Welcome all gamers! As you prepare for the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, which launches on June 21 this year, there are countless Dexterity-based weapons to choose from in Elden Ring, each with unique abilities and advantages. Here are my thoughts on which weapons you should focus on and upgrade to maximize your potential. Let's take a closer look!

Uchigatana

First on our list is the Uchigatana. The Samurai is one of the most popular starting classes in Elden Ring. This katana moveset is quick, and the Ash of War: Unsheathe deals an enormous stagger to enemies. If you fancy power stancing, you can even pick up a second Uchi in the Deathtouched Catacombs in Limgrave.

The twist on the Uchi I'm going to recommend is that you go straight to Redmane Castle very early and grab the Red-Hot Whetblade. One of the deadliest starting setups is getting the Ash of War in the Ainsel River and infusing your Uchigatana with the Flame Art.

You could then grab the Flame-Shrouding Cracked Tear from the easier of the 2 minor Erdtree Avatars, put some levels into Faith, buff with Flame, Grant Me Strength, and completely annihilate most of the game. Picking up the Fire Scorpion Charm in Mt. Gelmir will further add to the devastation you can inflict.

If you're running a more Dexterity-centric build, then lightning or keen-infused Uchi will give you very high AR. Running lightning lets you stack more buffs effectively. You can use the Lightning-Shrouding Cracked Tear, Lightning Scorpion Charm, and Golden Vow to multiply your damage.

Nagakiba

Next, we have the Nagakiba, another katana and quite similar to the Uchigatana, but with one key difference: its length and consequently, its reach. This moveset also has a thrusting attack on the charged heavy, making it more versatile.

There are 2 common ways to play the Nagakiba: one is making it cold-infused, and the other is lightning-infused. With the cold infusion, you can get a Frostbite buildup paired with your natural Bleed on the Nagakiba. With the lightning infusion, you get a really high AR that scales well with Dexterity.

For an Ash of War, you can use a quick, multi-hit one like the Spinning Slash. The Ash of War: Spinnng Slash paired with Frostbite and Bleed can deal devastating damage, and the AoE of the attack is great. You can also use your Elden Ring Runes to purchase some other buffs to make the game smoother.

Nagakiba's reach is ideal for dealing with dragons, and it simplifies most dragon fights by letting you just poke them in the head until they die. Because using shorter weapons can be a bit annoying, as you'll often miss the hitbox of the dragon.

You can get the Nagakiba off Bloody Finger Hunter Yura right at the beginning of the game in Limgrave, or you can follow his quest line until you get to Altus Plateau and get it from him when he's not doing so well at the Second Church of Marika.

Bolt Of Gransax

The next one on the list is the Bolt of Gransax, which is the first Somber weapon today. You can get this spear when you visit the Leyndell, Royal Capital. It sits on top of the giant version of itself. You can access the area right after defeating Godfrey.

Being a Somber weapon means it's much easier to upgrade, especially if it's an alt weapon for your run. It works best on a high Dexterity build because lightning damage scales so well with Dexterity.

As a spear, this moveset is great for keeping distance, and the light attacks come out so quickly you can usually react and roll intuitively after attacking. The lightning damage gets boosted by all our buffs and the Lightning Scorpion Charm, with extra boosts when fighting on water, like against the twin Gargoyles.

The Ash of War is not interchangeable, being a Somber weapon, but it's excellent to have some ranged attacks like Lightning Spear in your pocket. Paired with the Shard of Alexander, this can really pack a punch. Not to mention it has a satisfying animation. As a spear, it's great for power stancing. I recommend the Cross-Naginata spear as its partner for Bleed buildup.

Antspur Rapier

Next, we're talking quick attacks and Scarlet Rot buildup with the Antspur Rapier. You can find the Antspur to the west of the Shaded Castle after you kill the NPC Invader Maleigh Marais. The Antspur has a rapier moveset, which is really fun because of the quick recovery, allowing you to get more hits in and still dodge.

The weapon has a natural Scarlet Rot buildup, so it works great on bosses with large health pools like the Fire Giant or Dragonlord Placidusax. Although Placidusax has large resistance to all status buildup, you will eventually proc with enough hits. You can use the Ash of War: Repeating Thrust to further improve the Scarlet Rot buildup.

You can experiment with different infusions to add Bleed, Frost, or Poison. For instance, if you infuse this weapon with Poison, you can have Poison and Scarlet Rot buildup, and then you can buff with the likes of Bloodflame Blade to enhance the Bleed buildup as well.

Flamberge

Finally, the best Dexterity weapon I recommend on this list is the Flamberge. The Flamberge is a greatsword, so naturally, you might think it's for strength builds, but that's not the case. That's what's so fantastic about these games. You just need to hit the required stats to wield the weapon, and then you can infuse the weapon to suit your build.

The setup I recommend is keen-infused with that Dexterity scaling, while still allowing you to have weapon buffs. You can grab the Ash of War: Chilling Mist from the ruins just outside of Ranni's Rise tower in northwest Liurnia. When starting a boss fight, you can buff Flamberge with Bloodflame Blade.

Bloodflame Blade will add Bleed buildup to your weapon, but for weapons that already have a natural Bleed buildup like the Flamberge, it just goes crazy. This setup makes enemies proc blood loss so quickly, and then hitting the Ash of War to proc Frostbite rapidly can be unreal and devastating.

Those are the 5 overpowered weapons ideal for Dexterity builds in the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. Which one catches your eye? Give them a try to see which suits your play style best.