Elden Ring - Katanas

The bleed class: 8 of its 10 weapons come with blood loss out of the box, so your damage lives in the status bar, not the attack rating (AR).

Combat

Pros

• 8 of 10 katanas carry innate blood loss (45: 50 buildup) and a 9th carries poison; only Dragonscale Blade has no status at all. No other class here comes close to that density.
• Every katana deals Slash and Pierce, so you are never fully walled by a single physical resistance.
• Two of the strongest split-damage weapons in the game sit here: Meteoric Ore Blade at 274 physical + 176 magic (450 combined, tied for the highest total across these five classes) and Star-Lined Sword at 200 + 200.
• Reach is good for a light class, and Nagakiba is the longest one-handed katana.

Cons

• Only Uchigatana and Nagakiba accept Ashes of War or infusions. The other eight are locked to their innate skill and affinity, if you pick Moonveil or Rivers of Blood, your build must bend to the weapon, not the other way round.
• Poise damage is mediocre: 84: 104 at max standard, mostly 90. records Patch 1.08 reducing katana poise damage further, in PvP only.
• Top physical attack rating (AR) is 294 (Serpentbone Blade), which every single Great Katana beats.
• Hand of Malenia demands Dex 48: the steepest stat wall of the five classes, and it delivers 286 attack rating (AR) for it.

Builds

Dex-primary, Str only to requirement (10, 18). Three forks: pure Dex on Uchigatana/Nagakiba/Serpentbone/Hand of Malenia; Arcane if you commit to Rivers of Blood or an Occult Uchigatana/Nagakiba (B Arc); Int 23 if you want Moonveil, which then wants Dex too since it holds B Dex and B Int at max.

Best Weapons

Weapon	Image	Attack	Weight	Str	Dex	Int	Fai	Arc	Why Take It
Serpentbone Blade		120	6	11	22	-	-	-	Highest physical attack rating (AR) in the class: 120 at +0 and 294 at max standard, and the only poison katana at 66 buildup, which matters against anything with high bleed resistance. Cost: 84 poise damage, tied for lowest in the class, and no infusion.
Uchigatana		115	5.5	11	15	-	-	-	The class's flexibility weapon and one of only two katanas that take an Ash of War. It reaches A Str on max Heavy at 258, A Dex on max Keen at 258, (82) bleed on max Blood at 236, and B Arc on max Occult at 247, four different builds off one weapon. Lightest infusable katana at 5.5, cheapest requirements at Str 11 / Dex 15, and free to the Samurai.
Meteoric Ore Blade		112 + 72 magic	7.5	15	14	18	-	-	Highest poise damage in the class at 104 against the class norm of 90, and the highest total attack rating (AR) at 274 physical + 176 magic = 450. It is the katana that can actually stagger. Cost: heaviest in the class at 7.5, Int 18 required, and E Dex scaling at +0.
Rivers of Blood		76 + 76 fire	6.5	12	18	-	-	20	The Arcane katana, and: "Despite the D scaling in Arcane, the damage gain is comparable to Dex but splits more into Fire. In addition, more arcane increases bleed build up... reasonably viable on a pure Dex or pure Arcane build." Same page notes Corpse Piler "adds more Bleed Build Up than is listed on the weapon." 186 physical + 186 fire at max, (50) innate bleed, Arc 20 required.
Moonveil		73 + 87 magic	6.5	12	18	23	-	-	The Intelligence katana. 73 physical / 87 magic at +0 becomes 178 / 213 at max standard with B Dex and B Int, 391 combined. Transient Moonlight sheathes the blade and fires a light wave off both the normal and strong follow-up, so the skill is both your ranged and your close option.

Notes

• Innate blood loss on 8 of 10 (buildup 45 or 50); Serpentbone Blade instead carries poison 66; Dragonscale Blade carries nothing.
• Poise damage at max standard: 84 (Serpentbone Blade, Sword of Night) to 104 (Meteoric Ore Blade), with 90 the class norm.
• The Unsheathe skill exists only on Uchigatana and Nagakiba: as does any Ash of War at all.
• Patch 1.08 reduced katana poise damage, PvP only. Patch 1.13 increased poise damage of dual-wield attacks, PvP only. Patch 1.14 increased the attack speed of the uncharged first heavy attack.
• Infusion ceilings on Uchigatana/Nagakiba: Blood (82) buildup, Occult B Arc, Heavy A Str, Keen A Dex, Cold (105) frost plus (38) bleed.

All Katanas

Name	Image	Physical	Magic	Fire	Light	Holy	Crit. Boost	Weight	Str.	Dex.	Int.	Fai.	Arc.	Sell Price	Skill
Dragonscale Blade		110 35	0 25	0 25	0 50	0 25	100 30	5.5	D 12	C 20	0	0	0	500	Ice Lightning Sword
Hand of Malenia		117 49	0 33	0 33	0 33	0 33	100 33	7	E 16	C 48	0	0	0	1000	Waterfowl Dance
Meteoric Ore Blade		112 50	72 45	0 31	0 31	0 31	100 33	7.5	D 15	E 14	D 18	0	0	500	Gravitas
Moonveil		73 31	87 57	0 26	0 26	0 26	100 31	6.5	E 12	D 18	C 23	0	0	500	Transient Moonlight
Nagakiba		115 49	0 33	0 33	0 33	0 33	100 33	7	D 18	C 22	0	0	0	100	Unsheathe
Rivers of Blood		76 36	0 26	76 52	0 26	0 26	100 31	6.5	E 12	D 18	0	0	D 20	500	Corpse Piler
Serpentbone Blade		120 45	0 30	0 30	0 30	0 30	0 30	6	E 11	E 22	0	0	0	100	Double Slash
Star-Lined Sword		82 34.0	82 48.0	0 24.0	0 24.0	0 24.0	100	5.0	E 10	C 23	D 21	0	0	500	Onze's Line of Stars
Sword of Night		110 43.0	33 35.0	0 27.0	0 27.0	0 27.0	100	6.5	11	C 20	0	0	0	0	Witching Hour Slash
Uchigatana		115 45.0	0 30.0	0 30.0	0 30.0	0 30.0	100	5.5	D 11	D 15	0	0	0	100	Unsheathe