Notes from author
The Zweihander is a great quality weapon, its range is great, dead angles are easy, it's buffable, its R2s pancakes people, but it's slow. I like to put the charcoal pine resin on it for more damage, and it also makes it look cooler... Er... Awesome... You get what I mean. '~'
The Gold Tracer is very good dexterity weapon, basically the same as the other curved swords, it can't be buffed, but it's bleed buildup and damage is great, it looks cool, especially when you swing it. I like to use it as a backup weapon for when I feel like the Zweihander is too slow... It also surprises people when you whip it out midfight, and then they have to change how they fight you.
The composite bow is the best bow in the game for quality builds, especially with poison arrows, and it's very light.
The grass crest shield is the best shield in the game, it regens stamina significantly faster, the defenses are good, but it doesn't completely negate physical damage, yet 95% physical damage resistance is still good enough and it's worth the very small sacrifice.