The Best Katanas in Elden Ring and Shadow Of The Erdtree

Here are the best katanas in Elden Ring and its DLC, Shadow Of The Erdtree

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco

Are you hoping to find the best Katanas in Elden Ring and Shadow Of The Erdtree? Both Elden Ring and its DLC, Shadow Of The Erdtree , feature a wide variety of weapons for players to experiment with. The Katanas in particular offer a little something different for various builds. If you’re focused on inflicting bleed, Rivers of Blood has always been a great pick to slaughter your enemies. Or maybe you’ve opted for an intelligence build, in which case the Moonveil could be your perfect pairing. These two only just scratch the surface of what’s available, though.

In this guide, we’ve gathered up our favorite Katanas – both regular and the new, larger Great Katanas – from both the base game and the Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC. These are the ones that we believe are worth adding to your arsenal right away. Alongside general stats, we’ve also included information on where to find them so you can pick them up as soon as possible.

Rakshasa’s Great Katana

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco

• Type: Great Katana
• Weight: 9.5
• Requirements: 12 Strength, 27 Dexterity
• Damage Type: Slash/Pierce
• Passive: Causes blood loss buildup (55)
• Unique Skill: Weed Cutter

Rakshasa’s Great Katana is an absolute beast of a weapon. Alongside being one of Shadow Of The Erdtree’s new hefty Great Katanas, its Weed Cutter ability is incredible when it comes to wiping out numerous enemies in your way. It has astonishing reach and can slash for far longer than you’d expect, even if your stamina bar isn’t the longest. That means you can stay relatively out of danger, catch enemies in a near-relentless attack, and build up the bleed status, all with a single blade. It’s a weapon that’s sure to carry you through the DLC and all the way into New Game+.

In order to get Rakshasa’s Great Katana, you’ll need to defeat the boss Rakshasa in the Eastern Nameless Mausoleum. To reach this miniature dungeon you’ll need to have done the coffin ride from Shadow Keep that leads to the Ruins of Unte . Once at the Castle Watering Hole Site of Grace , follow the river south until you reach the Recluses’ River Downstream Site of Grace . From here, head southeast to the edge of the cliff and jump down onto the tombstones to make your way down to the river. Follow it around the cliffs to reach the Eastern Nameless Mausoleum.

Rivers of Blood

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco

• Type: Katana
• Weight: 6.5
• Requirements: 12 Strength, 18 Dexterity, 20 Arcane
• Damage Type: Slash/Pierce
• Passive: Causes blood loss buildup (50)
• Unique Skill: Corpse Piler

If you’ve created a bleed build and are looking for the ultimate weapon to slice and dice your way through enemies, Rivers of Blood is an excellent choice. This is largely thanks to its unrivaled Corpse Piler skill, which repeatedly slashes away to cause impressive blood loss buildup. This is particularly satisfying in boss fights when you can see a mighty chunk of health evaporate from their HP bar when the effect finally triggers after repeated slashes. It’s a Katana that’s undeniably a bleed build’s best friend.

Rivers of Blood can be found in the base game of Elden Ring, up in the Mountaintops of the Giants. It’s dropped by an invading NPC named Bloody Finger Okina at the Church of Repose, which can be found on the southeastern side of the Mountaintops.

Nagakiba

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco

• Type: Katana
• Weight: 7.0
• Requirements: 18 Strength, 22 Dexterity
• Damage Type: Slash/Pierce
• Passive: Causes blood loss buildup (45)
• Unique Skill: Piercing Fang

For those looking for an imposing weapon, the Nagakiba is the longest Katana in the game. When its skill, Piercing Fang, is put to use it showcases that enormous reach with an impressive thrusting attack. It’s a jab that’s not just got range, but also power. On top of that, much like the previously mentioned Katanas, it also causes bleed build up.

The Nagakiba is the weapon of Bloody Finger Hunter Yura, and can be obtained by completing his quests in the main game or killing him at his camp north of Murkwater Cave. If you want to see a full walkthrough of his questline, check out our guide on how to complete every side quest in Elden Ring .

Moonveil

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco

• Type: Katana
• Weight: 6.5
• Requirements: 12 Strength, 18 Dexterity, 23 Intelligence
• Damage Type: Slash/Pierce
• Passive: Causes blood loss buildup (50)
• Unique Skill: Transient Moonlight

The Moonveil is arguably Elden Ring’s most famous Katana thanks to an incredible skill called Transient Moonlight. The ability sends out a bright blue wave of light, either horizontally or vertically, that’s great for knocking surprisingly large chunks out of an enemy’s health bar. Transient Moonlight deals magic damage, and as such is a killer move for magic-focused characters, especially when upgraded to achieve a B rank in intelligence scaling. Alongside the physical damage it deals, it also causes blood loss buildup, making this Katana a pretty unstoppable force!

For Intelligence builds hunting down the Moonveil, you’ll need to travel to Gael Tunnel on the border of Limgrave and Caelid in the base game. It’s dropped by the Magma Wyrm boss inside, and is well worth the battle for it.

Star-Lined Sword

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Bandai Namco

• Type: Katana
• Weight: 5.0
• Requirements: 10 Strength, 23 Dexterity, 21 Intelligence
• Damage Type: Slash/Pierce
• Passive: Causes blood loss buildup (45)
• Unique Skill: Onze’s Line of Stars

The Star-Lined Sword is kind of the inverse of the Moonveil, favoring dexterity over intelligence. But that doesn’t mean it’s not as magical to use. Its impressive and spectacular unique skill is Onze’s Line of Stars, which slashes enemies with a forceful blue wave containing hundreds of small pieces of glintstone. It’s a combo move, and so with each follow-up attack it gets stronger and stronger, allowing you to truly bully your enemies if you can successfully build up to the combo’s final move uninterrupted.

The Star-Lined Sword can be found in the Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC on the Cerulean Coast . It’s dropped by Demi-Human Queen Marigga , who’s located just northeast of the Cerulean Coast West Site of Grace . Keep following the path from there past the other demi-humans until you reach a beach, where you’ll find her waiting.

If you’re curious what other weapons are in Shadow Of The Erdtree, check out our guide on all 103 weapons in the DLC . Or, if you’d rather see some of the new items that are available in Shadow Of The Erdtree, check out our guides to all Crystal Tear locations , all Spirit Ashes and their locations , and all 50 Scadutree Fragment locations . And if you want to make sure you don’t miss a step in the Realm of Shadow, have a look at our Shadow Of The Erdtree progression route .

Elden Ring

PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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All 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints and where to get them

These areas have the highest chance of giving you Blueprints

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Looking for more Arc Raiders Blueprints? It’s a special day when you find a Blueprint, as they’re among the most valuable items in Arc Raiders. If you find a Blueprint that you haven’t already found, then you must make sure you hold onto it at all costs, because Blueprints are the key to one of the most important and powerful systems of meta-progression in the game.

This guide aims to be the very best guide on Blueprints you can find, starting with a primer on what exactly they are and how they work in Arc Raiders, before delving into exactly where to get Blueprints and the very best farming spots for you to take in your search.

We’ll also go over how to get Blueprints from other unlikely activities, such as destroying Surveyors and completing specific quests. And you’ll also find the full list of all 75 Blueprints in Arc Raiders on this page (including the newest Blueprints added with the Cold Snap update , such as the Deadline Blueprint and Firework Box Blueprint), giving you all the information you need to expand your own crafting repertoire.

In this guide:

• What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?
• Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes
• Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders Blueprints obtained from quests Blueprints obtained from Trials Best Blueprint farming locations

What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?

Blueprints in Arc Raiders are special items which, if you manage to extract with them, you can expend to permanently unlock a new crafting recipe in your Workshop. If you manage to extract from a raid with an Anvil Blueprint, for example, you can unlock the ability to craft your very own Anvil Pistol, as many times as you like (as long as you have the crafting materials).

To use a Blueprint, simply open your Inventory while in the lobby, then right-click on the Blueprint and click “Learn And Consume” . This will permanently unlock the recipe for that item in your Workshop. As of the Stella Montis update, there are allegedly 75 different Blueprints to unlock - although only 68 are confirmed to be in the game so far. You can see all the Blueprints you’ve found and unlocked by going to the Workshop menu, and hitting “R” to bring up the Blueprint screen.

It’s possible to find duplicates of past Blueprints you’ve already unlocked. If you find these, then you can either sell them, or - if you like to play with friends - you can take it into a match and gift it to your friend so they can unlock that recipe for themselves. Another option is to keep hold of them until the time comes to donate them to the Expedition.

Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes

Below is the full list of all the Blueprints that are currently available to find in Arc Raiders, and the crafting recipe required for each item:

Note: The missing Blueprints in this list likely have not actually been added to the game at the time of writing, because none of the playerbase has managed to find any of them. As they are added to the game, I will update this page with the most relevant information so you know exactly how to get all 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints.

Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders

Below is a list of all containers, modifiers, and events which maximise your chances of finding Blueprints:

• Certain quests reward you with specific Blueprints .
• Completing Trials has a high chance of offering Blueprints as rewards.
• Surveyors have a decent chance of dropping Blueprints on death.
• High loot value areas tend to have a greater chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Night Raids and Storms may increase rare Blueprint spawn chances in containers.
• Containers with higher numbers of items may have a higher tendency to spawn Blueprints. As a result, Blue Gate (which has many “large” containers containing multiple items) may give you a higher chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Raider containers (Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, Medical Bags, Grenade Tubes) have increased Blueprint drop rates. As a result, the Uncovered Caches event gives you a high chance of finding Blueprints.
• Security Lockers have a higher than average chance of containing Blueprints.
• Certain Blueprints only seem to spawn under specific circumstances: Tempest Blueprint only spawns during Night Raid events. Vulcano Blueprint only spawns during Hidden Bunker events. Jupiter and Equaliser Blueprints only spawn during Harvester events.

Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, and other raider-oriented container types have a good chance of offering Blueprints. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints have a very low chance of spawning in any container in Arc Raiders, around 1-2% on average. However, there is a higher chance of finding Blueprints in particular container types. Specifically, you can find more Blueprints in Raider containers and security lockers.

Beyond this, if you’re looking for Blueprints you should focus on regions of the map which are marked as having particularly high-value loot. Areas such as the Control Tower in Dam Battlegrounds, the Arrival and Departure Buildings in Spaceport, and Pilgrim’s Peak in Blue Gate all have a better-than-average chance of spawning Blueprints somewhere amongst all their containers. Night Raids and Electromagnetic Storm events also increase the drop chances of certain Blueprints .

In addition to these containers, you can often loot Blueprints from destroyed Surveyors - the largest of the rolling ball ARC. Surveyors are more commonly found on the later maps - Spaceport and Blue Gate - and if one spawns in your match, you’ll likely see it by the blue laser beam that it casts into the sky while “surveying”.

Surveyors are quite well-armoured and will very speedily run away from you once it notices you, but if you can take one down then make sure you loot all its parts for a chance of obtaining certain unusual Blueprints.

Blueprints obtained from quests

One way in which you can get Blueprints is by completing certain quests for the vendors in Speranza. Some quests will reward you with a specific item Blueprint upon completion, so as long as you work through all the quests in Arc Raiders, you are guaranteed those Blueprints.

Here is the full list of all Blueprints you can get from quest rewards:

• Trigger Nade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Sparks Fly”.
• Lure Grenade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Greasing Her Palms”.
• Burletta Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Industrial Espionage”.
• Hullcracker Blueprint (and Launcher Ammo Blueprint): Rewarded after completing “The Major’s Footlocker”.

Alas, that’s only 4 Blueprints out of a total of 75 to unlock, so for the vast majority you will need to find them yourself during a raid. If you’re intent on farming Blueprints, then it’s best to equip yourself with cheap gear in case you lose it, but don’t use a free loadout because then you won’t get a safe pocket to stash any new Blueprint you find. No pain in Arc Raiders is sharper than failing to extract with a new Blueprint you’ve been after for a dozen hours already.

One of the best ways to get Blueprints is by hitting three stars on all five Trials every week. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints obtained from Trials

One of the very best ways to get Blueprints is as rewards for completing Trials in Arc Raiders. Trials are unlocked from Level 15 onwards, and allow you to earn rewards by focusing on certain tasks over the course of several raids. For example, one Trial might task you with dealing damage to Hornets, while another might challenge you to loot Supply Drops.

Trials refresh on a weekly basis, with a new week bringing five new Trials. Each Trial can offer up to three rewards after passing certain score milestones, and it’s possible to receive very high level loot from these reward crates - including Blueprints. So if you want to unlock as many Blueprints as possible, you should make a point of completing as many Trials as possible each week.

Best Blueprint farming locations

The very best way to get Blueprints is to frequent specific areas of the maps which combine high-tier loot pools with the right types of containers to search. Here are my recommendations for where to find Blueprints on every map, so you can always keep the search going for new crafting recipes to unlock.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Dam Battlegrounds

The best places to farm Blueprints on Dam Battlegrounds are the Control Tower, Power Generation Complex, Ruby Residence, and Pale Apartments . The first two regions, despite only being marked on the map as mid-tier loot, contain a phenomenal number of containers to loot. The Control Tower can also contain a couple of high-tier Security Lockers - though of course, you’ll need to have unlocked the Security Breach skill at the end of the Survival tree.

There’s also a lot of reporting amongst the playerbase that the Residential areas in the top-left of the map - Pale Apartments and Ruby Residence - give you a comparatively strong chance of finding Blueprints. Considering their size, there’s a high density of containers to loot in both locations, and they also have the benefit of being fairly out of the way. So you’re more likely to have all the containers to yourself.

Buried City

The best Blueprint farming locations on Buried City are the Santa Maria Houses, Grandioso Apartments, Town Hall, and the various buildings of the New District . Grandioso Apartments has a lower number of containers than the rest, but a high chance of spawning weapon cases - which have good Blueprint drop rates. The others are high-tier loot areas, with plenty of lootable containers - including Security Lockers.

Spaceport

The best places to find Blueprints on Spaceport are the Arrival and Departure Buildings, as well as Control Tower A6 and the Launch Towers . All these areas are labelled as high-value loot regions, and many of them are also very handily connected to one another by the Spaceport wall, which you can use to quickly run from one area to the next. At the tops of most of these buildings you’ll find at least one Security Locker, so this is an excellent farming route for players looking to find Blueprints.

The downside to looting Blueprints on Spaceport is that all these areas are hotly contested, particularly in Duos and Squads. You’ll need to be very focused and fast in order to complete the full farming route.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blue Gate

Blue Gate tends to have a good chance of dropping Blueprints, potentially because it generally has a high number of containers which can hold lots of items; so there’s a higher chance of a Blueprint spawning in each container. In my experience, the best Blueprint farming spots on Blue Gate are Pilgrim’s Peak, Raider’s Refuge, the Ancient Fort, and the Underground Complex beneath the Warehouse .

All of these areas contain a wealth of containers to loot. Raider’s Refuge has less to loot, but the majority of the containers in and around the Refuge are raider containers, which have a high chance of containing Blueprints - particularly during major events.

Stella Montis

On the whole, Stella Montis seems to have a very low drop rate for Blueprints (though a high chance of dropping other high-tier loot). If you do want to try farming Blueprints on this map, the best places to find Blueprints in Stella Montis are Medical Research, Assembly Workshop, and the Business Center . These areas have the highest density of containers to loot on the map.

In addition to this, the Western Tunnel has a few different Security Lockers to loot, so while there’s very little to loot elsewhere in this area of the map, it’s worth hitting those Security Lockers if you spawn there at the start of a match.

That wraps up this primer on how to get all the Blueprints in Arc Raiders as quickly as possible. With the Expedition system constantly resetting a large number of players’ Blueprints, it’s more important than ever to have the most up-to-date information on where to find all these Blueprints.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our Arc Raiders best guns tier list , as well as our primers on the best skills to unlock and all the different Field Depot locations on every map.

ARC Raiders

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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