Elden Ring: The Best Starter Build Guide For Shadow Of The Erdtree DLC - Moonlight Katana Samurai Build

If you want to become the most powerful Samurai in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, then do not miss this guide.

Here we will bring you Moonlight Katana Samurai Build. We will cover its play style, gear to use, best Talismans for this build, tips for using the game, and more. With this guide, you will eventually master the great power of Moonlight and have fun in the new DLC.

Gameplay

With Transient Moonlight, Moonlight Samurai can deal tremendous damage from both melee and ranged. The skill of releasing shockwaves, which is great for ranged attacks, however, in melee range you will deal even more damage because Katana will also hit the enemy.

Moonlight Samurai has high Intelligence and Dexterity, allowing the user to perform all the most powerful magic to their liking. With this build, you will cast a lot of Stance damage and tear bosses to pieces with ease.

Gear

Now that the basic play style is out of the way, let’s move on to the best weapons for Moonlight Samurai.

Main Weapon: Moonveil Katana

Let’s start with the main weapon for Moonlight Samurai, which is without a doubt Moonveil Katana. To use it effectively, the user needs 12 Strength, 18 Dexterity, and 23 Intelligence, and it scales primarily with Intelligence and Dexterity.

But its best feature is the aforementioned Transient Moonlight skill, which gives the user versatility in combat. This weapon can deal with regular Unsheathe attacks with a special arching shockwave when L2+R1 is pressed.

R1 Transient Moonlight is often used to deal with large groups of enemies, while pressing L2+R2 allows for an overhead Unsheathe attack with a vertical projectile, similar to Ash of War: Unsheathe. This will become your go-to skill, especially when dealing with bosses. Many times, enemies’ stances will be broken because of the massive Stance damage of this skill.

Secondary Weapon: Carian Glintblade Staff

Next, I decided to go with Carian Glintblade Staff as a secondary weapon, since this build is centered on Intelligence, anyway. This Staff requires 6 Strength, 22 Intelligence, and 12 Dexterity to use effectively.

I chose this Staff because it boosts the strength of Glintblade Sorceries by 15%, and we’ll be using either Glintblade or Greatblade Phalanx Sorceries in this build.

Of course, if you have more Elden Ring Runes budget, you can also use Azur’s Glintstone Staff, which will give you more casting time.

Sorceries

Speaking of Sorceries, I chose Phalanx Sorceries for more Stance damage, and it also matches up well with Moonlight Sumarai.

Glintblade Phalanx Or Greatblade Phalanx

Also, I recommend using either Glintblade Phalanx or Greatblade Phalanx as a secondary damage source. Both of these Sorcery will help you deal extra raw and Stance damage, which will complement your Moonveil Katana while not disrupting your attack rotation too much.

Glintblade Phalanx only costs 18 FP to use, while Greatblade costs 30 FP, so this is something you’ll want to consider as well. You can use either one, it all depends on your preference. But personally, I use Glintblade Phalanx for lower FP costs, and I tend to focus on using Moonveil instead of casting Glintblade Phalanx.

Terra Magica

The next Sorcery on the list is Terra Magica, which casts a magic puddle or a sigil that increases magic damage by 35% for 30 seconds. All of our damage sources are magic based, so this will improve the overall damage of the build.

Talismans

Next, let’s get into the best Talismans for this build.

Shard Of Alexander

The first Talisman on the list is our Shard of Alexander. This provides a 15% increase in skill damage, especially when performing a Transient Moonlight.

Magic Scorpion Charm

Next up is Magic Scorpion Charm. Since we’re dealing primarily magic damage with this build, the 12% extra magic damage this amulet provides will be beneficial in exchange for the 10% increase in physical damage taken.

Green Turtle Talisman

The next Talisman on the list is Green Turtle Talisman, which increases Stamina recovery and is one of the go-to Talismans I use because my gameplay and strategy always revolves around ultra-aggressive gameplay and strategy, so most of the time, my Stamina is running low. So, the faster my Stamina recovers, the more damage I can do to the enemy.

Carian Filigreed Crest

Finally, for general use, I recommend Carian Filigreed Crest. This Talisman reduces FP cost of skills by 25%, allowing you to deal more Transient Moonlights before popping a Cerulean Tear.

Stats

Let’s move on to Moonlight Samurai’s stats.

Starting with Vigor, it has 40 points assigned to it. If you feel like you need more HP to survive, feel free to bump it up to 45-50 since we’ll be using Godrick’s Great Rune later on, anyway. And since I’m used to Glass Cannon builds, I don’t usually invest a lot of points in Vigor.

Next up is Mind, which has 30 points assigned to it since this is a build that requires FP. Constantly using Transient Moonlight while setting up buffs will deplete your FP, so I highly recommend having at least 30 points in Mind.

Moving on to Endurance, it has 40 points assigned to it since the intended gameplay of Moonveil Samurai is super aggressive. You’ll be spending most of your time face-to-face with bosses, or pulling out Transient Moonlight from a distance.

Personally, I deplete Endurance faster than anything when optimizing for combat, so I highly recommend having at least 40 points in Endurance. I consider Endurance to be the offensive stat in any Souls game I play, because the more stamina you have, the more damage you can do.

Next Strength is at least 18, so you will use Nagakiba. Also, I recommend at least Dexterity at 60 and Mind at 75, so you can maximize the damage of Moonveil Katana and Glintblade Phalanx or any magic you want to use later.

For Faith and Arcane, 0 points have been assigned to them since we don’t need these stats in this build.

How To Optimize This Build?

Now that stats are out of the way, let’s move on to Moonlight Samurai gameplay tips and optimization techniques. Learn 5 useful tips that will help you master this build.

Utilizing Wakizashi

The first tip I have for you is to prepare Wakizashi and fuse it with Ash of War: Golden Vow. Having the ability to cast Golden Vow will increase your damage by 11.5% and increase damage negation by 7.5% across the board.

Optimize Your Opener

The second tip on the list is to optimize your Opener. At the start of a fight, I usually cast Flask of Wondrous Physick first, get more magic and stance, then cast Golden Vow, and have my Glintblade Phalanx ready. Finally, rush the boss and start casting Transient Moonlight.

During this time, try to deal as many attacks as you can, as the stance buff from physics doesn’t last. If you manage to fight off the boss, you will have a huge upper hand.

Use Terra Magica Effectively

The third tip on the list is to make sure you cast Terra Magica and stand on Sigil first, then use Transient Moonlight in succession. You can also do this at the melee range to deal as much damage as possible.

Prepare A Katana

We never know how many magic-resistant enemies DLC will throw at us, so preparing at least another Katana, such as Nagakiba, will still give you an advantage.

Customize The Build

The last tip on the list is to customize the build to your liking. As mentioned before, this build has access to the most powerful Sorceries in the game, so if you don’t like my personal setup, feel free to get creative.

You can be a full mage with this build, as you will have high Dexterity anyway, so your cast times will be much faster. Utilizing spells such as Comet Azur or other destruction spells in the game may give you more options or variety in combat. Consider changing Staff to Azur’s Glintstone Staff if you choose to go this route.

That’s it for the complete guide to building this Moonlight Katana Samurai Build. Hopefully, it helps you get off to a better start as you enter Shadow of the Erdtree!