Summary
Just like in any Soulslike game, a player’s weapon choice makes up a significant portion of their build. Sure there are also rings, amulets, armor, spells, and more to consider, but most people ‘identify’ or ‘label’ their build using its primary weapon. And, it’s also always been a trend (outside of the ‘fist combat’ trend) for Soulslike players to be a bit biased toward builds that involve an unrealistically giant weapon. Giant hammers, giant axes, and of course giant swords all count for this.
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Grand Swords, as they’re called inLords of the Fallen, are incredibly large swords that players can obtain throughout the game that have low attack speed but in exchange output a ton of damage per swing. Players can use a Grand Sword in one hand, two hand them, or even dual wield these (if they have the stats for it). Though to be honest, Grand Swords are in a bit of an odd place inLords of the Fallen, as on average their utility falls a bitbelow Grand Hammers and Grand Axes. Still, some Grand Swords rise above, so let’s go over the ones that do.
34.1
N/A
2 Strength & 1 Agility Type Slots
First up representing the ‘Quality Build’ tier of Grand Swords, it’s the Pale Butcher’s Blade. For those unfamiliar with the verbiage, a Quality Build in these types of games is one that has allocated their Skill Points towards the two primary Physical Damage stats, which are usually Strength and Agility (or Dexterity) in most Soulslikes.
It’s a term that stemmed fromDemon’s Soulsback in the day, since changing a weapon’s scaling to both Strength and Dexterity would give the weapon the ‘Quality’ identifier. In any case, going back to the Pale Butcher’s Blade, this Grand Sword is probably the best representation of a weapon that’s not at all bad, but not all that good either. It’s worth using, but it sits about right in the middle of the pack as far as rankings go.
Sword of the Flayed
33.1
1 Strength & 2 Inferno Type Slots
Whereas the upcoming weapons The Bloody Glory and Justice both are meant for Strength/Radiance builds, the Sword of the Flayed is the best option for any player going down the Strength/Inferno route. And, for those who are and manage to get ahold of this thing, it’s very likely that this sword will quickly become one of their favorites.
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It has low Stat Requirements, a decent weight, good damage output, and some respectable Rune Slots. However, and this is the biggest downside for this weapon, it is unlocked/obtained way too late into the game. The fact thatInferno-build playershave to wait until theyreach the last area of the game(AKA Bramis Castle) to get this weapon is just cruel, but at least they’ll have it for NG+ if theydecide to go down that route.
36.2
37.2
250 Bleed Damage
1 Strength, 1 Radiance, & 1 Inferno Type Slots
The next two swords are going to be paired up in the same entry, despite having some pretty noticeable differences, because these two swords almost share the exact same name. Both weapons come from the Abiding Defender enemies,which start as a boss fightin the Manse of the Hallowed Brothers area and become reoccurring general mobs later on.
Either of these Grand Swords can work when used on their own,when dual-wielded as a pair, or used alongside another Grand Sword called the Bloody Glory. In particular, a lot of players like to use the Luminous Defender Sword and the Bloody Glory together since the amount of Bleed a single swing will build up is staggering. Regardless of any combination, both of these Grand Swords are fantastic in just about every way.
Sword of Skin and Tooth
41.3
200 Burn Damage
2 Strength & 1 Inferno Type Slots
Finally, a pure Strength Build Grand Sword. The Sword of Skin and Tooth is not only a weapon that very faithfully matches the tone and atmosphere ofLords of the Fallen, it’s also just an amazing weapon.
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This thing packs a whole lot of Physical Damage output, throws a bit of Fire Damage on top, and builds up a good amount of Burn per swing as well. The one Inferno Rune Slot is a bit of a bummer, but otherwise, there’s not much else to say about this weapon other than it does its job incredibly well.
38.2
200 Smite Damage
1 Strength & 2 Radiance Type Slots
This next weapon is actually a returning weapon from the originalLords of the Fallenback in 2014, however, remember that the player character in that game, who went by the name Harkyn, was built like a semi-truck in terms of size. So, what was basically a straight sword for him is now a Grand Sword for the average person.
Moving past the reference, the Justice is honestly just another option for Strength and Radiance builds, with a bit more emphasis on Strength compared to the Bloody Glory, and it trades Bleed Damage for Smite Damage instead. The Bloody Glory seems to still have it beat in popularity, but the Justice is not far behind.
35.1
300 Bleed Damage
2 Radiance & 1 Default Type Slots
It seems like there are two camps for heavy Radiance builds inLords of the Fallen, one camp is based around the idea of using Pieta’s Sword for their damage, and the other dislikes how overused Pieta’s Sword is and has gone the exact opposite route with Bloody Glory.
Instead of a short sword glowing with holy energy, the Bloody Glory is a giant Grand Sword covered in blood and barbs. In general, the Bloody Glory is just a fantastic weapon overall, as a lot of Strength Builds and Radiance Builds tend to overlap, the Bleed Damage it outputs is absurd, and its DPS is some of the best among all the Grand Swords.
43.4
1 Strength, 1 Radiance, & 1 Default Type Slots
Yet another trend that seems to be everpresent in most, if not all, Soulslikes games are references to the beloved manga seriesBerserk.The weapon that the protagonist of that story, Guts, uses is a giant hunk of metal more than it is a sword, and it’s called the Dragon Slayer. Ravager Gregory’s Sword inLords of the Fallenis obviously an homage to this sword, as can be seen with the size and shape of the weapon, but it’s also a bit more ‘regal’ in design.
However, despite its regal looks, this thing is a brutal weapon of destruction, as it dishes out some absurd amounts of damage per swing. A lot of players have mentioned that the Wither damage on this often prevents it from one-shotting a lot of basic mobs, which can get annoying, but otherwise, this is by far one of the best Grand Sword options in the game.
