The Shadow of the Erdtree expansion for Elden Ring introduced a variety of new weapon buffs, changing the way players approach combat. Some of these buffs provide massive boosts to damage or status effects, while others feel more like wasted potential. Here is a tier list of all 69 weapon buffs in Elden Ring DLC now, ranked from the absolute best to the least useful.

Elden Ring DLC Weapon Buff Tier List 2025

1. Moonlight Greatsword (S Tier)

The only weapon buff with projectiles, this is in a league of its own. The charged attacks deal massive poise damage, and the frostbite buildup is extremely high. It also benefits from Shard of Alexander, which most weapon buffs do not. If you have Blessed Blue Dew, you can even cast it for free under the right conditions.

2. Braggart's Roar (S Tier)

Braggart’s Roar is the most versatile weapon buff in the game. It increases damage, stamina regeneration, and damage negation all in one. It also stacks with itself in power stance builds, making it absolutely absurd.

3. Cragblade (S Tier)

This buff destroys shields by increasing Poise damage and stamina damage. It’s one of the only buffs that directly counters turtle builds.

4. Ice Lightning Sword (S Tier)

Essentially the same buff as Spinning Slash, but on a katana. Since katanas have one of the fastest R1 chains, this buff applies its damage and status much quicker.

5. Spinning Slash (D. Halberd) (A Tier)

This buff applies 160 Lightning damage and 80 Frostbite buildup, making it a powerhouse. The skill itself also benefits greatly from the buff.

6. Ruinous Ghostflame (A Tier)

This buff gives 110 Magic damage and 80 Frostbite buildup, making it one of the few buffs that excels in both raw damage and status effects.

7. Seppuku (A Tier)

Even after nerfs, Seppuku remains one of the strongest bleed buffs available. It provides 30% more physical damage and scalable bleed buildup, making it a staple for bleed builds.

8. Barbaric Roar (A Tier)

The real power here comes from the modified R2 attacks, which allow for massive status buildup and damage. This skill turns colossal weapons into monsters.

9. Shriek of Sorrow (A Tier)

This buff increases your damage based on missing HP. At 30% HP, you get a 25% boost, which is one of the highest in the game. It’s an incredible option for aggressive builds.

10. Sacred Order (A Tier)

This isn’t just a weapon buff—it boosts all Holy damage, including spells. It also deals double damage against undead, making it one of the most versatile buffs in the game.

11-14. Drawstring Messmerfire, Royal Magic, Dragonbolt & Golden Grease (DLC Versions) (B Tier)

Unlike the base game’s drawstring greases, these last 25 seconds and provide a higher damage boost. The difference is noticeable, making them a much better option.

15. Royal Knight’s Resolve (B Tier)

This provides a flat damage multiplier, making it great for burst damage. It’s better for short fights, where you need to maximize damage immediately.

16. Determination (B Tier)

Similar to Royal Knight’s Resolve, but less FP-intensive. It’s a good option for longer fights, where you need to conserve FP.

17. Order's Blade (B Tier)

This buff functions like Electrify Armament and Scholar’s Armament, but also deals double damage against undead. Its low FP cost and long duration make it a solid choice for Holy builds.

18. Poisonous Mist (B Tier)

This buff scales with Arcane, making it better for poison-infused weapons than regular poison greases.

19. Thunderstorm (B Tier)

This buff provides 120 Lightning damage, but it’s attached to a slow weapon animation, making it hard to use effectively.

20. Bloodflame Blade (B Tier)

Unlike Blood Grease, this incantation actually works well. It provides a solid mix of fire damage and bleed buildup, stacking well with weapons like katanas or twinblades.

21. Flare, O Serpent (B Tier)

The fire explosion is solid, and Shard of Alexander boosts it, but the buff itself is average.

22. Black Flame Blade (B Tier)

This lasts only 7 seconds, making it too short to be reliable.

23. Sacred Blade (B Tier)

A decent Holy buff, but Sacred Order is just better.

24-25. Electrify Armament & Scholar’s Armament (B Tier)

These are some of the best basic weapon buffs in the game. They last 90 seconds and provide solid magic or lightning damage. Scholar’s Armament is great for early-game, while Electrify Armament is more useful later.

26. Shriek of Milos (C Tier)

This is just a worse version of Barbaric Roar. The debuff is nice, but the buff itself is weak.

33-34. Dragonwound & Dragon Communion Grease (C Tier)

These greases are great against dragons but have no use outside of those fights. If you’re not fighting a dragon, they do nothing special.

39. Flame Spear (C Tier)

Similar to Flaming Strike, but slightly stronger. It still falls behind in terms of utility compared to better elemental buffs.

40. Flaming Strike (C Tier)

The weapon skill itself is excellent, but the buff it provides afterward is just okay. It lasts 40 seconds, but the fire damage boost is only a bit better than basic fire grease.

57. Eternal Sleep Grease (C Tier)

If you’re relying on sleep buildup, just use pots instead. This grease is gated behind Ripple weapons, making it even less practical.

58. Vyke’s Dragonbolt (C Tier)

This incantation applies both a body buff and a weapon buff. However, Electrify Armament provides the same lightning buff for longer duration, less FP, and lower Faith requirements.

59. Flame Skewer (C Tier)

The skill is great, but the buff is not. It lasts only 15 seconds and provides a flat fire damage boost that's weaker than even basic fire grease.

60. Mists of Slumber (C Tier)

If 15 Eternal Sleep buildup wasn’t enough to make a weapon viable, bumping it up to 20 isn’t going to change anything. This is another sleep-based buff that doesn’t justify its existence.

61. Euporia Vortex (D Tier)

The buff itself is a small 70 Holy damage increase, which isn’t terrible, but it pales in comparison to other buffs. The skill itself is the real selling point, not the buff.

65-62. Vanilla Drawstring Fire, Magic, Lightning & Holy Grease (D Tier)

The DLC introduced drawstring greases with 25 seconds of uptime, while these older versions still only last 10 seconds. That’s not just bad—it’s outdated.

66. Mists of Eternal Sleep (D Tier)

Sleep is already a niche mechanic, and this buff does little to justify its existence. The build-up is lower than regular sleep grease, and against enemies resistant to the status, it's borderline useless.

67. Drawstring Blood Grease (D Tier)

Blood Grease already struggles to compete with incantations like Bloodflame Blade, and the drawstring version makes things even worse. With only 15 seconds of uptime, it barely contributes to bleed buildup before expiring.

68. Bloodboon Ritual (D Tier)

If the buff from this skill didn’t exist, it might have been better off. It gives a flat 30 fire damage for around 16-17 seconds, which is barely noticeable. The weapon skill itself is flashy, but the buff is utterly forgettable.

69. Unseen Blade (D Tier)

It’s impressive how consistently this sorcery manages to be one of the least effective buffs in every Elden Ring list. It barely has any viable applications outside of PvP, and even there, it’s extremely situational. The fact that it can’t be used on infused weapons or stacked with other buffs just kills any potential it had.