Weapon Evolution Paths

Jagged Steel

so this is the starting sword and honestly it's probably the most versatile weapon in the whole game, balanced stats and bleed buildup right from the start with the most flexible evolution tree of any weapon imo, if you're not sure what to invest in just stick with Jagged Steel and you'll be fine tbh, it literally works for pretty much every build and you can pivot later if you change your mind about your playstyle or whatever

Tier 2 (Tempered Steel): you get +15% base damage and +10% Sha-Chi generation rate plus a new heavy attack chain with way better stagger, honestly this alone makes the upgrade worth it and you should rush to this as fast as possible because the damage spike is immediately noticeable and the new heavy combo just feels so much better to use

Tier 3A (Serrated Fang): bleed stack cap jumps from 5 to 7 which is kind of insane because you can stack so many bleeds on bosses, each bleed tick also deals 10% more damage and honestly this is the pick for Bleed Build and Aggressive Chi Rush, probably the best general damage option imo, the extra bleed stacks let you melt bosses way faster than you'd think and it's just super satisfying watching their health bar drain from all the bleed ticks

Tier 3B (Iron Will): parry window extends by 2 frames going from 8 to 10 which doesn't sound like much but in practice it's huge trust me, perfect parry window gets 1 extra frame too, this is the pick for Defensive Parry Master builds and honestly makes parrying so much more forgiving especially on bosses with weird attack timings, you know those attacks where you're like was that even fair, well this helps with those

Venomous Softblade

poison-infused sword with extended parry frames and honestly the best defensive sword in the game, if you love parrying this is your weapon and I've used it through like half my playthroughs because being able to parry more reliably just makes everything easier, the poison is kind of a bonus on top of the defensive kit tbh and once you get used to the extended frames you'll have a hard time going back to other swords ngl

Tier 3A (Plaguebringer): successful parries apply poison to nearby enemies which is honestly amazing for crowd control in group fights and turns Venomous Softblade into an AoE debuff weapon, suddenly you're poisoning entire rooms just by parrying and I love this pick for areas with lots of adds swarming you, probably the better choice if you struggle with getting swarmed by multiple enemies and need some breathing room

Tier 3B (Mirror Blade): parrying ranged attacks reflects them back at the attacker with 150% damage and this is literally essential for certain boss fights with heavy ranged phases, like Snake Sovereign's Venom Spit becomes free damage instead of something you have to dodge, so good when it works but kind of situational otherwise, your mileage may vary depending on which bosses you're struggling with

White Python & Red Viper

starter dual blades with wide arcs and fast attack speed, honestly the best weapon for Sha-Chi generation in the early game and the attack animations just feel so smooth and responsive, if you like playing fast and aggressive these are probably your best bet early on and they scale surprisingly well into the late game too which I didn't expect when I first tried them

Tier 3A (Venom Fangs): every 5th hit applies poison DoT and this combines with Bleed Build for triple DoT stacking which is pretty gross, also increases Sha-Chi generation on poisoned enemies by 20% so your resource gain goes through the roof, kind of the more tactical choice if you like managing debuffs and watching health bars melt, it's like the death by a thousand cuts approach and honestly watching three different DoT effects ticking at once is one of the most satisfying things in the game

Tier 3B (Storm Blades): attack speed increases by 15% and your combo length extends by 2 hits, this is literally the highest sustained Sha-Chi generation weapon in the game and it's amazing for Hybrid Flex builds that rely on fast resource generation, you just never stop attacking and the Sha-Chi bar fills up like crazy, I mean you can basically spam your abilities nonstop and it feels like you're playing a completely different game at that speed

Phoenix Wing

fire-infused dual blades and every 3rd hit triggers a fire explosion which looks awesome and clears groups so fast, this is the premier AoE weapon for group encounters and I love using it in areas with lots of trash mobs because everything just explodes in this beautiful chain reaction, honestly one of the most fun weapons in the game and it makes farming feel way less tedious, you know those sections where you have to kill like 20 enemies in a row, Phoenix Wing makes those actually enjoyable instead of a chore

Tier 3A (Inferno Dance): fire explosions leave a burn zone on the ground for 5 seconds and enemies standing in it take ticking fire damage, this turns Phoenix Wing into an area denial weapon and it's excellent for controlling group fight arenas, you can basically lock down choke points and watch everything burn which is so satisfying, just drop a fire zone in a doorway and let the enemies walk through it and die, it's beautiful and also really effective for certain boss adds that spawn in waves

Tier 3B (Phoenix Rebirth): every fire explosion heals 5% of max HP which provides insane sustain for aggressive play, combine this with Blood Sigil and you can stay at full HP through most group encounters, I'm not 100% sure but this might be the best sustain option in the game for players who like to just go in and never stop attacking, you literally heal by doing damage and that's the kind of design I love in action games, lemme tell you it makes the game feel way more forgiving

Savage Axe

heavy-hitting greatsword with the highest single-hit damage in the game, slow as hell but when it connects things die and honestly there's nothing more satisfying than landing a fully charged heavy attack and watching a boss lose a third of its health bar, if you like seeing big numbers pop up this is your weapon, you have to be patient with the timing though and that's the tradeoff you're making with this playstyle

Tier 3A (Bloodthirst): damage increases by up to 40% based on missing HP so at 50% HP you deal 20% more damage, this rewards aggressive low-health play and it's definitely high risk high reward, best for skilled players using Aggressive Chi Rush who don't mind living on the edge, I've died to this playstyle so many times but when it works it's incredible and you feel like an absolute monster just deleting bosses while one hit from death yourself, honestly it's the most thrilling way to play the game

Tier 3B (Earthbreaker): fully charged heavy attacks send out a shockwave that hits enemies in a line, adds much-needed range to the greatsword's kit and makes it way safer to use, better for new players who need safe damage options or anyone who just doesn't want to be right in the boss's face all the time, the shockwave also hits pretty hard and can stagger multiple enemies at once and all that

Celestial Lance

long-range spear with the tightest parry window but the highest parry reward, this is the skill-ceiling weapon and honestly if you can master the timing it's probably the strongest weapon in the game, but if you can't parry consistently you're going to have a bad time with this one ngl, I've seen people absolutely destroy bosses with this thing and I've also seen people rage quit trying to learn it so it really depends on your skill level imo

Tier 3A (Heaven's Reach): attack range increases by 25% making it the longest melee reach in the game, allows safe poking from distance and honestly you can hit enemies before they even get close to you, best for hybrid or defensive players who like to play it safe and whittle things down from range, it's kind of the comfy choice that makes the game way less stressful and you can zone enemies out forever without taking damage

Tier 3B (Retribution): perfect parries with Celestial Lance deal 200% weapon damage as a counter-hit which is the highest parry reward in the game period, but it requires the tightest timing with a 6-frame normal parry window so you better be really good at parrying, for advanced players only and honestly I still miss the timing sometimes after like 50 hours, the damage is absolutely bonkers when you land it though and it makes boss fights go so much faster if you're consistent with your parries