The Weapons Of Bloodborne - Right Handed
I'm going to start this post by saying that scaling wise a ludwig's holy blade just does the most damage at high levels. Like....... that's it. You want pure raw damage you take that. The reason for using other stuff is the unique properties of that weapon.
Saw Cleaver - The 1st starting weapon. A quality weapon where both STR and SKL should hit 25 before passing that level, this benefits slightly more from strength and does 20% bonus damage to beasts in untransformed mode. Transforming it gives up this bonus in exchange for lengthening the blade, but these lengthened attacks take more stamina (usually one less attack total) and are a bit slower. My recommendation? Never transform it and use it vs beasts. You won't regret it. The scaling is..... okay? It's basically your anti-beast weapon early on in the game, when scaling doesn't matter as much as upgrades, and it's really good at doing this. Chaining R1's is also a really viable way to use the weapon, so it's very easy to use. Another cool fact is that you can transform mid attack for special attacks in the middle of your combos.
Hunter Axe - The 2nd starting weapon. This has a bit of reach on the saw cleaver untransformed at the cost of more stamina and slower attacks. It also has a really good overhead attack in the R2 or third R1, which is useful against certain ground type enemies that you WILL find annoying at certain parts of the game. However, the reason this weapon really shines is that transformed it extends and you can get a bunch of sweepoing attacks out of its combos. The first R1 and L2 are both sweepers that are really good at aoe, while the charged R2 is a double twirl that tends to double hit enemies and do a lot of damage (but consume ALL of your stamina bar). Meanwhile, the R2 is still a really really good overhead attack in this form, as well as the 3rd R1. The Hunter Axe benefits more strongly from STR than SKL (more than the cleaver), but like the cleaver you are best off raising both to 25 before going past that. This weapon is really good all game due to the aoe capability. I would recommend taking this or the saw cleaver as your first weapon, because it's a lot easier to transfer either of those into more powerful builds later in the game. It's worth noting that the overhead attack of this weapon is able to hit the Cleric Beast's face and thus set it up for Visceral attacks (useful for a No Bullets run). This does more damage vs most things in the mid to late game, while the cleaver is better for the early beast bosses. This weapon, transforming into the longer one in an R1, L1, R1 combo, is really good but the rest of its transform attacks kind of suck in combos.
Threaded Cane - The 3rd starting weapon, this is a pure skill weapon that gains a lot more from getting skill to 50 than it does from putting any points into Strength. Using much less stamina than the other two, it also has the least reach of any of the starting weapons untransformed but can attack a lot more often to make up for it. The R2 is also a thrusting attack with the cane, which can be really good vs some things like bloodsuckers. Transformed, we get an aoe whip that ..... probably uses the least stamina of any good aoe weapon. The reason this weapon is really good though is that due to its fast low stamina AOE attacks it is probably the best weapon to put fire or bolt paper on for most of the game. I would not recommend taking this? just because it doesn't have the same blunt impact of the other two and will end up doing less damage for a lot of the early game, which is noticeable when you start to put shards into it. Finally, this weapon also has really good attacks if you transform it during combos. ... Actually finally the cane has 20% bonus damage vs kin while the whip has 20% versus beasts.
That all being said, it's really easy to use multiple of these early in the game, since they can be bought from the shop cheap before beating the 2nd boss. Because of this, I recommend experimenting.
Saw Spear - You can buy this really early, and it's basically slightly better at skill than strength and a counterpart to the saw cleaver that way. While it has some good thrusting attacks, and transformed it does 20% bonus damage to beasts, this weapon is basically outclassed by the saw cleaver and rifle spear.
Rifle Spear - Probably the most direct reach of any weapon in this game, this quality weapon has some really good thrusting attacks. It's also possible to transform it so that your normal gun is replaced by this weapon's shotgun blast, which does benefit from any upgrades you put into this thing. This is a really good single target weapon against things like snake parasites where the moveset will keep you safe.
Kirkhammer - A STRENGTH weapon through and through, untransformed this is just.... well a sword. It's a really nice sword, and to be honest its nice to get to use a sword for once. It's also notable that for a strength weapon, this thing untransformed matches the threaded cane for stamina use and speed. Transformed, we trade speedy attacks for a MASSIVE hammer. Both R attacks are an overhead slam, while a single L2 is a really good sweeping attack. Be warned, this is slow attacks and chews through your stamina like candy. But for a pure strength weapon this is a really good damage dealer. Hammering L1 in the middle of R1 combos also leads to some of the weirdest and more entertaining combination attacks I've seen in this game, swinging the hammer head and sword about in comobs while attaching or detaching them.
Stake Driver - short range and a lot of thrusting attacks. Saw Cleaver like stamina usage. And purely unique in that it's the only weapon without a transform mode. Instead, L1 primes the spear for your special charged R2 attack which...... is probably the best stealth charged R2 in the game. That being said, this weapon isn't consistently good enough to be used seriously for anything other than said stealthed R2's, meaning you want to use this as a secondary support weaon if you are going to use it. Btw..... the charged R2 basically fires off sparks as the springblade rams your stake forward faster than anything should by rights be driven into anything. It's probably the most viscerally satisfying attack in the game with its own mechanical sound effects to boot. The same can be done without charging it but..... that attack isn't as cool.
Tonitrus - Um....... it's a mace. And you swing it. Nothing more fancy to be said for the untransformed version, which is basically just something you swing like you have only got Saw Cleaver R1's to use. Um...... L1 temporarily electrifies the blade, but this wears off really fast and must be reapplied after like 5-8 seconds. That being said, it's a natural arcane weapon so if you want to do an arcane build this is an option. That also being said, it's one of the **** early game weapons to actually try to get to due to being in the hardest area pre-Forbidden Woods, so go after it with caution. Late game there are better options for arcane weapons, but if something is particularly weak to bolt this can sometimes be a nice choice still.
Reiterpallasch - Basically the rapier of this game, this is a heavy skill weapon and untransformed it's that sword you thrust straight forward like you are in a fencing match. The R2 is also a nice mini sweeper. The transform mode...... just turns your R1 into a gun. Like a pistol gun. Um....... this, like the rifle spear's gun, is only useful if you really want to use the natural upgrades you've invested into this weaopn (say you got it to +10 for example) over what your left handed weapon has been upgraded to.
Logarius Wheel - Oh heavens, this thing is weird. It's um........ a big wooden wheel you smash things with. It's got a nice sweeper in the R2, and being honest the R1's probably swing the fastest of any of the pure heavy strength weapons (and it scales A LOT AND I MEAN A LOT with strength). That being said, I would personally use this in a arcane build? because the transformed mode makes it due arcane damage while the wheel spins. Your attacks are slower but you do more damage.
Blade of Mercy - Untransformed this is a decent sword but absolutely nothing special. Transformed though, you are dual weilding daggers meaning that your R2 and L2 combos use them to some really neat effect (at the cost of your gun). That being said, I don't really like this weapon (apparently it has natural arcane but I don't know what visual effect says that) because I can't figure out a way to swing the left weapon by itself in a combo, ruining all the fun of dual wielding. You would really use this for the transformed L2, which is a damaging attack that also does a backstep (albeit not an invincible one).
Chikage - untransformed it's nothing special and nothing worth recommending, since it's basically just another sword. Um......... transformed this weapon is solely responsible for the bloodtinge build, since it scales with bloodtinge only in that form (but your health constantlly goes down by a bit each second). This is one of the few weapons in the game that can claim to be unique and broken, and it's really good in a skill and bloodtinge build. It's also....... basically this is why bloodtinge is a viable stat and not just a joke.
Ludwig's Holy Blade - a sword and a greatsword, anyone who has played previous souls games immediately knows this weapons moveset by heart. It's nothign special when it comes to attacking, and early on you would not use this just because it doesn't have as much versatility (although against a few bosses any heavy overhead attack can stun them under certain situations; especially Amygdala). <- This weapon really shines because of one thing, which makes it automatically the best weapon in the game. SCALING. At B/B for STR/SKILL, this weapon at 50 Strength and 50 Skill has the most damage of any weapon and thus is automatically the best weapon for high level characters. It also..... basically it gets an A rating in arcane at +10, making it most likely the best arcane weapon in the game as well if you slot a gem in there for an elemental effect such as a fire gem. If you plan to get to level 150+, this is your damage dealer.
Beast Claw - Just freaking bizarre. Bad damage, scaling, and moveset compared to other weapons, this weapon has got one major thing going for it. Transformed you can build up your beast gauge without needing to use a beast blood pellet first, which can skyrocket your damage. And you keep that built up gauge when switching to another weapon, allowing for some crazy **** to go down.
Burial Blade - The final weapon you will get in the game (other than the Beast Claw), you have to die against the Moon Presence to be able to get this before NG+. The untransformed mode is ..... just another sword. You guessed it. Another freaking sword. I never realized how many weapons were swords until I had to go out and test them for this post. So much less variety than I originally thought. The transformed mode though is a scythe though, and between the AMAZING REACH and the AMAZING AOE I just love this weapon. Um....... this weapon has some of the most intense Skill Scaling in the game, ending up at an S in skill at +10. It also supposedly has natural arcane scaling somewhere but I don't notice it?