Elden Ring - Halberds

Sweeps and thrusts share one moveset on a halberd, the generalist polearm and the only polearm class with a genuine pure Strength ceiling, backed by the deepest infusable bench and the steepest stat bills.

Combat

Pros

• This is the only polearm class that reaches S scaling on an infusable weapon. Gargoyle's Halberd hits S Strength at full Heavy (275 physical), and so does Nightrider Glaive (270), while no spear, great spear or reaper gets past A on Heavy.
• The infusable attack ceiling is the best among polearms. When fully upgraded, Guardian's Swordspear reaches 340 physical, Dragon Halberd 330, Glaive 323 and Gargoyle's Halberd 320, against 301 for the best spear and great spear.
• Most of the class is infusable and buffable on ordinary Smithing Stones (Halberd, Banished Knight's Halberd, Lucerne, Glaive, Vulgar Militia Saw, Vulgar Militia Shotel, Guardian's Swordspear, Gargoyle's Halberd, Nightrider Glaive, Pest's Glaive), so almost any build has a home here.
• The class offers real moveset variety rather than a single shared set, with three light-attack families and two heavy-attack families covering both poking and sweeping.

Cons

• This is the heaviest polearm class. Golden Halberd weighs 13.5, and Gargoyle's Halberd, Gargoyle's Black Halberd and Nightrider Glaive 12 each, while only Spirit Glaive (6.5), Lucerne and Pest's Glaive (7) are light.
• Requirements are the steepest of the polearms. Golden Halberd needs 30 Strength, the Gargoyle weapons 26, Commander's Standard 24 and Dragon Halberd 22, compared with 8 to 20 Strength across the whole Spear class.
• Innate status is almost absent, with only Vulgar Militia Saw (55 bleed) and Poleblade of the Bud (55 scarlet rot) carrying any, so bleed or rot on any other halberd costs the infusion slot.
• Several of the strongest entries cannot be infused: Commander's Standard, Dragon Halberd, Golden Halberd, Gargoyle's Black Halberd, Loretta's War Sickle, Ripple Crescent Halberd, Spirit Glaive and Poleblade of the Bud.

Builds

Strength is the class identity.

• A Heavy infusion pushes Gargoyle's Halberd to S Strength (275) and Nightrider Glaive to S Strength from +20 upward (270), with Banished Knight's Halberd, Halberd, Glaive, Lucerne, Pest's Glaive and both Vulgar Militia weapons at A.
• Dexterity has a genuine answer in Guardian's Swordspear, which reaches A Dexterity at full Keen (312 physical), and a +25 Keen Swordspear out-damages a +25 Quality one at 99 Strength and 99 Dexterity (813 against 776).
• Arcane splits two ways, either raw attack rating through full Occult (Banished Knight's Halberd and Halberd at A Arcane, 270, Guardian's Swordspear 299 at B) or status through Ripple Crescent Halberd at S Arcane.
• Intelligence gets exactly one option, Loretta's War Sickle (20 Intelligence, C Strength, Dexterity and Intelligence when fully upgraded, 269 physical and 173 magic).
• Faith gets Golden Halberd and Gargoyle's Black Halberd, both expensive in Strength.

Best Weapons

Weapon	Image	Attack	Weight	Str	Dex	Int	Fai	Arc	Why Take It
Guardian's Swordspear		139	9	17	16	-	-	-	Guardian's Swordspear is the top Dexterity halberd, with 139 physical at +0, the highest in the class, and C Dexterity that reaches A at max upgrade on a Keen infusion. Its light attacks are upward slashes ending in a horizontal sweep, unlike the standard halberd set. Erdtree Guardians drop it, so it can be farmed rather than found once.
Commander's Standard		138	11.5	24	14	-	-	-	Commander's Standard has 138 physical at +0, second only to the Guardian's Swordspear, and the longest reach in its class, with thrusting light attacks that use that range. Rallying Standard is the real draw, since any build that meets its requirements can raise it as a party buff and swap back to its main weapon. It takes Somber stones.
Golden Halberd		134 + 87 holy	13.5	30	14	-	12	-	Golden Halberd is a strong early Faith weapon with 134 physical and 87 holy at +0 and Golden Vow built in as its skill. It is the heaviest halberd at 13.5, wants a lot of Strength and upgrades only with Somber stones, but it is there from the first hour for anyone who can beat the Tree Sentinel.
Nightrider Glaive		129	12	26	10	-	-	-	Nightrider Glaive is a Strength halberd with C Strength scaling at +0 that reaches S at high upgrade levels on a Heavy infusion, and it has a stronger mounted motion value than other halberds, so it hits harder from Torrent. Its 50 guard boost ties for best in the class, which suits a Strength build that likes to block between swings.
Gargoyle's Black Halberd		103 + 123 holy	12	26	10	-	22	-	Gargoyle's Black Halberd has the highest holy damage among halberds at 123 holy alongside 103 physical, with a 50 guard boost that ties for best in the class and 72 holy guard negation. It weighs 12 and cannot be infused, but a Strength and Faith build gets the strongest holy polearm in the game from it.

Notes

• Damage types vary. Glaives deal Slash where other halberds deal Standard, and Poleblade of the Bud and Loretta's War Sickle also deal Slash despite their names.
• The three light-attack families are poking (Halberd, Banished Knight's Halberd, Dragon Halberd, Commander's Standard), side-swiping uppercuts (Guardian's Swordspear, Loretta's War Sickle, Poleblade of the Bud) and the shared default for everything else.
• The two heavy-attack families are a unique slam-down on Lucerne, Nightrider Glaive and Golden Halberd and the shared spinning heavy on everything else.
• The uncharged first heavy attack is faster across the class.
• With a Blood infusion, Guardian's Swordspear reaches 285 with 100 bleed, Glaive 270 and Gargoyle's Halberd 268.

All Halberds

Name	Image	Physical	Magic	Fire	Light	Holy	Crit. Boost	Weight	Str.	Dex.	Int.	Fai.	Arc.	Sell Price	Skill
Banished Knight's Halberd		125 50	0 35	0 35	0 35	0 35	100 35	8	D 14	D 12	0	0	0	100	Charge Forth
Commander's Standard		138 64	0 41	0 41	0 41	0 41	100 49	11.5	D 24	D 14	0	0	0	500	Rallying Standard
Dragon Halberd		135 52	0 37	0 37	0 50	0 37	100 39	10.5	D 22	D 10	0	0	0	100	Spinning Slash
Gargoyle's Black Halberd		103 48	0 36	0 36	0 36	123 72	100 42	12	D 26	E 10	0	D 22	0	100	Spinning Slash
Gargoyle's Halberd		131 60	0 42	0 42	0 42	0 42	100 42	12	C 26	E 10	0	0	0	100	Spinning Slash
Glaive		132 60	0 38	0 38	0 38	0 38	100 46	10	D 18	D 15	0	0	0	100	Spinning Slash
Guardian's Swordspear		139 52.0	0 36.0	0 36.0	0 36.0	0 36.0	100 44	9.0	E 17	C 16	0	0	0	100	Spinning Slash
Halberd		125 55	0 35	0 35	0 35	0 35	100 42	8	D 14	D 12	0	0	0	100	Charge Forth
Loretta's War Sickle		110 57	71 49	0 36	0 36	0 36	100 46	10	D 20	D 15	D 20	0	0	500	Loretta's Slash
Lucerne		121 52	0 33	0 33	0 33	0 33	100 39	7	D 15	C 12	0	0	0	100	Charge Forth
Nightrider Glaive		129 60	0 42	0 42	0 42	0 42	100 42	12	C 26	E 10	0	0	0	100	Spinning Slash
Pest's Glaive		120 47	0 33	0 33	0 33	0 33	100 33	7	D 13	D 13	0	0	0	100	Spinning Slash
Poleblade of the Bud		131 60	0 38	0 38	0 38	0 38	100 46	10.0	E 14	D 22	0	0	D 20	1000	Romina's Purification
Ripple Crescent Halberd		86 56	0 35	0 35	0 35	0 35	100 43	8.5	-12	-12	0	0	B 20	100	Spinning Slash
Spirit Glaive		121 47	36 38	0 33	0 33	0 33	100 39	6.5	D 14	D 17	D 16	0	0	500	Rancor Slash
Vulgar Militia Saw		126 55	0 35	0 35	0 35	0 35	100 42	8	D 15	D 13	0	0	0	100	Spinning Slash
Vulgar Militia Shotel		121 55	0 35	0 35	0 35	0 35	100 42	8	E 14	C 16	0	0	0	100	Spinning Slash