Top 4 Weapons for PvP in Dark Souls 3

As a Dark Souls 3 invader with over 500 hours of experience hunting hosts across every terrain, I‘ve clashed blades with countless foes. Victory in these frenetic battles comes down to mastery of combat mechanics and making the right decisions in the heat of the moment.

But the weapons you wield also play a major role. Throughout my DkS3 journey, I‘ve slain warriors and mages alike using some extraordinarily deadly armaments tailored for PvP combat.

In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll countdown my personal top tier picks for PvP weapons based on damage output, speed, range, moveset potential, and more. I‘ll explain upgrade paths, attribute scaling, battle strategies, and where to obtain these lethal tools.

So ready your most sinister builds, and let‘s dive in to my favorites for invading worlds and decimating the unprepared!

What Makes a Weapon Effective in PvP?

While virtually any properly-upgraded armament proves lethal in PvE, succeeding against other players demands weapons that excel in specialized roles.

In the chaos of multiplayer combat, concepts like spacing, timing, and catching rolls become vital. The best "dueling" weapons feature movesets and attributes that lend themselves to these technical fighting aspects.

Based on countless invasions across 5 years of Dark Souls 3, here are some of the most crucial PvP weapon traits:

Speed

Faster weapons excel at interrupting enemy actions and combos before they begin. Quick successive strikes from straight swords, daggers, and curved blades leave little chance for opponents to counterattack.

However, slower heavy weapons boast "hyper armor" during certain attacks. This super armor means they won‘t stagger when hit, allowing them to trade blows rather than dodging.

Range

Weapons like spears and halberds outrange shorter options, allowing you to control spacing. You can land hits from safety while staying out of range from a host‘s attacks.

Conversely, small quick weapons serve better chasing down fleeing enemies and catching them during rolls or recovery animations.

Moveset Potential

The repertoire of standard and strong attacks greatly impacts a weapon‘s versatility. Wide swings, horizontal slashes, thrusting attacks, jumping strikes, charging attacks – all expand your strategic options.

Viable movesets feature both sweeping arcs capable of catching strafing opponents, and forward lunging specials ideal for sniping and harassing.

Effectiveness When Buffed

Charms, spells, weapon arts, and consumables that temporarily enhance offense or defense greatly expand tactical possibilities.

Top weapons provide the raw might to devastating effect when their attacks receive bonuses like extra damage, bleeding, poisoning, or spell weaponry.

Now that you understand what propels weapons to PvP greatness, let‘s get into my personal favorites for dominating invasions!

By the Numbers: How I Rate PvP Weapons

While feel and versatility go a long way, cold hard numbers help display a weapon‘s deadly potential. To demonstrate why these choices excel statistically, see the following table for a detailed breakdown:

I‘ve included attack rating (ATR) at +10 heavy/sharp/refined infusion to demonstrate damage potential. Critical, guard, stability, durability, and weight give a fuller picture of each weapon‘s strengths.

Now let‘s get into greater detail on what propels each of these lethal PvP tools into top tier status!

#1 Lothric Knight Straight Sword

Let‘s address the elephant in the room – any veteran invader dreads seeing a host wielding the Lothric Knight Straight Sword. This weapon‘s incredible speed, damage, and reach have earned it fame as arguably the best straight sword in Dark Souls 3 PvP.

My very first invasion saw me utterly demolished by an expert swordsman armed with this frustratingly fast and hard hitting blade. As soon as the opening parry stunned me, I knew I stood no chance against the blistering five hit combo coming my way.

And thus I set out to claim this weapon for myself and master its intricacies. Its moveset focuses on lightning quick chops alternating horizontal and vertical slashes, with deceptively long thrusting attacks sprinkled in.

Here‘s what gives the Lothric Knight Sword such lethality:

• Extreme DPS with fast swing speed
• Devastating critical hits at 110 rating
• Great range compared to other straight swords
• High elemental damage when buffed
• Moveset automatically catches early rolls

Augment according to your build for optimal damage output:

Then enchant further with resins, spell buffs, weapon arts to really demolish other players. Bait them into whiffing attacks then retaliate with an explosive 5-hit combo.

Obtain from the red-eyed Lothric Knights throughout Lothric Castle. The area near Dragon Barracks and Dragonslayer Armour bonfires provides a solid farming spot.

Frankly, any build benefits from carrying the Lothric Knight Straight Sword as an ace up your sleeve for Suddenly I-framing behind overly aggressive opponents.

#2 Claymore

While the Lothric Knight Sword relies on barrage attacks, the Claymore epitomizes the polar opposite approach – trading devastating single strikes while resisting enemy blows.

There‘s no question why this versatile greatsword strikes fear in any host it comes across. By utilizing armor with high "poise", you can execute warcry-enhanced heavy attacks without staggering from incoming damage.

And with the Claymore‘s moveset spanning horizontal slashes, powerful thrusts, and sweeping vertical chops, opponents struggle finding openings to retaliate. Charging the strong attack provides outrages damage capable of taking hosts from full health to zero in just 2-3 perfectly timed blows.

My own quality build invader alternates between overwhelming opponents with Claymore‘s reach and wide swings, then switching to a crossbow for long range sniping. This weapon truly shines with a balanced infusion path:

Having tried literally every possible playstyle across 5 years, I believe the Claymore to be one of the most reliable weapons in all of Dark Souls 3 PvP and PvE alike.

Loot the Claymore off a nearby castle wall on High Wall of Lothric. It respawns consistently, so no need to worry about durability.

If you encounter any player wielding this mighty blade, make peace with the fact that just 2-3 ticks of its warcry buff will flatten your HP bar!

#3 Splitleaf Greatsword

Blizzard storms. Scorching flames. And whirling, slicing gales of sharpened steel. These forces of nature pale in comparison to the pure destructive might of the Splitleaf Greatsword.

This "halberd" class weapon demands incredible strength to wield, with 26 required just to swing one-handed. Veterans will testify feeling the sheer power contained within each gale-force sweep of its blade.

The moveset relies on windmilling the Splitleaf around to build momentum for devastatingly strong strikes interspersed between. And nothing elicits quite so satisfying a roar from my invader as the sickening thud of my Charged R2 "^pancaking^" a host flat into the dirt.

Here are the high level reasons for Splitleaf‘s dreaded PvP reputation:

• R1 combo hits 4 times with high poise damage
• Spinning Weapon Art shreds blocks and racks up DPS
• Sweeping moves have deceptive range
• Fully charged Heavy knocks enemies flying

And with the proper stat investment this halberd reaches absolutely extraordinary levels of damage:

I highly recommend a strength build wielding this weapon two-handed, while wearing high poise armor that lets you resist incoming attacks. Buff damage output further with consumables like Gold Pine Resin.

Obtain the Splitleaf Greatsword from Shrine Handmaiden after giving her the Old Woman‘s Ashes. Defeating the Sister Friede boss earns these ashes. Or purchase from the Stone-humped Hag in The Dreg Heap.

Honestly I pity the next host whose name pops up in my world… They face a savage beating against my 66 Strength character spinning this epic blade!

#4 Murky Hand Scythe

Finally let‘s touch on a pint-sized terror that proves dexterous weapons deserve just as much fear as colossal, strength-requiring destroyers. Welcome the Murky Hand Scythe to the fold – a perfectly vicious combination of slices, quicksteps, and Bleed status shredding.

This grim down-curved farming tool turned weapon utilizes Rapid Poison buildup on every slash to steadily melt enemies away. And with a 110 critical rating, successful parries or backstabs from the Murky Hand Scythe completely erase squishier casters and thieves.

Despite its tiny frame, the Murky Hand Scythe boasts an unexpectedly long reach thanks to wide arcing motions. These let you catch opponents mid-attack or interrupt their movements with well-timed swings.

Here‘s what makes this slayer the ultimate Dexterity dueling aide:

• Quickstep skill enhances evasion
• Rapid Poison augmentation boosts Bleed buildup to ~50 per hit
• D/D Strength/Dex scaling when Sharp infused
• Extreme critical damage on Ripostes at 110 rating

A bit of Luck investment goes a long way toward increasing both Bleed infliction and item discovery rate. I suggest minimum 30 points if focusing on status effects or critical fishing tactics:

Obtain the Murky Hand Scythe by transposing Soul of Sister Friede into it. Defeat Friede as the final boss of the Ashes of Ariandel DLC.

If facing this terror in PvP, make sure to roll the moment you see its wielder start an attack animation. Getting stunned by Bleed explosions will shred right through poise!

In Conclusion

And there you have it – everything you need to begin dominating Dark Souls 3 invasions with four of the most lethal weapons around. I consider them at the pinnacle for catching rolls, breaking turtling shields, inflicting status effects, and combatting groups.

Yet skill, precision, and battle awareness still win the day in PvP showdowns. Leverage these deadly tools only as extensions of your hard earned experience. Analyze your victories and defeats alike to continually refine combat decision making.

Now get out there and wreak havoc on hosts and Havel monsters alike! May we someday meet as worthy adversaries with these magnificent armaments in hand.