Katanas are a popular weapon choice among players who prefer finesse and precision over brute force or magic. Elden Ring features a relatively small selection of Katanas — however, every one of them is as deadly as it is beautiful. In addition to being pretty to look at, Katanas are very versatile and faster than many other weapon types.

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Most Katanas are Dexterity scaling weapons, but there are a couple of them that scale better with other stats like Intelligence or Arcane. Considering that are no Katanas that scale with Faith, we wouldn’t recommend using this weapon type in builds that rely heavily on Incantations since there’s no synergy between the two. Aside from that, though, Katanas are reliable weapons that can fit into pretty much any other build you can think of.

8 Serpentbone Blade

The Serpentbone Blade is arguably the weakest Katana in the game. However, it still has plenty of things going for it. The weapon deals a ton of physical damage, has great poison build-up, a unique R2, and comes equipped with a three-phase weapon art. The poison build-up scales with weapon level rather than Arcane as you might expect, which removes the need to invest runes into secondary stats.

Having said all that, the Serpentbone Blade also comes with certain disadvantages that prevent it from ranking any higher on this list. For starters, the weapon can’t be infused with Ashes of War, and the Double Slash weapon skill can be tricky to use as you always run the risk of being interrupted during the combo. To get the most out of the Serpentbone Blade you’ll need a build that revolves almost entirely around Double Slash and the unique R2. Without supporting Talismans, the weapon is just okay.

7 Dragonscale Blade

If you’re in the market for a Katana that looks cool, the Dragonscale Blade will certainly not disappoint. The Dragonscale Blade has a unique skill that calls down a bolt of lightning in front of the player and then infuses the blade with an Ice Lightning Effect for 45 seconds. The enchantment is pretty nice as it causes Frost build-up, but the lightning bolt isn’t very useful since it can only strike enemies that are already in melee range.

In terms of damage, both physical and elemental, the Dragonscale Blade outperforms other Katanas in Elden Ring. On the other hand, this is one of the shortest Katanas in the game and the only one that doesn’t come with a passive effect. The Katana gets bonus damage against Dragons and Ancient Dragons so, on paper, this should be a good dragonslaying weapon. In reality, though, it’s very difficult to hurt (let alone kill) dragons with this blade due to its range and the fact that it deals little to no piercing damage.

6 Meteoric Ore Blade

The Meteoric Ore Blade is a pretty unique-looking Katana that creates a gravity well around the player capable of pulling enemies toward it. This can be both a good and a bad thing depending on how you look at it. One on hand, the skill can be very helpful when fighting pesky casters that try to keep you at arm’s length. On the other hand, you may run into situations where you’re pulling more enemies than you can handle. This wouldn’t be an issue if you could immediately follow up with regular attacks but the weapon art’s animation takes a couple of seconds to play out.

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Weapon art aside, the Meteoric Ore Blade also comes with a unique charged heavy attack and a passive effect that causes bleeding. The charged heavy attack deals a lot of poise damage even after the nerf and is arguably more useful than the unique skill. In the hands of a competent player, the Meteoric Ore Blade can certainly be a devastating weapon, especially in PvP. But given that it’s the shortest and heaviest Katana in Elden Ring, the Meteoric Ore Blade struggles to keep up with some of the other weapons on this list.

5 Hand of Malenia

In stark contrast to the Meteoric Ore Blade, the Hand of Malenia is one of the longest Katanas in the game, and the hardest-hitting one to boot — at least in terms of physical damage. The weapon also causes bleeding and comes equipped with a unique skill based on Malenia’s signature move, Waterfowl Dance. Simply wielding this Katana requires a ton of Dexterity, but you only need to upgrade it a handful of times to start inflicting serious damage with it.

In typical video game fashion, the version of Waterfowl Dance available to players is significantly weaker than the one used by the boss. The attack is slower, deals less damage, and doesn’t heal the player as it does Malenia. Furthermore, the wind-up animation takes a while to get going and can potentially leave you open to counterattacks. But while the skill is a bit disappointing, this is still a very good late-game weapon and even better during NG+.

4 Uchigatana

The Uchigatana looks just like a regular Katana without any of the bells and whistles found on most of its siblings. In some ways, that’s exactly what makes it so good. This is a very reliable Katana with solid stats, low stat requirements, and a simple yet powerful weapon art in the form of Unsheathe. The weapon also causes Blood Loss build-up, albeit at a slower rate than some of the other weapons on this list.

Not a big fan of the weapon art? No worries. Unlike most of the other Katanas in Elden Ring, the Uchigatana can be infused with a variety of Ashes of War. The Uchigatana’s main drawback is its short range, which is comparable to that of the Dragonscale Blade or Meteoric Ore Blade. On the bright side, the range can be seen as an advantage if you’re looking to powerstance Katanas. Ideally, you’ll want weapons of similar size when dual-wielding and there are more options to choose from when going for shorter blades.

3 Nagakiba

If you’re not into dual-wielding and want to use your Katana two-handed instead, the Nagakiba is the perfect weapon for you. While it’s not bad for dual-wielding, especially when paired with something like the Hand of Malenia, it just feels awkward to have a ridiculously long blade in each hand as they will clip through absolutely everything.

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In essence, the Nagakiba is just a longer version of the Uchigatana and comes with many of the same advantages. The weapon does weigh a bit more and has higher stat requirements, but the damage and speed are pretty much identical. Same with the bleeding passive effect. One major difference is the default weapon art, which comes in the form of Piercing Fang on the Nagakiba and boosts piercing rather than slashing damage. However, this can be removed and replaced with Unsheathe or any other Ash of War.

2 Moonveil

Moonveil is both one of the most beloved and one of the most hated weapons in Elden Ring. The weapon is so strong that it’s an absolute joy to wield, but it can also be a nightmare for anyone finding themselves at the receiving end of it in PvP. Admittedly, the weapon has been nerfed on multiple occasions since the game launched and is not as strong as it used to be, but it’s still one of the best Katanas in the game.

Moonveil’s biggest selling point is its unique weapon art, Transient Moonlight. The skill works just like Unsheathe but deals magical damage in addition to the regular slash damage. The wave of magical energy unleashed by Transient Moonlight hits harder than the regular physical attack, which often catches people off-guard in PvP. But the real kicker here is that targets are hit by both the slash and the magic wave when in melee range, causing them to take a metric ton of damage — and that’s not even including the Blood Loss build-up.

1 Rivers of Blood

It’s debatable whether Rivers of Blood is better than Moonveil, but there’s an argument to be made for why this is currently the best Katana in Elden Ring, and overall one of the best weapons in the game in spite of the recent nerfs. First off, Rivers of Blood is the only Katana that scales with Arcane, which increases both its Blood Loss build-up speed and the damage inflicted by its unique skill, Corpse Piler.

Corpse Piler is an upgraded version of Double Slash that comes with extra range and the ability to inflict fire damage. This is in addition to the regular physical damage and bleeding. While it can be difficult to follow through when using the regular Double Slash, that’s not a problem when it comes to Corpse Piler thanks to its extra range. Performing the full three-phase combo eats up a lot of FP, but that’s ultimately a small price to pay when you consider the damage output.

Next: Elden Ring: 10 Best Strength Scaling Weapons