Question about Ultra Greatswords

I am just curious what is the best Ultra Greatsword to get to +15? My friend recommended the Zweihander because of all the buffs you can do to it. I am currently using the Black Knight Greatsword +5 and its done well for me so far but i'm getting into the latter part of the game and i know i will need something better. What do you guys recommend?    Thanks 

It would be best to first tell your stats to us.
Have you invested in STR and DEX or just mainly on STR?

Mainly STR

Like juutas said, it depends on your stats, if you're putting most into strength then the demon great machette would your best bet with an A scaling on strength. Zwei and greatsword are C,D on str\dex.

Zweihander is a quality weapon noteworthy for having relatively fast overhead slam attacks that will pancake most enemies and easily stagger big ones. The followup also seems to hit right when that enemy is getting back up. Other greatsword R2s are nowhere near as fast as the Zweihander, so it is the most popular. It's a bit lighter than most heavy weapons, requiring just 16 STR to 2-hand, so it makes an excellent elemental weapon for min-maxing builds, and it's available from the beginning of the game. Keep in mind also that the Zweihander 'and the Greatsword's normal attacks are a little faster than other ultra-greats. (I find this pretty noticeable in combat but it's not exactly huge.)

Speaking of the Greatsword, it doesn't get used much because it's identical to the Zweihander stat-wise, but a little heavier and without the overhead slams. It can be pretty effective with the Leo ring if you master your timing, but in general it's not as practical as the Zweihander.

Demon Great Machete comes out on top for STR builds damage-wise, but the BKGS is still pretty good, and it's a little lighter.

Dragon GS is pretty much a giant drake sword. It's fun to use with the shockwave attack, but the weight and the lack of scaling usually turn people away. More often you'll see the Dragon King GA since it has the same weight, deals similar damage, has a difficult-to-dodge AOE effect, and can even be buffed.

For PvE or PvP?

IMO, the Zwei is the best ultra greatsword. Faster, lighter, buffable, good moveset.

"Best" Ultra Greatsword depends on your stats. The Black Knight Greatsword is the best if your DEX is at 18 and you also have the minimum STR requirements, but if you keep investing in the STR stat, you'll have to change.

If you go and increase your STR to 27, you'll have to find the Demon's Great Machete, which also happens to be the most powerful Ultra Greatsword in terms of raw power.

Also, if you keep your STR at the base requirement (22), then if you invest DEX to 28, then you can switch to the Zweihander which is equivalent in power, on top of having other benefits.

Another route is if you invest both in your STR and DEX. If you put your STR to 27 and your DEX to 40, I would recommend using the Zweihander. It is the lightest of all Ultra Greatswords, has the fastest swing speed and has practical strong attacks both for the 1H and 2H poses. It will be slightly behind the Demon's Great Machete in terms of raw power, but the Zweihander provides many other useful benefits such as letting you keep mobility.

The Zweihander and the Greatsword have the exact same speed (even the R2 attack has the same speed), the best way to see whats best for you is to try their moveset with diferent enemies and see what suits you.
The R2 for the Zweihander is the overhead slam attack and its not faster than the R2 thrust attack from the Greatsword, the Zweihanders R2 its usefull but only in open spaces beacause if you have little space for the overhead slam the sword will bounce in the cealing and it will let you open for attacks and the Greatswords R2 attack its a thrust atack that is really usefull in every kind of space.

If i am right the roll attack for the Zweihander its a thrust attack and the roll and the running attack for the Greatsword its the overhead slam attack.
I have used both and from my expirience the Greatsword, if you learn how to use it correctly its the best option, but as i said at the begining just try both and see what suits you better.


With 40dx and 40stg the Greatsword (and the Zweihander too) is doing 610 of damage and buffed it deals much much more.
And i think that one of the best things about Ultra Greatswords its not only the reach but the stunlocking ability, you can easily take down any npc in the game 2h your weapon and they wont stand a chance, you can even stunlock Smough with the running attack xD

Greatsword's roll attack is actually the same than Zweihänder's roll attack (thrust), the only difference in their attacks is the R2 attack. Visually Zwei's blade looks somewhat longer but I can't really say if there's any difference in actual reach / hitboxes.

Personally I prefer Greatsword too since Zwei's R2's slam attack leaves you way too open after the attack if you miss, where as Greatsword's R2 thrust can be easily adjusted during the motion - and you can still slam enemies with running attack or jump attack if you want, which sure is Great for mashing down many humanoid targets. If only Greatsword would be better than Zwei in terms of stat reqs (24 vs 28), AR/scaling (identical) or weight (10 vs 12), I'm sure it would be viable to more players than Zwei currently is.

The zweihander would be the better choice IMO but i like the look of the greatsword better so i use that, plus it has a thrust attack which comes in handy in some situations

Keep in mind also that the Zweihander 'and the Greatsword's normal attacks are a little faster than other ultra-greats. (I find this pretty noticeable in combat but it's not exactly huge.)

The combat difference is immense in PvP.  The 2 faster UGS 2 handed attacks can stunlock, while the others can't stunlock.

In a poise race between two guys running heavy weapons and enough poise to take 1 hit, zwei wins that, too.  It's probably the best UGS overall. However, if you are pure str it doesn't reach its potential.

^ it has awesom r2s and the longest range, on top of stunlocks. its weaker than the dgm, but it dead angles much better.