As a player in Elden Ring you have a ton of different options when it comes to weapons. With over 300 weapons in the game you’ll have to decide how you want to defeat your enemies. Do you go for the hack and slash method with a lightning fast katana? Maybe you are looking to play it a bit safer by relying on your magic from afar? Or perhaps you simply want to smash your opponent into the ground with the biggest and baddest hammer you’ve ever seen!? Well if that last choice sounds good then look no further, and allow me to guide you through the location and abilities of the most powerful blunt weapons in all of Elden Ring.

10. Bastard’s Stars (best used with a hybrid Dex and Intelligence build)

Bastard's Stars location

The Bastard’s Stars is a mid-game weapon that you can obtain by killing Astel Naturalborn of the Void. The Bastard’s Stars are one of the few effective fast swinging blunt weapons. While this weapon  does less damage than many of the hammers and staff later on down this list, it makes up for it with speed and its scaling in intelligence.

Besides speed, the special ability called “Nebula” also makes this weapon very formidable.  Nebula allows the player to perform a sweeping attack leaving behind a star-like cloud that explodes after a few seconds. Overall the weapons further on down are much more powerful, but this weapon is, without doubt, the quickest and with its special perks it's definitely worth checking out.

What's good about the Bastard’s Stars

• Deals an extra 20% damage to void type enemies
• Scales B in intelligence and C in dexterity
• Has the Nebula skill that allows players to perform a sweeping attack while leaving a starry cloud that will blow up after a few seconds.

How to get the Bastard’s Stars

• Head to the lake of rot and make your way through the grand cloister to find an open tomb at the edge of a waterfall
• Take this open tomb to get to the boss fight of Astel Naturalborn of the Void
• Beat Astel and you’ll receive its remembrance 
• Give the remembrance to Enia at the Round Table to claim your Bastard’s Stars

Full details on the Bastard's Stars: Elden Ring Wiki Bastard's Stars skill Nebula

9. Rotten Staff (best used with a straight-up strength build)

Rotten Staff location

The Rotten Staff is an end-game weapon that you can find in Elphael, Brace of The Haligtree. This weapon is similar to the Staff of The Avatar that players can find earlier in the game. However, this version does not scale in faith and causes rot  build-up to your enemies. The special ability of this weapon called Erdtree Slam is the most powerful slam skill in the game making this a very formidable blunt weapon.

Personally, this weapon for me just wasn’t interesting enough. There's no question that it's a good weapon but it just doesn’t seem too special, and many weapons on this list are far more unique. Plus this weapon is found very late into the game so by the time I picked it up I was already decimating people with weapons I had upgraded. But maybe you’ll find this weapon more to your liking than I did.

What's good about the Rotten Staff

• Has the Erdtree Slam skill which is the most powerful slam skill in the game
• Afflicts your targets with rot

How to get the Rotten Staff

• Head to the prayer room site of grace in Malenia’s Haligtree
• Head east and pass the exploding soldiers and head down a couple of staircases
• As soon as you head down the stairs you should see a break in the railing that allows you to jump onto an edge around a big pillar
• From this pillar jump onto the bridge to fight the Erdtree Avatar
• The Erdtree Avatar will drop the Rotten Staff upon death

Full details on the Rotten Staff: Elden Ring Wiki An image of the Rotten Staff

8. Watchdog Staff (best used with a straight-up strength build)

Watchdog Staff location

The Watchdogs staff is an early game weapon located in the Road’s End catacombs within Liurnia of The Lakes. This weapon only scales a C in strength, but the special ability called “Sorcery of the Crozier” more than makes up for it. Sorcery of the Crozier unleashes multiple homing magic orbs that can do a massive amount of damage (1369) when upgraded to +10. What's great about this weapon is that it doesn’t have an intelligence requirement so if you’ve neglected the magic in this game so far, this is your chance to try it out.

I definitely recommend checking this weapon out. The combo of having a good damaging heavy weapon with a powerful magical ability that doesn't require intelligence is too good to overlook. All of this combined with the fact that it can be found pretty early on makes it a viable option for your main weapon.

What's good about the Watchdog Staff

• Has the ability Sorcery of The Crozier which sends homing magic orbs at your enemies
• When upgraded to +10 the weapon’s damage will be over 600

How to get the Watchdog Staff

• Make your way to the Road’s End catacombs site of grace in the Liurnia of the Lakes
• Head through the catacombs until you reach the second flight of stairs in the big open area
• Under the second flight of stairs, there should be an illusionary wall
• Hit the wall and you’ll find the Watchdog Staff 

Full details on the Watchdog Staff: Elden Ring WikiAn image of the Watchdog Staff

7. Cranial Vessel Candlestand (best used with a strength and faith build)

Cranial Vessel Candlestand location

The Cranial Vessel Candlestand is a late-game weapon that can be found in the Giant-Conquering Hero’s Grave. This weapon does physical and fire damage and scales in both strength and faith. This makes it perfect for any players with strength/faith builds that are in need of a blunt weapon.

The Candlestand also has the unique skill “Surge of Flame” in which the player shoots fireballs into the air that rain down in all directions. This is ideal for clearing out a crowd of enemies that swarm you in large groups. Additionally, you can use it when a boss is distracted and rain down a bunch of fireballs dealing a nice amount of damage. Overall this weapon is very versatile, and if your stats match the requirements then I suggest giving it a try.

What's good about the Cranial Vessel Candlestand

• Scales B in faith and strength respectively
• Has a unique skill called Surge of Flame that rains down fire balls all around you

How to get the Cranial Vessel Candlestand

• Head to the Giant Conquering Hero’s Grave site of grace
• Head on into the grave until you see an imp cat statue
• Goes past the cat statues and make a left where you’ll come to a crossroad
• Make a right and head straight til you hit a flame pillar and then take a left up some stairs
• Once you go up the stairs go through the doorway and turn around
• You should see an imp seal above the doorway and behind it you’ll find the Cranial Vessel Candlestand

Full details on the Cranial Vessel Candlestand: Elden Ring WikiAn image of the Candlestand and its ability

6. Greathorn Hammer (best used as a straight-up strength build)

Greathorn Hammer location

The Greathorn Hammer is an early game weapon that can be found in the Siofra River well. This weapon might be a bit of a chore to get as you’ll have to farm the Ancestral Followers who are carrying the hammer. The drop rate is fairly low with only a 2% chance of the weapon dropping. Luckily, the grind is worth the weapon which comes with a substantial amount of perks.

First off, when upgraded as a heavy weapon, the Greathorn Hammer receives an A in strength scaling. Another great feature is that you can infuse it with your desired Ash of War or buff it with magic. On top of all that this hammer has the very unique ability to heal you by about 3% every time you kill an enemy. All of these perks make it an exceptional weapon that is definitely worth the grind.

What's good about the Greathorn Hammer

• Can be infused with Ashes of War or buffed with magic
• Heals 3% of health per kill
• Scales A in strength

How to get the Greathorn Hammer

• Head to the Worshippers’ Woods site of grace in the Siofra River
• From there head west until you reach a fire pillar where you’ll find two Ancestral Worshippers
• Farm these two Ancestral Worshippers for the Greathorn Hammer

Full details on Greathorn Hammer: Elden Ring WikiAn image of the Greathorn Hammer

5. Celebrant’s Skull (best used as a straight-up strength build)

Celebrants Skull location

Celebrants Skull is a mid-game weapon located in the windmill village. In terms of damage, there are certainly better weapons that you could go for but this weapon has a couple of cool features. Besides looking super cool the Celebrants Skull’s passive ability actually gives you runes. Every time you hit an enemy you’ll gain twenty runes making it an ideal weapon for farming.

In addition to earning you runes on hitting enemies, this weapon can also be infused with your preferred ashes of war. Beyond these two special abilities this weapon is fairly normal in regards to damage. Personally, I would only use this weapon to farm for runes or if I could find a cool armor set to match the weapon.

What's good about the Celebrant’s Skull

• Players can infuse the weapon with their desired Ashes of War
• The passive ability allows players to get runes for every hit landed on an enemy (20 runes per hit)

How to get Celebrant’s Skull

• Head to the Windmill village site of grace in the Altus Plateau
• From there head to your left and there should be a small path along the mountainside
• At the end of the path, there will be a dead body next to some birds
• Loot the body and you’ll get your Celebrant’s Skull 

Full details on Celebrants Skull: Elden Ring WikiAn image of Celebrants Skull

4. Great Stars (best used in a hybrid build (i.e. Dex+Arcane))

Great Stars location

The Great Stars are a mid-game weapon found in the Altus Plateau within one of the giant caravans roaming the area. This weapon is solid for hybrid builds but when upgraded as a heavy weapon it scales an A in strength. This means  you can really fit this weapon into most builds. 

Similarly to the Greathorn Hammer, the Great Stars allow the player to heal themselves. However, the Great Stars are a bit better because it heals the player  with successful attacks on enemies and not just kills like the Greathorn Hammer. 

The Great Stars also cause blood loss to your foes which is a nice little damage bonus when facing bosses or high level enemies. Overall this weapon is incredible for most builds and its passive effects put it above many other blunt weapons.

What's good about the Great Stars

• Players will slightly regain HP when attacking enemies 
• With the Heavy upgrade, this weapon has a scaling of A in strength
• The Great Stars have a passive bleed effect

How to get the Great Stars

• Head to the Road of Iniquity Side Path sit of grace(Under one end of the broken bridge)
• From there head west and you should see a Caravan being pulled by giants
• Kill the giants and all of the other pests in your way
• Loot the caravan and you got yourself some Great Stars 

Full details on the Great Stars: Elden Ring Wiki An image of the Great Stars

3. Rotten Battle Hammer (best for a hybrid build (i.e. Strength+Arcane))

Rotten Battle Hammer location

The Rotten Battle Hammer is a late-game weapon residing in the Mountain Tops of the Giants. While this weapon isn’t  the most enemy-crushing weapon in the game, it certainly packs a punch. Being a one handed hammer you’ll find that this weapon has a lot less stun than many of the weapons on this list, but the perks of this weapon make it truly incredible as a blunt weapon.

 Firstly, the weapon naturally applies rot to your enemies similarly to the Rotten Staff. On top of this you can infuse it with your preferred ash of war and any upgrades (Blood, Frost etc.).If you apply the right ash of war you can add on two passive effects to this weapon (i.e bleed and poison). This means that this weapon can essentially have THREE passive effects while dealing a bunch of blunt damage to your opponent. You can imagine how easy boss fights will be after affecting them with three effects on top of your basic physical damage.

What's good about the Rotten Battle Hammer

• Players can infuse the weapon with their desired Ashes of War
• Can have two passive effects and a third if the Ashes of War allow for it (i.e. poison mist)
• Only requires 26 strength so it’s good for any build type

How to get Rotten Battle Hammer

• Head northwest from the Consecrated Snowfield site of grace 
• Eventually, you’ll come across an area with a bunch of open tombstones and a rotten dualist (shouldn't be far from the site of grace)
• Kill the Rotten Dualist to obtain the Rotten Battle Hammer

Full details on the Rotten Battle Hammer: Elden Ring Wiki An image of the Rotten Battle Hammer

2. Prelate’s Inferno Crozier (best for a straight-up strength build)

Prelate's Hammer location

Prelate’s Inferno Crozier is a mid-game weapon residing in Fort Laiedd. In my opinion, this weapon is interchangeable with the first place weapon depending on who you ask . The strength scaling can be A if upgraded as a heavy weapon and the weapon can be infused with your preferred ashes of war.

However, I would avoid switching the ash of war  because it has the special ability “Prelates Charge''. This ability essentially allows you to slam the ground with fire and then do a constant flame charge toward your enemies until you run out of FP. This ability can be extremely lethal to your enemies, especially those who you can stun lock. Overall this is a pretty sweet weapon with a cool armament that I highly recommend for any strength build users.

What's good about Prelates Inferno Crozier

• Players can infuse the weapon with their desired Ashes of War
• The original Ash of War (Prelate’s Charge) is unique and very useful
• Scales B in strength (Scales A if you decide to go with the Heavy model)

How to get Prelates Inferno Crozier

• Head to the Seethewater River site of grace and head through the volcanic tunnel
• Reach the Seethewater Terminus site of grace where you’ll find Fort Laiedd
• Head into Fort Laiedd where you’ll kill a prelate holding your soon-to-be-hammer

Full details on Prelates Inferno Crozier: Elden Ring WikiAn image of Prelate's Hammer

1. Giant Crusher (best for a straight-up strength build)

Giants Crusher location

Giant Crusher is a midgame weapon found just outside of the capital in the back of a hearse. I only recommend this weapon for players who are absolutely committed to a strength build as it requires 60 strength. That said if you are going the strength route this weapon is an absolute must-have weapon.

This is the only blunt weapon that can scale an S in strength when it’s upgraded as a heavy weapon. Additionally this weapon can be infused with your preferred ashes of war. These two perks on top of the insane damage (over 800 damage depending on how you upgrade it) place it as the number one blunt weapon in all of Elden Ring.

What's good about Giant Crusher

• Players can infuse the weapon with their desired Ashes of War
• This weapon can achieve an S scaling in strength with the heavy upgrade
• Has two distinct R2 attacks depending on if the player is one or two-handing the weapon

How to get Giant Crusher

• Head to the Altus Plateau and make your way to the Outer Wall Phantom Tree site of grace
• From there head directly south towards a hearse within a small encampment
• Kill the Ulcerated Tree Spirit that blocks your way
• Claim your Giant Crusher from the chest in the back of the hearse

Full details on Giant Crusher: Elden Ring Wiki An image of the Giant Crusher

You may also be interested in:

• Elden Ring Best Weapons for Dual Wield
• Elden Ring Best Shields and How To Get Them
• Elden Ring Best Keepsakes and How To Get Them
• Elden Ring Best Dex Weapons
• Elden Ring Best Bleed Weapons