Elden Ring: How to Get Nagakiba Katana

The Nagakiba is the more genetically blessed sibling of the Uchigatana; it inherited the tall genes in the Elden Ring katana family. For Tarnished who want the short and simple version of obtaining this long katana, there are four methods they can use to obtain it:

Kill Yura upon seeing him along the river north of Murkwater Cave, forfeiting his quest.
Finish Yura's questline which spans up to mid-game (or go back and grab it after reaching the Mountaintops of the Giants).
Ask for it from other players online.

All four methods each have their own pros and cons, and it's up to the Tarnished to determine which serves their urgency and purpose the best. For the uninitiated, Bloody Finger Hunter Yura is an NPC in Elden Ring who plays a small part in one of the endings.

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He's crucial to obtaining the Nagakiba katana and another strong weapon that may or may not become available depending on which among the four methods the players choose. For more details and to better weigh which of the methods yield the best rewards or the least amount of effort, here's a hands-on guide on obtaining the Nagakiba.

Updated September 4th, 2024 by Jacob Buchalter: Even after the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC dropped, most of the 'overpowered' weapons in Elden Ring kept their spots in the rankings. And while the Nagakiba is among them, it's not widely regarded as one of the truly 'broken' weapons in this game. As easy as it is to get the Nagakiba, it truly is a unique and powerful weapon. However, not everyone is aware of how to get this katana nor of what exactly it entails. So with that in mind, let's break down the method of getting the Nagakiba, the questline it's involved in, and all the other rewards you'll be able to get along the way.

Method 1

Killing Yura Immediately

You can obtain the Nagakiba as soon as you're chucked out of the cave into The First Steps Limgrave. All you have to do is walk up north to the river that connects to Agheel Lake. Following this river a bit, you'll eventually come across a dungeon named Murkwater Cave. And, outside this cave, Bloody Finger Nerijus will invade you. From here you'll want to:

Kill Nerijus, with Yura involving himself mid-fight to help you out.
Keep heading north following the river & stumble upon the 'actual' Bloody Finger Hunter Yura.
Attack Yura here if you want the Nagakiba as quickly as possible, but be ready, as Yura is no pushover.

The confrontation with Yura (as well as Nerijust) will be a tough fight, especially if you're under-leveled, but thankfully like most NPC encounters in Elden Ring, both of these fighters can be easily stun-locked or staggered. You'll also probably want to touch the Grace inside Murkwater Cave before starting this fight (which houses the Patches questline) for an easy respawn area in case Yura wipes the floor with you.

Upon killing him, Yura will drop the Nagakiba Katana, a few Runes, and nothing else, so those drooling for his Ronin Armor Set set might want to wait at least a little bit before killing him. To be more precise, if you progress Yura's Questline until you find him at the Zamor Ruins Site of Grace and then kill him, you can get his Armor Set here and find the Nagakiba sitting in his previous location north of Murkwater Cave.

Method 2

Finishing Yura's Questline or Ending the Questline Early and Obtaining the Nagakiba From a Previous Location

WARNING: Do not progress the mainline quest to the Mountaintops of the Giants if you want to do Yura's questline in its entirety. Unlocking the Mountaintops at all will progress Yura's questline past the point of no return, though it doesn't really lock off any of the 'rewards' from this questline.

For those of you who can resist instant gratification and want to reap more rewards later on, talking to Yura instead of killing him when you encounter him north of Murkwater is the better deal overall. Finishing his questline will not only reward the Nagakiba but will also lead to unlocking other weapons and items such as:

Name	Type	Stat Requirements	Scaling	Effect/Description
Reduvia	Weapon/Dagger	Strength (5), Dexterity (13), & Arcane (13)	Strength (E), Dexterity (D), & Arcane (D)	N/A
Eleonora's Poleblade	Weapon/Twinblade	Strength (12), Dexterity (21), & Arcane (19)	Strength (E), Dexterity (D), & Arcane (D)	N/A
Raptor of the Mists	Ash of War	None	None	Duck into a low stance, momentarily vanishing. If an enemy attack connects, avian wings will allow for a quick escape into the air.
Purifying Crystal Tear	Crystal Tear	None	None	Purifies the Lord of Blood's curse in a mixed physick.

The second method for obtaining the Nagakiba involves completing Yura's questline to a certain degree or at least interacting with it in some capacity and then heading to the Mountaintops of the Giants.

However, Yura's questline can be quite long compared to a lot of other NPC questlines and will require you to unlock/reach the Altus Plateau, which is unofficially considered a mid-game area in Elden Ring. Once you encounter Yura at the Second Church of Marika in the Altus Plateau and talk to him, the Nagakiba is yours. To complete this questline in full, you'll need to meet with and help Yura out a number of times, so let's break down exactly what's involved in this questline below:

Task	Location(s)	Explanation
Meet Yura in Limgrave	Murkwater Cave	Find Yura north of Murkwater Cave after beating Bloody Finger Nerijus with Yura's help. If you have already killed Flying Dragon Agheel at the Dragon-Burnt Ruins, Yura also reveals where the Church of Dragon Communion can be found.
Reunite with Yura & help him out in Liurnia of the Lakes	Raya Lucaria Academy	After getting past Raya Lucaria Academy's barrier using the Academy Glintstone Key found just behind Glintstone Dragon Smarag just southwest of the Academy in Liurnia, rest at the Main Academy Gate SoG. Afterward, head just north of the floating blue barrier sign and go to the end of the dilapidated bridge to see Yura's Red Summon sign on the ground. Help Yura defeat this assassin to get the Raptor of the Mists Ash of War. Speak to Yura directly afterward nearby on the same bridge to get a Smithing Stone (5) as a reward.
Encounter him again in Altus Plateau & help him kill Eleonora	Second Church of Marika	Progress until you reach the Altus Plateau and find the Second Church of Marika. Interact with Yura here (who gives you the Nagakiba and then shortly passes away afterward) and avenge him by defeating Violet Blood Finger Eleonora who invades you right as Yura 'dies'.
Kill Yura (now Shabriri) in the Mountaintop of the Giants	Zamor Ruins	Encountering Yura here will reveal that this is actually a man named 'Shabriri' who has taken over Yura's body. You can either kill Shabriri/Yura here to get the Ronin Armor Set or you can do what Shabriri says and interact with the Three-Fingers deep beneath Leyndell. If you choose the second option, you can then return to where Shabriri was found at the Zamor Ruins to see him gone and the Ronin Armor sitting where he was last standing.

For any of you who have already reached the Mountaintops but missed a step in Yura's questline, don't worry, Eleonora will still always invade the first time you go to the Second Church of Marika, and Yura's Nagakiba can be found sitting wherever you last spoke with Yura as well, be that Murkwater Cave or one of his other locations.

Method 3

Asking For The Nagakiba Online

The last method of obtaining the Nagakiba involves very little effort compared to the other methods, and it's asking for it (for free or from a trade) from other players online. It's obviously a pretty 'lame' way of getting this weapon, but not everyone wants to do entire NPC questlines for a singular weapon. Additionally, for those of you on NG+ runs or on new characters, this method is understandably less involved and easier to do. In any case, if someone agrees to the 'trade', players can create a private game and have someone else drop their spare or unwanted Nagakiba katana in-game.

There's no chat function in-game, so you'll need to find a willing trade partner or benefactor using any other method be it the Elden Ring discord, social media, or some other method. As always, the hard part of this method is finding someone willing to part with their Nagakiba as dual-wielding it is quite a popular option for Bleed builds, and many people want two of these katanas.

The Nagakiba Katana

General Overview of the Weapon & Its Stats

The Nagakiba Katana is a great weapon to dual-wield, especially alongside the Uchigatana. It's an absurdly long weapon overall, having more reach than most spears in the game, and it really doesn't take much effort to get. There's a reason this weapon is so popular, after all. In any case, here are the full expanded stats of this katana:

Name	Type	Stat Requirements	Stat Scaling	Weapon Skill	Can the Ash of War be swapped?	Upgrade Materials	Innate Damage Stats	Additional Info
Nagakiba	Katana	Strength (18) & Dexterity (22)	Strength (D) & Dexterity (3)	Unsheathe	Yes	(General) Smithing Stones	Physical (115), Magic (0), Fire (0), Lightning (0), Holy (0), & Critical Damage (100)	Has 45 Innate Bleed