Best and Strongest Weapons

Final Fantasy 15 contains a wide range of weapons categorized into classes of swords, polearms, shields, firearms, machinery and others. In this guide, I'll take you through some of the games best weapons which offer the strongest stats and best perks for your encounters.

Before diving into the list, let's take a moment to understand the different types of weapons in FF XV.

Weapon Types

Melee

Swords - general purpose weapons, swords are versatile and offer quick recovery.
Greatswords - much heavier variations of the sword, with the strongest raw power and damage stats. They suffer from slow speed but are compensated with broad and sweeping attacks that harm multiple enemies in one go.
Polearms - great against slow enemies but otherwise not the strongest weapons in the game.
Daggers - capable of unleashing a torrent of attacks and giving the wielder the ability to dodge oncoming attacks easily, also offering high mobility allowing the chance to attack from the rear for multiplier bonuses.
Shields - primarily defensive weapons, shields are a good alternative to evasion when a sustained attack is incoming and you want to preserve your MP.

Ranged Weapons

Firearms - offer a good degree of mobility but in return their attack ratings are usually unimpressive and they must be used at close range.
Machinery - designed exclusively for stopping power and for use against mechanical enemies, machinery are the ranged equivalent to greatswords.

Royal Arms

Some of the games strongest weapons, Royal Arms come with a negative effect that is unavoidable - they consume HP with each action! In short bursts and particularly early in the game when your stats are rather weak, Royal Arms are certainly devastating!

I won't cover Royal Arms in this post because they are all excellent. See the seperate Royal Arms guide for details about each and how to claim them.

Best Weapons

Ok, now our understanding of the various weapon types is out of the way, let's take a look at the games best and strongest weapons. I have included various stats for each weapon to help you understand why their participation in this list is justified.

Swords

Ultima Blade

The Ultima Blade is one of the strongest swords in the game, just in front of the Soul Saber in terms of attack but well ahead on MP and Magic.

Perk: Absorbs elemental energy when dealing the finishing blow.
Notable stats: Attack (208), Critical (3), Max MP (40), Magic (30).

How to get it: Complete the upgrade quest called "A Better Engine Blade III" from Cid. See guide on this site.

Balmung

The Balmung is the games strongest sword with a high attack rating of 248 - almost ten times more powerful than the starting Engine Blade. It's unique perk means that the weapon is more powerful at lower MP levels.

Perk: Damage bonus with lower MP, roughly 4% damage for every % point reduction.
Notable stats: Attack (248), Critical (3), Max MP (11).

How to get it: The Balming is a collectible from the Steyliff Grove dungeon.

Greatswords

Duel Code

Although not having the strongest attack rating, Duel Code comes with 468 Max HP Modifier and a perk that offers +50% damage to lone enemies.

Perk: +50% damage to lone enemies within 65 feet radius.
Notable stats: Attack (206), Critical (2), Max HP (468).

How to get it: Daurell Caverns dungeon.

Apocalypse

This greatsword has a ridiculous attack rating of 332, making it one of the strongest weapons in the entire game. It also offers a decent perk in the form of bonus damage when low on HP.

Perk: Damage bonus when the wielder has low HP (kicks in when HP under 30%).
Notable stats: Attack (332), Critical (2), Max HP (403).

How to get it: Balouve Mines dungeon.

Polearms

Flayer

I'm not a great fan of Polearms but the Flayer is fairly good. It's base attack rating is 211 and it's perk is of notable interest.

Perk: Finishers deal +80% damage.
Notable stats: Attack (211), Critical (4).

How to get it: Steyliff Grove dungeon.

Daggers

Ulric's Kukris

I'm not a great fan of daggers but Ulric's Kukris offers something rather special with the most versatile stats in the entire game and ratings in every category.

Perk: +1% to MP and HP recovery rates.
Notable stats: Attack (151), Critical (4), Max HP (282), Max MP (24), Strength (8), Vitality (15), Magic (48), Spirit (20), Bullet (21), Fire (5), Ice (7), Lightning (4), Darkness (19).

How to get it: Collectible from Insomnia (Chapter 14).

Firearms

Death Penalty

The highest attack rated Firearm, Death Penalty has a great perk that will spread fear among the ranks of almost every foe you encounter.

Perk: 1% chance to inflict instant death.
Notable stats: Attack (236), Critical (2), Spirit (25).

How to get it: Balouve Mines dungeon.

Shields

Aegis Shield

The Aegis Shield is a defensive weapon with a fair perk for effectively reducing damage to zero. Although I wouldn't go out of the way to claim this one, it's still worth a mention here.

Perk: 10% chance to nullify any incoming damage.
Notable stats: Attack (172), Vitality (55), Bullet (11).

How to get it: Steyliff Grove dungeon.

Machinery

All of the machinery weapons offer unique special attacks which makes them particularly fun in combat. Most of the Machinery weapons are worth going after, including the Circular Saw, Noiseblaster and Auto Crossbow, but the three below are my favourites:

Bio Blaster Plus

Everyone loves a good blaster and the Bio Blaster is exactly what it should be. It's special attack disperses a poisonous gas which is great for concentrations of weaker enemies, particularly when surrounded, whilst it's main attack is a powerful lazer blast that brings a smile everytime it's used.

Special attack: Fires poisonous gas in the surrounding area.
Notable stats: Attack (212), Critical (2).

How to get it: The base weapon can be found outside of Keycatrich Trench dungeon whilst the upgrade quest comes from our good friend Cid.

Gravity Well Plus

A fun weapon to master, the upgraded Gravity Well will suck enemies into a void and offers considerable attack damage.

Special attack: Pulls foes in with a gravity sphere (MP 80).
Notable stats: Attack (220), Magic (18).

How to get it: The base weapon comes from Aracheole Stronghold dungeon and the upgrade quest is avilabale from Cid. See the complete guide.

Drillbreaker Plus

The Drillbreaker inflicts piercing drill damage through its special attack but of course like other machinery, it's usage should really be towards mechs which appear frequently later in the game.

Special attack: inflicts repeated damage with piercing drills.
Notable stats: Attack (240), Critical (2), Max HP (12).

How to get it: The base weapon comes from Formouth Garrison and the upgrade is available through Cid's upgrade quests. See the complete guide.