Traversing the scarred and magnificent vistas of the Lands Between, a Tarnished will soon learn that appearances can be deceiving. A Straight Sword, that most fundamental of armaments, often belies its simplicity with surprising depth and power. In the wake of the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion, the arsenal available to aspiring lords has grown, introducing blades of peculiar design and devastating potential. This is the story of those weapons, from the humble beginnings in Limgrave to the divine halls of the Haligtree.
Some blades carry the weight of disappointment alongside their steel. The Carian Knight's Sword is one such weapon. Its stat requirements are modest, asking for 10 Strength, 10 Dexterity, and 18 Faith, but its fate is sealed by an unchangeable Weapon Skill: Carian Grandeur. While powerful in its own right, this skill ironically finds a more potent home on other, more adaptable Straight Swords. Its sole unique trait—a heavy attack that blocks before striking, shared with the Lazuli Glintstone Sword—is a minor consolation. It can be found, a lonely treasure, in a carriage drawn by trolls north of the Four Belfries, a prize that often fails to live up to its royal name.
Then there is the Miquellan Knight's Sword, a blade of holy purpose that arrives too late and falters against the greatest foes. Requiring 11 Strength, 11 Dexterity, and 16 Faith, it boasts impressive length but delivers a frustrating blow: a significant portion of its damage is Holy, an element famously resisted by the Lands Between's most formidable champions. Like the Carian blade, its Ash of War is locked, saddled with the common Sacred Blade skill. Its saving grace is a unique moveset where charged heavy attacks propel the wielder forward with an upward slash—a trick perhaps useful in player-versus-player skirmishes, but scarcely enough to justify its role as a primary weapon. By the time one discovers it hidden in a bell tower near Elphael's Prayer Room, better options have long since been forged.
Not all beginnings are so fraught. For many Tarnished, the journey starts with simpler, more reliable steel.
The Lordsworn's Straight Sword is the faithful companion. With balanced requirements of 10 Strength and 10 Dexterity, it offers no single exceptional trait but excels as a master of all trades. Its true strength lies in its adaptability; it can accept a wide variety of Ashes of War, allowing it to be tailored for any challenge. Best of all, it can be acquired immediately by those patient enough to farm the Godrick Soldiers patrolling Limgrave, enabling an early-game dual-wielding setup that is both effective and satisfying. For a flexible foundation, it remains a premier choice.
Often overshadowed by its broader cousin, the humble Longsword holds a secret for those who plan far ahead. It requires the same 10 Strength and 10 Dexterity as the Lordsworn's blade but typically falls short in damage. However, for veterans embarking on New Game Plus journeys and beyond, a fascinating shift occurs. When optimized with the Quality Affinity at extremely high character levels, the Longsword's damage scaling overtakes many of its peers. The key advantage? Quality-affinity weapons can still be buffed with spells and greases, unlocking truly monstrous damage potential. It's a weapon that grows with the Tarnished, available from the start to the Vagabond or for purchase at the Roundtable Hold.
Magic begins to infuse the arsenal with weapons like the Crystal Sword. Demanding 13 Strength, 10 Dexterity, and 15 Intelligence, it is the pure-damage counterpart to the Rotten Crystal Sword. While the rotten variant trades some damage for the deadly Scarlet Rot effect, the standard Crystal Sword is the superior choice for raw, magic-infused power, especially for builds investing in both Strength and Intelligence. It is also far more accessible, waiting across a wooden bridge in the Village of the Albinaurics in Liurnia, offering an early gateway to sorcerous melee combat.
Among the nobility of the Lands Between, a slender legend persists.
The Noble's Slender Sword's claim is singular and simple: it is the longest Straight Sword in all the realms. With low requirements of 8 Strength and 11 Dexterity, its advantage in reach, while subtle, can be the difference between a hit and a whiff. It shines brightest on the Keen Affinity, where its damage becomes competitive with other top-tier options. The catch? One must seek out and defeat the specific Wandering Nobles who wield it, a test of patience as much as skill.
The pursuit of sorcery leads to other peculiar arms. The Lazuli Glintstone Sword (8 Str, 9 Dex, 13 Int) stands out among the early intelligence-scaling swords. Though it shares the odd Strength-leaning scaling of its kin, it possesses the invaluable Glintstone Pebble Weapon Skill. Its stat requirements are so lenient that even a pure Astrologer can wield it without investment, making it a perfect magical sidearm. Obtaining it, however, requires farming the elusive Lazuli Sorcerers of Raya Lucaria or Caria Manor.
For a truly unique rhythm in combat, few match the Warhawk's Talon (10 Str, 16 Dex). It forgoes top-tier raw damage for a blistering attack sequence. Its unique heavy attacks strike twice in rapid succession, with the charged follow-up delivering another double hit. This flurry excels at building up status effects like Bleed or Frostbite and synergizes beautifully with buffs that trigger on rapid hits. It forges a distinct, aggressive playstyle, a trophy ripped from the talons of Warhawks, most reliably found within the storm-lashed walls of Stormveil Castle.
Some weapons are forged for a specific, spectral purpose. The Golden Epitaph (12 Str, 10 Dex, 14 Faith) is the bane of the undead. Its unique skill, Last Rites, provides a weaker attack buff than the Golden Vow incantation but grants a colossal damage multiplier against those who refuse to stay dead. The sword itself also inherently deals extra damage to undead and prevents skeletons from resurrecting. For any Tarnished plagued by catacomb horrors or spectral birds, this blade, found within the Auriza Hero's Grave, is a divine solution.
And so the journey can end where it began. The Ornamental Straight Sword (10 Str, 14 Dex) is a paired weapon, offering two blades for one. Its Golden Tempering skill imbues the swords with holy light and unlocks a rapid, lunging thrust attack. It holds the peculiar honor of being the very first weapon a Tarnished can acquire, dropped by the Grafted Scion in the opening moments. For those who fall to that initial challenge, hope is not lost; a return trip via the Four Belfries' Waygate allows a second chance at this graceful, gilded pair.
From the basic to the brilliant, the straightforward to the strange, the Straight Swords of the Lands Between offer a path for every Tarnished. In 2026, with the lessons of the Erdtree's shadow fully integrated into the world's understanding, these blades remain testaments to the fact that true mastery often starts with a single, well-honed edge. 🗡️✨
| Weapon Name | Key Trait | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Lordsworn's Straight Sword | Adaptability & Early Access | Flexible, all-purpose builds |
| Noble's Slender Sword | Maximum Reach | Players who prioritize spacing |
| Warhawk's Talon | Rapid Multi-hit Attacks | Status effect (Bleed, Frost) builds |
| Golden Epitaph | Anti-Undead Damage | Clearing catacombs and fighting deathbirds |
| Ornamental Straight Sword | Paired Weapon & Holy Buff | Aggressive, holy-infused playstyles |