Rivers of Blood vs Moonveil

Head-to-Head Comparison • Elden Ring

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

View Rivers of Blood build →

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

View Moonveil build →

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.