So you want to slice and dice your enemy applying additional bleed ? If yes then, Katana is your best bet. With a variety of weapons catering to different playstyles, Katana is one of the weapon groups best suited for dexterity playstyle.
Katana weapons are lightweight and extremely versatile but choosing the right Katana is absolutely necessary to beat giant bosses.
Best Katana on Elden Ring
In this article, we will provide you with all the information, including Katana’s location and strength doing bleed damage. These are also the best Katanas to quench your samurai thirst.
Rivers of Blood
This is an awesome Katana with an overpowered weapon skill called Corpse Piler, causing bleed damage. The only downside of this Katana is that it is only available in late regions of the game, but you can always use it in new games plus or level up to fight stronger bosses of late games.
River of Blood does additional fire damage with the inclusion of physical damage. This can be very beneficial while pairing with Flame, Grant me Strength incantation, and Rotten Winged Sword Insignia Talisman.
Corpse Piler has a longer reach with successive attacks, unlike other katana skills. If you have enough FP, you can continue your skill to make chained combos increasing bleed to the max.
How To Obtain Rivers of Blood
After unlocking the Mountaintops of the Giants from the Rold Route, Head to the Church of Repose in the southwest of the map; it’s not too far from the lift. You can navigate to the right, and upon getting close to the church, you will see an invader summoning.
He is the Bloody Finger Okina, and is wielding the Rivers of Blood katana. Defeat him, and you will receive the weapon.
Nagakiba
Nagakiba is one of the heaviest Katanas weighing 7.0 and does a hundred percent of physical damage. Nagakiba is the longest Katana allowing for a longer range and is very versatile for status effect build. The weapon does forty-five blood loss damage with each successive hit.
You can dual-wield this Katana with other weapons that do heavy damage, as it is very effective in reaching additional range if you miss with your other weapon.
How to Obtain Nagakiba?
One of the fastest ways to find this weapon is to defeat Yura, Hunter of Bloody Fingers. You can find him near Murkwarter Coast under a bridge-like structure. You must first defeat Bloody Finger Nerijus’ invasion to find him under the bridge. Defeat Yura and he will drop Nagakiba katana.
Hand of Malenia
Hand of Malenia is one of the flashiest weapons with a cool skill combo, but the weapon is extremely hard to get. You need to defeat Malenia, the hardest boss in the Elden ring, to get this weapon.
Although the weapon has less bleed damage compared to other katanas, its range and attack power compensate for its bleeding ability. Due to such, it is very effective against enemies resistant or immune to bleeding.
Where can I find the Hand of Malenia?
It’s a very long journey and only available during the late-game period. You can find the detailed guide to Malenia in my previous article, where I explained the path to reach Malenia.
Once you defeat Malenia, you will obtain the Remembrance of the Rot Goddess. Now speak to the Finger lady on the Roundtable hold to turn the Rememberance of Rot Goddess into the Hand of Malenia.
Moonveil
If you want to stagger your enemies with Katana, then Moonveil is just the right weapon for your dexterity build. The weight of Moonveil is an average of 6.5 and causes bleed damage of fifty.
No matter how much your opponent’s poise is, the Transient Moonlight can stagger on a few hits allowing you to perform the visceral attack.
Where Can I find Moonveil?
To get Moonveil katana, you need to enter the Gael Tunnel between Limgrave and Caelid. Although it has an exit to Limgrave, you need to enter through the Caelid tunnel because the door to the dungeon is locked and can only be opened from the other side.
Once you reach Gael Tunnel, ignore everyone and carefully fall down to progress through the tunnel. You will eventually reach the other side of the door and a fog door of the boss. Rest at the nearest site of grace and prepare for battle against Magma Wyrm. After defeating the boss, it will drop the Moonveil Katana along with the Dragon heart.
Uchigatana
This is one of the lightest weapons weighing just 5.5, and one of the basic Katana of any souls-like game. Uchigatana can be used for status effect build and has bleed damage per hit. If you want to use this weapon right from the start then choosing a samurai class will provide you with Uchigatana.
Where Can I Find Uchigatana?
You can find this weapon in the Deathtouched Catacombs dungeon. Head down east to Stormveil castle and turn left to the platform near the bridge.
Explore the area a little bit, and you will come across the entrance of Deathtouched Catacombs. You can find Uchigatana on the ledge of the second platform while exploring the dungeon.
Serpentbone Blade
Serpentbone Blade is one of the unique and the only Katana causing poison build-up damage with each hit. One sad thing about this Katana is that you cannot change the ash of war, but you can change your gears to increase poison build.
Pairing this Katana with a kindred of Rot’s Exultation or Millicent’s Prosthesis talisman can greatly boost the attack and poison effect as the blade has a rapid attack with multiple hit combos. If you have enough sloth for the talisman, then you can pile up attack builds to further increase your damage with successive attacks.
How to Obtain Serpentbone Blade?
To get this weapon, you need to first unlock the second region, which is Altus Plateau. To obtain Serpentbone Blade, you must complete the Volcano Manor quest from Tanith.
Join the Volcano Manor and follow the quest from the letter found in the dining room. After completing the quest from the letter. Talk to Tanith, and she will reward you with the Serpentbone Blade.
