Day-One Weapon Tier List & Scaling Matrix - The Blood of Dawnwalker

Quick Answer: Best Weapons at Launch

The undisputed S-Tier weapon for human daytime combat is the Imbued Sword of St. Mihai (Holy Silver hybrid, nullifies vampire regeneration), while the Sanguine Midnight Greatsword is the ultimate weapon for nighttime Vrakhir vampire form (+40% attack power). Do not spend refined silver on C-tier starter weapons!

Weapon Tier List Overview

Weapons are evaluated on three primary combat criteria: Silver Purity (essential for damaging vampire regeneration), HEMA Parry Frame Leniency (150ms baseline window), and Multi-Attribute Scaling Efficiency.

Tier	Weapon Name	Type	Scaling	Base ATK (+0 / +10)	Key Strength
S	Imbued Sword of St. Mihai	Straight Sword	DEX B / FTH A	230 / 565	Halts boss regeneration; breaks Lord Brencis’s aegis
S	Sanguine Midnight Greatsword	Colossal Sword	STR S / BLD A	280 / 690	+40% ATK during Night form; cleaves hordes effortlessly
A	Refined Silver Estoc	Thrusting Sword	DEX A / STR E	190 / 460	Fastest Unterhau low-thrust; +300% riposte critical multiplier
A	Inquisitor Repeating Arbalest	Crossbow	DEX B	175 / 420	Fires 3 consecrated silver bolts; shreds shields from safety
B	Hunter’s Silver Halberd	Polearm	STR B / DEX C	210 / 510	Longest reach; excellent against airborne thralls
B	Miner’s Reinforced Warpick	Blunt Hammer	STR A	225 / 545	Shatters poise on armored foes like Ambrus
C	Militia Shortsword & Rusty Axe	Starter Blades	STR D / DEX D	120 / 290	Basic prologue gear; replace immediately upon entering the Vale

Weapon Scaling Formula & Letter Grades

Attack Power in The Blood of Dawnwalker is calculated through base weapon enhancement and character attribute scaling:

Total Attack = Base × (1 + ∑(Stat - 10) × Factor × TierMod)

• Base: Flat damage dictated by weapon reinforcement level (+0 through +10).
• Stat: Current attribute score in Strength (STR), Dexterity (DEX), Faith (FTH), or Blood (BLD). Human baseline is 10.
• Factor: Diminishing return coefficient:
  • 10 to 40: 0.025 (2.50% base increase per stat point)
  • 41 to 60 (Soft Cap 1): 0.0125 (1.25% base increase per stat point)
  • 61 to 99 (Soft Cap 2): 0.0035 (0.35% base increase per stat point)
• TierMod: The weapon’s letter grade multiplier:

Letter Grade	TierMod Multiplier Range	Average Gain Per Stat Point (10–40)	Archetype Examples
S	1.40 – 1.75	+3.50% to +4.38%	Sanguine Midnight Greatsword (STR), St. Mihai (FTH)
A	1.00 – 1.39	+2.50% to +3.48%	Refined Silver Estoc (DEX), Miner’s Warpick (STR)
B	0.75 – 0.99	+1.88% to +2.48%	Hunter’s Silver Halberd (STR), Inquisitor Arbalest (DEX)
C	0.50 – 0.74	+1.25% to +1.85%	Hybrid martial weapons, secondary attributes
D	0.25 – 0.49	+0.63% to +1.23%	Prologue militia blades, low requirement weapons
E	0.10 – 0.24	+0.25% to +0.60%	Incidental attribute scalings

Upgrade Material Progression (+0 to +10)

Weapons are reinforced at Blacksmiths in Maragir or at the Cathedral Forge using Dinarius currency, Refined Silver Ingots, and the mythic Consecrated Saint’s Ingot:

Level	Base Damage Mod	Dinarius Cost	Refined Silver Ingots	Consecrated Saint’s Ingot	Upgrade Milestone
+0	100%	—	—	—	Baseline weapon pickup
+1	+12%	250	2	—	Basic reinforcement
+2	+25%	500	4	—	Balance tuning
+3	+40%	850	6	—	First Scaling Bump (Grade tier advances +1)
+4	+58%	1,300	8	—	Silver quenching begins
+5	+78%	1,850	10	—	Mid-game power spike
+6	+100%	2,500	12	—	Second Scaling Bump (Doubles base damage)
+7	+125%	3,400	15	—	Consecrated silver infusion
+8	+155%	4,500	18	—	High-purity vampire-bane edge
+9	+190%	6,000	22	—	Masterwork threshold
+10	+230%	10,000	25	1	Saint’s Transcendent Relic (Peak scaling & max passives)
Total	—	31,150	122	1	Full weapon mastery

Note: Only 3 Consecrated Saint’s Ingots exist per 30-day playthrough: one in the Cathedral Crypt, one in Ambrus’s Bastion Treasury, and one in Castle Sangora Oubliette.

HEMA Directional Stances & Parry Windows

Combat in The Blood of Dawnwalker requires matching weapon guards to enemy attack trajectories across 4 historical guards:

1. High Stance (Oberhau): Counters overhead cleaves, leaping smashes, and heavy downward chops. Offers highest poise stagger damage upon counter.
2. Low Stance (Unterhau): Counters rising cuts, groin sweeps, and low thrusts. Fastest counter recovery animation.
3. Left Stance (Zornhau Left): Counters incoming rightward horizontal sweeps.
4. Right Stance (Zornhau Right): Counters incoming leftward horizontal sweeps.

Parry Mechanics & Frame Windows

• Perfect Parry: Aligning directional stance and tapping block within 150ms before impact costs 0 Stamina, staggers the attacker for 1.8s, and grants a 250% Riposte Critical Multiplier (300% on rapiers/estocs).
• Mismatched Stance Block: Absorbs partial damage but drains 40–70 Stamina.
• Guard Break: If stamina is depleted, Coen enters a 2.5s vulnerable stun.
• Red Peril Attacks: Flashing crimson strikes cannot be blocked or parried; you must dodge directionally.

Practice directional timing in our Directional Combat Guide and combine your gear with our Legendary Armor Sets Guide.