As an avid Dark Souls 3 player with over 500 hours logged, I‘ve gained deep insight into the game‘s arsenal of weapons over the years. Boss soul weapons stand out as some of the most powerful and versatile armaments one can wield. After felling epic bosses, players can transpose their souls to acquire these unique weapons.
In this guide, I‘ll be counting down my picks for the top boss soul weapons in Dark Souls 3 for PvE and PvP in 2023.
What are Boss Soul Weapons?
Boss soul weapons are special armaments that can only be obtained by transposing the souls of bosses defeated by the player. They tend to have unique moves and skills not found on regular weapons.
These weapons also scale well with multiple stats, letting quality, strength, dexterity, intelligence, and faith builds make excellent use of them. Many also inflict auxiliary effects like frostbite, bleed, or poison.
The attacks and skills of boss weapons are often flashy and dramatically animated, suiting the larger-than-life enemies they come from.
How to Acquire Boss Soul Weapons
To get boss soul weapons, you must first defeat the appropriate boss and get its soul. You‘ll then need to bring the soul to Ludleth of Courland, a NPC located on one of the thrones at Firelink Shrine.
Speak with Ludleth and select "Transpose soul" to see what items you can craft with each soul in your inventory. Boss souls can also simply be consumed for a large number of souls if desired.
Once you transpose a boss soul into the weapon, you‘ll still need to meet the minimum stat requirements to wield it effectively. Upgrading boss soul weapons requires Titanite Scales.
Best Boss Soul Weapons for PvE
Here are my top 5 picks for boss soul weapons to demolish PvE content like NG+ cycles and DLCs.
1. Dragonslayer Greataxe
The Dragonslayer Greataxe is obtained by transposing the soul of Dragonslayer Armour, an epic late-game boss. With 50 strength required, this weapon caters to strength builds. Its skill is Falling Bolt, an axe slam charged with lightning that will decimate groups of enemies or chunk bosses.
The weapon also naturally deals lightning damage on every swing alongside its already monstrous physical damage. It also has greataxe hyperarmor, letting you tank hits without staggering. Overall, this is the highest damage output weapon in PvE.
Pros:
- Highest RAW damage in the game
- Innate lightning damage on every attack
- Fun skill with AoE lightning blast
- Greathammer hyperarmor lets you tank while attacking
Cons:
- Very heavy
- Slow swing speed
2. Lorian‘s Greatsword
Defeating the twin princes grants their fiery soul for crafting the Lorian‘s Greatsword. This massive ultra greatsword deals 20% bonus damage to enemies in later NG+ cycles, making it a top choice for clearing higher difficulty runs.
With 26 strength and 10 dexterity required, it also works for quality builds. Its unique skill, Flame of Lorian, lets you enchant the sword with explosive fire damage for over 60 seconds, dramatically boosting attack power.
Between the innate fire damage, versatile moveset, and useful skill, Lorian‘s Greatsword excels at demolishing every PvE challenge.
Pros:
- Bonus damage in higher NG+ cycles
- Long-lasting fire damage buff
- Wide sweeping attacks
- High damage output
Cons:
- No hyperarmor
- FP consumption from buff skill
3. Frayed Blade
Getting through the Darkeater Midir boss battle in the Ringed City DLC lets you obtain this lethal katana. The Frayed Blade has a highly aggressive moveset that combines fast slashes with devastating thrust attacks.
Its unique skill unleashes a barrage of dark magic-infused strikes that absolutely melt bosses. Plus, the weapon inflicts innate dark damage with every swing. I favor this speedy punisher on dexterity builds.
Wielding the Frayed Blade makes you an untouchable force of destruction against PvE threats.
Pros:
- Rapid combo potential
- Special attack does massive damage
- Great for dexterity builds
- Inflicts auxiliary dark damage
Cons:
- Split physical/dark damage lessens RAW power
- Low poise damage
4. Demons Scar
The Demons Scar is one of my favorite weapons for pyromancers in PvE. Acquired from transposing the soul of Demon Prince, it functions as both a curved sword and a pyromancy flame catalyst.
Standard R1 and R2 swings inflict physical and fire damage from the sword itself. But this opens up weapon skills like Spin Slash and unique L2 combos that integrate both sword strikes and pyromancy spells.
I enjoy unleashing molten chaos by chaining fiery sword combos into potent pyromancies like Chaos Bed Vestiges using this weapon art catalyst. It wears down even the mightiest PvE adversaries.
Pros:
- Doubles as pyromancy casting tool
- Lets you fluidly combo pyromancies and sword attacks
- Strong attack power on intelligence/faith builds
- Very flashy moveset potential
Cons:
- Split physical/fire damage lessens RAW power
- Requires high intelligence/faith investment
5. Gael‘s Greatsword
This epic soul-transposed greatsword comes from Slave Knight Gael, one of the most challenging late-game bosses. It has a very well-rounded moveset that lets players go on the offensive with long reaching thrust attacks and starters into weapon art combos.
The Stomp weapon art can crush shields and break the guard of enemies to open them up for a high-damage riposte animation. And the powerful broad swings keep groups of enemies at bay.
With solid strength/dexterity scaling and innate physical damage boosts as it upgrades, Gael‘s Greatsword keeps up its excellent damage output even in later NG+ difficulties.
Pros:
- Stomp skill breaks guards for ripostes
- Greatsword moveset mixed with heavy thrust attacks
- Keeps strength up through upgrades
- Versatile for quality builds
Cons:
- No status effects
- Predictable 2-hit combo L2 skill
Best Boss Soul Weapons for PvP
For facing off against other players, these are my top choices of boss soul weapons that dominate the arena.
1. Frayed Blade
As mentioned before, the Frayed Blade‘s lighting fast moves make it incredibly hard to counter in PvP. Your opponent will struggle to find an opening to retaliate as you barrage them with quick slashes and lethal thrusts.
Its special skill destroys other players with a series of unrelenting strikes empowered by dark magic. I highly recommend pairing this boss weapon with the Pontiff Eye Rings to boost successive attacks.
2. Demon‘s Scar
Few things dazzle and overwhelm other players like chaining pyromancies and sword skills with the Demon‘s Scar. Spin Slash into Black Flame into an L2 combo finisher while catching them with fireballs from your off-hand Pyro glove.
The sheer variety and spectacle of combinations afforded by the Demon‘s Scar makes this one of the top "style on" weapons.
3. Gundyr‘s Halberd
With Champion Gundyr being a major early game hurdle, it‘s only fitting his soul grants a top tier PvP weapon. Gundyr‘s Halberd has the incredible reach and moveset potential of a halberd with the added benefit of its Charged Lunge skill.
This shoulder bash skill breaks guards easily and knocks enemies off their feet for devastating critical hits. The weapon is great for both trading blows and aggressive offense.
4. Lothric‘s Holy Sword
Despite being overshadowed by the preferences mentioned above, Lothric‘s Holy Sword deserves a special mention. With the same moveset as the iconic Longsword, it has that broken straight sword speed combined with the range of a greatsword.
Infusing it with blessed or lightning takes its base magic damage output through the roof. The weapon skill Divine Barrage unleashes a bolt of heavenly magic that can one-shot other players.
5. Harald Curved Greatsword
And finally, I have to include this oft-forgotten gem. It‘s not a popular weapon, but in the right hands, the Harald Curved Greatsword is absolutely devastating in PvP.
That‘s because its skill Perseverance temporarily boosts poise and defense. Combining this with the poise health boosting Ring of Favor lets you tank through enemy combos and smash them with a massive charged heavy attack.
The leaping slash weapon art is great for roll catching too. Top that off with high strength scaling, and Harald punishes sloppy play with sheer force.
Wrapping Up on Boss Soul Weapons
And there you have it—the boss soul weapons worth farming those iconic enemies for in Dark Souls 3. Their unique styles, flashy skills, and sheer power make them a treat to wield.
I hoped this ranked overview gives fellow fans and newcomers alike some fresh ideas on armaments to transmute those prized souls into.
May the flames guide thee, and these glorious weapons serve you well on future journeys through Lothric, the Ringed City, and beyond into NG+7 territory. That last achievement demands only the best boss soul gear at your side!
