Elden Ring: How To Get The Moonlight Greatsword | Legendary Weapon Guide

The Moonlight Greatsword is a longstanding FromSoftware tradition, and the glowing blue blade is back in Elden Ring — but getting it for yourself isn’t easy. The legendary reoccurring weapon has appeared in almost every single Souls game, but the quest to earn the Moonlight Greatsword in Elden Ring might be the trickiest yet. Called the Dark Moon Greatsword, this powerful magical weapon requires high intelligence to use effectively — and missing it is very easy.

To begin the hunt for the Dark Moon Greatsword, you must complete Ranni’s Black Knife / Cursemark quest. That’s just the beginning. You’ll have to delve into multiple locked secret areas and defeat a Legendary Foe — not a Shardbearer, but something even greater lurking in the underground of the world. These are all the steps, explaining as simply as possible, to earn the Dark Moon Greatsword.

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How To Earn The Moonlight Greatsword | Dark Moon Guide

There are three major steps to unlocking the Moonlight Greatsword and finally completing Ranni’s questline. You must complete the Black Knife quest, the Cursemark quest, and the Baleful Shadow Quest.

For more details, check out the Black Knife Myster Face quest, and the Lake of Rot secret area guide.

Step #1: The Black Knife Quest

Find Sorcerer Rogier in Stormveil Castle church and talk to him so he returns to Roundtable Hold. Keep talking to him until he leaves.

To begin the quest, find the bizarre face at the bottom of Stormveil Castle. Drop down from a ledge at the Liftside Chamber site of grace. Examine the blood spot.
Talk to Rogier and the Deathbed Companion in Roundtable Hold every time you revisit. Ask Rogier about the corpse in Stormveil Castle.
Eventually, the Deathbed Companion will give you the Knifeprint Clue. Go to the Black Knife Catacombs in Liurnia of the Lakes — it is north of the Carian Study Hall. Reach the guillotine trap room and ride one up to the high ledge. Attack the Illusory Wall at the upper level to find a hidden boss.

Defeat the Black Knife Assassin hidden boss to gain the Blackknife Print [Key Item]. Talk to Rogier and the Deathbed Companion in the Roundtable Hold.

Give Rogier the Blackknife Print to study. Get the Weathered Dagger from the Deathbed Companion and give it to D.
Return and talk to Rogier later to learn his findings. He’ll send you to Ranni — she is located in a location called Ranni’s Rise, at the end of Caria Manor north of the Academy of Raya Lucaria.
Talk to Ranni (past Royal Knight Loretta boss) and then talk to Rogier. Talk to Ranni again to begin the next phase of your quest.

Once you’re working for Ranni, you’ll begin a long quest to discover the secrets of Ranni. The next phase takes the Tarnished into the Eternal City to acquire a special Fingerslayer Blade.

Step #2: The Cursemark Quest

Talk to Ranni in Ranni’s Rise, then talk to all of her helpers. Iji and Blaidd are especially important. We now need to access Nokron, Eternal City. This area is blocked off, and you may not need to complete the next step to reach it.

Optional: Talk to Blaidd — after he leaves, he’ll reappear at Siofra River, which is accessed through the well in Mistwood.

To unlock Nokron, travel to Redmane Castle in Caelid and defeat Starscourge Radahn. This causes a comet to crash into the field south of Mistwood.
Drop into the crater to enter Nokron, Eternal City. Explore Nokron, defeat the Mimic Tear boss, and reach the massive corpse thrones. Underneath, you’ll find the Fingerslayer Blade.
Return to Ranni and give her the Fingerslayer Blade. She’ll give you the Inverted Statue — use the Inverted Statue at the Carian Study Hall to flip the tower’s gravity. You can now fall “down” to reach the top.
Reach the Divine Tower past the Carian Study Hall to gain the Cursemark of Death.

With the Cursemark of Death, we’ve now completed yet another step in the journey. Finally, we can access the final and most difficult part.

Step #3: The Baleful Shadow Quest

With the Cursemark of Death, return to Ranni’s Rise to find the tower abandoned. Enter the nearby Renna’s Rise tower — it is now unlocked, and there is a portal at the top. The portal takes you to our final path.

Use the portal in Renna’s Rise tower to reach a hidden area of Ainsel River Main.
IMPORTANT: Collect the Miniature Ranni doll just after using the portal. After collecting it, talk to it many times at any site of grace and it will give you a mission — to hunt the Baleful Shadow.
Travel through Ainsel River Main until you reach Nokstella, Eternal City. You’ll encounter the Baleful Shadow right at the end, before reaching the Lake of Rot. Kill the Baleful Shadow invader to gain the Discarded Palace Key.
Use the Discarded Palace Key at the Rennala boss room (Grand Library) of Academy of Raya Lucaria. There’s a chest here that contains the Dark Moon RIng.
With the Dark Moon Ring, travel into the Lake of Rot. Continue to the Grand Cloister, and defeat the legendary creature Astel, Naturalborn of the Void. Access the boss arena by using the coffin on the rotfalls of the Grand Cloister.

Past Astel, you’ll reach the Moonlight Altar area. Continue past the dragon and enter the Cathedral of Manus Celes. Enter the hole in the ground, and you’ll find a dead Rannni doll. If you have the Dark Moon Ring, you’ll use it to bring her back to life.

Talk to Ranni until she leaves. The Dark Moon Greatsword is located right at the spot she leaves.

The Dark Moon Greatsword is an incredibly powerful and high-level legendary magical weapon. Its special ability is the “Moonlight Greatsword” — confirming that this is the genuine article. The name might be different, but this is the same Moonlight Greatsword fans demand.

More Elden Ring guides:

Elden Ring: How To Get The Moonlight Greatsword | Legendary Weapon Guide

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