Best Kingdom Hearts 3 keyblades - all the keyblades ranked from worst to best

(Image credit: Square Enix)

With a plethora of Kingdom Hearts 3 keyblades to choose between, working out the best from the rest is easier said than done. It's worth thinking about too, because the wide range of KH3 keyblades can have a big impact on your playstyle and approach to combat in the Disney-themed adventure.

To help you decide, we have ranked the 14 best keyblades in Kingdom Hearts 3. It's worth noting that we have focused on the weapons available to Sora in the base-game, so we aren't getting into the Kingdom Hearts 3 DLC keyblades here. However, there are plenty of great options available to you here, so keep reading to find our ranking of the Kingdom Hearts 3 keyblades that everyone can find and equip today.

14. Kingdom Key

This is the keyblade you start with at the beginning of the game so as expected, it's not great. It has just 4 Strength and 3 Magic, and the only ability is Treasure Magnet which pulls any treasures on the floor toward you. Upgrade this as soon as you can.

13. Hero's Origin

Impressively, Hero's Origin is even worse than Hunny Spout. With just 5 Strength and 2 Magic, you're going to want to get rid of this keyblade as soon as you get a chance. The formchange turns it into a shield, which isn't useful whatsoever if you're an offensive player, while the Defender ability just increases your defence when you're already at low health.

12. Shooting Star

You get the Shooting Star for completing Twilight Town near the start of the game, but unfortunately this keyblade is quite useless until you learn much more powerful spells. It starts with a Strength of 3 and Magic of 5, and while it's powerful late game if you upgrade it completely, it's often not worth it. It also falls short with the formchanges, as they're both ranged weapons like the Hunny Spout.

11. Hunny Spout

Unfortunately, the Hunny Spout really isn't great. As you may have guessed, you unlock it by completing 100 Acre Wood. It's balanced with 6 Strength and 5 Magic but the Harvester ability only gives you an extra cooking ingredient every time you harvest. That's pretty much useless if you've been following our Kingdom Hearts 3 ingredients guide. The two formchanges - Hunny Blasters and Hunny Launcher - turn it into a ranged weapon which is much too slow for the fast paced combat of Kingdom Hearts 3.

10. Starlight

Starlight is one of the last keyblades you receive, but when it comes to stats it's absolutely rubbish. It has just 4 Strength and 4 Magic, and the only ability is MP Haste which allows Sora to cast spells faster. The Second Form S formchange turns Sora into a previous form of himself from Kingdom Hearts 2; great for fans of the older games seeking some nostalgia, not so practical in tough fights.

9. Crystal Snow

The Crystal Snow is the one you get for completing Arendelle, and it's the last somewhat decent keyblade on offer. It has 4 Strength and 7 Magic, and protects Sora from any Freeze effects. The Blizzard Claw formchange turns it into two icy talons, which is great when fighting multiple enemies because you can chain attacks between them. The Blizzard Blade is similar, but it has a wider arc so it can hit even more enemies.

8. Happy Gear

Beat Monstropolis to get the Happy Gear keyblade. It's another keyblade that focuses on Strength, with 7 Strength to begin with. The Assault Claw formchange turns the keyblade into a huge gear which can deal damage to enemies far away from you, while Twin Yo-Yo has a wide attack range so enemies won't be able to get near you. The only downside is that the Focus Converter ability doesn't help you in combat - instead, it converts all Focus prizes into large Focus prizes.

7. Grand Chef

You probably won't obtain Grand Chef until near the end of the game, because it's a reward for cooking every single recipe in the Little Bistro in Twilight Town. You'll need to find all of the ingredients for that, and when you do, you'll be rewarded with the Grand Chef. It's not a great keyblade with just 5 Strength and 7 Magic, but it is incredibly fun to use. The Frying Pan formchange literally turns the weapon into a huge frying pan, so you can turn up the heat as you serve up some tasty Heartless.

6. Nano Gear

Nano Gear is a much more balanced keyblade that you receive when you've completed San Fransokyo. Nano Arms is an awesome ability that can target one enemy multiple times, so it's great for boss fights or enemies with a lot of health. Stun Protection also does exactly that; it prevents you from being stunned.

5. Wheel of Fate

For another Strength option, after you complete The Caribbean you can try out Wheel of Fate. Since you earn it much later in the game, it begins with 8 Strength and 5 Magic. The Highwind formchange turns it into a vicious spear, while the Storm Flag one is similar but looks like a flag. On top of that, you have permanent access to the Waterza spell.

4. Ever After

If you do prefer Magic, when you complete the Kingdom of Corona world you'll receive the Ever After keyblade. It's like the counterpart to Favorite Deputy; 7 Magic and a Mirage Staff formchange, along with Leaf Bracer which means that whenever Sora uses Cure or any of the more powerful versions, he can't be interrupted.

3. Favorite Deputy

After using the Favorite Deputy for the majority of our playthrough, it's easily one of the very best. From the get go it offers 7 Strength which makes it great for anyone who isn't too invested in Magic. You earn it for completing Toy Box and the Hyper Hammer/Drill Punch formchanges can deal some serious area-of-effect damage. Lucky Strike also increases the drop rate of rare items, which is key if you're grinding in the late game for the Ultima Weapon.

2. Classic Tone

Classic Tone is a hidden keyblade that you don't unlock through the main story; you need to collect and play all 23 Kingdom Hearts 3 Classic Kingdom games. When you do get it, it has a Strength of 11 and Magic of 14, which means it's a better keyblade for a mage than the Ultima Weapon. MP Haste means you'll be constantly replenishing your Magic, though the Boom Hammer and Clock Drill formchanges both focus on melee attacks.

1. The Best Kingdom Hearts 3 Keyblade - Ultima Keyblade

This is kind of cheating, but the best keyblade in Kingdom Hearts 3 without a shadow of a doubt is the Ultima Keyblade. The only caveat if you want to know how to get the Kingdom Hearts 3 Ultima Weapon is that you don't unlock this keyblade until the end of the game and even then, you need to find some rare materials to synthesise it. It has 13 Strength and 13 Magic, making it the best keyblade for both stats. It also formchanges into the Ultimate Form which is seriously cool.

Of course, every keyblade in Kingdom Hearts 3 is powerful when in the right hands, so find the one that suits your playstyle and roll with it. Don't forget that you can also have three keyblades equipped at any one time, so you can switch through them in the heat of battle.

Give me a game and I will write every "how to" I possibly can or die trying. When I'm not knee-deep in a game to write guides on, you'll find me hurtling round the track in F1, flinging balls on my phone in Pokemon Go, pretending to know what I'm doing in Football Manager, or clicking on heads in Valorant.

With contributions from

Josh WestEditor-in-Chief, GamesRadar+

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