In this Elden Ring Best Thrusting Sword and Ranking Guide, we’ll be taking a look at the 7 Thrusting Swords 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.
Thrusting Swords in Elden Ring:
- Rogier’s Rapier
- Antspur Rapier
- Rapier
- Cleanrot Knight’s Sword
- Estoc
- Frozen Needle
- Noble’s Estoc
Best Thrusting Sword in Elden Ring – Ranked
Thrusting Swords are one of the 31 Weapon types in Elden Ring, soon to be 39 when Shadow of the Erdtree releases on June 21st. Thrusting Swords have extremely fast attack speed. Having fast attack speed, and also rapid dual wield and jump attacks, you can apply status effects quite fast with Thrusting Swords. This is one of the few weapon types which can interrupt bosses since you have a fast attack speed. This weapon type allows you to feint by charging up your R2, then cancelling it by pressing the dodge button. This gets you out of harm’s way. You can also attack while blocking, just like Spears.
However, Thrusting Swords have relatively low attack damage compared to other weapon types. It also has an extremely short range, so you should be careful while using Thrusting Swords. Lastly, Thrusting Swords deal almost exclusively Pierce damage, so you might struggle with bosses that are resistant to it. Since Thrusting Swords deal Piercing damage, you can use Spear Talisman to increase your counterattack damage.
PROS
- Extremely fast attack speed
- Allows you to feint
- You can attack while blocking
- Allows you to parry
- Applies status effects quickly
- Extremely light equip load
CONS
- Relatively low attack damage
- Extremely short reach
- Deals almost exclusively Pierce damage
Noble’s Estoc – #7 Best Thrusting Sword in Elden Ring
The Noble’s Estoc shares an R2 with the Estoc that does a Slash instead of a Thrust, and deals Physical Damage. It has a average weight for a Thrusting Sword in Elden Ring, weighing 3.5, and requires some points in Strength and Dexterity in order to wield.
PROS
- Second longest reach of all Thrusting Swords
CONS
Attack Rating:
- Fire – 546
- Lightning – 546
- Sacred/Flame Art – 542
- Magic – 539
- Heavy – 478
- Cold – 476
- Keen – 475
- Quality – 463
- Occult – 449
- Blood/Poison – 390
Conclusion: The Noble’s Estoc is an extremely difficult weapon to acquire, and it can take hours to farm one. Personally, I don’t think it’s worth it either, considering the Estoc does more damage and shares the same moveset, and is only just shorter. If you insist on using this weapon, you won’t be min/maxing your build, and will simply be using it for style, which is 100% acceptable.
Much like other Thrusting Swords it excels with Fire, Lightning and Sacred/Flame Art infusions, so those are all good choices if you use this weapon. Focus on a repeated attack build alone or with another Thrusting Sword, since the Noble’s Estoc deals the second lowest Critical Attack damage of any Thrusting Sword, behind the Frozen Needle, making it a poor choice for Critical focused Builds.
Frozen Needle – #6 Best Thrusting Sword in Elden Ring
The Frozen Needle has a unique R2 that fires the tip of the Needle into enemies, going further and dealing more damage if fully charged, and deals Physical Damage. It is the lightest Thrusting Sword in Elden Ring, weighing 2.5 (tied with the Rapier), and requires some points in Strength and Dexterity in order to wield.
PROS
- Frostbite Build Up on each hit
- Can still enemies when Feinting easily
- Impaling Thrust is a solid Weapon Skill
CONS
- Very low Attack Rating
- Second shortest Thrusting Sword
Attack Rating: 462
Critical Damage: 1513
Conclusion: Although the Frozen Needle has low Attack Rating and very short reach, it is surprisingly versatile. It takes advantage of the Thrusting Sword’s ability to feint perhaps better than any other Thrusting Sword because of the range the Needle can fly, though charged R2 Needles are not boosted by the Axe Talisman. This still allows it to hit many enemies safely out of harms way, and use a feint should they close the distance before a full charge is performed. Impaling Thrust is also excellent at dealing with enemies with Shields, which is a major weakness of this weapon class.
The Frostbite Build up is a nice addition that can accumulate rather quickly though it only plays a part in more difficult battles, since most enemies will die before it every triggers anyway. One particularly good way to trigger Frostbite is by dual wielding Thrusting Swords with the Frozen Needle in the right hand. The second L2 press only hits with this weapon, making you build up Frostbite much more quickly, especially if the left hand weapon isn’t of a Cold Infusion. If you use a Fire or Flame Infusion on the left hand weapon, or simply buff it with fire, you can set this status effect over and over which is great.
The sweet spot for this weapon is about 50 Dexterity, from which point it starts dropping, but is still ok through 80 DEX. Though the weapon has Strength Scaling, it is very poor, which makes this a much better first playthrough weapon. Particularly because you can find the weapon so early in Kingsrealm Ruins, which isn’t too far into the game. Once you’ve reached 80 DEX around the end of your first playthrough, you won’t be able to get much more damage out of the weapon.
I’d either dual wield this weapon with another Rapier for fast attacks, using Talismans like Winged Sword Insignia, Rotten Winged Sword Insignia or Millicent’s Prosthesis, or use it with a Parrying Shield of some sort, mixing up R2 attacks and parries for a more dynamic style of play.
Estoc – #5 Best Thrusting Sword in Elden Ring
The Estoc shares an R2 with the Noble Estoc that does a Slash instead of a Thrust, and deals Physical Damage. It is the heaviest Thrusting Sword in Elden Ring, weighing 4.5, and requires some points in Strength and Dexterity in order to wield.
PROS
- Second in Attacking for Thrusting Swords
- One of the longer Thrusting Swords
- R2 that does Slash Damage
- Can acquire 2 in one playthrough
CONS
Attack Rating:
- Magic – 560
- Fire – 558
- Lightning – 558
- Sacred/Flame Art – 552
- Cold – 523
- Keen – 510
- Heavy – 492
- Occult – 470
- Quality – 468
- Blood/Poison – 437
Conclusion: The Estoc is a solid Thrusting Sword in Elden Ring, pulling up second in the Attack Rating department by a small amount, being nearly tied for second longest Thrusting Sword, and having an R2 that doesn’t deal Piercing Damage, giving you an viable alternative against enemies that resist this damage type. Plus you can get two in a single playthrough rather easily. It does have the heaviest weight though, but not by a lot.
The Estoc is not as strong at Critical Attacks as the Rapier, Rogier’s Rapier or the Cleanrot Knight’s Sword, so it’s better suited for a build that relies on repeated strikes than outright Critical Attacks. Because Thrusting Swords attack so quickly, consider using a Cold, Blood or Poison version of this weapon to set these status effects fast. Dual Wielding these is also extremely effective, just remember that the right hand weapon will hit more than the left when dual wielding Thrusting Swords, so it’s better for Bleed that can be triggered more than once, or Frostbite if the left hand weapon does Fire Damage, since you can set it again and again.
Cleanrot Knight’s Sword – #4 Best Thrusting Sword in Elden Ring
The Cleanrot Knight’s Sword shares the default moveset of most Thrusting Swords, and deals Physical Damage. It has a heavy weight for a Thrusting Sword in Elden Ring, weighing 4, and requires some points in Strength and Dexterity in order to wield.
PROS
- High Attack Rating for a Thrusting Sword
- Longest Thrusting Sword
- Good Heavy Scaling
CONS
- No Slashing R2 variant means it can have trouble against pierce resistant enemies
Attack Rating:
- Magic – 568
- Fire – 568
- Lightning – 568
- Sacred/Flame Art – 568
- Heavy – 521
- Cold – 501
- Keen – 500
- Quality – 487
- Occult – 475
- Blood/Poison – 410
Conclusion: The Cleanrot Knight’s Sword has the highest Attack Rating with elemental infusions, and has particularly good Heavy Scaling, making it an excellent choice for a Strength focused Build. It is also the longest Thrusting Weapon, making it a hard weapon to ignore if you’re making a Thrusting Sword build. It doesn’t have a sweeping R2 attack like the Estoc, however, meaning it can have some difficulty against Pierce resistant enemies if it’s not using an Elemental Infusion or Bleed.
I’d recommend using this Weapon with either the Fire or Heavy Infusions to take advantage of its high damage, and also use a Greatshield for solid Guard Boost while you attack from behind your Shield or do Block Counters. No other Thrusting Weapon is as effective at this playstyle, and additionally you can add the Parry Ash of War to the Cleanrot’s Knight Sword, so you can Block and Parry with a Greatshield out!
Rapier – #3 Best Thrusting Sword in Elden Ring
The Rapier shares the default moveset of most Thrusting Swords, and deals Physical Damage. It is the lightest Thrusting Sword in Elden Ring, weighing 2.5 (tied with Frozen Needle), and requires some points in Strength and Dexterity in order to wield.
PROS
- Will do the highest Critical Strike damage of all Thrusting Swords
CONS
- Shortest reach of all Thrusting Swords, though only slightly shorter than Antspur and Frozen Needle
- Lowest Attack Rating of all Thrusting Swords on average aside from Frozen Needle
Attack Rating:
- Fire – 532
- Lightning – 532
- Magic – 521
- Sacred/Flame Art – 517
- Keen – 485
- Cold – 478
- Heavy – 455
- Occult – 444
- Quality – 436
- Blood/Poison – 407
Conclusion: The Rapier is pretty unremarkable in nearly every way, save one, and that is that it is tied for the second highest Critical Rating of any weapon in the game at 130, outclassed only by the Misericorde which is a Dagger class weapon. This makes it particularly good for Parries, Backstabs, and on any enemies that has been stance broken. Make sure to use the Dagger Talisman to further boost Critical Damage when using this weapon.
The Rapier otherwise has second lowest Attack Rating of all Thrusting Weapons, and has the shortest reach, making it a poor choice for just about any other sort of “duelist” Build that focuses on rapid piercing attacks. Fire and Lightning are not too far behind other Thrusting Swords though, neither is Magic, making them decent choices if you do plan to make a Critical Attack style build.
The Rapier is extremely light weight, which makes it a good candidate for some sort of build that uses the Blue Dancer Charm to increase Attack Power. If you like the Thrusting Sword weapon type, but you don’t really do many Critical Attacks, then you’re better off selecting a different one.
Antspur Rapier – #2 Best Thrusting Sword in Elden Ring
The Antspur Rapier shares the default moveset of most Thrusting Swords, and deals Physical Damage. It has a light weight for a Thrusting Sword in Elden Ring, weighing 3, and requires some points in Strength and Dexterity in order to wield.
PROS
- Only Scarlet Rot weapon that can be Infused
- Can have up to 3 status effects if setup correctly
CONS
- Lower damage than many Thrusting Swords
- One of the shortest Thrusting swords
Attack Rating:
- Sacred/Flame Art – 555
- Magic – 552
- Fire – 549
- Lightning – 549
- Cold – 484
- Keen – 482
- Heavy – 476
- Occult – 467
- Quality – 460
- Blood/Poison – 387
Conclusion: The Antspur Rapier’s claim to fame is that it is the only weapon in Elden Ring that can apply Scarlet Rot, Poison and Bleed build up all in the same strike if Seppuku is used and the Poison Affinity is selected. It’s also the only Scarlet Rot weapon that can be infused with Ashes of War, making it a great choice for anyone who enjoys applying this status effect.
Beyond this though, the Anstpur Rapier is in the middle of the pack when it comes to overall Attack Rating, and it has the lowest Bleed/Poison Attack Rating of all Rapiers, so you’ll be trading quite a bit of outright damage for these status effects if you choose to go that route. It also one of the shortest Thrusting Swords in Elden Ring, being only just slightly longer than the Rapier and Frozen Needle, so there is also that to consider.
However, you could just as easily go something like Occult with Seppuku, and forgo the Poison status effect, simply making use of Scarlet Rot on tougher to kill enemies and Bosses, especially ones that are Bleed Immune. This would give you much higher Attack Rating, and also provide you with a solution to a problem you will face from time to time.
Dual Wielding this weapon is another good option, since it allows you to still strike with it repeatedly if it’s in the right hand, and also allows you to use a Thrusting Sword with higher Attack Rating in the left. This can also help you set status effects even faster depending on how your off-hand is set. Make sure to use the Kindred of Rot’s Exultation and Mushroom Crown when using this weapon, for even higher Attack Power, assuming you aren’t using Bleeding on it. If so, then make sure to add Lord of Blood’s Exultation and swap out Mushroom Crown for White Mask.
Rogier’s Rapier – #1 Best Thrusting Sword in Elden Ring
The Rogier’s Rapier has a unique R2 that hits two times very quickly, and deals Physical Damage. It has an average weight for a Thrusting Sword in Elden Ring, weighing 3.5, and requires some points in Strength and Dexterity in order to wield.
PROS
- Higher Attack Rating than most Thrusting Swords
- Higher Critical Attack than all Thrusting Swords but the Rapier
- R2 attack hits twice
- Comes with Glintblade Phalanx attached, which is very good
- Can be acquired relatively early in the game
CONS
Attack Rating:
- Magic – 558
- Fire – 545
- Lightning – 545
- Sacred/Flame Art – 538
- Keen – 506
- Cold – 501
- Heavy – 472
- Occult – 461
- Quality – 458
- Blood/Poison – 441
Conclusion: Rogier’s Rapier is arguably the best all around Thrusting Sword in Elden Ring, having higher Attack Rating than most other Thrusting Swords, being in the middle of the pack in terms of Thrusting Sword reach, and also having a higher Critical Attack than all other Thrusting Swords besides the Rapier itself. It also has a unique R2 that hits twice, which does less damage than two R1 attacks, but fires off much more quickly, making it ideal for status effect builds that rely on quick attacks. Not to mention it comes with one of the best Ashes of War in the game in Glintblade Phalanx, that can stagger enemies instantly.
Because of the unique R2, and relatively good Critical Attack, I’d advise using this Weapon in some sore of Duelist Build that uses a single Thrusting Sword, while also either Parrying or using Glintblade Phalanx for easy Stance Breaks. Or use it with the Blood Infusion or Occult with Sepukku for massive Bleed potential, like I did in my Crimson Duelist Build.
If you enjoyed this Thrusting Swords Ranked Guide, be sure to check out our other Weapon Guides, and also our article on how to Prepare for Shadow of the Erdtree!
