The best Moonveil Katana build in Elden Ring

Elden Ring’s impressive arsenal of unique weapons leads to unique builds not seen in previous games in the Souls series. While most builds focus on one primary stat, others work with a hybrid of two stats. One of these hybrid builds is the Moonveil Katana build.

Elden Ring: How to get the Moonveil Katana?

Before discussing the build itself, you must know where to find the Moonveil Katana in Elden Ring. You get this weapon as a reward for defeating the Magma Wyrm boss in Gael Tunnel. The boss itself is not too difficult, and if you have encountered other similar bosses like Magma Wyrm Makar, you should be familiar with its moveset.

The Moonveil Katana scales with two primary stats: Dexterity and Intelligence, with secondary scaling in Strength. Since it’s a Katana, Moonveil has an inherent bleed buildup, making it one of the best weapons for one-on-one fights in PvP and against bosses with high health pools. Its weapon art, Transient Moonlight, staggers enemies, leaving them open to a follow-up attack.

Now that you know how the Moonveil Katana works, you need to know how to work it into a build, including the other components that complement the weapon.

The best Moonveil Katana build in Elden Ring

The Moonveil Katana build primarily uses the namesake weapon in battle. Because of the high Intelligence needed for the build, you can also work in a staff and spells for ranged coverage. Our recommended staff is the Carian Glintblade Staff because of its inherent Intelligence and Dexterity scaling. The Sorceries in this build also benefit from the weapon.

Since Caelid isn’t an easy area to clear until you gain a few levels, we recommend getting to at least level 75 before heading there. Before that, you can run a standard Dexterity or Intelligence build. Once you meet the requirements below, respec your character into this endgame build.

The rest of the equipment required for this build isn’t too hard to acquire. Once you gain the Moonveil Katana and the Carian Glintblade Staff, the real challenge is acquiring the Sorceries you need. However, the build is quite strong even before then, and you can rely on your Katana until you find everything you need.

Stat and Skill breakdown

As mentioned earlier, the main stats for this build are Intelligence and Dexterity. First, level up your Vigor to acceptable levels (about 30) before prioritizing both Intelligence and Dexterity until they’re up to 30 as well. Then, level up both primary stats equally and pump points into Vigor as you need it. Investing points into Mind will grant you a bigger FP pool to cast your Sorceries.

This is what your endgame stats should look like. Your build should cap out at around levels 150-175. Any excess points left over after the final allocation can go toward Dexterity or Intelligence.

• Vigor: 40
• Mind: 30
• Endurance: 30
• Strength: 12 (minimum for Moonveil)
• Dexterity: 50
• Intelligence: 55
• Faith: Base level
• Arcane: Base level

The main skill of this build, Transient Moonlight, launches a flying magical slash that inflicts high stagger damage. It’s great for knocking enemies off balance and breaking their stance, allowing you to follow up with quick slashes or additional Sorceries.

Your main spells are Carian Sorceries that scale primarily with Intelligence. Carian Phalanx conjures several magical blades that attack enemies at short distances. In conjunction with Transient Moonlight, this spell makes short work of enemies if they get too close.

Carian Retaliation is your defensive spell against casters. When timed right, you can cancel incoming enemy spells and launch a projectile back at them that deals magical damage. This skill performs even better in PvP combat.

Finally, Loretta’s Greatbow is your answer to enemies that attack you from beyond your range. This Sorcery fires a long-range magical arrow that causes an explosion upon impact, damaging all targets in the area. Snipe those annoying enemies before they can hit you.

Weapon breakdown

The Moonveil Katana’s requirements are 12 Strength, 18 Dexterity, and 23 Intelligence with an E-tier, D-tier, and C-tier scaling in each stat, respectively. Since it’s a unique weapon, you need Somber Smithing Stones to upgrade it and you cannot change its Ash of War. If you’re ever low on FP and out of flasks, the Katana’s intrinsic bleed effect remains potent.

The Carian Glintblade Staff is the best option for this build because of its strong Intelligence scaling and its minor Str/Dex scaling. The staff also boosts all Glintblade Sorceries by a whopping 15 percent, making it the optimal choice for the Sorceries incorporated in this build.

Armor breakdown

Armor is generally the least important part of any endgame build. Most caster armor sets are light, allowing you to maintain that medium equip load sweet spot, including the Spellblade Set used for this build. This set consists of four pieces: Spellblade’s Pointed Hat, Spellblade’s Traveling Attire, Spellblade’s Gloves, and Spellblade’s Trousers, and they all boost your magic damage.

Each piece of the set improves your Ash of War damage by two percent, up to a maximum of eight percent, providing an endgame boost to your Transient Moonlight skill. Unfortunately, the defenses and poise are quite lackluster. If you find yourself dying often, you can swap out to sets like the Land of Reeds Set for additional defense.

Optionally, you can choose to equip the Preceptor’s Big Hat to increase your Mind stats at the cost of some Stamina.

Talisman breakdown

By the time you make it to the endgame, you will have four Talisman slots to work with. For this build, we recommend equipping these Talismans.

The Assassin’s Cerulean Dagger is a must for any melee weapon user who needs a lot of FP. You regain 15 FP every time you land a critical on an enemy. This is made easier by your Transient Moonlight’s high stagger chance on hit, letting you sustain your FP pool.

The Carian Filigreed Crest is the other Talisman that helps you maintain FP. This Talisman reduces the FP costs of Ashes of War, including your Transient Moonlight. With proper FP management and lots of critical strikes, you won’t need to use too many Cerulean Flasks.

The Magic Scorpion Charm is a great endgame damage booster for any magic damage build. All your magic damage is boosted by 12 percent, but you take 10 percent increased physical damage in return. Evade attacks and keep your distance to make the most of this Talisman.

The Shard of Alexander is the other damage-boosting Talisman for this build. It boosts the damage of all Ashes of War by 15 percent, making your Transient Moonlight even more powerful. The only downside of this Talisman is that you have to slay a beloved character to get it.