What's your favorite trick weapon so far? I'm not super far in (made it up to the Blood-Starved Beast, haven't beat him yet). I've spent a big chunk of the game so far using the saw cleaver primarily, which I've been enjoying. It seems to be fairly all-purpose weapon. The threaded cane seems neat, and while the Kirkhammer is super cool, I don't really enjoy using it all that much.

But as soon as I fought the tower guy and saw the stake driver for the first time, I knew I needed it. I've been playing around with it a ton and I absolutely love using it. It seems to have a bit more variety in its combos and special attacks than anything else I've used. If you use it in retracted mode and strong attack, it will extend mid-attack for extra damage. And, coolest of all, if it's retracted and you use a charge attack, after a bit of a longer charge it will consume a bullet for a massive damage short-range explosive attack.

What have the rest of you been using?

Kirkhammer and Blunderbuss. The speed and strength of the Kirkhammer is pretty intense. It also deals with mobs rather effectively with that wonderful L2 attack while it's Hammer Time. I think I've got it upgraded to +6 now, and I am positively shredding enemies.

Blunderbuss is great for stunlocking and lining up parries as well. I chose it over the hunter's pistol because the scatter shot on the Blunderbuss means you will hit something. It's saved my life in a few hairy mobs.

The Scythe.

Flamethrower is sweet too.

Whip/cane is fantastic. Excellent range and crowd control on the whip part, and the cane is good for sneak attacks and tight areas. I haven't even bothered to try anything else yet.

I haven't played very much thus far (only beaten two bosses for references; that Graveyard guy was a mean mutha) but I've been enjoying the default axe I chose a lot. I quite like the Kirkhammer too, though it's as upgraded as my axe so it's currently obsolete from a practical standpoint.

Ludwig's Holy Blade. Just because of the damage potential honestly. I went for Skill and have it up to 25, but decided to put in some strength to be able to use some other weapons since I wasn't blown away by the Skill ones that much. I believe I have 8 weapons unlocked, but I only like two of them. Only 6 more weapons to go, I hope they are really awesome. It would suck if I end up being interested in only 3 weapons in the game or so.

As far as pistols go, still using the regular Hunter one. Not seeing much use for the others since I use them strictly for parrying or interrupts. Would be cool to try out a more gun-oriented build if viable though.

I picked the Threaded Cane and have stuck with it thus far. I wanted to change things up for this game because of the focus on faster, more aggressive combat meaning this is the most I've ever used a dex (or skill) type weapon. I like it well enough; the whip form is a great panic button for when I get swarmed by birds, or dogs, or wolves. I feel like the moveset is a bit limited though, and the whip has a tendency to knock against the wall when I'm in a corridor. I'm on the lookout for more skill weapons, but I wouldn't mind sticking with the cane for the rest of the playthrough if I don't find anything better. I love the animation for going from whip to cane, slamming the cane on the ground after I get through whipping like four enemies to death is pretty badass.

My gun is the blunderbuss because I liked that Looper movie. I finally got the hang of parrying so it's been coming through well for me.

blunderbuss and torch on left hand, kirkhammer and saw cleaver on right hand.

don't be afraid to wield multiple things for multiple situations. kirkhammer transformed is what i use for big dudes and saw cleaver is what I use for general situations.

THAT FUCKING KIRKHAMMER TRANSFORMATION ANIMATION IS THE BEST ANIMATION IN THE HISTORY OF VIDEO GAMES

I only use the hunters axe.

Axe boys. Kirkhammer transformation attack from 1h to 2h seems pretty good. Rifle Spear is probably the most interesting weapon.

I don't love the Kirkhammer's 2H moveset all that much, but the 1H form is good and the Strength scaling when upgraded is way better than any other weapons I currently have, so it's my default choice for now.

Ignoring that, my favorite moveset so far has probably been the Saw Spear. A nice balance of speed and reach.

I've been using the Threaded Cane and Pistol exclusively so far, with the cane up to +5 or so right now. What I lack in damage I make up for with being able to attack about seven times in a row, which has the perk of being able to stunlock a lot of enemies. It might not be the most damage heavy or showy, but it's pretty fun. Most of my boss damage has to come with stagger/vicious attacks though.

I'm still on the lookout for a good Skill scaling weapon though since I'm doing a skill build.

It's def the Kirkhammer

seriously look at that combo, its a hammer thats actually just sheath for your sword thats rad on all levels

Started the game with the saw cleaver and it served me well, but now I've gone with the Ludwig Holy Sword or whatever it's called and I'm not gonna look back. Has great damage potential and is very satisfying to use. That charge R2 is kinda ridiculous (greatsword mode of course).

I've stuck with the Threaded Cane so far. It just seems so gentlemanly. I wish there was a greater distinction between its cane and whip form though, as the only significant difference seems to be range (and maybe poise damage, if there is some behind-the-curtain equivalent stat in Bloodborne). Both forms do the same damage and are around the same speed.

So far it's the Kirkhammer. It covers most bases in terms of catering to how I might feel like playing and what enemy type each transformation works well against.

Hunter's Axe. Almost exclusively in 2h mode. I just really like the vertical downward slices and big sweeps for some oh shit moments. The Up + R2 jumping slash has become my go-to just like in DS2. It does a lot of damage, tends to stun them, and good range. So I often backstep and straight into up + R2 followed by an R1 if needed. The weapon isn't very cool looking though.

So the Kirkhammer mid-combo transformation looks great and the Threaded Cane concept is awesome. I tried them briefly but I had already become so comfortable with the Axe move set and had it upgraded that I couldn't really change over. I definitely want to try some of the other ones but I always feel like I'm strapped for blood/souls. Ive got 22k on me I need to spend and I'm not sure if I should do levels or weapons.

Kirkhammer is pretty beast, trying out the stakeriver seems to have potential but I got to upgrade it first. The axe is pretty good too, but I prefer the Kirkhammer sword since its fast, strong and can be used for longer combos. Besides the transformation combo and charge R2 for hammer mode, I am not finding the normal hammer combo that useful.

blunderbuss/flamethrower/torch for off hand. They are all good in different situations, flamethrower saved my ass for a certain boss that everyone seems to hate.

@zevvion: how is Ludwig's Holy Blade in relation to kirkhammer? Faster/stronger?

Also Bloodtinge stat only helps with gun damage / equipping them right? The stat doesn't actually increase the parrying window or anything like that right?

I haven't tried Kirkhammer, and actually didn't look at the stats. I wanted to use a sword, not a hammer, that made my choice. Does a ton of damage compared to Saw Spear, Threaded Cane and Rifle Spear though, the other weapons I use.

I don't know about Bloodtinge increasing the parrying window, but I haven't seen anything to support that. I sort of doubt it, since the window is extremely generous as it is.

Picked up the threaded cane when I started going all in on skill. The whip is excellent for pseudo-cheesing enemies, you can hit them just outside their attack range. I've since picked up the Blade of Mercy. That thing is an absolute monster. It's super fast, combos like crazy, and hits A scaling with skill at about +4 or +5 if I recall. I somehow expect it to get nerfed down the line.

Ludwig's Holy Blade is sweet does so much damage, the greatsword staggers the crap out of people and the sword version is basically the long sword from Dark Souls, I'm using it to own those damn bag guys. I just got the Electric Mace and it looks cool but I have not used it much.

Sounds like a sweet weapon. I'll check it out when I get it.

Ludwig's Holy Blade is pretty fantastic. I went axe > kirkhammer > LHB. Quite liked the kirkhammer, but only really for the two-handed mode; at the time I still had the axe equipped for dealing with quicker, dodgier guys. I still use Ludwig's mostly in two handed mode (I actually prefer its 2H moveset to the kirkhammer's), but I've found it perfectly usable one-handed as well, which has allowed me to ditch the axe.

Also love the scaling, since, while I focused on strength / vit more at first, I was aiming for more of a quality build (as a result of the limited number of weapons in the game and wanting to be equipped to use as many as possible), and Ludwig's scaling is perfect for that (got it at +5 atm).

[ Flamethrower +10] + [Ludwigs +10]

[Cannon +6] + [Mace Lightning (w/lightning gem) +4]

Ludwig's Holy Blade seemed like the best weapon to me by far plus it has the coolest look to it. All the 2 handers are slow relative to the one handers but in comparison to two handed weapons from previous souls games they feel soooo fast. I'm sure there are some things I missed though, like i never got a scythe. Does anyone know if there are new weapons that you can get in NG+?

Loving my Whip Cane so much. It's good for all situations. Terrific range and crowd-control ability with the whip, and great close-range attacks complete with a chargeable stab with the cane!

Without a doubt the hunter's axe. Why? The two handed stance has excellent reach and hits in a wide arc which is great for damaging multiple opponents. My favorite move is the charged attack though. You can just wipe out groups of weaker guys with one charge, it knocks almost everything down even the bigger guys and stuns/interrupts the few that don't. It actually seems a bit overpowered in the early game, I've barely died so far. Tried out the Kirkhammer and I like the transform combo but it's no hunter's axe.

Threaded Cane.
Pistol.
Top Hat.
Pince-nez Glasses.
Mutton Chops.

</guvnor>

Nice to see the smaller collection of weapons relative to other Souls games is working out. Each one feels really viable. I've been going cane/shotty. Was thinking of going Rifle Spear, but I'm not sure that I like the extra drain on bullets.

@bullydemise: Hmmm... build approved!

@mub: That looks fucking rad. Going to have to incorporate that into one of my DnD characters.

I picked the Hunter's Axe as my starting weapon and it has done me well thus far. It has a great reach, and a very useful moveset. I have a question: is there a way to infuse your weapons with elemental damage?

Does LHB spec to Skill? I haven't found much weapons that do and I invested in a skill build early on.

Also I rather enjoy the repeater pistol. If you upgrade bloodtinge a bit it actually can be quite effective at killing dudes at longer range. It uses bullets like a mother though.

@devise22: The LHB (at +9 at least) has a B scaling in skill, strength and arcane. You can get it relatively early on, and there's blood gems that increase the overall stat scaling even though I favored the gems with straight up +physical damage. Totally viable for a skill spec and once I found it I pumped points into all three stats that it scales towards.

@nophilip: Threaded Cane with Mercy Blade in reserve (it's quickly becoming my main, though). Cane's whip form is great for keeping a slow moving, heavy hitting enemy at a distance while dealing decent damage and for crowd control. The blade is awesome because it gets a damage boost if used out of a dodge, and since BB is pretty much Dodge: The Game, well, yeah. Plus, it just feels like the most rogue weapon ever, with an attack style that encourages hit and run and fast, dodge-filled movement. Very fun. It works well... if I'm playing well. It carried me through the Vicar Amelia battle.

Which, speaking of, I just want to say a friendly "fuck you" to Amelia. Drew was right, those "types" of bosses are the worst.

@poobumbutt: Yeah, I just ran into Amelia for the first time today. After she one-shotted me twice in a row, I decided to go revisit the Blood-Starved Beast for a bit.

First I'd just like to note that I don't actually have the game, so my only experience thus far has been as an observer and stream viewer.

That being said, the Kirkhammer has the most entertainment value, not only because of the cool transition animation, but because I keep calling it the Kirkhammett and making dumb Metallica puns when I watch people use it.

I've got Ludwig's upgraded to +6 and it hits damn hard. Can one shot those big goons with a single charged R2.

@devise22: No, it scales D in Strength and Skill, of which Strength seems to have a higher D scaling than Skill. So it's pretty much Strength based. You only need 16 to wield it though, and it does a ton of damage on my 16 Strength, 25 Skill character. I too found the Skill based weapons underwhelming, but supposedly there is one blade that is really good and scales A with Skill later on.

Yeah. I thought it was telling it needed a heal (very serious heal I might add) mechanic to make that boss even remotely challenging. It healed twice for a good 25% of her health for me. Still destroyed her ass on the first try. I feel good about that, because even though I only fought her once, she pissed me the fuck off with that stuff.

@zevvion: Thats disappointing to hear having dumped a ton of points in skill. This is just like Dark Souls 2 when I dumped all my points into strength and all the best moveset weapons were dex based (in my opinion).

Anyone have any experience with that pneumatic drill thing?

@humanity: It seems stats matter a lot less here, only for requirements. As I said, I have 25 points in Skill, yet I do a ton more damage with Strength based weapons. Similarly, the damage difference between the Saw Blade (Strength) and Saw Spear (Skill) is like 4 for me. It is negligible. Just get the requirement and you can start using it.

@zevvion: Dear God, man. I couldn't even begin to match her healing amount. No matter how much damage I'd do during a healing bout, the net amount always ended in her favor, and I could never do enough damage in a short enough time to counteract it. Also, she never actually stopped healing with me. Four times was the most I ever saw. I don't want to spoil the it for others, but I needed to use special tactics to bring her down. Felt real good.

Whatevs, I've known for a while that I'm way better at bashing my head against a boss, making small progress over time than I am at actually being "good" at these games. So, I'd say first try is commendable, even for a relative simpleton like her. Nice job.

@zevvion: I dunno I also have 25 skill and I do considerably more damage with the cane than with the saw spear and I only have 10 strength. It's a difference of 3 hits to kill which is considerable when facing against more than 2 enemies at once.

Either way since I read 25 is apparently the "soft cap" I'll just start dumping points in str and have a rounded build.

The Tonitrus electric mace zap those witches !

Repping dat Axe motherf***ers!

Loving Ludwig's Holy Blade for my STR build.

Still using the Threaded Cane for my Skill character. The scaling options on weapons are pretty pitiful. Not seeing many above a D. I know the scaling improves when upgraded, but when both Strength and Skill are D's at +0, I never know which stat will scale higher when upgraded. Has anyone come accross good Skill scaling weapons?

I'm guessing those dual swords (the ones that split in two) do? Unsure of anything else really.

I use the cane for co-op with my friend. As others have said, the cane is a good weapon for charged attacks and crowd control in whip form.

My other character for my solo play through uses the hunters axe. This is one of my favorite weapons so far. The charged attack (spin-to-win) really levels enemies in the early to mid game so far. You just have to learn the range of the spin attack. Charge the weapon when enemies are about 10 paces from you and WATCH EM' FLY! lol

The Mercy Blades...... so sick. Scythe is so cool too!

@asilentprotagonist said:

I just picked those up before. They seem quite fun. If I do a second playthrough definitely a Cane/Mercy combo for sure.