To my shock and astonishment, the Rivers of Blood katana still has not been nerfed in Elden Ring. The weapon that gets the most praise and complaints, that eats through players with a completely unstoppable Ash of War skill that instantly builds up bleed, and some still swear is the best weapon in the game. If it comes down to sheer ridiculous damage, the Rivers of Blood sword is still a strong contender — really, all Bleed weapons are still incredibly strong in both PVE and PVP battles. The only drawback is that you can only grab it pretty late into the game. If you want to slaughter early bosses, you’ll need to take it with you into NG+. Then you can grab two.
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Where To Find the Rivers of Blood Katana
The Rivers of Blood is a Dexterity / Arcane katana that causes quick Bleed buildup and has a unique Ash of War called Corpse Piler. It is still one of the best weapons in the game for Dex / Arc builds, which remain one of the most powerful build types available for melee players.
- Location: The Rivers of Blood katana is located at the Church of Repose, Mountaintop of the Giants — defeat the invader Bloody Finger Okina to collect the sword. The church is located west of the Foot of the Forge.
- The Rivers of Blood must be collected BEFORE fighting the Fire Giant boss. Bloody Finger Okina will not spawn after the Fire Giant has been defeated.
The Corpse Piler ability unleashes a quick storm of slashes in exchange for FP. Follow-up attacks can be executed to continue the fast combo — this thing is an absolute beast, and scales well with both Dexterity and Arcane. Increasing Arcane boosts Bleed buildup speed, allowing you to apply bleed insanely fast to most targets. Unless your opponent in PVP is carrying a lot of Vitality, this sword can cut them down fast. Corpse Piler also deals extra fire damage, in addition to the Bleed buildup. As if it wasn’t strong enough already.
Give it a try yourself to see why the Rivers of Blood is still completely overpowered. At this point we have to assume the weapon is intentionally unstoppable.
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