As a passionate gamer and avid fan of FromSoftware‘s catalog, I‘ve dedicated countless hours in Elden Ring testing, experimenting with and mastering all sorts of armaments across multiple characters and builds. The Grafted Blade Greatsword rapidly emerged as one of my favorite colossal swords in the game.
I was immediately drawn to its horrifically imposing design and roots derived from the mutated corpse of the legendary Grafted Scion boss. It‘s no surprise that the flesh and bones cobbled together form a weapon capable of unleashing sheer, brutal destruction upon foes.
Once I ascertained the location and wrested the greatsword from Castle Morne‘s clutches, I was eager to begin unleashing mayhem with overwhelming strength. But to properly accentuate and empower the Grafted Blade Greatsword‘s capabilities requires carefully constructed stats and mastery over its varied movesets.
This comprehensive Grafted Blade Greatsword guide will arm you with extensive knowledge to excel wielding this mighty weapon through all facets of Elden Ring‘s challenges.
Origin Story: Grafted Scion and Omen Experiments
The Grafted Blade Greatsword emerges from the gloomy, corrupted experiments conducted within Castle Morne generations ago that continue to haunt the current era depicted in Elden Ring.
In the cosmology described by myths, the ancient dynastic Golden Lineage were true demigods and royalty blessed with golden light. However, over the eras some descendants were suddenly born as accursed Omen with twisted horns – a bad omen destroying the aura of the royal bloodline.
Seeking to contain and eventually eliminate the Omen to uphold the Golden image and legitimacy to rule, the first Lords banished all Omen children into the depths of the Eternal City. But over generations, more Omen continued being born randomly. Thus, secret underground societies took matters into their own hands with vile experiments fusing Omen bones and flesh into chimeric grafted abominations in Castle Morne to advance their forbidden research of crucible incantations.
The Grafted Scion embodies the climax of these unethical experiments – an Omen towering monstrosity wielding the flesh and weapon of countless curse victims now inspired to roam as field bosses in Limgrave and Caelid. Eventually, we battle the original namesake in Redmane Castle. In turn, the Grafted Blade Greatsword serves as an instrument forged out of scorn that enables Tarnished to harness the destructive strength of the Grafted Scion to wreak vengeance upon the now fractured realm.
With this grim lore in the back of your mind, it‘s easier to embrace just how terrifying yet satisfying it feels to heft around the Grafted Blade Greatsword against enemies of all sizes. Now let‘s examine the weapon statistics.
Grafted Blade Greatsword Attributes and Scaling
Compared to all 18 colossal weapons in Elden Ring, the Grafted Blade Greatsword (GBG) boasts one of highest physical base damage plus solid guard boost at +0 Somber upgrade level:
| Weapon | Physical | Crit | Guard | Str | Dex | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grafted GS | 162 | 105 | 53 | 40 | 14 | 23.5 |
| Giant-Crusher | 158 | 110 | 61 | 60 | 12 | 29.5 |
| Ruins GS | 162 | 100 | 56 | 50 | 24 | 26 |
The major trade-off is the tied 2nd highest Strength requirement amongst its weapon category. But meeting that demanding 40 point threshold unlocks powerful attacking capabilities. Let‘s examine the scaling growth through the maximum upgrade levels:
| Somber Upgrade | Base Damage | Str | Dex | Attack Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| +0 | 162 | E | C | 162 |
| +9 | 295 | D | C | 383 |
| +10 | 307 | D | C | 396 |
Compared to the pinnacle colossal weapons like Giant-Crusher and Ruins Greatsword, the GBG lags slightly behind in higher upgrade attack ratings due to slower scaling. However, once empowered and in the hands of Strength built characters, it remains extremely competitive in PvE and PvP – outdamaging most armaments.
Now let‘s evaluate how to allocate attributes to wield the GBG as intended.
Recommended Stats for the Grafted Blade Greatsword
I‘ve tested extensively to determine efficient stat breakpoints and targets that allow wielding the GBG while wearing reasonable armor, achieving optimal damage and maintaining enough endurance.
Early Game Goals (Limgrave, Weeping Penninsula)
- Vigor: 15-20
- Mind: 10-15
- Endurance: 15-18+
- Strength: 40 (66 2-handed)
- Dexterity: 14
With the bare weapon requirements met initially, we recommend a hybrid approach – 2-handing the GBG while using a shield, seal or secondary armament in the off-hand. This lets you acclimate gradually towards the playstyle.
You‘ll have access to strong jump heavy attacks, charged strongs and the full moveset while benefiting from 1.5x effective Strength when 2-handed. Then study attack windows to land slower combos safely. Use guard counters or switch to a faster backup weapon in tricky spots initially.
Mid Game Progression (Liurnia, Caria Manor)
- Vigor: 30-40
- Mind: 18-25
- Endurance: 20-25+
- Strength: 50+
- Dexterity: 14-18
At this phase with around +6/7 Somber upgrades into your GBG, you‘ll have enough base AR to fight comfortably 2-handed the majority of the time. But continue levelling Strength up to 66 to transition towards wielding the weapon one-handed for greater versatility.
You can now pair power stancing colossal weapons, a shield or seals/staves for sorceries/incants. Added Endurance enables equipping heavier armors if you intend a tanky juggernaut setup. More Mind grants additional FP for your secondary equipment too.
End Game Goals (Mountaintops, Farum Azula)
- Vigor: 50-60
- Mind: 30-50
- Endurance: 50+
- Strength: 80
- Dexterity: 18
In end game PvE and PvP, you‘ll likely desire to wield the GBG one-handed permanently for mix-ups with an off-hand armament. This demands further investments up to 80 Strength to reach the effective hard cap. Mind 30-50 also gives a sizable FP pool for weapon arts, spells and incantations.
At this stage you can flex a very wide variety of playstyles – high poise Strength tank, dual colossal crushers, spellsword/incantor hybrids – while always having the GBG‘s savage chops available.
Now let‘s explore highly optimized setups and tactics employing this outstanding weapon‘s moveset based on scenarios.
Single Weapon Strength Tank Build
The most straightforward approach for PvE revolves around a single Grafted Blade Greatsword melee bruiser build. With Colossal weapons, the name of the game is trading blows through poise and sheer damage per hit.
Surviving extended exchanges relies on heavy defensive investments:
- Veteran‘s Armor Set provides excellent physical damage negation
- Greatshield with Barricade Shield skill for guarding
- Talismans: Radagon‘s Soreseal, Great-Jar Arsenal, Crimson Amber Medallion, Erdtree Favor
Offensively, charge strong attacks and guard counters to shatter posture on all but the largest foes. For major bosses, utilize ranged ashes of war for safety and melee options up close during vulnerable attack chains.
If you enjoy tanking hits while pounding away health bars, this uncomplicated setup leverages the GBG wonderfully in PvE.
Dual Wield Colossal Shredder
Veteran Souls players acknowledge that few sensations surpass crushing enemies and bosses with paired ultra weapons. The jumping L1 and charged R2 attacks in particular feel incredible, breaking guards and afflicting tremendous damage.
The GBG is an excellent choice for the main hand when dual wielding colossal swords. For the off-hand, Guts Sword, Zweihander or Starscourge Greatsword all complement nicely with shared Quality/Strength scaling.
To enable ultra heavy double bonk builds, these stats are recommended initially:
- 60+ Strength & Endurance using Talismans
- Medium Armor Sets (Bull Goat, Tree Sentinel, Omenkiller)
- Claw Talisman for faster jumps; Axe Talisman boosts charging
The playstyle rewards patience and reading attack patterns to avoid trades. But properly timed jumping power stance attacks will erase groups and flatten bosses rapidly in the late game. It‘s also hilarious Stagger-locking enemies in place.
Hybrid Caster Options
While pure physical builds suit the GBG well, its normal attack speed and long reach available one handed also lend well supplementing ranged sorceries, incantations and skills for more versatile playstyles.
Some standout hybrid options include:
Death Sorcerer
- Glintstone Staff off-hand for Carian Slicer, Adula‘s Moonblade
- Talismans boost sorcery damage, equip load
- Frost ashes of war to enable Frostbite
Maelstrom Blade
- Sacred Seal off-hand with Bestial Sling, Lightning Spear incants
- Sacred infusion on GBG to scale incant scaling
- Utilize skill Oath of Vengeance then close distance
Spellsword
- Staff main hand for ranged spells like Rock Sling
- GBG off hand to punish at closer ranges
- Royal Knight‘s Resolve boosts next attack by 80%
Recommended Ashes of War
While the default Oath of Vengeance skill offers temporary boosts that assist boss slaying, the following offensive and utility ashes open up alternative playstyles:
Giant Hunt
This charged one handed heavy attack culimates in a lunging impale, releasing a cascading shockwave dealing huge counter damage. It‘s extremely efficient against shield turtlers in PvP, breaking stability and one shotting.
Lion‘s Claw
An opcode leaping overhead double handed smash that craters foes, especially devastating after parrying. It breaks guards similar to Stance weapon arts. The damage inflicted relative to FP cost is exceptional.
Royal Knight‘s Resolve
A battle standard placating buff that significantly enhances your next attack at low FP expense. Combo into charged heavies or weapon skill for insane damage.
Bloodhound Step
The premiere evasion art in Elden Ring granting unmatched mobility with minimal recovery upon triggering. It enables dodging otherwise undodgeable moves in PvE and chasing down hosts or escaping invaders in PvP.
Sacred Blade
Imbues holy damage over time with additional healing, fantastic supplementary chip damage against strong enemies. The projectile portion can roll catch in PvP or draw agro from mobs to pull individually.
PvP Viability and Tactics
Despite the GBG‘s slower wind up compared to longswords, skilled reaction speed and mix-up potential still allows finding success invading and dueling in Elden Ring PvP. Personally stacking poise over 60 while one handing the GBG, I‘ve battled relentlessly through Meteoric Ore Blade bleed builds, RoB spammers and veterans exhibiting top tier spacing/punishing.
The GBG moveset enables roll catching opponents expecting more delayed ultra greatsword swings with the quicker horizontal slash R1s and dashing or jumping attacks. Whiff punishing is crucial against bombinators or after baiting an attempt parrying larger weapons.
In terms of ashes of war, quickly swapping to Giant Hunt immediately upon sending dual wielding/casting opponents airborne almost always secures the kill before they can recover. Sacred Blade adds persistent pressure and Lion Claw‘s hyper armor wrecks other colossal weapon users through trades.
Moreover, the extensive range of the GBG moveset allows aggressively walking down mages/archers. It‘s also quite effective fighting shield turtlers guard poking by charging heavy thrusts right up to their barrier‘s stability limit for guard breaks.
Ultimately, succeeding against the current overpowered bleed, madness, frost builds revolves around very selective aggressive trading only when you have the health advantage. Otherwise keep distance, avoid getting stun locked and punish inevitable overextensions when the GBG‘s powerful reach keeps most dashed attacks at bay.
Verdict: The Grafted Blade Greatsword Excels in PvE & PvP
Across my hundreds of hours exploring the Lands Between, I‘ve tested dozens of weapons determining my favorites for tackling FromSoftware‘s expansive PvE challenges and warring against fellow Tarnished in intense PvP.
The Grafted Blade Greatsword consistently ranks at the top across both categories. It‘s well balanced with a varied, hard hitting moveset combining speed, hyper armor crushing blows and long reach. Both one and two handed movesets dish out severe punishment.
Trading blows through upgraded poise and chunky health bars or more calculated hit and run tactics all remain viable into end game. The giant fingerprint stone shield, Hoarah Loux‘s Earthshaker or power stanced colossal armaments perfectly complement the playstyles. There‘s also strong flexibility for hybrid builds by infusing elements or combining ranged magics into the toolkit.
While demanding heavy Strength investments, my comprehensive guide above highlights plenty of equipment, stats and tactics to make the most of the Grafted Blade Greatsword‘s carnage-inducing capabilities. This flesh and sinew fused monstrosity will unleash hell upon both PvE and PvP, putting both casuals and veterans alike on notice not to tread lightly!
