Sometime during the 14th century, someone looked at swords, axes, and rapiers, and thought to themselves “What if we had these things, but long?”
And apparently that question blew people’s minds with that level of innovative genius.
Halberds are basically longer versions of other weapons, often sacrificing speed for a bigger reach and power. And that remains true in Dark Souls 2 as well.
They also suffer from the same “Sweetspot” curse as the reapers, meaning that if you don’t hit your target with the blade part of the weapon, you’ll do reduced damage (though the penalty isn’t as harsh), so keep that in mind.
But if you’re interested in DS2 halberds then keep scrolling. We’ll be taking a better look at all those slashy, thrusty, and pokey sticks.
14. Old Knight Halberd
Originally I was planning on just making a top 10 ranking, but I thought instead that I should quickly go over the bad halberds in DS2 as well.
Just in case anyone reading this had any questions about them, and to serve as a warning to how terrible they truly are.
So starting things off, we got the Old Knight Halberd.
Looks can be deceiving, because its A Dex scaling might make you think it’s a weapon worth using.
And I’m here to crush those dreams and flat out say “It’s horrible”.
Why?
It’s got 20 durability. 20! You’re going to hit 3 enemies and then it’ll break.
I guess it’s an option if you don’t mind swapping weapons around a lot.
How to get: On a corpse at Heide’s Tower of Flame, after the Tower of Flame bonfire.
13. Old Knight Pike
Virtually a replica of the Old Knight Halberd, but for Strength builds.
Suffers from the exact same problems too.
Next!
How to get: Harvest Valley, there’s a big enemy that smashes through a wooden wall to surprise you. Lure him to break the second wooden wall behind him.
12. Helix Halberd
As more of a spear than a halberd, the Helix used to be a feared sighting for anyone familiar with PvP.
But after receiving a nerf it’s usage dropped dramatically.
And so, the mighty Helix spiraled all the way down to the garbage dump, sad and lonely, where it now finds niche use from a small fraction of players.
Open a list of Dark Souls 2 spears, throw a dart, and use whatever it lands on.
It’s probably going to be a better choice.
How to get: Pharros’ Lockstone treasure at the Shrine of Amana.
11. Lucerne
The next couple of weapons (including this one) aren’t particularly bad. They’re just extremely average compared to the better halberds down the list.
The one thing the Lucerne has going for it, are its shield-piercing strong attacks.
Other than that it’s pretty mediocre due to its scaling and damage.
Consider using it in PvP if you like halberds and are having trouble with shielded enemies.
How to get: Sold by Chancellor Wellager.
10. Scythe
The name of this weapon offends me on multiple fronts.
It’s not a scythe (clearly a bardiche). And even if it were, this is the halberds category, not the reapers!
Alright, alright. I’m calm now.
Now, where was I? Oh right, the list.
The “Scythe” is very similar to the previous (and the following) weapon on this list, which means all-around it’s just very mediocre and unremarkable at what it does.
Would not recommend.
How to get: Sold by Steady Hand McDuff, chest in Shaded Woods next to Tark, or found at Brume Tower after the first bonfire (this one is +7).
9. Halberd
How sad, that the namesake of the weapon-type is this far down the rankings
Again, an interchangeable weapon with the scythe or the lucerne, with very average damage and stats.
You could consider infusing it during the early-game if you don’t have any better targets.
How to get: Forest of the Fallen Giants, on a giant sword at the outside area before The Last Giant lift.
8. Dragonrider Halberd
The first in line with two different innate damage types, the Dragonrider Halberd falls just a little too short for my liking.
It’s an okay weapon for a quality magic-based build (if those exist) due to its scalings in Strength, Dex, and Int.
But it mainly serves as a backup to the Moonlight Greatsword.
Infusing it with Magic switches the Strength and Int scalings, so plan accordingly to your highest stat between those two.
How to get: Trade the Dragonrider Soul to Straid of Olaphis.
7. Syan’s Halberd
I won’t spend a lot of time here, since it’s essentially the better version of the Old Knight Halberd – except this one actually has some durability.
Also a good candidate for infusions, since the Dex scaling falls from A to B, but you also get another B in whatever you infused it with.
How to get: Dropped by halberd-wielding Syan Soldiers.
6. Wrathful Axe
Here’s yet another weapon whose name doesn’t quite fit the halberd category!
The Wrathful Axe is a very peculiar weapon.
It possesses a special attack that inflicts dark damage and poison built-up, but infusing it with Dark somehow gives it a worse scaling than other elements.
At the very least, it’s got a good Str scaling and 330 base Attack Rating. So it hits hard with a pretty good range on top of that!
How to get: Trade the Soul of elana, Squalid Queen to Weaponsmith Ornifex.
5. Blue Knight’s Halberd
Okay now we’re getting to the good stuff.
At first glance it might look like a below-average Dex halberd, but its true potential lies within infusions.
Usually when you infuse a weapon, it loses a good chunk of its regular damage in exchange for the newfound elemental damage.
That’s not the case for this bad boy, since it only loses a tiny amount (literally 7 AR), but you get the full benefit of the infusion.
Any elemental infusion is an excellent choice.
How to get: Kill Blue Sentinel Targray.
4. Santier’s Spear
Alright, who’s putting all these spears and axes in my halberd tierlist?
Perhaps the weirdest weapon in this list, the Santier’s Spear is a twinblade/halberd in disguise.
Breaking the weapon (using up all of its unusually large 500 durability) completely changes its moveset.
It also has no scaling at all so you can focus your points in other stats like Endurance and Vigor.
Take in mind that the process is irreversible, if for some reason you prefer the unbroken version.
How to get: Treasure in Doors of Pharros, past the Gyrm’s Respite bonfire, before a large door with three sections. Use a lockstone on the ground in front of the door.
3. Black Knight Halberd
Here’s a fan favorite returning from the original Dark Souls, albeit slightly changed.
Like every other Black Knight weapon in the game, the Black Knight Halberd has innate fire damage, and also hits very hard.
Though it has higher Dex scaling, you should focus more on Strength due to how scaling multipliers work (it’s silly, I know).
How to get: Shaded Woods, room under the bonfire that requires a fragrant branch, or an uncommon drop from Rabid Kobolds.
2. Roaring Halberd
A familiar face to anyone that skimmed our “dark infusions” article mentioned earlier, the Roaring Halberd is sure to leave your opponents as skeletons (you see, like the skull adorning its edge? No again? Come on…)
This cool-looking slasher is a dark and physical hybrid, oriented more for the players whose spells are as dark as their souls.
You can increase its damage to insane levels by equipping rings, such as the Ring of Blades or the Dark Clutch Ring, and also by buffing it with spells like Dark Weapon.
Truly terrifying (just like the sku-, okay I’ll stop myself now)
How to get: Trade the Skeleton Lord’s Soul to Straid of Olaphis.
1. Mastodon Halberd
The Mastodon Halberd does one thing, but it does it well:
It kills stuff.
As the best Strength scaling halberd in the game, the Mastodon halberd is a very powerful addition to any buff Hollow’s arsenal, both against players and environment alike.
Infusing it is a very valid option, though personally I prefer the regular version in combination with resins.
