This page details how to get the Rivers of Blood Katana from the Bloody Finger Okina invasion. This is one of the most powerful weapons in the game, and it can be acquired fairly easily once you reach the Mountaintops of the Giants region.
Where to Find the Rivers of Blood Katana in Elden Ring¶
The Rivers of Blood Katana is an extremely powerful weapon, but unlike some other powerful weapons (such as Hand of Malenia), you don’t need to go through a hellish legacy dungeon or defeat a particularly powerful boss to acquire it. However, you still need to reach Mountaintops of the Giants, one of Elden Ring’s end game areas, to find the enemy who wields it: Bloody Finger Okina.
(1 of 2) Bloody Finger Okina can be found outside the Church of Repose.
Bloody Finger Okina can be found outside the Church of Repose. (left), The location of the Church of Repose in the Mountaintops of the Giants region. (right)
How to Find Bloody Finger Okina at the Church of Repose¶
To reach the Church of Repose in Mountaintops of the Giants, where the Bloody Finger Okina invader can be found, you’ll first need to get through the Forbidden Lands from Leyndell, Royal Capital. This will bring you to the Grand Lift of Rold, from which you can travel east to the Zamor Ruins. You’ll need to continue east from here until you reach the Giants’ Mountaintop Catacombs, then head over the long, narrow bridge to the north, which leads to Ancient Snow Valley Ruins. Ride northeast from here over the frozen river and the Snow Valley Ruins Overlook, and continue from here to the Freezing Lake Site of Grace, where the Borealis the Freezing Fog great boss resides.
Once you’re on the lake, turn southeast. You can keep riding beyond the boss until you come to the end of the lake and reach snowy ground again. At this point you should turn west towards the Whiteridge Road Site of Grace. Turn southwest from here and ride through the outer encampment of Guardians’ Garrison, being careful to avoid attracting too much attention. As you come to the end of the encampment you’ll see a bridge made from a large chain. Turn south to ride over this bridge and lose the enemies you attracted through the encampment. At the end of the bridge, be sure to turn left immediately to activate the Giant’s Gravepost Site of Grace.
At this point you’re in the right area of Mountaintops of the Giants to reach the Church of Repose. Ride southwest through some frozen giants until you see two creatures fighting. At this point you can ride by them and turn west to see the Church of Repose up the hill. As you approach the church you’ll be invaded by Bloody Finger Okina, who wields the Rivers of Blood Katana.
How to Defeat Bloody Finger Okina¶
The Rivers of Blood Katana inflicts a significant amount of blood loss build up (30) and devastating damage with each hit of its Corpse Piler skill. You’ll know when this skill is being used, as the attack consists of six swift strikes which are executed much faster than others, and which spray more blood with each strike. If you interrupt Okina as they’re using the skill, they may only get 2-3 hits in from it. If you’re caught by all of these attacks it’s essentially a death sentence, especially if you don’t have much of a health pool.
Aside from the Corpse Piler skill, Okina will also use a smaller secondary weapon in the form of a knife, allowing them to dual-wield. They’re highly mobile and will pursue you relentlessly, but most of the attacks can be blocked or parried with relative ease. Alternatively, you can dodge or roll away from them. We’d recommend using a dodge or roll to get away from the Corpse Piler skill attacks, since these can deplete your stamina extremely quickly.
As a melee class you’ll need to become familiar with Okina’s attack combos to ensure that you can counter them effectively, and especially to avoid the deadly Corpse Piler combo. You should be ready to use all of your most powerful skills, since Okina is a bit of a glass cannon and will take a lot of damage if you commit to powerful attacks, like most invaders. However, try not to over commit and then leave yourself vulnerable to a few quick slashes from the deadly katana.
As a ranged class, you’ll generally have a much easier time fighting Okina, especially if you wield powerful magic. You should be able to kite Okina fairly effectively in the surrounding area as you pummel them with spells, arrows, or bolts. Try not to stray too far however, as you could easily reset the fight or bring in unwanted attention from the nearby roaming beasts. The church itself can provide a way to kite Okina around the walls as you replenish stamina, health, or focus points.
(1 of 2) Defeating Bloody Finger Okina will reward you with the Rivers of Blood Katana
Defeating Bloody Finger Okina will reward you with the Rivers of Blood Katana (left), and the Okina Mask. (right)
Rivers of Blood Katana Attribute Requirements¶
Ultimately this isn’t much of a tough fight, and the benefit of the reward far outweighs the cost of the effort to get it, especially if you’re dedicated to a katana build. However, before you make the journey you might want to check that you actually meet the requirements to make the most of the weapon. You’ll need the following attribute levels:
- Strength: 12
- Dexterity: 18
- Intelligence: 0
- Faith: 0
- Arcane: 20
The main attribute that you might be lacking in here if you’ve dedicated your attributions to a melee build is Arcane. You can still wield the Rivers of Blood katana if you have less than 20 Arcane, but it won’t be as effective until you reach at least level 20, so keep this in mind if you decide to go for the weapon.
Rivers of Blood vs Hand of Malenia¶
If you’re interested in the Rivers of Blood katana, you’re probably also interested in the Hand of Malenia katana. The latter is more difficult to obtain, since it requires you to fight through the Miquella’s Haligtree legacy dungeon and defeat Malenia, Blade of Miquella, arguably one of the most difficult bosses in the game. The reward is still great, but it requires a lot more effort than it does to obtain the Rivers of Blood katana, which mostly comes down to a relatively long ride with Torrent.
(1 of 2) Rivers of Blood Stats
Rivers of Blood Stats (left), Hand of Malenia Stats. (right)
That being said, the Hand of Malenia katana is arguably more efficient than the Rivers of Blood katana. This is because it also has an extremely powerful skill associated with it, the Waterfowl Dance, but it costs only 12 FP to use, whereas the Corpse Piler skill on the Rivers of Blood katana costs 17 FP per use. In addition, Waterfowl Dance inflicts more damage per hit than Corpse Piler, and it has a greater area of effect range. This makes it not only more efficient, but also more effective when fighting multiple enemies, especially in a tight space.
However, the Hand of Malenia katana doesn’t render Rivers of Blood entirely useless. Both weapons have decent range (HoM slightly more than RoB), especially when using their respective skills, but you can often inflict more damage in a shorter amount of time with the Rivers of Blood katana. This is mostly because you can execute two quick slashes in less than a second with Corpse Piler, while Waterfowl Dance takes longer to execute and commits you to a more extended animation, leaving you vulnerable to attack as you’re suspended in the air and giving aggressive enemies more than enough time to hit you.
Ultimately, you can find excellent uses for both of these weapons, but the best will depend in part on the particular scenario that you find yourself in. You might want to avoid the Hand of Malenia in fights with the most aggressive enemies, since they’ll have a good chance of interrupting Waterfowl Dance before the skill is fully executed, especially if they’re large beasts as opposed to humanoids. Still, you’ll generally inflict more damage with the Hand of Malenia, so it can be worth the risk if you can get the timing right using the tip above. For this reason, you might find Rivers of Blood easier to master, but the extra damage and efficiency from Hand of Malenia can make it worthwhile.
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