The Curved Sword weapon family in Dark Souls is quite popular among veterans and new players alike due to their fast attack speed, good damage and reliability- however, although easy to use, they can be hard to master. This guide will will focus on the pros and cons of curved swords, basic strategies for use, and overviews of each individual weapon for use in PvP, but these strategies will also apply to PvE.

To start, let’s take a look at the general pros and cons for all curved swords. These will vary slightly for each weapon- but overall, curved swords possess the following traits:

Pros

• Quick attack speed.
  
• Good damage.
  
• Good stat scaling.
  
• Decent poise breaking.
  
• Decent shield breaking.
  
• Relatively low weight.

Cons

• Mediocre range.
  
• Cannot kick.

Now that you know the pros and cons, let's talk about basic curved sword strategy. As the short con list shows, curved swords are very adaptable weapons that can be used effectively by most builds. Curved swords are very good at punishing slower weapons due to their ability to hit multiple times before an enemy can recover from a swing, and their short recovery time after attacks means that you can dodge out of the way after attacking to avoid taking damage yourself. Curved swords can also stun low-poise opponents fairly reliably, especially when used two-handed. However, be wary of simply spamming your R1 attacks at the opponent as this leaves you very, very open to being parried.

One of the main weaknesses that curved swords possess is their range, which is pretty mediocre- a long weapon can easily poke you from out of your range as you try to swing, and since spear and halberd-type weapons are relatively quick, the short recovery time won't be enough for you to dodge out of the way before the hit lands. However, if you are aggressive enough in your playstyle, you can usually get close enough to land a few hits on long-range weapon users, although other weapon classes would be better suited to dealing with this kind of situation.

Also, although their poise-breaking ability is decent, high-poise enemies can simply tank your attacks and hit back with a more damaging weapon and end up stunning you instead- worse still, their forward+R1 kick attack is replaced with a slashing backwards cartwheel, which although useful, does further reduce curved swords' ability to break your enemy's guard. This being said, curved swords are good at trading hits with weapons around their size due to their faster attack speed- but individual hits are usually weaker, so if hits are only being traded one at a time, the faster attack speed won't help you win any fights. Overall, curved swords favour a fairly aggressive playstyle compared to their Straight counterparts.

Now it's time to talk about each individual weapon. There are six curved swords in the base game and another one including the AotA DLC for a total of seven, as follows: the Scimitar, the Shotel, the Falchion, Quelaag's Furysword, the Painting Guardian Sword, the Jagged Ghost Blade, and the Gold Tracer (DLC). Each one has individual strengths and weaknesses, and the following sections should give some insight as to which weapon would be most effective in your hands. I suggest trying out all of them to get a feel for each one.

The most basic curved sword, the Scimitar is very light, has good damage, and scales well with Dex right out of the box. This weapon is pretty much the embodiment of the general sections listed above, so there isn't a whole lot to say about it; its damage and range is in the very middle of its class, and its moveset is quite basic. This is the exact reason why you can't go wrong choosing the Scimitar if you want a balanced weapon.

The Shotel is a unique weapon, not only compared to other curved swords, but also to any other weapon in the game. It is a bit on the heavier side and is a bit weaker than the other basic curved swords, but it's R2 attacks ignore shields completely, allowing you to slash away through your opponent's shield without worry. When not fighting shield users or when fighting people who know better, the Shotel still performs well despite its lower damage, although you'll get a little bit more bang for your buck using one of the other basic curved swords.

The Falchion is almost identical to the Scimitar in every way, except that it's heavier, does a miniscule amount of extra damage (at 40 Dex the Falchion has around 10 more AR than the Scimitar) and takes two more points of Str to wield. The choice between these weapons is really down to opinion or looks as the differences between them are barely noticeable. Apart from the small differences listed here, it performs identically to the Scimitar.

Quelaag's Furysword is a special weapon that deals both physical and fire damage. Normally, weapons that deal multiple types of damage in lieu of focusing on one type suffer from 'split damage', wherein the two types are both reduced by seperate defenses and the overall damage is lowered. However, the Furysword is actually quite effective and deals similar damage to its siblings despite this, and is still a great weapon in it's own right; but in order to overcome the split damage, one must take advantage of the Furysword's innate Chaos ability- that is, this weapon scales with the owner's soft humanity, where 0 humanity is normal damage, and 10 or more humanity gives a large damage boost that is near essential for getting the most out of this weapon. It is also the heaviest of the curved swords, but has noticebly longer range (the longest of all), making it a bit more effective at addressing the curved sword family's range weakness.

The Painting Guardian Sword is an even more aggressive variation of curved sword- it has higher damage than the other normal curved swords, and possibly the highest of them all- but, it has the lowest base damage, demanding a high Dex level to make use of its increased scaling. However, it does include a bleed bonus as well, contributing further to its high damage output. In exchange for this, the weapon also loses range, giving it even less that the other curved swords, and forcing more aggressive play. The weapon is also very light and it's R2 attack is a special multi-hit volley of attacks that can deal very high damage, but it also cannot be cancelled and takes up quite a bit of stamina, so it should be used carefully.

The Jagged Ghost Blade is a special weapon rarely acquired from the ghosts in New Londo. It is lightweight, has a very high base damage level, and causes bleed, but due to its pitiful scaling, it becomes too weak to be useful at higher levels. At lower levels however, the weapon deals exceptional damage, and its violent R2 attack can be very useful at dealing quick, heavy damage to opponents who are stunned, recovering from an attack or otherwise indisposed; the rarity of this weapon and the fact that you have to fight dangerous enemies to acquire it means that it isn't seen often during PvP or otherwise, but it is still a decent weapon when starting out.

The Gold Tracer is a special weapon only available in the Artorias of the Abyss DLC. It deals good damage, usually falling between the Scimitar and the Shotel, but it has a higher potential damage output due to its bleed bonus. It is relatively light and has average range, and its R2 attacks are a multi-hit combo much like the Painting Guardian Sword. This weapon's main unique property is its ability to use both R1 and R2 attacks while being wielded in the left hand, making it one of the best weapons for dual-wielding in the game. It also creates gold streaks in the air when used, which can somewhat limit your enemy's visibility and can distract them.

I hope this guide will clear up some of the differences between, and the strengths and weaknesses of Curved Swords- the more popular of these weapons are seen quite often in PvP but most of their wielders aren't aware of their potential. Although they can be used with almost any build, some setups are definitely more effective than others when it comes to taking full advantage of this weapon category; try them out for yourself and find out what build works best for you.