Elden Ring draws upon a rich history of formidable FromSoftware status conditions with several standout weapons capable of inflicting debilitating statuses on your foes. From powerful spears and greataxes to colossal swords and katanas, there are a variety of tools at your disposal to choose from in search of the best status-inflicting weapon to fit your build.
A status change can range from Frostbite to Bloodloss but includes anything that alters your enemies' HP or general condition in some way. All elements of status are not created equal and thus weapons with quality movesets for building status effects frequently prevail over those with greater base infliction numbers.
Updated July 9, 2024, by Andrew Scariati: The best status effect in Elden Ring depends largely on your opponent, as some bosses are incredibly weak to bleed, while others won't be troubled at all by it. However, aside from enemies with significant resistance, you can turn almost any status effect in Elden Ring into a massive advantage in any battle.
12 Barbed Staff-Spear
- Status Condition: 55 Bleed per hit.
The
Barbed Staff-Spear is one of the most versatile status-inflicting weapons Elden Ring has to offer, with a unique weapon skill and decent scaling for powerful Faith-based builds.
You can acquire the Barbed Staff-Spear by defeating Jori, Elder Inquisitor in the Abyssal Woods located in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
Unfortunately, inflicting the Hemorrhage status effect isn't necessarily the Staff-Spear's best quality, as the weapon skill is equally worth using. Whether you choose to lean into the Faith-scaling projectiles or need to use the Bleed buildup in a -quarters fight, this weapon gives you the tools to deal with any situation.
11 Rotten Greataxe
- Status Condition: 65 Scarlet Rot per hit.
The
Rotten Greataxe is an excellent centerpiece for a powerful Scarlet Rot build, inflicting 65 Scarlet Rot per swing, albeit with each swing taking considerable time to complete. Movesets are an important factor to consider, so although the Rotten Greataxe will remain among the highest infliction values, you will need to land your slower follow-up attacks for it to have its maximum effect.
What sets this weapon apart from other options is its ability to be further infused with effects to specialize in Scarlet Rot buildup, which will put it over the top and inject more value into each lumbering swing. The upgrade cost is considerable, so be prepared to spend some materials.
10 Vyke's War Spear
- Status Condition: 65 Madness per hit.
As one of the few weapons capable of inflicting Madness,
Vyke’s War Spear stands out among its limited number of peers as perhaps the best. The highlight of this weapon, however, might be the base 66 Fire damage per hit rather than the more niche Madness buildup.
Madness is, unfortunately, not the best status effect Elden Ring has to offer against enemies and bosses as most are completely immune to it. Those humanoid foes who are affected by madness will lose about 25 percent of their HP and about ten percent of their FP once Madness takes full effect.
9 Eleonora's Poleblade
- Status Condition: 55 Bleed per hit.
Twinblades and Bleed are a match made in Elden Ring heaven, especially with the Bloodblade Dance Weapon Skill on
Eleonora’s Poleblade . This quickfire ability provides excellent range coverage at a fantastic speed to aid your Bloodloss infliction as each hit quickly fills your foe's invisible meter.
The Poleblade's additional Fire damage means it stacks even more damage to increase its overall utility against a multitude of creatures weak to either Bleed or Fire, perhaps the most common weaknesses. Twinblade users will quickly make this their go-to choice to inflict a status condition.
8 Poleblade Of The Bud
- Status Condition: 55 Scarlet Rot per hit.
Poleblade of the Bud is an excellent Scarlet Rot weapon introduced in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. Unfortunately, you must defeat Romina, Saint of the Bud before you can get your hands on her signature weapon.
The Poleblade of the Bud can be acquired by exchanging the Remembrance of the Saint of the Bud with Enia at Roundtable Hold.
While the base poleblade moveset is nice to use, the weapon skill, Romina's Purification, unleashes a massive set of swings that can decimate enemies in a general area with a powerful combination attack.
7 Frozen Needle
- Status Condition: 60 Frostbite per hit.
The
Frozen Needle is a thrusting sword similar to a rapier in speed and overall moveset. Its high amount of Frost application per hit combined with its ability to poke enemies in quick succession makes this one of the most prolific status weapons around.
Unfortunately, Thrusting Swords suffer from a rather small cone of front-facing damage that limits their usefulness against more than one enemy. While this may be an excellent choice against individual enemies with a weakness to Frostbite, like Malenia, it won't be the most efficient ticket through the hoards that await in The Lands Between.
6 Bloodhound's Fang
- Status Condition: 55 Bleed per hit.
As one of the first exceptional weapons available in the early game,
Bloodhound’s Fang can shine against many of the strong single foes you face due to its Bloodhound's Finesse.
This powerful Weapon Skill initiates with an upward slash backflip, finishing with an invisible slashing lunge forward.
Your regular attacks inflict great damage, but you'll want to rely on your Bloodhound's Finesse to activate Bloodloss quickly. If upgraded and used against bosses, Bloodhound's Fang can be a powerful status-inflicting weapon in your first playthrough and beyond.
5 Antspur Rapier
- Status Condition: 55 Scarlet Rot per hit.
If you managed to pick up the 
Antspur Rapier in your run through the Shaded Castle, you'll know that this is one mighty toothpick-shaped rapier. Much like the Frozen Needle, the Antspur Rapier benefits from quick status buildup – in this case, Scarlet Rot, on single targets.
Incredibly, this weapon can be infused with Ashes of War, allowing it to inflict Scarlet Rot, Bleed, and Poison at once. Unfortunately, inflicting multiple status effects had its efficacy nerfed by FromSoftware, so less may be more in this case.
4 Dark Moon Greatsword
- Status Condition: 55 Frostbite per hit.
Those familiar with the lore of Dark Souls and other FromSoftware games like King's Field will be happy to see the return of this iconic sword. While it has taken many names across various series entries, The
Dark Moon Greatsword shines incredibly bright in its Elden Ring form.
With the ability to inflict Frostbite from afar with its Moonlight Greatsword Weapon Skill, you'll be able to deal massive amounts of damage both quickly and safely against susceptible creatures. The Weapon Skill is also a reference to its name in the Dark Souls series.
3 Serpentbone Blade
- Status Condition: 66 Poison per hit.
As one of the very best Katanas available, the
Serpentbone Blade stands out due to its excellent and uncommon Poison buildup effect. It also possesses the Lethal Poison effect, which does double the damage per tick but only lasts 33 percent as long as Deadly Poison.
The Double Slash Weapon Skill is very simple but effective in dealing damage quickly in front of you. The multiple hits will allow Poison to build quickly and ultimately increase the damage you inflict via Poison with lethal efficiency.
Charging the Weapon Skill will allow you to leap first before using it, making it a great distance-closing tool.
2 Maliketh's Black Blade
- Status Condition: Removes 10 percent HP, Drains 2 HP/sec
Maliketh’s Black Blade is outfitted with a unique status condition, the same one Maliketh uses against you in his boss fight. When you utilize Destined Death, you will unleash an orb of sword slashes that can eviscerate HP bars, but that's not all.
Once hit with your blade's area of effect (AoE), enemies will lose a tenth of their maximum HP and continue to lose more HP as you continue to build up more stacks of the effect. If you follow up with enough hits from your sword or the associated Black Blade incantation, you will greatly increase the rate at which you drain your opponents' HP.
Large bosses who can be hit multiple times by Destined Death are great targets for the Black Blade.
1 Mohgwyn's Sacred Spear
- Status Condition: 55 Bleed per hit.
Mohgwyn’s Sacred Spear is different from most weapons and stands out even among the myriad of top-tier choices to inflict Bloodloss. TThis spear stands out due to its Bloodboon Ritual Weapon Skill which, if properly set up with a Bleed and Fire build, can shred bosses from Malenia to Mohg himself.
Make sure you combine the Fire Scorpion Charm, Lord of Blood's Exultation, and Shard of Alexander Talismans to enhance the damage you do with this setup.
Maximize your Poise with the proper armor and Flask of Wondrous Physick combination to ensure you can unleash the entire three-hit combo and deal huge chunk damage via the near-instant Bleed buildup.
