How to get Rakshasa's Great Katana in Shadow of the Erdtree

Shadow of the Erdtree Rakshasa's Great Katana — (Image credit: Bandai Namco)

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Rakshasa's Great Katana location
How to beat Rakshasa

Rakshasa's Great Katana in Shadow of the Erdtree is arguably one of the best weapons in the expansion at time of writing, a Great Katana that inflicts heavy bleed damage and works in huge, sweeping strikes that are difficult for foes to avoid. Not only that, but killing the boss Rakshasa who owns the Katana, also gets you her armor set - another high contender for some of the best gear out there. If that appeals to you, here's how to get Rakshasa's Great Katana in Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree, and her bloody armor set.

Rakshasa's Great Katana location in Shadow of the Erdtree

Rakshasa's Great Katana is only found in the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, not the core game, as a drop from the optional boss Rakshasa, in the Eastern Nameless Mausoleum.

To find the Mausoleum, do the following:

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From the Shadow Keep, head to the main battlements covered in burning boats, then use the eastern ladder to descend to the moat.
Follow the path into a little room with a painting, then strike the empty section of wall to reveal it as an illusion.
Go through the illusory door and ride the coffin inside to the Ruins of Unte.
Follow the river downstream until you reach the Recluses' River Downstream Site of Grace.

Jump down the stone platforms from there besides the waterfall, but jump into the cave to the North.
Follow the cave around to the East to find the Eastern Nameless Mausoleum past some slimes.
Inside the Mausoleum, you'll find the boss Rakshasa. Kill her to get her Great Katana.

How to beat the Rakshasa boss fight

Rakshasa is a human boss who's fairly challenging, but not impossible, probably a little less tough than the Shadow of the Erdtree Blackgaol Knight boss fight at the beginning of the game. Here's some tips:

Rakshasa uses wide, sweeping attacks and jumps that are highly telegraphed, but have good reach. Stay agile and back away in these moments.
All her attacks do bleed damage, so prepare anti-bleed equipment accordingly.
Her massively telegraphed attacks make her very easy to Parry.
At half health, she'll try to heal, but you can interrupt her if you're fast - and you'll want to be.

Defeat Rakshasa, and you'll get not just her Great Katana, but her armor set too, which is arguably one of the best Shadow of the Erdtree armor sets, at least for glass cannon builds.

The Katana is the main thing though - a two-handed weapon with good Dex Scaling, Bleed Effects, and the ability to reduce stagger from counterattacks at the cost of taking more damage. Many have latched onto it as one of the DLC's best weapons, and considering that a lot of the Shadow of the Erdtree main bosses seem to be weak to Bleed damage, you can see why.

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Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and Very Tired Man with a BA from Brunel University, a Masters from Sussex University and a decade working in games journalism, often focused on guides coverage but also in reviews, features and news. His love of games is strongest when it comes to groundbreaking narratives like Disco Elysium, UnderTale and Baldur's Gate 3, as well as innovative or refined gameplay experiences like XCOM, Sifu, Arkham Asylum or Slay the Spire. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at Eurogamer, Gfinity, USgamer, SFX Magazine, RPS, Dicebreaker, VG247, and more.