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For the Dark Souls variant, see Zweihander.
For the Dark Souls III variant, see Zweihander (Dark Souls III).

The Zweihander is an ultra greatsword in Dark Souls II.

In-Game Description

A straight sword with a very long blade. One of few ultra greatswords.
As the name suggests, the Zweihander is held with two hands, but its weight is such that even wielding it in this manner requires strength worthy of the blade.

Location[]

Characteristics[]

The Zweihander is tied with the Lost Sinner's Sword and Drakewing Ultra Greatsword for being the lightest of the ultra greatswords, weighing in at 12 units. When upgraded, its scaling quickly becomes C/C in STR/DEX, and at +10 and only +10 has a B/C.

The Zweihander is a very good weapon choice for both PvP and PvE. While it does not have any special abilities or innate elemental damage, has average damage for its class and may seem to have mediocre scaling at first, this weapon is very light for its class and features one of the longest reaches of all the UGSs (compared to the Greatsword, it has lower damage but much lighter weight and near-equal reach). And, being a UGS, it shares the same high poise damage and the wide swing arc moves unique to the weapon class, being able to strike and stun multiple targets in just one swing. However, this in turn, also gives the Zweihander the same slow swing movesets of the weapon type, even if the weapon is one of the lightest among its class. Caution must still be taken when using it, especially against enemies that move very fast.

Because of this weapon's weight advantage, players who have not invested much in Vitality are able to wield this weapon properly and still avoid fat-rolling, and, when it comes to PvP, having low weight means it is easy to maintain your Equip Load, and thus allows you to retain your Stamina regeneration. Another thing is that, because it has a C scaling in DEX, characters that have a DEX build can also use this weapon effectively (the Zweihander's scaling stays at C/C for STR/DEX throughout upgrade levels +1 to +9). Adding all these traits together makes the Zweihander a very usable weapon, allowing it to be wielded by a wide variety of character builds and be used in a wide variety of situations.

Moveset[]

Attack Description
One-handed
Weak Attack
Wide, average speed horizontal swing from right to left. Further input sweeps back to the right.
One-handed
Strong Attack
An overhead smash. Further input has the player turn around and overhead smash again in the other direction with a hitbox in front of, above, and behind them.
Two-handed
Weak Attack
Faster than 1 Hand, wide horizontal sweep from right to left. Further input swings back to the right.
Two-handed
Strong Attack
Average horizontal sweep from right to center as a thrust attack. Further input causes the player to turn 360 degrees and sweep the sword up in a diagonal uppercut from left to right with moderate lag.
Jump Attack Standard plunging attack.
Running Attack For 1H: Average speed 360 diagonal spinning sweep from high to low as the player turns a full circle (relatively low starting lag). For 2H: Strong diagonal uppercut from right to left after the player turns 270 degrees (Relatively low starting lag)
Rolling Attack Overhead slam when using 1H, same as 1H strong attack only slightly faster. When using 2H, the player sweeps a wide circle from right to left 180 degrees around themselves, starting as a diagonal uppercut while in front of them, and coming down in a diagonal fashion behind them.
Left-handed
Weak Attack
Wide, average speed horizontal swing from left to right. Further input sweeps back to the left.
Left-handed
Strong Attack
An overhead smash. Further input has the player turn around and overhead slam again in the other direction with a hitbox in front of, above, and behind them.

Gallery[]

Ultra Greatswords
Aged Smelter SwordBlack Knight Ultra GreatswordCrypt BlackswordDrakekeeper's Ultra Greatsword
Drakewing Ultra GreatswordFume Ultra GreatswordGreatswordIvory King Ultra GreatswordKing's Ultra Greatsword
Lost Sinner's SwordOld Knight Ultra GreatswordPursuer's Ultra GreatswordSmelter SwordZweihander
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