Bastard Sword
Bastard Sword is an inexpensive ordinary greatsword sold by the merchant at Castle Morne Rampart. It offers early access, low complexity, and full affinity customization, but shorter reach and a basic moveset make it a practical foundation rather than a specialist prize.
Key Takeaways
The Bastard Sword is a customizable Greatsword for players who want standard-path flexibility without committing to a specialized weapon.
Flexible greatsword platform
Its conventional Greatsword moveset offers heavier reach and commitment than straight swords while remaining adaptable to different physical builds.
Default skill
The weapon starts with Stamp (Upward Cut), but its skill can be replaced through the Ash of War system.
Early acquisition
A Nomadic Merchant in southern Weeping Peninsula sells the Bastard Sword, making it obtainable without relying on a random enemy drop.
Standard reinforcement
It uses the regular Smithing Stone upgrade path and supports Ashes of War and affinity customization rather than a fixed unique-weapon progression.
Practical trade-off
The Bastard Sword provides dependable close-range damage and reach, but its heavier attacks demand more commitment and recovery time than lighter sword classes.
Claymore comparison
Compared with the Claymore, it is the less distinctive option: the Claymore supplies a different attack profile and its own fixed starting skill, while the Bastard Sword emphasizes customization.
Overview
Bastard Sword is a standard Greatsword in Elden Ring: a straightforward, versatile melee weapon built around broad swings, two-handed handling, and customizable Ashes of War. It has no unique weapon identity or innate status effect, but its flexible upgrade path makes it a practical foundation for many physical or elemental setups.
The Bastard Sword occupies the conventional Greatsword role. Its attacks trade the faster recovery of a straight sword for greater reach, wider coverage, and heavier commitment, making spacing and attack timing important parts of using it effectively. The weapon can be wielded in one hand or two, so it can support a shield, catalyst, or other off-hand choice while also benefiting from two-handed strength handling when the situation favors direct melee pressure.
Unlike a weapon with a fixed signature skill or unusual passive, the Bastard Sword is defined by adaptability. It can accept Ashes of War and compatible affinities, allowing its scaling and active skill to follow the character's chosen physical or elemental direction. That flexibility also means the unmodified weapon does not prescribe a particular build: its value depends on the reinforcement state, affinity, attributes, and skill selected elsewhere on the page.
The Bastard Sword is a base-game weapon rather than a Shadow of the Erdtree-exclusive armament, although it remains usable in the expansion. It is a conventional progression option rather than a quest-locked legendary or a weapon tied to a boss's remembrance. Players comparing it with other Greatswords should focus on the differences in moveset, reach, requirements, scaling, and skill compatibility rather than treating all weapons in the class as interchangeable.
Its closest point of comparison is the Claymore, another customizable Greatsword that is often chosen when a different attack pattern is preferred. The Bastard Sword instead suits players who want the class's general-purpose sweeping attacks without relying on a special passive or fixed weapon skill. It is therefore most useful as a dependable, upgradeable Greatsword whose identity comes from its adaptable role, not from a single exclusive mechanic.
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 TypeSlash
- Primary ScalingStr D / Dex D
- Weight6
- SkillBarbaric Roar
- Str Req12
- Dex Req14
- How to ObtainFound in Limgrave / dropped by Bell Bearing Hunters
Figures verified against Consolidated Game Weapons Database.
Compared to similar greatswords
| Weapon | Str Req | Dex Req | Weight | Primary Scaling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bastard Sword | 12 | 14 | 6 | Str D / Dex D |
| Freyja's Greatsword | 16 | 20 | 8 | Dex C |
| Golden Order Greatsword | 13 | 16 | 8.5 | Fai D |
| Ordovis's Greatsword | 16 | 15 | 9 | Str E / Fai D |
| Knight's Greatsword | 18 | 13 | 9 | Str D / Dex D |
Requirements, scaling grades and weight are the game’s own published figures. From Consolidated Game Weapons Database.
How to Obtain
- Access to western Weeping Peninsula and 3,000 runes; no quest, boss, DLC, or NG+ requirement is needed.
- The Bastard Sword is available as a normal merchant purchase and is not missable or limited to one purchase per playthrough.
- 01Travel to the Isolated Merchant's Shack in western Weeping Peninsula. The location has its own Site of Grace, making it the clearest route to the seller.
- 02Speak with the Isolated Merchant and purchase the Bastard Sword from his regular shop inventory for 3,000 runes. The sword is a guaranteed vendor item rather than an enemy drop or quest reward.
Availability
Requires No DLC, NG+, or difficulty requirement
The Bastard Sword is sold as a normal vendor item; its availability is not restricted to a special progression tier or alternate game mode.
Mechanics and Handling
The Bastard Sword uses the deliberate, broad-swinging moveset associated with Elden Ring’s Greatsword class. Its attacks cover a useful forward arc, making the weapon practical against groups at close range, but the commitment of each swing rewards spacing and attack timing rather than constant button presses. It has no innate status buildup or special ammunition/resource loop; its distinctive handling comes from its class moveset and default weapon skill.
Greatsword moveset and spacing
Its regular light attacks are broad horizontal cuts suited to catching nearby targets, while heavier attacks commit to slower, more forceful swings. The weapon’s reach is useful for maintaining a small gap from ordinary enemies, but its attacks can still miss agile targets or opponents positioned tightly to the side. Jumping and running attacks provide more direct forward pressure than the standard grounded sequence, while the weapon’s weight makes missed attacks costly against enemies that punish recovery. The Bastard Sword can also be used to guard, but its primary value is offensive; a shield or two-handed stance changes how safely its attack commitment can be managed.
Stamp (Upward Cut)
The default skill is Stamp (Upward Cut). Activating Stamp places the character in a low braced stance that can resist recoil from many incoming attacks. A follow-up normal attack performs the skill’s upward slash, creating a committed counterattack that is most useful when an enemy is about to enter the weapon’s range. The stance is not a universal answer to heavy attacks or every form of stagger, so its timing still matters. Because the Bastard Sword’s skill can be changed when the weapon is used with a compatible Ash of War, Stamp is a starting behavior rather than a permanent requirement for an infusible weapon.
Handling considerations
The sword has no durability system to maintain in Elden Ring, and its attacks do not consume ammunition. Its main resource costs come from the normal stamina demands of attacking, guarding, sprinting, and jumping, plus any FP cost associated with the selected weapon skill. In practice, the Bastard Sword suits players who want a conventional greatsword with broad coverage and a stance-based counter option, but its recovery windows make deliberate positioning more important than raw attack frequency.
Upgrades and Variants
Strengths, Weaknesses and Best Uses
Strengths
- Its Greatsword-class moveset combines broad close-range swings with committed heavier attacks, giving it useful crowd control and stagger pressure against many ordinary PvE enemies.
- The Bastard Sword is compatible with Ashes of War and selectable affinities, so its skill and damage profile can be adapted to different Strength, Dexterity, or mixed-stat setups.
- Its default Stamp (Upward Cut) skill provides a deliberate close-range punish option rather than locking the weapon to a highly specialized gimmick.
- It can be used one-handed or two-handed, allowing a shield, seal, or other off-hand tool when the situation calls for one.
Weaknesses
- Greatsword attacks commit the character to comparatively deliberate animations, making missed swings more costly than attacks from faster sword classes.
- Its broad swings need enough room to connect cleanly; cramped spaces, agile enemies, and targets that stay inside the weapon's arc can reduce its reliability.
- The Bastard Sword does not provide a built-in status effect or a fixed unique weapon ability, so its distinctive role depends more on the selected Ash of War, affinity, and player build.
- Compared with longer Greatsword-class alternatives, its reach is less forgiving, making spacing more important against enemies that outrange it.
Best uses
- A flexible general-purpose PvE greatsword for players who want crowd-clearing swings without committing to a highly specialized weapon.
- A Strength-focused or mixed-stat loadout that benefits from two-handing, with an Ash of War chosen to cover a preferred damage type or combat problem.
- A shield-compatible melee setup: use it one-handed when defense or an off-hand utility matters, then two-hand it when greater attack commitment is acceptable.
- Close-range encounters where deliberate swings can catch multiple targets or stagger ordinary enemies, rather than fights that reward constant rapid attacks or maximum reach.
Compared With Similar Weapons
| Weapon | Class and role | Distinguishing trait | Choose it over Bastard Sword when… |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claymore | Thrusting heavy attack and Lion's Claw skill | You value a more flexible moveset and a stronger dedicated skill option. | — |
| Knight's Greatsword | Distinctive sweeping attack animations and broad moveset | You prefer its attack patterns and can meet its attribute requirements. | — |
| Flamberge | Innate Hemorrhage buildup alongside its physical attacks | You want a greatsword that contributes to a bleed-focused build. | — |
| Lordsworn's Greatsword | Straightforward moveset and affinity flexibility | You want a comparable standard greatsword with a different early-game acquisition route. | — |
Lore and Design
The Bastard Sword has limited narrative lore. Its item description presents it as a large, straight-bladed sword designed for versatility, emphasizing that it can be wielded with one or two hands. The description does not establish a connection to a named character, faction, historical event, or major quest. No documented developer commentary or official design history gives the weapon a specific cultural inspiration beyond its in-game classification and practical role.