The blueprint for the Broadsword is taken from the corpse of Tutorial Knight in the Prisoners' Quarters, right before the door to the Promenade of the Condemned. This blueprint can only be obtained after the player has attempted a minimum of 4 runs or if the player has completed a run. The corpse of Tutorial Knight will remain bloody until the blueprint is picked up, and after that, it will begin to rot.
The in-game listed normal DPS is actually incorrect and has no correlation to actual gameplay, and should be ignored. The critical DPS displays the correct DPS values for the weapon, as it takes into account both the first swing's damage, as well as the damage of the second and third swing.
Although powerful, it’s one of the quicker heavy weapons, especially on the first swing.
Like the Giantkiller, to get the most out of this weapon, the player needs to land the last two swings, which may be troublesome due to the slow attack rate.
However, the main difference from Giantkiller is that Broadsword has fewer swings and is generally quite efficient against common mobs thanks to the guaranteed critical hits.
Keep in mind that the combo does not reset upon rolling and parrying so you can do so before using the second and third attacks.
A Health Flask can be used during the third swing to cancel the windup traditionally needed.