InElden Ring, nearly everyone wants the best of anything. Be it top-tier weapons, the moststylish armor, or even the most overpowered combinations, most Tarnished are looking for the smoothest and fastest shortcuts. Some special Tarnished, however, might want to transcend way beyond their maidenless state by going up against gods stark-naked, wielding the equivalent of a toothpick as their weapons.
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Some might call that a foolish ambition that needs to be put to rest, but the mightiest of Elden Lords call it: Tuesday. Such challenge runs are the epitome of “getting gud” in aSoulsbornegame. So those who might want to get “gudder” might want to take a look at theseweak weapons inElden Ringfor challenge runs. Because it only took David a pebble to360-no-scopethat noob Goliath, after all.
Updated June 01, 2025 by Sid Natividad:WithElden Ring’s balance in a constant state of turmoil, it can be a heartbreaking affair to follow the meta all the time. Hence, players might want to try veering off into the other end of the meta spectrum by using weak weapons in what can only be assumed as an Elden Ring challenge run.
Turns out there are a lot more weak weapons considered by the community for Elden Ring challenge runs. Hence, it’s high time to add them to the list. Because there’s only so much Elden Ring players can do to challenge themselves while waiting for the eventual DLCs and expansions.
13Throwing Darts & Daggers
There is a mad idea from hardcoreElden Ringplayers to complete the game using only consumables. One can only imagine just how difficult that is since consumables were never meant to be the main weapons inElden Ring. Among them are throwing knives of various kinds.
They all deal with different damage types, but all of them are mostly weak since they’re slow and deal low damage. An added part of this kind ofElden Ringchallenge run is that these consumables are finite. So players will need to grind more to top up their supplies, especially before boss fights.
12Throwing Stones & Pots
Likewise, throwing stones and pots are also part of the consumables category inElden Ring. However, they’re a different breed of difficulty compared to throwing knives because they don’t exactly fly straight, making targeting frustrating and painstaking. They’re also slower, so most enemies can dodge them before they even reach thepeak of their trajectory.
In any case, a challenge run using only this weapon can often bear some interesting results. Broken controllers and shattered screens (or dreams) are some of them. But on the bright side, some of the throwing pots are quite crafty; players can tie them up to their waists and unleash them while dodging.
11Flail
Nothing special here, just a regular flail. It’s the one players can nab if they want to kill Greyoll immediately at the start of the game for some juicy Rune bloat. Beyond that, the regular flail inElden Ringisn’t exactly a popular weapon. Not many players use it since it has a deceptively short range.
Also, despite the Bleed trigger, this flail most fails as a Bleed weapon because of its range and suboptimal attack speed. The damage can also be embarrassing, so ensure not to waste any Smithing Stones on this low-level weapon. It just doesn’t have many purposes, especially in the presence of better Bleed weapons like the Uchigatana or Nagakiba.
10Watchdog’s Greatsword
For a late-game weapon, the Watchdog’s Greatswordsimply isn’t worth it. It’s a colossal sword, meaning it’s already slower than most other weapons. Also, one would expect this to have respectable damage output due to its weight, but there are much better options out there and players can obtain them much earlier.
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So in such a late-game scenario, the Watchdog Greatsword’s existence is more questionable than acceptable. It’s not even niche since the weapon is sub-par compared to others in its class. Though to be fair, most other colossal swords are inferior to the Guts Greatsword. Still, this one makes for an interesting challenge-run weapon since one can only obtain it so late.
9Vulgar Militia Weapons
The Vulgar Militia weapons, meaning the shotel and the saw, initially look decent. However, once players start upgrading them,Elden Ring’s poor balancing for forgotten weapons starts rearing its ugly head. At Heavy scaling, these weapons get an A in Strength while the Keen scaling only gets it B in Dexterity.
For many, it’s an odd choice of scaling since it forces players wielding this into a Strength build. That’s not ideal, since it’s also a Bleed weapon, meaning it should benefit more from Dexterity. In any case, apart from being sub-par compared to scythes, this weapon also doesn’t look appealing. It’s almost embarrassing to be seen wielding one in PvP.
8Clinging Bone
For all of Ensha’s edge, he’s not that tough. But the armor he drops isfireand he also throws in a bonus, namely the Clinging Bone. It’s a terrible weapon since it caters to no one. It scales Dex and Arcane primarily, making it an odd weapon since those stats prefer bleed and katanas.
But the thing that really hobbles this weapon is its morbidly slow weapon skill. It’s a life steal ability that winds up so sluggishly,Elden Ring2would have been released by the time it’s done. Well, that makes it perfect for a challenge run then.
7Hand Axe
It’s a crude hatchet, that’s about it. Nothing about the Hand Axe is remarkable, heck even the lowliest of clubs inElden Ringis preferable because at least those can stun or break enemy poise much more effectively. That’s why most level 1 challenge runners prefer the club instead.
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There is one redeeming quality about the Hand Axe though, and that’s the Quickstep weapon skill. That makes it somewhat decent for no-hitboss runs. Damage-wise, however, that’s where the Herculean effort has to be placed as it will take a long time to chip away at a boss' HP.
6Dagger
Oh but how about a Quickstep skill weapon that has even less range than the Hand Axe? That would be the lowest Dagger weapon. Not to be confused with the Parrying Dagger which is a lot more useful. The Dagger also has lower damage compared to the Hand Axe.
Paired with the shortest range out of all melee weapons, fighting with the Dagger inElden Ringis like bringing a letter opener to an all-out modern war. In that case, it’s alluring for those who love the challenge of using something that barely makes the cut as a weapon inElden Ring.
5Soldier’s Crossbow
The Soldier’s Crossbow is the standard issue weapon of those lowly Limgrave grunts who barely give 20-50 Runes. Needless to say, their weapon is neither the best nor the most practical. The Soldier’s Crossbow does a lot less damage even compared to the Hand Axe or Dagger.
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More than that, it’s also a slow weapon and bolts can bequite rare inElden Ring.The upside is that this crossbow can be used and loaded with just one hand, opening the off-hand for a shield. But the finite bolt count as well as the low damage and the slow attacks are still in the way.
4Weathered Straight Sword
The Weathered Straight Sword is basically a short sword except it’s shorter and has less reach, making it considerably worse. Because swordsinElden Ringhave the advantage of reach compared to smaller melee weapons. Take that advantage away and you’re left with a glorified dagger.
The design is great though. The weapon looks a bit elegant and seems viable enough for challenge runs where the players retained their dignity by putting on light armor at the very least. For anything else, however, the sword is simply mediocre.
