I'm really curious to see what people have been going with as I would say 90% of the revenants I fight are using either a sword or dual swords.

I've only fought a handful of all the other weapons combined and I have stuck with my spear + kusarigama combo since starting and haven't found a reason to swap just yet.

90% sword, 10% spear.

I've used the kusarigama almost exclusively except for the one time i busted out dual swords for a boss I was having trouble with. The ability to pull enemies towards to/pull yourself towards enemies has been my bread and butter strategy this game. There's one boss relatively early on that thanks to that specific ability, is a goddamn joke. He spends ages charging up and you can literally just yank him out of his charge like it's nothing.

I would say the only one I've dropped from a regular rotation are axes/hammers. Other than that it's sort of based on the situation I find myself in. I tend to use a spear for most bosses. Going through levels it's probably mostly dual sword/kusarigama with a little but of sword thrown in only because I found a pretty good one.

I think the sword kind of sits in an uncomfortable middle of those two for me. It lacks the reach of high/mid-stance kusarigama and isn't as fast as dual sword or the kusarigama. If I want comparable damage, I'm more likely to use the spear due to the increased reach.

Just the sword because I'm boring. I switch to the spear if I want to be defensive. I'm thinking of trying something else out but I'm deep into the sword skill tree and I'm not sure I want to respec yet.

Ax and dual swords. I'll use my ax for Yokai, big/slow bosses and I'll use dual swords on fast bosses and trash mobs.

Dual Blades. I'm not even sure how you maniacs are playing without them. They are so good. They feel so good. They are so awesome. It's like having a threesome... by yourself. I do use the spear sometimes just to switch things up or if I need more range for a moment, like on certain bosses. but 98% dual blades. I forged and reforged a pretty awesome pair to. It has:

• Fire damage
• Life steal on quick attack hits
• Reduced Ki cost for quick attacks
• Increased damage for quick attacks
• Increased grapple damage
• Bonus damage based on familiarity

I've been going for the axe and spear. I usually use the axe for any kind of slow, lumbering enemies and then bust out the spear when I need more speed. I've used the spear for 2 of the 3 boss fights I've been in so far, for example.

Dual swords with magic on the side. Ive put most of my points into skill and magic with some in heart and spirit.

Would be curious to hear what others have been doing.

Sword, because he looks badass when he sheaths it. It also just feels the most reliable in most situations for me.

Kusarigama and Axe. I love big slow stuff, and the Kusarigama feels unique and fresh after so many Dark Souls filled with swords.

@zevvion: Holy shit that sounds incredibly powerful. I didn't even know life steal existed but I'm only just in the second region so not super far in yet.

Good to know a few more people are using the kusarigama though, that's my favourite weapon so far.

One thing I forgot to mention was ranged weapons. The hand cannon can cause ridiculous damage and I've got a very good bow and matchlock now too. I'm really liking how varied the weapons feel so far.

Yeah, I mean, every single weapon has something to offer. That's as opposed to Dark Souls, where I pretty much stuck to sword + board.

Mainly Swords, Dual swords, or Axe to wreck revenants. Axe seems super OP for revenants to break their guard.

@lawgamer: Depends how you look at it, but all weapon classes in Dark Souls are completely viable. There are just some individual weapons within each class that are better or worse depending on what you're doing. They also can have (slightly) different movesets. If you go for Katana's for instance, depending on your build, yes some of them will be bad. But you can be extremely dangerous with a Katana, you just have to pick the right one. I don't think that's a flaw of the game.

@jtb123 It doesn't steal a ton of health though. If I am at 50% health, I'll come out of the average fight with 65% health if I didn't get hit. Negligible in boss fights and fighting most Yokai. Still nice to have though.

Sure, all weapons can be good in Dark Souls, but I think what I was trying to say is that I don't feel like they're all viable. For me, a lot of weapon types just feel shitty to play with. That's not the case with Nioh. I generally find I can use any weapon I pick up and not immediately hate the way it handles.

Dual swords for ninjas and an axe for the Yokai. It's been working pretty well so far. Although I do use the spear sometimes as I love stinger jabs and it's AOE attacks have good range.

Dual swords and kusarigama. I'm going full ninja in this game and it feels awesome.

Chain and Sickle + Spear

I don't like that some moves don't effect bigger enemies, the good stuff with the spear like position swap and sweep don't so i end up using my chain more because it's easier to combo. I want to do dual swords but having two quick weapons seems to just be a bad idea for diversity. If i do multiple playthroughs i may end up trying everything.

50% spear, 50% whatever drops and is good for the area I'm in. All the weapons are good, so I'm having a real hard time committing to any one of them. Except spear, which is especially good.

Low stance sword and spear.

I wanted to like Dual Blades but they feel terrible.

I have mainly been splitting my time between swords and spears, using dual swords occasionally. Spears in low stance are amazing!

sword, dual sword, magic

It really, really helps that both those weapons scale from the same skills.

Kusarigama! This thing is incredible. Plus it benefits of the same stats as Ninjutsu, so you can get plenty of bombs/poisons/kunai, etc to help your playstyle. Low stance heavy combo or mid stance pokes are great.

Started out mostly using spear but testing out everything, and eventually settled down with the Kusarigama. While I bet (and would hope) it's not the best for pure damage output I suspect it's the "best" weapon in the game. It's just so damn versatile, without any compromises. Want to sit back and poke with long range attacks ? Best in class. Want to get in close and slice and dice ? Sure as hell one of the best ones at that as well. Want to pummel your opponents down with long combos ? Yup, got that too. Want to counter, stun or generally control your opponents ? No one better.

Sure, it's probably the most complex one to use as well, but once you get it down you're able to to adapt to any situation. And on top of that building for Kusarigama means you get a bunch of Ninjutsu as well. Hell, it even gives you access to different status buffs that allow you to further adapt to your specific situation.

Baseball bats. How's Nioh? Haven't gotten around to that yet.

Actually mid stance sword now mostly cause I've kinda gotten the timing down just right on that riposte ability, which has so far never failed to ki break someone when it lands.

Also i switch stances constantly but main low stance chain and mid stance spear.

You can really dominate human enemies with the Kusarigama, so it's my favorite so far. I've always liked the actual weapon, but it doesn't show up in many games. It sold me on the game from the beginning after trying that last demo.

Also Dual Swords since it fits into the Ninjutsu build.

Axe and Dual Swords. The former's getting more action now although they're both around level 50. It's good for breaking guard and that spinning move is the right kind of risk / reward you need.

I am sword with magic with Suzaku as my Guardian Spirit, just unlocked the sword mystic art, that dude was hard. Has anyone done a bare fist run yet?

It's great. One of the best Souls games ever made. For me, it's probably #2.

I've been switching a lot, I mostly use a Sword, or Dual swords and magic. I occasionally use a Kusarigama as well, they're so fun to use.

Ok I chuckled at this.

So far I'm using sword/spear about equally. I'm really early on though so might give the dual swords a try.

I have been sticking with swords as primary and spears as secondary. I find that wielding swords allow me to be more aggressive when engaging revenants, while spears are good for bosses/enemies that require that extra reach (not to mention some of the later humanoid enemies that don't flinch at regular attacks but are susceptible to the spear's position swap). Someone should make a poll so we can see the numbers! =)

Fair enough, but the sword is like the Ryu of these type of games. Wouldn't a Street Fighter without Ryu feel a bit odd?

Sword and axe! Also, this should be a poll!

I have 3 different swords that I use. Each is infused with a different element (lightning, water, and earth). My default is the lightning but I use whichever one looks to be a weakness for the boss/enemies I'm facing. I started out with an axe (because it was the only weapon doing decent damage in the earlier game) but switched as soon as I finished the first real boss.

It's more about style than utlity. I just feel like a badass samurai a huge kill bill style katana. fashion souls to the max

100% regular sword. I carry dual blades for style because it looks cool to have 3 sheaths around the waist lol. If I get around to switching up my weapons, or for a second playthrough, Kusarigama looks super fun. And I'd more than likely enjoy the spear too. Probably won't touch the rest.

After 5 Street Fighers I'd be playing a character that isn't Ryu.

A single katana fits my fashion souls to the max

I've been using the kusarigama. Like others have said, it is god damn amazing, though I use it in high stance and it absolutely crushes most enemies after one encounter.

Easy, they don't have Iai Quickdraw ki pulse cancels.

From what I've seen, all dual swords stances are too fast and lack impact. The katana very much has a slow, power stance, a medium all rounder stance and a fast spam stance. Each has a place and learning to switch between them in combat has been very satisfying. Medium stance is my bread and butter with the regular attack+kick to drain ki and the parry for humanoid enemies. High stance is great for enemies low on the ground and also drains ki through blocks with decent damage on the heavy attack. A regular high stance combo can transition into a devastating double flip slam. Very good on bosses and yokai out of ki. So is the low stance as it's so fast it will interrupt anything on bosses and yokai out of ki. The kick slam attack at the end of a combo is also fairly powerful. On top of that any stance can be transitioned into a Quickdraw ki pulse cancel of 3 different types.

This game is very good you guys.

@pyrodactyl Not true. High stance skill moves with dual blades do insane amounts of damage. If you want Ki damage, dual blades are fantastic for that too.

If they don't (I have no idea what it is) I sure don't need it apparently.

I kinda like everything except the big weapons. I feel like I can get high impsct from most weapons without sacrificing SO much speed like the axes or hammers. But still I think it's fun to just level up all the weapons because they all play great. I just beat the second boss and she dropped a real nice katana I wanna use. If I had to choose my favorites so far it would be sword and spear. I really like the ball+sickle but I have not found any thst really match in quality compared to my spears or swords. I'm assuming that weapon is naturally lower damage by had speed and range as an advantage?

100% sword so far! I'm here for the duels. Loving the stance system. I'm about 60% High Stance, 30% Medium, 10% Low.

Early on, I found the low stance absolutely obliterates those pick-axe-crawl-on-the-ground yokai. The high stance on the other hand basically kills everything so long as you don't kill yourself in the midst of your attempts. Medium stance is basically my "health is low, nearly going to die" defensive stance. The parries in this game feel really good. Also... that quickdraw.

I'm still very early so we'll see if this changes as the game goes on! I liked what I played of the axes but they don't fit my current role playing mood.

Yep. It really is.

Awesome reading about the variety in here.

Oh and I do use Bow & Arrow / Rifles sometimes too but range weapons are a side-dish, not really a meal so far. That said, headshots are pretty satisfying, and bringing the big demons down is great fun too.

Ax only. I like slow, powerful weapons that I can get 1 hit in and then dodge around until I can hit again.

I don't really like the feel of the rest of the stuff I've tried, but maybe it's because I'm so used to the ax. You guys are making the sickle and spear sound pretty fun.

I also love headshotting guys with the ranged weapons. This game has one of the best head explosion animations ever.

I keep forgetting to use that.

In fact maybe as you level up the game gets a lot easier because I recently noticed that I haven't been even ki-pulsing in the middle of battles anymore, mostly because I don't need to.

@humanity: Yeah same here, late game I have really regressed into just swinging wildly at things.