Elden Ring: Moonveil Katana Build Guide

As a seasoned Tarnished traveler who’s journeyed through Elden Ring’s enchanting yet treacherous lands, I wholeheartedly endorse the Moonveil Katana build. This intricate dance of speed, strategy, and style is a testament to FromSoftware’s masterful design.

In contrast to numerous contemporary role-playing games, Elden Ring distinguishes itself significantly through its unwavering dedication to player autonomy. The game’s open world is rich, expansive, and largely unexplored, fostering a genuine feeling of exploration and advancement among players as they decipher the language of the game. One area where Elden Ring truly shines in terms of player freedom is character build diversity.

In their game development, FromSoftware often provides a diverse range of experiences for players, as each title (except Sekiro) offers numerous distinct playstyles to explore. In Elden Ring, an Intelligence/Dexterity build is not fully rounded out without the highly acclaimed Intelligence-focused weapon, which stands out as one of the best in Elden Ring.

How To Get Moonveil (& What It Does)

Where To Find Moonveil & Moonveil Stats/Requirements

Katana forged of glintstone.

Masterpiece of a Sellian swordsmith.

Light enwreathes the blade when sheathed, explaining its Moonveil moniker.

In the game Elden Ring, you can discover the Moonveil Katana quite early if you know the right path. From the Third Church of Marika, journey north towards the western gateway to Caelid. Keep going along the road until you spot a telescope on your map – from this location, move due west to find the Gael Tunnel.

Instead, check the world map for a cave marked with an orange hue near the boundary between Limgrave and Caelid in Elden Ring. Many caves rich in crafting resources often have this icon on the map.

After entering, make your way to the final part of the passageway to converse with Alexander and advance his mission. Next, ignite the Forgotten Blessing, and venture into the battle arena to confront the Fire Dragon, the Magma Wyrm. Upon its demise, the Magma Wyrm will drop Moonveil as its reward.

Beating the Magma Wyrm

In the midst of battle, experienced Dark Souls players will notice similarities in this boss’s movements to the Gaping Dragon. Just like dodging the charge attack of the Gaping Dragon where it creates a trail of lava by stomping across the room, avoid this boss’s charge in a 90-degree sprint away from its path instead of rolling.

The turn rate isn’t great, but it compensates with a sizable hitbox on its stomps and lava contact. Therefore, swift reactions are crucial, despite the slow charge. Attack only when necessary, dodge into its sweeping attacks to make use of invincibility frames, and seize these infrequent opportunities to land a hit or two.

It’s a tedious fight – especially for Magic users – but far from impossible.

Moonveil Stats & Requirements

Moonveil’s Transient Moonlight Ash of War offers two distinct magical attacks after assuming the stance. By pressing the light attack button following your input for the Ash of War, you unleash a short-range beam of magic in a horizontal direction. On the other hand, pressing the heavy attack follow up initiates a long-distance vertical slice of magic forward. Both these special moves inflict substantial damage and are highly effective against both groups of foes as well as single-target bosses.

Moonveil inflicts Bleed upon impact, but unlike other weapons, it doesn’t amplify its damage based on Arcane. Instead, its damage increases with Strength, Dexterity, and particularly Intelligence (with a focus on Intelligence). The Ash of War attached to this weapon will dish out substantially higher damage if your character has a high level of Intelligence.

Damage and Types Scaling Level Requirements Ash of War Weight Additional Properties
73 Physical, 87 Magic Slash and Pierce STR: E DEX: D INT: C STR: 12 DEX: 18 INT: 23 Transient Moonlight (15 FP) 6.5 Bleed buildup on hit

Recommended Moonveil Stat Allocation

Emphasize Dexterity And Intelligence, With Some Arcane

The Moonveil Katana predominantly amplifies based on your Dexterity and Intelligence, favoring a gameplay style that combines close combat sword fighting with medium-range spell casting. The associated Ash of War for Moonveil is Transient Moonlight, enabling you to cast a potent (and cost-effective) magical arc whose power increases with the weapon’s upgrade level. To wield Moonveil, you’ll need at least 18 Dexterity, 12 Strength, and 23 Intelligence; given its high-end scaling and abilities, this isn’t a substantial requirement.

Skillfulness not only amplifies the damage of weapons that depend on Dexterity, but it also speeds up the casting of spells.

Vigor Mind Endurance Strength Dexterity Intelligence Faith Arcane
35 20 12 12 40 45 10 11

To thrive in Elden Ring, it’s crucial to maintain a decent level of Vitality as it significantly impacts your survivability. Make sure to allocate some points to this stat whenever you increase your levels. A high Mind attribute allows for extended use of Moonveil’s Ash of War without quickly depleting Focus Points (FP). For optimal scaling, consider dividing your stats evenly between Dexterity (40) and Intelligence (45), as this setup best utilizes the weapon’s properties.

It’s advisable not to invest in Arcane for this particular build because it won’t boost your capacity to accumulate Bleed. The Moonveil has a base bleed damage of 50, but it doesn’t scale with Arcane and can’t be infused to have Arcane scaling. Therefore, enhancing the Arcane stat won’t influence the Moonveil’s Bleed capability.

Sorceries for the Moonveil Katana Build

One effective method of pairing the Moonveil katana is by choosing sorceries that either compensate for its weaknesses or enhance its abilities and combos. For instance, Magic Glintblade could be beneficial to Moonveil users since they can synchronize their entry into melee combat with the spell’s activation.

Spells that inflict area-of-effect (AoE) damage, such as Rotten Breath Incantation and Meteorite Sorcery, are beneficial even for Moonveil users, albeit they necessitate more strategic stat distribution. Rock Sling is a favorite among magic-users due to its powerful physical damage output, unlike magical damage, which can cause enemy stagger when successfully executed, providing an excellent opportunity for a rapid sequence of attacks.

In essence, adding Magic Glintblade and Rock Sling to your Moonveil Katana setup will significantly boost its efficiency. It’s ideal to cast Magic Glintblade before engaging in combat or during pauses. On the other hand, Rock Sling works best when an opponent can be easily stunned or if they are resistant to magical attacks.

Side Weapons for the Moonveil Katana Build

In Elden Ring, it’s advantageous to wield another katana when using Moonveil. This is because pairing weapons (known as Powerstancing) unlocks a unique moveset only available within the katana weapon class. Powerstancing allows players to forfeit defense in exchange for significantly increased damage output, essentially dealing double the typical amount of damage.

Combine Moonveil with an additional Intelligence-scaling katana such as the Meteorite Blade for optimal scaling benefits, or pair it with traditional weapons like Rivers of Blood or the Hand of Malenia to enhance Moonveil’s buildup of Bleed.

Using a side sword Uchigatana or a Wakizashi sidekick Wakizashi will greatly benefit your dual-wield setup until you gain access to those end-game Katanas. Don’t forget to arm your right hand with Moonveil for the ability to utilize the Transient Moonlight Ash of War skill.

Best Talismans for Moonveil

The Moonveil build is one based primarily on speed and rapid attacks and regular use of its Ash of War, so Talismans that can take advantage of this playstyle shine. The Winged Sword Insignia and Warrior Shard are essential for increasing regular and special damage output, while the Carian Filigree Crest and the Lord of Blood’s Exultation reduce FP consumption and increase attack power when opponents bleed.

The Warrior Jar Shard (also known as the Shard of Alexander) significantly amplifies the damage that weapon abilities and Ashes of War can inflict. Similarly, the Godfrey Icon boosts charged spells and skills. When used together, they greatly enhance Moonveil’s damage output. However, the benefits to FP reduction and Bleed damage will be more beneficial in various scenarios.

Complementary Armor for Moonveil

In essence, the choice of your character’s attire and armor while using Moonveil is entirely yours. However, this weapon seems to complement a figure wearing light, graceful armor particularly well. The Preceptor’s Gown (Altered) resembles a sleek black Gi, but the traditional Land of Reeds armor also deserves mention.

You just can’t go wrong with traditional-Japanese-inspired aesthetics, and with some careful character facial customization, even roleplaying as the One-Armed Wolf of Sekiro isn’t out of the question.

Among the memorable armor sets in the game, the Carian Knight set is particularly noteworthy for players building around the Moonveil Katana, as it doesn’t necessitate traditional samurai-style gear. Instead, you’ll resemble Moongrum, the named enemy who guards outside Rennala’s boss room. But instead of a meager short sword, you’ll be armed with one of the finest Intelligence katanas the game has to offer.

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2024-12-27 10:24