Elden Ring is globally lauded for the diverse range of weapons, armor, and magic options it lays out in front of players. FromSoftware really outdid itself this time, and we love it! There are hundreds of weapons to choose from, divided into their own categories.
The Dark Moon Greatsword is a popular weapon due to its appearance in all FromSoftware games in one way or another. That raises the question: Is the Dark Moon Greatsword good in Elden Ring? Let us take a look!
The Dark Moon Greatsword is not that great in Elden Ring, unfortunately. It is by no means a bad weapon, but it is nothing to write home about. From the damage to the shaky Weapon Skill, it does not win enough points to qualify as a great weapon or even a first choice. However, it is a well-rounded and fun weapon that can definitely be mained.
Curious to know more? We bet! Claiming a weapon is not worth the hype is a tall statement, so we suggest you keep reading to find out how we reached our verdict. Keep in mind this is just our personal view of the Dark Moon Greatsword. Without further ado, let us get to the question at hand: Is the Dark Moon Greatsword good in Elden Ring?
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Is The Dark Moon Greatsword Good?
Is the Dark Moon Greatsword good in Elden Ring? The Dark Moon Greatsword is an iconic weapon that has appeared in every FromSoftware game, even before Elden Ring. One would expect that a weapon such as this one would be a straight winner, right? Sadly, that is little more than wishful thinking. Let us see how.
Dark Moon Greatsword
- Physical Attack: 82
- Weight: 10.0
- Scaling: STR – -D, DEX – D, INT – C
- Required: 16 STR, 11 DEX, 38 INT
- Description: A Moon Greatsword, bestowed by a Carian queen upon her spouse to honor long-standing tradition.
One of the legendary armaments.
Ranni’s sigil is a full moon, cold and leaden, and this sword is but a beam of its light.
The Dark Moon Greatsword is a Greatsword in Elden Ring that scales primarily with Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence. It is found below the Cathedral of Manus Celes. The Dark Moon Greatsword holds significance to Elden Ring’s story and Ranni’s Questline in general. Let us see if it is good.
Stats
Speaking strictly from a point of view of stats, the Dark Moon Greatsword is… decent? It does not do too much physical damage and is mainly tailored toward players who want to use it for the Magic damage it offers (98).
It is not bad at all and actually scales really well with Intelligence if you invested that many points in it, to begin with. This is a good choice for Intelligence hybrid builds in Elden Ring.
Skills and Affinities
The Weapon Skill that comes with the Dark Moon Greatsword is the Moonlight Greatsword. This Unique Weapon Skill costs 32 FP to use. The Moonlight Greatsword skill is a buff that adds Magic and Frost damage to the Dark Moon Greatsword.
It offers a ranged attack upon charging that is good for staggering enemies from a distance and deals Magic damage, scaling with Intelligence. The Skill itself is quite good, but the problem arises from the poor aiming and firing output, which may lead to many missed shoots, even after locking on to an enemy.
Moreover, the Dark Moon Greatsword has a passive Fost buildup skill that is quite decent if we say so ourselves. Frost buildup can be useful in a handful of situations, although there are other weapons with better Frost buildup.
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Comparison
Now, for the fun part. We have deduced that the Dark Moon Greatsword holds up quite decently on its own, but what about when we compare it to other weapons of the same level/type?
The answer to that is quite disappointing. The Dark Moon Greatsword is not the hardest hitter, nor does it have too many redeeming factors to be considered above a weapon like say, the Sword of Night and Flame or something like the Golden Order Greatsword.
The Dark Moon Greatsword feels like a weapon that works well for specific areas or just a general solid weapon, instead of being catered towards a certain build.
Difficulty To Obtain
You need to finish Ranni’s entire quest in order to get your hands on the Dark Moon Greatsword. That means going head to head with some of the toughest bosses Elden Ring has to offer and pushing through several tedious tasks. While the questline in itself is engaging, pushing this hard just for the weapon seems a bit overkill.
Only after players present Ranni with the Dark Moon Ring can they obtain the Dark Moon Greatsword below the Cathedral of Manus Celes.
Moveset and Effectiveness
The Dark Moon Greatsword has a pretty standard and unremarkable moveset. The only noticeable thing to state is the charged R2 attack when the weapon is buffed. This makes the Dark Moon Greatsword fire Magic projectiles.
Some might argue that having an unremarkable moveset works in the Dark Moon Greatsword’s favor. After all, not everything needs to be flashy to be good, and that is absolutely true. However, for a weapon hyped up this much, we expected a little pizzazz.
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Verdict
After considering all of the aforementioned points, we can safely say that the Dark Moon Greatsword is NOT that good of a weapon. It is not bad, but it is highly mediocre when compared to other names frequently mentioned in the same league.
Everything from the distributed scaling to the substandard damage output felt a little lackluster which soiled our experience wielding the Dark Moon Greatsword.
On the contrary, we would like to state that the weapon comes with a great default Weapon Skill, unique to the Dark Moon Greatsword. Moreover, it is a solid choice for players who want something simple to play around with. This is also a very good choice if you are an Intelligence or Intelligence hybrid build player, which significantly improves the weapon’s quality.
Conclusion
That wraps up our guide where we answered the controversial question: Is the Dark Moon Greatsword good in Elden Ring? While we personally hold the opinion that there are better options, the charm of Elden Ring is that it clicks differently for everyone. Enjoy wielding the Dark Moon Greatsword if that is what makes you happy!
We hope this guide was objective and helpful to you. Let us know by leaving a comment below. Your feedback is much appreciated. Good luck, Tarnished!
