Elden Ring - Fists

No real weapon class costs less than the fist, with the Caestus asking 8 Strength, 8 Dexterity and 1.5 weight, and fists grow into a serious status and Arcane platform even though their damage ceiling is roughly two-thirds of a colossal weapon's.

Combat

Pros

• Requirements and weight are trivial, with 8 Strength and 8 Dexterity on the Caestus and weight from 0 (Cipher Pata) to 6 (Golem Fist), so a fist is almost always a free swap rather than a stat commitment.
• Fists are naturally paired, so two-handing spawns a duplicate in the off-hand and gives dual-wield strings without spending a second weapon slot (Grafted Dragon excluded).
• The status spread is deep, with 45 bleed each on the Spiked Caestus and Star Fist, 106 poison on the Poisoned Hand, 55 madness on the Madding Hand and 42 Eternal Sleep on Thiollier's Hidden Needle.
• Every damage type is represented at +0, with 110 physical on the Golem Fist, 85 holy on the Cipher Pata, 63 fire on the Madding Hand, 53 lightning on the Veteran's Prosthesis and 45 magic on Thiollier's Hidden Needle.

Cons

• The damage ceiling is low, with the best being the Golem Fist at 269 at max standard upgrade, against the Duelist Greataxe's 416 among colossal weapons.
• Range is the real cost, since fists are short-range weapons and every trade happens inside the enemy's hitbox.
• Guard boost is 18 to 26 across the class at +0, except the Golem Fist's 36, so blocking is not a plan.
• The best pieces are Somber and locked out of both infusion and buffs, namely the Cipher Pata, Poisoned Hand, Madding Hand, Thiollier's Hidden Needle and Grafted Dragon, while the Golem Fist can be infused but not buffed with magic or consumables.

Builds

Two shapes are worth committing to.

• The first is Arcane status, with 60 Arcane on Blood or Occult and a choice between the Star Fist (more physical, 257 at max standard upgrade, slightly less bleed) and the Spiked Caestus (more bleed, 222 at max standard upgrade).
• The second is Strength, through the Golem Fist at 24 Strength, where Heavy +25 gives A Strength and 244 physical plus a free ranged attack.
• Faith gets exactly one weapon, the Cipher Pata at 30 Faith, with A Faith and 208 holy at +10 for no weight at all.
• Dexterity leans on the Clinging Bone (22 Dexterity, B at max, with lifesteal) or Thiollier's Hidden Needle (22 Dexterity, B Dexterity and C Intelligence).
• Because requirements are so low, the honest answer for most builds is to carry a fist as an off-hand utility item, the Poisoned Hand for its buff or Thiollier's Hidden Needle or the Grafted Dragon for off-hand skill priority, rather than to build around the class.

Best Weapons

Weapon	Image	Attack	Weight	Str	Dex	Int	Fai	Arc
Golem Fist		110	6	24	8	11	11	-
Star Fist		105	3	12	8	-	-	-
Spiked Caestus		91	2	8	10	-	-	-
Poisoned Hand		76	1	8	8	-	-	28
Cipher Pata		85 holy	0	-	-	-	30	-

Notes

• The class has two moveset families, Strike and Pierce, with the Caestus, Spiked Caestus and Golem Fist having their own, while the Cipher Pata sits outside both.
• Thiollier's Hidden Needle and the Grafted Dragon override the main-hand weapon skill when held in the left hand, the way Parry does.
• The Golem Fist's ranged heavy-attack projectile costs no FP, and the hand portion of that attack has its own damage hitbox.
• Stamina damage at max standard upgrade peaks at the Golem Fist's 118, with the rest of the class at 90 to 112, well under the 144 to 224 of colossal weapons.
• The Poisoned Hand shares its heavy attacks with the Star Fist, and the Grafted Dragon shares its heavy attacks with the Iron Ball and Star Fist.

All Fists

The table below lists all Fists in Elden Ring.

Name	Image	Physical	Magic	Fire	Light	Holy	Crit. Boost	Weight	Str.	Dex.	Int.	Fai.	Arc.	Sell Price	Skill
Caestus		90 35	0 20	0 20	0 20	0 20	100 20	1.5	D 8	D 8	0	0	0	100	Endure
Cipher Pata		0 9	0 14	0 14	0 14	85 61	100 19	0	0	0	0	C 30	0	500	Unblockable Blade
Clinging Bone		80 31	24 36	0 17	0 17	0 17	100 21	3	E 8	C 22	0	0	D 16	200	Lifesteal Fist
Golem Fist		110 58	0 24	0 24	0 24	0 24	100 36	6	C 24	E 8	E 11	E 11	0	500	Endure
Grafted Dragon		89 27	0 18	57 44	0 18	0 18	100 22	2.5	D 20	D 14	0	D 16	0	100	Bear Witness!
Iron Ball		101 38	0 22	0 22	0 22	0 22	100 22	2.5	D 11	E 8	0	0	0	100	Endure
Katar		97 36	0 21	0 21	0 21	0 21	110 21	2.5	D 8	D 10	0	0	0	100	Impaling Thrust
Madding Hand		53 20	0 15	63 42	0 15	0 15	100 19	1	D 8	E 8	E 13	E 20	0	200	Madding Spear-Hand Strike
Pata		104 45	0 26	0 26	0 26	0 26	110 26	4	D 11	D 15	0	0	0	100	Impaling Thrust
Poisoned Hand		76 33	0 19	0 19	0 19	0 19	100 19	1	E 8	8	0	0	C 28	200	Poison Spear-Hand Strike
Spiked Caestus		91 35	0 20	0 20	0 20	0 20	100 20	2	D 8	D 10	0	0	0	100	Endure
Star Fist		105 41	0 23	0 23	0 23	0 23	100 23	3	D 12	E 8	0	0	0	100	Endure
Thiollier's Hidden Needle		70 28	45 27	0 16	0 16	0 16	100 18	0.5	E 10	C 22	D 15	0	0	500	Sleep Evermore
Unarmed		20	0	0	0	0	100	0	0	0	0	0	0	-	Kick
Veteran's Prosthesis		83 30	0 20	0 20	53 48	0 20	100 24	4	D 15	D 12	0	0	0	500	Storm Kick