The Sword is where almost everyone starts, and there's no reason to leave. Its two headline martial arts — the default Nameless Sword and the bleed-stacking Strategic Sword — both sit at S-tier in PvE and PvP, so the weapon you learn on stays relevant into the endgame.
Versatile range, clean parry timing and forgiving recovery make it the ideal weapon to learn the game's color-read combat on. If you only fully build one weapon, make it this one.
