Elden Ring - Axes

Cheap and light at 2.5 to 7.5 weight and 9 to 24 Strength, the one-handed axe gets picked up early and kept for charged heavy attacks and Ash of War use rather than for staggering bosses.

Combat

Pros

• Entry cost is low, with Strength requirements running from 9 (Forked Hatchet) to 24 (Warped Axe) and Dexterity from 7 (Iron Cleaver) to 16 (Icerind Hatchet).
• Axes rank among the lightest blunt classes alongside Hammers, at 2.5 (Forked Hatchet) to 7.5 (Warped Axe), so a full kit fits inside a light-roll budget.
• They are one-handed and shield-compatible, and the Hand Axe, Forked Hatchet, Icerind Hatchet and Forked-Tongue Hatchet swing faster than the rest of the class.
• Damage identities are spread widely, with magic on Rosus' Axe (72), lightning on Death Knight's Twin Axes (65), frost on the Icerind Hatchet (65 buildup) and Arcane scaling on the Ripple Blade.

Cons

• Stance damage is low, running at maximum standard upgrade from 94 (Icerind Hatchet) to 128 (Warped Axe), against 106 to 122 for Flails, 84 to 130 for Hammers, 150 to 184 for Greataxes and 154 to 218 for Great Hammers.
• Scaling is flat and mediocre at +0. The best Strength grade in the class is C (Iron Cleaver, Warped Axe) and the best Dexterity grade is D, and only the Ripple Blade breaks out, with A Arcane.
• Only the Highland Axe exceeds 100 critical (110), so this is not a riposte-oriented class.
• Guard boost tops out at 43 (Warped Axe) and most axes sit at 27 to 33, poor for a class that is actually one-handed behind a shield.

Builds

Between 12 and 16 Strength with 8 to 10 Dexterity covers most of the class outright, unlocking the Battle Axe, Highland Axe, Jawbone Axe, Sacrificial Axe, Iron Cleaver and Messmer Soldier's Axe.

• Pushing Strength to 19 and Dexterity to 15 adds the Stormhawk Axe, and Strength to 24 the Warped Axe.
• Investing past that for the class itself is wasted, since axe scaling is too flat to reward it.
• There are two exceptions: 20 Arcane for the Ripple Blade, the only A-grade scaling of any kind in the class at +0, which reaches S Arcane at maximum standard upgrade, and 16 Dexterity with 11 Strength for the Icerind Hatchet, which puts Hoarfrost Stomp on a 3.0-weight weapon.

Best Weapons

Weapon	Image	Attack	Weight	Str	Dex	Int	Fai	Arc
Stormhawk Axe		136	5.5	19	15	-	-	-
Messmer Soldier's Axe		133	5.5	14	10	-	-	-
Warped Axe		124	7.5	24	8	-	-	-
Icerind Hatchet		115	3	11	16	-	-	-
Ripple Blade		75	4.5	11	11	-	-	20

Notes

• Charged heavy attacks are the class's signature, and the Battle Axe's own description says axes are regarded for their powerful charge attacks.
• The faster swing of the Hand Axe, Forked Hatchet, Icerind Hatchet and Forked-Tongue Hatchet does not carry over to the powerstanced moveset.
• Stance damage at maximum standard upgrade is 94 on the Icerind Hatchet, 106 on the Hand Axe and Forked Hatchet, 112 on the Battle Axe, Highland Axe, Celebrant's Cleaver and Ripple Blade, 116 on the Stormhawk Axe and Rosus' Axe, 120 on the Smithscript Axe, 122 on the Iron Cleaver, Jawbone Axe, Sacrificial Axe, Messmer Soldier's Axe and Death Knight's Twin Axes, and 128 on the Warped Axe.
• A Heavy affinity does not raise stance damage on axes the way it does on hammers. The Smithscript Axe stays at 120 on both maximum standard and maximum Heavy, while its attack rating drops from 320 to 293.
• Damage type is Standard across the class except the Forked-Tongue Hatchet (Standard and Pierce), the only axe that can trigger a thrusting counterattack on a guard counter.

All Axes

The table below lists all Axes in Elden Ring.

Name	Image	Physical	Magic	Fire	Light	Holy	Crit. Boost	Weight	Str.	Dex.	Int.	Fai.	Arc.	Sell Price	Skill
Battle Axe		128 47.0	0 31.0	0 31.0	0 31.0	0 31.0	100 31	4.5	D 12	D 8	0	0	0	100	Wild Strikes
Celebrant's Cleaver		125 47	0 31	0 31	0 31	0 31	100 33	4.5	D 12	D 8	0	0	0	100	Wild Strikes
Death Knight's Twin Axes		101 44.0	0 30.0	0 30.0	65 44.0	0 30.0	100 33	5.5	D 14	D 12	0	D 16	0	0	Blinkbolt: Twinaxe
Forked Hatchet		113 40	0 27	0 27	0 27	0 27	100 27	2.5	D 9	C 14	0	0	0	100	Quickstep
Forked-Tongue Hatchet		125 45.0	0 30.0	0 30.0	0 30.0	0 30.0	100 30	4.0	D 10	D 13	0	0	0	200	Dragonform Flame
Hand Axe		117 42	0 28	0 28	0 28	0 28	100 28	3.5	D 9	D 8	0	0	0	100	Quickstep
Highland Axe		128 47	0 31	0 31	0 31	0 31	110 31	4.5	D 12	D 9	0	0	0	100	War Cry
Icerind Hatchet		115 40	0 27	0 27	0 27	0 27	100 27	3.0	E 11	C 16	0	0	0	100	Hoarfrost Stomp
Iron Cleaver		125 51.0	0 34.0	0 34.0	0 34.0	0 34.0	100 34	6.0	C 15	E 7	0	0	0	100	Wild Strikes
Jawbone Axe		130 49	0 33	0 33	0 33	0 33	100 36	5.5	C 14	E 8	0	0	0	100	Wild Strikes
Messmer Soldier's Axe		133 49.0	0 33.0	0 33.0	0 33.0	0 33.0	100 33	5.5	D 14	D 10	0	0	0	100	War Cry
Ripple Blade		75 47	0 31	0 31	0 31	0 31	100 31	4.5	11	11	0	0	A 20	100	Wild Strikes
Rosus' Axe		112 44	72 44	0 30	0 30	0 30	100 33	5.5	D 18	E 10	D 18	0	0	200	Rosus's Summons
Sacrificial Axe		133 49	0 33	0 33	0 33	0 33	100 33	5.5	D 16	D 10	0	0	0	100	Wild Strikes
Smithscript Axe		131 48.0	0 32.0	0 32.0	0 32.0	0 32.0	100 32	5.0	D 13	D 10	E 11	E 11	0	0	Wild Strikes
Stormhawk Axe		136 49	0 33	0 33	0 33	0 33	100 31	5.5	D 19	D 15	0	0	0	200	Thunderstorm
Warped Axe		124 56	0 37	0 37	0 37	0 37	100 43	7.5	C 24	8	0	0	0	200	War Cry