Dual wielding weapons in Elden Ring can lead to some incredibly powerful and fun builds. Wielding a weapon in each hand boosts your damage output and allows you to string together quick successive attacks. However, it comes at the cost of not being able to use a shield for defense.
In this guide, I‘ll be counting down my picks for the 12 best dual wield weapons you can use in Elden Ring for devastating results.
How Dual Wielding Works in Elden Ring
To dual wield weapons effectively, you need to invest some points into Strength, Dexterity, or both depending on the weapons you pick. You‘ll also want enough Endurance to medium roll while wearing the paired weapons.
When two weapons are equipped, one in each hand, you can enter the "Power Stance". This powers up your left-handed weapon with new attack animations. The key is finding weapons that synergize well together.
For example, dual wielding a katana that causes bleed buildup with a mace that can smash through guards. Mixing up damage types and movesets is important.
Now let‘s get into the best weapon pairs for dual wielding in Elden Ring!
12. Spiked Caestus & Iron Ball
The Spiked Caestus causes bleed buildup with its rapid fists. Combined with the heavy-hitting Iron Ball in the other hand, you get a blend of quick attacks and staggering strikes.
Both of these strength-focused weapons are found early on, making this an easily accessible and powerful pairing for a pure melee build even in the beginning areas of the game.
11. Hand Axe & Butcher Knife
The Hand Axe provides quick slashes while the Butcher Knife brings heavier chops plus restores HP on hits. Together they can overwhelm foes with a flurry of cuts both light and heavy from alternating hands.
This pairing covers all ranges well in close quarters combat. Plus the innate bleed buildup on the Knife stacks even faster when landing the Axe‘s combo attacks.
10. Flamberge & Bloodhound‘s Fang
These greatswords are tied to each other thematically as their styles revolve around flowing, almost dancing movements and combos. Wielding both demonstrates this beautifully.
The Flamberge causes bleeding while the Fang has a bloodflame enchantment. So enemies will be taking rapid hemorrhage damage from the combined barrage of slices.
9. Cross-Naginata & Vulgar Militia Shotel
The Cross-Naginata has excellent range with its moveset full of long sweeping strikes that cause bleeding buildup. Up close, the Shotel‘s piercing ammo can rip through guards to open enemies up to a devastating impale attack.
Together they dominate at any range with gap closing charges, guard breaks, and constant bleed procs wearing enemies down until the final blow.
8. Scimitar & Falchion
These slick curved swords make for an extremely quick flurry of slashes that stacks bleeding rapidly. The Scimitar can be wielded in the left hand to access a spinning weapon skill not available on its own.
It‘s easy to overwhelm opponents with the speed and fluid chains of attacks you can unleash by dual wielding this pair. Even tougher, heavily armored enemies get shredded by the successive blood loss procs.
7. Reduvia & Bloodblade
Reduvia is a dagger that enhances bleed buildup exponentially when dual wielded. This makes it a fantastic offhand option to run with another weapon that has inherent bleed like the Bloodblade.
You‘ll be inflicting heavy bleeding on each successive attack. And the Bloodblade‘s unique weapon skill sees you twirling dramatically with both weapons out for even quicker hemorrhaging strikes.
6. Nagakiba & Uchigatana
These are the longest katanas available in Elden Ring with excellent range and movesets. The Nagakiba has a thrust on its heavy attack with solid damage.
But when dual wielded with the Uchigatana, you access additional flashy combos for devastating effects. You can catch players off guard in PvP with the extended reach and slice them apart rapidly inflicting blood loss.
5. Twinblade & Godskin Stitcher
The Twinblade is arguably the most fun melee weapon to dual wield in Elden Ring. Equipping two lets you unleash a violent dance of spins and somersaults that just tear enemies apart.
Combining it with the Godskin Stitcher covers additional range and allows you to inflcit constant blood buildup with the weapon‘s unique throwable knives that can briefly immobilize enemies from a distance.
4. Bandit Curved Swords
While slightly harder to obtain than others on this list, the Bandit Curved Sword is hands down one of the best dual wield weapons when used in pairs.
It has a remarkably speedy moveset with combos that can stack bleeding incredibly fast. Plus the damage on these swords is very respectable even on higher NG+ cycles.
Dual wielding two of these absolutely shreds while looking incredibly stylish with the flowing attacks.
3. Hand of Malenia & Rivers of Blood
This pairing utilizes two of the most popular and notoriously deadly weapons in Elden Ring for even more insane effects. Both the Hand of Malenia and Rivers of Blood katanas cause health scarlet rot and hemorrhaging.
By dual wielding them together, you almost instantly proc both against enemies and bosses. This combo absolutely melts through any enemy‘s health bar.
2. Blasphemous Blade & Sacred Relic Sword
Here‘s a divine pairing that unleashes holy hell on enemies. The Blasphemous Blade restores HP on kills while the Sacred Relic Sword ignores enemy defenses with its weapon skill then replenishes FP on kills.
Dual wielding these greatswords keeps your health and FP topped off so you can continue unleashing their weapon skills nonstop in longer encounters. It also just looks badass wielding two massive holy glowswords.
1. Giant-Crusher & Fallingstar Beast Jaw
And claiming the #1 spot for most outright physical damage is the pairing of Giant-Crusher and Fallingstar Beast Jaw great hammers. These colossal weapons smash enemies into oblivion in just a couple hits.
The Giant-Crusher has the highest individual strength requirement in the game. But when power stanced with another colossal weapon like the Jaw, nothing can stand up to more than a few jump attacks without instantly dying.
The downside is they are incredibly slow and heavy. You won‘t be winning many duels against skilled PvP players with these. But the PvE damage potential is just ludicrous.
And that concludes my list of the top 12 best weapons for a dual wielding build in Elden Ring! Let me know down in the comments if you have any other favorite weapon pairings you like to dual wield.