Banished Knight's Greatsword
Banished Knight’s Greatsword is a farmable ordinary greatsword with a distinctive two-handed light-attack chain. Its reach, solid physical foundation, and affinity freedom suit Strength, Dexterity, quality, or elemental builds willing to farm Banished Knights.
Key Takeaways
The Banished Knight's Greatsword is a farmable greatsword distinguished by its Banished Knight moveset and flexible reinforcement path.
Distinctive greatsword moveset
Its attack sequence differs from the standard greatsword pattern, giving the weapon a distinct feel in close-range exchanges.
Enemy-drop availability
It is obtained as a drop from Banished Knights that wield it, so acquiring one can require repeated encounters rather than a guaranteed pickup.
Build requirements matter
As a greatsword, it requires a strength-and-dexterity investment and carries the slower, more committed handling expected from its class.
Flexible upgrade path
The weapon uses the standard reinforcement system and can be customized with compatible Ashes of War and affinities rather than being locked to one unique skill.
Strong reach, higher commitment
Its reach and sweeping attacks help control space, but its heavier class and slower attacks make missed swings more costly than with lighter weapons.
A flexible alternative within its class
Compared with other greatswords, its main point of distinction is the altered moveset and customization options, not a universally superior damage profile.
Overview
Banished Knight's Greatsword is a standard Greatsword-class weapon in Elden Ring, distinguished less by a unique passive than by its broad, committed attack style and its compatibility with the regular weapon-customisation system.
The weapon is used by Banished Knights and occupies the ordinary, upgradeable side of Elden Ring’s greatsword roster. It is not a legendary or boss-remembrance weapon, so its role is that of a conventional melee option: a substantial sword for players who want sweeping attacks, meaningful hit commitment, and the ability to shape a weapon around an attribute spread or affinity rather than accept a fixed special effect.
Its defining appeal is the relationship between class reach and attack commitment. Greatsword swings cover useful space in front of the Tarnished, but they are slower and more deliberate than the attacks of straight swords, curved swords, or many lighter weapons. The Banished Knight’s Greatsword therefore suits measured spacing and punish windows more than constant rapid exchanges; its value is expressed through its moveset and customisation potential rather than a built-in status effect.
As a regular weapon, it can be developed through Elden Ring’s standard reinforcement system and used with compatible Ashes of War and affinities. That makes it a flexible foundation for physical or elemental setups, subject to the requirements and scaling produced by the chosen upgrade state. The weapon should consequently be evaluated at the intended reinforcement and affinity, not as though its unmodified form were a complete build recommendation.
The closest alternatives are other Greatsword-class weapons and regular swords serving a similar strength, dexterity, or quality role. Compared with a lighter sword, Banished Knight’s Greatsword gives up attack speed and some ease of recovery for heavier, broader strikes; compared with a more specialised unique weapon, it offers greater freedom to change its skill and affinity. It is part of the base Elden Ring weapon roster and is not itself a Shadow of the Erdtree-exclusive variant.
Statistics
Elden Ring publishes no 0–100 stat bars, so this page lists the verified requirements, scaling and handling figures instead. Taken from the project's verified weapons database, not from generated text.
- CategoryGreatswords
- Damage TypeStandard/Pierce
- Primary ScalingStr D
- Weight11
- SkillBarricade Shield
- Str Req20
- Dex Req13
- How to ObtainBanished Knight enemy drop
Figures verified against Consolidated Game Weapons Database.
Compared to similar greatswords
| Weapon | Str Req | Dex Req | Weight | Primary Scaling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banished Knight's Greatsword | 20 | 13 | 11 | Str D |
| Blasphemous Blade | 18 | 13 | 11 | Str D / Dex E / Fai D |
| Zweihander | 18 | 15 | 11 | Str D / Dex D |
| Queelign's Greatsword | 22 | 14 | 11 | Str D / Fai D |
| Greatsword | 18 | 10 | 10.5 | Str D |
Requirements, scaling grades and weight are the game’s own published figures. From Consolidated Game Weapons Database.
How to Obtain
- No quest, boss victory, vendor purchase, or key item is required.
- The weapon is available in the base game and is not restricted to Shadow of the Erdtree, New Game Plus, or a particular mode.
- It is farmable and is not missable or limited to one acquisition per playthrough.
- 01Travel to the Cathedral of Dragon Communion in southern Caelid and defeat the Banished Knight inside that wields a greatsword. This enemy can drop the Banished Knight's Greatsword; rest at the nearby Site of Grace to reset the area and repeat the fight until the weapon drops.
- 02The weapon is an enemy drop rather than a guaranteed reward, so the Banished Knight may need to be defeated more than once. Other Banished Knights wielding the greatsword can also provide the drop, but their individual drop rates are not specified here.
Mechanics and Handling
Banished Knight's Greatsword is handled as a committed Greatsword rather than a fast dueling weapon. Its attacks cover useful space with broad sword arcs, but each swing has enough recovery that careless input can leave the wielder exposed. The weapon rewards controlling the distance at which an enemy enters the attack rather than repeatedly attacking at point-blank range. Its lack of an innate status effect also means its pressure comes from physical hit damage, reach and stagger potential rather than passive buildup.
Attack pattern and spacing
The light-attack chain is most useful when several targets are in front of the wielder or when a target can be kept at the edge of the blade. The weapon's greatsword commitment makes spacing important: begin attacks before an enemy reaches striking distance, and avoid extending the chain automatically after a miss. Heavy attacks provide a more deliberate alternative for punishing openings, while charged heavies are best reserved for sufficiently long recovery windows. Jumping attacks can close distance or punish an exposed target, but they should not be treated as a substitute for the weapon's grounded spacing game.
Stamp (Upward Cut)
Banished Knight's Greatsword uses Stamp (Upward Cut) as its default weapon skill. Stamp first places the wielder in a braced stance; the follow-up raises the sword in an upward cut. The stance is useful for turning a committed exchange into a deliberate counterattack, while the upward cut is most appropriate after an enemy has committed to an attack or has been staggered. Because the skill is tied to timing and positioning rather than passive damage, it does not remove the need to manage recovery. The skill can be replaced through the weapon's applicable Ash of War options, allowing the sword's handling to be adapted without changing its basic Greatsword role.
Blocking and two-handed handling
The weapon can be used one-handed with a shield or other off-hand choice, but its attacks remain comparatively deliberate. Two-handing places more emphasis on direct melee pressure and makes the sword's reach and attack commitment the central handling considerations. Banished Knight's Greatsword has no ammunition, reload cycle or weapon-specific resource loop; its special skill instead consumes FP when activated. It has no innate passive status buildup, so bleed, frost or other status effects require an external source if the build is intended to apply them.
Upgrades and Variants
Strengths, Weaknesses and Best Uses
Strengths
- Long reach for a greatsword class weapon helps maintain spacing against humanoid enemies and makes punish windows less dependent on standing directly beside the target.
- Its standard reinforcement path accepts Ashes of War, affinities, and weapon buffs, allowing the weapon to follow different physical or elemental stat plans rather than locking the player into one damage profile.
- Broad greatsword swings can catch groups in front of the player, while the class's attack commitment gives individual hits meaningful stagger pressure when timed against recoveries.
Weaknesses
- Greatsword attacks are committed and stamina-intensive compared with straight swords, so missed swings are costly against fast enemies or bosses with short punish windows.
- Its weight and attribute requirements compete with armor, equip-load space, and other weapons in a flexible build.
- It has no innate status buildup or fixed special effect to define a niche, so status-focused setups must supply that identity through an affinity, Ash of War, or buff.
Best uses
- A general-purpose melee weapon for players who want reach and crowd-facing swings without giving up Ash of War customization.
- Spacing-focused PvE play against human-sized enemies, where the blade's reach can punish recovery animations while keeping some distance.
- Strength, Dexterity, or hybrid setups that want a customizable greatsword and are prepared to manage its slower attacks and equip-load cost.
Compared With Similar Weapons
| Weapon | Class and role | Distinctive mechanics | Best comparison point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banished Knight's Greatsword | Distinctive Banished Knight moveset; infusable and compatible with replaceable Ashes of War; no innate status buildup | Strong choice when long reach and a greatsword moveset matter more than an innate status effect | — |
| Knight's Greatsword | Infusable with replaceable Ashes of War; closely related knightly greatsword moveset | Compare for a similar adaptable greatsword role, with the choice depending on preferred moveset and reach | — |
| Claymore | Infusable; its heavy attack provides a thrusting option; default skill is Lion's Claw | Prefer when thrusting heavy attacks and Lion's Claw are more useful than the Banished Knight's moveset | — |
| Flamberge | Infusable and carries innate Blood Loss buildup; default skill is Stamp (Upward Cut) | Prefer for status pressure; Banished Knight's Greatsword is the cleaner non-status alternative | — |
Lore and Design
The Banished Knight's Greatsword is presented through its item description as the weapon of the Banished Knights, a group associated with exile and wandering. The description identifies these knights as former loyal servants of the Lord of Stormveil who were driven from their homes, giving the weapon a direct connection to Stormveil's military history rather than to a named individual.
No official developer commentary or documented design history is established here. The greatsword's resemblance to real-world weapons does not, by itself, establish a historical inspiration. Its significance is therefore primarily factional: it represents the Banished Knights and their former service to the Lord of Stormveil, while the game does not use this item text to establish a unique personal owner or a separate named origin for the sword.
Trivia
- The Banished Knight’s Greatsword has two visual variants tied to its source enemy. The version obtained from the Banished Knight in Castle Sol uses a distinct, longer-looking blade and different hilt details from the version dropped by other Banished Knights. These are visual differences rather than separate weapons with different names or upgrade paths.