PvE weapon tier list

Method and tier meanings

S means a leading recommendation for that context; A means a strong alternative with clear trade-offs; B means a more conditional pick; C means poor convenience as a first-run main, not an unusable weapon. Letters within a tier are not ordered.

Acquisition matters only in First. Prepared removes the late-access penalty but still considers reach, attack commitment, resource or health costs, and practical coverage. These are qualitative comparisons: no invented weighted total or decimal score is attached.

Use normal story access, not early NPC murders, edited chalices or speedrun skips. Assume solo PvE and appropriate upgrades; do not compare a maxed specialist to an unupgraded starter. Serration is useful against susceptible beasts, not a universal ranking bonus. Firearms, shields and hunter tools are outside this right-hand list.

All base-game trick weapons: First / Prepared

• Saw Cleaver - S / S: Starting gift; a short, direct moveset and serration in cleaver form make it an easy default for a physical build.
• Saw Spear - S / S: Early Central Yharnam pickup; serration and thrust options give a Skill-leaning physical build broad coverage.
• Hunter Axe - S / A: Starting gift; reach and charged crowd control are accessible, but long commitments still need a safe opening.
• Threaded Cane - A / A: Starting gift; Skill-oriented reach and whip-form serration reward spacing, with less immediate stagger than the axe.
• Kirkhammer - A / A: Available after Cleric Beast; sword and hammer cover quick and heavy attacks, but hammer timing demands restraint.
• Ludwig's Holy Blade - S / S: Workshop badge purchase; versatile forms and Strength/Skill investment make it a straightforward long-term main weapon.
• Rifle Spear - B / B: Old Yharnam access; useful thrust reach and a built-in shot, with a narrower melee role than the top generalists.
• Stake Driver - B / B: Powder Keg badge purchase; short reach and a highly committed charged attack lower the first-run recommendation.
• Tonitrus - A / A: Yahar'gul pickup; built-in bolt access is convenient, but refreshing its buff and repairing it add upkeep.
• Reiterpallasch - B / A: Cainhurst pickup; a Skill-oriented thrusting weapon with a firearm mode, best chosen for that specific combination.
• Chikage - B / S: Cainhurst badge purchase; transformed Bloodtinge damage is a specialist payoff, balanced by continuous transformed health drain.
• Logarius' Wheel - B / A: Alfred badge route; Strength/Arcane options and its unusual transformed system ask for a deliberate build, not spare levels.
• Blade of Mercy - B / A: Eileen badge route; quick Skill-focused close combat is attractive, but short reach and quest access reduce first-run convenience.
• Burial Blade - C / A: Gehrman badge purchase; reach and a Skill-oriented moveset have value, but ordinary access is essentially at the end of the hunt.
• Beast Claw - C / A: Ailing Loran layer-2 treasure; Beasthood trades safety for physical damage. Its optional Beast's Embrace moveset requires DLC.

All DLC trick weapons: First / Prepared

• Beast Cutter - B / A: Early Hunter's Nightmare pickup; transformed reach controls space, but slow recovery punishes careless repeated swings.
• Beasthunter Saif - A / S: Early DLC pickup; mobile transformation attacks and Skill emphasis reward learning distance rather than treating it as a serrated saw.
• Boom Hammer - B / B: Early DLC pickup; fire-enhanced blows offer a clear role, with repeated ignition and short attack sequences as trade-offs.
• Whirligig Saw - A / S: Hunter's Nightmare pickup; a strong Strength-oriented serrated option, especially when enemies allow sustained contact.
• Amygdalan Arm - B / A: Hunter's Nightmare cave pickup; long transformed reach offers a different Strength-oriented tool, at the cost of slower spacing decisions.
• Holy Moonlight Sword - B / S: Available after Ludwig; physical/Arcane damage and bullet-powered projectiles reward a planned hybrid rather than an incidental Arcane requirement.
• Simon's Bowblade - B / S: Normally obtained through Simon's DLC quest; sword Skill and ranged Bloodtinge modes give a prepared build two distinct roles.
• Church Pick - B / S: Underground Cell Key route; long transformed thrust attacks and its beast-damage property provide broad coverage, but access is mid-DLC.
• Rakuyo - C / S: Fishing Hamlet well reward; a varied Skill moveset earns a high prepared-build rating, while the late two-shark acquisition hurts first-run convenience.
• Bloodletter - C / A: Brador's locked-cell reward; transformed Bloodtinge play and transformation health cost suit a specialist, not a generic Strength upgrade.
• Kos Parasite - C / A: Orphan reward; a dedicated Arcane option whose distinctive moveset requires Milkweed. Late access and setup dominate its first-run grade.

Choose for the character you actually have

• Starting a general physical hunt: Saw Cleaver, Saw Spear, Hunter Axe or Ludwig's Holy Blade are the leading convenience picks here. Threaded Cane remains a good Skill-and-spacing alternative.
• Already committed to Bloodtinge: compare Chikage, Simon's Bowblade and Bloodletter by melee/ranged needs and health costs. Their Prepared grades do not make them upgrades for a character with no Bloodtinge investment.
• Arcane plans need separate care: Holy Moonlight Sword is a hybrid, while Kos Parasite is an Arcane specialist. A weapon displaying Arcane scaling does not mean every physical attack benefits from an Arcane stat investment.
• PvP, challenge runs, enemy-specific resistances and optimized chalice gems can change the recommendation. This list deliberately does not claim one universal best weapon.

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