Elden Ring has many different builds to choose from, allowing you to pick weapons based on any play style you’d want. While many builds give you the chance to stay away from your enemies, some builds are much more daring.
Fist weapons have quick attack speeds but the least amount of reach of any weapons class. This will require you to be up close and personal with any enemy, but it may offer high damage outputs to compensate for the risk. Here are all the fist weapons you can choose from to help you make the perfect build.
9/9 Caestus
This is the earliest and most basic fist weapon in the game. It offers a slight bonus over your usual unarmed melee attacks and slightly scales off your strength and dexterity. Should you be pursuing a fist-type weapon, this can be found early to start your build.
This weapon’s starting skill is Endure. While other Ashes of war can also be used, Endure is incredibly helpful as it boosts your poise and lowers damage received. Fist-type builds suffer from being easily hit, and continuing to fight through those hits is ideal.
8/9 Katar![Elden Ring Katar Item Location]()
The Katar is not much different from the Caestus, except in terms of greater and piercing damage. This weapon requires a bit more dexterity to wield, but not much. It does scale for slightly more damage and has higher base damage, but for the most part, the base stats for these weapons are relatively the same.
This weapon’s Ash of war is ‘Impaling Thrust.’ This is perfect for charging forward and closing short distances, which are needed for such a short-distance weapon. This Ash of war can also be switched out for others if you’d like.
7/9 Spiked Caestus![Elden Ring Spiked Caestus Menu Item]()
As the name implies, this weapon is not much different from the Caestus, aside from the bonus stats all around. The biggest difference is the bonus bleed damage this weapon applies. While each hit doesn’t stack as much as other weapons, its quicker attack speed makes it build up as fast as other bleed weapons.
The skill for this weapon is Endure, and while it can be switched out, it is undoubtedly the best option. Being able to fight through enemy attacks helps you reach the build-up for the bleed status, dealing massive damage to your enemy.
6/9 Iron Ball![Elden Ring Dual Wielding Iron Ball]()
This weapon’s focus is physical damage, and it delivers higher base damage than other fist weapons. It scales more off your strength stat and slightly from your dexterity. Its requirements to use are much lower, making it a great option if you hunt it down earlier in the game.
Its ash of war is Braggart’s Roar, which boosts the user’s damage, defense, and stamina recovery. This ash can be replaced, but it is a very good choice for increasing many base stats for a short period of time.
5/9 Star Fist![Elden Ring Player Using Incantation on Enemies]()
The star fist, much like the Iron ball, has much higher base stats than other fist weapons. This weapon has low stats at first, but by the time you find it, your stats will ensure that it does more damage. Like many fist weapons, its base skill is Endure, which can be replaced by other ashes of war.
This weapon also applies a bleed build-up. While the build-up is the same as the spiked Caestus, the higher base stats of this weapon put it much higher on the list.
4/9 Cipher Pata![elden ring cipher pata jump attack]()
The Cipher Pata is the only fist weapon that changes your melee attacks from physical to purely holy damage. Faith is required to wield this weapon, and it is the only skill to scale the weapon’s damage any further. It is unique and the perfect fist/faith-build weapon.
It’s unique and therefore has individual ash of war – Unblockable Blade. As its name suggests, this skill can not be blocked and will do full damage if it hits its target. The only thing that can hold this weapon back is if your enemy has Holy defense, which can make this weapon obsolete in battle.
3/9 Veterans Prosthesis![Elden Ring Veterans Prothesis Used in Combat]()
The Veterans Prosthesis requires both strength and dexterity, but it provides lightning damage along with physical. Most weapons that provide additional damage require a related stat for scaling, but this weapon only scales from strength and dexterity.
This allows for a more diverse damage build while only focusing on your usual physical-based stats. It has unique ash of war – Storm Kick – that can’t be replaced. This ash of war is an AOE attack of physical and lightning damage.
2/9 Clinging Bone![Elden Ring Player Obtaining Clining Bone]()
This weapon requires higher stats than others in this list, but the added bonuses make everything worthwhile. It uses both physical and magic damage, scaling from strength, dexterity, and arcane.
It has a unique skill that can’t be switched – Lifesteal Fist. Enemies caught by this attack are stunned while you damage them and heal for 30% of your max health. This is perfect for healing up without using your Flask. However, it’s important to note that this skill only works on human-sized enemies.
1/9 Grafted Dragon![Elden Ring Grafted Dragon Special Skill]()
The Grafted Dragon requires decent stats to be able to wield. It causes both physical and fire damage, with an added bonus to dragon enemies. The weapon has decently good base stats and scales well off your strength and faith to increase its physical and fire damage.
It has a unique “Bear Witness!” skill that can’t be switched off. This attack deals massive fire damage in front of the caster in a wide area. This is perfect for damaging big enemies or dealing with large groups. Between the base stats and this ability, you can do great damage and make up for the fist weapon’s lack of range.
