Here is the tier list for the Best Weapons and Weapon Types in Avowed. See which weapons are worth getting, and the advantages and disadvantages of each weapon type here!

Weapons Guides
All Weapons List	Best Weapons

Avowed Best Weapons

Weapons Tier List

Tier	Weapon Type
S Tier	Grimoire	Wand	Axe
	Shield	-	-
A Tier	Great Sword	Spear	Mace
	Bow	Pistol	-
B Tier	Sword	Great Hammer	-
C Tier	Great Axe	Arquebus	Dagger
	Unarmed	-	-

Grimoires, Wands, Axes, and Shields Are The Best Weapons

The best weapons to use in Avowed are the Grimoire, Wand, Axe, and Shield. These four weapons stand out due to having both the DPS and the Utility to outpace every other weapon in the game.

Grimoires offer imprinted spells that can allow you to cast magic, and can be paired with another weapon as it only takes up one weapon slot.

Wands have innately fast attack speeds when using them and their projectiles do not need to be aimed, making them perfect as a general ranged DPS option.

Axes offer the best damage and stun ratio out of the one-handed selection, as they swing faster than Maces, but deal more stun damage than Swords or Spears.

Shields provide a safety net that is otherwise unachievable with any other weapon type, and Unique shields in the game are capable of providing buffs or returns damage to the enemy.

Tier List Criteria

Damage Output	Considers the weapon's potential damage output and DPS. This determines how quickly you can clear content in the game.
Difficulty to Master	Considers how hard it is to effectively wield the weapon and use it in combat without too much risk or drawback.
Entry Barrier	Considers how hard it is to acquire formidable Unique weapons of a certain type.

All weapons have their own strengths and weaknesses, but S-tier weapons were chosen due to them having little to no direct drawbacks while providing both damage and utility to the player's kit.

A-tier weapons come with a drawback that prevents it from reaching S-tier, or simply cannot keep up with the other weapons. B and C-tier weapons are also decent but either require high stat investment or have a disadvantage that puts it below other weapons.

List of Unique Weapons

Best Weapons for Each Type

Best Arquebuses

Arquebuses	Ranking Explanation
One Last Trick	Allows you to double the damage of your Arquebus due to the ricochet passive and the bonus reload speed doesn't hurt, especially since it's one of the biggest weaknesses of Arquebuses.
Moonstrike	Hits deal slow due to Frost damage and it's free to get so long as you have at least 1 piece of Starmetal for the Forged of Star-Stuff side quest.

All Arquebuses Ranked

Best Axes

Axes	Ranking Explanation
Drawn in Winter	An amazing Frost damage Axe that you can get as early as Dawnshore. Easily procs Freeze that leads to amazing burst damage due to shatter.
Woodman’s Labor	An amazing weapon for Emerald Stair since you get mobbed easily in this region. Deals extra damage against most enemy types in the region and does AoE damage on full combos.

All Axes Ranked

Best Bows

Bows	Ranking Explanation
Ancient Alacrity	Excellent weapon that allows you to infinitely kite an opponent by slowing them down and speeding you up.
Storm-Sworn	Great wave-clearing weapon that can deal massive damage to groups of enemies. However, it does lose out slightly due to Shock damage since your own Shock procs can also damage you.
The Long Touch	One-shot potential weapon due to its Critical Hit Chance and 5% Damage to enemies with Full HP.

All Bows Ranked

Best Daggers

Daggers	Ranking Explanation
Umbral Needle	Restores HP per hit allowing you to use it in combat as a way to slowly regain HP. Its extra damage against full HP opponents can help with first-hit bursts of damage.
Survivor’s Guilt	Split accumulation scalings allows you to overwhelm an opponent with both Frost and Poison. Additionally useful since not many enemies in the game have resistance to both.

All Daggers Ranked

Best Great Axes

Great Axes	Ranking Explanation
Seven Strivings	Great weapon to kite out enemies one by one with the bonus movement speed on kill. High Crit Chance on a 2-Handed weapon also ensures your crits hit hard.
Emerald Splitter	Deals high Poison accumulation, making it a good Status Effect weapon against non-undead enemies.

All Great Axes Ranked

Best Great Hammers

Great Hammers	Ranking Explanation
Just Pestle	The best Great Hammer choice due to the raw damage it provides, as well as the extra benefits on combos and the unconditional bonus stun.
Inevitability	Good defense-oriented weapon due to the damage reduction, and offers good execution weapon due to the bonus power attack damage to low health opponents. However, do note that this can only be obtained after the game's point of no return.

All Great Hammers Ranked

Best Great Swords

Great Swords	Ranking Explanation
The Philosopher’s Riddle	Offers 15% Attack Speed on full combos, making it another raw-damage weapon that can clear out enemies. Also offers Poison accumulation for more elemental DPS.
Hel’s Tongue	Hel's Tongue offers both Fire and Frost DPS on hit, making it great for dual status effect accumulations and overall damage.
Unmaker	Offers bonus Power Attack damage but also gives you the ability to stun Maegfolc with Critical Hits, making it a great tool for late game. However, do note that this can only be obtained after the game's point of no return.

All Great Swords Ranked

Best Grimoires

Grimoires	Ranking Explanation
Aurochs-Skin Grimoire	The best Frost Mage Grimoire since it has access to Freezing Pillar, Blast of Frost, and Missile Salvo. Arcane Seal also provides Essence regen.
Eilara’s Grimoire	A good AoE damage and CC Grimoire with Freezing Pillar, Meteor Shower, and Pull of Eora. Spirit Lance gives you a fallback melee option in a pinch.
Grimoire of Rime	Has all Frost spells in the game. Since Frost is the best elemental status effect you can inflict, this makes this Grimoire a must-have as soon as it becomes available in Emerald Stair.

All Grimoires Ranked

Best Maces

Maces	Ranking Explanation
Lodestone	AoE Power Attacks that can disrupt groups of enemies by inflicting Stun in an AoE. Also offers +20% more stun for more consistency.
Battletrance	A good buffing mace that gives you bonus attack speed and healing for every hit of a Power Attack. Amazing as an off-hand to a Grimoire since it boosts ability cast speed.

All Maces Ranked

Best Pistols

Pistols	Ranking Explanation
Magic Mistol	Excellent pistol that removes the requirement to aim by giving your pistol an enchantment that lets it heat-seek towards targets. Alternatively, it also offers a high stun enchantment that makes it useful for priority targets. However, do note that it has a very slow projectile speed.
Fair Play	Vengeful Shot is particularly useful against enemies that target your companions, as this allows you to almost execute them whenever they down your allies.
Caeroc’s Pride	Shock-oriented Pistol that grants high Shock accumulation and gives overall Shock damage, making it useful against enemies that are weak to Shock.

All Pistols Ranked

Best Shields

Shields	Ranking Explanation
Tree of Life	Sustain and Defense-oriented Shield that either lets you save healing abilities or potions by slowly regenerating your HP to 30%, and allows you to tank more damage by reducing Fire, Frost, and Shock damage.
Sun and Moon	This shield provides passive healing and essence regeneration to the user during different times of the day, functioning as a passive regen tool, and can come in a pinch especially in combat.
Bastion of Solace	Nandru's Retribution allows this Shield to deal Fire damage, which allows the Shield to become twice as effective by giving you an extra burst of DPS.

All Shields Ranked

Best Spears

Spears	Ranking Explanation
Umpara’s Spear	Offers a +25% Critical Hit Damage bonus, and allows your Power Attacks to deal accumulation damage, making this an excellent raw-damage option.
Wayfinder	High stun weapon that also doubles as a movement tool by allowing you to zoom through the battlefield during your Power Attack. However, do note that this can only be obtained after the game's point of no return.
Giant’s Slumber	Toppling Strike makes this Spear almost as effective as an Axe by allowing you to deal stun towards targets with Power Attacks, making this a great DPS option for any stage of the game.

All Spears Ranked

Best Swords

Swords	Ranking Explanation
The Emperor’s Reach	High DPS weapon that allows you to go from target to target with the bonus +10% Attack and Movement speed on kill.
Last Light of Day	Overall high-sustain weapon that lets you regain HP on kill and deals bonus fire damage to opponents. Effective against enemies in Emerald Stair.
Carnet’s Cutlass	Deals bonus damage to Kith opponents and gives Attack Speed on kill, making this an unconditionally good weapon as you end up fighting plenty of Kith opponents in the game.

All Swords Ranked

Best Wand

Wands	Ranking Explanation
Whisper of Exiles	High DPS Wand that offers frost accumulation and bonus Frost damage. When combined with a similar-effect Grimoire, it skyrockets the Frost accumulation, making this an incredibly potent tool to a Wizard.

Best Wand

Best Weapon Type List Explained

Weapon Type
Arquebus		Axe		Bow
Dagger		Great Axe		Great Hammer
Great Sword		Grimoire		Mace
Pistol		Shield		Spear
Sword		Unarmed		Wand

Arquebus Trades Awesome Firepower for a Very Poor Fire Rate

Arquebus Pros and Cons
High Critical Hit Chance. Easy to Use Due to Aim Assist. Very Long Reload Time and Slow Fire Rate. Useless in Fights Against Multiple Foes.

The Arquebus is a high damage and high crit chance ranged weapon that works best against single-entities. It deals okay Stun damage as long as you're hitting the weak spots of your enemies but its slow reload speed and poor fire rate hold it back significantly.

Its biggest weakness is Avowed's enemy AI behavior. In this game, most enemies like to bum-rush your character even if you have a companion that works as a dedicated Taunting Tank. This means, as an Arquebus user, you'll be shooting and scooting during most fights; less sniper and more frantic infantryman.

Axes are Robust and Reliable

Axe Pros and Cons
High Damage and High Stun. 1-Handed Weapon opens up Build Diversity. Very accessible Unique Variants. Range is only as long as a 1-Handed Sword. Stamina Drain per swing isn't the best.

With high damage and great stun potential, the Axe delivers itself as a highly reliable and competent weapon that can surpass the other melee weapons in this list due to its amazing damage, decent stun accumulation, and accessible uniques.

It also comes with the added benefit of being one-handed, letting you pick up another weapon like a shield, pistol, or grimoire to augment your current build with defense, ranged damage, or spells in a pinch.

Bows are Quiet Ranged Options

Bow Pros and Cons
Shots are Quiet and Perfect for Stealth. Deals High Crit Damage to Weak Spots. Benefits from Ranger Skill Tree Abilities. Damage Falls off at Higher Difficulties. Unwieldy against multiple opponents. Poor Stealth mechanics nerf its strength.

Bows give players the choice of using stealthy ranged shots that deal high damage and crit. At lower difficulties, this even opens up one-shot potential by striking at weak spots in tandem with abilities under the Ranger tree.

However, at higher difficulties, the bow stops being a powerhouse mostly because it's difficult to pilot in big fights. You'll be spending so much time dodging that you're better off going using the Blackbow spell in lieu of a real bow since it deals significantly more damage.

Daggers Have High Crit Chance but Very Low Range

Dagger Pros and Cons
Bonus to Critical Hit Chance. Very Fast Attack Speed with Low Stamina Cost. Very Short Effective Range. Low Damage and Low Stun.

Daggers are essentially back-up weapons that provide emergency offense but should not be relied on due to enemies having ranged and AoE options, putting yourself in a tight spot if you have no ranged options.

The only upside that the dagger brings to the table is its bonus to Critical Hit Chance, which other weapons can achieve with the right equipment regardless, defeating the purpose of using a dagger in the first place.

Great Axes Swing Slow With High Costs

Great Axe Pros and Cons
Deals High Damage, Stun, and Stagger. Consumes High Amounts of Stamina per Swing. Slower Swings than a Great Sword. Deals Less Damage than a Great Hammer.

Great Axes have neither the speed of the Great Sword nor the damage of the Great Hammer, objectively making it the worst Two-Handed to choose as it also shares the Great Hammer's monstrous stamina consumption per swing.

Using one effectively requires proper stamina management and high investment in the Fighter tree. Outside of using Unique Great Axes, you'll be better off switching to a Great Sword if you really want a 2-handed build.

Great Hammers are Unwieldy but Very Powerful

Great Hammer Pros and Cons
Highest 2-Handed Damage and Stun. Impractical at Higher Difficulties. Unwieldy in Long Fights with Many Enemies.

Great Hammers function similarly to the Mace due to its damage and stun capabilities, but hinders itself with its slow attack speed and very high stamina consumption per swing.

It is worth noting that at lower difficulties, the slow attack speed and stamina cost can be worth the tradeoff as its DPS can be amazing in the right scenarios.

Great Swords Cleave Through Opponents

Great Sword Pros and Cons
Deals High Damage and High Stun. High Block Efficiency for Tanky Builds. Swings Faster than other 2-Handed Options. Requires Heavy Fighter Tree Investment.

The Great Sword stands out as the objectively best choice when it comes to using Two-Handed Melee weapons due to its high damage, high stun, and fairly manageable stamina costs.

This weapon also swings faster than the other two-handed melee weapons, making it the obvious choice if you are looking to exclusively use a two-handed weapon.

Grimoires Give Access to Magic

Grimoire Pros and Cons
Allows Use of Magic with Grimoire Mastery. Pairs Well with a Lot of One-Handed Weapons. Gives Access to Endgame Spells at Level 11. Strictly an Off-Hand Weapon. Requires 5 Points to Get Grimoire Mastery 5.

Boasting access to on-demand spells where the convenience only increases with higher levels, the Grimoire is both versatile and accessible since you won't have to invest points into spells just to cast magic.

At Level 11, you'll be able to max out the Grimoire Mastery ability, giving you access to Level 15 and Level 20 spells so long as the Grimoire has it inscribed. This makes build with Grimoires highly versatile, since you all magic spells become accessible so long as you have different Grimoires on-hand.

Maces Can Bludgeon Opponents

Mace Pros and Cons
Deals Higher Damage and Stun than the Axe. Slow Swings are Punished in Melee. Lacks Accessible Uniques in Early Game.

Similar to the Axe, the Mace brings high damage and high stun to the player's offensive arsenal, making it a great choice, similar to the Axe.

However, it swings slower than the Axe, making it difficult to get weapon combos out especially when fighting multiple melee opponents. This limitation places it slightly lower than the Axe in the rankings.

Pistols Provide On-Demand Firepower

Pistol Pros and Cons
High Critical Hit Chance. Flexible When it Comes to Weapon Pairings. Slow Reload and Fire Rate. Prevents You From Using Block. Shooting Requires Stamina.

Pistols bring all of the firepower of the Bow and Arquebus, while condensing it into a one-handed package of destruction. Versatile since it can be paired with other weapons, the Pistol is your go-to if you want to use guns without having to commit to the Arquebus' 2-Handed build rigidity.

The Pistol's biggest drawbacks are how it prevents you from blocking (since dual wield removes that option) and how it requires Stamina to shoot. Paired with a quick-swinging weapon, you'll find yourself consuming copious amounts of Stamina while swinging, shooting, and dodging.

Shields Provide Much-Needed Defense

Shield Pros and Cons
Enables Better Blocking and Forgiving Parries. Pairs Well with Lots of One-Handed Weapons. Easy-to-Use Compared to Weapon Blocking.

Simply put, the shield is the only weapon on this list that provides defensive capabilities with no innate downsides due to its ease of use and reliability. In large battles it shines since it can block melee and ranged attacks with relative ease.

Spears Have Long Reach but Average Damage

Spear Pros and Cons
Has Long Reach for a One-Handed Weapon. Damage and Stun are similar to the Axe. Lacks accessible uniques in the early game.

Spears have a similar performance to the Axe without the Mace's downsides and a longer reach, making it a great choice if you can acquire a good unique Spear. However, the Axe has an advantage over the Spear in that there are barely any unique Spears in Dawnshore and Emerald Stair.

Swords Are a Classic Choice for Fighters

Sword Pros and Cons
Deals Similar Damage to Axes and Spears. Lower Stun than Axes and Maces.

Swords deal similar damage to most other melee one-handed options, but lacks the stun damage that the other choices have. Aside from that, the Sword remains a solid and effective choice if you need a one-handed weapon that can dish out damage with little fuss.

Unarmed Scales with Levels

Unarmed Pros and Cons
No Need to Buy or Upgrade Gear. Requires Level 5 to Get the Fists Ability. Is Less Effective at Higher Difficulties.

Not bringing a weapon and instead opting to use Unarmed requires both a high investment into the Unarmed passive and a deep understanding of the many enemies you will face.

At higher difficulties, this is even more of a slog since you'd need to reach Level 5 minimum before you can deal any damage to the enemies in the eastern side of Dawnshore.

Wands Allow You to Fire and Forget

Wands Pros and Cons
Fires Homing Projectiles; Aiming Optional. Basic Attacks in General are Easily Buffed. Pairs well with other One-Handed Weapons. Needs Investment in Wand Mastery to Keep Up.

Wands offer homing projectiles that deal consistent damage at a low stamina cost per shot. Naturally, it pairs really well with the Grimoire, allowing you to invest heavily in the Wizard tree since Wand Mastery is available alongside Grimoire Mastery.

Avowed Related Guides

Avowed Walkthrough Wiki

Avowed Recommended Guides

All Recommended Guides
Unique Weapons	Unique Armor
Missables	Romance
Is There New Game Plus?	Summons
All Fast Travel Locations	Party Camp Locations
Strangled Adra Locations	All Pargrun Cache Locations
History of the Living Lands Book Locations	-
Best Weapons
Best Weapons	Best Grimoires
Best Wand	Best Spells
Best Bows	Best Arquebuses
Best Pistols	Best Great Swords
Best Swords	Best Spears
Best Maces	Best Pistols
Best Axes	Best Great Axes
Best Great Hammers	Best Daggers
Best Shields	-
Best Lists
Best Armor	Best Abilities
Best Accessories	Best Companions
Best Side Quests	Best Ending
Best Summons	-
Early Game
Best Background	Best Class
Best Attributes	Character Creation
Backgrounds	Classes
Game Length	Difficulty Differences

Avowed Wiki

Avowed Guides
Main Quests	Side Quests
Interactive Map	Builds
Weapons	Armor
Clothing	Accessories
Abilities	Companions
Treasure Maps	Tips and Tricks
Choices	Materials
Totem Fragments	Ancient Memories
Bounties	Merchants
Endings	Achievements
News	Updates
Dungeons	Recipes