Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree – How To Get Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana

The Dragon Hunter’s Great Katana is a new weapon that appears for the first time in Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. After the Great Katana, the Dragon Hunter’s Great Katana is the second weapon of its type that players can find relatively early in the game.

Finding it requires defeating a boss of a mid-game dungeon on the outskirts of the Gravesite Plains, south of Castle Ensis. The guides goes in-depth about the weapon’s strengths, weaknesses, weapon art, and location.

Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana Overview: Stat Requirements, Effects, & Skill

Great katana with spines of gravel stone along its blade, wielded by the Ancient Dragon-Man of the Dragon’s Pit. Has an anti-dragon effect. Formerly a Dragon Communion warrior, the Ancient Dragon-Man was once arbiter of those worthy to devour the Dreaded One.

In Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana is a new weapon of the Great Katana weapon type. It has a powerful weapon skill, a relatively low stat requirement, and the ability to cause blood loss.

With high base damage, both the light and heavy attacks are useful against most enemies, but the weapon’s best feature is its weapon skill. Holding it will allow players to create a forward slash that can do incredible single-target damage from a distance. The weapon deals bonus damage against Dragons, making it especially useful for taking down the Bayle The Dread.

The Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana can be upgraded using Somber Stones to +10, and cannot benefit from spell-based or consumable weapon buffs.

Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana Stat Requirements

How To Get Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana Damage & Scaling

Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana Weapon Skill: Dragonwound Slash

The Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana Ash of War is Dragonwound Slash, which cannot be changed. It has two variants: one where you tap the skill trigger and one where you hold it. Tapping it will make your character lift off the ground, coat the Katana in a red glow, and swing the weapon overhead. Holding it will do exactly the same thing, but your character will stay in the air a little bit longer, and when they swing their sword, a red slash will shoot forward from the glowing Great Katana a short distance (similar to Reduvia and Rivers of Blood).

Both variants of the weapon skill costs 18 FP to cast and cannot be chained into a follow-up attack.

Designed to hunt colossal dragons, this skill cloaks the armament with a jagged gravel-stone aura before performing a high leaping slash. Charge the attack to also fire off the aura.

Where To Find Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana Location

To get the Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana in Shadow of the Erdtree, you must defeat the Ancient Dragon-Man boss in the Dragon’s Pit. Here is how to reach him:

Take the road heading south of Castle Front Site of Grace. Make sure you’re on the road visible on the map and not heading down into the grass fields; that path leads to the Ruined Forge Lava Intake (a dead-end).

Follow the road until you reach the Pillar Path Waypoint Site of Grace. Just southwest, you’ll see another path marked by small headless dragon statues on either side.

If this is your first time here, Igon (NPC) will be lying down prone just a little ways away from the Site of Grace.

Igon’s questline involves fighting Bayle The Dread, a powerful Dragon boss who is weak to the Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana.

Keep following the path with the dragon statues, and you’ll be invaded by the Ancient Dragon-Man. Defeat him and continue onward to reach a small cave entrance leading down to the Dragon’s Pit.

Speed through the dungeon by hugging the wall to the left until you reach the final altar room. There is a black chasm in the middle of the room. Jump inside and don’t worry about fall damage.

Pick up the Smithing Stone [4] from the corpse behind you, and enter the boss room to start a fight against the Ancient Dragon-Man.

How to Beat the Ancient Dragon-Man

Use all your buffs and ready your Spirit Ashes before entering the boss room. The Ancient Dragon-Man has the same moveset as when he invaded you previously in the open-world.

He uses the Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana and can heal himself mid-fight if left to his own devices. All his attacks are telegraphed and relatively easy to dodge, but there are two attacks in particular that players need to pay special attention to.

• Katana’s weapon art: Creates an extremely fast red slash that travels forward a short distance. This move can easily one-shot most players and needs to be dodged. The Katana also causes bleed, but you’re much more likely to die from the pure damage than from blood loss.
• Dragonmaw : The boss summons a large dragon head to chomp down on the player. This attack has a slight delay, and it can be easy to dodge too early. Wait for the dragon’s head to fully rear back before dodging its lunge.

After the Ancient Dragon-Man is defeated, players receive the Dragon-Hunter’s Great Katana as a reward.