Sword

2 weapons: +1 Melee Damage; +1% Life Steal
3 weapons: +2 Melee Damage; +2% Life Steal
4 weapons: +3 Melee Damage; +3% Life Steal
5 weapons: +4 Melee Damage; +4% Life Steal
6 or more: +5 Melee Damage; +5% Life Steal

Alternates between thrusting and sweeping attacks

Unlock: Available from the start
Starting weapon for: King, Knight

Community builds that use it

KnightArmor converts to Melee Damage, so stack Armor with Swords (the main start) or Spears, mixing in Jousting Lances; Maces and Hammer suit the attack-speed penalty.
VagabondEach weapon counts toward every weapon class you hold, so get six different melee weapons with as many classes as possible; Cacti Club, Spear, Quarterstaff and Lightning Shiv starts are recommended. Ghost weapons and chasing Luck/Harvesting are discouraged.

Stats by tier

Tier II Uncommon
Damage
30 (+100% Melee Damage)
Cooldown
1.28s
Crit
x2 (3% chance)
Range
200
Tier III Rare
Damage
45 (+100% Melee Damage)
Cooldown
1.13s
Crit
x2 (3% chance)
Range
200
Tier IV Legendary
Damage
65 (+100% Melee Damage)
Cooldown
0.98s
Crit
x2 (3% chance)
Range
200

Damage in brackets is added from your stats before %Damage multiplies the total; see the damage formula or the calculator.

DPS at tier IV

68.3 DPS with no stats, 89.3 at 20 Melee Damage and 120.9 at 50 (single target, every projectile hits, crits averaged): #18 of 58 weapons that scale with Melee Damage. Full ranking or your own stats.