Rivers of Blood and Moonveil are the two most-used weapons in Elden Ring. Both are katanas with devastating weapon skills. One relies on bleed; the other on magic damage. This is the comparison everyone's been waiting for.
Rivers of Blood
Bleed damage and PvE comfort
Strengths
- Corpse Piler has better range than Transient Moonlight
- Bleed deals percentage HP damage on bosses
- White Mask + Lord of Blood synergy
- Multi-hit skill builds bleed rapidly
- Strong in both PvE and PvP
Weaknesses
- Bleed-immune enemies are a hard counter
- Nerfed in 1.06
- Requires Arcane investment
- More predictable in PvP
- Only available late game
VS
Moonveil
Versatility and hybrid playstyle
Strengths
- Magic damage works on everything (no immunities)
- Full sorcery toolkit backup
- Transient Moonlight staggers reliably
- Available early from Gael Tunnel
- Intelligence scaling benefits both weapon and spells
Weaknesses
- Lower total DPS than Rivers in bleed scenarios
- Stagger nerfed in 1.06
- Requires staff for full potential
- No status effect backup damage
- Less synergy gear
Verdict
Rivers of Blood does more damage against bleed-vulnerable targets. Moonveil is more versatile and never useless. Choose Rivers if you want maximum power against most content. Choose Moonveil if you want a weapon that handles everything including bleed-immune enemies.
