Pontiff Knight Great Scythe is a Weapon in Dark Souls 3.
Great scythe wielded by the Pontiff's knights, frigid spirits that linger in Irithyll.
The large blade appears to be eaten away by insects, making it lightweight but also brittle.
Skill: Frost
Create a bone-chilling frost with each swing of the great scythe that causes a temporary frost effect.
Notes and Tips:
- Cannot be Infused or Buffed.
- Reinforced with Twinkling Titanite.
- Despite the S scaling in DEX, it is weaker than a Sharp Great Corvian Scythe and is only slightly stronger than a Sharp Great Scythe with 60 DEX and 20 STR.
- Prior to regulation 1.33, the weapon stats did not show that the weapon inflicted Bleed. This left many players wondering whether the scythe dealing Bleed damage was a glitch or not.
- Has a "Sweet Spot" meaning the weapon loses 10% of its damage if it hits with the pole instead of the blade.
Location/Where to Find
- Dropped by the Pontiff Knight wielding this weapon in front of the Pontiff Sulyvahn boss room.
Moveset and Videos:
(If your name is not on THIS list, please do not post videos here. If you wish to post videos, please click the link and apply in the thread)
Pontiff Knight Great Scythe Upgrade Table
| Attack ValuesBonus | Parameter Bonus | Auxiliary Effects | Damage Reduction (%) | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name |
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| Regular | 100 | - | - | - | - | E | A | - | - | - | - | 30 | 40 | 25 | 20 | 20 | 25 |
| Regular +1 | 111 | - | - | - | - | E | A | - | - | - | - | ?? | 40 | 25 | 20 | 20 | 25 |
| Regular +2 | 119 | - | - | - | - | E | A | - | - | - | - | ?? | 40 | 25 | 20 | 20 | 25 |
| Regular +3 | 139 | - | - | - | - | E | S | - | - | - | - | ?? | 40 | 25 | 20 | 20 | 25 |
| Regular +4 | 156 | - | - | - | - | E | S | - | - | - | - | ?? | 40 | 25 | 20 | 20 | 25 |
| Regular +5 | 174 | - | - | - | - | E | S | - | - | - | - | ?? | 40 | 25 | 20 | 20 | 25 |
Table Key
| Requirement | Parameter Bonus | Attack Values | Damage Reduction % | Auxiliary Effects | Others |
 Strength |
Strength |
Physical |
Physical |
Bleeding |
 Durability |
 Dexterity |
Dexterity |
Magic |
Magic |
Poison |
|
 Intelligence |
Intelligence |
Fire |
Fire |
 Frost |
|
 Faith |
Faith |
Lightning |
Lightning |
 Curse |
|
| Dark |
Dark |
||||
 Critical |
 Stability |
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 Spell Buff |
|||||
 Range |
Parameter Bonus: Strength, Dexterity,Magic, Fire, Lightning and Dark bonuses - The scaling multiplier applied to the [Attack: stat]. Scaling quality is from highest to lowest as follows: S/A/B/C/D/E.The higher the player's [Str, Dex, Mag, Fire, Light] stat, the higher the [Attack Bonus: Stat] is (found on the player status screen). The higher the scaling letter, the higher the percent multiplier applied to the [Attack: Stat].This resulting bonus damage is added to the base physical damage of the weapon and is shown in the equipment screen in blue numbers as a "+ X".
Durability: The weapon's HP, when the durability hits 0, the effectiveness of its attacks become weakened to the point of almost uselessness. When an items durability is low, a message will come up saying "Weapon At Risk!" at this point the weapon does not perform at it's best.
Weight: How much the item weights when equipped.
Stability: How well the player keeps stance after being hit
Attack Type: Defines what kind of swing set the weapon has: Regular(R), Thrust(T), Slash(Sl), Strike(St)
Anonymouswhat the hell is the drop chance on this weapon lol, this is taking me forever
- Anonymous
Many people seem to believe this is a bad weapon, and especially think it's made obsolete by Friede's Great Scythe, which has passive Frostbite not requiring WA or FP, and thus there is no reason to use the Pontiff Knight Great Scythe. I disagree. Now, I am not going to argue this is a better weapon than Friede's, but I can think of at least four reasons why one would prefer to use this, at least on paper :
1) Weight. Friede's scythe is very heavy, a whopping 13.0, compared to Pontiff's 7.5
2) Bleed stat. Friede's scythe doesn't apply Bleed, being the only Reaper weapon lacking the effect.
3) Status buildup rate. Friede's weapon has split attack value, the metal scythe dealing Physical + Frostbite and the blue one dealing Magic, which unless I'm mistaken, means the WA R1 applies Frostbite only on some hits, and the normal attacks apply Frostbite on every hit but at reduced AR, removing the Magic damage. Meanwhile, the Pontiff scythe can apply Frostbite + Bleed on every hit, using its full AR (418 at 20 str 60 dex fyi)
4) Frost WA AoE. Not terrific on its own, but relatively quick and does a ton of Frostbite buildup. You could use the Pontiff scythe as a debuff tool and then switch to another weapon to deal the damage, if you're so inclined.
- Anonymous
Pssst, here's some things you should know about scythes in general, but should definitively up your game with the Pontiff Scythe.
There are three true combos you call pull with this weapon class:
1. R1 > R1 2. R1 > R2 3. R1 > Jumping R2
The third one is super interesting since it allows you get closer to the opponent should you be a bit too far from them. The second one allows you to get more consistent bonus hits with the blade of the scythe.
AoE WA always leaves them roughly 2/3 from getting frostbitten, couple that with the true combo recipes, and you're sure to pull a frostbite.
I haven't managed to figure out the bleed proc with this weapon, but rumors tells that it gets easier with the luck stat. Hope that's true, cuz it would be rad.
- Anonymous
What the hell is this weapons heavy attack it goes real quick
- Anonymous
This is my personal favorite scythe in Dark Souls 3. The buff is not only fast and stylish, but instantly procs frost if used close to enemies. It's not too long so you will often hit with the sweet spot when you get the spacing down. The secret of these "lesser" weapons is that meta level is just a fake thing the community adheres too. If everyone stuck to 125 then there will always be best in slot at a pure Dexterity allocation and so on; this hurts these kinds of weapons since it destroys variety. This weapon functions better at lower levels since the scaling doesn't matter as much with less stat investment. I keep it on a lower level 45 Dex-Frost themed build and its incredibly reliable and happens to be early enough where Frost as a status effect is more effective. Overall, this weapon is just cool... pun not intended.
-Con
- Anonymous
On the pages of the Great Scythe and the Corvian scythe it is stated that they both deal innate shield pierce (40% normally and 80% on their WA), does this not have it because it is not mentioned.
- Anonymous
i want to go in depth with why this scythe is not a piece of **** weapon regardless of whatever is being said in these comments.
i've looked through the comments and a lot of the common complaints are that the weapon is pretty much useless in comparison to friede's scythe, when thats simply not the case. people also complain often about the damage being low, which if this weapon were not a scythe it may be a bit of a problem dealing decent dps but thats also not the case
to clear the water immediately, the PKGS has 3 attributes that should not be ignored. It has passive bleed buildup, activated frostbite buildup and an S scaling in dexterity
anyone using a shield will be practically helpless, with high chip damage and 2 stats that go straight through, so no turtles will be able to do anything to this scythe. and an S scaling in dexterity doesn't always mean high damage for hehe number increase. with multiple weapons such as the Chaos Blade and the Astora Greatsword, it means good increases to damage at higher levels.
its time for the big slap in the face. comparing the friede's scythe to the PKGS is just dumb. same with many other weapons, like claymore vs bastard. the difference often is moveset preference. you can believe the claymore is superior all you want, but it wont stop people from enjoying the bastard's moveset more. variety is the spice of life, and customization is one of the things that makes this game. the friede's scythe has its overpowered weapon art, but is not the greatest if you want to get the frostbite off. personally i can say that in pvp, getting a bleed before getting a kill makes it all the more satisfying. there are people out there who want to achieve the status effect before the kill, and people who dont. those who dont are likely using the friede's but the PKGS appeals to the people who want status effects. it also is a weapon much more focused on ample spacing, whereas the friede's is just blatantly overpowered. blah blah blah using op weapons isnt fun blah blah blah play the game however you please this is a psa not a targeted attack
lastly the damage complaint. the scythe was not made to have the most superior damage, that would make it too powerful in comparison to the other stats. but scythes are in the same boat as spears, doing somewhat lower damage than other weapons but having greater range, and potential for spacing hence why the leo ring entirely exists. also it has bleed and frost buildup to cover the slack. guess what! luck is indeed a stat! it does indeed lower the time it takes to inflict status effects! dont be afraid to put a little bit of points into it if you want to get higher status infliction success rate. status effects are a somewhat neglected form of attack but i implore you to try a build using them (and not just rotten ghru weapons) they are fun to use and seeing that giant bloody mess spill out of your opponent or that crisp crackle of the frostbite is almost erotic
anyways, if you want to use this weapons, i would recommend a pure dex (maybe even go for 70 dex) build obviously maybe even part spellsword and slap on some (highly recommended due to relatively low stat cost) snap freeze or some soul greatsword for extra harassment purposes and you've got yourself a build!
i may have made some grammar mistakes or the like but i hope this convinces you to give the PKGS a try
good luck and enjoy
- Anonymous
Positively worthless weapon in PvP. You can use whatever you want to go through the game, hell, you can use no weapon at all, but fighting another player you'd be better served by the broken straight sword. No range, no speed, no damage, no weapon art. S scaling means nothing when its base damage is so low and it can't be buffed or infused.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
Pretty good weapon for dex builds. S scaling, but the real strength is the weapon art that instantly inflicts frostbite on many bosses.
- Anonymous
This and scythes in general are great against Lothric Knights, it has the perfect match of stamina damage, poise damage and speed. Sword knights cannot respond to an attack with their usual downward sword attack that usually gets you if you use weaker or slower weapons, and spear knights cannot attack from shielding, or cover behind the shield in the first place if you're doing direct hits. Still have to try against greatsword knights...
- Anonymous
For a frost build: this or friede’s? What is the difference? Thanks
- Anonymous
Got it to drop first try and I wasn't even trying to get it. Too bad that character was a FTH build.......
- Anonymous
Does frostbite buildup get increased with luck? In that case this weapon might be a hidden gem for luck builds.
- Anonymous
If we could infuse it and buff it with resins and miracles I would use this only.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
I hope PKCS guy comes here and praises their sibling weapon. Probably not gonna happen but still.
- Anonymous
If only you could see the enemies stats to see how they deal so much damage compared to when you use it, my guess is 500 dexterity and 20 strength.
- Anonymous
Can this be parried? I've tried to parry the Pontiff Knight that uses this weapon this without success. I usually have no problem getting successful parries on the regular Pontiff Knights that use a sword.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
You have insane hyper armor during the WA animation. I've yet to be canceled out of it even in a blender. Pretty much guaranteed to proc the frostbite with the aura too. Makes players panic roll away then you can catch them with the Dragon shield flame and start all over. Pretty great weapon if you use it right especially if you're making a frostbite build.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
The comments for this weapon pretty much encapsulate the entirety of the DS community. A few whiny min-maxers complaining about a weapon when it doesn't have high AR and then the rest who just play the damn game. Nothing feels better than killing a meta slave with a fun fashion souls build.
- Anonymous
Not even worth it when Friede's Great Scythe is available. That thing is super cool and does some pretty good damage, plus the dual scythe combo is great for catching people off guard if they aren't familiar with it.
- Anonymous
Heyo nobody is talking about the bleed aspect of this weapon, so here's a question:
Does the Luck stat actually helps boosting the bleed proc? Or is it stuck at 30 nonetheless?
Because I gotta say, Frost and Bleed on a weapon sounds really freaking amazing. It's kinda criminal that From bothered to make that kind of weapon -a rare one at that, only to make the damage more or less underwhelming, make it unable to buff or infuse it, add a stat req that doesn't scale anyways, and then make it so that you can't even use the benefit of those procs at all.
I started playing this game after the supposed great "Bleed nerf" patch. I don't know how bad it was, but now bleed builds are nonexistant now. Way to kill variety.
- Anonymous
Say what you want about how good it is, but you can’t deny that using the WA looks pretty fricken cool.
- Anonymous
I cant get the knight to drop the weapon even tho i had : sheild of want,2 serpent rings and golden coin any advice?
tried putting it in the description, but this has AOE frost buildup when you buff your weapon with the WA
- Anonymous
Not going to lie I had no clue this was a weapon until a few minutes ago when the knight dropped it for the first time.
- Anonymous
...why the hell does this thing require 12 faith? Another arbitrary bull*****requirement.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
So does it even exist or are we making up weapons because I have no luck finding it
- Anonymous
So this is what the real lifehunt has turned to, lifehunt did the most bleed range out of all the weapons in DS1
- Anonymous
Nomatter what the SL is the PKGS always feels behind. Made 2 builds around it so far. Streamlined everything, used all the rings. Damage output is still laughable.
- Anonymous
The scaling rating is completely biased, you can easily tell... But if you don't want to waste your life, it's a pretty good indicator of how balanced towards your favor (or rather your stats) it is. Considering it's hitbox and skill, and the bleeding and all of that, it's... Rather effective. You don't need to have 2 catalysts, 3 stats to meet the requirements for a weapon buff, switching out the catalyst each time the buff ends... Y'know, it's convenient. Like the small crossbow.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
ive been farming this guy for like 30 min now, still cant get the weapon
- Anonymous
Got this during a randomizer run, never seen it before. See a lot of hate towards it but I think it's a pretty fun weapon.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
Who wants to use gardening tools as weapons? It looks stupid in every game. The grim reapers scythe is metaphorical... he'd laugh at us for actually using one.
- Anonymous
For everyone choosing between this and a Great Corvian Scythe i recommend this one. Unfortunately, From took away from us Schythe of Want/Schythe of the Forlorn, so you cant build up bleed reliably being reactive with this weapon. Frostbite is much better.
- Anonymous
I don't know if someone else already pointed it out, but it seems that buffing the PKGS with its weapon art and using the Fillianore's Chime's weapon art on your left-hand lets you frostbite allies with the chime.
- Anonymous
yes it does less damage than corvian scythe, but it easily procs frost, and frozen ennemies become weaker to all source of damage by 20%, so once frost is applied, this beauty will whoop some ass
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
WA now is very powerful. It adds 65 frost buildup(frost weapon is 48),and the aoe inflicts 220 frost build up instantly with high HA.
- Anonymous
Why did someone bother to put in comparisons like that? Infos at least byist at best and misleading at worst. High Dex gets great use out of this. Not to mention Dual Aux buildup including the "rare" innate ability to inflict Frost on normal movesets with no self Bleed like Corvian.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
This scythe is actually the best for a pure DEX build that plans to invest highly in said stat. I know people like to "herp-derp sharp corvian scythe is better", but that's only if you apply points in STR beyond that 16 requirement. If you're a DEX build, why put points in STR? Just go quality then. The Pontiff Knight Great Scythe doesn't even stop scaling at 60 DEX, S grade DEX scaling is affected the same as Sharp Gems now. That being said, Chaos Blade, this scythe and any other S grade DEX weapon is better beyond 60 DEX. This thing is better that Friede's overall as you don't have to rely on the gimmicky weapon skill to kill people and this scythe has the stronger PHYSICAL damage.
- Anonymous
I think it's a great weapon, ppl are just obsessed with AR, a frost weapon don't need great AR due to frostbite and frostbite debuff, like the blood ones.
With 40/40 Str/dex this sexy lady hits 1h/402 and 2h/405 AR, ppl complain about "why use this when you can use the Friede Scythe" well, if you are going to use Friede scythe you'll have to allocate more points in STR to get more damage due to that A on dex, and INT, with pontiff scythe you save lots of stat points that can be spend on Luck to boost up the bleed aux.
Haven't tried out but i think a minimal imvestment in STR and 40 DEX brings a decent AR and can build up frost and bleed nicely, scythes have an incredible range and speed 1H AND pontiff scythe gives a nice area WA that nearly frostbite anything instantly.
But like always, in the end is just how comfortable you feel with your playstyle but this weapon is far from being a total disaster, no need to say that is the most sexy scythe.
- Anonymous
Sometimes I wonder why is it required to use the weapon art for it to have frost when the weapon itself has pretty low damage. Using Frozen weapon spell on sharp corvian scythe is a direct upgrade in damage with the only disadvantage of the buff having higher FP cost.
- Anonymous
Now has bleed effect... or always had it.. according to the new patch notes. ?????¿¿¿¿
- Anonymous
This is probably one of the weirdest weapons in the game.
The weapon art was sped up in a recent patch and is now much faster and easier to use mid-combat without just asking to be executed. The weapon art still inflicts massive frost buildup in a large radius around you (enough to insta-Frostbite pretty much anything in range). And also adding substantial Frostbite buildup with each hit, enough to Frostbite most enemies in just two swings.
Despite this apparent focus on heavy frost buildup, the weapon still boasts S-rank dex scaling, although this is hampered by the relatively low base damage, so pretty much anything Sharp infused will end up outclassing it, including the Great Corvian Scythe.
The weirdest aspect of the weapon however is definitely the hidden Bleed aux effect the Scythe has. It doesn't show up in the weapon info but it is definitely there. It is lower than most weapons however, and even with 40 LUK it will still take 6 or so swings to bleed most enemies, so whilst it isn't exactly something to focus on when considering this weapon it is still something to take note of.
This weapon isn't really worth using all things considered, but it is a real oddity.
- Anonymous
on a pure dex build 13/60/12/12 (str/dex/int/fth) both +5, 2 handed
Pontiff scythe has 417 phys dmg
friede's scythe has 414 phys dmg, plus 163 magic dmg
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
Does anyone know why this weapon bounces of the armor of some enemies? So far I've experienced this with gargoyles and winged Knights, and this isn't even when they're blocking. I haven't experienced this with any other weapon
- Anonymous
now that friede's scythe is a thing, what the heck is the point of using this weapon over it?
- Anonymous
I love this weapon but the weapon art should be faster and ha hyper armor. Right now using it close to someone is just asking to get backstabbed
- Anonymous
This weapons seems to have a hidden bleed parameter maybe it's a bug if someonce can confirm it it would be nice on tougher enemies I was able to proc bleed after some hits
- Anonymous
Wish I new about this weapon before I put most of my lvls into strength
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
The two handed r2 is really fast one handed r2 does almost 360 swing. The both r2s pierce great shields. And the running attack has a crazy range. Awesone wepon
- Anonymous
The aura from the wepob arnt causes frost build up. Tested on the doll
- Anonymous
This is one of those weapons that makes the Soulborne series what i love, unfortunately, this is more of a show weapon than anything else, it gives up it's neck swipe ability in exchange for buffing frost, which almost immediately wipes it out from use in the vast majority of PVE scenarios. where this weapon seems to excel, is fending off invaders. frost, while generally makes this weapon a formidable threat to verse or use against the never ending onslaught of invaders with no honor, setting up your foe for a one shot ejection with a stronger weapon (like the Fume sword). unless you're playing fashion souls or attempting to finish Darkmoon rank 2, i'd give this one a miss, it's a beauty of a scythe, but is better off in the hands of your npc opponents than in your mits
- Anonymous
I'm not sure if it's mentioned anywhere (might have overlooked), but upon testing the scythe it also seems to be stacking bleed damage per hit.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
The 12 faith is required to perform the weapon art only, you don't do less damage if you have less than 12 faith.Considering scythes' weapon arts are bad and the bleed effect hard to trigger, it makes this scythe the best one for a dex build.Unless you count buff, as this one isn't buffable.I'll put it in my PvP build and swap to it when my resin runs out (once I get to NG+ and get a slab for it, as I have 30 less AR at +4...)
- Anonymous
I guess that I'm either very lucky, or that everybody else has a different farming technique. When I farm for an item, I put on the Gold Serpent Ring (+2 sin e I have it), SoA, and the Sages Rapier. I used the bonfire in the Pontiff SSulyvahn room. I ran until I was almost at the door, used a gold doing, killed it quickly, ran back to the bonfire, rested, ran back and killed it, rinse and repeat for a total of 5 kills. It only took me 3 uses of a coin, and about 12 kills of the knight. My luck stat without boosts is only 111, so it don't think that it's very rare. However, everyone has their own odds.
- Anonymous
Got it pretty easily with a coin, SoA and the Crystal Dagger.I just start at Pontiff's bonfire, two-hand my Uchi and kill the scythe wielding Pontiff knight in fron of the boss room.Got it after under 10 tries. Good luck for all the people that struggle to get it. Still had some items I struggled with myself :D
- Anonymous
Does it really drop ive farmed for an hour and nothing but titanite shards and the armor set
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
I feel like scythes should be deadly high skill weaponsif scythes did 150% or more damage on the blade, it could be a nice high skill high effect weaponbut really however they want to do it make scythes good again, last time i enjoyed a scythe was bloodborne burial blade because as it should have, it hit like a truck
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
Anyone else find it odd how the Pontiff Knight Great Scythe has a Faith Requirement, when the Pontiff Knight Curved Sword has a Magic requirement? That doesn't make much sense to me.
Article notes that this weapon has bleed damage despite it not being listed on the weapon itself. Has anyone managed to test this effectively?I've datamined the weapon and see no indication of any bleed mechanics. It shares the same moveset as the Great Scythe which, unlike the Pontiff Knight Scythe, does have a describable on-hit bleed effect listed in the game files. If the bleed was an inherent part of the moveset then the Great Scythe would have unusually high bleed due to stacking - this seems unlikely.I have removed the reference in the meantime.
- Anonymous
Perhaps the deal with scythes isn't only the handle or the blade, but where you hit the enemy also matters.
- Anonymous
Could it perhaps be a different type of damage in sweet spot vs not?
- Anonymous
It takes the patience of a zen Buddhist monk to get this weapon
- Anonymous
Which one of the 3 scythes has the highest AR on a 40/40 build? I wanna use one but don't wanna fully upgrade each one to find out.
- Anonymous
"Soft cap for dex scaling is 40, there is no need to go higher than that."Unless y'know, you want to deal more damage.
- Anonymous
is the weapon art just a temporary frost effect like "Irithyll Straight Sword" just really weak?
- Anonymous
It seems the scythes do indeed have some sort of sweet spot from my experiences. deal 95 dam when up close and 150 when aimed at the blade.
- Anonymous
am i the only one who thinks this looks like the lifehunt scythe from ds1?
- Anonymous
The mentioning of the blade being "eaten away by insects" could be a reference to the miracle "Dorhy's Gnawing", found on the evangelist imprisoned by the knights.
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
Anyone got any input on how well the faith stat improves this? Im considering a dex build to test it in pvp but want to make sure I can inch out every bit of damage on it.
- Anonymous
I got it first try, didn't even realize it was rare until coming to this page.
- Anonymous
yet when the pontiff use it bleed damage appears... great another darksouls 1 skeleton situation.
- Anonymous
IMO the S scaling doesn't compensate for the initial base damage considering the medium-low attack speed.Using this weapon feels extremely weak in damage output compared to most other dex weapons I've tried, even at 50 dex.
- Anonymous
I tried upgrading it, it's at +3 and I need friggin 8 twinkling titanites, I've killed every lizard so far, I haven't spent it for anything else and I'm at the aldrich the devourer of gods fight. The amount of titanite required is huge!
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
- Anonymous
i got it on my 3rd kill. basic luck no bonus items. I love the pontiff weapons.
- Anonymous
53 round, same 164 item discovery. AND I'VE FINALY GOT IT!! ***** yeah! It's amazing weapon.
this thing is not made obsolete by Freide's, it's made obsolete by Corvian
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