This would have been a cool weapon if we can use its beam mode against serpent type enemies, not with just rykard.

I wish we could put ashes of war on this thing

God, I wish they reworked this weapon a bit. Instead of having the "special properties" in every attack (yes, even normal attacks conjure the beam), they can keep it specifically for the WA. That way, they don't need to take away the beam ability entirely after Rykard. It would be a neat weapon with a very cool WA.

transcends gimmick weapon status by just being so damn strong. kind of an old school weapon in a way, like the black knight halbard from ds1. no flashy weapon arts or broken moveset, just excellent damage and range

My theory about the weird ghost dude who tells you about this weapon and asks you to slay Rykard is that it's Bernahl's dead brother. If you speak to him after Rykard is killed, Bernahl will say he bears no ill will towards you and then mumbles a prayer to himself, including the line, "I am the recusant Bernahl, inheritor of my brother's will..." "Inheritor" seems to imply that the brother is dead, and that Bernahl is carrying on his legacy. Speculating a little more, Bernahl's unnamed brother may have also been aligned with the manor, and is thus also considered a blasphemer, which would explain why his ghost has not returned to the Erdtree to be reborn and is instead trying to get a random Tarnished to kill the god-devouring serpent. It does seem likely though that he tried and failed to kill Rykard using the mythic god-slaying weapon. This is referenced in the flavor text for the Serpent-Hunter, where Bernahl's brother may have been one of the men looking for a way to kill Rykard and certainly at least carried it into battle.

The axe talisman and spiked tear can be obtained in Limgrave. Somber smithing stones 1-4 can be purchased from Iji. Somber smithing stones 5-9 can be scavenged between the Volcano Manor and in Dragonbarrow. The Serpent-Hunter can be obtained by collecting the Dectus Medallion, helping Rya, teleporting to the Manor, and performing Godskin skip (in whichever form you like.) The Hero class achieves 40 vigor and 60 strength at level 77. There are many reasons a +10 Serpent-Hunter and its charged attacks are used in speedruns, and it's not just 'cause they're easy to get. It's because they kill everything really, really fast -- if you're good enough.

who was the npc... ghost? that tell you about this weapon?? I can't find that info anywhere

If the ash of war could be swapped and magic could enchant it this would be my favorite weapon.

visions of nameless king

good weapon with great strength scaling, easily upgraded somber weapon, but the weapon art is terribly slow outside of the boss fight.