The Definitive Dark Souls 3 Infusion Guide

As a passionate DS3 player with over 600 hours logged, I‘ve grown intimately familiar with infusions – inside and out. Transforming weapons to match builds and playstyles is pivotal for dominating PvE and PvP.

But between 14 options, ideal gems, compatible weapons, and stat scaling, infusions can seem overwhelming.

In this comprehensive guide, we break down EVERYTHING you need to know – from how infusions work to S-tier gems that will take your build to new heights of sheer power. Read on as I equip you with the knowledge for infusion success.

What Are Infusions & How Do They Work?

Infusing allows you to converts weapons by adding new damage types and scaling – opening up build variety beyond pure Strength and Dexterity reliance.

To infuse gear, provide Blacksmith Andre with:

• An Infusion Gem – Determines infusion type
• Occasionally also an unlocking Coal

Once Andre has the proper gem & coal, he can infuse your armament.

The Trade-Off

Infusions reduce base damage in exchange for new effects. But at high stats associated with the infusion, your attack rating (AR) exceeds uninfused alternatives.

Now let‘s rank every infusion option and ideal weapons to apply them!

Infusion Rankings – From F-Tier to Broken S-Tier

Before delving into individual infusions, I want to provide context on the criteria used to grade them:

• PvE & PvP Viability – How good is the infusion against AI and human opponents? This encompasses damage dealt, effects generated, and general utility.
• Scalability & Synergy – Does the infusion scale well into the late game as you increase associated stats? Does it synergize appropriately with popular builds?
• Weapon Compatibility – How many weapons effectively utilize this infusion? Does it narrowly benefit niche armaments or broadly boost whole classes?
• Gem Accessibility – Is acquiring gems for this infusion realistic or extremely tedious?

With the rubric established, let‘s rank infusions from worst to best!

F-Tier: Raw

Overview: Removes scaling for big base damage boost early on. Falls off hard late game.

Raw infusion is only useful before obtaining better gems. While the initial AR increase helps early, utter lack of scalability makes Raw worthless later on when enemies get tougher. It has niche use on caster builds needing an easy physical sidearm without stat investment. But nine times out of ten, I don‘t recommend Raw outside brief low-level utilization.

Weapons: Daggers, Straight Swords

Gem Source(s):

• 100% drop from Hollow Soldiers (High Wall of Lothric)

D-Tier: Bleed

Overview: Adds bleed buildup by sacrificing base AR and Dex scaling. Mediocre returns.

Bleed can shred bosses by chunking HP bars. But slow buildup in PvP combined with reduced physical damage makes this infusion lackluster. Many weapons also have innate bleed, outclassing infused alternatives. I‘ve found greater success using carthus rouge on quick swords than relying on bleed infusion. It can provide higher DPS in PvE using Bandit‘s Knife or similar – but remains extremely niche.

Weapons: Bandit‘s Knife, Manikin Claws

Gem Source(s):

• 8% drop from Irithyll Slaves

C-Tier: Fire

Overview: Adds fire damage at the cost of base AR and scaling. Eclipsed by Chaos.

What stands out about fire infusion is… not much. It fells basic enemies efficiently but deals pathetic damage against later game foes, especially with no scaling. Fire‘s stagger can be situationally useful, yet Chaos outperforms it handily. I only recommend fire infusion to mages craving an elemental sidearm during early sections where its adequate base damage bridges the gap.

Weapons: Longsword, Broadsword

Gem Source(s):

• 8% drop from Carthus Swordsmen
• Sold by Shrine Handmaid (6,000 souls) after giving her Fire Keeper Soul

C-Tier: Poison

Overview: Applies poison buildup by cutting base AR. Lackluster returns and poor scalability.

Poison suffers the same pitfalls as bleed – mediocre utility and negligible returns for sizable damage sacrifice. Damage ticks petty in PvE while most enemies possess high toxin resistance, limiting its PvE viability. In PvP, slow buildup means poison rarely triggers before someone chugs moss. Yet again, innate poison gear like Ghru weapons outperform infused counterparts. I‘ve found this infusion largely disappointing.

Weapons: Dagger, Manikin Claws

Gem Source(s):

• 5% drop from Elder Ghrus
• 100% drop from Rotten Slugs (Smouldering Lake)

C-Tier: Deep

Overview: Adds dark damage without scaling. Useful early game but outperformed later.

Deep infusion provides an easy elemental buff for low-level characters, letting early weapons deal additional damage. However, it fails to scale, rapidly causing Deep to decline in effectiveness after the halfway point where enemies grow more lethal. Outdone by superior dark gems. But can supplement starter characters decently before acquiring better options.

Weapons: Longsword, Broadsword

Gem Source(s):

• 3% drop from Deacons of the Deep
• Sold by Yuria of Londor (10,000 souls)

B-Tier: Simple

Overview: Grants magic damage alongside intelligence scaling and FP regen. Nifty utility if lacking Ashen Estus.

For mage builds, Simple infusion enables steady FP regen for increased skill usage. While Magic or Crystal outdamages it, the utility provided via continuous mana recovery proves useful. I utilize Simple off-hand weapons on my battlemage and spellsword characters during lengthy expeditions to offset reduced Ashen Estus allocation. The constant drip-feed of FP conveniently fuels more spell slinging.

Weapons: Straight Swords, Greatswords

Gem Source(s):

• 8% drop from Basilisks
• 100% drop from Crystal Lizards (Farron Keep)

B-Tier: Blessed

Overview: Provides faith scaling + HP regen at the cost of base physical stats. Suppresses skeleton revival.

Blessed infusion hits a unique niche – steady HP recovery culminating in huge long-term gains during extended PvE sessions. This both offsets Estus dependence and enables sustainable spell spam for faith casters. While damage and scaling appear lackluster on paper, passive healing results in exceptional practical application. Enabling near-constant uptime via gradually mending HP pools. Blessed also prevents pesky skeletons from reviving, permanently slaying the bony cretins. Top-tier utility despite middling damage returns.

Weapons: Parrying Dagger, Caestus

Gem Source(s):

• 3% drop from Lothric Priestesses/Priests
• 8% drop from Winged Knights

A-Tier: Heavy & Sharp

I‘m grouping Heavy and Sharp together as they share similar applications enhancing Strength and Dexterity scaling respectively.

Overview: Removes incompatible scaling for big boosts to Strength or Dexterity. Require high stats.

These staple infusion choices enable quality builds operating with a lone main damage stat. Transforming weapons to better accommodate your greatest offensive asset. To fully utilize Heavy or Sharp infusion, I recommend 40+ in the associated stat. If you lack the levels, consider alternative gems. But when built around correctly, few infusions generate crits and DPS as devastating!

Weapons:

Heavy – Greatswords, Greataxes, Greathammers, etc

Sharp – Katanas, Curved Swords, Thrusting Swords

Gem Sources:

Heavy

• 8% drop from Darkwraiths
• 8% drop from Ghru Grunts/Bleeders

Sharp

• 8% drop from Corvian Storytellers
• 8% drop from Millwood Knight Archers

A-Tier: Hollow

Overview: Adds Luck scaling plus extra Luck when Hollowing. Enables exciting niche builds.

What initially seems gimmicky rapidly proves lethal in the right hands. Hollow builds enable weapons to inflict dangerous bleed & poison while scaling damage. Pair with innate bleed/toxin weapons and stack buffs like Carthus Rouge to violently hemorrhage foes. Hollow also receives damage boosts by increasing Hollowing. Overall granting unique playstyle opportunities compared to standard quality builds. Give it a shot!

Weapons: Bandit Knife, Onikiri and Ubadachi (O&U)

Gem Source:

• 6% drop from Corvian Storytellers ( Road of Sacrifices)

S-Tier: Lightning

Overview: Tremendous scaling and damage to dragons/kin. Wrecks Faith builds.

Lightning devastates ancient wyverns and drakes thanks to their glaring weakness. Making it shine against Archdragon Peak and Darkeater Midir. The substantial Faith scaling also enables savage cleric builds stacking lightning buffs like the Sunlight Straight Sword weapon skill. Having tried all infusions extensively over 600+ hours – Lightning stands high among the elite for sheer holy hell dished out.

Weapons: Dragonslayer Greataxe, Lothric Knight Greatsword, Heide Knight Sword

Gem Source(s):

• 5% drop from Serpent Men (Archdragon Peak)
• Sold by Greirat the Thief for 6,500 souls (Irithyll)

S-Tier: Dark

Overview: Fantastic for Intelligence & Faith hexers. Wicked PvE scaled damage and utilities.

Dark reigns supreme for balanced Intelligence/Faith sorcerers. Providing superb scaling and both magical and physical damage typings that shred enemies resistant to one or the other. It also requires minimal stat investments thanks to balancing the dividends. Augment a Dark weapon with Blind Fold Mask and affinity spells apply both sorcery + miracle boosts simultaneously. Additionally excellent against late game bosses weak to dark like Champion Gundyr, Dragonslayer Armor and Twin Princes.

Weapons: Claymore, Murky Hand Scythe, Zweihander

Gem Source(s):

• 8% drop from Pus of Man (High Wall of Lothric)

S-Tier: Crystal

Overview: Intelligence specialists wet dream. Magically enchant weapons to your statute-obsessed hearts content.

No other infusion quite beats Crystal‘s sheer Intelligence scaling damage explosion. While Moonlight Greatsword and other innate magic weapons have their place – Crystal enables normal armaments to enter unprecedented devastation territory. At 60+ Int with appropriate boosting gear/spells I‘ve one-shotted ancient wyrms like Midir using this delightful infusion. It makes spellcasters all the more versatile and concentrated in their mystical craft of destruction. Highly recommended for aspiring battlemage legends.

Weapons: Greatsword class weapons, most straight swords

Gem Source(s):

• 100% drop from Crystal Lizards (Road of Sacrifices)

S-Tier: Refined

Overview: Balanced scaling for pure melee quality builds. Easy to assemble and wrecks fools.

Ahh Refined. Any self-respecting medieval warrior invests in this quintessential infusion at some point. Catering to more traditional quality builds opting for equal Dexterity & Strength progression. Refined provides the highest cumulative AR by balancing scaling and removing exclusivity towards one stat. Use it anytime you lack inclination towards a singular damage focus. Easy to build around while demolishing enemies with extensive weapon compatibility. What‘s not to love? Sign me up.

Weapons: Lothric Knight Sword, Black Knight Weapons, Claymore

Gem Source(s):

• 100% drop from Red-Eyed Lothric Knight (High Wall of Lothric)

S-Tier: Chaos

Overview: Embrace fiery mayhem and annihilation through pyromancy.

Do you crave signing enemies with scolding hot hellfire? Does wielding vicious dark flame weaponry appeal to your inner pyromaniac? If so, Chaos infusion satiates the burning hunger perfectly. By scaling with both Intelligence & Faith this enables destruction unbridled. Complement with pyromancy boosting rings, Witch‘s Locks and Demon‘s Scar for combos that ignite immediate disgust from invading duelists getting roasted alive! For devotees of Quelaana searching maximum damage output through pain – Chaos is the prophecy fulfilled.

Weapons: Lothric Knight Greatsword, Onikiri and Ubadachi (O&U)

Gem Source(s):

• 8% drop from Stray Demons (Farron Keep, Catacombs)

Ideal Infusion Compatibility Chart

Looking for recommendations on which weapons pair properly with popular infusions? Consult the handy chart below!

Infusion	Recommended Weapons
Raw	Broadsword, Longsword
Bleed	Bandit Knife
Fire	Longsword
Poison	Rotten Ghru Dagger
Deep	Broadsword
Simple	Lothric Knight Sword
Blessed	Parrying Dagger, Caestus
Heavy	Great Club, Exile Curved Sword
Sharp	Uchigatana, Sellsword Twinblades
Hollow	Carthus Curved Sword
Lightning	Dragonslayer‘s Greataxe
Dark	Claymore
Crystal	Moonlight Greatsword
Refined	Claymore, Black Knight Glaive
Chaos	Witch‘s Locks

These suggestions maximize infusion damage, effects, and weapons that scale well with their secondary stat boosts. But don‘t afraid to experiment finding your own stellar combinations!

Infusion Success Quick Tips

Follow these key pointers when infusing weapons for victory:

• Infuse innate bleed/poison weapons over adding those effects
• Buff infused weapons to compound damage multiplicatively
• Boost stats aligning with infusion scaling for bigger attack ratings
• Beware split damage reduction against resistant enemies
• Don‘t infuse daggers besides Luck builds benefiting status effects

And those are the basics for mastering Dark Souls 3 infusions!

Conclusion

I hope this guide has demystified infusions so you can forge wicked weapons suiting your character. Take these S-tier recommendations out for a whirlwind spin on your next journey linking the fire or embracing the dark.

If you have any other questions on infusions or favorite combinations, let me know in the comments below! I‘m always seeking the next delightful means of delivering decimation.

Now get out there ashen one and start infusing your arsenal with greatness!