The Best Starting Weapons in Arms of God: A Definitive Guide

For new players seeking the Arms of God best starting weapons, the answer is the Warden's Halberd. This high-reach, high-stagger polearm offers the safest and most straightforward path through the treacherous opening hours in the city of Argent. It excels at managing crowds of Husks and makes the first major boss, the First Warden, significantly more manageable than its two alternatives.

While the Halberd is the strongest overall choice for a first playthrough, the lightning-fast Chirurgeon's Sickles and the arcane Astrologer's Orrery are powerful in the right hands. This guide breaks down the strengths, weaknesses, and ideal strategies for all three starting weapons to ensure your journey begins with purpose, not frustration.

01

The Three Arms: A Head-to-Head Comparisontag

Your starting weapon is tied to the Covenant you choose during character creation. This choice is your most important one, defining your combat style for at least the first 10-15 hours. While you can find the other weapons later in the world, your initial selection will be your only reliable tool against the horrors of the Argent Bailey and beyond.

Here’s a direct comparison of the three starting Covenants and their associated armaments:

The key takeaway is the trade-off between safety and speed. The Halberd keeps you far from danger. The Sickles force you into it. The Orrery lets you attack from a distance but at a significant cost to your initial damage output.

02

Why the Warden's Halberd Dominates the Early Gametag

The Halberd isn't just a weapon; it's a tool for controlling space. In a game as punishing as Arms of God, dictating the terms of engagement is the single most important factor for survival. This is where the Warden's Halberd shines, turning desperate scrambles into calculated encounters.

Mastering Spacing and Staggertag

The Argent Bailey, the first major area after the tutorial, is designed to punish reckless aggression. Shambling Husks attack in groups, and heavily armored Argent Wardens patrol tight corridors, boasting high poise and devastating swing combos. The Halberd's exceptional reach allows you to poke and prod at these enemies from well outside their attack range.

You can often eliminate one or two Husks from a pack before they even get close enough to swing. More importantly, the Halberd's heavy attack (R2/RT) is a downward chop that deals immense poise damage. Two heavy attacks are usually enough to stagger an Argent Warden, opening them up for a critical riposte. No other starting weapon can reliably stagger elite enemies this early in the game.

The "First Warden" Boss Strategytag

This weapon truly proves its worth against the boss at the end of the Argent Bailey: the First Warden. This aggressive foe uses wide, sweeping attacks with his greatsword that are difficult to dodge for new players. The Halberd trivializes the encounter.

By staying just at the edge of your maximum attack range, you can land light attacks after he finishes a combo, all while being completely safe from his retaliation. His most dangerous move, a lunging thrust, can be sidestepped, giving you a perfect window to land a fully charged heavy attack. Two or three of these will break his stance, allowing you to close in for massive damage. This strategy turns a potential roadblock into a straightforward test of patience.

03

The High-Risk, High-Reward Path: Chirurgeon's Sicklestag

Choosing the Chirurgeon's Sickles is a declaration of confidence. These dual-wielded weapons have minimal reach and low base damage, forcing you to get dangerously close to your enemies. Their power lies not in single hits, but in rapid, successive attacks that build up the "Bleed" status effect, which culminates in a massive burst of damage.

Thriving on Aggressiontag

To succeed with the Sickles, you must be a master of the dodge button. Your entire strategy revolves around staying glued to your enemy, dodging through their attacks to land a flurry of slashes with the Weeping Flurry weapon skill. When the Bleed meter fills, your opponent will lose a huge chunk of their health. This makes them incredibly effective at taking down high-health targets... if you can survive long enough to trigger it.

Against the mobs in the Argent Bailey, this can be a nightmare. You'll often trade damage, and getting surrounded is a death sentence. This weapon is recommended only for veterans of the soulslike genre or players on a second playthrough.

Navigating the Catacombs of the Grievedtag

Where the Sickles find their footing is in the early optional area, the Catacombs of the Grieved. The tight corridors here limit the wide swings of larger enemies and force one-on-one encounters with the fast-moving Ghouls that inhabit the crypts. The Sickles' rapid attack speed can interrupt the Ghouls' pounce attacks, and the close quarters make it easier to stick to them and build up Bleed. If you're a Dexterity-focused player, clearing this area first can give you the levels and confidence needed to tackle the Bailey.

04

The Patient Scholar: Is the Astrologer's Orrery Viable?tag

Starting with the Astrologer's Orrery is, without question, the hardest way to begin Arms of God. This catalyst casts a weak but reliable homing projectile, the "Soul Shard" spell. While the ability to deal damage from a safe distance is tempting, the Orrery's initial damage is pitiful. Basic Husks that the Halberd can kill in two hits will take five or six Soul Shards to down.

A Test of Patience (and Scavenging)tag

Your early game as an Astrologer is not about combat; it's about survival and exploration. You must avoid fights wherever possible and scour the environment for two key items: more Crimson Tears to heal and, crucially, new spell scrolls. The first offensive spell you can find is "Argent Flame," a short-range burst of fire located on a corpse near the first shortcut gate in the Argent Bailey. This gives you a much-needed tool for crowd control, but your reliance on a limited mana pool (Aether) remains a constant challenge.

The Long-Term Payofftag

Why would anyone choose this difficult path? Because it's an investment. While the Orrery is weak at the start, an Intelligence-based build becomes one of the most powerful forces in the mid-to-late game. Once you defeat the second major boss, the "Librarian of Whispers," you gain access to a wide array of devastating spells that can neutralize entire rooms of enemies and melt bosses from across the arena. The Orrery provides the most difficult start for what is arguably the most powerful endgame build.

05

Frequently Asked Questionstag

Can you get the other starting weapons later? Yes. Each of the three Covenants has a hidden shrine located somewhere in the world. Finding the shrine of a Covenant you did not start with allows you to purchase their weapon and join them. The Warden's shrine is in the Sunken Bastion, while the Chirurgeon's is hidden in the Sanguine Archives.

What's the best starting class for the Warden's Halberd? Without a doubt, the "Disgraced Knight." It begins with the highest Strength (14) and Vigor (13) of any class, allowing you to wield the Halberd effectively from the very beginning and absorb a few more hits.

Does your starting weapon lock you into a build? Not permanently. After defeating the Librarian of Whispers in the Grand Athenaeum, you can offer her a "Tear of Amnesia" to respec your stats completely. However, this is a mid-game option, so your first 15-20 hours will be heavily defined by your initial weapon choice.

Is there a "secret" fourth starting weapon? No, there are only three Covenant weapons. However, the "Deprived" starting class begins with nothing but a Broken Straight Sword. It's a challenge run option that offers maximum flexibility in stats but is an exercise in pure pain for the early game.

06

The Final Verdicttag

While every weapon is viable, they are not created equal for a player facing the challenges of Argent for the first time. Your choice should reflect the experience you want to have.

• For a confident and methodical first playthrough, choose the Warden's Halberd. Its safety and power against early-game threats provide the best learning experience.
• For a thrilling, high-skill challenge, choose the Chirurgeon's Sickles. If you love aggressive, dodge-heavy combat, this is the path for you.
• For a long-term investment that pays off handsomely, choose the Astrologer's Orrery. Endure a brutal early game to become an unstoppable arcane force later on.

Ultimately, the best weapon is the one that clicks with your playstyle. But for your first steps into the nightmarish world of Arms of God, the reach and reliability of the Halberd are your surest key to survival.