Greetings, lone wolf. If you‘re hungry for a true challenge that will put your reflexes and resolve to the test, the path of the katana calls…
As an avid fan of Japanese swords and broken weapon mechanics, I‘m thrilled to share this comprehensive 1800+ word guide to building the deadliest katana wielder in Elden Ring PvE and PvP.
Katana Build Overview
These optimized katana focused builds utilize the finest blades to inflict devastating bleed and frost procs. By combining complementary armaments, players can punish overzealous foes through counters, visceral attacks and repeating thrust attacks that emphasize the weapons’ movesets and scaling.
We invest primarily in Dexterity with some Strength and Arcane to enable powerful weapon skills and status effects. In addition to raw damage, we’ll boost attack speed and critical damage to fell beings in a few surgical strikes.
According to community testing, at 80 Dex and 50 Arc you can proc bleed in 2-3 jump attacks on the Hand of Melania! I achieve similar results by dual wielding occult Uchigatana and Nagakiba.
So strap on your Straw Hat and grab your favorite katana as we journey into the various playstyles…
Bleed and Frost Focused Weapons
Here are the premier katanas in Elden Ring for exploiting loss of blood and frigid afflictions:
Hand of Malenia
Without equal, the Hand of Malenia enables the highest DPS with its Scarlet Aeonia skill. Activating it at close range allows you to shred even end game bosses with its flurry of slashes:
I achieve over 1100 AR and 112 bleed build up at 80 Dex with the Hand of Malenia +10 and Seppuku ash of war. This lets me trigger hemorrhage after just 2-3 jump attacks!
Here are the stats at max upgrade:
| Damage | Critical | Other |
|---|---|---|
| Physical 117 | Crit 100 | FP Cost 12 |
| Magic 100 | Bleed 112 | Weight 7.0 |
| Fire 100 | Frost 0 | Scaling S Dex / E Str |
| Light 100 | Poison 0 | Req 16 Dex / 48 Str |
| Holy 100 | Passive heal |
To boost bleed build up further, use the Lord of Blood‘s Exultation talisman and White Mask helm.
Moveset and Playstyle:
The Hand of Malenia has fast slashes with decent stagger potential. Mix up the normal katana moveset with the Scarlet Aeonia skill to overwhelm resistant enemies. Dodge frequently to enable the hp restoring passive skill.
Rivers of Blood
With 80 arcane and the proper build, Rivers of Blood melts through health bars by inflicting severe hemorrhage:
At +10 with Occult infusion and Seppuku, you can get over 750 AR and 110 bleed buildup. Just 20 arcane more boosts this to 139, enabling bleed proc in 1-2 hits!
Here are the attributes:
| Damage | Critical | Other |
|---|---|---|
| Physical 154 | Crit 110 | FP Cost 12 |
| Magic 0 | Bleed 110 | Weight 8.0 |
| Fire 0 | Frost 0 | Scaling C Dex / D Arc |
| Light 0 | Poison 0 | Req 15 Dex / 20 Arc |
| Holy 0 |
I like pairing the RoB with a shield and Uchigatana in the off hand. Use the Corpse Piler weapon skill to punish enemy whiff punishes.
Nagakiba
The Nagakiba katana has incredible range and applies bleed rapidly with its sweeping heavy attacks:
Occult infusion with Seppuku nets over 650 AR and 102 bleed build up at 80 Dex and 50 Arc!
Here‘s an overview:
| Damage | Critical | Other |
|---|---|---|
| Physical 149 | Crit 110 | FP Cost – |
| Magic 131 | Bleed 102 | Weight 7.5 |
| Fire 0 | Frost 0 | Scaling C Dex / E Arc |
| Light 0 | Poison 0 | Req 11 Dex / 18 Str |
| Holy 89 |
The Nagakiba has excellent range for keeping pressure at a distance. Its broad attacks in turn enable facile application of hemorrhage.
Ashes of War
These weapon skills help you overwhelm foes through repeated procs:
Seppuku
Seppuku boosts bleed build up by ~50 points at the cost of HP. The animation leaves you vulnerable so activate it before engaging:
Seppuku combines extremely well with the Hand of Melania, Rivers of Blood and dual wielded Uchigatana to enable bleed proc in just 2-3 hits!
Bloodhound Step
The Bloodhound Step ash of war allows you to phase behind enemies for a surprise counterattack:
I use Bloodhound Step with my offhand Uchigatana to swiftly evade enemy combos. Following up with a counterattack often staggers foes for a critical hit.
Bloodhound Step also functions wonderfully with the Hand of Melania’s Scarlet Aeonia skill for extremely aggressive sequences.
Supporting Armaments
Complement your primary katanas with these armaments:
Uchigatana
The Uchigatana offers fast pokes and decent bleed build up. Dual wielding an occult uchigatana with Seppuku boosts hemorrhage enough to proc after 2-3 hits:
This moveset combines well with longer katanas like the Nagakiba by varying your attack timing.
Misericorde
While not a katana, the Misericorde dagger maximizes critical damage for punishing visceral attacks after parries or backstabs:
Packing 140 critical, the Misericorde enables massive damage on vulnerable enemies. Used with Bloodhound Step you can annihilate unaware invaders.
Stats and Attributes
These benchmarks optimize dex oriented katana wielding:
Primary Attributes
For weapons scaling, prioritize:
-
Dexterity to 80: Increases physical attack substantially and boosts bleed status buildup. I see massive AR gains on katanas beyond the softcap to 70.
-
Arcane to 50-80: Significantly improves bleed accumulation on Occult infused katanas. Rivers of Blood and dual wielded Uchigatanas reach over 110 hemorrhage.
I don‘t advise leveling past 80 in either since you hit sharp diminishing returns. Every point counts when dueling in PvP!
Secondary Attributes
Next you‘ll want:
-
Vigor to 60: Gives 1900+ HP to survive most enemy combos so you can safely counterattack. I use the Erdtree‘s Favor +2 and Great-Jar Arsenal to equip my loadout.
-
Mind to 25-30: Approximately 150-180 FP lets you repeatedly use the Hand of Malenia/Rivers of Blood weapon skill 4-5 times. Any Mind beyond 30 has reduced gains.
I keep Endurance around 20-25 to medium roll in samurai armor while wielding my katanas and Misericorde dagger.
Advanced Mechanics
Once you‘ve learned basic katana combat through practice and repetition, try implementing advanced techniques:
Powerstancing
Dual wielding katanas like the Uchigatana/Nagakiba with Occult infusion and Seppuku enables strong jump attacks that rapidly trigger hemorrhage.
You need 1.5x the normal stat requirements to activate powerstanced movesets. At NG+, enemies melt from the combined bleeding!
Parry and Riposte
Bait enemy slam attacks and parry with your main hand katana. Quickly swap to the Misericorde and perform a riposte for massive critical damage!
Against humanoid opponents like invaders, you can easily wipe 70%+ of their health bar with this tactic. Talk about dishonor..
Frost and Bleed
An occult Uchigatana with Seppuku alongside cold infusion on your offhand Nagakiba stacks both bleed and frost accumulation.
Most enemies aren‘t resistant to both statuses. So you trigger each alternately, continuously resetting the frost and hemorrhage buildup!
Ideal Talismans
To maximize bleed damage and katana wielding lethality:
**Lord of Blood‘s Exultation** boosts attack by 20% after bleeding enemies for 10 seconds. This amulet cranks your AR above 1100 with Hand of Malenia!
The **White Mask** helm raises attack power by 10% when enemies hemorrhage. Combine with the Exultation talisman for extremely aggressive play.
The **Rotten Winged Sword** insignia improves successive attack damage by over 13%. This rewards aggressive chains to stunlock enemies.
Finally the **Green Turtle** amulet accelerates stamina recovery, enabling more dodges, blocks and weapon skill use per encounter.
As for the physik, I suggest the Thorny Cracked Tear to boost successive attacks by 15% for 15 seconds after activating. Punish overconfident hosts and monsters alike!
So don your White Mask with pride, lone wolf. Wield your katanas in tandem to eviscerate all who oppose you through the ceaseless dance of blades…
Now go forth and cleave through your enemies with surgical precision! But beware the most trivial mistake, for such is the razor‘s edge walked by those embracing the way of katana mastery.
May we cross paths one day upon the field of battle. I eagerly await a chance to test my steel against yours!
