Elden Ring: Best Greataxes, Ranked

Highlights

• Greataxes in Elden Ring offer high damage potential at the cost of attack speed, making players vulnerable during swings.
• The Longhaft Axe and Rusted Anchor are early-game options with lower strength requirements and good damage potential.
• The Executioner’s Greataxe and Gargoyle’s Black Axe are powerful mid to late-game weapons with great strength scaling and unique weapon skills.

Greataxes are two-handed weapons in Elden Ring that typically require a high Strength stat to be wielded. They are capable of dealing incredible damage, although this is at the cost of attack speed, meaning players will be vulnerable when swinging.

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The best Greataxes in Elden Ring not only have high damage and fantastic scaling, but they also have unique Weapon Skills that offer players creative ways to play out fights. In addition, Greataxes should not be confused with standard one-handed axes in Elden Ring.

5 Longhaft Axe

Max Base Damage: 357

The Longhaft Axe is a good option for players who want to wield a traditional Greataxe in the early stages of the game, as one can be dropped by a Misbegotten in Castle Morne. However, as this is a rare drop, players will likely have to keep going back to the nearest Site of Grace to reload the enemy and hope that they will drop it next time.

The relatively low strength requirement of 24 means this Greataxe is accessible to lower-level players. For Strength builds, players should consider upgrading it with a Heavy Affinity Ashes of War to get the most out of its Strength scaling.

4 Rusted Anchor

Max Base Damage: 360

Aesthetically and due to its name, the Rusted Anchor is arguably the weirdest Greataxe in Elden Ring, but nevertheless, it is a fantastic source of damage. With a max Strength scaling rating of B, it is on par with the Executioner’s Greataxe in terms of potential for players with high Strength. However, it does have slightly less base damage.

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The Rusted Anchor can be found early on in the game, by heading south to the Weeping Peninsula region and locating the Morne Tunnel. It is dropped as a reward for defeating the Scaly Misbegotten boss inside this tunnel. This makes it one of the best early-game weapons in Elden Ring.

3 Executioner’s Greataxe

Max Base Damage: 367

While the Executioner’s Greataxe is a step down in raw damage from the Great Omenkiller Cleaver and the Gargoyle’s Black Axe, it does have great Strength scaling, making it one of the better options in the hands of strong Tarnished.

Found in the inventories of some Skeletons in the Church of Irith Graveyard, this is also one of the Greataxes that can be accessed earlier in the game, in the Liurnia of the Lakes region. Players will want to make sure they use the weapon’s War Cry skill before they enter combat, to give them a buff to Attack Power and Strength scaling.

2 Great Omenkiller Cleaver

Max Base Damage: 402

Thanks to its Hemorrhage-applying passive, the Great Omenkiller Cleaver has the second-highest max base damage out of all the Greataxes in Elden Ring. Therefore, despite average scaling, players will be able to make even the biggest bosses bleed.

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To get their hands on the Great Omenkiller Cleaver, players either need to kill the Omenkiller at Volcano Manor or the one that is found at the Perfumer’s Grotto. As both of these locations are in the Atlus Plateau region, this is a mid to late-game weapon.

1 Gargoyle’s Black Axe

Max Base Damage: 539

The best Greataxe in Elden Ring is the Gargoyle’s Black Axe which combines Physical and Holy damage for some seriously heavy hits. However, unlike other Greataxes, players will need a relatively high Faith stat of 22 to wield it, and it can only be acquired later in the game when players manage to slay the Black Blade Kindred who guards the entrance to the Mountaintops of the Giants.

While the scaling on the Gargoyle’s Black Axe isn’t great, the base damage is incredible once fully upgraded. Furthermore, players looking for great Faith weapons for a hybrid build between Faith and Strength will find few better options.