Considering the best V Rising best weapon tier list involves a lot of factors, like playstyle, speed and damage ratios and taking into account PvE and PvP combat, as killing monsters is very different to killing other players.
There's a range of strengths, defenses and skills to consider although we'd say generally that the best weapon in V Rising is the Slashers, aka the dual daggers, for fighting other players in PvP while the Sword is probably best against monsters. Both of those are good recommendations overall, and obviously at the highest tier you can craft with Sanguine being the absolute best.
A lot of it will come down to personal preference and occasionally the specific enemy. We'll explain why that's the case in more detail just below, as well as present the full tier list for all the best weapons in V Rising.
V Rising best weapons tier list
The best weapons in V Rising can be sorted into the following tier list:
You can click on any of these to find out more about how to get and use them effectively, as well as scrolling down! So if you want a more detailed consideration of what's to come, check out the full stats and how to get all the weapons below.
Obviously the higher level or tier type have the better so you might find what recipes and crafting equipment you have being a more important thing than just weapons alone.
Slashers
Players can craft the Slashers initially by getting the recipie from killing Quincy the Bandit King - the boss that unlocks V Rising Iron too. Once Quincy is dead you can craft Iron Ingots to use them in two new weapon recipes that you also get by killing him! One of those is the Slashers, a pair of sleek iron daggers that rapidly land blows on enemies and can be built in the Smithy - another recipe he drops.
Slashers don't have a massive DPS, but they strike quickly and land various kinds of impairments that greatly impede an enemies' ability to hit back. The Elusive Strike skill lets you cut at foes rapidly while slowing them, and the Camouflage skill lets you go invisible for short periods before making an attack that incapacitates foes. It's a pretty phenomenal setup.
Sword
The Sword is the first weapon you obtain in the game (or at least a variation of it), and it's a very solid jack-of-all-trades option that balances speed, power and versatility. The whirlwind attack is great for battling groups of weaker enemies, hitting everybody around you, and the Shockwave is good for hitting a single targets with powerful combos. Swords are incredibly dependable in PvE, and worth keeping on you at all times unless the quality of other weapons far outclass it.
Spear
The Spear is a weapon purely made for combat, and you'll get the most basic form of it during the tutorial. The Spear's is by nature meant for fighting single enemies, with thin, stabbing attack patterns and skills that are mainly effective when on a single target. That makes it a solid PvP choice. The skill "A Thousand Spears" unleashes a barrage of attacks that knocks targets over, while the Harpoon does the opposite - a ranged attack that drags the target in your direction.
Axes
Axes are all about basic fury and just unleashing everything you have. A basic set of Axes can be obtained during the tutorial and, while introduced as a means for cutting down trees, they serve well as weapons. They're slower but harder-hitting than the Sword and despite a okay-ish standard attack pattern, they have some really good skills - Frenzy is a powerful attack that triggers short-term movement and attack speed buffs, while X-Strike is a ranged attack that can slow or even incapacitate enemies if both Axes hit them.
Mace
The Mace is the slowest melee weapon in V Rising but while it hits infrequently, it does massive damage when it does. It needs to be used wisely though and is great against slow foes but struggles against quick ones. It's speed means it can often leave the player vulnerable thanks to long attack animations so it's not one to use if you're not confident. However, the Crushing Blow skill is a very powerful area of attack move that traps enemies in place, while the simply-named "Smack" will send enemies flying, giving you a chance to attack, heal or retreat.
Reaper
The Reaper is a giant scythe and counterpart to the Slashers, as it's also unlocked by killing Quincy. However, while the Slashers are fast-striking daggers the Reaper is a slow, swinging blade. The Tendon Swing is a massive strike that snares foes and does huge damage, but the Howling Reaper is a ranged attack that stays in place, hitting anybody who comes near and slowing them.
Crossbow
Want superior forms of these weapons? Find out how to get V Rising Merciless weapons and gear, or for more protection, grab the best V Rising armor here!
The Hunter's Crossbow is the first version of this weapon you can obtain after killing Rufus the Foreman, a level 20 boss at the Bandit Logging Camp in central Farbane Woods. If you need it narrowed down more, use our V Rising boss locations page.
The Crossbow isn't great and works best as a backup weapon as a ranged attack isn't a bad thing to have. However, the slow attack rate and generally unremarkable damage mean it's probably better just to master one of the melee weapons. The Rain of Bolts skill is a weak area attack that damages foes around you, although the Snapshot is a useful attack that interrupts spells and attack animations.
How to upgrade weapons in V Rising
Upgrading weapons in V Rising nearly always requires you to find some sort of specific recipe. Sometimes players will craft better weapons from scratch, while other times you'll use the original weapon and combine it with new materials to produce something new and superior - for example, the Merciless Copper Sword requires you to use up a worse Sword to create it. However, the Iron Sword is built entirely fresh.
Weapon upgrade recipes are also fairly contextual, but can be found in any of the following ways:
- Randomly dropped from slain enemies
- Dropped by specific bosses
- Obtained randomly by putting V Rising Paper into the Research Table
There are also unique special variants of weapons that can be found across the map, usually dropped by high-level bosses. These are still being found out, but it's worth checking out bosses in particular - for example, the Undead Commander at the Haunted Iron Mine drops the General's Soul Reaper, a unique Reaper that does extra damage on undead enemies, which'll be helpful if you want to farm V Rising Grave Dust.
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