A weapon of the swordsman Okina, the Rivers of Blood is a cursed sword that has taken countless lives in the Elden Ring. This weapon carries the blessing of the lord of blood, Mohg, and kills the enemies by boiling their blood.
In this guide, we will tell you how to acquire the Rivers of Blood katana in Elden Ring and how to craft some amazing bleed builds around it.
Rivers of Blood Location
Rivers of Blood Katana in Elden Ring can only be obtained by defeating the Bloody Finger Okina in the Church of Repose.
This church can be found in the eastern region of the Mountaintop of the Giants and can be accessed once you cross the Frozen Lake. As this is a late-game area, you can’t obtain the Rivers of Blood Katana earlier in the game.
Once you reach the Church of Repose, you will be invaded by Okina, who wields the same sword. This is a difficult invasion fight; you can cheese it by climbing the broken walls of the church and spamming magic attacks.
For melee builds, keep your distance and use jump attacks whenever possible. Once Okina is defeated, he will drop the Rivers of Blood katana in the Elden Ring.
Rivers of Blood Stats and Requirements
Rivers of Blood is an upgraded version of Uchigatana and is one of the best Bleed weapons in the game. It requires 12 Strength, 18 Dexterity, and 20 Arcane to wield. This katana has E scaling with Str and D scaling with both Dex and Arc.
The weapon skill for this katana is Corpse Piler, which is identical to the Double Slash. You can replace this skill with any compatible Ashes of War.
Rivers of Blood can also be infused with Grease and Magic. It weighs 6.5 and can be sold for 500 runes to any merchant in the game.
This katana can be upgraded up to +10 with the help of Somber Smithing Stones and at its highest level it deals 186 Physical and 186 Fire damage with 50 Blood Loss build-up per strike.
Rivers of Blood Best Builds
Rivers of Blood is the go-to sword for the Bleed Builds in Elden Ring. When paired with the proper equipment, this katana can wreak havoc upon bosses in PvE and NPCs in PvP.
We have curated two amazing Bleed Builds for the Rivers of Blood in Elden Ring. These are late-game builds and are mostly aimed towards the New Game+ and multiplayer invasions.
Rivers of Blood Samurai Build
Class: Samurai
Flask Spread: High HP
Shield: Light Weight Shield of your choice
Armor: Hoslow’s Set
Stats: Dexterity (Primary), Vigor and Endurance (Secondary)
Skills: Corpse Piler
Talismans: Clarifying Horn Charm, Crimson Amber Medallion
Rivers of Blood Warrior Build
Class: Warrior
Flask Spread: High FP
Shield: Man-serpent’s Keen Shield
Armor: Crimson Hood, Crucible Gauntlets, Crucible Greaves
Stats: Dexterity (Primary), Vigor and Arcane (Secondary)
Skills: Corpse Piler
Talismans: Crimson Amber Medallion, Erdtree’s Favor
Best Stats for Rivers of Blood Builds
The Rivers of Blood Samurai build is a Bleed/Dexterity build. So, we’ll be prioritizing Dexterity above all others. For the rest, we recommend putting points into vigor and Endurance, but you might want to get some Mind for more FP.
- Vigor: 12
- Mind: 11
- Endurance: 13
- Strength: 12
- Dexterity: 15
The Rivers of Blood warrior build utilizes similar stats, but you may want to focus on strength separately.
- Vigor: 11
- Mind: 12
- Endurance: 11
- Strength: 10
- Dexterity: 16
- Arcane: 9
Best Armor for Rivers of Blood Builds
The armor set you will be using for the River of Blood Samurai build is Hoslow’s Set. It is not a heavy armor set and is considered a champion set in the Elden Ring.
For Rivers of Blood warrior build, you can put Crimson Hood on your Head, Crucible Gauntlets on your arms, and Crucible Greaves on your legs.
Choose Man-Serpent’s Keen Shield as your 2nd Left-hand Armament.
Best Talismans for Rivers of Blood Bleed Builds in Elden Ring
For the Rivers of Blood Samurai build, you can choose Marika’s Scarseal as your first Talisman. It raises attributes but also increases damage taken.
You can use Crimson Amber Medallion as your second Talisman as it raises maximum HP.
You can use Prosthesis-Wearer Heirloom as your third Talisman which raises Dexterity up to 55. The last talisman that you can choose is Clarifying Horn Charm, as it raises our focus, which lets us be able to do more weapon arts and cause more big damage
For Rivers of Blood Warrior buil,d you can choose Crimson Amber Medallion +2 as your 1st Talisman as it vastly raises maximum HP. Choose Lord of Blood’s Exultation as your 2nd Talisman, as Blood loss in the vicinity increases attack power.
Choose Erdtree’s Favor +2 as your 3rd Talisman as it raises max HP, stamina, and equip load. Choose Radagon’s Soreseal as your 4th Talisman, as it greatly raises attributes and the damage taken.
Best Skills for Rivers of Blood Builds
The only skill we will be focusing on in both Rivers of Blood Samurai and Rivers of Blood Warrior build is Corpse Piler.
It is a special skill that is only available for the Rivers of Blood Katana in Elden Ring. With this skill, you can form a blade of cursed blood that can be used to cause more blood loss than mentioned on the weapon.
The skill is pretty flashy and does pile on the bleed very quickly. However, you need to make sure you perform it at the right time. It locks you into an animation that can potentially leave you wide open for attacks.
Best Items for Rivers of Blood Builds
There are no special items required for the Rivers of Blood Samurai build, but you can choose Flask of Crimson Tears +12, Flask of Cerulean Tears +12, and Kukri as your 1st, 2nd, and 3 Quick Items, respectively, for the Rivers of Blood Warrior build.
Crimson Tears restore HP, Cerulean Tear restores FP and Kukri is thrown at enemies to build damage and the onset of blood loss.
