Elden Ring Dark Moon Greatsword Build: Stats, Armor, Talismans, and More

The toughest battles in Elden Ring can lead to the greatest rewards. One such example of this fact is the Dark Moon Greatsword, a weapon found only after following an intricate questline that unlocks an entirely new ending for the game’s story. Variations of this weapon have appeared in numerous FromSoftware titles, and its impressive abilities are sure to continue drawing thousands of players toward it. Like other weapons that require the Intelligence attribute, the players that benefit most from a Dark Moon Greatsword build are spellcasters in need of a great tool for close quarters combat.

Elden Ring Dark Moon Greatsword Build

The Dark Moon Greatsword requires 16 Strength, 11 Dexterity, and 38 Intelligence to use effectively. The scaling on both Strength and Dexterity is very low and relatively similar, while the scaling on Intelligence will mostly be relevant for the weapon’s magic damage. Therefore, players should level up Intelligence and their choice of Strength or Dexterity to increase this weapon’s effectiveness. Surprisingly, Mind might not be relevant for the greatsword itself; the weapon’s Ash of War requires a fair amount of FP to cast, but it simply applies a buff that allows the sword to fire projectiles at no extra cost. Players should only focus on increasing Mind for other sorceries that they might like to use.

The best armor set to use with this weapon is the Spellblade armor set. Each piece from this set will strengthen the Dark Moon Greatsword’s self-applied buff, allowing it to deal more damage with its magic projectiles. If you wish for a more fitting set of armor, the Snow Witch Hat will boost the damage of frost-inflicting sorceries. This does not affect the Dark Moon Greatsword’s projectiles, but it can be used with other sorceries to more easily inflict the frost status. Useful Talismans include Godfrey’s Icon and the Shard of Alexander, both of which will further increase the damage of these projectiles.

Some might argue that the Moonveil katana is a better weapon for spellcasters, as it has less requirements and fires projectiles out much more quickly. Being a katana, however, it does require a bit more from your attributes to match up in terms of damage. The Dark Moon Greatsword also inflicts the frost status as opposed to hemorrhage, meaning it will outperform the katana against powerful foes immune to bleeding. This classic FromSoftware weapon still has a few tricks up its sleeve, and players with the right build can use those tricks to turn this greatsword into one of the best items in the game.

Elden Ring is available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.