Elden Ring spears are some of the most sought-after weapons to hoard for your arsenal. While you may have grown fond of certain weapons, you may want to consider a spear build to get you through the challenges lurking in the Lands Between. The best Elden Ring spears fit an excellent niche for taking care of enemies with long weapons or reach.
For those who enjoy playing with a shield, then spears offer some of the best medieval knight cosplay options available that are effective and equally stylish. For those accustomed to using some of Elden Ring's powerful curved swords or rapiers, you'll find the forward range of spears to be a huge quality of life improvement as you won't have to move within enemies' striking distance in order to lash out at them.
Updated June 8th, 2023 by Andrew Scariati: PvP continues to go strong in the Colosseum, though the meta-game has received considerable shakeups via FromSoftware's weapon patches. Few weapons dominated the meta-game quite like spears in Elden Ring, as the dual-wielded Cross-Naginata builds ran wild on the Lands Between.
While you'll notice nerfs in PvP, some of the best spears in Elden Ring still stand tall in PvE, providing excellent uses like area-of-effect (AoE) damage or incredible status-inflicting effects. Though there's no way to tell what the future holds for Elden Ring's spears, they will always serve their purpose as excellent, safe damage-dealing weapons.
11 Pike
- Stat Requirements: 20 STR, 14 DEX
Despite its plain Jane appearance, the Pike actually boasts the longest weapon reach in the game. Elden Ring spears possess a variety of special traits, but sometimes having the longest reach is all you need to survive. While it's far from the best spear in Elden Ring, there's no denying that the Pike will get the job done.
While its Strength requirement is slightly greater, the Pike scales evenly with both Strength and Dexterity at an average D-scaling. However, adding a Quality gem upgrades these both to B-scaling, an excellent improvement for this staple weapon. You can use the Charge Forth Ash of War to capitalize on the range or choose your own instead.
10 Clayman's Harpoon
- Stat Requirements: 12 STR, 10 DEX, 12 INT
An easy-to-wield option, the Clayman's Harpoon is a unique weapon but is not restricted in Ash of War or effects, allowing you to assimilate it quickly to your build. Its standard Weapon Skill, Impaling Thrust, offers a classic powerful forward thrust that can break your foe's guard, offering the opportunity to riposte them or continue poking away.
Despite its utility, you will likely want to add your own Ash of War and change the effects of this weapon while upgrading it to suit your play style better.
If you're interested in splitting your Strength and Dexterity, then the Quality affinity provides B-scaling to both, allowing you to use this weapon at higher levels with greater effect.
9 Inquisitor's Girandole
- Stat Requirements: 18 STR, 15 DEX, 16 FAI
The Inquisitor's Girandole is one of the most visually appealing Elden Ring spears, which should offset the annoyance of needing to kill an Abductor Virgin under Volcano Manor to get it.
Much like the Rotten Crystal Spear, the default skill is Charge Forth, but the Girandole trades Scarlet Rot buildup for Blood loss.
While you cannot customize its damage, it does reach respectable levels of Physical and Fire damage at about 250 and 160, respectively. You can also look forward to solid scaling that keeps this weapon relevant. C-scaling in Dexterity and Strength is fine, but the additional B-scaling in Faith should allow you to fill out your incantations freely.
8 Death Ritual Spear
- Stat Requirements: 14 STR, 20 DEX, 18 INT
The Death Ritual Spear is a top choice if you're investing in Dexterity and also boasts a unique Weapon Skill: Spearcall Ritual. The Ritual summons a downpour of ghostly spears that damage foes caught in its onslaught. This allows you to catch groups unaware at a distance, inflicting solid damage with one of the most distinctive Elden Ring spears.
Its damage improves nicely at level ten, clocking about 240 Physical and 150 Magic Damage on top of B-scaling in Dexterity to keep those numbers competitive as you progress.
Avoid exceeding the maximum Strength and Intelligence requirements unless needed for your character's spear build, as their D-scaling won't do much for you.
7 Rotten Crystal Spear
- Stat Requirements: 10 STR, 16 DEX, 16 INT
If you still want some classic spear gameplay with a twist, then the Rotten Crystal Spear is an option you may fall in love with. It provides innate Scarlet Rot buildup against enemies with each hit and has an improved weapon art compared to the Harpoon via Charge Forth. If you've fought Morgott, The Omen King, then you know exactly how effective a long forward dash and spear thrust can be.
On the negative side, your scaling is almost non-existent until you reach max level via Somber Smithing Stones, which will reward you with B-scaling in Dexterity.
Luckily, its base damage is nice for a spear, hovering around 250 at max upgrade while also dealing an extra 75 magic damage alongside Scarlet Rot buildup, offering a powerful combination of immediate and chip damage over time.
6 Cross-Naginata
- Stat Requirements: 16 STR, 20 DEX
Despite its common Impaling Thrust Weapon Skill, the Cross-Naginata's intrinsic Blood loss should more than compensate, especially against bosses.
Its base D and C-scaling in Strength and Dexterity, respectively, do leave a bit to be desired, but luckily you can augment it with additional Blood loss affinity to compensate for lower initial damage.
Depending on your choice of upgrades, you can improve your scaling to as high as A-level, but it's probably best to lean into Blood loss in this case. Poking at a distance will stack the Bleed effect quickly and make it difficult for enemies to retaliate before they've been sufficiently damaged.
5 Cleanrot Spear
- Stat Requirements: 16 STR, 16 DEX, 14 FAI
If you grew sick and tired of the Lake of Rot and want to put that annoying effect to work for you, then this might be Elden Ring's best spear in your eyes. The Cleanrot Spear offers a low bar of entry stat-wise and comes with a wonderful unique skill: Sacred Phalanx.
This powerful skill conjures a massive amount of spears to spike through the ground, striking your enemies with Holy damage if they're caught in the area of effect (AoE).
Unfortunately, it offers unimpressive D-scaling across the board until it is upgraded to max level, at which point it gains C-scaling in Strength and Dexterity: a minor improvement.
4 Serpent-Hunter
- Stat Requirements: Nothing!
Elden Ring spears are more than just pointy sticks, as evidenced by this incredible option. The Serpent-Hunter is the only weapon that can effectively battle Rykard, but it's more than just a one-and-done gimmick.
While there are no minimum requirements to wield it, the Serpent-Hunter offers tremendous improvements for Strength users, reaching A-scaling at upgrade level six.
Its damage caps out at around 270 before taking Strength into account, which is a high level for spears. As a Great Spear, the sheer weight of the weapon allows you to stun enemies, particularly bosses, with well-placed swings or jump attacks.
If you're looking for a challenge run that won't completely ruin your fun, try this weapon out and enjoy the results.
3 Vyke's War Spear
- Stat Requirements: 16 STR, 20 DEX, 18 FAI
As a fellow Tarnished, it seems Vyke was also in search of Elden Ring's best spear. Vyke has some excellent lore and an even better spear that he left behind for you to discover.
The War Spear's Weapon Skill, Frenzyflame Thrust, is an exceptionally fun and powerful option to spam if you've got the FP or proper Flask of Wondrous Physick combination to sustain it.
Vyke's War Spear is one of the few powerful weapons that also offers madness buildup, though it's only really useful against humanoid enemies. However, Vyke's War Spear also has a solid 252 Physical and 161 Fire Damage at max level alongside B-scaling in Dexterity and C-Scaling in Faith to make for some great longevity across your playthroughs.
2 Mohgwyn's Sacred Spear
- Stat Requirements: 24 STR, 14 DEX, 27 ARC
While Mohgwyn's Sacred Spear is one of the most stat-demanding Elden Ring spears, its unique Weapon Skill and Blood loss set it above its closest competitors. This Great Spear is your very own version of Mohg's trident, and as such, it comes with his signature ability: Bloodboon Ritual.
If you've ever sat in anguish as Mohg drains your health while shouting "Nihil," then you're in luck – now it's your turn.
Bloodboon Ritual targets all enemies within a large AoE, clearing large crowds in the blink of an eye. However, it also boasts exceptional single-target damage to supplement the widespread Fire Damage and Blood loss that can empty rooms of enemies. This weapon has been slightly nerfed after being abused in PvP, so try it out on AI opposition first to see what you think.
1 Bolt Of Gransax
- Stat Requirements: 20 STR, 40 DEX
Elden Ring spears are a fascinating bunch of weapons, but the Bolt of Gransax stands alone as the best spear in Elden Ring. Eclipsing even Mohgwyn's Sacred Spear in stat requirements, the Bolt of Gransax is easily the most visually distinct spear in The Lands Between.
Please note that you must acquire this weapon before defeating Maliketh, as it will be unattainable once the map change occurs, altering Leyndell forever.
Its Ancient Lightning Spear Weapon Skill charges your spear with crackling energy before you heave a devastating Zeus-like thunderbolt toward your target with exceptional range. Much like similar lightning-based incantations, this can be charged to increase its power.
This amazing spear also grants 20 percent extra damage to Dragons and 10 percent to Ancient Dragons, making it a must-have if you're struggling with dangerous areas like Crumbling Farum Azula.