In this Elden Ring Best Whip and Ranking Guide, we’ll be taking a look at the 6 Whips 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.
Whips in Elden Ring:
- Hoslow’s Petal Whip
- Urumi
- Magma Whip Candlestick
- Giant’s Red Braid
- Thorned Whip
- Whip
Best Whip in Elden Ring – Ranked
Whips are one of the 31 Weapon types in Elden Ring, soon to be 39 when Shadow of the Erdtree releases on June 21st. Whips have longer reach than most weapon types, so you can attack from a distance. Their attacks also have a wide hitbox which you can use for packs of enemies or if you’re in a sticky situation. Majority of the whips also have Bleed Build Up, so you can use these if you are going for a status effect kind of build.
Majority of the whips are found late in the game, which means you can’t play using whips for most of your playthrough unless you’re planning to use it for NG+. It also has slower attacks and combos compared to other weapon types, so it may be off-putting to use for some players. Lastly, even though Whips have fantastic Ashes of War, there is a limited amount which can be used.
PROS
- Longer reach than most weapon types
- Attacks have wide hitbox
- Fantastic Ashes of War
- Most whips have Bleed Build Up
CONS
- Vast majority are found late in the game
- Slower attacks compared to other weapon types
- Slow combos
- Limited selection for Ashes of War
Whip – #6 Best Katana in Elden Ring
Whip shares the default moveset of many other Whips, and deals Physical Damage. It is the lightest Whip in Elden Ring, weighing 2, and requires some points in Strength and Dexterity in order to wield.
PROS
- Lightest Whip in Elden Ring
- Very good Bleed Affinity Scaling that puts it on par with other Infusable Whips, but only at higher Stats
- Can be found extremely early in the game at Castle Mourne
- Cannot be Parried
CONS
- Lowest damage of all Whips in nearly every case
- No Bleed Build Up on hit
- A very limited selection of Ashes of War, most of which are not useful
- Cannot perform Critical Hits
Attack Rating:
- Lightning/Fire – 525
- Magic – 529
- Sacred/Flame Art – 518
- Cold – 494
- Keen – 492
- Heavy – 480
- Occult – 476
- Quality – 469
- Bleed/Poison – 388
Conclusion: The Whip is the weakest of all Whips in Elden Ring, and the only reason to really use it is because you can find it so early in the game compared to most other Whips, making it the only option for some time. It has the lowest Attack Rating in every possible Infusion, and provides no Bleed Build Up on hit, unlike the Thorned Whip and Hoslow’s Petal Whip.
You gain the highest Attack Rating with this Weapon by using Lightning and Fire infusions, with Magic pulling up a close second and Sacred and Flame Art a near third. However, these Infusions apply split damage of Physical and Fire/Lightning/Holy/Magic, so you’ll have to make sure enemies you are facing do not resist these types or you will do less damage than a pure Physical Damage Infusion.
Keen provides the best Physical Damage so you should consider going the Dexterity route when using this weapon if you want the highest one-handed Physical Damage per hit possible. The Bleed Affinity actually provides decent Strength, Dexterity and Arcane Scaling allowing the Whip to catch up to other Bleed Infused Whips at 50 Strength, 50 Dexterity and 50 Arcane in terms of total Attack Rating. However, it is unlikely you will use the Whip far enough into the game to reach those Stats, which is likely NG+ and beyond.
I highly recommend using this Weapon in a dual wield setup with another Whip like the Urumi until you are able to swap it out with either the Thorned Whip or Hoslow’s Petal Whip which adds Bleed Build Up natively.
Keen is your best Scaling option until you acquire Hoarfrost Stomp or the Glinstone Whetblade, at which point Cold has the same Attack Rating more or less, but also applies Frostbite with each attack. If you don’t mind the split damage, go with Cold from this point onward, otherwise stick with Keen.
Thorned Whip – #5 Best Katana in Elden Ring
The Thorned Whip shares the default moveset of many other Whips, and deals Physical Damage. It is one of the lighter Whips in Elden Ring, weighing 2.5, and requires some points in Strength and Dexterity in order to wield.
PROS
- Hits with this weapon cause Bleed Build Up
- You can acquire 2 in a single playthrough
- Cannot be Parried
CONS
- Very difficult to farm from Prelate in Mountaintops of the Giants
- Found extremely late in the game
- Second lowest damage of all Whips
- A very limited selection of Ashes of War, most of which are not useful
- Cannot perform Critical Hits
Attack Rating:
- Lightning/Fire – 536
- Magic – 533
- Sacred/Flame Art – 532
- Keen – 507
- Cold – 506
- Heavy – 491
- Occult – 489
- Quality – 464
- Bleed/Poison – 425
Conclusion: The biggest assets of this weapon are that it applies Bleed Build Up natively with each hit, and that you can get 2 of them, but it by and large follows a similar pattern of the basic Whip in that it tends to be outperformed by every other Whip in terms of Attack Rating, except the basic Whip itself. You also cannot even acquire it until near the end of the game, so it’s not something that will play a major part in any first playthrough.
Much like the Whip, its highest damage scaling is Lightning/Fire and then Magic and Sacred/Flame Art, but the weapon scales best with the Keen Infusion.
Unlike the Whip though, Occult is a viable option for this Weapon, because points in Arcane will increase the Bleed Build Up of each strike as well as increase its Attack Rating. Occult Affinity has a lower Attack Rating than Keen, but only by about 20, which in my opinion is an easy trade off for nearly double the Bleed Build Up per hit at 50 Arcane. Make sure to use Lord of Blood’s Exultation and White Mask if you’re setup this way.
Cold is another great option here to not only stack double Status Effect Build up with each hit (Frostbite and Hemorrhage), but also because the Attack Rating is nearly identical to Keen, giving you an edge as long as enemies are not Magic Resistant.
If you’re going to use this Weapon I recommend either dual wielding two of them, or one of them and Hoslow’s Petal Whip in a Status Effect Build that goes the Cold route, stacking Frostbite and Hemorrage. Or using this Weapon with the Dragon Communion Seal, and going the Occult route in some sort of Spellwhip Build.
Giant’s Red Braid – #4 Best Katana in Elden Ring
The Giant’s Red Braid shares the default moveset of many other Whips, and deals Physical and Fire Damage. It is one of the lighter Whips in Elden Ring, weighing 2.5, and requires some points in Strength, Dexterity and Faith in order to wield.
PROS
- Second highest Attack Rating of all Whips
- Does both Fire and Physical Damage which makes it benefit from Flame, Grant Me Strength well
- Flame Dance also does both Physical and Fire Damage, making it benefit from Flame, Grant Me Strength well
- Flame Dance is solid Weapon Skill that deals decent damage rapidly in a large AoE, making it good against single enemies or groups
- Cannot be Parried
CONS
- Has rather high requirements for a Whip
- No Status Effect Build Up on hit
- Cannot perform Critical Hits
- It is found extremely late in the game after defeating the Fire Giant
Attack Rating: 566
Conclusion: The Giant’s Red Braid is a very good Whip to Build around, particularly if you plan to use Incantations, since it scales with both Strength and Faith, allowing you to use the Clawmark Seal effectively. It also has a fantastic Weapon Skill in Flame Dance, that strikes repeatedly in a rather large AoE, hitting many enemies at once. It also benefits from Talismans that increase Attack Power with repeated attacks, like Winged Sword Insignia, which is a huge bonus.
Because both the Weapon itself and its Weapon Skill both deal Physical and Fire Damage, it benefits greatly from the Flame, Grant Me Strength Incantation, making it almost a must for any Build using this Weapon, and if you’re going to use Flame, Grant Me Strength you might as well also use Golden Vow to further boost your damage and protection.
What’s really great about this Whip is that because it scales with Strength so well, and has such a strong Weapon Skill, you can use it with a Great Shield to do Block Counters, since you’ll meet the Strength requirements rather easily. Whips have extremely long Block Counter range, just keep in mind that you cannot Critically Strike with Whips, so use Flame Dance instead when enemies are staggered, or have a back up weapon you can swap to for Critical Strikes. Playing this way allows you to shore up one of the weaknesses of Block Counter Builds, which is AoE attacks that can deal with multiple enemies, since you have Flame Dance.
Giant’s Red Braid has an ideal stat spread of 50 Strength, 50 Faith and 50 Dexterity. You won’t reach this in your first playthrough, which makes this weapon excellent for successive playthroughs since you’ll continue to increase its damage the whole way. And since Flame Dance does both Physical and Fire Damage, it increases in damage with all 3 of these stats, which is phenomenal.
I’d play this Weapon in some sort of Incantation Build with the Clawmark Seal, or play with a Great Shield, buffing with Flame, Grant Me Strength and Golden Vow, in a similar manner as the Lightning Lancer Build but with a Whip instead. Keep in mind that you will want very high Poise when using Flame Dance or you’ll be easily interrupted. Shoot for at least 51, though 56 is better.
Magma Whip Candlestick – #3 Best Katana in Elden Ring
The Magma Whip Candlestick shares the default moveset of many other Whips, and deals Physical and Fire Damage. It is one of the lightest Whips in Elden Ring, weighing 2.5, and requires some points in Strength, Dexterity, and Faith in order to wield.
PROS
- Cannot be Parried
- Has higher Attack Rating than all non-unique Whips, except Keen Urumi
- Does both Fire and Physical Damage which makes it benefit from Flame, Grant Me Strength particularly well
- Sea of Magma also does both Physical and Fire Damage, making it benefit from Flame, Grant Me Strength well
- Sea of Magma is arguably the highest damage Weapon Skill of all Whips
CONS
- Shortest range of all Whips
- No Status Effect Build Up on hit
- Is found relatively far into the game by doing Patches‘ quest line in Volcano Manor, and is missable
- Cannot perform Critical Hits
Attack Rating: 558
Conclusion: Magma Candlestick Whip deals very good damage for a Whip, and its Weapon Skill: Sea of Magma outperforms Flame Dance in terms of overall damage because the lava it spews also deals damage to enemies standing in it while you continuously hit them. You can also hold down L2 to keep swinging your Whip, only stopping when you run out of FP or are interrupted, even being able to walk while doing so. This allows you to take advantage of Talismans like Winged Sword Insignia and Millicent’s Prothesis, though Godfrey Icon has no impact.
This biggest issue with this weapon is that it has poor range compared with other Whips, and you might miss more often than you think because nearly every other Whip has a shared longer range, and you might be used to distance when fighting.
The styles of play available to the Magma Candlestick Whip are somewhat limited, because it scales with Faith and Dexterity. This means it’s not ideal for casting Incantations, nor is it ideal to use Shields, since you’ll have no Strength, though you could use a Medium Shield for Block Counters if you really wanted to.
I’d recommend dual wielding this Weapon with either the Urumi or Hoslow’s Petal Whip, and setting either of them to Flame Art to also benefit from Flame, Grant Me Strength. This will allow you to use the fantastic Weapon Skill: Sea of Magma, which is a weak point of non unique Whips, while also getting the benefit for dual wielding.
The ideal stat spread for this weapon is 50 Dexterity and 50 Faith, and points invested drop off from there. However, the weapon will continue to increase in damage into NG+ and beyond, and you can invest points into Strength when Faith and Dexterity stop performing.
Urumi – #2 Best Katana in Elden Ring
The Urumi has a unique Charged R2 attack that is a slash followed by a very long thrust attack, and deals Physical Damage. It is one of the heavier Whips in Elden Ring, weighing 3.0, and requires some points in Strength and Dexterity in order to wield.
PROS
- Highest Attack Rating of all Whips when using the Keen Affinity
- Has higher Attack Rating than all other Infusable Whips at any Affinity, and keeps pace with both Magma Whip Candlestick, and Giant’s Red Braid when using the Fire and Flame Art infusions
- Is found relatively early on in Elden Ring, inside Caria Manor
- Its Unique R2 has extremely long reach
- Cannot be Parried
CONS
- No Status Effect Build up on hit
- Charged R2 has strange hit boxes that can miss easily
- A very limited selection of Ashes of War, most of which are not useful
- Cannot perform Critical Hits
Attack Rating:
- Keen – 603
- Lightning/Fire – 564
- Magic – 557
- Sacred/Flame Art – 551
- Cold – 526
- Heavy – 514
- Occult – 516
- Quality – 484
- Bleed/Poison – 442
Conclusion: The Urumi is the pound for pound king of Whips in terms overall Attack Rating. Not only does it have the highest Attack Rating of any Whip when using the Keen Affinity, it matches or surpasses every other whip when set to other or similar Affinities. You can also get it relatively early on in the game, making it the go to Whip for a large stretch of gameplay, or possibly even the entire game.
The unique Charged R2 has very good range, making it a nice addition to the Whip moveset if you want to eek out even more range, and you can use the Axe Talisman to boost its damage. However the hit box of this is pinpoint small, and lands to the right of your lock on, causing it to miss in many cases where it shouldn’t. Use this against larger targets that are much wider for best results.
The biggest downside of this weapon is that it only does slightly more damage than Hoslow’s Petal Whip when using any other Infusion aside from Keen, and that Whip also has Bleed Build Up on hit. However, many players may not know how to acquire that Whip early on, making this a good option if they don’t.
Once you acquire the Urumi you should only have 2 Whips available to you (unless you killed Diallos), so this is the earliest you can dual wield them. Since the Urumi and Whip both scale well with the Keen Affinity, this is not a bad option until others become available if you wish to go the dual wield route. Otherwise you could go with Cold Infusion for Frostbite Build Up, or you can change to Lightning or Fire/ Sacred or Flame Art as you find these Ashes of War or Whetblades. These are all good options for dual wield.
The Urumi also has exceptional Magic Damage, making it a strong pick for a Spellblade sort of build that has high Intelligence and uses Sorceries with a Staff in the other hand, but barely outperforms Hoslow’s Petal Whip in total Attack Rating, and that has Bleed Build Up, so consider swapping it out once you get it.
Hoslow’s Petal Whip – #1 Best Katana in Elden Ring
Hoslow’s Petal Whip shares the default moveset of many other Whips, and deals Physical Damage. It is the heaviest Whip in Elden Ring, weighing 3.5, and requires some points in Strength and Dexterity in order to wield.
PROS
- Causes Bleed Build up with every hit
- Has nearly as good Attack Rating as the Urumi in most cases
- You can acquire two of these in a single playthrough
- Can be found relatively early on in the game if you kill Diallos
- Cannot be Parried
CONS
- Shorter range than most other Whips, though only by a very small amount
- A very limited selection of Ashes of War, most of which are not useful
- Takes a very long time to get this weapon if you’re unwilling to kill Diallos
- Cannot perform Critical Hits
Attack Rating:
- Magic – 553
- Lightning/Fire – 552
- Sacred/Flame Art – 540
- Keen – 507
- Heavy – 507
- Cold – 498
- Occult – 492
- Quality – 481
- Bleed/Poison – 416
Conclusion: Hoslow’s Petal Whip is arguably the best non-unique Whip in Elden Ring. It’s Attack Rating, while lower than Urumi in nearly every case, is only so by a minimal amount that is easily offset by its native Bleed Build Up on hit. The only exception might be if you’re playing a Dexterity Build, where this difference is nearly 100 Attack Rating. So if you’re playing a Dexterity focused Build, go with Urumi.
There are so many different ways you can use Hoslow’s Petal Whip. You can use it in a Spellblade Build that still applies Bleed Build Up by using the Magic Affinity. You can go the Occult route, which has only slightly less Attack Rating than Heavy or Keen, but doubles Bleed Build Up. This would also allow you to use the Dragon Communion Seal effectively. Or you could go with Cold Infusion, allowing you to trigger Frostbite and Hemorrhage. All of these are great options, and I recommend using either two Petal Whips if you want to dual wield, or using a Thorned Whip if you don’t have two. And just like the Thorned Whip, make sure to use Lord of Blood’s Exultation and White Mask if you go for a bleed focused build.
If you’re going to be playing a Whip Build I highly recommend that you kill Diallos to obtain this item in Liurnia of the Lakes in order to have a stronger option than the Whip, or even the Urumi. This is particularly true if you wish to makes a Status Effect oriented Build, since it has native Bleed Build Up, and neither the Whip or Urumi do.
If you enjoyed this Whips Ranked Guide, be sure to check out our other Weapon Guides, and also our article on how to Prepare for Shadow of the Erdtree!
