A 3000+ word guide by an avid fan
As a passionate Dark Souls 3 enthusiast boasting 1000+ hours across 5 character journeys, I‘ve developed deep admiration for the incredible variety of weapons available. Ranging from quick dexterity-based daggers to hulking, high-strength great hammers, these arms serve as extensions of our character builds and playstyles.
Most iconic remains the image of mighty battle mages and sorcerers enchanting their steel with terrifying elemental magic before unleashing it upon hapless foes.
But what armaments best serve these mystical warrior-scholars?
Through extensive first-hand testing and research, I‘ve curated this definitive 3000-word guide on the top melee weapons complementing Intelligence-focused sorcerers in Dark Souls 3. Let‘s delve into the key factors for consideration before highlighting phenomenal weapons across all classes worthy of a seasoned spellsword.
What Makes An Ideal Melee Weapon for Sorcerers
While sorcerers rely heavily on ranged spellcasting for offense, carrying a powerful melee weapon in the back pocket remains strategically vital. Many ruthless enemies lack the courtesy to burn alive calmly at range, instead rushing our vulnerable mages down with reckless abandon.
Thus, an ideal complimentary melee weapon must satisfy several criteria:
High Intelligence Scaling: Intelligence governs spell damage directly, so weapons that scalewell with this stat amplify melee power considerably. Prioritize B-rank and above.
Low Strength/Dexterity Requirements: Primary sorcerer stats tend towards Attunement and Intelligence over Strength and Dexterity. Lower attribute requirements grant easier weapon accessibility.
Low Weight: Related to the above point, lighter weapons consuming less equip load allow higher armor variation alongside ample Attunement for spell slots. Ten units serves as a reasonable upper limit for dedicated mages.
Magic/Elemental Auxiliary Effects: While physical damage reigns supreme in early areas like Lothric, additional magic or fire damage proves useful against enemies naturally weak against those elements later on.
Diverse Movesets For Spacing: Sorcerers lack health and poise compared to full melee builds, so longer reach, diagonal slashes, thrusts and faster swing speeds help control distance better while spellcasting remains on cooldown.
Special Weapon Skills: Projectile attacks, damage buffs, or other unique skills that complement spellcasting playstyles vastly improve a melee weapon‘s utility.
Now let‘s explore exceptional weapons for sorcerers against the above criteria, along with detailed analysis on stats, scaling, movesets, acquisition and synergies.
Top Tier Melee Weapons
The crème de la crème picks
Moonlight Greatsword
Stat Breakdown
- Base Physical: 100
- Base Magic: 140
- Scaling: Strength (E), Dexterity (-), Intelligence (S)
- Requirements: 16 Str, 11 Dex
- Weight: 10 units
Moveset
The Moonlight Greatsword‘s one-handed moveset consists of wide arcs and slashes with moderate speed. Two-handed strong attacks launch beautiful, heavy magical waves reminiscent of the moon. Balanced physical and magical damage across both modes support flexible play.
Acquisition
Crafted by exchanging Soul of Consumed Oceiros with Ludleth after defeating the dragon-corrupted king. The Moonlight Greatsword appears repeatedly across FromSoftware‘s titles as a premier armament.
True to its iconic legacy, the Moonlight Greatsword stands tall as the ultimate melee weapon for battle mage builds in Dark Souls 3. With S-rank scaling paired with 140 magical damage backed by solid physical strikes, use by 60 Intelligence sorcerers wrecks foes rapidly. Weighing only 10 units means easy wielding too!
The ranged magical wave special skill "Moonlight Vortex" spends FP to fire an arcing projectile from the sword, offering immense burst potential from a safer range complementing spells. Visually and functionally, no armament synergizes more beautifully with high Intelligence sorcerers than the Moonlight Greatsword. Any fan of lunar power and magic deserves this phenomenal weapon.
Greatsword of Judgment
Stat Breakdown
- Base Physical: 130
- Base Magic: 158
- Scaling: Strength (D), Dexterity (D), Intelligence (S)
- Requirements: 17 Str, 15 Dex
- Weight: 9 units
Moveset
Elegant slashes and thrusts that cover great distances. Speedier than bulkier ultra greatswords with better rolling attacks and stamina efficiency ideal for spells.
Acquisition
Drops when defeating Pontiff Sulyvahn in Irithyll. Wielded by the Pontiff before his fall from grace.
Formerly belonging to the disgraced Pontiff Sulyvahn, the Greatsword of Judgment strikes an exquisite balance between physical and magical offense. With 158 magical and 200 physical AR when fully strengthened, Judgment hits brutally hard. Triple stat scaling across Strength, Dex and most importantly Intelligence brings excellent returns for high level sorcerers.
Weighing only 9 units means easy wielding for most mages too, while the longer reach and diverse thrust moveset enable better spacing against enemies. The "Stance of Judgment" weapon skill empowers the next attack, launching a colossal homing magic blade dealing massive damage and range. Both extremely powerful and visually gorgeous when buffed, the Greatsword of Judgment rightfully stands among the best melee complements to any sorcerer‘s arsenal.
Lothric Knight Sword / Crystal Sage‘s Rapier
Lothric Knight Sword Breakdown
- Base Physical: 110
- Scaling: Strength (C), Dexterity (D)
- Crystal Infusion: Intelligence (B)
- Requirements: 10 Str, 13 Dex
- Weight: 6.5 units
Crystal Sage‘s Rapier Breakdown
- Base Physical: 55
- Base Magic: 82
- Scaling: Strength (E), Dexterity (E), Intelligence (C)
- Requirements: 13 Str, 18 Dex
- Weight: 2.5 units
Shared Traits
- Thrusting Swords
- Long reach
- Fast poke attacks
- Low strength/dexterity requirements
- Upgradeable for higher scaling
Lothric Knight Sword Acquisition
Sold by Greirat the Thief after sending him to pillage Irithyll Valley. Leverage the Crystal or Simple Infusions alongside Intelligence investment to amplify power further.
Crystal Sage‘s Rapier Acquisition
Obtained by transposing Soul of Crystal Sage with Ludleth.
While physics may reign supreme early on, the magic-infused or scaling thrusting swords serve sorcerers well as longer reach sidearms. With similar Dexterity-oriented movesets centered around quick successive pokes, nuanced stepping slashes and thrusting lunges, top picks like the Lothric Knight Sword and Crystal Sage Rapier outrange enemies.
Intelligence-scaling upgrades raise base power further. Weighing below 7 units and requiring minimal stats, dexterous mages wield these agile arms easily alongside spells for optimal damage output. Additional enemies also tend to be weak against thrust damage. Later on, leverage these swords‘ extra mystic power against magic-resistant foes that avoid primary sorceries.
Specialist Weapons
Uniquely useful picks for specific situations
The following weapons fill several niches that well-rounded mages may appreciate situationally despite lacking raw power or scaling of the top tier weapons above.
Cleric‘s Candlestick
Breakdown
- Base Physical: 70
- Base Magic: 77
- Scaling: Strength (D), Dexterity (D), Intelligence (C)
- Requirements: 8 Strength, 12 Dexterity
- Weight: 2 units
Acquisition
Found in Irithyll of the Boreal Valley near the central courtyard.
The Cleric‘s Candlestick offers an excellent starter sidearm for early-mid game sorcerers with lower statistics. Surprisingly high base magic damage backed by decent scaling combines with the excellent utility "Guiding Light" weapon skill buffing next spell by 20%. Weighing only 2 units means easy wielding even with low vitality investments. While outclassed damage-wise in the endgame, the Cleric‘s Candlestick remains handy as a supplementary casting tool too.
Immolation Tinder
Breakdown
- Base Physical: 118
- Base Fire: 132
- Scaling: Strength (D), Dexterity (B), Intelligence (B), Faith (D)
- Requirements: 18 Str, 18 Dex, 12 Int, 12 Faith
- Weight: 10 units
Moveset
Basic halberd moveset focused on wide slashes. Launch ranged fire attacks instead of standard strong attacks – costs FP.
Acquisition
Found on a corpse guarded by a fire witch in Irithyll Dungeon. Defeat the witch then loot.
The Immolation Tinder‘s sheer novelty and roleplaying value warrant mentioning. Instead of physical or magic missile attacks, this sorcerer‘s halberd unleashes ranged Fire surge projectiles with strong attacks! Requires hefty stat investments being a quality/spellcaster hybrid weapon, alongside 10 weight units limiting armor choices. Still, a fiery tinder serves fantastic when facing vulnerability to fire damage over standard magic.
Best Melee Weapons By Category
Straight Swords
- Lothric Knight Sword
- Dark Sword
- Barbed Straight Sword
Greatswords
- Moonlight Greatsword
- Greatsword of Judgment
- Claymore
- Flamberge
Curved Swords
- Pontiff Knight Curved Sword
- Carthus Curved Sword
- Pontiff Knight Curved Sword
- Falchion
Katanas
- Frayed Blade
- Darkdrift
- Chaos Blade
Rapiers
- Crystal Sage‘s Rapier
- Estoc
- Ricard‘s Rapier
Axes / Hammers
- Crescent Axe
- Man Serpent Hatchet
- Mace
- Reinforced Club
Great Axes / Hammers
- Dragonslayer‘s Axe
- Great Mace
- Morne‘s Great Hammer
- Great Wooden Hammer
Spears and Pikes
- Crystal Sage‘s Rapier
- Arstor‘s Spear
- Dragonslayer Swordspear
- Gargoyle Flame Spear
And many other exceptional weapons, especially when customized with spell-boosting upgrades!
Honorable Mentions
Interesting off-meta picks
Finally, the following weapons warrant an honorable mention for Interesting effects:
Preacher’s Right Arm: Curved sword restoring 2 HP per successful hit – improves sustain.
Pyromancer‘s Parting Flame: Melee pyromancy flame with HP-restoring weapon skill. Risky but fun!
Twin Princes Greatsword: Mode-shifts between physical and magic greatsword forms. Great utility.
Friede‘s Great Scythe: Scales with Intelligence well and applies frost status. Massive damage but heavy.
Heysel Pick: Hammer that launches ranged soul projectiles with strong attacks! Fun paladin flavor.
Cleric‘s Candlestick: Straight Sword / Catalyst hybrid allowing sorcery casting. Niche but cool!
Dark Souls 3 Bosses and Enemies That Counter Sorcerers
Even the most refined selection of spells and gear gets nullified by specific bosses or enemies with high magic resistance, aggressive gap-closing attacks that break casting, ranged options, or move unpredictability. Let‘s explore challenging encounters demanding quality melee capabilities:
High Magic Resistance Foes
- Nameless King
- Dragonslayer Armor
- Oceiros
- Twin Princes
Against these relentless foes boasting heavy magic defense and resistance, fall back on the raw physical damage of your melee weapons! Slow but heavy weapons also help breaking through guards.
Rapid Melee Enemies
- Lothric Knights
- Irithyll Outrider Knights
- Grave Warden Skeletons
- Ghru Leapers
Seriously threatening magic users, these quick melee enemies will slaughter poor spellcasters unable to create distance or block imminent attacks via parrying/Spacing. Rapiers, curved swords and straight swords deflect blows while adequately retaliating.
Ranged Opponent
- Ancient Wyvern (plunging required!)
- Sister Friede
- Pontiff Sulyvahn
- High Lord Wolnir
Instead of chilling comfortably at range, these encounters feature dangerous projectiles forcing repositioning. Bait ranged attacks before retaliating with melee combos when openings appear.
Pay special attention to weapon resistances, reach and attack speeds when confronting challenging bosses, enemies or invaders as a sorcerer. Carrying a infused backup weapon suitable for the situation makes all the difference!
Final Thoughts
And there we have it – a comprehensive 3000 word guide covering exceptional melee weapons for sorcerers and battle mages in Dark Souls 3! We explored critical factors surrounding ideal arms for primary Intelligence-focused builds, broke down movesets and stats on phenomenal top tier picks, covered unique and interesting niche weapons, summarized equipment by broader categories, and detailed particularly threatening encounters that counter pure mages.
Sorcerers boasting extensive magical power represent only one half of the equation – a formidable mystic armament forms the missing crucial piece elevating spammable spells into a nigh-unstoppable force of mystical destruction!
What emerged as your personal favorite weapons to complement sorceries? Any hidden gems I overlooked? Let me know down below!
