Elden Ring‘s Mightiest Strength Weapons: A Veteran‘s Guide

As a souls fan stretching back to Demon‘s Souls in 2009, I‘ve spent hundreds of hours mastering ultra heavy strength weapons across FromSoftware‘s catalogue – brushing off repeated YOU DIED screens in the pursuit of raw damage domination.

Now with Elden Ring, I‘m overjoyed to see yet another arsenal of earth-shaking armaments to discover on my Tarnished‘s journey. And I‘m here to impart my knowledge, helping fellow strength enthusiasts cleave their way to victory through overwhelming force.

Below I‘ve compiled detailed profiles of Elden Ring‘s premiere strength offerings – the colossal greatswords, hammers, axes and clubs tailored for those truly dedicated to pumping vigor and swinging chunks of iron bigger than the poor souls on receiving end.

So spike those Endurance stats, get ready to channel your inner caveman, and let‘s survey the heaviest of heavy hitters!

What Makes Strength Weapons Unique

Before highlighting individual arms, it helps to explicate what sets strength weapons apart in Elden Ring, and how to wield them effectively.

Core Strength Weapon Traits

• Massive physical weight – demanding beefy Endurance just to lug around
• Extremely high strength requirements and scaling
• Monstrous damage per strike, but slow, easily-punished attacks
• "Hyper armor" on certain attacks to resist enemy staggering

Proper use of strength weapons relies on grasp of spacing, timing, and resistances granted by heavy armor. These aren‘t nimble rapiers poked from behind a buckler – rather brute force implements smashed into enemies with reckless abandon.

Trading blows is common. Learning specific attack animations that grant hyper armor allows you withstand hits while dishing devastating strikes in return – break a foe‘s structure through repeated, unavoidable attacks.

It‘s this dance of death I‘ve come to love – pushing my mastery of specific weapons‘ movesets to predict and dominate enemy behavior. Now let‘s examine my favorites.

#1 – Great Club

This unassuming hunk of petrified wood ranks first on my list thanks to its elegant simplicity coupled with skull-cracking potential early in a playthrough‘s progression.

I have fond memories with the Great Club stretching back to my SL1 run in Dark Souls – backstabbing titans like Smough to victory. Now in Elden Ring, I relish crushing Crucible Knights and Erdtree Avatars with impunity once again!

Key Great Club Statistics:

• 204 Physical Attack Rating (PAR)
• S-Tier Strength Scaling
• 35 Strength Requirement
• 17 Weight Units

It‘s this lethality combined with relatively lax stats that make the Great Club a recurring favorite year after year. Despite its size, the moveset flows smoothly with deceptive speed, enabling both reactive and predictive play.

I particularly enjoy baiting enemies and catching rolls with the weapon skill Golden Land – triggering a delayed golden explosion precisely when foes emerge vulnerable. The slam weapon art Waves of Darkness also synergizes nicely.

Combine raw damage and versatile attacks with the Great Club‘s minimal stat demands, and you have an enduring classic strength weapon – a platonic ideal for caving in skulls through brute simplicity from start to finish.

#2 – Grafted Blade Greatsword

Switching gears, this grotesque fusion of mismatched swords befits the aesthetic of its previous wielder Godrick the Grafted. Comprised of at least seven concatenated weapons, this colossal blade delivers raw chops reinforced by the might of a demigod.

I must note the Grafted Blade Greatsword hits harder than any other colossal sword in my statistical testing – making it firmly #2 in terms of strength potential.

Grafted Blade Greatsword Stats:

• 195 Physical Attack Rating
• C Strength Scaling
• 40 Strength Requirement
• 21 Weight

Despite higher weight than the Great Club, the Grafted Blade Greatsword boasts versatility through speedier attacks both grounded and airborne. Its four-hit combo flows smoothly, charging up kinetic energy that triggers a final rising launch slash.

Utilize its unique Ash of War Oath of Vengeance to hyperarmor through enemy attacks while dealing +15% bonus damage for 15 seconds – ideal against Erdtrees Avatars, Dragons and other bosses.

While the Great Club takes the top slot for sheer early availability, the Grafted Blade Greatsword offers seasoned strength veterans heavier chops and combos befitting kings. If you‘re committed investing in colossal weapons for the long haul, this fusion freakshow can‘t be beat!

Additional Top Contenders

While my favorites ranked #1 and #2, Elden Ring happily provides over a dozen more strength weapons for us connoisseurs of chunks ripping meat and metal. Let‘s briefly profile additional personal top picks!

Prelate‘s Inferno Crozier – This fiery warpick may have the highest individual strike damage in my testing – bring the smoldering pain against layered plate armor!

Ruins Greatsword – Discovered among ancient ruins, this primordial blade adapts well on sorcery builds but still packs ultra greatsword might.

Giant-Crusher – With up to 60 strength required for two-handing, only peak Tarnished can swing this towering slab of granite. Trade blows using the weight of mountains against your foe!

Celebrant‘s Rib-rake – Speaking of unique weapons, this bizarre bladed pronged mace causes both hemorrhaging and perpetual agony with each puncturing stab! Sadistic strength!

Iron Greatsword – Boasting square punching heavy attacks, the Iron Greatsword‘s physical chops pair nicely with Lion‘s Claw or Royal Knight Resolve ashes. Infuse with Heavy Gem for S-tier strength scaling!

And 10 More! – Additional highlights include the fiery Watchdog Greatsword, mounted combat mastery of the Nightrider Glaive, ruthless bleeding of the Celebrant‘s Cleaver axe, and striking poison potential of the Rotten Battle Hammer!

I relish this wealth of options – provided one has the Endurance to withstand attacks long enough to leverage these weapons‘ formidable striking power.

In Summary

While agile fighting styles have their place in the realm of Elden Ring, I‘ll always favor the deliberate, crushing momentum of an ultra heavyweight strength build. I hope this guide steers fellow iron aficionados toward their own perfect beastly weapon.

Now if only we had the Giant Dad mask to complete the aesthetic…

Praise the grafting, and may your enemies face consummate obliteration!

• Waleed of Clan Ironwrath