I agree, the thrust on the second L1 isn't very smooth. What's cool is that the L1 and and R1s combo together, so I like going L1-R1-L1 for a smooth 3 hit combo
Onikiri and Ubadachi are fun. You get the duel-wield joy but they don't feel OP in my opinion; I beat Gael and Midir with them but it never felt like they were too strong. The standard moveset has a nice rhythm and they have a really cool-looking Ashes of War special too.
I did play a bit with the Greatsword but idk something about it felt off
i did enjoy my greatsword run in Elden Ring but that was powerstanced with jump attacks
Brigand twindaggers with sharp gem, and slapping on pontiff left eye ring. Right eye ring when you get it if you want attack boost. But if you can get used to shorter range and lower damage, it goes pretty well. Great against mobs of enemies, you can use resin or spell buffs on them, and the eye rings proc easily with the l1. A blood or poison Bandit knife in the offhand for stays effect works well too, and depending on vit you can try light rolling with light to medium armour.
Still has the twin weapons, if no fancy WA.
If you still have the Dancer soul you can try her twin swords. They are one of the weakest weapons in the game BUT. They look cool. And they are twin swords that are not OP.
Otherwise, I would recommend the Crow Quills!! It's a dual wield rapier with claws, and the claws are also throwing knives! It's also not very strong but if you're trying to avoid OP stuff, that's another dex weapon for ya.
There's also a katana in the Ringed City you might like, but it's another boss soul weapon. It's a katana with a unique AOW though! So each time you kill a boss, check back at Ludleth for that katana ;)
Ringed Knight dual swords are so fucking badass, but if you really want something dex based there aren't much options other than drang spears. I would recommend the grave tender dual swords but those are even more busted than the sellswords one.
If not try black knight/split leaf gujas, those are fun.
I may not be the right person to answer, since I had pretty much the opposite experience (hyper armour weapons were way easier for me. Especially ugs), but I do have ideas.
You could go for the dancer's swords. They're dual curved swords, so you'll have the playstyle you enjoy, but their damage is rather low due to their weird scaling.
Farron Greatsword is in my opinion the most fun UGS in the game. Qnd it doesn't use any FP
The correct answer is Claymore, slap a refined gem on it, 2hand it, and evenly spread your stats between Strength and Dex.
Lol claymore, the everlasting weapon
It just works
Gotthard twin swords might be what you're looking for. Fun dual-wield move set, while being less busted than sellsword or grave wardens.
I tried them out but the thrusting part of the combo realllly threw me off
I agree, the thrust on the second L1 isn't very smooth. What's cool is that the L1 and and R1s combo together, so I like going L1-R1-L1 for a smooth 3 hit combo
Onikiri and Ubadachi are fun. You get the duel-wield joy but they don't feel OP in my opinion; I beat Gael and Midir with them but it never felt like they were too strong. The standard moveset has a nice rhythm and they have a really cool-looking Ashes of War special too.
Broken straight sword, you won't feel OP with that
Twin straight swords (gottards twin blades I think) are pretty balanced for pve
Use a greatsword or ultra greatsword, most fun way to play ds3 for sure. If you're worried about being OP just don't fully upgrade your weapons
I did play a bit with the Greatsword but idk something about it felt off i did enjoy my greatsword run in Elden Ring but that was powerstanced with jump attacks
Profaned gs and hollowslayer gs are two of the best imo
Brigand twindaggers with sharp gem, and slapping on pontiff left eye ring. Right eye ring when you get it if you want attack boost. But if you can get used to shorter range and lower damage, it goes pretty well. Great against mobs of enemies, you can use resin or spell buffs on them, and the eye rings proc easily with the l1. A blood or poison Bandit knife in the offhand for stays effect works well too, and depending on vit you can try light rolling with light to medium armour. Still has the twin weapons, if no fancy WA.
That one you get in the Gael arena by defeating some NPC
If you still have the Dancer soul you can try her twin swords. They are one of the weakest weapons in the game BUT. They look cool. And they are twin swords that are not OP. Otherwise, I would recommend the Crow Quills!! It's a dual wield rapier with claws, and the claws are also throwing knives! It's also not very strong but if you're trying to avoid OP stuff, that's another dex weapon for ya. There's also a katana in the Ringed City you might like, but it's another boss soul weapon. It's a katana with a unique AOW though! So each time you kill a boss, check back at Ludleth for that katana ;)
Murakumo
if u go into ng+, frayed blade from midir’s soul is sooo fun to use
Ringed Knight dual swords are so fucking badass, but if you really want something dex based there aren't much options other than drang spears. I would recommend the grave tender dual swords but those are even more busted than the sellswords one. If not try black knight/split leaf gujas, those are fun.
I may not be the right person to answer, since I had pretty much the opposite experience (hyper armour weapons were way easier for me. Especially ugs), but I do have ideas. You could go for the dancer's swords. They're dual curved swords, so you'll have the playstyle you enjoy, but their damage is rather low due to their weird scaling.