Best Elden Ring Samurai Builds (Katanas) for Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree - Are they any good?

Samurai Builds are one of the best builds in Elden Ring, if not the best. Ranging from beginners to experts, low level to minimum level, early game to late game, there are all sorts of innovations to the Samurai Builds that players can utilize. Since the game has had its fair share of players, everyone is waiting for the Elden Ring DLC - Shadow of the Erdtree. So, that brings us to the topic of Elden Ring Samurai Builds (Katanas) for Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree, whether they are any good or not.

Why Samurai Class?

Samurai Builds are the most complete starting builds in Elden Ring, as you have a complete eye-catching samurai armor, katana, and also a bow. The stats are quite even and great setup for players.

Also, certain tools come with the Samurai class like the Ash of War (Unsheath), Bleed effect, and so on. All of this makes the Samurai one of the best starting classes in Elden Ring to pick, even in 2024.

Katanas in Samurai Build

Katanas are the backbone of the Samurai Build in Elden Ring, as you get a great early Katana with the Samurai Class, you have to keep changing and upgrading them to reach mid or late-game.

Furthermore, which Katana to use with the Samurai Build depends mostly on the attributes you are going to pick here as well.

Whatever the aspect may be, we are going to go into the details of which Katana to use in Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree, whether the Katana is working in the DLC or not. Let’s carry on the discussion of Elden Ring Samurai Builds for Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree.

Odachi in Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree

Unlike the previous Katanas in the Elden Ring, the new Odachi Katana introduced in the DLC Shadow of the Erdtree will be much heavier, slower, and carry more damage to tackle all the enemies. 

So, it is generally a mix between the curved great sword and Katana, also depicting what the playstyle of the DLC Katana Odachi will be like.

All Katanas Ranking in Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree

Odachi being the meta of the Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree and the best Katana to pick, there are also some relatively great choices with respect to other Katanas already present in the game.

We will go into the details on which are the best Samurai Build Katanas in Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree, whether they are good or not.

Nagakiba 

Nagakiba is going to be the best Katana in Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree alongside Odachi.

It is incredibly flexible, as you can simply change it around based on how you want the build to be. 

You can play with the scaling of the weapon, and also the infusion that you put onto it, making it even better for certain builds. Also, you can pick from a massive list of all types of Ashes of War on the weapon.

Just like most of the Katanas, it has a native bleed buildup. To further enhance the weapon, you can put in blood infusion, poison infusion, cold (frostbite), and so on.

Did we forget to mention it? Nagakiba is one of the longest Katanas in the Elden Ring so far. So, that makes it great for hitting while covering up distance.

In the Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree, the status effects play a huge role. There are tons of changes and attack power is one of them, so they aren’t going to be worth much here. 

With the Nagakiba, you can change the infusions to play with the status effects as well. You can also use other Ash of War items to increase your status effects, adding up to already a strong Nagakiba Katana.

Moonveil Katana 

Moonveil Katana is the perfect split between physical and magical damage in the Elden Ring. Generally, the Moonveil Katana isn’t the best, but it isn’t the worst.

The Transient Moonlight has a 30-stance damage for both projectile and wave. You can shuffle between the projectile and the wave to get the optimum play.

Thus, if you are going with Moonveil, you might want to go with both the light and the heavy variants, as both have their usability.

 When you use three light ones, these are going to be enough to stance-break them. 

All in all, if you are bringing the Moonveil and the Transient Moonlight into the DLC Shadow of the Erdtree, you might want to depend mainly on the stance break, because the Katana is useless except for it.

Also, you need to understand that Moonveil Katana isn’t the best when it comes to the stance break. Thus, you have to play accordingly, moving around and dealing with enough attacks to break the stance.

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Rivers of Blood

Rivers of Blood is the most loved Katana in Elden Ring, especially in mid to late games because of the aesthetics and the bleed buildup. 

It is quick, and agile, builds, bleeds faster, and shreds the bosses to pieces. This makes it one of the best Katanas in Elden Ring especially for the Elden Ring DLC - Shadow of the Erdtree.

Compared to Nagakiba, it is next or second in the list and sometimes even is better than Nagakiba when talking about Samurai Build for Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree. Mainly, it depends on the boss you are fighting.

One thing to note is that the Rivers of Blood doesn’t have enough stance damage compared to other Katanas, and Ashes of War. That is where things take a turn, as with other Samurai Builds, you are focusing mostly on the stance break of enemies.

But, here with the Rivers of Blood Katana, your main goal is to build up bleeds onto the enemies, taking chunks of their health. This holds true for the Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree as well.

Serpent Bone blade

Not the best in the Elden Ring at the moment, but it has the potential to be one of the Best Katanas for Samurai Builds in DLC Shadow of the Erdtree. 

Comes with deadly Poison, triggers faster, reapplies faster, and staggers enemies quickly. While the light attack is there to build up poison, the heavy attack is also exceptional.

When using the heavy, it hits twice, allowing you to proc. You are not bound to use heavies or R2, as using the R1 is enough to trigger it. 

Bad Weapon for Samurai Builds in Elden Ring DLC

Now that we have the best weapons for Elden Ring DLC in Samurai Builds sorted out, here are some bad ones as well that you shouldn’t use.

Hand of Malenia or Dragonscale Blade

The Hand of Malenia isn’t that good or useful for the Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree, as it doesn’t trigger bleed often, the damage is not there with the Ash of War and doesn’t fit well with the theme of the DLC.

On the other hand, the Dragonscale doesn’t come with the bleed from the start. The damage is high though, and you can buff the frostbite buildup. Due to the shortness and the effect, it doesn’t fit well with the Elden Ring DLC. 

So, we don’t recommend using both of these for the DLC.

Meteoric Ore Blade

Doesn’t have good damage, but the Ash of War is great. The stance damage is the issue here, as you have to use it 4 times to trigger the stance break. 

Uchigatana

Uchigata does have the same damage as Nagakiba, but it is short and the other stats are not here. So, instead of using Uchigatana, just use Nagakiba, as it is one of the best Elden Ring Katanas for Samurai Build, specifically for Elden Ring DLC.

Are Dual-Wielding Katanas Good for Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree?

No, they are not that great. They do look spectacular, and the moveset looks great, but the syncing, speed, and dual wield status effect penalty makes them particularly bad.

Thus, you can use a Katana and Shield, or only wield a single Katana in your hands. Or, if you are looking for a magic build, you can go with a Katana and a blade/staff to cast spells. This will make a great hybrid build.

Conclusion

The Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree is around the corner and players are looking for guidance on whether their Samurai Build is going to hold up well or not. Well, the Samurai class in particular is great, but the major difference in the builds is the weapons you are going to use. In our Best Elden Ring Samurai Builds (Katanas) for Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree guide, we shortlisted some of the best Katanas for the DLC and also pointed out some bad ones that you shouldn’t use. Well, all of this is theoretical, based on what we know of the DLC and the status effects seem to be the winner here. Thus, things can take a u-turn after the release. Whatever the case may be, these weapons for Elden Ring Samurai Build will help you dominate Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree.