Elden Ring’s 1.17 patch brings subtle balance adjustments that redefine the weapon affinities and combat efficiency. Many armaments gain overpowered damage output and status buildup when paired with their most suitable affinities, far outperforming their default setups. For Tarnished players chasing high burst damage, consistent status procs, and reliable boss-clearing capability, picking the right weapon-affinity combination is the core of building a strong endgame setup. This guide breaks down the top 10 most viable weapons in the 1.17 Tarnished update, covering each weapon’s best affinity, core strengths, key damage stats, optimal Ashes of War, and standard build setups.
Elden Ring 1.17 Best Weapons & Affinities (Tarnished Edition)
All weapons listed here are meta-valid in Elden Ring 1.17 (Tarnished Edition), with their strengths fully unlocked only when matched with their exclusive optimal affinities. Most setups work stably at rune level 150 and show explosive damage growth at higher levels and in New Game Plus. Choosing the right weapon-affinity combination based on your build stats will greatly improve your clearing efficiency and boss-fighting performance.
1. Starfist – Heavy Affinity
Topping this list is the Starfist with Heavy Affinity, the most dominant fist weapon in Elden Ring 1.17. Heavy conversion preserves its insane raw physical damage, while pairing with Bloodflame Blade avoids the physical damage reduction of pure Blood Affinity, balancing high physical output and steady bleed buildup perfectly.
It supports the Endure Ash of War, letting players tank enemy hits while dealing charged strikes that deliver truck-level damage. Its charge attacks break enemy posture consistently, and it remains the most reliable fist weapon for boss fights and mob clearing. Cold Affinity is also a viable alternative for diverse combat styles.
Optimal Build Setup: Endure Ash of War + Bloodflame Blade, Blade of Mercy Talisman, Lord of Blood's Exultation, Axe Talisman, Millicent's Prosthesis, Golden Vow, Flame Grant Me Strength, Blessing's Boon
2. Rusted Anchor – Blood Affinity
The Rusted Anchor is a unique hidden gem with Blood Affinity. Despite its bulky appearance, it deals pierce damage, paired with solid Strength scaling, high physical base damage, and exceptional bleed buildup.
Matching it with Wild Strikes Ash of War triggers frequent bleed procs and powerful counter damage, easily crushing most mid and late-game bosses. Its mixed pierce-physical damage and stable status accumulation make it reliable in almost all combat scenarios, with almost no gameplay flaws.
Optimal Build Setup: Wild Strikes Ash of War, Lord of Blood's Exultation, Shard of Alexander, Rotten Winged Sword Insignia, Millicent's Prosthesis, Golden Vow, Blessing's Boon, Boiled Crab
3. Venomous Fang – Blood Affinity
The Venomous Fang achieves dual status dominance with Blood Affinity. After conversion, it fully retains its native deadly poison buildup while adding massive bleed accumulation, making it a nightmare for all status-vulnerable bosses.
Equipped with Cragblade Ash of War, it maintains high physical damage output while stacking two debilitating status effects simultaneously. It can melt boss health bars rapidly and remains effective in both regular playthroughs and New Game Plus cycles.
Optimal Build Setup: Cragblade Ash of War, Kindred of Rot's Exultation, Lord of Blood's Exultation, Rotten Winged Sword Insignia, Millicent's Prosthesis
4. Erdsteel Dagger – Flame Affinity
As a top-tier dagger for faith builds, the Erdsteel Dagger features a unique double-damage mechanic with Flame Affinity. It gains extra physical damage bonuses from Faith stat investment, a rare trait among dagger-class weapons.
With proper setup, it reaches 550–600 AR, an extremely high value for lightweight daggers. It fills the niche of high-speed, high-damage faith dagger builds, providing consistent burst damage in close-quarters combat.
Optimal Build Setup: Cragblade Ash of War, Fire Scorpion Charm, Rotten Winged Sword Insignia, Millicent's Prosthesis, Two-Headed Turtle Talisman
5. Guardian's Swordspear – Keen Affinity
The Guardian Sword Spear is widely considered overpowered with Keen Affinity, thanks to two core strengths: near S-tier Dexterity scaling (just below official S rank) and top-tier base damage among all Keen-converted piercing weapons.
It dominates with the Giant Hunt Ash of War, delivering massive pure physical pierce damage that outclasses most other dexterity-focused polearms. It also supports flexible gameplay with Ice Spear Ash of War, allowing players to switch to frost damage output for different enemy types. This versatile and high-damage weapon is a long-standing favorite for dexterity builds.
Optimal Build Setup: Giant Hunt/Ice Spear Ash of War, Spear Talisman, Blade of Mercy Talisman, Shard of Alexander, Millicent's Prosthesis
6. Warped Axe – Blood Affinity
The Warped Axe stands out among lightweight weapons with Blood Affinity. It preserves an impressive A-tier Strength scaling after conversion, granting massive physical damage returns without heavy equipment load. Meanwhile, its D-tier Arcane scaling supports solid bleed buildup when players invest partial stats into Arcane.
Paired with the Wild Strikes Ash of War, this small axe can shred nearly all game bosses with rapid successive hits and consistent bleed procs. It offers the rare combination of light weight, high physical damage, and stable status accumulation, ideal for agile strength-arcane hybrid builds.
Optimal Build Setup: Wild Strikes Ash of War (+25 weapon), Rotten Winged Sword Insignia, Shard of Alexander, Lord of Blood's Exultation, Millicent's Prosthesis
7. Brick Hammer – Flame Art Affinity
The Brick Hammer is an underrated powerhouse with Flame Art Affinity. At rune level 150, it easily hits over 900 AR with Flaming Strike, boasting astonishing fire damage output. Its biggest advantage is retaining a C-tier Strength scaling while gaining B-tier Faith scaling after switching to Flame Art, which is extremely rare for flame-converted heavy weapons.
For high-level builds (level 200+), investing points in both Strength and Faith unlocks its full potential, delivering devastating mixed physical and fire damage. Its stable scaling and high base damage make it one of the most reliable Flame Art weapons in the current meta.
Optimal Build Setup: Flaming Strike Ash of War, Shard of Alexander, Fire Scorpion Charm, Blade of Mercy Talisman, Two-Handed Sword Talisman, Golden Vow, Flame Grant Me Strength, Blessing's Boon
8. Fire Knight's Greatsword – Flame Art Affinity
Tailor-made for Flame Art Affinity, the Fire Knight's Greatsword is one of the most broken fire-damage weapons in the 1.17 update. Even at rune level 150, it reaches 900–950 AR steadily, and the value climbs significantly at higher levels. Unlike most flame-focused weapons, it deals pierce-type physical damage, letting it bypass the physical defense of many high-armor enemies.
This weapon balances high pure physical damage and massive fire damage perfectly. Matching it with the Flame Spear Ash of War further amplifies its fire coating effect, making it dominant in both regular attacks and charged strikes. It is especially worth building around for players with the Tarnished DLC content.
Optimal Build Setup: Flame Spear Ash of War, Fire Scorpion Charm, Shard of Alexander, Godfrey Icon, Millicent's Prosthesis
9. Black Steel Greathammer – Flame Art Affinity
The Black Steel Greathammer becomes a top-tier heavy weapon with Flame Art Affinity. This affinity boosts the weapon’s overall AR to over 1000 at mid-to-high levels, while retaining minor sacred damage that scales with Faith stats, adding extra damage layers to every strike.
Equipped with the Flaming Strike Ash of War, the weapon deals three types of mixed damage. Despite split damage typing, its total AR still exceeds 1000, paired with outstanding poise damage that staggers most heavy-armored bosses easily. It is a must-try setup for players who prefer slow, high-cleaving heavy attacks.
Optimal Build Setup: Flaming Strike Ash of War, Shard of Alexander, Blade of Mercy Talisman, Axe Talisman, Ancestral Spirit's Horn, any buff-performing Seal
10. Great Stars – Occult Affinity
Great Stars is a fan-favorite melee weapon that shines brightly with Occult Affinity in patch 1.17. This setup preserves the weapon’s native physical scaling and innate bleed buildup, while letting bleed effectiveness scale with Arcane stats, creating a perfect balance of raw physical damage and status pressure.
It excels at breaking enemy posture and stacking steady bleed on bosses and elite enemies. With the Cragblade Ash of War equipped, players can reach 700–800 pure physical Attack Rating (AR), alongside 80–100 bleed buildup per hit, which is extremely stable for both PvE boss fights and mob clearing.
Optimal Build Setup: Cragblade Ash of War, Blade of Mercy Talisman, Lord of Blood's Exultation, Claw Talisman, Erdtree's Favor
