Is the Drake Sword REALLY that good?

On my first playthrough I got the titanite Catch Pole from the demon in the Undead Parish. I ended up using it pretty much until I got to Anor Londo and could start weilding Black Knight weapons. It was a great weapon, very powerful. However, I started again because I made some big mistakes (like killing every NPC I met to take their armour - doesnt win you many friends). Second playthrough I killed the demon once more, only this time he didnt drop the pole so I went and got the Drake Sword from the bridge dragon. It seems powerful... But what other decent weapons are out there that a low level character can use?

The drake sword is mainly a good weapon for new or inexperienced players, that of course doesn't mean an experienced player can't get it. As for good and easily accessible weapons at lower levels, you could kill the male undead merchant for the Uchigatana which is a good weapon, you can get it without killing him, though it would take longer. You can get tons of weapons at the lower levels, it really just depends on how good and experienced at the game you are. You could even get the Great Scythe in the catacombs if you know how to get it. Otherwise you can farm the Balder Side Sword at the Undead Parish from Balders, which is a great starting weapon as well.

Edit: The drake weapon is still a great starting weapon as it does decent damage while taking a low amount of stamina, but only until you can actually upgrade an weapon. Other than that, in the lower undead burg you can get the Bandit Knife if you didn't start as a Thief, wish is obviously the best crit weapon (not counting DLC) as far as i know.

Edit2: There's also the Zweihander, while it's slow, it's still pretty strong, perhaps not the best starting weapon though, depends on gameplay. The claymore is another option, it's right on the bridge that you find the Wyvern on.

Astora Straight Sword, Great Scythe, Gravelord Sword, Drake Sword, Uchigatana, and I'm sure there is more.

The Drake sword is a good starting weapon indeed, but you have to have 16 points in str to wield it properly. So if you are already allocating those points in str then I would suggest going with the claymore or the bastard swords since they keep scaling with your stats.

By the time you get the DS you can also grab the Claymore wich even it is in the wyvern bridge is not difficult to do it. To grab it easily go up the stairs by the middle of the bridge and wait for the first firebreath to kill the hollow soilders. Then get upstairs and to the right by the corner and wait for the dragon to jump down. As soon as it jumps down run as fast as you can to the other side where the sunlight altar is and don't stop at all.
Once you get there the dragon will fly away for a moment and that is your q to grab the claymore. Take it to Andre and upgrade it + 5 and you have a nice powerful weapon that will keep scaling with your stats.

Considering that it has 300 AR fully upgraded, and the darksword only has 344 AR with 40 str and dex, it can be considered a good weapon.

Drake sword OP mutta Fukka

The Drake Sword doesn't worth the upgrade but is definitely great until Blighttown.

The AoE the sword has it quite helpful (Which took me like ten play throughs to notice), as is the added defence, But as said before it lacks in the offensive department.

One that hasn't been mentioned is the Jagged Ghost Blade. Just buy firebombs; two will kill a Ghost. It only needs 7 STR, has a 155 AR, and takes minimal stamina.

That being said: beginner's don't need a powerful starting weapon. Just use whatever you have, and find a weapon you enjoy and use it. Having an OP weapon early ruins the experience, unless you just want to blast through the game, in which case Drake Sword is very easy, fast to get, and doesn't depend on a drop rate.

Personally, I think beginners are best served by weapons that do high poise damage over weapons that do high damage. The Drake Sword is conveniently powerful for its placement in the game, but the claymore is available just as soon, the zweihander at the beginning and the battle axe in the Burg.

The Drake Sword's high damage is great and all, but it does standard poise damage and doesn't have much versatility. Heaps of early game weapons have something over it, and something like the winged spear or halberd allows you to defeat or stagger enemies far outside their range of attack.

Meh, I am sure a lot of you have noticed is that this. Since the Drake Sword has no scaling or it's base attack is high. It can do pretty much it's full damage on most enemies but the bosses. I know once you get to Ms. Spidey, the drake sword no longer seems cool. But it always seems like when using the Claymore(which btw, doesn't beat the Drake sword until +5 if you're going strength), it does less damage.

Just the thing with the Claymore though, you can enchant it with resins, which makes it pretty good. Plus with Magic Weapon or GMW, it outbeats the drake sword.

Little bit more on topic: The Drake Sword is ultimately useful in the lower levels, you will find it satisfies you until the "bigger" boss baddies in those areas. I think after Capra, it sort of loses it's touch, imo. But it rocks mobs everywhere.

This thread reminds me of my first playthrough, uprading the Drake Sword as much as I could. Killing a boss and thinking, "Yes! I have enough souls to upgrade my Drake Sword!" Ugh. Makes me cringe. I was still new to gaming and had never heard of concepts like scaling.

callipygias wrote:This thread reminds me of my first playthrough, uprading the Drake Sword as much as I could. Killing a boss and thinking, "Yes! I have enough souls to upgrade my Drake Sword!" Ugh. Makes me cringe. I was still new to gaming and had never heard of concepts like scaling.

I use Drake Sword +5 for PvP . My mid rolling scrub build with full giants, Heater/Grass Crest shield and a drake sword +5 to lightning spear +5

After watching some Lets Plays the Utichanka looks like its more up my street. Don't want to have to kill the merchant, though. He's kept me balls-deep in firebombs for as long as I can remember. But it IS a nice sword...

robokorean wrote:After watching some Lets Plays the Utichanka looks like its more up my street. Don't want to have to kill the merchant, though. He's kept me balls-deep in firebombs for as long as I can remember. But it IS a nice sword...

Another viable option would be the Iiato found in Blighttown.