Katana question

[Charlemagne]

I worked and labored down in Blight Town to finally get the famous Iaito. How many times did I try that jump? So, am I missing something but what is good about katanas? Not very impressive so far. "It can be unsheathed real fast"... But weapons are never sheathed in this game. I love the looks though, and I do have the Dex to use it. So can someone suggest to me how should I use it and what it's good for?

[dcy665]

Like the rest of the Katanas in the game, it is good at critical hits. So, its stats read lower than it delivers. Essentially it kills in fewer strokes (if you hit). Also, you don't have to be right next to anything to hit it, but you will be closer once you do. So be careful.

Just thought of this, do not use them with a fat rolling tank. I strongly suspect that is a bad combo. Hopefully others will offer more detailed info on that.

I like them, because they are fun. Not because they are the best weapon ever. My favorite is the Gargoyle Halberd at +15, with fire, and enchanted versions as optional gear.

[Tiger Born]

Bleed damage and fast attacks, other then that its down to personal preference. If I where you i'd try and get a refund of that time you spent trying to get that sword and instead Join the forest hunters then talk to Shiva and get the Uchigatana instead, does the same minus the strong attack, takes 6 less dex to use and still does more damage then the Iaito in every weapon upgrade path.

[Hydrasent]

The iatio is one of my favorite weapons in the game, and its great for dexterity builds. Fast attacks, bleed, good moveset. It depends on your build though, its best for full dex builds. The unsheathing this is just a reference to its moveset because its heavy attacks are a horizontal dash slash where you pull it out of your sheath.

[Yagger]

washing pole is where its at for katanas

[Preyhamster]

Originally posted by Yagger:

washing pole is where its at for katanas

i too enjoy the repairing pole.

in all seriousness though, dex weapons are generally about fast attacks with bleed damage tacked on, and past a certain point you'll only be making use of the bleeding on enemies with enough hp to actually stack the bleed effect onto, like bosses. This can make some boss fights hilarious because of how much bleed damage you can end up doing.

If you want more overall DAMAGE while sticking with a dex based build then you want the balder side sword as opposed to the katanas. in fact its probably the best overall straight sword in the game since it has a very good moveset and *incredible* damage potential when paired with buffs like crystal magic weapon.

the downside is that the balder side sword has a 1% drop rate from balder knights, of which there are like 4 of in undead parish near the first bell. be prepared to work for it if you want it.

[Charlemagne]

Yeah I've killed a lot of Balders and never seen one of those.
Fighting with the katana is lots of fun, especially garbed in the shadow suit with light weight and looking like a ninja. However, even killing a hollow soldier takes two or three hits, while it only takes one swoop of my Dark Knight sword, halberd or zweihander. I suppose it makes for another style of play.

[CB]

the big issue with the iaito is that people try to use the R2 and they become predictable. it's kinda like how everyone who uses a balder side sword really wants to do the poke. in its most transparent form, tricked-into-R2 looks like someone zwei-fishing for pancakes.

it's like baseball, kinda. you're a batter and you're against this guy who has a good curveball. the rest of his stuff is just okay. you sit on the curveball because you know it's coming.

but what if that pitcher is like late 90s pedro martinez. they can land everything and all of it is just stupid good. and he's got his 'it's the middle of august' death stare going. i forget where i was going with this and i'm gonna go watch some old sox highlights i think.

it also pisses me off that this one time this guy was doing a zenitsu cosplay and he was super aggressive and his iaito wasn't even infused. way to screw literally everything up.

[Yagger]

Originally posted by Preyhamster:

Originally posted by Yagger:

washing pole is where its at for katanas

i too enjoy the repairing pole.

in all seriousness though, dex weapons are generally about fast attacks with bleed damage tacked on, and past a certain point you'll only be making use of the bleeding on enemies with enough hp to actually stack the bleed effect onto, like bosses. This can make some boss fights hilarious because of how much bleed damage you can end up doing.

If you want more overall DAMAGE while sticking with a dex based build then you want the balder side sword as opposed to the katanas. in fact its probably the best overall straight sword in the game since it has a very good moveset and *incredible* damage potential when paired with buffs like crystal magic weapon.

the downside is that the balder side sword has a 1% drop rate from balder knights, of which there are like 4 of in undead parish near the first bell. be prepared to work for it if you want it.

nah, the Obobobo Falchion would be the better choice

[32x32 Riker jpeg]

if you dumped all your points into dex you prolly want something like the balder sword or maybe even a rapier for your pve shenanigans.

if you're going for more of a tanky, slow build something like an axe or a hammer is prolly a better idea.

if you using a shield at all I might suggest a spear because you can actually stab while guarding with spears and rapiers.

[Hero_Weasel]

I made a character to get all the remaining achievements on not to long ago. Got Knights Honor on Feb. 1st as I recall. That character used a katana for most of the first playthrough; the Uchigatana specifically. The character was an INT focused build, but that doesnt take off too fast imo. Its faster and safer to use a good melee weapon for many enemies. I picked the Uchigatana with lightening upgrade cause I wanted minimum stats and decent damage. Easy to get too, kill the male undead merchant (sorry guy, u can live in the newgame +).

With only a 14 str, and 14 dex needed, and 225 physical and 225 lightning damage, it served its purpose well. It carried me through the first play through till my sorceries were OP and served as an excellent backup when I was out. With its low stamina drain on attacks, fast swings, and solid damage output (plus bleed) on non scaling upgrades (like lightning); katanas are a reliable way to do damage imo. The weight isnt too high either, meaning fast rolls can be maintained.

I did eventually switch over to a Gargoyle's Halberd +15 middle of newgame +, and into newgame ++ as my equipment load increased. The extra range was nice and crystal magic weapon on that thing was too good with the moveset + range. By this point tho I was 2 or 3 shotting early bosses with crystal versions of sorceries from a safe distance. For example I could use 3 Crystal Soul Spears to kill a King in the Four Kings boss fight in newgame+. Just isnt a reason to use a melee weapon as much by that point.

All that said, katanas arent overpowered in my opinion, but the moveset may appeal to some people. I prefer the greatswords, but didnt want to invest that much strength to 1-hand on my INT build character (also equip load considerations). Other weapons movesets may appeal to others. Some people like dual-wielding for versatility etc. I think katanas have a use, and like most weapons a lot of it comes down to what you like, and how it feels.

[Yagger]

Originally posted by 32x32 Riker jpeg:

if you dumped all your points into dex you prolly want something like the balder sword or maybe even a rapier for your pve shenanigans.

if you're going for more of a tanky, slow build something like an axe or a hammer is prolly a better idea.

if you using a shield at all I might suggest a spear because you can actually stab while guarding with spears and rapiers.

you're missing out on the best dex weapon the falchion

[Crypto Gamer]

I used the Uchi a lot very good even in NG+ as bleed dmg is % based,some bosses also bleed very easily like Stray demon albeit bosses seem to take less % bleed dmg.
I also agree katanas are not overpowered,they are there for some more vareity.
There are more dps oriented dex weapons like painting guard sword which has almost no reach though.

[♿ ♿ TiTo♿ ♿]

so good this chat