Battle Axe
Battle Axe is the Hero starting weapon and an early Twin Maiden Husks purchase. It is a compact ordinary axe with Wild Strikes, low requirements, and full affinity freedom, serving as a dependable Strength-oriented platform rather than a rare specialist weapon.
Key Takeaways
Battle Axe is a straightforward early-game axe whose value comes from accessible requirements, a compact moveset, and the flexibility of an infusible weapon.
Identity
A one-handed Axe with standard physical attacks, useful reach for its class, and a light enough profile for general melee loadouts.
Skill
Its default skill is War Cry, which temporarily boosts attacks and changes the strong attack into a charging attack; the weapon can also use other compatible Ashes of War.
Requirements
The Battle Axe requires 12 Strength and 8 Dexterity, making it accessible to early Strength-oriented characters and several mixed melee builds.
Availability
It is available as the Hero class’s starting weapon, so choosing that class provides it immediately without relying on a drop or vendor purchase.
Trade-off
Its simple, dependable attacks are easy to use, but its reach and moveset are less specialized than those of longer or more distinctive axe-class alternatives.
Progression
Because it follows the standard reinforcement path and accepts compatible Ashes of War and affinities, it can be adapted as a character’s attributes and damage priorities develop.
Comparison
Compared with the Hand Axe, it is the more conventional dedicated axe choice: it emphasizes a fuller melee moveset rather than the Hand Axe’s lighter throwing utility.
Overview
Battle Axe is a standard axe in Elden Ring: a straightforward, adaptable melee weapon built around committed close-range swings rather than a special weapon gimmick.
The Battle Axe occupies a practical middle ground among early-game melee options. Its attacks give it more presence than the smallest axes, while remaining usable as a conventional one-handed weapon or with both hands. That makes it suitable for characters who want direct physical damage without committing to a colossal weapon’s slower, heavier handling.
Its defining distinction is flexibility rather than rarity. The Battle Axe is a regular weapon, not a legendary or unique armament, so its combat identity can be shaped through reinforcement, compatible affinities, and changeable Ashes of War. Its default skill, Wild Strikes, supports an aggressive sequence of repeated axe blows, but the weapon can serve other physical or elemental setups when customized.
In progression terms, it is a dependable option for strength-oriented characters and a reasonable foundation for testing axe movesets. It does not demand a specialized build or a particular story route, and its usefulness comes from combining accessible handling with the broader customization system available to standard weapons.
The Battle Axe is therefore best understood as a flexible baseline axe rather than a weapon defined by lore, a hidden passive, or downloadable-content exclusivity. Compared with a smaller axe, it emphasizes heavier commitment; compared with larger axe classes, it preserves a more manageable role for ordinary exploration and close-quarters encounters.
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.
- CategoryAxes
- Damage TypeSlash
- Primary ScalingStr D
- Weight6.5
- SkillSeppuku
- Str Req12
- Dex Req9
- How to ObtainMerchant / chest
Figures verified against Consolidated Game Weapons Database.
Compared to similar axes
| Weapon | Str Req | Dex Req | Weight | Primary Scaling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battle Axe | 12 | 9 | 6.5 | Str D |
| Putrescence Cleaver | 14 | 13 | 6.5 | Arc D |
| Smithscript Axe | 13 | 15 | 6 | Str D / Dex D |
| Messmer Soldier's Axe | 14 | 13 | 6 | Str D |
| Highland Axe | 14 | 12 | 7.5 | Str D / Dex D |
Requirements, scaling grades and weight are the game’s own published figures. From Consolidated Game Weapons Database.
How to Obtain
- 01Choose the Hero class during character creation. Battle Axe is one of the Hero’s starting weapons and is received immediately at the beginning of the game, with no story, region, vendor, boss, or DLC prerequisite.
- 02This starting-equipment route is guaranteed for a Hero character. It is not a world pickup or enemy drop, and choosing another starting class does not provide the Battle Axe through this route.
Availability
Requires Choose the Hero starting class
The Battle Axe is included in the Hero class's starting equipment.
Requires No DLC or NG+ requirement
The Battle Axe is available from a Nomadic Merchant in Limgrave; merchant stock is separate from starting-class availability.
Mechanics and Handling
Battle Axe uses the standard axe moveset: compact, committed swings that are quicker to recover from than heavier axe attacks, but with less reach than many sword and polearm alternatives. Its short range makes spacing important; it performs best when the wielder stays close enough to keep pressure on a target rather than trying to control a large area. The weapon has no innate status effect, so its pressure comes from physical attacks, stagger potential and its skill rather than passive buildup.
Standard attacks and spacing
The light-attack sequence consists of broad axe swings with noticeable forward commitment. The horizontal coverage helps against nearby targets, while the limited reach can cause attacks to miss enemies that a straight sword would still connect with. The heavy attack supplies a more forceful overhead blow, and its charged version is useful when an opening gives enough time to commit. Jumping attacks are another practical way to close distance and apply a heavier hit, but they should be used selectively because the Battle Axe does not have exceptional reach or crowd control.
War Cry and heavy-attack conversion
Battle Axe normally carries War Cry as its weapon skill. Activating it produces a brief battle cry that increases the wielder's attack power and changes the weapon's strong attacks into charging attacks for the skill's active period. This gives the axe a more aggressive follow-up option: rather than relying only on its short standard reach, the user can commit to a forward-driving heavy attack after creating an opening. War Cry does not remove the weapon's close-range limitations, and using it safely still depends on having enough distance or stagger to avoid being interrupted.
Two-handing and practical handling
Two-handing changes the weapon's handling and lets the character rely more heavily on Strength for its attacks, making it a natural option for a Strength-oriented setup. It does not transform the Battle Axe into a long-range weapon, however. Against evasive or highly mobile enemies, deliberate attacks from the edge of its range are safer than repeatedly trading at maximum commitment; against staggerable targets, War Cry followed by a charging heavy attack can make its aggressive identity more useful.
Upgrades and Variants
Strengths, Weaknesses and Best Uses
Strengths
- Wild Strikes provides sustained close-range pressure and can be followed by a strong attack, giving the Battle Axe a more committed offensive option than its basic light attacks alone.
- Its standard reinforcement path and Ash of War compatibility allow the weapon to be adapted to different attribute-focused builds without requiring a unique upgrade resource.
- The axe moveset offers quicker commitment than heavier axe classes while retaining more impact-oriented attacks than many light weapons.
- Its one-handed use leaves the other hand available for a shield, seal, staff, or second axe.
Weaknesses
- The Battle Axe has limited reach, so spacing errors are punished against enemies with longer swords, spears, or sweeping attacks.
- Wild Strikes keeps the user committed during its sequence; using it into an enemy that can poise through or interrupt the attack can trade unfavorably.
- It has no inherent status effect or special damage property to define a matchup, so its effectiveness depends more heavily on reinforcement, affinity, and the player's attributes.
Best uses
- Early- and mid-game melee play when a player wants a straightforward one-handed axe with an active skill rather than a fixed unique weapon.
- Strength- or quality-oriented builds that want close-range pressure while retaining a free off-hand slot.
- A flexible standard weapon for players who want to test different Ashes of War or affinities without replacing the weapon.
Compared With Similar Weapons
| Weapon | Class and role | Reach and handling | Build or mechanic distinction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battle Axe | Balanced baseline for close-range attacks | Infusible and compatible with Ashes of War; suits Strength, Dexterity, or hybrid setups depending on affinity | — |
| Hand Axe | Shorter reach with quicker-feeling handling | Useful when mobility and rapid pressure matter more than spacing | — |
| Highland Axe | Longer reach than the Battle Axe | Its passive supports roar-focused setups, making it a more specialized choice | — |
| Warped Axe | More specialized handling than the Battle Axe | Favours Strength-focused setups; choose it when scaling preference outweighs the Battle Axe’s general flexibility | — |
Lore and Design
The Battle Axe’s item text presents it as a large axe associated with warriors from a past age. This gives the weapon a broad historical setting, but does not identify those warriors by name or establish a specific connection to a character, faction, or recorded event. The description emphasizes the axe’s substantial offensive power alongside the difficulty of wielding it, reinforcing its identity as a committed close-range weapon rather than revealing a distinct narrative role.
No documented developer commentary, named real-world inspiration, or development history is established here. Any interpretation connecting the Battle Axe to a particular culture, historical weapon, or extinct Elden Ring faction would go beyond the available text. Its lore significance is therefore limited: it contributes atmosphere and suggests an older martial tradition, but the weapon is not presented as a major story relic or character-associated artifact.