“Elden Ring” is a treasure trove of incredible weaponry. Among those weapons, the Rivers of Blood katana stands out as a sought-after option a player can wield. Its tremendous bleeding potential can inflict massive damage on invaders and enemies, especially if you can take advantage of its special skills. And on top of those abilities, it is also strikingly beautiful. Read on to learn everything you need to know about this weapon.
What Is Rivers Of Blood, Basically?
Stats And Requirements
Its name is fearsome in itself. “Rivers of blood” – you wouldn’t want to find yourself in a river of blood, would you?
Well, Rivers of Blood is a katana that can bring massive blood buildup. Before you can wield it, the weapon requires 12 Strength, 18 Dexterity, and 20 Arcane. Its special skill, Corpse Piler, isn’t found in any other weapon. This unleashes a swirl of bloody attacks that will surely devastate your enemies.
Specifically, Rivers of Blood is an uchigatana, a Japanese sword with a long and curved blade. You’ve learned about what it can do and understanding those, this is definitely an excellent weapon to wield. Plus, it is even longer-ranged than most other katanas.
Very unique, Rivers of Blood is a fantastic weapon to take with you until you meet the final boss of “Elden Ring.”
Playstyle
The Rivers of Blood katana is designed for an aggressive and a bleed-centric playstyle. It works best in close-quarters battles, inflicting rapid strikes at successive rates that swiftly build up your enemies’ bleed meter.
Maximize this potential by investing in Arcane and Dexterity stats, then equipping the armor that boosts its bleed resistance and stamina. The best complements for this are stamina recovery, health generation, and attack power-enhancing talismans. They all ensure consistent offensive pressure and survivability in prolonged combats. Furthermore, this build thrives on keeping relentless aggression that can overwhelm opponents with truly devastating bleed effects.
Equipment
In order to maximize the potential of the Rivers of Blood katana, it must be complemented with particular equipment. Let’s review. The key stats for this build are Arcane and Dexterity, enhancing its bleed damage and overall effectiveness. Thus, the recommended armor must focus on striking a balance between protection and movement, ensuring you can dodge and strike at their peak.
The White Mask should be your notable helm choice. Why? It increases attack power when blood loss is inflicted, harmonizing well with the bleed effect of the weapon.
On the other hand, consider these for talismans:
- Lord of Blood’s Exultation: This can accelerate attack power when near bleeding your foes, amplifying the bleed effects of the katana.
- Radagon’s Scarseal or Radagon’s Soreseal: Meanwhile, this increases many attributes, which include Dexterity, at the cost of slightly higher damage taken.
- Erdtree’s Favor: This improves stamina, health, and equip load, offering you a well-rounded boost needed for stamina management and survivability.
- Carian Filigreed Crest: Meanwhile, this reduces the Focus Points cost of weapon skills, allowing more frequent use of the katana’s special skill.
Using these elements in the right combination, this build will excel in delivering rapid and high-damage attacks that will squeeze out blood from your enemies. Don’t forget to use complementary equipment to boost its attacking power, and sustain your health and stamina. This setup thus creates a well-balanced and aggressive playstyle that capitalizes on the overwhelming bleed effects of the katana for its opponents.
Where To Find And How To Get This
But, before you can use this katana, you must obtain it. You can find Rivers of Blood at the Mountaintops of the Giants, a late-game area. As soon as you’ve gained access to this biome via the main questline, you will find the Church of Repose southeast of your map. But, as you approach this charge, Bloody Finger Okina, a non-player character, will invade you. He wields the Rivers of Blood katana. It’s his, so if you want it, you must take it from him. You want it? He got it. Sounds like an Ariana Grande song, right?
Fighting Bloody Finger Okina is not going to be easy, unfortunately. His aggressiveness can inflict a lot of blood loss and pretty major damage. He’s not called such for nothing, right?
Grab the opportunity to punish him when he attempts to heal and keep your counter-aggression going, as this will benefit you.
Tips To Defeat Okina
Here are some tips to lead Okina to his downfall.
1. Move With Jump Attacks, They Can Do Wonders
As with battling other invader bosses in the game, jump attacks are capable of dealing damage without risking it all. These quick attacks can stagger Okina and keep him at a distance when you’re all set to make him fall.
2. Ranged Skills And Sorceriers Will Also Help
Note that Okina is extremely dangerous at the melee range. So, if you are not very confident with your dodging abilities, be content with ranged skills such as Moonveil’s Transient Moonlight or Sorceries such as Glintblade Phalanx.
3. Dodge The Katana’s Corpse Piler
At this point, you will preview the katana’s Corpse Piler ability, which you can use once you’ve owned the katana. But this time, you must first work hard to get it. If Okina makes judicial utilization of Corpse Piler, simply dodge it diagonically backward. Repeat the process, staying clear of Okina’s follow-up attacks. Your hard work will pay off.
4. Accelerate Your Robustness Stat
Okina will likely do at least one or two hits on you. With Rivers of Blood still in his hands, he can use it at full scale like there’s no tomorrow. The solution: use spells, consumables, and equipment that can boost your Robustness so you don’t lose too much blood quickly.
Then, you’ll be able to defeat Okina. Once defeated, you will receive the Okina Mask and the ultimate prize, the Rivers of Blood katana. With it, you can bring your A-game.
