Rivers of Blood is an infamous katana in the Elden Ring that can deal heavy bleed damage to enemies. This guide will cover some of the best builds that you can create with the Rivers of Blood (ROB) katana in Elden Ring.
Elden Ring Rivers of Blood Builds
When properly used with a correctly crafted build, Rivers of Blood can prove to be one of the best katanas players can wield in Elden Ring.
While players can always theory-craft their own builds, they can choose from one of the two Rivers of Blood builds given below.
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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 side by side.
- 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 Elden Ring.
For Rivers of Blood warrior build, you can put Crimson Hood on your Head, Crucible Gauntlets on your arms, Crucible Greaves on your legs.
Choose Man-serpent’s Keen Shield as your 2nd Left-hand Armament.
Best Talismans for Rivers of Blood Builds in Elden Ring
For 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 build 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 for causing 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 this 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 Item 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.
