Elden Ring stands out from many modern RPGs for its utter embrace of player freedom. Its open world is dense, vast, and unexplained, which gives players a real sense of adventure and progression as they learn the language of the game. One aspect of player freedom Elden Ring excels at is build variety.

FromSoftware has always had a penchant for variety, with each of their games (except Sekiro) offering players a plethora of viable and completely unique playstyles to choose from. In Elden Ring, no Intelligence/Dexterity hybrid is complete without the Moonveil Katana, arguably the best Int-based weapon in Elden Ring.

Updated July 2, 2023 by Erik Petrovich: The Moonveil samurai build is one of the game's most popular Mage builds in Elden Ring because the Katana is just that good. It has one of the most useful Ashes of War in the game, it procs Bleed and pairs well with other weapons, and its scaling is perfectly suited to turn a regular sorcerer into a proper Moonveil Mage. Thankfully, there is a lot of variety in builds that incorporate the Moonveil Katana, like dual-wielding with other Bleed weapons, using it as a backup for Sorceries, and much more. Learn about recommended Talismans, armors, side weapons, spells, and more to make the Moonveil Katana build the best it can be.

How To Get Moonveil Katana (& What It Does)

The Moonveil Katana can be found very early on in Elden Ring if you know where to go. From the Third Church of Marika, head north towards the western entrance to Caelid. Follow the road until you reach the telescope marked on the world map - from here, head directly west to reach the Gael Tunnel.

Alternatively, you can look on the world map for an orange-tinted cave icon on the border of Limgrave and Caelid. Most caves in Elden Ring with lots of crafting materials are highlighted with this symbol on the map.

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Once inside, get to the end of the tunnel to speak with Alexander and progress his quest. Then, light the Lost Grace, and head inside the boss room to fight the Magma Wyrm. Upon defeat, this boss drops Moonveil.

Beating the Magma Wyrm

It's a tough fight, but Dark Souls players will immediately recognize the movement patterns of this boss as being like that of the Gaping Dragon. Its charge attack, where it stomps across the room leaving lava in its wake, can be avoided the same way as this iconic Dark Souls boss: don't roll, just sprint at a 90-degree angle away from its path as best as possible.

It will struggle to turn quickly, but the hitbox on its stomps and lava is surprisingly large, so it's important to react quickly even though the charge itself is slow. Only go for hits when necessary, roll into its sweeping attacks to take advantage of I-frames, and use these rare opportunities to get a hit or two in. It's a tedious fight, but far from unwinnable – especially for Magic users.

Moonveil Stats & Requirements

Recommended Moonveil Stat Allocation

The Moonveil Katana scales primarily with Dexterity and Intelligence and rewards a playstyle that mixes close-quarters swordplay with midrange spellcasting. The Ash of War that comes with Mooveil is Transient Moonlight, which lets players launch a powerful (and cheap) magic arc that scales with the weapon's upgrade level. Equipping Moonveil requires at least 18 Dexterity, 12 Strength, and 23 Intelligence, which isn't a lot considering the high-tier scaling and skill that comes with it.

Having high Vigor is essential to surviving in Elden Ring, so be sure to regularly put a point or two into this stat as you level up. Having a high Mind stat lets you use Moonveil's Ash of War more before running out of FP, and a 30 in Dex and 40 in Int takes advantage of the weapon's scaling effectively. Investing in Arcane is essential for this build as it increases your ability to deal Bleed buildup. Moonveil has a relatively low 50 Bleed damage with each hit, but this can be improved greatly with just a sprinkle of Arcane.

Sorceries for the Moonveil Katana Build

The best Sorceries to pair with the Moonveil katana are those that fill in the gaps for things the katana can't do or complement the moveset in some way. For example, Magic Glintblade can be useful to Moonveil users as they can time their entrance into melee combat with the spell's activation.

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Spells that deal AoE damage, like the Rotten Breath Incantation or Meteorite Sorcery, are useful to Moonveil users too, though they do require more careful stat planning. Rock Sling is a classic among Magic-wielders for its impressive ability to Stagger enemies, which can give a good opportunity for a series of attacks when procced.

Side Weapons for the Moonveil Katana Build

The best side weapon to use with Moonveil is another katana to unlock the Powerstancing moveset unique to the weapon class. Powerstancing in Elden Ring lets players trade off defense for raw damage output, practically dealing twice the amount of damage as normal.

Pair Moonveil with another Int-based katana like the Meteorite Blade to take advantage of shared scaling, or use classics like Rivers of Blood or the Hand of Malenia to complement Moonveil's buildup of Bleed.

An Uchigatana or side Wakizashi will prove invaluable for the dual-wield setup until these end-game Katanas are available. Just be sure to equip Moonveil in the right hand to be able to use the Transient Moonlight Ash of War.

Best Talismans for Moonveil

The Moonveil build is one based primarily on speed and rapid attacks and regular use of its Ash of War, so Talismans that can take advantage of this playstyle shine. The Winged Sword Insignia and Warrior Shard are essential for increasing regular and special damage output, while the Carian Filigree Crest and the Lord of Blood's Exultation reduce FP consumption and increase attack power when opponents bleed.

The Warrior Jar Shard, and the Shard of Alexander, greatly increase the damage that weapon skills and Ashes of War can deal. The Godfrey Icon enhances charged Spells and Skills, too. These two combined can do much to increase the damage output of Moonveil, but ultimately the boosts to FP reduction and Bleed damage will prove more useful in more situations.

Complementary Armor for Moonveil

Ultimately the armor and appearance of your character when using Moonveil is up to you, but it's a weapon that just looks better when wielded by someone with light, flowing armor. The Preceptor's Gown (Altered) resembles a black Gi, though there is something to be said for the classic Land of Reeds armor.

You just can't go wrong with traditional-Japanese-inspired aesthetics, and with some careful character facial customization, even roleplaying as the One-Armed Wolf of Sekiro isn't out of the question.

Elden Ring is available now for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S.

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