Elden Ring Katana Build: Weapons, Armor & Talisman

What is the Elden Ring Katana Build?

This Katana build is a mix of dexterity and strength alongside some intelligence for good measure. You will primarily be using the Hand of Malenia for most of your fights alongside the Moonveil when ranged combat is necessary or when you would like to mix things up after playing with one sword for too long. The Clinging Bone will help with sustain when required but needs some skill to execute properly.

The armor is there mainly for the aesthetic it provides alongside the physical and magical damage negations it provides. The talismans picked for the Elden Ring Katana Build focus on letting you get off as many attacks as possible and as frequently as possible while also giving sustain. This build is a definite must-try if you want to roleplay in NG+ as the mysterious katana-wielding warrior.

Comparison tables for Weapons;

No.	Weapons	Weight	FP Cost	Physical Damage	Physical Defense	Magic	Fire	Lightning	Holy	Critical	Boost
1	Hand of Malenia	7.0	12 (-9)	117	49	33	33	33	33	100	33
2	Moonveil	6.5	15 (-12)	73	31	87/57	26	26	26	100	31
3	Clinging Bone	2.5	14	80	31	24/36	17	17	17	100	21

Armors;

No.	Armor	Weight	Physical Defense	VS Strike	VS Slash	VS Pierce	Magic	Fire	Ligt	Holy
1	Black Hood	3.0	2.8	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.4	3.6	3.1
2	Night's Cavalry Set	30.5	27.4	25.4	27.4	26.5	21.7	24.9	21.7	24.9
3	Maliketh’s Greaves	7.9	7.7	6.8	8	7.7	6.2	6.5	5.4	7.3

Talismans;

No.	Talisman	Weight
1	Rotten Winged Sword Insignia	1.4
2	Green Turtle Talisman	0.7
3	Taker’s Cameo	1.0

Weapons For Katana Build

Hand of Malenia

Any Elden Ring player worth their soul knows of this weapon and wields it with caution. It marks a player who has crossed the threshold and delved deep into Elden Ring. The Hand of Malenia symbolizes the victory over a seemingly impassable wall for most players, which is why this is so special.

	Phy	Mag	Fire	Ligt	Holy	Crit	Boost
Attack	117	0	0	0	0	100
Guard	49	33	33	33	33	-	33
	Str	Dex
Scaling	E	C
Requires	16	48
Katana	Slash / Pierce
Waterfowl Dance	FP 12 ( - 9)
Wgt. 7.0	Passive (50)

However, that isn’t the only reason for its specialty, as the weapon skill is known as Waterfowl Dance. Most players will recognize the skill from Malenia’s first phase, which drains three-quarters of your HP and restores any health you may have chunked off of Malenia herself. The move is a flurry of swipes with small leaps forward woven in between.

You can wield the Hand of Malenia for the ultimate Elden Ring Katana Build after defeating Malenia, Blade of Miquella, and trading her Remembrance to Enia at the Roundtable Hold.

Moonveil

Every true soulsborne fan knows about the Moonlight Greatsword, referred to as the Dark Moon Greatsword in Elden Ring, and how iconic the weapon is to the franchise and its history. However, this time around, the developers thought to themselves about making another Moonlight Greatsword but a katana and the same, if not more powerful.

	Phy	Mag	Fire	Ligt	Holy	Crit	Boost
Attack	73	87	0	0	0	100
Guard	31	57	26	26	26	-	31
	Str	Dex	Int
Scaling	E	D	C
Requires	12	18	23
Katana	Slash / Pierce
Transient Moonlight	FP - (15 20)
Wgt. 6.5	Passive (50)

I have compared it to the most iconic weapon in soulsborne, so now let’s get into how the Moonveil is a copycat and a damn good one at that. Its weapon skill is called Transient Moonlight. Upon activation, you sheath the blade and hold a stance. You then draw the blade unleashing a slash of light which, not surprisingly, is quite fast and deadly, cutting down anything in its path. Quite useful when dealing with hordes of enemies or a single damage sponge that won’t go down without a fight.

This weapon can be yours too for the low-low price of a Magma Wyrm located in Caelid. Specifically the Gael Tunnel.

Clinging Bone

The Clinging Bone is an armament for the most hardcore players. It can be wielded by those who have refined their skill in the art of hand-to-hand combat with both humans and monsters. The weapon itself may not seem like much, but it hides the interesting secrets of those willing to discover them.

	Phy	Mag	Fire	Ligt	Holy	Crit	Boost
Attack	80	24	0	0	0	100
Guard	31	36	17	17	17	-	21
	Str	Dex	Arc
Scaling	E	C	D
Requires	8	22	16
Fist	Standard / Pierce
Lifesteal Fist	FP 14
Wgt. 2.5	Passive -

Its weapon skill is called Lifesteal Fist. You charge up a punch with all your energy and unload it onto your enemy. They are knocked unconscious, and their HP is stolen. An important thing to keep in mind is this is only effective against human enemies. It’s no miracle worker but can help out if you ever find yourself in a tight pinch and out of flasks.

The Clinging Bone can be obtained from Ensha of the Royal Remains from the Roundtable Hold.

Location:

Armor For Katana Build

Black Hood

Part of the Leather Armor Set, the Black Hood is a go-to choice for many characters. Especially those who prefer a more assassin-type character design. The hood works for giving off a lone wanderer vibe that other pieces of equally aesthetic armor can accentuate.

	Phy	VS Strike	VS Slash	VS Pierce	Magic	Fire	Ligt	Holy
Dmg Negation	2.8	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.4	3.6	3.1
	Immunity	Robustness	Focus	Vitality	Poise
Resistance	33	16	16	18	4
Helm	Wgt.3

The Black Hood can be found behind a fake wall in the Sage’s Cave, located in the Altus Plateau.

Night’s Cavalry Set

 

The Night’s Cavalry Armor Set, or in this case, just the chest piece and gauntlets, are quite a reasonable choice. They embody both utility and fashion for the average wandering katana-wielding swordsmen. It shows a level of class and ruggedness, which is difficult to get with other armor sets. The chest piece, in particular, looks amazing, and the cape adds to the effective design and overall aesthetic I aim for with this Elden Ring Katana Build.

	Phy	Strike	Slash	Pierce	Magic	Fire	Ligt	Holy
Dmg Negation	27.4	25.4	27.4	26.5	21.7	24.9	21.7	24.9
	Immunity	Robustness	Focus	Vitality	Poise
Resistance	91	135	57	57	53
Armor Set	30.5 Weight

Can be acquired from the Consecrated Snowfield at night by killing two Night’s Cavalry guards next to a hearse being pulled.

Related Article: Elden Ring: Best Armor for Samurai

Maliketh’s Greaves

Greaves from Maliketh’s Set have perfect bottoms for the perfect warrior. The piece contains a neat black trim with golden accents on the edges, indicating wear and tear and showing the prestige of the warrior who has adorned them.  This is a must-have for the aesthetic I aim for with this Elden Ring Katana Build.

	Phy	Strike	Slash	Pierce	Magic	Fire	Ligt	Holy
Dmg Negation	7.7	6.8	8	7.7	6.2	6.5	5.4	7.3
	Immunity	Robustness	Focus	Vitality	Poise
Resistance	22	35	15	31	14
Leg Armor	Wgt. 7.9

You can buy this entire set from Enia at the Roundtable Hold after defeating Maliketh, the Black Blade.

Talismans For Katana Build

Rotten Winged Sword Insignia

Now onto one of the three main talismans used for this build. The Rotten Winged Sword Insignia increases the rate of damage you do per continuous attack. It starts scaling at a rate of 6% and scales all the way up to 22%.

Weight	1.4
Effect	greatly raises attack power with successive attacks (6%, 8%, and 13%).

Quite a useful talisman, especially on this build which emphasizes dexterity and intelligence, meaning you can get more attacks in more quickly, so this talisman guarantees more damage. Gotten after agreeing to assist Millicent and defeating her sisters.

Green Turtle Talisman

Stamina is the most important stat in Elden Ring. You need it for everything, all the way from attacking to running. The exact nature of the talisman is raising stamina recovery speed, it doesn’t grant more max stamina, but this is better, in my opinion.

Weight	0.7
Effect	raises stamina recovery speed by 8 per second (17.7%)

Increasing your max stamina is worthless if it takes longer to regenerate, so increasing the stamina regen speed is better. For more exact details, it increases the regeneration by 8 points per second or approximately 18%. You can find the Green Turtle Talisman on the outskirts of the Summonwater Village. However, it will require a Stonesword Key to unlock.

Taker’s Cameo

I already had one HP regaining method on this build, so why not add another one just for the sake of it? Taker’s Cameo is a talisman that restores lost HP after killing an enemy. For a more statistical look, the talisman heals 3% of maximum health plus a flat 30 health.

Weight	1.0
Effect	Restores 3% + 30 HP upon defeating enemies.

It’s quite useful, considering running into hordes of enemies is more often than not a death sentence. But with this item, the chance of it happening is greatly reduced, especially on the Elden Ring Katana Build you’ll be running. Awarded to you by Tanith after defeating Juno Hoslow, Knight of Blood, atop Mountaintops of the Giants.