It’s not always easy to find proper weapon upgrades in Elden Ring, but if you know where to look, you might be surprised by how many powerful new weapons you can find during even the earlier parts of the game.
Like its Soulsborne spiritual predecessors, it’s certainly possible to upgrade just about any weapon in Elden Ring in a way that will allow you to use it to defeat the game’s toughest bosses. However, your better bet is to find a weapon that has a little more going for it upfront that you’ll ultimately get more out of as you upgrade it, assign it new abilities, and grow your character in a way that ideally makes your chosen weapon more effective (assuming that it scales with your build’s primary stats, that is).
So while there is a good chance you’ll change your weapon a few times throughout Elden Ring as more options become available, here’s a look at some of the most powerful weapons you’ll find in the earliest part of your adventure.
Elden Ring’s Best Early Game Weapons: Where to Find the Twinblade
One of the absolute best weapons in Elden Ring’s early game is the Twinblade: an incredibly fast dual-bladed weapon that is best thought of as a “staff sword.” This weapon allows you to unleash a barrage of powerful attacks relatively quickly, and it can be used effectively in two hands or one hand depending on your build and playstyle.
To find this weapon, head to the Dragon-Burnt Ruins conveniently located near the dragon that lands in the lake not too far from where you start the game. You don’t have to fight the dragon to get this weapon, though. You just need to head into the underground area in the ruins and follow the path until you find the Twinblade.
You will need 18 Dexterity to wield this weapon properly, but that shouldn’t be a problem for some starting classes that have leveled up a couple of times.
Elden Ring’s Best Early Game Weapons: Where to Find Reduvia
Reduvia is absolutely one of the best daggers you can get early into your Elden Ring adventure, but a lot of players seem to already be overlooking it despite the fact that is surprisingly easy to reach pretty much right away.
It’s slightly easier to get this weapon once you’ve acquired Torrent, but you just need to head to the ravine in the center of the initial Limgrave area. Here’s where to look if you just can’t seem to find it:
There, you will fight an invader called Bloody Finger Nerijus. He’s incredibly tough to beat early in the game, but you’ll soon be joined by a friendly NPC who will do most of the damage to Nerijus and distract him. Once Nerijus is down, he will drop the Reduvia dagger.
This beautiful dagger is perfect for stealth players and a pretty good option for anyone looking for a quick melee weapon with a beneficial bleed effect. Definitely grab this one if you’re a dagger fan.
Elden Ring’s Best Early Game Weapons: Where to Find Patches’ Spear +7
This is going to be a controversial selection for the simple reason that acquiring this weapon requires you to kill Patches: a legendary FromSoftware NPC who is featured in Elden Ring as an optional boss. Right now, most people recommend that you don’t kill Patches and instead use him as an additional merchant/quest giver. However, killing him does reward you with some nice leather armor and his Spear +7.
If you want to find a decently upgraded spear early in Elden Ring and don’t mind watching Patches die, you can find him in the Murkwater Cave right next to where you fought Bloody Finger Nerijus. Just go in the cave, proceed along the path, and kill Patches rather than spare him when he yields during the boss fight.
Again, it’s debatable if this weapon is worth it, but this is a very good early game spear that becomes especially powerful if you add a magic-based Ashes of War to it (such as the Glinstone Pebble).
Elden Ring’s Best Early Game Weapons: Where to Find Great Épée
If you’re looking for a thrusting sword that scales well with Strength and Dexterity, you should absolutely spend a little time trying to acquire the Great Épée.
This sword can be found in the south of Limgrave in a chest near an enemy camp found atop a hill. There’s a chance you’ll have to kill a few enemies along the way, but they shouldn’t be tough and the rewards are certainly worth it.
How far this sword will actually end up taking you depends on your playstyle and what alternatives you find when, but this really is an amazing early weapon.
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Elden Ring’s Best Early Game Weapons: Where to Find the Flail
While this is hardly the most exciting weapon in Elden Ring’s early game, many players are quickly discovering that the humble Flail is an objectively powerful early game option that you can pick up pretty much immediately and get a lot of use out of for quite some time.
The Flail is found near the Gatefront Ruins Site of Grace that you should encounter very early into the game. Here’s a better look at that spot’s exact location:
The ruins themselves are being guarded by a few soldiers, but what you’re actually looking for in this area is a nearby carriage. Simply open the chest found in the back of the carriage, and the Flail will be all yours. For a lot of classes, it’s one of the absolute easiest and absolute best weapons you can get as soon as you start the game.
Elden Ring’s Best Early Game Weapons: Where to Find Axe of Godrick
“Early game” is a bit of a stretch in this instance, but high Strength and Dexterity players should know that one of the absolute best weapons in Elden Ring can be acquired as soon as you beat one of the game’s first major bosses: Godrick the Grafted.
After you defeat Godrick, simply present the Remembrance of the Grafted that he drops to Enia in Roundtable Hold. She’ll offer you the choice between the Axe of Godrick and the Grafted Dragon, and while the latter option is a unique and fun weapon in its own right, the real prize is this beautiful Axe that is perfect for anyone who is looking for a slow and powerful weapon.
Upgrade this weapon wisely, and build your character right, and you’ll be surprised by how far it will take you.
Elden Ring’s Best Early Game Weapons: Where to Find Uchigatana
While the powerful Samurai class is lucky enough to start the game with a katana, everyone else is going to have to work a little harder to find the Uchigatana: an amazing early weapon that certain classes will be able to use for most of the rest of the game.
Unfortunately, finding the Uchigatana is a little difficult. You’ll need to go to the Deathtouched Catacombs and proceed into the dungeon’s main area. Here’s where you’ll find the dungeon’s entrance if you just can’t seem to locate it:
When you hit a wall, hang a left until you reach a staircase. Turn right at the bottom of those stairs and head forward until you see a statue. Pull the lever in front of that statue, and it should open an area where you’ll find the Uchigatana.
Whether or not it’s worth going out of your way for this kind of depends on your build and preferences, but this really is an amazing sword that you’ll be happy to have.
Elden Ring’s Best Early Game Weapons: Where to Find the Hand Ballista
This isn’t the most powerful early game option, but it’s a truly unique weapon that is surprisingly easy to get and could offer Strength-build players the ranged option that they’re looking for.
To find this weapon, head to the Bridge of Sacrifice and look for the Forest Lookout Tower just to the right. Climb to the top of the tower, and you’ll find a chest containing the Hand Ballista. Here’s where you’ll find the tower:
This unique weapon packs a powerful punch if you’re looking for a strong ranged option to rely on in a pinch, though it’s no substitute for the absolute best ranged weapons in the game, and its somewhat unusual ammunition can be difficult to find.
Elden Ring’s Best Early Game Weapons: Where to Find Bloodhound’s Fang
While some of the best Greatswords you’ll find early into your Elden Ring adventure can’t actually be used effectively until much later in the game, this incredible weapon greatly benefits from some reasonable stat requirements that make it an exceptional early option.
To find this weapon, head to the Forlorn Hound Evergaol. It’s a little tricky to find, but this image will show you where to look:
Enter the portal found on the ground, and you’ll soon find yourself in a boss battle with Bloodhound Knight Darriwil. He’s not that hard, but you’ll need to watch out for his quick attacks in order to increase your odds of surviving. Once he’s down, you’ll be rewarded with the Bloodhound’s Fang.
I can’t say enough good things about this sword. It’s incredibly powerful, comes with a fantastic special ability, doesn’t require too many stats to wield properly (18 Strength and 17 Dexterity), and can be upgraded into something truly special. Definitely go for this one if it fits your stats and style.
Elden Ring’s Best Early Game Weapons: Where to Find the Golden Halberd
One of Elden Ring’s earliest “troll” moments comes in the form of the Tree Sentinel: a massive boss riding an equally large horse who you will likely encounter before you have any chance of beating him. Come back to this boss when you’re ready, though, and you’ll find that beating him will reward you with one of the more powerful weapons in the early game: the Golden Halberd. Here’s where you can find the Tree Sentinel if you happen to have missed him:
This item’s stat requirements are kind of strange (30 Strength, 14 Dexterity, and 12 Faith), and you probably won’t be able to wield it until a little later in the game. However, I’ve seen players do incredible things with this weapon and upgrade it into a simply devastating tool that will rip through everything in your way.
Elden Ring’s Best Early Game Weapons: Where to Find the Zweihander
While I think this weapon is probably outclassed by similar options that you can find relatively early into Elden Ring, the fact that you can get this sword pretty much right away and use it until you find mid-game upgrades you like a little more makes it an appealing alternative that deals a ton of damage when paired with the right character and upgrades.
To find this weapon, simply head to the Isolated Merchanct’s Shack found in the southwest area of Limgrave. There, you will be able to purchase this weapon from the merchant who lives in that shack for 3,500 Runes (as well as some other valuable items like Stonesword Keys and the Lantern). Here’s where you can find him:
This is really a great no-nonsense Colossal Sword that will appeal to strength-based players who are either waiting for more demanding alternatives or simply want a basic sword that they can rely on and upgrade as they see fit.
Elden Ring’s Best Early Game Weapons: Where to Find Demi-Human Queen’s Staff
You may have to level your character up a bit to actually acquire and wield this staff, but given how hard it can be to find a proper staff upgrade in the early game, I’d argue that it’s worth going out of your way for this one.
First, go to the Demi-Human Forest Ruins found in the north of Weeping Peninsula. You can find it on the map here:
There you will find some ruins inhabited by a massive creature and their minions. You’ll need to kill the creature to get the staff, but there’s a good chance that you’ll also need to kill the minions before you’ll be able to take down their boss.
This weapon is a fantastic early upgrade for casters that will probably last you for quite a while given how difficult it can be to find some of the best staffs in the game. It’s not a game-breaking option by any means, but it’s worth going out of your way for if you happen to need something new.