The best weapons in Solo Leveling Arise: Definitive tier list

Enter the gates with the right weapon in hand.

Solo Leveling Arise poster with Jinwoo holding a dagger in each hand
Image via Netmarble

There are 56 weapons in Solo Leveling Arise, with some more worth leveling than others depending on their attributes and skills. To help you choose the best ones, we’ve compiled tier lists for Jinwoo and the Hunters’ weapons.

Recommended Videos

There are 18 SSR (Super Super Rare), 22 SR (Super Rare), and 16 R (Rare) weapons in total. Jinwoo’s weapons also have unique attributes, which is why you may find some weapons lower on the lists than you’d expect. This doesn’t mean they’re bad—some just offer passives and attributes better suited for boss fights.

We’ve created separate tier lists for Jinwoo and Hunter weapons as neither can use each other’s weapons. Weapons in the same tier aren’t listed in any order.

Solo Leveling Arise Jinwoo weapons tier list

All of Jinwoo's weapons in Solo Leveling Arise ranked in S to D in a tier list
These are all of Jinwoo’s weapons available in Solo Leveling Arise early access. Image by Dot Esports via Tiermaker

S-tier weapons

  • West Wind (SR): While most SSRs outshine the SR picks, West Wind is arguably the best weapon in Solo Leveling Arise. Additionally, the buffs you get after advancing it make it almost broken, allowing you to hit multiple targets at once. West Wind’s charge and attack damage feel like a mini-ultimate.
  • Shadow Scythe (SSR): Apart from the impressive life steal and damage, this is one of the few SSR weapons you can unlock for free by completing the first challenge of Chapter Nine.
  • Demon Knight’s Spear (SR): At five stars, you can throw this spear almost nonstop, enabling you to dish out great DPS.
  • Orb of Avarice (SR): One of the best fire types, primarily due to its ability to pull enemies into its AoE.
  • The Huntsman (SSR): Another contender for the most broken weapon. Like West Wind, this is an incredible ranged weapon. Advancing The Huntsman by just one star increases its break effect by 25 percent.
  • Thetis’ Grimoire (SSR): A strong choice, especially due to its Cold Ice effect that interrupts units. If you advance it all the way, it dishes out a ton of damage with ease.
  • Demonic Plum Flower Sword (SSR): Scales incredibly well with its crit rate, which is great for late-game bosses. It also has the most satisfying attack animations. If you use the right set of artifacts, you can output very high DPS.
  • Moonshadow (SSR): Primarily increases your Dark damage. At five stars, you get an incredible precision buff, and if you can time your Shadow Steps correctly, it will take down bosses with ease.
West Wind weapon page in Solo Leveling Arise
The unofficial SSR+ weapon in our book. Screenshot by Dot Esports

A-tier weapons

  • Burning Demon’s Grimoire (SR): Slightly slow at casting and can’t vacuum units, but deals a lot of burst damage.
  • Lustrous Dragon Sword (SR): One of the best options with the Light attribute. You can buff its crit hit rate by 100 percent by advancing the weapon to five stars.
  • Dragonscale Broadsword (SR): Buffs your allies and your DPS if you’re in its domain. This is a super-effective weapon, but only when you’re within its domain.
  • Radiru Family’s Longbow (SR): While amping up your damage can take a while, it can deal hefty damage, especially against bosses weak to Light. 
  • Demon King’s Longsword (SSR): This lets you counter an enemy’s attack using the Lightning skill. If your counterattack is successful, you get two more passives and stun the target for three seconds. If this sword was a bit easier to use, it would be in S-tier.
  • Naga Guardian Dragon’s Trident (SR): Despite being melee, it offers a decent range with great DPS. It’s an ideal choice to clear gates with lots of beasts quickly.
  • Kasaka’s Venom Fang (SR): One of the first SR weapons you get that can apply one of the best debuffs, Bleed. Additionally, you only need to advance it once to get a 30 percent chance to interrupt units with your core attacks.
  • Orc’s Broadsword (SR): One of the most effective picks in the game if you max out its advancements. 
Kasaka's Venom Fang weapon page in Solo Leveling Arise
Inflicts one of the most effective debuffs. Screenshot by Dot Esports

B-tier weapons

  • Baruka’s Dagger (SR): Worth using with advancements or when attacking from behind.
  • Frostbite Falchion (SR): Not a bad weapon, but there are better alternatives.
  • Knight Killer (SR): A good fire weapon that not only deals decent damage but also applies a shield after advancing to three stars.
  • Black Hawk (SR): A great choice once you get it to three stars, which lets you use your QTE skills with reduced cooldowns.
Baruka's Dagger in Solo Leveling Arise
Backstabber. Screenshot by Dot Esports

C-tier weapons

  • Rock Golem Hammer (SR): Its attack animation is very slow compared to weapons in the above tiers.
  • Grave Keeper’s Scythe (R): The only reason this scythe’s not in the D-tier is it can help you clear several gates with beasts weak to Dark attacks.

D-tier weapons

  • Sandstorm Cube (R)
  • Arachnid’s Hand Crossbow (R)
  • Ice Elf’s Bow (R)
  • Kim Sangshik’s Sword (R)
  • Knight’s Sword (R)
  • Razan’s Blade (R)
  • Lizard Glave (R)
  • Lycan Slayer (R)

If you’re using any of the weapons in the D-tier, you’re either in the early game or simply like the weapon’s design. They don’t provide any advantages that help you clear the gates faster and will be useless after just a couple of hours.

Solo Leveling Arise Hunter weapons tier list

All Hunter weapons in Solo Leveling Arise in a tier list ranked
Hunters’ weapons affect your Total Power in Solo Leveling Arise. Image by Dot Esports via Tiermaker

S-tier weapons

  • Unparalleled Bravery (SSR): It’s an exclusive weapon for Seo Jiwoo that not only boosts her crit damage by five percent but also lets you stack her crit attacks. In short, it makes Jiwoo an incredibly powerful ally, especially when leveled to five stars.
  • Equivalent Exchange (SSR): An exclusive weapon for Choi Jong-In that boosts his attack power as well as debuffs the target units, reducing their defense for a few seconds. It’s the strongest weapon you can run with Choi Jong-In, and as soon as you unlock it, you should equip it on him.
  • The Sword of Light (SSR): Exclusive to Cha Hae-In, one of the best Hunters in Solo Leveling Arise. This sword significantly increases her DPS by letting Critical Hit damage stack up to six times.
Unparalleled Bravy in Solo Leveling Arise
Jiwoo is an excellent companion. Screenshot by Dot Esports

A-tier weapons

  • Intercept (SSR): An exclusive weapon for Lim Tae-Gyu that boosts the user’s Dark damage. On top of this, the weapon also lets Lim perform combos that increase his attack power by six percent for 30 seconds. Advancing it to five stars makes it almost S-tier.
  • Solid Logic (SSR): An exclusive weapon for Lee Bora that buffs her attack a bit, while also increasing her crit damage for a few seconds. Compared to our S-tier picks, it falls a little short with its DPS potential.
  • Night-Thoughts (SSR): An exclusive weapon for Emma Laurent that primarily increases her damage dealt to broken units. You have to be careful while picking Emma’s skills and artifacts, as your complete build will maximize her damage output with Night-Thoughts equipped.
  • Suppressed White Tiger’s Soul (SSR): An exclusive weapon for Baek Yoonho that not only buffs your Light skills’ DPS but also helps Baek scale well because one of its attacks provides a defensive buff.
  • Howling White Tiger’s Soul (SSR): An exclusive weapon for Silver Mane Baek Yoonho that significantly increases the user’s attack damage.
Night-Thoughts in Solo Leveling Arise
Go with a build that buffs your chance to break targets. Screenshot by Dot Esports

B-tier weapons

  • An Open Hand (SSR): An exclusive weapon for Hwang Dongsoo, but considering you won’t use him during quests at all, it’s not worth advancing or giving a second thought. It’s only good if you’re keen on having Dongsoo in your party.
  • Eternal Slumber (SSR): An exclusive weapon for Min Byung-Gu with an ability that buffs the user as well as their allies. Min isn’t a must-have teammate while entering the gates, though.
  • On a Different Level (SSR): An exclusive weapon for Woo Jinchul, but it doesn’t provide any buffs that are as significant as the weapons in the above tiers.
  • Steel Bow (SR): Best SR weapon for Hunters as it significantly buffs the user’s crit damage.
  • Essence of Magic (R): Arguably the best R option in the game for Hunters. Once you advance it to five stars, it buffs the user’s power gauge acquisition by 24 percent, which simply means the Hunter’s ultimate charges up quickly.
Essence of magic in Solo Leveling Arise
Best of the worst. Screenshot by Dot Esports

C-tier weapons

  • Ancient Grimoire (SR)
  • Steel Axe (SR)
  • Steel Shield (SR)
  • Steel Staff (SR)
  • Steel Dagger (SR)
  • Steel Longsword (SR)
  • Bow (R)

These weapons will serve you well until the mid-game. Once you unlock the weapons in the higher tiers, you will find these picks useless while clearing gates in Solo Leveling Arise.

D-tier weapons

  • Shield (R)
  • Hatchet (R)
  • Dagger (R)
  • Staff (R)
  • Sword (R) 

Unless you’re looking to level up a random weapon to complete your daily mission, these weapons serve no purpose. You will end up abandoning them after just a few hours.

We hope these recommendations prove worthy to you, Hunter. Good luck leveling up!

Author
Image of Nikhil Bahuguna
Nikhil Bahuguna
Nikhil is a freelance writer who’s been writing about games since 2020. In his free time, you can find Nikhil setting a red carpet in Valorant.