Elden Ring Reed Great Katana Guide

The Reed Great Katana has quickly become one of the most notable weapons introduced with the Tarnished Edition. Unlike the Great Katana from the Realm of Shadow, this version can be obtained extremely early in a fresh playthrough, requires no boss kills, and comes with innate Bleed buildup.

Its combination of low attribute requirements, long reach, strong stance pressure, and the Overhead Stance skill makes it a versatile choice for both new characters and experienced players. Whether you’re building around Dexterity, Bleed, or a hybrid setup, the Reed Great Katana can remain useful throughout the entire game.

For players looking to optimize their character alongside the new weapon, collecting suitable Elden Ring Items can also help accelerate gearing and progression.

Reed Great Katana Overview

The Reed Great Katana belongs to the Great Katana weapon class and deals both Slash and Pierce damage. Its innate Blood Loss buildup makes it particularly effective against enemies with large HP pools.

The weapon’s 11 Strength / 16 Dexterity requirement is especially significant. It allows many builds to equip the weapon without heavily restructuring their attributes.

Why the Reed Great Katana Is So Effective

Several characteristics work together to make this weapon unusually efficient:

· Low attribute requirements make it accessible early.

· 55 innate Bleed buildup provides reliable Blood Loss procs.

· Slash/Pierce damage gives it useful coverage against different enemy types.

· Great Katana reach allows players to attack safely from a distance.

· Strong crouch and jumping attacks provide excellent pressure.

· Overhead Stance adds substantial stance damage and burst potential.

· 100 Critical gives it respectable damage when performing ripostes.

At high upgrade levels, the weapon can also compete with other Great Katana options when placed on an appropriately optimized Dexterity or Bleed build.

Reed Great Katana Ash of War: Overhead Stance

The Reed Great Katana comes with Overhead Stance as its default Ash of War. The skill is particularly useful for players who want to combine heavy stance damage with aggressive melee pressure.

The animation has a noticeable resemblance to the Ichimonji technique from Sekiro, with separate light and heavy follow-ups.

The light version delivers a powerful overhead strike, while the charged heavy version follows with another slash. Against enemies vulnerable to stance breaks, repeatedly incorporating the skill into your attack rotation can create frequent critical-hit opportunities.

Can You Change the Ash of War?

Yes. The Reed Great Katana is a standard weapon, so its affinity and Ash of War can be customized at a Site of Grace after obtaining the appropriate setup.

Some useful alternatives include:

For players primarily interested in Bleed, Seppuku is particularly useful because it complements the weapon’s existing Blood Loss buildup.

Reed Great Katana vs. Great Katana

The Reed Great Katana naturally invites comparison with the original Great Katana found in the Realm of Shadow.

Interestingly, the Reed Great Katana weighs slightly more despite having a thinner and somewhat shorter profile.

Its biggest advantage is accessibility. A new character can acquire it without progressing through major bosses or entering the Realm of Shadow.

The DLC Great Katana can still perform extremely well with optimized endgame builds, but the Reed version offers a much earlier path to Great Katana gameplay.

Off-Hand Pairing

The Reed Great Katana can also work well alongside an Uchigatana in the off-hand.

This combination provides another source of Bleed buildup while giving the player access to complementary attack patterns. Its relatively manageable weight also makes maintaining a medium equipment load easier than with some heavier weapon combinations.

Reed Great Katana Location: How to Get It

The Reed Great Katana can be found in Caelid, on a corpse positioned on top of the giant white skull near the area around Fort Faroth and the sleeping dragon Greyoll.

The important part is that you don’t need to defeat a boss to reach the weapon. This makes it possible to obtain the Reed Great Katana extremely early in a new playthrough.

Fast Route From a Fresh Character

A practical route is:

1. Leave the starting area and enter Limgrave.

2. Travel toward the Third Church of Marika.

3. Obtain Torrent.

4. Use the nearby spirit springs to travel east toward Caelid.

5. Continue through the red-sky region while avoiding unnecessary combat.

6. Ride toward the Fort Faroth area.

7. Locate the large white skull mound near Greyoll.

8. Climb the mound and search the corpse at the top.

9. Loot the Reed Great Katana.

You don’t need to clear the surrounding enemies. Torrent makes it much easier to simply ride through dangerous areas and focus on reaching the weapon.

An Important DLC Requirement

The weapon is tied to the Tarnished Edition DLC. If the required content isn’t installed, the corpse will not provide the Reed Great Katana.

Bonus Rune Farming Near the Weapon

Greyoll’s location also creates a convenient opportunity to gather a large amount of Elden Ring Runes while you’re picking up the weapon.

Greyoll is unable to directly attack during the encounter, allowing players to attack the dragon repeatedly. Depending on the player’s progression and active bonuses, defeating Greyoll can provide a substantial early-game Rune payout.

This can be particularly useful if you want to immediately invest in:

· Weapon upgrades

· Dexterity

· Vigor

· Endurance

· Smithing materials

· Additional equipment

Best Reed Great Katana Build

The weapon works especially well with two general approaches:

1. Pure Dexterity

2. Dexterity/Bleed hybrid

A Level 150 Bleed-oriented setup provides a useful starting point for players who want to maximize the weapon’s natural Blood Loss potential.

Recommended Level 150 Attributes

The exact distribution can be adjusted according to your secondary weapons, armor requirements, and preferred spells.

Choosing an Affinity

The appropriate affinity depends heavily on your attribute distribution.

Keen is suitable for a Dexterity-focused build where Dexterity is the primary offensive stat.

Blood is useful when maximizing Bleed buildup is the main objective.

Occult becomes more attractive as Arcane investment increases and you want to combine physical damage scaling with Blood Loss potential.

Recommended Talismans

A number of Talismans work particularly well with the Reed Great Katana’s rapid attacks and Bleed mechanics.

Lord of Blood’s Exultation is especially valuable for a dedicated Bleed build because the Reed Great Katana can trigger Blood Loss consistently against susceptible targets.

For an Overhead Stance-centered setup, Shard of Alexander provides another way to increase the skill’s contribution to your overall damage.

Physick and Buff Setup

For players who want to maximize damage during boss encounters, the Flask of Wondrous Physick can be customized around either raw damage or successive attacks.

A potential setup includes:

· Bloodsucking Cracked Tear for increased damage at the cost of HP drain.

· Thorny Cracked Tear for consecutive-attack scaling.

Before a difficult encounter, you can also use buffs such as:

· Golden Vow

· Flame, Grant Me Strength

After preparing your buffs, opening with a charged Overhead Stance attack can establish strong burst damage before transitioning into normal attacks.

Armor Recommendations

Armor selection is relatively flexible because the Reed Great Katana does not require a specialized armor set.

The primary goal should be maintaining a medium equipment load, allowing you to retain the standard medium roll.

The White Reed Set fits naturally with the weapon’s visual theme and Samurai-inspired design. Other medium-weight sets can work equally well if you prioritize defensive stats or poise.

Recommended Setup at a Glance

Is the Reed Great Katana Worth Using?

The Reed Great Katana brings together several characteristics that are normally difficult to find on a single early-game weapon: low requirements, strong reach, innate Bleed, a versatile moveset, and an effective stance-focused Ash of War.

Its biggest selling point isn’t necessarily that it has the highest possible endgame damage in every build. Instead, it’s the fact that players can obtain it so early and continue using it for a huge portion of the game.

For a new character, the weapon provides an efficient path into Dexterity or Bleed gameplay without requiring extensive progression. For veteran players, it offers another way to build around Great Katana attacks without immediately entering the Realm of Shadow.

With the right affinity, Talismans, buffs, and attack rotation, the Reed Great Katana can serve as a reliable primary weapon from the opening stages of a playthrough through the game’s toughest late-game encounters.

The U4GM Team