Elden Ring - Whips

A long-reach, featherweight status delivery system: you take whips to proc bleed or poison from outside trade range and to be unparryable, not to out-damage anything.

Combat

Pros

• Every whip weighs 2.0 to 3.5 and none needs more than 18 Str, so a whip is nearly free to carry as a second option.
• Whips cannot be parried: a genuine edge against invaders and parry-happy NPCs.
• Unlike Torches and Perfume Bottles, whips take the full affinity and Ash of War system: Heavy, Keen, Quality, Fire, Flame, Lightning, Sacred, Magic, Cold, Poison, Blood and Occult all exist, so the class can be re-pointed at whatever stat you already bought.
• Hoslow's Petal Whip drops from two different sources in one playthrough (Juno Hoslow, Diallos Hoslow), which is what makes the powerstanced bleed-whip build possible at all.

Cons

• Whips cannot perform critical attacks at all: no riposte, no backstab payoff. 's Flails page draws the contrast explicitly: flails are also unparryable but keep their crits.
• Poise/stamina damage is the class's structural flaw. At max Standard the whole class sits at 84 to 92 stamina damage, and Tooth Whip is 46. For comparison the Flail class runs 106 to 122 on the same table.
• Guard boost tops out at 17, so blocking with one is not a real option.

Builds

Dexterity-primary, with Arcane only if you commit to Blood or Occult.

• Strength is close to dead weight here: the highest Str requirement in the class is 18 (Giant's Red Braid) and the highest Dex requirement is 24 (Tooth Whip).
• The class's peak scaling grade is S Dex, reached only by Keen Urumi at +25; Keen Thorned Whip reaches A Dex.
• Faith is a separate branch entirely, Magma Whip Candlestick (Fai 18) and Giant's Red Braid (Fai 21) are the only whips that pay a Faith build.

Best Weapons

Weapon	Image	Attack	Weight	Str	Dex	Int	Fai	Arc	Why Take It
Hoslow's Petal Whip		110	3.5	10	20	-	-	-	Hardest physical hit in the class at 110 at +0 and 276 at max Standard, with blood loss 55. More importantly it is one of a small group of weapons that deal extra damage when Hemorrhage procs WITHOUT being blood-infused (10.5% + 200), so you get the proc bonus while keeping Standard's higher raw attack rating (AR). Two are obtainable per playthrough for powerstancing. Costs: Dex 20 and 3.5 weight, the heaviest whip in the class.
Tooth Whip		109	2.5	10	24	-	-	-	The only DLC addition to the class and the only poison whip: buildup 66, 109 physical at +0, 267 at max Standard. It pays for it twice, stamina damage 46 at max Standard, roughly half of every other whip, and Dex 24, the steepest requirement in the class.
Thorned Whip		102	2.5	8	16	-	-	-	The value pick and the answer to 'best right now' before Mountaintops. Blood loss 50 at only Str 8 / Dex 16 and 2.5 weight, second-highest raw damage in the class (257 at max Standard), and Keen takes it to A Dex. It drops from Fire Prelates at a 4% rate, so it is available far earlier than Hoslow's.
Urumi		101	3	10	19	-	-	-	The only whip that deals Slash instead of Strike, and it has a unique R2 that is a slash followed by a thrust, so it is the one whip that covers Slash/Pierce weaknesses. its high Dex scaling 'lends itself well to Keen and Lightning infusions', and Keen at +25 reaches S Dex, the highest scaling grade anywhere in the class (though at 225 base attack rating (AR) versus 247 on Standard, so it only wins at high Dex).
Magma Whip Candlestick		72 + 72 fire	2.5	8	16	-	18	-	Highest total damage in the class but split: 181 physical + 181 fire at max Standard. Sea of Magma lays a lingering lava pool for 10 FP plus 5 per swing, which is the class's only real area denial. Needs Fai 18 and reaches C Faith scaling at max.

Notes

• Cannot be parried; cannot land critical attacks (no ripostes, no backstab bonus). This is the class-defining trade.
• Poise/stamina damage at max Standard: Urumi and Hoslow's 92, Magma Whip and Giant's Red Braid 88, Whip and Thorned Whip 84, Tooth Whip 46.
• Affinity is the main damage lever: Hoslow's goes 276 attack rating (AR) + 55 bleed on Standard, 232 + 82 bleed on Blood, 243 + 50 with B Arcane on Occult, 253 with B Str on Heavy. Cold caps at 105 frost, Poison at 95.
• Usable Ashes of War include Raptor of the Mists, Quickstep, Bloodhound's Step, Hoarah Loux's Earthshaker, Royal Knight's Resolve, Divine Beast Frost Stomp and The Poison Flower Blooms Twice. specifically suggests Raptor of the Mists to exploit the strong powerstanced jumping attack.
• Hoslow's Petal Whip PvP poise damage: 1H charged R2 432, 2H charged R2 475.2, 2H jumping R2 475.2.

All Whips

Name	Image	Physical	Magic	Fire	Light	Holy	Crit. Boost	Weight	Str.	Dex.	Int.	Fai.	Arc.	Sell Price	Skill
Giant's Red Braid		82 24	0 12	53 26	0 12	0 12	100 12	2.5	D 18	D 12	0	D 21	0	100	Flame Dance
Hoslow's Petal Whip		110 28	0 17	0 17	0 17	0 17	100 17	3.5	D 10	D 20	0	0	0	100	Kick
Magma Whip Candlestick		72 21	0 10	72 36	0 10	0 10	100 15	2.5	E 8	D 16	0	D 18	0	100	Sea of Magma
Thorned Whip		102 26	0 15	0 15	0 15	0 15	100 15	2.5	E 8	C 16	0	0	0	200	Kick
Tooth Whip		109 21	0 16	0 16	0 16	0 16	100	2.5	E 10	D 24	0	0	0	200	Painful Strike
Urumi		101 27	0 16	0 16	0 16	0 16	100 15	3	E 10	C 19	0	0	0	200	Kick
Whip		100 25.0	0 15.0	0 15.0	0 15.0	0 15.0	100 15	2	D 8	D 14	0	0	0	100	Kick