In this Elden Ring Colossal Weapons Guide, we’ll be taking a look at the 15 Colossal Weapons in Elden Ring, and discussing why you might use them in combat. We’ll take a look at attack power, damage type, length, Weapon Skills, and other factors such as how long it takes you to acquire them, to determine if they are best suited for you. We are doing a guide for all Weapon types in Elden Ring, and these will be updated to reflect those added with Shadow of the Erdtree as well.
Colossal Weapons in Elden Ring:
- Giant-Crusher
- Golem’s Halberd
- Prelate’s Inferno Crozier
- Watchdog’s Staff
- Envoy’s Greathorn
- Great Club
- Dragon Greatclaw
- Troll’s Hammer
- Axe of Godfrey
- Staff of the Avatar
- Ghiza’s Wheel
- Fallingstar Beast Jaw
- Rotten Greataxe
- Duelist Greataxe
- Rotten Staff
Best Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring – Ranked
Colossal Weapons are one of the 31 Weapon types in Elden Ring, soon to be 39 when Shadow of the Erdtree releases on June 21st. Colossal Weapons typically have the highest Attack Rating in the game, which means it has the highest possible numbers in damage. This weapon type has a high burst potential, so it can be used for builds that one-shot enemies if set-up correctly. It has a very high Stance Damage, which makes staggering bosses easier, making them rendered helpless to your attacks. You also have the option to choose which Colossal Weapon to use, as there are a wide variety of weapons to choose from. Also, this weapon type triggers Assassin’s Cerulean Dagger or Assassin’s Crimson Dagger twice when performing Critical Strikes with them, which other weapon types don’t do. This replenishes either your health or FP faster than other weapon types.
Colossal Weapons, however, are the heaviest weapon type in the game. Using one needs a good amount of Equip Load to wield without fat rolling. They also has a high stamina consumption per swing. You’ll have to invest in Endurance to mitigate these problems. Colossal Weapons also have the slowest attack speed out of all weapons, which means it isn’t ideal for situations wherein you’re surrounded by enemies, or if you want to inflict status effects on enemies. Lastly, most Colossal Weapons are found halfway through the game. It’s going to be a while before you acquire which Colossal Weapon you want, or if you want to play a build for a specific Colossal Weapon.
PROS
- Typically have the highest Attack Rating in the game
- Very high Stance Damage
- Wide variety of weapons to choose from
- Critical attack after staggering, or when backstabbing trigger some Talismans twice
- Highest burst potential
CONS
- Heaviest weapon type in the game
- Slowest Attack Speed of all weapons
- High stamina consumption per swing
- Most Colossal Weapons are found halfway through the game
Rotten Staff – #15 Best Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring
The Rotten Staff shares the default moveset of most Colossal Weapons, and deals Physical Damage. It is one of the lightest Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring, weighing 18, and requires a lot of points in Strength and some Dexterity in order to wield.
PROS
- Causes Scarlet Rot build up with each hit
- One of the longer Colossal Weapons in the game
CONS
- Drops extremely late in the game from the Putrid Avatar in Miquella’s Haligtree, essentially making this an NG+ weapon
- Low Attack Rating compared to Staff of the Avatar, and lower than most other Colossal Weapons
- Erdtree Slam deals about 40% Holy Damage, which isn’t the greatest damage type
- Similar damage to the Rotten Greataxe, but less versatility
Attack Rating: 753 | 794 (two-handed)
Conclusion: The Rotten Staff is a mixed bag. On one hand you deal Scarlet Rot Build up with each attack and its one of the longer Colossal Weapons, and on the other you deal less damage than just about every other Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring. Additionally, Erdtree Slam deals both Holy and Physical Damage, however the weapon itself does not. This means in order to boost its damage you will likely use some things that increase Holy Damage, which does not benefit your regular attacks, unlike Staff of the Avatar.
The only way I can see to use this weapon most effectively is to pair it with a Rotten Greataxe and make a Jump Attack dual wield build that focuses on Scarlet Rot build up as a secondary means of damage. This would allow you to main hand the Rotten Greataxe with a much more effective Ash of War, and just forget about Erdtree Slam. Use Mushroom Crown and Kindred of Rot’s Exultation for Boss fights to increase your Attack Rating to that of most other Colossal Weapons.
The sweet spot for this Weapon is about 50 Strength, though it scales well up to 80 with minimum requirements in Dexterity. It does have ok scaling with Dexterity, however, making it more viable for NG+ than some weapons, though not the greatest choice.
Duelist Greataxe – #14 Best Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring
The Duelist Greataxe shares the default moveset of most Colossal Weapons, and deals Physical Damage. It has an average weight for a Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring, weighing 20, and requires a lot of points in Strength and some Dexterity in order to wield.
PROS
- Can be infused with Ashes of War
- Has about the same or more Attack Rating when compared to Unique Colossal Weapons
CONS
- Not found until very late into the game in Leyndell, Royal Capital and is missable
- Shortest length of all Colossal Weapons, tied with Rotten Greataxe
Attack Rating:
- Fire/Lightning – 880
- Sacred/Flame Art – 859
- Magic – 858
- Cold – 833
- Keen – 829
- Heavy – 802 | 855 (two-handed)
- Quality – 771
- Occult – 752
- Blood/Poison – 726
Conclusion: The advantage of the Duelist Greataxe is that it has rather high Attack Rating and the flexibility to change different Ashes of War, and it deals Slash Damage compared to the Strike Damage of most Colossal Weapons. Slash is not a better damage type than Strike in general, but it does give you another option if an enemy does resist Strike Damage.
You’ll get the most damage out of this weapon with the Fire/Lightning infusion, following by Sacred/Flame Art and Magic, and then Cold and Keen. The Duelist Greatxe (and the Rotten Greataxe) lean towards the Dexterity scaling side of things, making them a better option for dual wielding, since they don’t have as good of Strength scaling as some other Colossal Weapons.
Consider dual wielding two of these weapons, and using a Dexterity scaling Ash of War like Thunderbolt or Beast’s Roar to give you a ranged option that scales well with Dexterity. Remember that the Cold Infusion still has B scaling in Dexterity with this weapon, so it is still a valid option if you use Beast’s Roar.
The sweet spot for damage on this weapon is about 50 Dexterity and 30 Strength, which is needed to wield it one-handed. You can continue to increase the damage up to 80 Dexterity rather easily, and if you use Cold you can increase Strength and Intelligence as well, making this a solid choice for NG+.
Rotten Greataxe – #13 Best Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring
The Rotten Greataxe shares the default moveset of most Colossal Weapons, and deals Physical Damage. It has an average weight for a Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring, weighing 20, and requires a lot of points in Strength and some Dexterity in order to wield.
PROS
- Applies Scarlet Rot build up with each hit
- Can be infused with Ashes of War
CONS
- Not found until very late into the game in Ordina, Liturgical Town
- Shortest length of all Colossal Weapons, tied with Duelist Greataxe
- Has slightly less damage on average than most Unique Colossal weapons
Attack Rating:
- Fire/Lightning – 842
- Sacred/Flame Art – 822
- Magic – 821
- Cold – 798
- Keen – 794
- Heavy – 767 | 818 (two-handed)
- Occult – 738
- Quality – 720
- Blood/Poison – 695
Conclusion: The only reason to use the Rotten Greataxe over the Duelist Greataxe, besides the fact that you may have missed the Duelist Greataxe, is that you want the Scarlet Rot Build Up on it. It’s not a bad trade off really, a bit less Attack Rating for Scarlet Rot. However, it won’t be very useful against regular enemies since they will usually die before you can trigger it, and you will likely need to use a dual wield setup in order to get this to proc more easily, since there is no way to boost the rate at which you build up Scarlet Rot besides adding a second source, or by using an Ash of War that strikes rapidly. Since there really isn’t an Ash of War like this for Colossal Weapons, you are kind of locked into the dual wield route.
I advise farming a second Rotten Greataxe that way you can set yourself exactly how you want, and just like the Duelist Greataxe this weapon scales more with Dexterity than with Strength, making it ideal for a dual wield Build. You could actually set both to the Poison Infusion and trigger both Poison and Scarlet Rot simultaneously. This will allow you to make good use of the Mushroom Crown and Kindred of Rot’s Exultation, which will increase your Attack Power by 30% for 20 seconds, which puts your Attack Rating even higher than if you were a higher damage infusion. Note that setting the Bleed Infusion sets Scarlet Rot to 0.
The sweet spot for this weapon is the same as the Duelist Greataxe at 50 Dex and 30 Strength, and if you are using the Poison Infusion you’ll want to continue to increase Dexterity to 80 from here before investing in Arcane to further boost damage and increase the rate at which Poison builds up, but not Scarlet Rot. It’s not super important to do this earlier because unlike Hemorrhage, you cannot trigger Poison a second time until it expires, so building it half a swing earlier is not a big deal.
Because of the versatility of this weapon, and the fact that it scales well in many cases, it’s an excellent weapon for NG+ and onward, particularly because Scarlet Rot will become more useful as enemies gain more HP, and become more challenging.
Fallingstar Beast Jaw – #12 Best Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring
The Fallingstar Beast Jaw shares the default moveset of most Colossal Weapons, and deals Physical and Magic Damage. It is one of the heavier Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring, weighing 21.5, and requires a lot of points in Strength, and some Dexterity and Intelligence in order to wield.
PROS
- Deals +20% damage to Gravity type enemies
- Gravity Bolt is of the most devastating Weapon Skills in all of Elden Ring, trivializing much of the game
- The longest of all Colossal Weapons in Elden Ring
- Very high Attack Rating
CONS
Attack Rating: 864 | 911 two-handed
Conclusion: The strength of Fallingstar Beast Jaw was easily its weapon skill: Gravity Bolt which dealt Physical and Magic Damage at range in a small AoE, that staggered most enemies in one cast, and the rest in 2 or 3 casts. However, this has since been nerfed, and is no longer effective, drastically reducing the effectiveness of the weapon.
This weapon does has one of the highest Attack Ratings of all Colossal Weapons though, deals extra damage to Gravity type enemies, and has the longest reach of all Colossal Weapons. The one downside is that Intelligence scales very poorly with this weapon, and you’d be better off thinking it as a Quality scaling weapon once you meet the Intelligence requirements.
The Fallingstar Beast Jaw scales very well with Strength and Dexterity, with the sweet spot being about 50 in each with only 20 points in Intelligence to meet its requirements. This weapon should be fine in NG+ because there is room to increase the damage by increasing both STR and DEX up to 80.
Ghiza’s Wheel – #11 Best Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring
The Ghiza’s Wheel has R2 attacks that leave the blades spinning dealing extra damage, and deals Physical Damage. It has an average weight for a Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring, weighing 19, and requires a lot of points in Strength and some Dexterity in order to wield.
Attack Rating: 745 | 801
Conclusion: Ghiza’s Wheel is an interesting weapon because of its Ash of War, and the weapon itself should remind players of the Whirligig Saw from Bloodborne colloquially nicknamed the “Pizza Cutter”.
What’s funny is that Spinning Wheel does far less damage and Bleed Build up than a single charged R2 with Ghiza’s Wheel. Winged Sword Insignia, Millicent’s Prosthesis nor Thorny Cracked Tear will NOT trigger when using Spinning Wheel, and Bleed Build Up is but a fraction per hit of what is listed on the weapon. This renders Spinning Wheel nearly useless.
However, R2 attacks triggers Blood Loss much more easily than Spinning Heel, and they are affected by these Talismans and Cracked Tear, in addition to the Axe Talisman making it particularly deadly. At 50 Strength and 55 Dexterity you can deal over 3000 damage in a single charged R2 if Hemorrhage triggers. If you insist on using this weapon, this is THE way to use it successfully. Pair this with the Jellyfish Shield for even better results!
Ghiza’s Wheel has nearly identical scaling with Strength and Dexterity, meaning 50/50 is the optimal setup for this weapon, and it will continue to scale well up to 80 in each, making it a phenomenal choice for NG+ and onward.
Staff of the Avatar – #10 Best Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring
The Staff of the Avatar shares the default moveset of most Colossal Weapons, and deals Physical and Holy Damage. It have an average weigh for a Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring, weighing 20, and requires a lot of points in Strength, and some Dexterity and Faith in order to wield.
PROS
- One of the longer Colossal Weapons in the game
- Highest potential Attack Rating of all unique weapons in Elden Ring
- 730 Attack Rating at minimum requirements, which is very high
CONS
- Drops very late in the game from the Erdtree Avatar in Deeproot Depths
- Holy Damage is one of the worst damage types late game, as some of the most difficult Bosses resist it
Attack Rating: 902 | 948 (two-handed)
Conclusion: Staff of the Avatar has incredible Attack Rating, and has the highest potential Attack Rating of all Unique Weapons in Elden Ring. Additionally, it doesn’t weigh nearly as much as some Colossal Weapons at 20 weight, and is one of the longer Colossal Weapons in Elden Ring.
The downsides are that it does some Holy Damage, and Holy Damage is one of the worst types of damage late in Elden Ring, and you don’t get this weapon until very late into the game, so you won’t be able to use it for a very long time. Additionally, Erdtree Slam does about the same damage in a lot of cases, making it very situational when enemies are clumped together or vs. Undead.
Something particularly interesting about this weapon is that you get the highest Attack Rating in NG by pumping Strength to 80 and keeping Faith at 24, which is the minimum needed to meet its Faith requirements. However, if you go for 50 Strength and 50 Faith and two-hand the weapon, you have nearly the same Attack Rating as if you two-handed it with 80 Strength, and Erdtree Slam does slightly more damage, making this the optimal stat spread if you’re two handing. This also allows you to play a Strength/Faith Build rather effectively using the Clawmark Seal, which gives you a host of buffs that can further boost your defenses and damage, as well as a variety of ranged options.
Erdtree Slam does a mix of Physical and Holy Damage, allowing you to increase its damage with Flame, Grant Me Strength, Golden Vow, Holy-Shrouding Cracked Tear, Sacred Scorpion Charm, as well as Shard of Alexander and Ritual Sword Talisman. This gives you a variety of ways to increase not only your Erdtree Slam, but also your own Attack Rating.
Since this weapon continues to scale decently with Strength and Faith, and even Dexterity, it’s an excellent candidate for NG+ and NG++ playthroughs, since you can continue to increase your damage through both of these playthroughs.
Axe of Godfrey – #9 Best Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring
The Axe of Godfrey shares the default moveset of most Colossal Weapons, and deals Physical Damage. It is one of the lightest Colossal Weapons in Elden Ring, weighing 18, and requires a lot of points in Strength and some Dexterity in order to wield.
PROS
- Has very high Attack Rating when buffed with Regal Roar
- Regal Roar can AoE down packs of enemies rather easily, knocks enemies into the air, and has hyper armor that is almost unbreakable
CONS
Attack Rating: 764 | 823 | 905 when buffed
Conclusion: While the Axe of Godfrey might seem unwieldly because of it’s slow casting animation of Regal Roar, its hyper armor makes it almost impossible to not pull it off. And since it knocks enemies into the air, it allows for a follow up Charged R2 rather easily that will usually finish up any regular or elite enemies due to its higher than average Attack Rating when buffed.
You’ll definitely want very high Armor and Poise when using this Build if possible to make sure you can trade damage easily, and just keep swinging, usually killing enemies before they attack a second time. What’s weird, is although Shard of Alexander and Axe Talisman are both useful for this Weapon Skill, Roar Medallion and Godfrey Icon both do not enhance it one bit. This is quite odd considering it’s literally labeled a Roar, but it still deals significant damage anyhow.
The sweet spot for this weapon is around 60 Strength and 50 Dexterity, though you can continue to boost these stats to 80 into NG+, making it a good choice for a second playthrough, particularly since you won’t get this when until near end of the game anyway. A very under utilized and underrated weapon.
Troll’s Hammer – #8 Best Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring
The Troll’s Hammer shares the default moveset of most Colossal Weapons, and deals Physical and Fire Damage. It is the lightest Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring, weighing 16, and requires a lot of points in Strength, and some Dexterity and Faith in order to wield.
PROS
- Found in Old Altus Tunnel which isn’t as far into the game as some Colossal Weapons
- Lightest Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring, tied with Dragon Greatclaw
- Has high Attack Rating for its weight
- Can be buffed with Grease or other Weapon Buffs despite not being Infusable
CONS
- Has short length for a Colossal Weapon, though longer than some
- Cannot be infused with Ashes of War
Attack Rating: 835 | 892 two-handed
Conclusion: The Trolls Hammer is in a weird spot for a Colossal Weapon. It does very little Fire Damage, and the Faith Scaling is extremely poor, making it unlikely to be used in any sort of Strength/Faith Build. However, it does have very high Attack Rating for its weight, particularly when two-handed. You get about the same damage with the Sacred Infused Giant-Crusher, which has the same length, better scaling and has the option of various different Ashes of War. The Giant Crusher though, has much higher requirements and weighs a lot more, so there are some trade offs. Additionally, you can buff this weapon with magic or grease, which plays in its favor.
Troll’s Roar deals only Physical Damage with its shout, meaning it doesn’t use any of the Fire Damage of this weapon for its calculation. Since Troll’s Roar can be placed on many different Weapons, it is better used on an all Physical Damage Colossal Weapon if you like this Ash of War. Troll’s Roar and its follow up attack are boosted by the Roar Medallion and Highland Axe.
If you really want to you use this weapon you will want to increase your Strength to 80 while meeting the minimum requirements for Dexterity and Faith, which is extremely easy to do. I’d suggest making a similar build to the Colossal Crusher with this weapon, that takes advantage of Troll’s Roar and the double proc of Assassin’s Cerulean and Crimson Dagger. Or you could make a build with another light Colossal Weapon like the Great Club, doing dual wield Jump Attacks since they are much lighter than many Colossal Weapons.
I don’t recommend this weapon for NG+ and beyond because of the poor Faith scaling, you’ll have 90% of its total potential Attack Rating by the time you finish NG.
Dragon Greatclaw – #7 Best Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring
The Dragon Greatclaw shares the default moveset of most Colossal Weapons, and deals Physical and Lightning Damage. It is the lightest Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring, weighing 16, and requires a lot of points in Strength and some Dexterity in order to wield.
PROS
- Deals +30% damage against Dragon type enemies
- Deals +15% damage against Ancient Dragon type enemies
- Slightly longer than most other Colossal Weapons
- Lightest Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring, tied with Troll’s Hammer
- Has high Attack Rating for its weight
CONS
Attack Rating: 852 | 898 two-handed
Conclusion: The Dragon Greatclaw does a similar amount of damage to the Troll’s Hammer, both of which are the lightest two Colossal Weapons in Elden Ring. However, it deals Lightning Damage instead of Fire, is a bit longer, and deals extra damage vs. Dragons. It also has a different Ash of War: Endure.
The fact that you cannot change the Ash of War on this weapon, and that it is so light, makes it far better in a dual wield setup that places it in the off hand where it will not be used as often. Consider pairing it with the Watchdog’s Staff which has nearly identical requirements and scaling, has a much better Ash of War, and is only slightly heavier.
The sweetspot for this weapon is 55 Strength and 55 Dexterity, after which point it begins to drop off a bit, but you will still get decent damage all the way up to 80 in either of these stats, making it a good candidate for NG+, where you will likely reach these numbers.
Great Club – #6 Best Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring
The Great Club has a unique R2 overhead swing, that can be followed up with another, and deals Physical Damage. It is one of the lightest Colossal Weapons in Elden Ring, weighing 17, and requires a lot of points in Strength in order to wield.
PROS
- Drops from Stonedigger Troll in Old Altus Tunnel which isn’t as far into the game as some Colossal Weapons
- Can be buffed with Grease or other Weapon Buffs despite not being infusable
CONS
- Has short length for a Colossal Weapon, though longer than some
- Low Attack Rating compared to most Colossal Weapons
Attack Rating: 728 | 773 (two-handed)
Conclusion: The Great Club has much lower Attack Rating than most Colossal Weapons, making it seem like a poor choice at first glance. However, despite being a unique Colossal Weapon it can still be buffed with Spells or other weapon buffs, allowing you to increase your Attack Rating much higher.
Additionally, Golden Land, its weapon skill, will apply Bloodflame Blade or Black Flame Blade to its projectiles if you buff with either of these Spells, making them a good pairing with this Weapon. Golden Land also does 100% Holy Damage and increases in damage the more Faith you have, making the Great Club an ideal choice for a Strength/Faith Build.
By using the Clawmark Seal you can still sling most Spells effectively and buff your weapon, just keep in mind that the Strength Scaling from the Clawmark Seal will not apply to your weapon buff damage. Even still, with 50 Strength and 50 Faith you come out with a whopping 896 Attack Rating if you buff with both Golden Vow and Electrify Armament, which puts it up there some of the higher damage dealing Colossal Weapons. And, you can cast Incantations to boot, like Golden Vow which will also boost Golden Land’s damage.
I highly recommend you do a split Strength Faith build when using this weapon for the reasons mentioned, otherwise you’ll really be limiting your damage and versatility. However, other option is to use this weapon in some sort of Jump Attack build with another lighter Colossal Weapon, like the Troll’s Hammer, and only invest in Strength.
I definitely recommend this weapon in NG+ and beyond because you will have many more points you can place into Strength and Faith to further boost your Attack Rating, as well as weapon buff damage, and spell damage on into NG++ and beyond.
Envoy’s Greathorn – #5 Best Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring
The Envoy’s Greathorn shares the default moveset of most Colossal Weapons, and deals Physical and Holy Damage. It has an average weight for a Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring, weighing 19.5, and requires some points in Strength, Dexterity and Faith in order to wield.
PROS
CONS
- Found extremely late in the game, dropping from the Giant Envoys in Miquella’s Haligtree, essentially making it an NG+ weapon
- Can take a long time to farm this weapon
- Holy Damage is one of the worst damage types late game, as some of the most difficult Bosses resist it
- Second shortest length of all Colossal Weapons
- Very low Attack Rating for a Colossal Weapon
Attack Rating: 741 | 790
Conclusion: While initially it might seem like a terrible weapon because it has low Attack Rating, short range, and deals some Holy Damage, which is resisted by many end game Bosses; Envoy’s Greathorn can be devastating if built to maximize its weapon skill Great Oracular Bubble.
Great Oracular does 100% Holy Damage and can be increased with Shard of Alexander, Sacred Scorpion Charm, Ritual Sword Talisman, Holy-Shrouding Cracked Tear, Golden Vow, your Faith Attribute and the unique helmet Envoy Crown. This allows you to approach 4000 damage at 50 Faith, which is phenomenal for a Weapon Skill that can be fired off at range.
And while Envoy’s Greathorn has slightly better Attack Rating at 80 Strength and 24 Faith, you will gain more damage from Great Oracular Bubble by splitting 50 Strength and 50 Faith. This will also allow you to use the Clawmark Seal and cast Incantations somewhat effectively, while still having 95% of the Attack Rating, much like the Staff of the Avatar.
Because you can continue to increase Strength to 80 rather effectively, and Faith decently, Envoy’s Greathorn makes a decent weapon for NG+, particularly because Holy Damage is much better at the beginning of a playthrough than the end, but will start to fall off in NG++.
Watchdog’s Staff – #4 Best Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring
The Watchdog’s Staff shares the default moveset of most Colossal Weapons, and deals Physical Damage. It have an average weigh for a Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring, weighing 19, and requires a lot of points in Strength and some Dexterity in order to wield.
PROS
CONS
- Cannot be infused with Ashes of War
- Has very low Attack Rating for its weight
Attack Rating: 794 | 854 two-handed
Conclusion: The Watchdog’s Staff sacrifices raw damage for a unique Weapon Skill that deals Magic Damage and tracks enemies, dealing damage at range. It’s a great option for a melee Build, giving you a spell-like attack you can use when you cannot get near a dangerous enemy.
This puts it into kind of a strange place because you have to decide whether to lean into Sorcery of the Crozier, or if you want to focus on Jump Attacks with this weapon. This is because Talismans that benefit Sorcery of the Crozier don’t really fit into a melee Build. Things like Ritual Sword Talisman, Magic Scorpion Charm and Magic-Shrouding Cracked Tear do nothing if all you focus on is Jump Attacks, but they greatly benefit a build that focuses on this Weapon Skill. Note that Shard of Alexander doesn’t boost the damage of this weapon skill, although it really should.
The most unique thing about the Watchdog’s Staff is this Weapon Skill, so in my opinion, I’d focus on that like I did in my Sorcery Sentinel Build or use another Colossal Weapon that has higher Attack Rating for a Jump Attack sort of Build. Use the Talismans I mentioned in order to pump the damage of this Skill, and you can either two-hand this weapon, or try to dual wield it with another light Colossal Weapon like Dragon Greatclaw if you wish.
The optimal stat spread for this weapon is about 60 Strength and 50 Dexterity, which is very similar to the Dragon Greatclaw, and it scales relatively well up to 80 in both stats, making it a good candidate for NG+.
Prelate’s Inferno Crozier – #3 Best Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring
The Prelate’s Inferno Crozier has a unique R2 that is an upward swing that can launch enemies into the air if charged, and deals Physical Damage. It is one of the heaviest Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring, weighing 23.5, and requires a lot of points in Strength and some Dexterity in order to wield.
PROS
CONS
- Isn’t found until much later in the game by farming the Fire Prelate in Mt. Gelmir
- Has short length for a Colossal Weapon, though longer than some
- Charged R2 attacks with this weapon deal much less Stance Damage than other Colossal Weapons
Attack Rating:
- Magic – 900
- Occult – 894
- Sacred/Flame Art – 881
- Fire/Lightning – 868
- Heavy – 852 | 918 (two-handed)
- Cold – 836 | 878 (two-handed)
- Quality – 763
- Blood/Poison – 743 | 793 (two-handed)
Conclusion: Much like other Colossal Weapons the Prelate’s Inferno Crozier scales tremendously with Strength, and has one of the highest Attack Ratings of all Colossal Weapons in Elden Ring. Additionally, it has a unique R2 that does less Stance Damage in exchange for golf clubbing enemies up into the air.
The unique things about this weapon, besides its shape, is that it comes with the Prelate’s Charge weapon skill, which you cannot find until much later in the game. Prelate’s Charge allows you to hit rapidly over and over by holding L2, which can trigger Winged Sword Insignia, Rotten Winged Sword Insignia and Millicent’s Prothesis extremely quickly. Additionally, if the weapon is buffed with Bloodflame Blade it can trigger Hemorrhage quite fast as well. When combined this creates a deadly combination that can reach over 2200 Attack Rating, and likely higher in some scenarios, and can stunlock enemies in the process.
While you’ll gain the highest outright Attack Rating by pumping Strength, if you place at least 25 points into Faith you’ll be able to use Bloodflame Blade which can trigger Hemorrhage, you’ll be able to buff with Flame, Grant Me Strength, and you’ll be able to buff with Golden Vow. When these buffs combine with the Talismans I just mentioned, Lord of Blood’s Exultation and White Mask you can hit incredibly high Attack Ratings by using this once. This will then buff your next few attacks, allowing you to kill enemies with R1 or R2 attacks.
Because this weapon has such good Strength scaling and high Attack Rating it performs extremely well in NG+ and beyond, especially since you can set it to Blood or Cold Infusions, both of which take portions of max HP off when their status effects trigger.
Golem’s Halberd – #2 Best Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring
The Golem’s Halberd has a unique R2 that does horizontal slashes rather than overhead strikes, and deals Physical Damage. It is one of the heavier Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring, weighing 21.5, and requires a lot of points in Strength and some Dexterity in order to wield.
PROS
- Second longest length of all Colossal Weapons
- Deals about the same or more damage as most Unique Colossal Weapons
- Can be found quite early in Elden Ring by farming Golems on the path to the Divine Tower of Limgrave
- Has as good or better Attack Rating as most Unique Colossal Weapons
CONS
- Is one of the heavier Colossal Weapons in Elden Ring
- You can’t change the Ash of War on this weapon without losing Charge Forth, since you cannot put this Ash of War back onto this weapon class
- Charge Forth, although hitting multiple times, does not trigger Winged Sword Insignia or Millicent’s Prosthesis
- Charge Forth does very little Stance Damage
Attack Rating:
- Magic – 849
- Sacred/Flame Art – 842
- Fire/Lightning – 827
- Heavy – 816 | 877 (two-handed)
- Keen – 798
- Cold – 784 | 815 (two-handed)
- Occult – 779
- Quality – 741
- Blood/Poison – 673 | 711 (two-handed)
Conclusion: When I first start testing this weapon I really wanted to use Charge Forth since it’s an Ash of War not found or applicable to any other Colossal Weapon. However, when I started trying to optimize it I soon realized that even though Charge Forth hits multiple times, the game only counts them as one hit, and so does not trigger Bleed or Poison Build up faster, nor does it trigger Winged Sword Insignia or Millicent’s Prosthesis. This was a major let down alone, but when coupled with the fact that it does nearly no Stance Damage, it became clear you could get more damage out of just Charged R2s with this weapon then its Ash of War.
So why then would you use the Golem’s Halberd. Well it has fantastic Strength Scaling, has the second longest reach of all Colossal Weapons, and it has the versatility of being able to change Ashes of War and set status effects.
What I decided to do with this weapon was actually a Block Counter Build. And that’s because it has extremely long range, allowing you to hit even when pushed back. It has very high damage, allowing you to do very hard hitting Block Counters. It also scales well with Strength, making it a good candidate to pair with a Greatshield. When you use this in combination with the Curved Sword Talisman and things like Determination or Royal Knight’s Resolve you one shot most enemies in one Block Counter, but if some reason you don’t, well you usually stagger them and then you can trigger Assassin’s Cerulean and Crimson Daggers twice, due to it being a Colossal Weapon. It’s sort of the apex of Block Counter Builds.
The ideal stat spread for this weapon is somewhere around 50 Strength, but you can take this up to 80 no problem, and probably even higher since it has A scaling when set to Heavy. Additionally, Bleed and Cold both have B scaling in Strength, and so are not bad options either, particularly
Giant-Crusher – #1 Best Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring
The Giant-Crusher has a unique R2 that causes the wielder to summersault forward and can flatten regular enemies if charged, and deals Physical Damage. It is the heaviest Weapon in Elden Ring, weighing 26.5, and requires a huge amount of points in Strength in order to wield.
PROS
- Can be acquired early than many Colossal Weapons in Elden Ring in Altus Plateau
- Best Strength Scaling of all Colossal Weapons, and highest potential Attack Rating of all Infusable Colossal Weapons when using the Heavy, Cold or Blood/Poison Scaling
- Very good Physical Damage Reduction and Guard Boost, making it decent at Blocking in a pinch
CONS
- Has short length for a Colossal Weapon, though longer than some
- Heaviest Weapon in Elden Ring
Attack Rating:
- Sacred/Flame Art – 894 | 925 (tw0-handed)
- Heavy – 878 | 947 (two-handed)
- Cold – 867 | 911 (two-handed)
- Occult – 840 | 900
- Blood/Poison – 772 | 827 (two-handed)
Conclusion: Giant-Crusher has outstanding Attack Rating as well as a unique R2 that can flatten enemies. It has the highest potential Attack Rating of all infusable Colossal Weapons when using any infusion that uses Strength in its scaling like: Heavy, Cold or Blood/Poison. And because the Giant Crusher requires such a large investment into Strength in order to use, you are better off using one of these infusions if you use this weapon.
The downsides to this weapon are that it is the heaviest weapon in the game weighing a whopping 26.5, and it is shorter than nearly every other Colossal Weapon in Elden Ring. This means you will have to have a large investment into Endurance to use it, and when added with the Strength requirements, it doesn’t leave a lot of room for any other points except into Vigor and Mind. You also need to be closer to your target, though the charged R2 has a decent amount of range.
Unless you intend to buff this weapon with Grease or some buff that requires very low requirements like Frozen Weapon or Bloodflame Blade, I highly recommend selecting the Cold Infusion as it is nearly the same damage as Heavy, but can also apply the Frostbite status effect, ripping off enemy HP and reducing enemy resistances. Additionally, using the Blood Infusion is not a bad option either, especially if you’re using the White Mask and Lord of Blood’s Exultation, since one Bleed proc will effectively recoup the lost Attack Rating from selecting this infusion.
The Giant Crusher has very high damage, and excellent scaling, making it a great choice for NG+ an onward because you can continue to increase its Attack Rating via Strength in the majority of cases. Consider using Ashes of War like Determination or Royal Knight’s Resolve with this weapon, and using the Axe Talisman to take advantage of its unique R2 attack for very high damage.
If you enjoyed this Colossal Weapons Ranked Guide, be sure to check out our other Weapon Guides, and also our article on how to Prepare for Shadow of the Erdtree!
