Valor Mortis Claymore Guide – Location, Stats, Upgrades, and Best Build

The Claymore is the last sword you find in Valor Mortis — and the most extreme. It is a massive two-handed blade that hits harder than any other melee weapon in the game. But there is a real cost. It is slow, drains Endurance fast, and gives up both parrying and your secondary slot to use it. When you pick up the Claymore, you are making a trade: raw power for everything else.

This guide covers everything about the Claymore — where to find it, how it plays, what the Rampage mechanic does, the best upgrade perks to pick, and the build that makes it shine.

TL;DR – Claymore Quick Summary

• The Claymore is found in Chapter 6, inside a church near Anna’s boss fight. Pull it from a corpse to unlock it.
• It is a two-handed sword — William uses both hands, so there is no secondary slot while equipped.
• It cannot parry. Your only defensive options are dodging and reading enemy patterns.
• Has its own built-in fire shot and a Stasis AoE that can freeze weaker enemies.
• The key upgrade is the first perk, which unlocks the Rampage mechanic — hit enemies 7 times to earn a free Transmutation attack.
• Best upgrade picks: Willpower then Bulwark.
• Pairs best with the Fire Breathing Amber and the Fire Transmutation for maximum damage.
• Not for beginners. Best used as a specialist weapon for specific fights or by confident melee players.

What Is the Claymore in Valor Mortis?

Valor Mortis is a first-person soulslike set in a twisted version of Napoleonic Europe. You play as William Dowsett, a soldier fighting through corrupted enemies using a combination of swords, firearms, and supernatural Transmutation abilities.

The Claymore is the third and final melee sword in the game. Where the Saber is the safe all-rounder and the Rapier is the skill-ceiling parry weapon, the Claymore sits at the other end entirely — it is the pure heavy hitter. Two hands, full commitment, massive damage.

Because it is two-handed, equipping the Claymore locks out your secondary slot entirely. No pistol, no Transmutation. The Claymore compensates for this by having its own built-in special attacks — a fire shot and a Stasis AoE — baked into the weapon itself. You are not completely without tools. But you are giving up a lot of flexibility to swing this sword.

The official gameplay trailer describes it directly: “the Claymore — a slow, two-handed blade with very high impact.” That is a fair summary. It is the strongest hitting melee option in the game, and the most demanding to use well.

Where to Find the Claymore in Valor Mortis

Chapter: Chapter 6
Location: A church near Anna’s boss fight
How to get it: Pull it from a corpse inside the church

In Chapter 6, the environment shifts to a village area filled with toxic swamps and tougher enemies. Near the end of the chapter, William gains access to a church that also unlocks a shortcut back to the Lantern near Anna’s boss fight. Inside that church, you will find a corpse with the Claymore embedded in it — the same way the Rapier was found in Chapter 3. Pull the weapon from the corpse and it is added to your arsenal.

The Claymore is the last melee weapon you find in the game, arriving well after both the Saber and the Rapier. By this point you will have had time to learn the combat system properly, which is exactly when a high-risk, high-reward weapon like this makes the most sense to pick up.

For a full breakdown of every weapon location in the game, see our Valor Mortis All Swords and Guns Weapons List.

Claymore Stats and Key Properties

• Type: Two-handed melee greatsword
• Attacks: Heavy, powerful swings — both slashing and impacting
• Block: No
• Parry: No
• Secondary Slot: Locked out while Claymore is equipped
• Special Attacks: Built-in fire shot, Stasis AoE (can freeze weaker enemies)
• Stamina Cost: Very high — each swing drains significantly more Endurance than the Saber or Rapier
• Max Level: 10
• Upgrade Currency: Blade Materials (same as all melee swords)

The Claymore’s biggest stat trade-off is Endurance. Every swing costs more stamina than either of the other swords. Overcommitting to attack chains without watching your Endurance bar is the fastest way to get killed with the Claymore — you will be wide open in recovery.

Its biggest advantage is posture damage. The Claymore is described as “excellent for breaking posture on tougher or armored enemies.” Where the Rapier builds posture through repeated perfect parries, the Claymore just smashes through it with raw impact. Heavy enemies who shrug off faster weapons take the Claymore’s hits very differently.

claymore in valor mortis

The Rampage Mechanic — What It Is and Why It Matters

The most important thing to understand about the Claymore’s upgrade path is the Rampage perk, which is unlocked with the first upgrade you apply to the weapon. This is the mechanic the entire Claymore build is designed around.

Here is how it works: every hit you land on an enemy builds a Rampage counter. After landing 7 hits, you earn a free Transmutation attack — either a fire shot or a Stasis AoE — without spending any Nephtoglobin. This is massive, because it means the Claymore’s biggest limitation (losing your secondary slot) is partially addressed by the weapon itself. You are not completely without supernatural tools — you just have to earn them through aggression.

The fire shot and Stasis AoE built into the Claymore are triggered through this Rampage system. Land 7 swings, then unleash the free attack. Against tougher enemies and bosses, this cycle becomes the Claymore’s damage loop — hit, hit, hit, fire burst, repeat.

This also means the Claymore rewards an aggressive, forward-moving playstyle. Hesitation slows your Rampage counter. The more pressure you put on enemies, the faster you earn free Transmutation attacks.

How to Upgrade the Claymore

Like all melee weapons in Valor Mortis, the Claymore is upgraded at the Abandoned Church at James’s Iron Bench. Visit the Church between major story milestones to keep it leveled up. Upgrades and character stat improvements are separate systems — Lanterns handle stats, the Church handles weapons.

The upgrade material path is the same for all three swords:

Weapon Level	Material Needed	Amount Required
Level 2	Crude Blade Material	1
Level 3	Crude Blade Material	2
Level 4	Crude Blade Material	3
Level 5	Pure Blade Material	1
Level 6	Pure Blade Material	2
Level 7	Pure Blade Material	3
Level 8	Distilled Blade Material	1
Level 9	Distilled Blade Material	2
Level 10	Quintessential Blade Material	1

The lower three grades can be bought from James or found throughout the world. There are only three Quintessential Blade Materials in the entire game, found in The Outskirts and the Fortress — so plan which weapon you want to max first. Maxing any blade to Level 10 unlocks the Bladesmith trophy or achievement. See our Valor Mortis All Achievements and Trophy List for the full list.

Best Claymore Upgrade Perks

Willpower (recommended first)

Willpower is the branching perk choice that most builds and guides recommend at the level 5 milestone. It directly supports the aggressive, sustained melee style the Claymore demands. Keeping Willpower active means you can keep swinging through more of a fight before you are forced to back off — and staying aggressive is everything with this sword.

Bulwark (recommended second)

Bulwark is the secondary pick after Willpower and adds a layer of survivability. Given that the Claymore has no parry and no block, any upgrade that helps you absorb or endure punishment is valuable. Bulwark does not make the Claymore defensive — it just makes the inevitable hits you take a little more survivable while you build Rampage stacks and wait for your fire or Stasis burst.

The confirmed best-in-slot upgrade path for the Claymore is: Willpower → Bulwark.

Best Claymore Build

The Claymore’s best build leans fully into fire damage and aggressive forward pressure. Here is how it works:

Claymore + Fire Build (Best Claymore Build)

This build uses the Claymore as the primary damage dealer and builds the Ignite effect through a combination of melee hits and the weapon’s built-in fire shot. The game plan is simple: stay close, swing hard, hit the Rampage counter to 7, trigger the free fire shot, burn the enemy, and repeat.

You are not using the Fire Transmutation spell directly in this build — because the Claymore takes up your secondary slot. Instead, you apply Ignite through the Claymore’s own Rampage-triggered fire attack and through the Flaming Whetstone consumable, which temporarily infuses the blade with fire. Once an enemy has Ignite on them, each subsequent swing extends the burn and deals more damage over time.

Key Ambers for this build:

• Fire Breathing — Burns nearby enemies and triggers the Ignite effect on hit. Even against enemies that resist burning, combining a Rampage fire burst with Fire Breathing creates a reliable Ignite window.
• Payback — Synergizes with Fire Breathing by building more Fire and Stasis on enemies when those effects trigger, amplifying each cycle.
• An Amber that allows you to heal through the Claymore’s fire Transmutation ability is essential for keeping you alive while playing at close range with no defensive options.

Key stats for this build:

• Maximum Health — First priority. No parry and no block means you will take hits. More HP makes those hits survivable.
• Nephtoglobin Sufferance — Even though the Claymore earns free Transmutation attacks through Rampage, more Nephtoglobin capacity means you have backup Transmutation uses available in longer fights.
• Melee Damage — Straightforward. More damage per swing means fewer swings to Rampage, faster cycles, and faster fights.
• Maximum Endurance — Still critical with the Claymore. Each swing costs more Endurance than the lighter blades. More stamina means longer attack strings before you have to disengage.

Also upgrade the Fire Transmutation even though you cannot use it directly with the Claymore equipped. The first and last Fire Transmutation upgrades buff the Ignite effect that the Claymore’s own fire shot applies. Choosing Unstable Blaze as the final Fire Transmutation upgrade enables the Ignite explosion trigger, which amplifies the damage each time Ignite is consumed.

How to Use the Claymore Effectively in Combat

Accept That You Cannot Parry or Block

This is the first thing to internalize. The Claymore has no defensive options in the traditional sense. No parry window, no block stance, nothing. Your only way to avoid damage is to dodge and to read the enemy well enough that you are not in the way when hits land. If you are switching from the Saber or Rapier, this feels extremely exposed at first. That exposure is the price of the Claymore’s damage.

Use It in Specific Encounters, Not Every Fight

The Claymore is not a weapon you carry into every room. It is a specialist tool for the right situations. It shines against:
Heavily armored enemies — its posture damage cuts through armor that faster swords struggle to dent.
Slow, telegraphed enemies — where the slow swing speed is less of a liability because the enemy does not punish recovery frames aggressively.
Enemies you are fighting one-on-one — where you have space to dodge and time your swings without multiple threats interrupting your rhythm.

Against fast enemies, swarms, or situations where you need to quickly switch between offense and defense, switch back to the Saber or Rapier. Use the Claymore like a specialist weapon in your kit — pull it out for the right fight, put it away for the wrong one. You can switch weapons freely outside of combat.

Build Rampage Aggressively

Every hit adds to your Rampage counter. Seven hits earns you a free fire or Stasis burst. This means in every fight, your goal is to stay on the enemy and keep landing hits. Do not retreat unnecessarily — the more you back off, the longer it takes to reach 7 hits and the less value you get from the Rampage system. Stay in close, swing hard, and treat the free Transmutation burst as your reward for staying aggressive.

Use Flaming Whetstones to infuse the Claymore between fights when you know a tough encounter is coming. The infused hits contribute to Ignite buildup alongside the Rampage fire burst, making the damage cycle land harder.

Stamina Management Is Even More Critical Here

The Claymore drains Endurance fast. Each swing costs significantly more than the Saber or Rapier. You need to count your swings. Do not exhaust your Endurance bar mid-combo — if you are caught in recovery with an empty bar and the enemy counterattacks, you have no dodge, no block, and no parry to save you.

A common rule: swing in bursts of three to four hits, track your Endurance bar visually, and give yourself one or two seconds to recover before the next attack string. Against slower enemies this is easy to maintain. Against faster ones it requires discipline.

Dodge Over Everything

Without parry and without block, the dodge is your entire defensive tool kit. Learn enemy attack timings well before switching to the Claymore in a new area. Fighting a new enemy with the Claymore before you understand their patterns is a fast way to take heavy damage. Beat an encounter with the Saber first if needed, learn the timing, then pull out the Claymore on the repeat.

Claymore vs Saber vs Rapier – Quick Comparison

• The Saber can block and parry. The Rapier can only parry. The Claymore cannot do either.
• The Saber and Rapier allow a secondary slot. The Claymore does not.
• The Claymore deals the most damage per hit. The Rapier deals the most damage per second at its peak. The Saber is the most consistent.
• The Claymore has built-in fire and Stasis attacks via Rampage. The others do not.
• The Claymore is best for armored and slow enemies. The Saber is best for all-round combat. The Rapier is best for parry-focused duels.

None of the three swords is a straight upgrade over the others. They serve different situations. The key is knowing which to reach for based on the fight in front of you.

Key Stats to Upgrade Alongside the Claymore

• Maximum Health (Rank 1) — Non-negotiable. No defensive mechanics means you will take hits. You need the buffer.
• Maximum Endurance (Rank 1) — Also essential. The Claymore’s high swing cost means Endurance runs out faster here than with any other sword.
• Melee Damage (Rank 3) — More damage per swing shortens the time to kill and makes every Rampage cycle more impactful.
• Melee Endurance Cost (Rank 5) — Reduces the stamina cost per swing. This directly addresses the Claymore’s biggest weakness and lets you sustain attack strings longer.

You can respec your character stats at any Lantern for a small Catalyst fee. If you find the Claymore unsustainable early, adjust your Endurance allocation and try again — the weapon rewards the right stat foundation.

For more combat advice heading into the game’s later chapters, see our Valor Mortis Tips and Tricks Getting Started Guide and check the Valor Mortis All Chapters List to know what is ahead.

Where to Play Valor Mortis

Valor Mortis is available now on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. Visit the official Valor Mortis website or get it on Steam, PlayStation Store, or the Xbox Store. Check our Valor Mortis PC System Requirements before jumping in on PC, and read our Valor Mortis Review for a full breakdown of the game.

Frequently Asked Questions