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Try to be surprised, but every Remembrance boss in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is absurdly difficult. Much as it was in the base game, these major lore players represent some of the DLC’s biggest roadblocks. However, defeating them will grant you their Remembrance which can be turned in for a variety of rewards that include some powerful weapons.
At least that’s how it works in theory. Elden Ring is designed to make any weapon/strategy viable, which is nice in the long run. However, it does mean that some of those seemingly “super” Remembrance weapons aren’t as good as some of the weapons you’ll find elsewhere in the game. For that matter, some Remembrance weapons are simply much better than other weapons in that specific class.
Before we dive into those rankings, please note that this article will not be discussing the other rewards you can get from turning in a Remembrance. For the moment, we’re only focusing on weapons. That also means we won’t be discussing Divine Beast Dancing Lion since his Remembrance doesn’t yield a weapon. Furthermore, I will be discussing every Remembrance weapon in the DLC, including those that come from optional bosses.
10. Greatsword of Damnation
The Greatswrod of Damnation sadly represents the downsides of FromSoftware’s hesitation to make these Remembrance Weapons as powerful as their lore suggests they should be.
The version of this weapon that Midra, Lord Of Frenzied Flame in their boss fight is incredible. It looks great, it’s powerful, and it regularly produces beams of devastating fire that inflict the rare (and deadly) Frenzy status effect. Sadly, this version of that weapon retains its looks and little else. While trying to get this weapon to function as it did in that boss fight would have been a balancing nightmare, the version of this sword you do get just feels so…boring. It tragically lacks any Frenzy status effects, which means that you’re forced to rely on its good (but ultimately not great) combination of raw stats and melee reach. It just doesn’t measure up to the competition in that respect.
However, I will say that this sword’s Weapon Skill (Golden Crux) is pretty bonkers in PvP. It’s a leaping blow that produces a massive AoE follow-up when it lands. Most PvP players won’t be able to avoid it, and I imagine it will be spammed to the delight of the wielder and the frustration of everyone else. Other than that, it’s pretty unremarkable.
9. Putrescence Cleaver
It’s easy to want to love the Putrescence Cleaver. This massive weapon boasts a unique look that is best described as the result of what would happen if a giant took a greatsword and bent it backward. Even better, this weapon’s special attack allows you to grab the “bent” end of the blade and essentially turn it into an especially deadly pastry cutter capable of unleashing a series of spinning attacks. As if that wasn’t enough, this weapon deals a nice bit of Frost damage, which is certainly a rare attribute in a melee weapon of this type.
Those are all great things, but they don’t come together to form anything especially interesting. This weapon is at its best when you can spam its special attack and use it to stun larger enemies. Even then, the awkward attack pattern of that special attack can limit its usefulness in some of the fights where such staggers are most valuable (or arguably even necessary). Similarly, the Frost buildup is nice, but it’s not quite good enough to build a character around at the moment compared to the other Frost-focused builds out there.
You can absolutely make Putrescence Cleaver work for you. However, the same is true of many weapons in Elden Ring. Trying to find what makes this weapon special outside of being unique is a puzzle that hasn’t been cracked quite yet.
8. Sword Lance
You’re not alone if you don’t know what to make of this weapon when you first see it/acquire it. On paper, combining a Greatsword and a Lance seems like a potentially great thing. In reality, this thing is closer to a more powerful version of a Heavy Thrusting Sword. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but truth be told, I just don’t think that the lunging strike you get from a Lance or Heavy Thrusting weapon is an adequate replacement for the running heavy attacks that Greatswords typically come with.
However, this weapon has two big things working in its favor. The first is its Ash of War (Spinning Gravity Thrust), which is a nice magic-infused lunging attack that can be applied to Large and Colossal Swords. The second is the fact that this weapon can be Infused and Buffed. That’s a rare quality in Remembrance Weapons that is appealing enough to make you take a hard second look at whether this weapon’s raw damage potential and unique functionality can be further enhanced by those imbuments.
Ultimately, I don’t think the Sword Lance brings enough to the party to recommend it over other weapons that just get the job done a bit better with less fuss. However, I do think there is some potential for experimentation in this weapon’s design, especially once you reach New Game+ territory.
7. Poleblade of the Bud
This is undoubtedly one of the coolest Remembrance Weapons. On its own, it’s a powerful little Halberd that primarily scales with Arcane and Dexterity. What sells this one, though, is its ability to inflict valuable Scarlet Rot damage as well as unleash a powerful spinning Weapon Skill attack that can quickly (even instantly) inflict Scarlet Rot if it lands all its hits. It also looks incredible in action thanks to its elaborate accompanying visual effects.
Unfortunately, all of the reasons you could fall in love with this weapon are undermined by its slow attack speed and general awkwardness. If this weapon did more Poise damage than it currently does, you could absolutely put up with that shortcoming and enjoy its other attributes. Such as it is, though, you just never feel like you’re dealing enough damage to properly compensate for the few hits you’re able to get in with this weapon during the game’s tougher fights.
If this weapon is ever buffed (which is certainly a possibility), I think it could become very interesting incredibly quickly. In its current state, though, it just brings so little to the roundtable.
6. Greatsword of Radahn Lord/Light
These are actually two separate weapons that you’ll need to choose between once you turn in this Remembrance. So far as I can tell, the main difference between them seems to be their Weapon Skills. If forced to pick, I’d say go with the “Lord” variant as its combo-based Holy attack with an AoE finale feels just a bit more powerful than the jumping attack you get with the Light variant.
Ultimately, though, these swords share a spot for the simple reason that neither of them feels especially impressive at the moment. Mind you, that doesn’t mean that they are bad. They’re nice overall Colossal Swords with decent stat spreads and more than respectable Weapon Skills. It’s just that they lack that special something that late-game (endgame, actually) Elden Ring weapons desperately need. I may actually prefer the base game version of the Radahn weapons in many ways, which speaks to how half-baked these rewards feel. I’m not even sure why they scale with Intelligence when their abilities are clearly Faith-based.
Not that this matters much in terms of these rankings, but the other reward you get from this fight (the Light of Miquella Incantation) happens to be so much better than either of these swords. These are useful enough on their own that I’m almost convinced I’m missing something that makes them special, but I haven’t found what that something is yet outside of Lord’s Weapon Skill.
5. Gazing Finger
This is such a strange weapon. It not only looks odd (to put it delicately), but it primarily scales with Strength and Intelligence with some Faith tossed in. That’s an inherently strange stat combo that is typically reserved for weapons that have an incredible magic-based Weapon Skill (like the Dark Moon Greatsword, Moonveil Katana, and Sword of Night and Flame). Most of those weapons earn their keep through the game-breaking abilities of their powerful special attacks.
At the moment, I just don’t think Gazing Finger’s Weapon Skill is nearly as powerful as it needs to be to join the ranks of those beloved weapons. It’s a powerful overhead slam that generates an AoE blast from beneath the ground. It’s a nice little ability that can send enemies flying and deal considerable damage to large groups (especially when charged). However, it’s just not the single-target destroying ability you find in the other notable Strength/Intelligence weapons. This weapon also has a strangely high Faith requirement that it doesn’t seem to utilize in any way I’ve been able to discover.
Ultimately, I find this to be an all-around powerful Colossal weapon with a nice Weapon Skill that may be a tough sell for all but a few specific builds or those with ample upgrade resources.
4. Shadow Sunflower Blossom
This was probably the hardest Remembrance weapon to properly rank. That’s largely because I consider some of the bae attributes of this Colossal Weapon to be rather unremarkable. It’s a powerful Strength/Faith weapon that is currently competing with a variety of useful Strength/Faith weapons. It’s hardly awful in any particular respect, but it initially seems tough to justify using it over so many (likely upgraded) alternatives.
That is until you use its Weapon Skill: Shadow Sunflower Headbutt. That skill unleashes a powerful overhead attack that comes with a nice shockwave effect that grants it welcome AoE benefits. Critically, though, that attack is immediately followed by three similar strikes that trigger in relatively quick succession. Using that skill allows you to greatly increase this weapon’s attack speed and effective range while also utilizing a series of Talismans and buffs that enhance such abilities. There’s just a lot of build synergy to play with here.
I think that ability will be good enough to tempt some Strength/Faith players who rely more on the Strength side of things to make the switch. It’s not necessarily a must-have, but it is a viable option.
3. Staff of the Great Beyond
A first look at the Staff of the Great Beyond reveals a bizarre quality. It requires a whopping 27 points in both Intelligence and Faith to properly wield. It looks unusable until you read the fine print that reveals that this staff can cast both Sorceries and Incantations.
That hybrid element makes this the most fascinating Remembrance Weapon in Shadow of the Erdtree. In exchange for some raw stats, you gain the ability to cast any school of magic without having to swap between gear or dual-wield a staff and a seal. In theory, that opens up new strategies. At the very least, it makes Staff of the Great Beyond a convenient way to simplify a typically complicated hybrid playstyle.
Unfortunately, this weapon’s hybrid nature comes at the cost of scaling. It just doesn’t scale as well with your primary stats as the best staffs and seals typically do. Given that the new Incantations in Shadow of the Erdtree are a bit stronger than the DLC’s new Sorcery spells, I also think some Faith builds (especially Faith/Strength builds) will likely ignore this staff and some Sorcery builds may continue to rely on more specialized gear. Still, this weapon deserves a lot of love for its game-altering design.
2. Spear of the Impaler
Like some of the other Remembrance weapons in Shadow of the Erdtree, Spear of the Impaler is a bit too slow for its own good. Slower weapons in Shadow of the Erdtree need to be able to reliably stagger most enemies, and this weapon can’t quite do that as well as some of its most notable competition. That should make it easy to shelve this weapon or simply ignore it.
However, Spear of the Impaler’s Weapon Skill (Messmer’s Assault) happens to be incredibly nasty. It’s a series of spinning and piercing attacks that end with a ground slam which generates fiery spears in the nearby area. It not only looks amazing but it is incredibly effective against most larger targets due to its rapid series of available inputs that make up for the weapons’s slow basic speed. On top of that, you get a unique heavy attack that allows you to throw the spear and generate an AoE magma pool wherever it lands. You can even throw the spear while mounted (which is simply amazing).
Those unique abilities make it surprisingly easy to justify building a character around this weapon if you’d really like to do so. If this weapon’s Fire damage was more useful in Shadow of the Erdtree than it currently is, this spear would rank even higher.
1. Rellana’s Twin Blades
Unlike Greatsword of Damnation, Rellana’s Twin Blades does not disappoint in the functionality department. That is to say that they work much like Rellana herself uses them. The right blade produces beams of arcane light, and the left blade allows you to generate devastating AoE fire attacks. When used in conjunction as melee weapons, they enable a kind of “dancer” melee attack strategy that emphasizes unleashing a barrage of quick strikes. They’re a lot of fun to use, and they look fantastic.
Because these scale with all four primary Weapon Stats, you’re also able to play wiht some pretty cool build variants. While I found that it is better to invest in Intelligence and Faith to maximize the power of its magically-infused heavy attacks, leaning more toward the Strength/Dexterity side of things is more than viable if you prefer higher base melee damage. It’s not quite the Sword of Night and Flame equivalent/instant replacement some may be looking for, but it offers striking similar functionality in a more intriguing melee package.
If these swords did just a bit more Poise damage, they would be in a tier of their own so far as the complete collection of Elden Ring weapons goes. However, anyone with the right stat distribution and ability to make this kind of playstyle work (dodge roll experts, mostly) will likely be able to get a lot of mileage out of these swords well before New Game+ upgrades make them even more exciting.
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