Crimson Desert Best Weapons Tier List

Crimson Desert Best Weapons Tier List Quick Summary:

• The strongest weapons in the game are Greatswords and Spears, thanks to their reach and damage.
• The best weapon for every situation is a Sword and Shield.
• The most mobile weapons in the game are Spears, Rapiers, and your Knuckles.
• If you want to deal the most AoE damage and crowd control, you can’t do better than Axes and Hammers.

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Crimson Desert Weapons List

When talking about weapons and combat systems in general, it’s important to note that Crimson Desert has a very layered combat system, with environmental interactions, martial arts, monster climbing, grappling hook repositioning similar to Monster Hunter Rise, and mounted combat. With such complex multi-level fights, rating the weapons becomes really difficult. 

I analyzed all weapon types available in the game and came to the conclusion that there aren’t any bad weapons, and it’s closer to the previously mentioned Monster Hunter, where each weapon is made to do a certain job. You can equip multiple weapons at once and switch between them on the fly, and using weapons here is basically about your combat style, rather than raw damage output. Nonetheless, there are several criteria I used to place weapons in their tiers:

• Adaptability: How well the weapon fits various combat situations.
• Ease of Use: How fast you learn to use the weapon well.
• Synergy: The way the weapon flows into other weapon combos.
• Damage: While all weapons can deal enough damage, some of them have far superior DPS than others.

Now that you understand the evaluation thought behind the tier list, let’s take a look at all weapons in Crimson Desert:

• Sword
• Axe
• Spear
• Greatsword
• Rapier
• Hammer
• Mace
• Bow
• Rifle
• Pistol
• Hand Cannon
• Bare Hands
• Dagger

With 13 weapons in the game, your combo potential is nearly limitless, and the best thing I like about them is that you really learn them. It’s not just another tool for killing, as in other open-world games. Here, you truly master the weapon, and it takes some time. There are, of course, some weapons that are pure pick-up-and-play, but it’s not the majority of them. Also, the only weapon you can’t use in open fights is a dagger, as it’s only for stealth removals.

Crimson Desert Weapon Tier List

Alright, so let’s talk about the tier list finally. Important note: this list is purely subjective and based on my experience. If you don’t agree with the list - that’s actually great! The ranking below is based on the pre-release copy and is subject to change, but that’s what we have now. Here’s a Crimson Desert weapon tier list:

Tier	Weapons
S+-Tier	Bare-Handed
S-Tier	Greatsword, Spear, Pistol, Bow
A-Tier	Sword, Rapier, Hand Cannon
B-Tier	Axe, Hammer, Rifle
C-Tier	Mace

In the sections below, I’ll break down each weapon and why I consider them to be better or worse than the other ones. As I mentioned before, treat every weapon as a tool for specific situations rather than as something that fits every scenario. The exception to this is a sword, which can be used in any combat.

Best Melee Weapons in Crimson Desert

Crimson Desert is largely focused on close combat with huge combos closer to something like Tekken than DMC, with each one flowing into another one, allowing you to calculate the frame times and optimize them. There aren’t that many types of weapons available in the game, but they complement it with the depth that these weapons offer. The close-range weapons are:

• Sword
• Axe
• Spear
• Greatsword
• Rapier
• Hammer
• Mace

Idk if bare-handed combat should go into the Crimson Desert melee weapon list, as it’s a beast of its own, so let me tell a little about it here. Bare-handed combos can be woven into every weapon’s moveset and serve as combo extenders or finishers of sorts. In my humble opinion, they’re the best weapon in Crimson Desert, and yeah, you can definitely call Kliff’s hands weapons. They’re great on their own, but their ultimate strength lies in the synergy with every weapon. The only S+ tier in this list. I’m usually not the one to prefer martial arts in such games due to their limited range and/or dependence on stats, but Crimson Desert does it differently.

A dagger is another weapon I’ve left out of the list, but it’s because it’s not really a weapon. It’s more of a tool to use for stealth eliminations. Alright, I guess that’s enough of the preamble. Let’s talk about the best melee weapons in Crimson Desert.

Greatsword - S-Tier

In a game where you constantly fight enemy mobs, the greatsword makes you feel like Guts. It covers the same area as axe, but has less wind-up on attacks and is faster. From my playtime, this was my favorite weapon. 

Pros:

• Good speed
• Works equally well with mobs and single-target fights.
• Massive damage
• Fairly forgiving

Cons:

• Slower than most other weapons
• Requires careful execution

The combos on it are unreal and a spectacle to witness. If you enjoy the power fantasy and don’t like being hit in the face for making a move, this is your choice.

Spear - S-Tier

Amazing single and multi-target weapon, suitable for more nimble characters like Kliff and Damiane. It’s fast and has good reach, keeping you safe from attacks. While it kind of lacks in high burst damage, it quickly makes up for it with the flurry of strikes you deal with it. 

Pros:

• One of the fastest weapons in Crimson Desert
• Does big damage in a short time
• Good for crowd control thanks to its knockdown moves

Cons:

• Less flashy
• Not very good for fighting big crowds of enemies

One of the best Crimson Desert weapons. Pro Tip! Combine it with a hammer or axe for quick switches between the styles to stunlock the enemy and then hit them with a big weapon finisher.

 

 

Sword - A-Tier

Classic all-rounder and a safe choice. It does well in close combat and allows the use shield to lower the damage.

Pros:

• Best all-round weapon
• Works well with defensive and offensive styles of gameplay
• The easiest weapon to learn

Cons:

• Doesn’t excel at anything
• Poor mob fights potential

Unfortunately, the sword’s not that good when fighting crowds of enemies due to its limited reach. However, the situation changes when you dual-wield it, turning it into a meat grinder with fast attacks that ooze with style.

Rapier - A-Tier

Since the dagger in this game is purely a stealth weapon, the rapier kind of occupies a niche of a fast weapon that doesn’t deal too much damage at once, but compensates for it with very fast attacks. 

Pros:

• Best mobile weapon in Crimson Desert
• Has a built-in counterattack
• One of the most interesting weapons to learn

Cons:

• Light attacks are like mosquito bites
• Requires relying on nigh-perfect inputs to do good damage
• You need to set it up to realize its potential

It’s much faster than spears and has a riposte skill that allows it to deal colossal damage if the enemy triggers it, which can then be translated into follow-up combos. Its damage output relies on you using long strings of combos, which can be hard when starting the game.

Axe - B-Tier

Great for single-target and AoE. It deals heaps of damage, while allowing you to strike many enemies at once, but it’s really slow, and in my practice, you lose too much of your health when using it due to the inability to avoid enemy attacks when locked in animation. 

Pros:

• Highest single-hit damage in the game
• Possibly best AoE combos

Cons:

• Very punishing for poor timings
• Insanely slow

Not good on Kliff, but works better on Oongka. Perhaps that’s the point, and Oongka will have some sort of buffs from enemy attacks hitting him, but on Kliff, it was torture using this weapon.

Hammer - B-Tier

Pywell’s only space program. This weapon relies on powerful charging attacks that send the enemies flying high. It’s good for clearing space around you, but it doesn’t deal that much damage to them and is there to start the combo or for follow-ups. 

Pros:

• Best weapon for crowd control
• Very fun to play
• One of the best weapons to combo with

Cons:

• Surprisingly low damage
• Requires charging your attacks, which makes you vulnerable

If you’re using it as a combo starter, it’d be an S-Tier, but we’re talking about the raw power, and this way, it’s only B-Tier.

 

 

Mace - C-Tier

Best used with a shield. Mace is a slower one-handed weapon, slower than a sword and much slower than a rapier. Its power in stunlocking the enemies and breaking their defenses. 

Pros:

• Good to counter defending enemies
• Built for defensive gameplay with a shield

Cons:

• One of the more awkward weapons to use
• Feels strangely underbalanced
• Doesn’t grant the same power fantasy that other weapons give

While I usually enjoy playing with mace, in this game, it felt kind of underwhelming for me. When I have access to fast attacks, why do I want to play slower? Idk, maybe it’ll find its use later in the game, but so far it felt like the weakest weapon of the bunch.

Best Ranged Weapons in Crimson Desert

While you’ll be spending most of the time weaving combos with steel, ranged weapons allow you to extend your juggles or clear the crowds of low HP enemies. There are only four types we know of, and I’ve had the least experience with them, unfortunately. Some of the ranged weapons feel like a support weapon, rather than a weapon you can beat the whole game with. Here’s the Crimson Desert ranged weapons list:

• Bow
• Rifle
• Pistol
• Hand Cannon

In the six hours that I played in the pre-release game, my favorite weapon was a Pistol. It’s the easiest to use in combat due to its ability to dodge after making a shot, and you can also extend juggles with it. Now, let me have all ranged weapons in Crimson Desert explained for you.

1. Bow: Your classic ranged weapon that allows you to stealthily take down enemies. You can also use it mid-fight to create distance from your enemies. It also allows you to use it with a wide variety of projectiles, each with its own effect. S-Tier.
2. Pistol: One of the more interesting options in the game, and I’d argue you can even create a build that uses pistol as a main weapon. Thanks to how fast you shoot it and the innate dodge mechanic, you can deal damage quite fast. It also lets you juggle enemies longer while they’re in the air. S-Tier.
3. Hand Cannon: The only AoE gun in the game that lets you explode crowds of enemies in a single shot. I’ve found the best success of using it with axes and hammers because of their ability to stun and knock down the enemies, giving you enough time to charge up a shot. A-Tier.
4. Rifle: Long-range and hard-hitting option for single targets with large HP pools. It reloads for what feels like an hour, but its damage really makes up for it. Unfortunately, due to how specific it is, I can’t place it high. B-Tier.

And that’s it for Crimson Desert’s weapons. I’ve not talked about mounts, which you can use to wreak even more havoc, but I feel like it’s a separate topic altogether. Perhaps in the future, I’ll talk about mounts more, but for now, this is everything you need to know about all Crimson Desert weapons.

Read our other Crimson Desert guides:

• Beginner's Guide

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