You never choose a weapon from a menu in Cult of the Lamb. Each crusade drops one weapon and one curse in the first room, Kudaai's shop offers a choice of three, and more weapons appear along the way. So the useful question is not "what is the best weapon?" but "this is on the floor, should I swap?". This tier list answers that for every weapon and every curse in the current game, including the Woolhaven DLC.
The short answer: take a Hammer or Axe when you see one, prefer Merciless on those two and Godly on a Sword or Dagger, and grab Divine Guardian or Hounds of Fate as your curse. Names are the in-game English names. Damage figures are the average damage shown in each tooltip, taken from the community wiki's tables.
Weapon tier list
Ranked as you would meet them in a run: a type with its best variant, plus each Legendary weapon and the one unique weapon, Ratau's Staff.
Curse tier list
All 24 curses in the current game, including the six from Woolhaven. "Damage" is the per-hit figure at curse level I.
This list ranks single items. For the complete builds that combine a weapon, curse, tarot cards, relic and fleece, see the combat build guide. The two articles use the same names and numbers.
Every weapon at a glance
There are six base weapon types plus the Flail from Woolhaven. Every type has a default weapon and six variants named after the variant and type, such as Bane Sword or Merciless Hammer. Average damage below is for normal and Godly versions.
| Type | Default weapon | Base damage per hit (normal / Godly) | Avg damage I / X / XX | Godly at I | Speed | Legendary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sword | Crusader's Blade | 1, 1, 1 / 2, 2, 2 | 1.2 / 1.8 / 2.5 | 2.4 | 1 | Golden End |
| Axe | Apostate's Cleaver | 2, 2, 2 / 3, 3, 3 | 2.4 / 3.7 / 5.1 | 3.6 | 0.5 | Lamb's Slaughter |
| Dagger | Traitor's Razor | 0.85 x4, then 1.4 / 1.7 x4, then 2.6 | 1.2 / 1.8 / 2.4 | 2.3 | 2 | Ruins of Nirah |
| Gauntlets | Tempest's Gauntlets | 1, 1, 3 / 2, 2, 3 | 2.0 / 3.1 / 4.2 | 2.8 | 0.8 | Defiler of the Divine |
| Hammer | Warmaker's Hammer | 4 / 5 (single blow) | 4.8 / 7.3 / 10.1 | 6.0 | 0.25 | Scourge of Svarog |
| Blunderbuss | Mayhem's Cannon | 12 / 15 per shot | Not listed below XXI (7.0 at XXI) | 8.3 at XXI | 1 | Fate of Plimbo the First |
| Flail (Woolhaven) | Battler's Bludgeon | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Yngya's Torment |
Two small quirks show up in the tables. Bane Gauntlets hit for only 0.5 on the second strike, so their average (1.8 at level I) is lower than normal Gauntlets (2.0). Bane Blunderbuss has 11.8 base damage instead of 12. On those two types, Bane is a slight downgrade unless the poison makes up for it.
Ratau's Staff, a Sword-type weapon from Woolhaven, deals 0.5 per hit and makes enemies drop Fervour on hit. It is unlocked by giving a Rotten Follower to The Night in Woolhaven while Ratau is alive, or, if Ratau has been sacrificed, by visiting Sariel while wearing Ratau's Cloak.
How weapon levels and variants work
Weapon damage per hit is the base value multiplied by (1 + 0.13 + 0.07 × weapon level), plus tarot, fleece and run bonuses. In plain terms, every level adds about 7 percentage points, so a level X weapon hits roughly 50% harder than the same weapon at level I. Speed and range never change with level.
The starting level comes from the Might of the Devout sermon upgrades: III to IV, then VI to VII, IX to X, XII to XIII and XV to XVI, and Might of the Devout VI and VII (VII comes with Woolhaven) raise it further. That is why Godly is not automatically better. This table shows the normal weapon level that matches a Godly one at level I:
| Type | Godly at level I | Normal level that matches it | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hammer | 6.0 | VI (6.2) | Godly is worth about 5 levels. A normal Hammer at VI or above beats a level I Godly Hammer |
| Gauntlets | 2.8 | VIII (2.8) | Worth about 7 levels |
| Axe | 3.6 | X (3.7) | Worth about 9 levels |
| Dagger | 2.3 | XVIII (2.3) | Worth about 17 levels; almost always take it |
| Sword | 2.4 | XVIII (2.4) | Worth about 17 levels; almost always take it |
Variants ranked
| Rank | Variant | Effect | Sermon tier | Best on / note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | Merciless | Charges a critical hit on a timer (first after 25 seconds, then every 20 to 30); crits deal triple damage, and a missed swing wastes it | 5 | Hammer, Axe |
| S | Godly | Significantly more damage than mortal weapons; rare | 6 | Sword, Dagger |
| A | Vampiric | Chance to heal you from the life force of a slain foe | 2 | Any type; best for learning a region |
| B | Necromantic | Chance to summon a ghost from a dead enemy that attacks nearby foes | 3 | Crowded rooms, not bosses |
| C | Bane | Chance to poison enemies when attacking | 1 | Sword, Axe, Dagger, Hammer (lowers Gauntlets and Blunderbuss slightly) |
| C | Zealous | Collected Fervour also fills the Divine Inspiration bar | 4 | Your cult, not the fight |
| - | Default | No special effect | Start | Fine at high level |
Zealous weapons stop appearing between unlocking the last building and defeating The One Who Waits, because Devotion is replaced by Gold in that stretch. They return in the post-game.
How curse levels work
Curse damage is the base value multiplied by a curse multiplier that rises by about 0.17 per curse level, plus fleece, tarot and run bonuses. So a curse's damage more than triples between level I and level XX, and a high-level curse summoned by the relic Kudaai's Toenail is a genuine upgrade. The relic Kudaai's Fingernail does the same for weapons.
| Family | Curse | Damage at I | Damage at XX | Extra effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fireballs | Flaming Shot | 2.9 | 10.8 | Piercing; explosive when charged |
| Fireballs | Cleansing Fire / Hounds of Fate / Strike of the Crown | 2.3 | 8.7 | 3 shots / 5 homing shots / possession |
| Blasts | Divine Blast / Divine Guardian / Divine Blizzard / Divine Blight | 1.8 | 6.5 | Knockback / invincibility and deflect / freeze / poison |
| Slashes | Death's Sweep | 1.8 | 6.5 | Lingering wall of fire |
| Slashes | Oath of the Crown | 1.4 | 5.4 | Possession |
| Slashes | Death's Attendant / Death's Squall | 1.2 | 4.3 | Ghosts / freeze |
| Splatters | Ichor Thrown / Path of the Righteous / Call of the Crown | 3.5 | 13 | Ichor puddle / Ichor trail / possession |
| Splatters | Point of Corruption | 1.8 | 6.5 | Several smaller explosions |
| Tentacles | Touch of Turua | 3.5 | 13 | Line of tentacles, limited range |
| Tentacles | Maelstrom | 2.3 | 8.7 | Four directions |
| Tentacles | Touch of Ithaqua | 1.8 | 6.5 | Endless line, freeze |
| Tentacles | Touch of the Revenant | 1.2 | 4.3 | Homing ghosts strike again |
The Woolhaven curses (Divine Pyre, Death's Blaze, Touch of Yig, Godly Stride, Ichor Forsaken and The Enfolding) have no published damage tables yet, so they are left out of this table.
The strongest combinations
These pair a weapon with a curse and the tarot cards that amplify both. They match the builds in the combat build guide.
| Combination | Why it works | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Merciless or Godly Hammer + Divine Guardian + True Sight | Every crit is a tripled Hammer blow, and Guardian covers the slow wind-up | Divine Strength (attack rate x1.25 to x2) is the card that fixes the swing speed |
| Vampiric Axe + Divine Guardian + Fortune's Blessing | Wide hits, healing on kills, double healing from hearts | Lower damage ceiling than the Hammer |
| Any weapon + Hounds of Fate + Fleece of the Glass Cannon | Curses deal +100% and cost 50% less Fervour; homing shots need no aim | Glass Cannon halves your melee damage and health |
| Path of the Righteous + Ichor Earned + Ichor Lingered | Ichor on every hit, and Ichor when you roll (10-second cooldown, 5 with +), on top of the curse's trail | Ichor Earned costs 5 Gold Bars at Midas' Cave |
| Hammer or Axe + Divine Guardian + Golden Fleece | +5% damage per kill, and Guardian's invincibility protects the stack | Any hit resets the bonus and all damage taken is doubled |
| Godly Dagger or Blunderbuss + Fleece of the Berserker | 10x weapon damage; a Godly Dagger heavy attack can kill most Darkwood bosses in one hit | Half a heart and no resurrection; post-game only |
How unlocks work
-
1
Build the Temple and give sermons
You can give one sermon per day, and each follower contributes points equal to their level. Doctrines do not unlock weapons or curses.
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2
Weapon variants, one per sermon tier
Bane (tier 1), Vampiric (2), Necromantic (3), Zealous (4), Merciless (5), Godly (6). Weapon Mastery at tier 3 unlocks heavy attacks, and tier 6 adds a Mastery upgrade per type that strengthens its heavy attack.
-
3
Curse sets, three curses each
Curse of the Horde (Hounds of Fate, Maelstrom, Point of Corruption), Curse of the Occultist (Cleansing Fire, Divine Guardian, Path of the Righteous), Curse of the Tundra (Divine Blizzard, Death's Squall, Touch of Ithaqua), Curse of the Necromancer (Death's Attendant, Touch of the Revenant, Divine Blight) and Curse of the Beguiler (the three Crown curses).
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4
Woolhaven sets
Burning Curses (Divine Pyre, Touch of Yig, Death's Blaze) need Curse of the Beguiler first; Teleport Curses (The Enfolding, Godly Stride, Ichor Forsaken) also need Burning Curses. Flail Mastery and Might of the Devout VII are added too.
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5
Legendary weapons
Find the weapon's shard, then bring it to Rami in Woolhaven with Wool to restore it. The shard locations are listed below.
| Legendary | Type | Effect | Where the shard is |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scourge of Svarog | Hammer | Ring of lightning on each slam | A random forge zone in The Rot, after rebuilding Rami's building and talking to Rami |
| Golden End | Sword | 1.5x attack speed | Break a Marchosias statue on a crusade in Ewefall, or a Yngya statue in The Rot |
| Defiler of the Divine | Gauntlets | Third combo hit calls lightning | Behind a frozen corpse in the Fallen Temple's lower section before the Marchosias fight |
| Fate of Plimbo the First | Blunderbuss | Three projectiles per shot | Fish inside the frozen fish corpse at Pilgrim's Passage during Winter |
| Ruins of Nirah | Dagger | Invincible during the fourth combo hit | Charybdis (The Rot) and Scylla (Ewefall) quest; Scylla needs a fishing rod from the Fisherman |
| Lamb's Slaughter | Axe | Kills release a soul that damages another enemy | Defeat Hagar the Executioner, or spare her twice and talk to her after she joins |
| Yngya's Torment | Flail | Rotten projectiles on slam | Complete every quest on Woolhaven's quest boards; it drops near Yngya's statue |
What to skip
- The Crown curses, except Call of the Crown. Strike of the Crown and Oath of the Crown give up damage for possession, which the wiki describes as buggy.
- Ratau's Staff in a weapon build. At 0.5 per hit, even a level I Dagger does more than twice its damage.
- Zealous when you need to win the fight. It feeds your cult, not your damage.
- Bane on Gauntlets or a Blunderbuss, if a normal version at the same level is on offer; the base damage is slightly lower.
- Death's Attendant when any other slash or blast is available.
Common mistakes
- Swapping a high-level Hammer for a low-level Godly one. Godly is worth only about five levels on a Hammer.
- Passing on Godly Swords and Daggers. On those two types it is worth about seventeen levels, more than every Might of the Devout step up to V.
- Treating Divine Blast as a defensive curse. It only knocks back and destroys normal fireballs; the deflection and invincibility belong to Divine Guardian.
- Reading Touch of Ithaqua as a damage upgrade over Turua. It deals half the damage; you take it for the freeze and the endless reach.
- Wasting a Merciless crit. The charged crit is spent even if the swing misses.
- Taking Fleece of the Glass Cannon on a melee run. It halves melee damage; it is a curse fleece.
Related guides
New to the game? Start with the beginner guide. For regions, room types and the run structure, see the crusade guide. Full builds with tarot cards, relics and fleeces are in the combat build guide, and sermon points come from follower levels, so the cult management guide matters for combat too.
★Honest Take — the dice matter more than the list
Cult of the Lamb's weapon pool is small and readable, and that is mostly good: within a few runs you know what every drop does, and the decision on each floor takes seconds. The numbers also hide a few genuine choices, like whether a level XII Hammer beats a level IV Godly one (it does).
The weak side is that the list cannot change what you are given. Several items, such as the three Crown curses and Ratau's Staff, are close to dead drops, and the Flail and the Woolhaven curses still lack published numbers, so their rankings rest on their described effects. If you want deep, deterministic build-crafting, this will feel thin. If you want a light roguelite where a good Hammer and Divine Guardian make a run feel great, the system does its job.
