Similar to ultra greatswords and great hammers, greataxes excel at using poise to stunlock foes and end battles in just a few hits – meaning their damage is enormous. They’re all good. But which greataxe is the best? I’ll be ranking all of them right here!
7. Great Machete
The great machete is a sadly flawed greataxe that is simply worse than every other option. Its long blade grants it great range, but its low base damage is further impeded by its maximum of B-scaling on infusions. Its unique skill ‘sharpen’ does grant a whopping 2% higher AR than the ‘warcry’ skill on most other greataxes, but it’s just not enough – so the great machete sits at the bottom of the axe barrel. How to get: Dropped by the undead hulks wielding them in the undead settlement and road of sacrifices.
6. Earth Seeker
The earth seeker is a conceptually awesome weapon from the painted world DLC, made with strength/faith hybrids in mind- reaching B/C scaling, respectively! Though in exchange the base damage is quite low… And to top it off, its unique skill ‘earthen wrath’ causes these huge explosive shockwaves, but causes you to stand completely still while channelling – which is an enemy players dream. It’s cool, sure. But the hoops you need to jump through will often just get you killed. How to get: Found in the craggy valleys of the painted world, in the area before you fight Vilhelm.
5. Demon’s Greataxe
The fiery demon’s greataxe is a fantastic choice for pyromancy builds and sports an impressive B-scaling in strength! Though the D/D scaling in intelligence/faith does mean it’ll need some strength investment to be truly effective, so it’s not great for spellcasting pures. In return for your stat points, however, you get a truly formidable axe that boasts a huge chunk of passive fire damage and a cataclysmic weapon skill! Its skill ‘demonic flare’ has you raise the axe high before smashing it downwards in a massive explosion that will decimate anything unfortunate enough to be in its way! How to get: Transposition with the soul of a demon.
4. Yhorm’s Great Machete
Yhorm’s is a monumental weapon – not only boasting the highest range of all greataxes, but also the highest potential AR of any physical weapon in the entire game! But with such insane potential damage, you’d think there must be a downside, right? Yep. Unlike other greataxes, Yhorm’s stagger does not guarantee a 2-hit combo! It’s unknown whether this is intentional or a bug, as 2 hits from this thing is usually enough to kill an enemy, so the devs might’ve thought that was a bit too strong. Still, the damage is immense. And it has an A-scaling in strength, so it’s a fantastic pure weapon. How to get: Transposition with the soul of Yhorm.
3. Black Knight Greataxe
The black knight greataxe has been a strong choice since the days of DS1, only being set back by its rare drop chance. In DS3, it has a whole host of tricks up its sleeve – with a great mix of flattening and launching attacks woven into its unique moveset! The damage is still fantastic – so it’s understandable that its scaling is capped at C/D strength/dex. And the cherry on top is its innate heightened poise damage and 20% damage buff against demonic enemies! How to get: Dropped by black knights wielding it.
2. Dragonslayer Greataxe
The dragonslayer is similar in playstyle to the demon’s greataxe – sporting its own smashing weapon skill. Right off the bat, it’s a more pure strength/hybrid faith focused weapon, boasting innate lightning damage and C/D scaling in strength/faith. Its damage is huge when adding its 2 sources together, and lightning damage is a difficult element to resist, with most foes in PvE being weak to it! And its unique skill ‘falling bolt’ is an explosive slam of high-damage goodness known for its capability to one-shot an unprepared opponent! How to get: Transposition with the soul of the dragonslayer armor.
1. Greataxe
Topping our list off is the greataxe – proving that the namesake is always a strong choice. This buffable, infusible fan-favorite is the weapon of choice for a ton of players due to its ability to fit into any build that has strength. Despite its short range, it has great base damage and the ‘warcry’ ability, which provides a further (sometimes even overkill) boost to its attack! It goes to show that in Dark Souls, versatility is the top dog, and a simple weapon that you can throw a buff on will almost always beat the competition! How to get: Dropped by the undead wielding them on the high wall, or from the stray demon above the old wolf of Farron.
