What Stat Does the Drake Sword Scale With? A Comprehensive Guide
The Drake Sword is a unique weapon in Dark Souls, famous for its early game power. However, its unique characteristics also mean it operates differently from most other weapons. The direct answer to the question of what stat the Drake Sword scales with is: it doesn’t scale with any stat. This means that its damage output remains static, regardless of your character’s Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, or Faith attributes. This fact is crucial to understanding the weapon’s place in your Dark Souls journey and is a very important point to understand so that you do not waste valuable upgrade resources.
Understanding Weapon Scaling in Dark Souls
Before delving further into the specifics of the Drake Sword, it’s vital to understand weapon scaling in Dark Souls. Most weapons in the game possess scaling properties indicated by letter grades (S, A, B, C, D, E). These grades correspond to how much additional damage a weapon gains based on your character’s stats. For example, a weapon with a ‘B’ scaling in Strength will deal more damage as your Strength stat increases. This system allows for diverse character builds and incentivizes the player to focus on specific stats for their chosen weapon.
However, the Drake Sword is the exception to this rule. Its damage is fixed and will remain the same whether your character has base level stats or max stats. The displayed damage of 200 at its base level will not increase with more stats.
Why the Drake Sword Doesn’t Scale
The absence of scaling makes the Drake Sword a very niche weapon. The developers designed it this way to provide new players with a weapon that is powerful early on, making the initial stages of the game more manageable. The base damage of 200 is exceptional for this early phase. However, because it has no stat scaling, it is quickly outclassed by weapons that can improve their damage as the player levels up. This design encourages players to move on to other weapons as they progress. This also prevents early game players from staying with one weapon for the entirety of the game, as other weapons with scaling will become more appealing.
Drake Sword: Early Game Power, Late Game Shortcomings
The Drake Sword, while powerful at the start of the game, becomes increasingly less effective as the game goes on. The fixed damage will make it so your damage stagnates as the enemies get stronger, and eventually, your damage output will feel paltry compared to your scaling weapons. Its unique design as a Dragon weapon also limits its upgrade paths as it is only upgraded with dragon scales rather than common titanite and has no infusion abilities.
Upgrading the Drake Sword
The Drake Sword can be upgraded, but the cost and resources required are not recommended by most of the community. It requires Dragon Scales to upgrade, a resource that is limited and best saved for more potent Dragon weapons later. The soul cost per upgrade is 10,000, and upgrading the Drake Sword will only increase its base damage further, not making it scale. This is another factor in it being much less useful than most of the other weapons, as even regular swords upgraded through titanite will out damage it. For these reasons, players typically advise keeping it at its base level.
Strategic Use of the Drake Sword
Despite its lack of scaling, the Drake Sword serves a valuable purpose as an early game powerhouse. Players who struggle in the early stages of Dark Souls can find it to be a powerful weapon to take them through the first areas of the game. It can be especially helpful in beating bosses like the Taurus Demon. This allows players to overcome early hurdles and focus on learning the core mechanics of the game before transitioning to a more scalable weapon that is more of a long term solution. Its ease of acquisition also makes it very accessible, as you only need to shoot the dragon’s tail off with arrows.
Transitioning from the Drake Sword
As you progress in Dark Souls, it is imperative that you start moving away from the Drake Sword as soon as possible and instead start focusing on a weapon that suits your stats. By around the Depths or definitely by the end of Blighttown, you will have access to better weapons, upgrade materials, and the ability to level up your stats enough so that a scaling weapon will outclass the Drake Sword. Using it past Blighttown would be actively hurting you, as the enemies you will be facing at this point will require weapons with better scaling potential.
Recommended Alternatives to the Drake Sword
Several weapons are often recommended as alternatives to the Drake Sword. These weapons all possess the scaling that the Drake Sword lacks, allowing their damage to increase with your stats. Some popular alternatives include:
- Claymore: A versatile greatsword that scales well with both Strength and Dexterity.
- Zweihander: A powerful greatsword that is ideal for a Strength focused build.
- Black Knight Sword: A formidable weapon found on Black Knights, well known for its great damage and scaling.
- Man-Serpent Greatsword: Another greatsword with decent scaling.
- Black Knight Halberd: One of the strongest weapons in the game, known for high damage output.
These weapons all have the ability to scale, which will quickly surpass the Drake Sword’s base damage as you level up. If you are at the point where you are upgrading a weapon past +5, then the Drake Sword should have been replaced for quite some time.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Here are 15 frequently asked questions about the Drake Sword, providing further clarity and addressing some common points of confusion:
1. Can the Drake Sword be upgraded?
Yes, the Drake Sword can be upgraded using Dragon Scales at a cost of 10,000 souls per upgrade. However, it’s generally not recommended due to the scarcity of Dragon Scales and the lack of scaling on the weapon.
2. Is the Drake Sword good for late game?
No, the Drake Sword is not good for late game. Its lack of scaling means that it will be quickly outclassed by weapons that scale with stats.
3. What are good alternatives to the Drake Sword?
Good alternatives include the Claymore, Zweihander, Black Knight Sword, Man Serpent Greatsword, and Black Knight Halberd.
4. Does the Drake Sword scale with Dexterity?
No, the Drake Sword does not scale with Dexterity or any other stat.
5. Is the Drake Sword a good weapon for a Dex build?
No, the Drake Sword is not good for a Dex build, because it does not scale with Dexterity. A weapon with Dex scaling will be much more potent as you level up.
6. Can you get multiple Drake Swords?
No, you can only get one Drake Sword per playthrough. The dragon’s tail will respawn, but you can not cut the tail off again for another.
7. When should you stop using the Drake Sword?
You should stop using the Drake Sword when you can upgrade a weapon beyond +5. Usually, around the Depths or Blighttown areas.
8. Is the Claymore better than the Drake Sword?
Yes, the Claymore is better than the Drake Sword for mid to late-game, due to the Claymore’s ability to scale with Strength and Dexterity.
9. What stats does the Claymore scale with?
The Claymore scales with Strength and Dexterity.
10. Is the Zweihander better than the Drake Sword?
Yes, the Zweihander is generally better than the Drake Sword due to its scaling with Strength, making it more powerful for that stat focused build.
11. How much damage does the Drake Sword do?
The Drake Sword has a base damage of 200 and will not increase with stats.
12. Is the Drake Sword a unique weapon?
Yes, the Drake Sword is considered a unique weapon. It is obtained by cutting the tail off of the Red Dragon.
13. What type of damage does the Drake Sword do?
The Drake Sword does physical damage.
14. Does the Drake Sword have a special attack?
Yes, when wielded with two hands, the strong attack of the Drake Sword unleashes a ranged vertical cleave, at the cost of 30 weapon durability.
15. How do you get the Drake Sword?
You get the Drake Sword by shooting the Red Dragon’s tail with arrows until it breaks off.
Conclusion
The Drake Sword is a powerful tool for the early stages of Dark Souls, but its lack of stat scaling makes it unsustainable in the mid-late game. Understanding that its damage is fixed is crucial to understanding the weapon’s role in your character’s development. As you get to Blighttown, you should focus on switching to a weapon that has scaling, and remember to save your dragon scales for a better weapon.