‘Elden Ring’: How To Get The Rivers Of Blood Katana

Any Arcane-Bleed build in “Elden Ring” requires a weapon that can inflict bleed damage at a decent degree. There are plenty of options out there, but there is one katana that is both ridiculously strong and very fun to use.

The Rivers of Blood may feel like just another katana at first. It shares the same moveset as the Uchigatana and the rest of its kind, but it has the unique Corpse Piler Ash of War that deals extreme amounts of hemorrhaging across multiple hits in a short span of time.

High bleed damage paired with a fast attack speed can result in frequent Blood Loss procs that can shred “Elden Ring” bosses in no time. This makes the Rivers of Blood a must-have boss-slayer for bleed-focused builds, but actually getting the weapon is going to be a problem.

To get this sword, “Elden Ring” players need to make significant progress in the story. The Rivers of Blood can be found roughly 60-70% into the main questline at the Church of Repose, which can be found in the Mountaintops of the Giants.

The Rivers of Blood blade's Corpse Piler skill - Elden Ring

The Rivers of Blood blade's Corpse Piler skill Photo: Elden Ring

Players need to be strong enough to beat Shardbearer Morgott, the Omen King, at Leyndell to unlock the lift leading to the mountain. It’s highly advised that players at least beat Shardbearer Radahn at Caelid first before even attempting Morgott.

Then, players need to traverse the snowy mountain and reach the Church of Repose at the southern quadrant. Ride past Castle Sol and follow the mountain ridge leading to the Guardian’s Garrison. Afterward, cross the chasm via the large chain at the left side of the garrison, then follow the path straight to the church.

Here, players will need to fight the Okina, the sword’s owner. He fights like any other red phantom NPC, but he does use Corpse Piler, which makes him a larger threat than the others. Defeat him to get the Rivers of Blood.

The sword is excellent against anything with a high health pool, but it’s poor against weak targets due to its lack of stat scaling. There’s been much conversation within the “Elden Ring” community about Arcane weapons and their seemingly-bugged scaling values, and developer FromSoftware has yet to confirm whether or not this is a bug or an intended feature.