Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Great Katana Build guide

Discover all the key aspects of the Great Katana Build guide for Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree: explaining weapons, armor, stats, and how to play.

This build guide has been updated for Elden Ring Patch 1.13.2

Best Great Katana Build Guide – Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree

Great Katanas are easily the most powerful new weapon types added to Elden Ring with the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. However, making them work with a build without hitting DPS bottlenecks takes quite a bit of work. While you can technically use the Great Katanas easily with any Dexterity build in Elden Ring, you must make significant changes to your build to make the most out of these new weapons. The Great Katanas combine the moveset of a Katana, with the heft and destructive capabilities of a Colossal Weapon.

While these weapon types aren’t nearly as agile as the regular Katanas or Curved Swords in Elden Ring, the Great Katanas do exhibit incredible strength, that can practically defeat any boss the game has to offer, without much hassle. Thankfully, the requirements to make a powerful Great Katana build aren’t that extensive, and you can make one with items that you either already have from the base game, or can unlock fairly easily in Shadow of the Erdtree.

Here’s a look at one of the most powerful Great Katana builds that can easily cut through end-game bosses like Bayle the Dread, Messmer the Impaler, Godfrey, Maliketh, and Dragonlord Placidussax, Elden Ring’s base game as well as the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. Additionally, making and using this build isn’t all that difficult to begin with. However, like any other build in Elden Ring, the Great Katana build has its fair share of pros and cons, which are listed below:

Best Great Katana Build Pros	Best Great Katana Build Cons
High Damage	Limited flexibility
Low Investment	Require End-Game Setup
Passive Bleeds	Huge Stamina Cost

Best Great Katana Build Guide Features – Elden Ring

The following list presents all the essentials for the best Quality build in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree:

• Class: Samurai (preferred)
• Main Weapon: Dragon Hunter’s Great Katana +10
• Off-Hand Weapon: Claw Talisman +25
• Shield: None
• Armor: Commander Gaius’ set
• Talismans: Erdtree’s Favor +2, Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman, Shard of Alexander, and Two-Handed Sword Talisman
• Primary Stats: Vigor, Endurance, Dexterity, Mind, and Strength
• Secondary Stats: Faith, Arcane and Intelligence
• Incantations: Golden Vow, Flame, Grant Me Strength
• Crystal Tear: Opaline Hardtear, and Greenburst Crystal Tear
• Alternate Crystal Tear: Opaline Bubbletear
• Great Runes: Morgott’s Greatrune

Best Incantations

To be fair, you won’t really need to use Incantations in this build, since it’s primarily meant to be a Dexterity build. However, if you’re over Level 200, then I highly recommend investing a few points into Faith. Having access to Incantations like Golden Vow and Flame, Grant Me Strength will only help you maximize the Dragon Hunter Great Katana’s damage potential. Additionally, having some points in Faith also lets you use defense buffing Incantations like Black Flame’s Protection and Beastial Vitality.

Here’s a more detailed look at all the Incantations for the xxx build in Elden Ring:

• Golden Vow: Golden Vow is essentially an all-rounder Incantation that buffs your attack power by 15% and defenses by 10%. The buff remains for roughly 80 seconds, which is enough to get you through the first phase of some of the end-game boss fights. You can also increase the Incantation’s effect to 10 seconds more, with Old Lord’s Talisman.
• Flame, Grant Me Strength: Flame, Grant Me Strength offers a flat 20% increase to attack power and stacks with Golden Vow.

Talismans

Best Talismans for this build are Erdtree’s Favor +2, Dragoncrest Greatsheild Talisman, Shard of Alexander, and Two-Handed Sword Talisman. This roster of Talismans is meant to provide passive buffs to your core stats, including defense and attack power. You can swap Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman for Pearldrake Talisman +3 or Two-Headed Turtle Talisman.

• Erdtree’s Favor +2: Can be found in Leyndell Capital of Ash, but only after defeating Maliketh the Black Blade in Farum Azula.
• Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman: Obtained in Miquella’s Haligtree, right before the battle against Malenia, Blade of Miquella.
• Shard of Alexander: Can be obtained after defeating Alexander the Greatjar at any point in the game, or by completing his questline in Farum Azula.
• Two-Handed Sword Talisman: Can be found near the Temple Town Ruins, past the Rauh Base. (Shadow of the Erdtree)

Armor

For the armor set, you can go with almost anything. While I would recommend the Rakshasa’s set for maximum DPS, it’s really not necessary, considering most of your damage is going to be non-physical. The armor that I used for this build is Gaius’ set, which gives ample defense and poise to make trading hits against enemies much easier. You can also use Tree Sentinel’s set or Crucible Axe set. These armor sets boost your defense without increasing your total encumbrance.

Gaius’ armor set can be bought from Enia at the Roundtable Hold after defeating Commander Gaius at Shadow Keep, Back Side, past the Church District. You can purchase the Helm, Chest, and Arm pieces from Enia. For the Boots, you need to defeat the Archer Albunauric in the shack past Commander Gaius’ boss arena.

Weapons

The weapon I chose for this build is the Dragon Hunter’s Great Katana, simply due to its Ash of War – Dragonwound Slash. Which deals a ton of damage and also has excellent range. Additionally, the Dragon Hunter’s Great Katana deals bonus damage to Dragon-type enemies, hence it’s the perfect choice for Bayle the Dread or Ancient Dragon Senessax.

You can obtain the Dragon Hunter’s Great Katana after defeating the Ancient Dragon-Man in the Dragon’s Pit optional dungeon, past the Gravesite Plains.

Stats & Attributes Distribution

Here are the stat allocations for the Best Elden Ring Great Katana Build:

• Vigor: 60
• Mind: 40
• Endurance: 45
• Strength: 50
• Dexterity: 50
• Intelligence: 9
• Faith: 14
• Arcane: 16

This build is made on a Level 205 character. However, the best Great Katana build can also be made on a Level 180 character. The primary stats to focus on are Dexterity and Mind. Make sure you keep Vigor at 60 and Endurance at 40 (minimum), and the rest of the points can be allocated to Dexterity and Strength. if you have left-over points, invest them in Faith.

How to Play Quality Build

With this build, your primary way to deal damage would be to use the Dragonwound Slash ability fully charged. While you can use the regular version of the ability as well, it won’t deal nearly as much damage as the charged variant. Additionally, charging the weapon skill also adds range to its repertoire, making it viable for boss fights. Ideally, you would want to use this build alongside your Mimic Tear. However, it can also be used solo against bosses like Messmer the Impaler, Midra, Lord of Frenzied Flame, and even Malenia, Blade of Miquella.

With a single charged attack, you will be able to dish out roughly 2500-3000 damage, from medium range. However, if you hit an enemy’s weak point or their head, the damage dealt increases significantly, up to roughly 4500 per attack. Additionally, if paired with Golden Vow and Exalted Flesh, the damage gets boosted to roughly 20%, making a single hit deal almost 5000 damage, enough to stagger Bayle the Dread and open the boss for a critical attack.

As for the Crystal Tears, I highly recommend using Opaline Hardtear and the Greenburst Crystal Tear to give your defenses and stamina-regen a further boost. Lastly, for the Greatrune, It’s best to go with Morgott’s Greatrune simply to increase survivability. Alternatively, you can use Radahn’s Greatrune to give a boost your your Vigor, Mind and Endurance stats.

Build Summary – Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree Great Katana Build guide

---

Looking For More?

Thank you for reading the Best Elden Ring Great Katana Build Guide. We provide the latest news and create guides for Baldur’s Gate 3, Starfield, ARK Survival Ascended, and more. Also, watch me play games on Twitch or visit my YouTube channel!

• Quality Elden Ring Build Guide
• Pokemon TCG: The 10 Most Powerful Cards in Paradox Rift
• Baldurs Gate 3 Builds – All Classes and Companions
• ARK Survival Ascended: All New Dinosaurs & Creatures
• Best ESO Builds