Straight Swords in Elden Ring —  how to use them and where to find them

Perfect for any first-timer, Souls-Game veteran or fan of the old and reliable sword and shield combo, Elden Ring has plenty of Straight Swords to satisfy and expand the horizons of any beginner Souls/Borne player will benefit from.

Straight Swords have a variety of applications with an even balance of Strength and Dexterity but also scale with Intelligence and Faith in some specific cases. Straight Swords are ideal for getting to know the basics of combat in Elden Ring. Straight swords generally strike a good balance between Strength and Dexterity and allow getting three or four hits on beefier enemies before making a few rolls out of damage or raising a shield to tank a few hits – given that the Straight Swords wielder has the necessary Endurance.

Straight Swords also typically fair well with the damage and stagger in their offensive capabilities, particularly if they’ve been beefed up with a few Smiting Stones. That being said, Straight Swords are never going to deal the same heights of damage as any Great or Colossal Swords, but also don’t don’t suffer from the long cool-down and wind-up animations between attacks.

While many foot soldiers and knights will end up dropping many Straight Swords upon death, here are some of the harder to find and more desirable Straight Swords in Elden Ring:

• Coded Sword: The closest thing we’ll get to a lightsaber in Elden Ring, the Coded Sword is a Straight Sword hilt with a line of text coming form it that is used as the blade. Confessor, Prophet, and other character builds pushing skill points into Faith will appreciate that the Coded Sword doesn’t scale off of Strength or dexterity, and instead only requires a 20 in Faith. Potential Coded Sword wielders can find the text-based blade in Leyndell, the Royal Capital.
• Golden Epitaph: Tangoing with the Undead? Then the Golden Epitaph may be the holy blade for you. Scaling primarily off of Faith at 14, Strength at 12, and Dexterity at 10, the Golden Epitaph is particularly useful for encounters with the undead since its skill, Last Rite, makes short of the undead. The Golden Epitaph can be found at Auriza Hero’s Grave.
• Ornamental Straight Sword: A straight Strength and Dexterity blade that actually two swords, the Ornamental Straight Sword requires 14 Dexterity to use and 10 Strength to use and is particularly notable for being a duel-wielded weapon when two-handed which has a separate dual-wielding move set as its Skill. The Ornamental Straight Sword can either be gotten at the very beginning of the game for players skilled enough to take out the first boss, the Grafted Scion, in one go, or they can return to fight the Grafted Scion again via the portal gate at The Four Belfries.
• Sword of Night and Flame: A major find shortly after Elden Rings release, the Sword of Night and Flame is a must have for all Sorcery builds and really just any build that can work their way to 24 Faith and Intelligence for the sword’s base requirements. Night-and-Flame Stance, the Sword of Night and Flame’s skill, provides several powerful magic that are god-like boss killers. The Sword of Night and Flame is found at Caria Manor.