Elden Ring Katana Builds Guide

Those looking to forge their characters around a katana to slice and dice enemies should consider the following Elden Ring katana builds

By Ali Asif

Those looking to forge their characters around a katana to slice and dice enemies should consider the following Elden Ring katana builds.

Elden Ring Katana Builds

Katanas come in all shapes and sizes and are particularly great for PvP. They however do differ in range with some katanas having a longer reach, making them also useful for PvE. While players can always craft their own katana builds, the following three are currently fan-favorites in Elden Ring.

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Moonveil Katana Build

Rivers of Blood Katana Build

Keen Uchigatana Katana Build

Best Stats for Katana Builds

For the Moonveil Katana build, invest your points in Intelligence, Mind, Dexterity, and Vigor to balance the build around damage and survivability. Remember that by default, the weapon is a short-ranged one, and you should focus on Endurance while using the weapon.

  • Vigor: 60
  • Mind: 20
  • Endurance: 30
  • Strength: 18
  • Dexterity: 57
  • Intelligence: 50
  • Faith: 10
  • Arcane: 10

The Rivers of Blood Katana has a Physical and Fire attack of 89 and critical damage of 100. Most points invested in Arcane will level the build, and alongside Arcane, Dexterity also counts as a huge part of it.

It requires 12 Strength, 18 Dexterity, and 20 Arcane. This Katana has a special skill of Corpse Piler that forms a blade of cursed blood to deal huge damage.

So for the Rivers of Blood Katana build, your attribute spread should look like this.

  • Vigor: 40
  • Mind: 11
  • Endurance: 31
  • Strength: 12
  • Dexterity: 49
  • Intelligence: 10
  • Faith: 8
  • Arcane: 40

For the Keen, Uchigatana Katana build, we’re going with the following stat spread as this weapon scales primarily with Dexterity. And since we have the Moonveil Katana as our secondary, we also need to bring the Intelligence stat up.

  • Vigor: 40
  • Mind: 11
  • Endurance: 31
  • Strength: 12
  • Dexterity: 49
  • Intelligence: 40
  • Faith: 8
  • Arcane: 8

Best Weapons for Katana Builds in Elden Ring

For the Moonveil Katana build, we’re going with the dreaded Moonveil Katana as it is one of the strongest weapons in Elden Ring. It can fire off vertical and horizontal bursts of magical damage for added range, often catching enemies off-guard.

The Moonveil Katana has a physical attack of 73 and a magical attack of 87 with critical damage of 100. It requires 12 strength, 18 dexterity, and 23 intelligence. The requirements for the weapon are high.

As for the secondary weapon for this build, we’re going with the Cold Nagakiba katana. Most people combine Moonlight katana with magic, but Cold Nagakiba is also a great choice. The extra length of this Katana can help cover the drawback of Moonveil being a short-ranged weapon.

For the Rivers of Blood Katana build, we’re going with the Rivers of Blood Katana as it is the undisputed queen of all katanas in Elden Ring. This sword is an S Tier weapon and the only Katana in the game that scales primarily with Arcane alongside Strength and Dexterity.

With Rivers of Blood in the right hand in the build, the secondary weapon in the left hand is not going to be a katana. On the left hand, Blasphemous Blade will be a source of health here. With Rivers of Blood, most probably, we are not going to use the blade much as the main source of damage in the build will be Rivers of Blood with huge blood damage and a suitable range.

For the Keen Uchigatana Katana build, we’re using one of the best katana combos in Elden Ring, with the Keen Uchigatana in the right hand and Moonveil Katana in the left.

Choosing Moonveil over Rivers of Blood is simply the increased blood damage. Moonveil deals blood damage of 50, whereas the Rivers of Blood is able to deal blood damage of 30 only.

Keen Uchigatana is for maximum damage and secondarily for blood damage. This is the reason for choosing Keen Uchigatana over the Bloody Uchigatana. Moonveil handles the blood damage in this build.

Best Armor for Katana Builds

For the Moonveil Katana build, the Armor in this build can be the Black Knife Armor. The best thing about this Armor is that it makes no sound. Otherwise, any light armor can be equipped here.

For the Rivers of Blood Katana build, you can choose whichever light-weight Armor suits your preferences.

For the Keen, Uchigatana Katana build, you may choose any light armor that suits you best, but Radahn’s Set is a great armor with splendid stats on it.

Best Talismans for Katana Builds

For the Moonveil Katana build, the talismans in the build are of great importance. The first talisman recommended in this build is the Shard of Alexander, and it may be thought of as a must-have item in the build. It greatly boosts the attack power of the skills. So, the item will increase the Moonlight skill of the Moonveil Katana and will take the weapon to the next level.

The second talisman in the build recommendation is Ritual Sword Talisman. This talisman increases the attack power when the HP is maximum. This way, the item is useful in bowing the starting attacks in a fight.

The last talisman item in the build here is Erdtree’s favor. It raises the barriers of maximum HP, stamina, and equip load.

The recommended talismans for the Rivers of Blood Katana build are Taker’s Cameo, Millicent’s Prosthesis, and Godskin Swaddling Cloth. The talismans in the build are chosen in accordance with the main purpose of the build, which is getting kills with a bunch of HP in hand.

Mimic Summon is one of the best parts of any build. Mimic Summon creates an exact copy of the player that can be summoned for assistance. The Mimic will possess every single skill of yours and will be a great asset.

The recommended talismans for the Keen Uchigatana Katana build are Erdtree’s favor, Claw Talisman, Winged Sword Insignia, and Ritual Sword Talisman. Any other talisman may replace Claw Talisman, but the reason it is being recommended in the build is to have a great opening against the bosses. It provides the extra jump and will make you able to attack huge bosses with a great tactic.

Best Items for Katana Builds

For the Moonveil Katana build, the item you need for your Flask of Wondrous Physick is the Magic–Shrouding Cracked Tear. This provides the extra damage attack, and Moonveil attacks will be greatly effective with the item.

The second half may be anything that fits you best, but Stonebar Cracked Tear is recommended for the reason that it makes it more likely to break enemy stances in a mixed physick.

And for the Keen Uchigatana Katana build, it’ll be helpful for you to apply grease to the build. The grease to be applied in the build are dependent on the type of the boss.

In the case of a boss that bleeds, Bloody greases are the must-have items in the build. And definitely not all bosses in the game bleed. In this case, you can have Fire Grease or Magic Grease.

About the Author
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Ali Asif

Ali is a passionate RPG gamer. He believes that western RPGs still have a lot to learn from JRPGs. He is editor-in-chief at SegmentNext.com but that doesn't stop him from writing about his favorite video ...