Avowed weapons tier list: All Uniques ranked

Avowed has dozens of Unique weapons scattered about its open zones, and their vastly different potentials warrant a tier list. Uniques are by and large always better than the common counterparts of their weapon class, as they can be upgraded into the exclusive Legendary quality. However, the main catch of a good unique is not its stats, but its passive and Enchantment effects.

To that end, we'll try to delineate which are the creme de la creme Unique weapons in Avowed through a tier list. Before we proceed, let's address the elephant in the room: tier lists always have some degree of subjective bias.

I only played a handful of basic build archetypes in Avowed, and there are certain B-tier Uniques that I might fight A-tier ones with under different circumstances and build frameworks. So, with that disclaimer out of the way, here is my Avowed Unique weapons tier list after 150 hours of playtime.

Note that I am not going to count Unique Grimoires for this list, as all of their relative value depends on what Spells you want to use with less Essence sink.

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Best and worst Unique weapons in Avowed, ranked: A tier list

Here's our full tier list ranking all the Unique weapons of Avowed:

Tier	Weapons
S	Lodestone, One Last Trick, Minelotta's Conduit, Whisper of Exiles, Sheda le Subi, The Long Touch, Survivor's Guilt, Forge's Friend, The Philosopher's Riddle, Meteor Blade / Ondra's Offense, Giant's Slumber
A	Izmalt's Meteoric Apparatus, Drawn in Winter, Woodman's Labor, Storm-sworn, Just Pestle, Horsecutter, Battletrance, Star of Unbeing. Caeroc's Pride, Magic Mistol, The Emperor's Reach, Wayfinder, Umpara's Spear
B	Moonstrike/Heavenstrike, Sheathed in Summer, Emerald Splitter, Inevitability, Hel's Tongue, Unmaker, Fair Play, Carnet's Cutlass, Last Light of Day
C	Ancient Alacrity, Umbral Needle, Seven Strivings, Limb-taker, The Disappointer, Cruel Command

Here's what each tier means broadly:

S-tier weapons are the best of the best. These are either the perfect options to use for straightforward builds in Avowed, or they are sometimes good enough to warrant a whole build centered around them.
A-tier weapons are solid choices if you want a specific purpose solved, such as proccing an accumulation, dealing plain ol' damage, or building up Stun in a reasonable manner.
B-tier weapons are situational. These can be a tier above, or even two tiers above if specific build synergies are achieved and conditions are met, but on the whole, there are better choices.
C-tier weapons are simply underwhelming. They may sometimes look good on paper, but they come with no unique leg-up that can justify not picking better options, of which there are many.

Ranking all the Unique weapons in Avowed

Since it would be an inconvenient jumble for you to go through entries in each row for this Avowed tier list, we have elected to break it down among weapon types. Rather than just explaining all the Unique weapons listed on this tier list by each tier designation, we will go over each weapon category individually, so you can quickly check out what your alternatives are for that weapon.

All Unique one-handed Axes in Avowed, ranked from best to worst

4 Roentgens of Freeze, not great, not bad

Sheda le Subi - S-tier weapon and the best one-handed Axe in Avowed. Shock is the best accumulation for spreading area damage, and you can get it done with just a basic combo on this weapon, making it a satisfying and strong weapon based on that merit.
Drawn in Winter - This could be S-tier if axes weren't on the slower side. The upgraded enchantment builds frost accumulation quite fast, so it's great for a spellsword build in Avowed. Only, the Whisper of Exiles wand can do the same thing without needing to get into melee range.
Woodman's Labor - It's a good off-hand weapon, but the area damage doesn't do as much as you'd expect. All things said and done, it can carry you through Emerald Stairs because of its unique proficiency to deal with primordials and for that, it gets A-tier.

All Unique Bows in Avowed, ranked from best to worst

I can't believe it's only $400 (Image via Sportskeeda)

The Long Touch - Bows already sport great base crit chance, and The Long Touch automatically tacks on top of that stat. This makes it the most potent bow for at least sheet DPS, so this is S-tier for me.
Storm-sworn - Shock on a bow makes it the definitive accoutrement for the distinguished arcane archer. Plus, it's Shock. I give it A-tier.
Ancient Alacrity - A primer-bow is not a worthwhile burden to carry, making this the most disappointing C-tier entry for this Avowed tier list.

All Unique Daggers in Avowed, ranked from best to worst

I can't believe you get this for free (Image via Sportskeeda)

Survivor's Guilt - If you want to build freeze fast, this swift shiv is the real deal. S-tier dagger, the best-in-class.
Sheathed in Summer - You get it quite early on, but the fact that you must get into the fray between a clump of enemies to just deal fire DOT around you makes it a little underwhelming. B-tier, but can be A-tier as an off-hand.
Umbral Needle - The definition of an average weapon overselling itself with some good marketing. 4% Lifesteal looks great on paper, but that's only about 10 health per swing at best. The +15% damage from Greater Opening Strike is maybe 30 more damage at best, and doesn't do anything after that one instance.

All Unique two-handed Hammers in Avowed, ranked from best to worst

Forge's Friend - Summons a Fire Blight upon executing an enemy. This gimmick single-handedly enables a shaman build around it, because you can also proc special attack quite easily with its stun-dealing chops. S-tier for chaotic fun alone.
Just Pestle - Just what you need out of a pestle - to smash harder. More damage, more stun, more of everything heavy weapons were intended for. A-tier.
Inevitability - A basically free 5% damage reduction is something to write home about, but it's on a great-hammer. However, it doesn't work very well in higher difficulties, which is exactly where you'd need the reduction more. Very satisfying to hit the high numbers on a lucky power-attack crit, but because it's a giant hammer, that laborious wind-up takes away from its fun. B-tier.

All Unique Greatswords in Avowed, ranked from best to worst

Philosopher's Riddle, my beloved (Image via Sportskeeda)

The Philosopher's Riddle - The poison gimmick is not that big of a deal, but one of its enchantment upgrades makes it a beast for building up stun really fast. This is going to be the most subjective S-tier entry on the Avowed tier list by far, and I stand by it.
Horsecutter - Stands next to the Philosopher's riddle in gimmick, and quite frankly, bleed is kind of underwhelming in Avowed. Can deal big stun with just regular attack combo in an area, so this is still an easy A-tier entry nonetheless.
Hel's Tongue - A very handy weapon to use on a spellsword, but as a main damage dealer, it is outdone by other two-handers quite easily. B-tier.
Unmaker - In isolation, Unmaker is the best greatsword in Avowed in terms of raw power. but you unlock it so late that you only get to enjoy it for two hours or so. Plus, in practice, there's multiple two-handers with better pure-melee synergy. This is going in the B-tier bin, despite how good it appears.

All Unique Arequebuses in Avowed, ranked from best to worst

The trick here is that Arquebuses peak in high-school, aka Emerald Stairs (Image via Sportskeeda)

One Last Trick - Straight S-tier, One Last Trick is the best Arquebus in the game due to its reload speed buff. Plus you get it earlier than other Uniques in its class, strangely enough.
Izmalt's Meteoric Apparatus - Its enchantment offers a good effect for AoE if you spec into fire accumulation. Acts as a good swap-out weapon to soften up enemies, making it at least A-tier.
Moonstrike/Heavenstrike - This has the highest stun out of any Arquebus, but you cannot in practice get much out of the stun OR frost accumulation due to the reload. Unfortunately, this very late-game weapon is only B-tier.

Here are some more details on these Unique Arquebuses in Avowed, and how to acquire them.

All Unique Maces in Avowed, ranked from best to worst

They really weren't being humble with that 'small amount of health'

Lodestone - Horsecutter in a one-handed setup, automatically S-tier. The best weapon for a pure melee Fighter build in Avowed that prefers maces.
Battletrance - A hammer with all defensive properties, making it the signature weapon for a Paladin build in Avowed. A-tier weapon for a swap-slot entry.
Star of Unbeing - This is probably the most fun out of all the gimmick weapons in Avowed. For that alone, I'm giving it an A-tier in an act of completely subjective preference.

All Unique Guns (Pistols) in Avowed, ranked from best to worst

What's this with the earliest ones being the best? (Image via Sportskeeda)

Caeroc's Pride - This is the pocket version of Storm-sworn, except pistols just aren't that good at the accumulation shenanigan. If you get Mulled Musketeer (Survivalist III food item), it becomes S-tier. But otherwise, even as the best pistol in Avowed, it's only A-tier.
Magic Mistol - The definitive gunmancer weapon. The high power-attack stun makes it a great substitute for a wand for roleplay flavor, but an even greater off-hand. Should be at least A-tier.
Fair Play - Another great entry for the off-hand pistol, but its Vengeful Shot passive has a rather odd condition to trigger: you must let your companions fall in battle. Pistols have low crit chance and don't fire very often, so this weapon is overall B-tier, despite a really good Enchantment with Recompense.
The Disappointer - This weapon has many layers of irony. The upgrade to its enchantment is supposed to make it a better pistol than its name warrants, but ultimately, the effect is still a slight upgrade over a common pistol in Avowed. It comes full circle in ultimately becoming a disappointing C-tier scorer.

All Unique Swords in Avowed, ranked from best to worst

It's actually the highest DPS one-hander (Image via Sportskeeda)

Meteor Blade / Ondra's Offense - Arguably the best option for the secondary loadout slot. Passively deals Frost damage and slaps a -20% damage debuff on all enemies hit, including bosses. S-tier pickup for any melee or Spellblade build.
The Emperor's Reach - This is arguably the best one-hander for a parry-and-execute playstyle, but it's otherwise not S-tier material for this tier list. Sorry Emperor's Reach loyalists, I'll have to settle with A-tier.
Carnet's Cutlass - This kind of falls into the same category as The Emperor's Reach, but it's not quite as good. A-tier against Kith enemies (i.e. all humanoids), B-tier otherwise.
Last Light of Day - The visuals and quest setup for this weapon is far better than what it can offer you. I find it to be quite average, and there are much better options for a regular longsword than this off-brand Dawnbreaker. B-tier weapon.

All Unique Spears in Avowed, ranked from best to worst

Please poke the bear-giant (Image via Sportkseeda)

Giant's Slumber - I find that Spears work best with a back-and-forth playstyle and high power-attack committals. For that purpose, Giant's Slumber offers you the best enchantment (more critical chance and stun for power attacks), although its secondary effect is more situational (extra damage against Vessels). S-tier weapon in its class.
Wayfinder - Another surprisingly good Spear, Wayfinder has everything you're looking for in a Unique. Its secondary passive launches you forward during a power attack, letting you dart in and out of engagement range easier, and its upgrade can also do Shock accumulation. A-tier weapon, and could be S-tier situationally.
Umpara's Spear - An easily A-tier weapon that enables a fun poison-dart quasi-ranged playstyle, albeit one which is not highly viable in higher difficulties. The +25% Crit damage is also a greatly helpful bonus if you don't care for the gimmick.

All Unique Wands in Avowed, ranked from best to worst

Minoletta's Conduit - This makes your wand effective at a much bigger range, and that alone makes it S-tier. As if that wasn't enough, you get +10% base damage over other wands, and +10% shock damage on top.
Whisper of Exiles - Dealing AoE frost accumulation at the range is a great argument for S-tier, but in my opinion, this is not as good as Minoletta's Conduit. On the other hand, freeze is freeze, especially given the massive combo opportunity for any wizard build in Avowed. Therefore, I'll err on the side of caution and just declare it S-tier.
Cruel Command - It's a very questionable use case for a wand to have high Stun build-up (that too on just full-health enemies). To make things worse, you would never want to pick this over the other two Unique wands, both of which are miles better. Easy C-tier entry.

All Unique Greataxes in Avowed, ranked from best to worst

Seven Strivings - This is an early pickup of modest proportions, but kind of underwhelming when you look at other two-handers you could have in its stead. This is unfortunately just C-tier for me.
Emerald Splitter - This weapon is just a downgrade compared to The Philosopher's Riddle, which has far more universal useability than this.
Limb-Taker - The greataxe copycat of Horsecutter, and thus, by default, an inferior version of Horsecutter, because it doesn't get the bleeding cuts perk. Unfortunately, the Limb-taker suffers from the same homogeneity problem as the Emerald Splitter, except it's even worse because Bleed is very milquetoast as a status effect.

Check out our other guides on Avowed:

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Edited by Aatreyee Aich