The White Mask is a near-essential pairing to maximize the damage of any bleed weapon, as is the Lord of Blood's Exultation talisman. The sword is a beast by itself, though: just upgrade the blade, put points into Dex, and learn how to use its L2 attack, which racks up the bleed. You don't need an off-hand weapon to pair with Rivers of Blood, but you certainly can go into combat dual wielding if that's your jam. Talismans: 🥇Lord of Blood's Exultation (briefly increase attack damage by 20% after triggering blood loss), 🥈 Winged Sword Insignia (briefly increase attack damage with successive attacks).Armor: 🎭White Mask (briefly increase attack damage by 10% after triggering blood loss).Off-hand weapon (optional): ⚔ Nagakiba (another katana to amp up bleed), 🧙‍♂️ Dragon Communion Seal (for incantations, but scales well with Arcane).Now what? What gear pairs best with this bloody blade? Here's a straightforward build to maximize your bleed damage. At level +3 its dexterity scaling increases to C, and at +10 its dexterity scaling improves to B.

The Rivers of Blood katana is upgraded with Somber Smithing Stones, meaning you can upgrade it to a final value of +10. Its bloody slashes are ridiculously effective even after FromSoftware's first few Elden Ring patches. This multi-slash attack has great range, does heavy damage and piles on extra helpings of bleed.

What makes Rivers of Blood especially popular is its unique skill Corse Piler, which isn't on any other weapons in the game. The bleed passive means you'll be able to take chunks of health from enemies with successive hits, making some formidable opponents an absolute breeze.

Scaling: Strength E, dexterity D, arcane D.Requires: 12 strength, 19 dexterity, 20 arcane.

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