As one of the two infusions made for intelligence/faith hybrids (the other being chaos), dark is favored for PvP, as most player-obtainable armors have high fire resistance. Don’t let that deter you, though. Tons of enemies in PvE are weak to dark too! So which weapons should you use? In this list I’m going to suggest some of the best ones, looking at their scaling, availability, moveset, and skills!
5. Longsword
The humble and simple longsword is a great choice for players going for a pure intelligence/faith playthrough. This is thanks to its early-game availability, and absolutely barebone 10/10 strength/dex requirements! It’s hard to go wrong with the longsword. Its moveset is basic yet extremely effective, it has good combos and range, and its simplicity allows you to free your mind to focus on how you’re going to cast your spells. How to get: Starting equipment for the knight, dropped by hollow soldiers on the high wall, and sold by Greirat.
4. Drakeblood Greatsword
While not the most viable choice, it’s hard to overlook this gem. The drakeblood possesses innate magic and lightning damage – the only weapon in the game to have 3 passive damage types! And when you infuse the drakeblood with dark or chaos, both the magic and lightning damage will begin to scale. This means 4 different scaling damage sources on one weapon! It’s not all fun and games, as more damage types means more enemy defenses for your attacks to have to get through, but it’s a blast to see so much potential damage! How to get: Dropped by the drakeblood knight in archdragon peak.
3. Great Corvian Scythe
The Corvian scythe is a pretty overlooked weapon with a ton of value packed into it! While its base damage may not be the highest, it gets A/A scaling on a dark infusion, retains a C scaling in dex, and has some of the highest base bleed build-up in the entire game! Bleed, once procc’d, will add a huge chunk of DPS to your build, and is especially strong against a ton of bosses. And to top it off, it has insane range, passive shield-piercing damage, and a fun unique skill. How to get: Dropped by Corvians wielding it.
2. Astora Greatsword
The Astora is an extremely powerful ultra greatsword known for its S-scaling in dex – but it’s also incredible for hybrids. This thing’s scalings are seriously nuts – hitting S on any single stat and a gorgeous A/A when dark infused! It possesses a fantastic stun-heavy, poise-charged moveset, and extremely low weight – weighing less than some greatswords0 This is exceptionally powerful on hybrid casters who don’t have as many free stat points to invest into vitality. How to get: Found on a corpse in the graveyard near the cleansing chapel bonfire.
1. Murky Hand Scythe
If you’ve seen our top PvP list, you’ll know that the murky hand scythe is straight-up busted. With its high stun, lightning-fast swings, and spammable ‘quickstep’ skill that makes you near invincible, it’s easy to see why it’s one of the most effective (and most hated) weapons in the entire PvP scene. The MHS already has great quad scaling and innate dark damage, but this gets supercharged once dark infused and heightens the scaling to B/B! You could comfortably main-hand this weapon for the majority of encounters, or keep it in your back pocket for when things get intense. But you are guaranteed to get rage messages when using this thing, so keep that in mind! How to get: Found on a corpse in the dreg heap, after dropping into the glass ceiling. It’s behind a collapsed bookshelf to the left.
