they have very high poise. Landing the first hit with this skill is the hardest part, but it’s impossible to get out of once you do.
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Vordt’s Greathammer
- Requirement: 30 Strength
- Skill: Perseverance
- Weapon Type: Great Hammer
- Scaling: Strength (B)
Frostbite is Vordt’s Greathammer’s bread and butter. This weapon is one of the most effective in the game at causing the Frostbite effect on enemies. This great hammer is available after players defeat Vordt of the Boreal Valley, the second boss in the game.
Frostbite deals a percentage of the player’s max HP plus some flat damage to enemies hit by this effect. This means that for players going the Vordt build, getting more HP means dealing more damage. A virtuous cycle with an incredible payoff.
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Yhorm’s Great Machete
- Requirement: 38 Strength, 10 Dexterity
- Skill: Warcry
- Weapon Type: Greataxe
- Scaling: Strength (A)
A boss weapon you can get after killing Yhorm the Giant, Yhrom’s Great Machete doesn’t disappoint. With a really good Strength scaling and an easy upgrade route via Titanite Scales, players can use this weapon to beat the game quite handily.
The reason Yhorm’s Great Machete is considered one of the best weapons in Dark Souls 3 is because of its incredible range that allows a lot of room for mistakes. Despite its nerf that now prevents the weapon from getting a 2-hit combo off in a 2-handed stance, its range still provides value. It’s just not as broken as before.
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Ringed Knight Paired Greatswords
- Requirement: 40 Strength, 15 Dexterity
- Skill: Ember
- Weapon Type: Ultra Greatsword (Paired)
- Scaling: Strength (A)
Added in the Ringed City DLC, The Ringed Knight Paired Greatswords are the only paired Ultra Greatswords in the game. Powerstanceing (wielding two colossal weapons in two hands) is not a thing in Dark Souls 3, but this weapon is the closest thing to it.
Wielding two large, lumbering greatswords in both hands, you can do some brutal damage if you manage to land this weapon’s hits on enemies. Landing a full combo of L1 attacks on an enemy unit is as satisfying as it is rare. Almost everything in the game will be dead by the time you get to the third attack in the combo.
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Greatsword
- Requirement: 28 Strength, 10 Dexterity
- Skill: Stomp
- Weapon Type: Ultra Greatsword
- Scaling: Strength (A)
The Greatsword’s appearance is inspired by the main weapon of the character Guts in the manga series, Berserk, a cult classic if there ever was one. The Greatsword is available fairly early on in Farron Keep, and you don’t even have to fight anyone to wield it.
Heavy and Hollow are the best infusions for this weapon, but for Strength-builds, Heavy is the way to go. This weapon has incredible reach and a devastating R2 attack that feels like you’ve unleashed the wrath of God against high-health targets. Since the R1 combo hits enemies behind you as well, it can effectively be used to crowd-control a horde of mobs surrounding the player too.
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Fume Ultra Greatsword
- Requirement: 50 Strength, 10 Dexterity
- Skill: Stomp
- Weapon Type: Ultra Greatsword
- Scaling: Strength (S)
One of the best Ultra Greatswords in all of Dark Souls 3, Fume Ultra Greatsword is designed to be used in a pure Strength build. It’s S-tier scaling, combined with its high poise and useful Weapon art, allows it to be used throughout New Game + without an issue.
The skill, Stomp, has a built-in block mechanic that can’t be interrupted. You can easily use it to tank heavy boss attacks that would otherwise break your guard. Finding it is a bit of a hassle as it’s located somewhat out of the way in Smoldering Lake. You will have to kill the Knight Slayer Tsorig to get it.
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Exile Greatsword
- Requirement: 24 Strength, 16 Dexterity
- Skill: Spin Slash
- Weapon Type: Curved Greatsword
- Scaling: Strength (A)
The Curved Greatsword with the highest damage numbers, the Exile Greatsword, is only hindered by its relatively low range. But in the hands of a skilled duelist in PvP, this weapon is a menace. And in PvE, it shreds through bosses and regular enemies with a little bit of good timing.
The moveset leans towards combo-ing R2 into the Weapon Art for maximum damage. You can also use R1 into a jump attack combo to deal massive damage to bosses. For pure Strength builds, infuse this weapon with Heavy. It drops from the Watchdog of Farron NPC just outside Farron Keep.
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Ledo’s Great Hammer
- Requirement: 60 Strength
- Skill: Call to Stone
- Weapon Type: Great Hammer
- Scaling: Strength (A)
If unga-bunga is the route you want to go, Ledo’s Great Hammer is as heavy as Dark Souls 3 allows you to go. Bonk enemies on the head or crush the ground beneath your feet with its Weapon Art, Call to Stone, Ledo’s Great Hammer is the Strength warrior’s best friend.
This is a late-game weapon, as not only does it require a staggering 60 Strength to be used effectively, but it’s also only available after killing the Silver Knight Ledo in the Ringed City. It has a slow but hard-hitting moveset that requires skill to land on faster enemies. But it’s oh so satisfying when you do.
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Splitleaf Greatsword
- Requirement: 26 Strength, 16 Dexterity
- Skill: Wind Wheel
- Weapon Type: Halberd
- Scaling: Strength (S)
The Splitleaf Greatsword is great for roleplaying as a helicopter in Dark Souls 3. The Weapon Art, Wind Wheel, allows you to transform into a whirlwind of death and destruction. The longer you hold the skill, the more damage it does. It also deflects arrows.
When infused with Heavy at +10, this halberd has an S-scaling with Strength, making it ideal for a pure Strength build. And the cherry on top, the Splitleaf Greatsword is easily available right at the start of the Ringed City DLC at The Dreg Heap Bonfire from the Vendor there for just 11,000 souls. A small price to pay for one of the best Strength weapons in the game.
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Great Club
- Requirement: 28 Strength
- Skill: Warcry
- Weapon Type: Great Hammer
- Scaling: Strength (A)
One of the earliest pure Strength weapons players can get their hands on; the Great Club is surprisingly useful even in the late game. With its fast moveset and A-tier Strength-scaling damage when infused with Heavy, you can breeze through the game easily. The moveset is easy to learn and provides a moderate amount of stun lock, which is quite useful against hard-hitting low-poise enemies.
Available quite early on in the Farron Keep, you can farm this Club from the Watchdog of the Farron enemy. And since this isn’t unique, you can easily buff and infuse the Great Club with the Heavy infusion to give the weapon A-tier scaling in Strength.
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