InElden Ring, a game with a staggering number of weapons to choose from (made even larger with the release of theShadow of the ErdtreeDLC), it can be hard to know which equipment is your best option. After all, battling dragons and demigods is futile if you aren’t properly equipped.
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For those of us that started off our playthrough ofElden Ring with the Samurai archetype, or that just want to run a bit of high-speed slash damage in our builds, the Katana weapon type is our bread and butter. But with over a dozen Katanas scattered acrossElden Ring’sgiant map, which one should we choose?
13Serpentbone Blade
A sinister katana modeled after a serpent bone
Serpentbone Blade
At the bottom of our list is the Serpentbone Blade, a fairly limited katana with poison build-up capabilities. There’s a lot going against this katana, whether it be the lack of bleed build-up or the locked in Double Slash weapon skill (which is just a basic Ash of War).
The Serpentbone Blade can’t be enchanted or buffed by consumables, despite the fact that it only uses standard Smithing Stones to upgrade it. Overall, it can be a useful left-hand weapon for people running a poison build, but otherwise should be considered low-priority on your wish list.
12Dragonscale Blade
A weapon made by sharpening a Gravel Stone scale
Dragonscale Blade
As the name suggests, the Dragonscale Blade is equipped with increased draconic damage for fighting dragon-type enemies. Because of this, it’s fairly limited in use, and is really only useful when fighting dragons.
The Dragonscale Blade’s Ice Lightning Sword weapon skill is pretty powerful, and now lasts 45 seconds long compared to the previous 20 seconds. But in the long run, it may not be worth dishing out the Somber Smithing Stones to upgrade it.
11Meteoric Ore Blade
Katana forged from meteoric ore to dispatch lifeforms born of falling stars
Meteoric Ore Blade
The Meteoric Ore Blade comes equipped with the Gravitas special skill, pulling enemies towards you while dealing damage to them. This makes it useful for fighting larger swarms of enemies, though less useful in most boss battles.
Thankfully, it does come equipped with the standard blood build-up abilities found in most katanas, and it has a unique heavy attack that slashes downwards. It’s a good early-on choice for exploring and farming, but otherwise not too special.
10Dragon Hunter’s Great Katana
Great katana with spines of gravel stone along its blade
Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana
The first Great Katana on our list, the Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana, is another draconic-enemy based weapon, making it great for fighting dragons and not much else. It has a pretty killer weapon skill, the Dragonwound Slash, which is perfect for taking on dragon bosses.
Any other Great Katana would be more useful in a standard dragonless battle, but this weapon definitely stands out for its specific intended use.Shadow of the Erdtreeplayers seeking out Ghostflame Dragons should consider adding this one to their repertoire.
9The Great Katana
Large katana with a long, heavy blade
Great Katana
The standard Great Katana is a solid customizable sword with a decent blood loss build-up and Ash of War capability. It has a relatively low entry level, only requiring 18 Dexterity and 14 Strength, making it a good starter weapon for those wanting to try out the Great Katana weapon class.
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The Great Katana comes equipped with the weapon skill Overhead Slash, the Great Katana subclass equivalent to the katana’s Unsheathing skill. A decent choice for standard DEX/STR builds, the Great Katana is overall a good weapon for the average player.
8Hand Of Malenia
Blade built into Malenia’s prosthetic arm
Hand of Malenia
One of the most difficult katanas to collect is the Hand of Malenia, obtainable only by defeating the infamously difficult demigod boss Malenia, Blade of Miquella. This katana is a solid choice, applying only physical damage in addition to it’s fairly-average blood loss build-up ability.
Players (like us) who struggled with the Malenia boss fight will feel a sense of righteous empowerment when using the Waterfowl Dance weapon skill, emulating Malenia’s brutal special attack consisting of a fast-moving flurry of quick slashes and swings of her sword. But, as the katana is best used in blood loss builds, this is just an okay choice.
7Sword Of Night
Sword of an all-consuming, bottomless black
Sword of Night
TheShadow of the Erdtree-exclusive katana Sword of Night not only looks amazing, but also has the great ability to slash through guards and shields with its semi-corporeal blade. This katana also deals a bit of magic damage, despite lacking any INT requirements or scaling.
The weapon skill on this katana is pretty sweet, a quick series of unblockable slashes similar to the Waterfowl Dance called the Witching Hour Slash. Especially aggressiveSOTEplayers should definitely check out this new katana, which can be found in the Count Ymir questline.
6Star-Lined Sword
Sword encrusted with a line of stars fashioned from small pieces of crude glintstone
Star-Lined Sword
INT build players should look out for the Star-Lined Sword, which boasts high magic damage and a devastating weapon skill attack. The Onze’s Line of Stars attack can be extended up to two additional times with additional inputs, unleashing a series of wide jumping slashes with high magical damage.
The Star-Lined Sword does have relatively low blood loss and physical damage, but is more of a magic damage/INT weapon anyways. This katana can be found as a drop from theDemi-Human Queen Mariggaboss in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.
5Uchigatana
A katana with a long single-edged curved blade
Uchigatana
The starter weapon for the Samurai subclass is surprisingly powerful, and stayed by our side until fairly late into the game. Decent blood loss buildup, interchangeable damage types and weapon skills via Ashes of War, and its low requirements make it a great all-rounder weapon for any level of play.
This katana goes great as a secondary/left-handed weapon, and if you keep up with its smithing progression, it will remain a faithful and powerful weapon far into your campaign. Plus, the pre-installed Unsheathe ability absolutely shreds for in both its attack forms.
Katana with a ferociously long blade
Barely stepping past the Uchigatana is the Nagakiba, another standard katana that surpasses the Uchigatana thanks to its extremely long range. You can tell as soon as you equip it that the range on this bad boy is killer, with the blade nearly doubling the length of other katanas in the game.
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This is perhaps the best secondary/left-handed weapon in the game, adding a great deal of damage and range to any STR/DEX build. Plus, it can be boosted with Ashes of War and can be easily found pretty early in the game by defeating Bloody Finger Hunter Yura near Murkwater Cave.
