The Zweihander is an iconic weapon featured heavily in the Dark Souls series, as well as Elden Ring. It’s a massive sword that has incredible reach, crazy physical damage, and endless build potential. It has very low requirements that make it an ideal choice for players starting out in the massive open world, and a worthy weapon for late-game, as well as the Shadow of the Erdtree expansion. Here is our best build for Zweihander in Elden Ring to unlock the weapon’s full potential.
The following stats make the most out of the Zweihander in Elden Ring, and you can start dumping points into Vigor as you level up further. Taking Dexterity up to 80 ensures that we hit our major soft cap for damage, and if we go the Keen route, Dexterity gets an A scaling with the Zweihander.
| Attribute | Points |
|---|---|
| Vigor | 50 |
| Mind | 25 |
| Endurance | 35 |
| Strength | 19 |
| Dexterity | 80 |
| Intelligence | 10 |
| Faith | 8 |
| Arcane | 9 |
| Total Points | 157 |
For this build, you can either upgrade the Zweihander to level 25 with lightning affinity if you’re looking for physical and lightning damage or you can use the Keen affinity if you want to maximize the Dex attribute which gives the Zweihander an A scaling in Dex.
The best Ash of War to pair with this build is the Giant’s Hunt. This does a thrust attack, which does an incredible amount of damage, and launches regular enemies up in the air. Thanks to the Zweihander’s poke potential, it’s perfect for the colossal sword with a low FP cost as well.
The following Talismans pair best with this build.
- Claw Talisman: Jumping attacks do 15% more damage, which you’ll want to do often with Zweihander.
- Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman: Enormously boosts physical damage negation, making it easier to trade blows with enemies while using the Zweihander.
- Shard of Alexander: Greatly boosts the attack power of skills making Giant’s Hunt even more powerful.
- Spear Talisman: Increases thrusting weapon counterattack damage, which again, pairs really well with the Giant’s Hunt talisman.
That’s all there is to it. You can wear whatever gear you want but try to ensure you can roll without much resistance. This build does excellent damage all around, and all the Talismans selected work around the Zweihander’s moveset, and the Giant’s Hunt ash of war.
While there are certainly more routes to go with the weapon, we believe this provides the best possible experience, especially if you’re a fan of the weapon’s excellent poking range, and thrust potential.
For more on Elden Ring, and its expansion, make sure to check out our dedicated section.
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