Weaponsupporting

Warhawk's Talon

Warhawk’s Talon is a straight sword farmed from sword-taloned Warhawks in Stormveil Castle. It offers a distinctive double-slash charged attack, Spinning Slash, ordinary +25 upgrades, and affinities, rewarding Dexterity builds willing to farm agile airborne enemies.

Importance

supporting

Elden Ring · weapon

Key Takeaways

Warhawk's Talon is a farmable curved sword whose value comes from its accessible requirements, flexible upgrade path, and distinctive moveset rather than an innate status effect.

Distinctive curved-sword moveset

Its curved-sword attacks are complemented by the weapon skill Spinning Slash, giving the weapon a close-range option that rewards fighting within its relatively compact reach.

Accessible requirements

Warhawk's Talon uses modest Strength and Dexterity requirements, making it available to characters that want a fast curved sword without committing to a specialized attribute spread.

Dropped by armed warhawks

The weapon is obtained as an enemy drop from warhawks that wield it, with Stormveil Castle serving as its notable acquisition area; the drop is farmable, but no drop-rate claim is made here.

Flexible progression

It follows the regular reinforcement path and can be customized with compatible Ashes of War and affinities, allowing its damage profile and skill to support different builds.

No innate status buildup

Unlike curved swords with built-in bleed or another status effect, Warhawk's Talon does not supply an innate status passive, so status-focused setups need an appropriate affinity or external effect.

A flexible alternative to the Scimitar

Compared with the Scimitar, Warhawk's Talon is a different curved-sword option for players who value its weapon-specific appearance and moveset while retaining customizable progression.

Overview

Warhawk's Talon is a standard Curved Sword in Elden Ring, associated with the blade-wielding warhawks encountered early in the game. Its defining feature is a distinctive heavy-attack sequence that gives the weapon a different rhythm from more conventional curved swords, while its default Spinning Slash skill preserves the class's emphasis on mobile close-range attacks.

Warhawk's Talon occupies a useful early-to-mid progression niche rather than serving as a unique quest relic or DLC weapon. It uses Elden Ring's regular weapon-upgrade system and can be developed as part of a conventional curved-sword setup. Its identity comes less from an exclusive passive effect than from the combination of a familiar fast weapon class, a warhawk-themed moveset detail, and the flexibility associated with a standard weapon.

The weapon's most notable behaviour is its heavy attack. Unlike the ordinary heavy attacks shared by many curved swords, Warhawk's Talon uses a distinctive follow-up sequence, making charged or committed attacks feel more deliberate than its quick light attacks. This gives it a clear spacing and timing identity: it can pressure at close range, but its heavier options ask the player to recognize openings rather than attack continuously.

Its default Spinning Slash skill is broadly useful for close groups and for extending an aggressive melee exchange, although the weapon should not be treated as dependent on that skill alone. As a standard weapon, its Ash of War and affinity options are part of its practical appeal: the same blade can support different attribute plans instead of locking the player into one fixed build. Exact performance still depends on reinforcement, affinity, attributes, and the current regulation version.

Compared with more immediately familiar curved swords such as the Scimitar or Shamshir, Warhawk's Talon is chiefly a moveset and preference choice rather than a universal replacement. Players who value a distinctive heavy attack and a standard upgrade path may find it worth keeping; players who want the simplest class baseline may prefer a more conventional curved sword. It is not a Shadow of the Erdtree variant, and its Stormveil-associated availability makes it relevant before many later weapon options appear.

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.

Category
Straight Swords
Damage Type
Standard/Pierce
Primary Scaling
Str D / Dex C
Weight
4
Skill
Barbaric Roar
Str Req
13
Dex Req
16
How to Obtain
Warhawk boss, Stormveil

Figures verified against Consolidated Game Weapons Database.

Compared to similar straight swords

Weapon	Str Req	Dex Req	Weight	Primary Scaling
Warhawk's Talon	13	16	4	Str D / Dex C
Miquellan Knight's Sword	11	17	4	Dex C
Carian Knight's Sword	10	13	4	Dex D / Int D
Sword of St. Trina	8	17	4	Dex C
Dancer's Blade	10	20	4	Dex C

Requirements, scaling grades and weight are the game’s own published figures. From Consolidated Game Weapons Database.

How to Obtain

Before you start

Access to Stormveil Castle; the weapon is available in the base game and has no separate DLC or NG+ requirement.
The drop is farmable but not guaranteed from each Warhawk. No quest completion, boss defeat, or one-per-playthrough condition is required.

01Travel to Stormveil Castle and farm the sword-wielding Warhawks found in its courtyard and rampart areas, including the routes reached from the Rampart Tower Site of Grace. Warhawk's Talon is a random enemy drop, so defeating one does not guarantee the weapon; repeat the route and rest to respawn the enemies.
02Continue farming eligible Warhawks until the weapon drops. It is not purchased from a vendor and has no quest or boss-reward route; no fixed pickup is required, and the weapon can be obtained after returning to Stormveil rather than during a particular story step.

Mechanics and Handling

Warhawk's Talon uses the curved-sword moveset, but its handling is distinguished by a forward-moving heavy attack rather than relying entirely on the class's standard attack pattern. Its light attacks are quick sweeping cuts that work best when the wielder stays close enough to maintain pressure without allowing the target to trade freely. The weapon is therefore more comfortable in short engagements and against exposed targets than in slow, committed exchanges.

Distinctive heavy attack

The heavy attack gives Warhawk's Talon additional forward momentum and a different attack angle from its regular light chain. This can help close a small gap or catch an opponent expecting the shorter curved-sword swings, but the movement also commits the wielder to the animation. Use it when the target is recovering, staggered, or already within a controlled spacing window rather than treating it as a safe approach tool. Charged attacks increase commitment, so they are most appropriate during a clear opening.

Spinning Slash

Warhawk's Talon comes with Spinning Slash, a skill that begins with a rotating cut and can be followed by a stronger attack. The first motion provides a compact area of coverage around the wielder; the follow-up extends the skill's damage and commitment when the opening lasts long enough. Because the skill places the character in close range, it is more reliable against nearby groups or a distracted single target than against an enemy able to interrupt the wind-up. The skill can be replaced when the weapon's available Ash of War and affinity options permit it.

Spacing and combat role

Warhawk's Talon has no distinctive innate status effect to manage, and its core identity comes from speed, curved-sword pressure, and the unusual heavy attack rather than a passive buildup mechanic. Its short-to-moderate melee reach rewards attacking from the edge of the target's threat range, then disengaging instead of extending every sequence. The weapon does not have a blocking or parrying function of its own; defensive actions come from the character's broader equipment and combat system.

Upgrades and Variants

Strengths, Weaknesses and Best Uses

Strengths

As a curved sword, Warhawk's Talon supplies quick close-range attacks with relatively low commitment, making it easier to maintain pressure than a slower great weapon.
Its innate Spinning Slash covers space around the wielder and can catch nearby enemies that move around the player. Because the weapon follows the standard upgrade path, its skill and affinity options can be adapted when the build changes.
Repeated curved-sword hits can apply an innate or weapon-buff status effect efficiently when the chosen affinity or buff supports that approach.

Weaknesses

Its short curved-sword reach makes spacing more demanding against spears, great weapons, and other attacks that can hit from outside its preferred distance.
Spinning Slash is most useful at close range; using it in the open can leave the player committed while an enemy remains outside the attack's effective area.
The weapon's faster attacks do not remove the need to manage stamina and positioning, and it is less suited to trading directly with heavily armored enemies than weapons with greater reach or poise-oriented attacks.

Best uses

Use it for agile melee play in PvE, especially against enemies vulnerable to repeated close-range pressure.
Choose it when a build wants a customizable curved sword rather than a fixed unique weapon, allowing its affinity, Ash of War, and compatible weapon buffs to match the build.
Use Spinning Slash when surrounded at close range or when an enemy's movement makes a direct single-target strike unreliable.

Compared With Similar Weapons

Compared With Similar Weapons
Weapon	Class and role	Distinctive handling or skill	Best comparison point
Warhawk's Talon	Curved-sword moveset with a distinctive heavy-attack animation	Choose for its Warhawk-themed heavy attack and visual identity rather than a standard curved-sword moveset	—
Shamshir	Uses a different curved-sword moveset and has longer practical reach	Prefer when spacing and broad attack coverage matter more than Warhawk's Talon-specific heavy attack	—
Scimitar	Conventional curved-sword handling with the Spinning Slash skill path available	Prefer for a familiar, flexible curved-sword baseline and easier skill customization	—
Grossmesser	Trades the lighter curved-sword profile for a more substantial weapon feel	Prefer when a curved sword with greater commitment and heavier-hit emphasis suits the build	—

Lore and Design

Warhawk's Talon has a direct connection to the stormhawks encountered at Stormveil Castle: its item lore identifies the weapon as one wielded by those birds. The weapon's curved, claw-like profile therefore reflects an explicit in-game association with the creatures rather than a documented real-world design reference.

The lore also presents the stormhawks as creatures trained or bred for warfare and capable of wielding weapons with their talons. This gives Warhawk's Talon a small but distinctive piece of Stormveil's military world-building: it is not merely a sword found among human soldiers, but equipment associated with the castle's aerial war beasts. The text does not establish a named individual owner, a broader faction history, or a developer-confirmed inspiration beyond that relationship.

Trivia

Warhawk's Talon has an unusual charged heavy attack for a curved sword: it performs a forward thrust rather than the broad sweeping motion used by many weapons in the class. This distinctive move is part of the weapon's individual moveset, not a temporary effect from an Ash of War or affinity.