Elden Ring - Ballistas

Three weapons, no scaling, and the hardest single hit in the game: a maxed Jar Cannon lands 672 physical plus a 160-damage bolt, on a Strength requirement that two-handing drops to 23.

Combat

Pros

• Highest attack power in the game on a per-shot basis: Jar Cannon 672 physical and Hand Ballista 600 at max, against 318 for the best greatbow and 308 for the best crossbow.
• Highest stamina damage of any ranged weapon: Jar Cannon 180, Hand Ballista 150. Ballistas stagger and stance-break things nothing else at range can.
• No stat scaling at all: requirements only, so a caster, a Faith build or a bleed build all fire an identical Jar Cannon.
• Requirements are much softer than they read: two-hand-only means the printed Str counts at two-thirds, so the Jar Cannon's 34 is effectively 23 and the Hand Ballista's 30 is effectively 20.

Cons

• Twenty great bolts held, maximum. At 300 runes for a Ballista Bolt and 800 for an Explosive Greatbolt, this is the most expensive ammunition in the game to sustain.
• Slow reload and a long post-firing animation. You get one shot per opening, and if you miss, the opening is gone.
• Heaviest ranged weapons in the game: Hand Ballista 10.0, Jar Cannon and Rabbath's Cannon 15.0 each.
• No Ashes of War, no greases, no spell buffs, no affinities; the skill is Kick on all three.

Builds

There is no ballista build: there is a ballista requirement.

• Rabbath's Cannon 28 Str / 16 Dex, Hand Ballista 30/14, Jar Cannon 34/12; two-handing cuts the Str to an effective 19, 20 and 23.
• Past that, levels do nothing for it.
• All your damage growth comes from upgrade level, the great bolt you load, and stacked buffs.
• 's Jar Cannon page lists the multipliers, described as multiplicative unless stated: Arrow's Sting Talisman +10%, Ritual Sword Talisman +10% at full health, Flame Grant Me Strength +20%, Rallying Standard +20%, Lord of Blood's Exultation +20%, White Mask +10%, Blue Dancer Charm up to +11% at minimum equip load.

Best Weapons

Weapon	Image	Attack	Weight	Str	Dex	Int	Fai	Arc	Why Take It
Jar Cannon		192	15	34	12	-	-	-	Hardest single hit of any ranged weapon in the game: 192 physical at +0 and 672 at Somber +10, with 180 stamina damage. Its 34 Str reads brutal but is effectively 23 because it must be two-handed. also documents a real fire-rate exploit: using the recoil to drop off a waist-high ledge skips the entire post-firing animation, letting you fire roughly twice in the time one normal shot takes. Dropped by Demi-Human Queen Margot in Volcano Cave, so it is a mid-run pickup, not an endgame one.
Hand Ballista		135	10	30	14	-	-	-	600 physical and 150 stamina damage at max on 10.0 weight: a third lighter than the Jar Cannon, and 30 Str, effectively 20. What makes it the practical pick is where it is: a chest atop the Forest Lookout Tower in the Weeping Peninsula, immediately west of the Bridge of Sacrifice. It is available before Margit and still relevant at the end of the game.
Rabbath's Cannon		135 + 135 magic	15	28	16	-	-	-	Shadow of the Erdtree. The only split-damage ballista: 135 physical + 135 magic at +0, 378 + 378 at max. Lowest Strength requirement of the three at 28, effectively 19. Its total attack rating (AR) is the highest in the class, but split across two types, so it beats the Jar Cannon into magic-weak targets and loses to it into anything with balanced defences. Pairs with Rabbath's Greatbolt (50 physical + 150 magic). Chest atop Rabbath's Rise in eastern Scadu Altus.

Notes

• No stat scaling; requirements only. Levelling does nothing for ballista damage once the requirement is met.
• Must be two-handed to fire, which is why the printed Strength requirement counts at two-thirds, the Jar Cannon's 34 becomes an effective 23.
• Great Bolts only, using the two lower ammunition slots, capped at 20 held / 600 stored.
• Great bolt damage is roughly a quarter of the total shot: Ballista Bolt 160 physical (300 runes), Bone Ballista Bolt 150 craftable from one Hefty Beast Bone, Explosive Greatbolt 50 + 150 fire (800 runes), Lightning Greatbolt 50 + 150 lightning (500 runes), Rabbath's Greatbolt 50 + 150 magic.
• Buff stacking is the class's only damage growth. 's Jar Cannon page lists Arrow's Sting +10%, Ritual Sword +10% at full HP, Flame Grant Me Strength +20%, Rallying Standard +20%, Lord of Blood's Exultation +20%, White Mask +10%, Blue Dancer Charm 0-11%, described as multiplicative unless noted. Flame Grant Me Strength boosts Explosive Greatbolts more because those carry fire damage.

All Ballistas

Name	Image	Physical	Magic	Fire	Light	Holy	Crit. Boost	Range	Weight	Str.	Dex.	Int.	Fai.	Arc.	Sell Price	Skill
Hand Ballista		135 -	0 -	0 -	0 -	0 -	100 -	50	10	-30	-14	0	0	0	200	Kick
Jar Cannon		192 -	0 -	0 -	0 -	0 -	100 -	50	15	-34	-12	0	0	0	500	Kick