Strike is a damage type that can be inflicted in Dark Souls.
General information[]
Strike Damage is one of four physical damage types. It is dealt by most Hammers, Great Hammers, Gauntlets, Catalysts and all Talismans. Strike as a damage type is unique from the other physical damage types in that no weapon that deals it has the potential to inflict an additional type with a different attack from its moveset.
When compared to the other physical damage types, most armor sets have lower Strike Defense. This is especially true for medium and heavy armor sets.
Defense[]
To lower Strike Damage, it is necessary to raise the Strike Defense stat.
Stats[]
At lower levels, increasing any stat while leveling up will raise Strike Defense to some degree, however, Resistance will raise it more than any other.
Equipment[]
Armor[]
As a general rule, the heavier an armor piece is, the higher its defense against Physical damage it will be.
Of the starting armor sets, the Knight Set offers the highest Strike Defense.
Light armor sets are not the best choice to reduce Strike Damage. However, the Xanthous Set has unusually high Strike Defense while its headpiece, Xanthous Crown, offers the highest Strike Defense of any headpiece. Alternative armor sets with lower weight are the fully upgraded Brigand Set and Big Hat's Set.
Within medium armor sets, the fully upgraded Cleric Set and Steel Set are good choices for Strike Defense. Ornstein's Set does not need to be upgraded and offers a good alternative.
Heavy armor sets offer the best choices when raising Physical defenses. The fully upgraded Giant Set offers the highest Strike Defense of any armor set. Smough's Set and the Guardian Set offer good alternatives and do not require upgrading.
Rings[]
The Ring of Steel Protection raises all forms of Physical Defense.
Shields[]
Unlike armor, shields modify damage based on a percentage and all forms of Physical Damage are affected by its single modifier. Many standard shields and greatshields protect against 100% of Physical Damage; the Crest Shield, Havel's Greatshield and Balder Shield are examples of these.
Weapons[]
In addition to the following weapons, every shield, with the exception of the Pierce Shield, causes Strike Damage when used to bash or when wielded in the right hand.
Asterisks ( * ) denote weapons that also inflict Elemental Damage.
Enemies[]
The following is a list of characters, enemies and bosses that inflict Strike Damage by one or more of their attacks.
Characters[] |
Enemies[] |
Mini-bosses[]
Bosses[] |