Summary
Elden Ring Patch 1.17 has changed the weapon meta with several buffs, new Tarnished Pack content, and targeted PvP adjustments. Released on August 27, 2026, the update improves throwing weapons, perfume bottles, greatshields, and several unique weapons. Players can also buy Elden Ring Runes for faster leveling and upgrades. Here's a practical PvE-focused tier list for the strongest choices after the patch.
S-Tier: Blasphemous Blade, Bloodhound's Fang & Great Katana
Blasphemous Blade remains one of the safest all-around PvE weapons. Taker's Flames delivers strong fire damage, stagger potential, and healing, making it excellent for bosses and exploration.
Bloodhound's Fang continues to shine thanks to its mobility, bleed buildup, and strong damage scaling. It also remains accessible relatively early compared with many endgame weapons.
Great Katana weapons are another strong option. Patch 1.17 fixed an issue that reduced their critical-hit power against large enemies and also fixed jumping attacks being incorrectly parried.
A-Tier: Rellana's Twin Blades, Spear of the Impaler & Smithscript Weapons
Rellana's Twin Blades received increased critical-hit power, making them more attractive for aggressive melee and riposte-focused builds.
The biggest winners are arguably the Smithscript Axe, Smithscript Spear, and Spear of the Impaler. Their throwing attacks now consume less stamina while dealing more damage. The Smithscript Greathammer also received a throwing-power increase. These changes make ranged pressure much more practical without sacrificing melee options.
B-Tier: Carian Sorcery Sword & Golem Fist
The Carian Sorcery Sword gets a meaningful Intelligence scaling adjustment. Intelligence now increases the attack power of all its damage types, giving hybrid Intelligence builds more flexibility.
Golem Fist is more niche, but its heavy fist-launching attack now has greater range. It is not necessarily a universal meta pick, but the buff makes it more practical for players who enjoy unconventional Strength builds.
What About Perfume Bottles?
All five listed Perfume Bottles received attack-power increases, including Firespark, Lightning, Chilling, Frenzyflame, and Deadly Poison variants. This gives status-focused and elemental builds more reasons to experiment with them in Patch 1.17.
Final Ranking
For the current PvE meta, Blasphemous Blade, Bloodhound's Fang, Great Katanas, Rellana's Twin Blades, and the buffed throwing weapons are among the most notable choices. However, weapon performance still depends heavily on stats, Ashes of War, talismans, and playstyle, so the "best" weapon can vary considerably between builds. Having enough Elden Ring Runes can also help with leveling and build upgrades as you test the new meta.
