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The Moonlight Greatsword is a staple in the Souls series, and it’s such an iconic weapon that it even has its own iteration in Elden Ring, called the Dark Moon Greatsword. Likewise, it’s a great weapon; in fact, its most glaring flaw is that you don’t acquire it soon enough to savor it in a longer honeymoon phase. Once you obtain it, however, you will want the best Dark Moon Greatsword build, so that a humble Tarnished like you would prove to be worthy of the sword and its previous owner’s attention along with all her four arms– for hugging.
[Updated on June 20, 2024 – Revised the build guide and added more details]
Elden Ring Dark Moon Greatsword Stats & Mechanics
| Damage Type at +10 | Physical – 200 Magic – 240 |
| Scaling at +10 | Strength – D Dexterity – D Intelligence – B |
| Stat Requirements | Strength – 16 Dexterity – 11 Intelligence – 38 |
| Weapon Skill | Moonlight Greatsword (32 FP) |
| Status Effect | Frostbite (55) |
| Weight | 10 |
It goes without saying, you should upgrade the Dark Moon Greatsword right away to +10. It uses Somber Smithing Stones, meaning you can’t change its Weapon Skill to other Ashes of War.
The Dark Moon Greatsword’s Weapon Skill, Moonlight Greatsword, is special and unique to the weapon. It functions like a Resin or weapon buff, which lasts 60 seconds. Upon activation, Moonlight Greatsword will coat the weapon with a magical glow and add the following stats:
- +65 Magic Damage
- +15 Frostbite buildup
Additionally, Moonlight Greatsword will turn the Dark Moon Greatsword into a projectile weapon where you can shoot frost arcs at a short-medium distance via Heavy Attacks. It’s not very effective in PvP since the projectile is slow, but quite powerful in PvE.
Thus, building your character around that Weapon Skill and the Dark Moon Greatsword’s Scaling is a great idea.
Best Character Stats for the Dark Moon Greatsword Build
As expected, this will be an Intelligence and mage build with a battlemage or spellsword twist. It’s not such a bad thing, especially considering the plethora of Sorceries you have access to.
To get the most out of the gear, you first need to have the following stats:
| Vigor | 50 or 60 |
| Mind | 30 or 40 |
| Endurance | Enough to keep Medium Equip Load |
| Strength | Enough to meet the Dark Moon Greatsword’s requirements |
| Dexterity | Dump all the remaining points here |
| Intelligence | 80 |
| Faith | Doesn’t matter |
| Arcane | Doesn’t matter |
Vigor should be your priority here, and you need it at least at 50 for late-game content. Intelligence is a given, as it’s your main damage stat; if you can’t bring it to 80 right away, bring it to at least 40 or 60. Mind depends on how comfortable you want to be when spamming spells.
Dexterity is an interesting stat for Sorcery or spellcaster builds since it actually affects casting speed. That’s why once you’ve hit the stat threshold for your main stats (Vigor, Intelligence, Mind), you should then build up your Dexterity.
Best Gear for the Elden Ring Dark Moon Greatsword Build
Here’s the full grocery list of the gear you need to collect for this build, from armor to Talismans and even spells.
Dark Moon Greatsword is a given, so we’re not going to include that anymore.
Armor & Weapons
| Armor Piece & Weapon | Effect | Location |
| Snow Witch Hat | +10% Cold Sorcery | Chest on the upper floor of Renna’s Rise in Caria Manor, Liurnia after completing Ranni’s questline. |
| Spellblade’s Traveling Attire | +2% Weapon Skill Magic damage | Drops from Sorcerer Rogier after he dies in Roundtable Hold |
| Spellblade’s Gloves | +2% Weapon Skill Magic damage | Drops from Sorcerer Rogier after he dies in Roundtable Hold |
| Spellblade’s Trousers | +2% Weapon Skill Magic damage | Drops from Sorcerer Rogier after he dies in Roundtable Hold |
| Carian Regal Scepter | Boosts Full Moon Sorcery | Enia in Roundtable Hold after defeating Rennala. |
A good alternative to the helm would be the Spellblade’s Pointed Hat (which you’ll get anyway) or Seluvis’ Preceptor’s Big Hat (increases FP at the cost of Stamina).
Talismans
For Talismans, take these:
| Talismans & Physick Flask | Effect | Location |
| Shard of Alexander | +15% Weapon Skill Attack Power | Drops from Iron Fist Alexander in Crumbling Farum Azula at the end of his questline. |
| Magic Scorpion Charm | +12% Magic damage +10% Physical damage taken | Reward from Preceptor Seluvis after you give him the Amber Starlight (Altus Plateau). |
| Radagon Icon | Increases Casting Speed | Chest in Raya Lucaria Academy, in the Courtyard buildings after the Debate Parlor Grace. |
| Godfrey Icon | +15% Attack Power for charged Spells & Skills | Drops from Godefroy the Grafted in Golden Lineage Eergaol, Altus Plateau. |
| Cerulean Hidden Tear | Eliminates FP consumption | Ulcerated Tree Spirit in Minor Erdtree, Mt. Gelmir |
| Magic-Shrouding Cracked Tear | Boosts Magic attacks | Erdtree Avatar in Minor Erdtree, Liurnia (northeast) |
These will help our playstyle, which I’ll explain later. For now, include these Sorceries.
Sorceries
| Sorcery | Usage |
| Glintstone Icecrag | Frostbite buildup |
| Loretta’s Greatbow | Sniping |
| Loretta’s Mastery | Sniping |
| Greatblade Phalanx | Poise damage |
| Night Comet | Sorcery against fast bosses |
| Night Shard | Sorcery against fast bosses |
| Ranni’s Dark Moon | AoE spell |
| Adula’s Moonblade | Heavy Frost attack |
These spells aren’t that importants so don’t fret if you don’t have them. However, I highly recommend Night Comet and Night Shard, especially against bosses like Malenia.
In addition to those two, Loretta’s spells are also great since Moonlight Greatsword’s range is rather short. You can do fine with just those four Sorceries.
Playstyle for the Elden Ring Dark Moon Greatsword Build
Since you’re a battlemage, the playstyle is simpler, and there’s no need for prebuffing or complicated mechanic abuse.
Follow these steps when entering combat for the Elden Ring Dark Moon Greatsword build:
- Drink the Flask of Wondrous Physick (optional).
- Cast Moonlight Greatsword (Dark Moon Greatsword Weapon Skill).
- Use Heavy Attack projectiles against lightly armored enemies.
- Use Charged Heavy Attack Projectiles against heavily armored enemies.
- Once Moonlight Greatsword expires, cast it again. Alternatively, you can fall back to your faster and longer range Sorceries like Night Comet/Shard or Loretta’s Greatbow/Mastery.
- Against fast bosses that like to evade like Malenia, use Night Comet/Shard.
Of course, don’t forget to roll or evade and replenish your FP with the Cerulean Flask.
