5 best Katanas in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree ranked

Katanas are such a fun weapon type in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree. Known for their devastating slashing and thrusting attacks, they also inflict Hemmorhage for bleeding and have a solid Poise stat in general, making them a very desired, popular weapon. The base game’s offerings are great, especially if you want to go with a Bleed build, and now there are some new ones to pick up in the DLC.

We've put the Katanas and Great Katanas in order from the strongest to weakest, keeping in mind their overall power and usefulness in the Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree. Since there are only a handful of both weapons, and they aren’t too dissimilar, we decided to put both katana types together. Here are the best picks in order.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the opinions of the writer.

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The best katanas to use during Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

1) Dragon-Hunter's Great Katana

The undisputed GOAT of katanas in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (Image via FromSoftware)

We argued about the first and second-place katanas in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree for quite a while. Frankly, I’m a fan of Bleed builds, and I don’t care who knows, but I do respect the overall strength of the Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana. It’s very close to the Rakshasa’s Great Katana, but once dropped from the Ancient Dragon-Man, you’ll see what makes it so great. It’s also the blade we use for our best Great Katana build.

What sets these two weapons apart is the mobility attack of the Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree. It leaps the player forward with a blade coated in a gravel-stone aura and slashes down. It can get you out of a sticky situation, as well as initiate attacks for incredible damage.

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2) Rakshasa's Great Katana

Stylish and powerful, this will bleed enemies right out (Image via FromSoftware)

Rakshasa’s Great Katana is easily one of the best new weapons period, if not the best Katanas in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree period. It drops from Rakshasa, hence the name, and it has solid Strength and Dexterity scaling all around. I’m a big fan of the passive 55 Hemorrhage it has, as well as its special attack.

Weed Cutter gives you a Scythe-like attack on a Great Katana, using huge, sweeping strikes. If you’re dealing with multiple enemies, or even one enemy that’s a bit mobile, it’s great at swiping at them to make sure you deal damage.

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3) Star-Lined Sword

Channel your inner Virgil and shout "Now I'm motivated!" (Image via FromSoftware)

While the Great Katanas are definitely stronger than the standard Katanas in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, do not underestimate the incredible might of the Star-Lined Sword. Once you free it from the grasp of Demi-Human Queen Marigga, you’ll have a truly mighty Strength/Dexterity/Intelligence weapon.

If you’ve ever wanted to feel like Vergil from Devil May Cry, the Star-Lined Sword will give you that, using Onze’s Line of Stars. It’s a series of brilliant magical strikes, and you can input two more that only grow in power. You’ll be yelling “Foolishness, Dante! Foolishness!” in no time.

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4) Sword of Night

The Sword of Night brings brilliant, powerful darkness attacks to your foes (Image via FromSoftware)

Not to be confused with the Sword of Night and Famine, the Sword of Night is a new Katana in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree. It’s a fantastic pick for your Dexterity builds, and you can find it in the Cathedral of Manus Metyr, after completing the whole finger questline for Count Ymir. Just bring Jolan an Iris of Occultation, and you’ll receive this blade.

It also has the incredible Witching Hour Slash, which reminds me a great deal of Sephiroth from Final Fantasy 7. The player infuses the blade with darkness, and launches forward, dealing a series of rapid slices. It can’t be blocked, and it can be charged. If you hit someone unaware with this charged up, it’s going to demolish their health bar. It could be a real hit in PVP.

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5) Great Katana

It might be last, but it's still a great katana (Image via FromSoftware)

The first Great Katana you get isn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination - all five of these weapons are fun to use and strong. However, it is the most basic of the options you get. You can pick it up early in the DLC, off of a corpse near the Ghostflame Dragon. You don’t even have to fight the enemy! You can just pick it up and take off down the road.

It’s still great because it scales well with Dexterity, Arcane, and Strength. Dexterity builds will, in general, love Great Katanas. Its skill, Overhead Stance is an Ash of War skill and has the player hoist the blade over their head. The light attack does a forward/down slash, and the heavy attack is a series of downward strikes. Just because it's the first one you get, doesn’t make it bad.

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Check out our other Elden Ring guides

• How to defeat Commander Gaius
• All Remembrance bosses (SOTE)
• All Weapon buffs and nerfs in SOTE at launch
• 5 things to know before starting Shadow of the Erdtree