Where to get the Dark Moon Greatsword in Elden Ring

Elden Ring boasts a lot of varied weapons for Tarnished to experiment with. There’s swords, katanas, axes, bows, spears, hammers, and more to choose from. Among them all, though, are nine Legendary Armaments for achievement hunters to seek out. This includes the Dark Moon Greatsword.

Given to you as a part of Ranni’s seemingly never-ending questline in Elden Ring, the Dark Moon Greatsword is a heavy-hitting Intelligence weapon that is capable of dealing Frostbite damage to opponents, too. In this guide, we explain exactly where to get the Dark Moon Greatsword in Elden Ring.

Where to get the Dark Moon Greatsword in Elden Ring

The Dark Moon Greatsword is acquired as part of Ranni’s quest in Elden Ring, and unfortunately, you can only get your hands on it during the quest’s final few moments.

Now, if you want a super in-depth run-down of Ranni’s quest and all the loot you can acquire during it, I recommend following our guide to Ranni’s questline. As you reach the end of the guide - and the quest - you’ll find yourself becoming the new owner of the Dark Moon Greatsword.

Alternatively, if this isn’t your first rodeo and you're already familiar with Ranni’s questline, we’ve briefly outlined the steps you need to take to reach the Dark Moon Greatsword in Elden Ring below.

• First things first, you’ll want to have beaten Loretta at Caria Manor, then speak to Ranni atop Ranni’s Rise and choose to be accepted into her service. If Ranni is not here, you must beat Radahn and then she will return.
• After this, speak to the three spirits in Ranni’s Rise, then speak to Ranni again.
• Make your way to Siofra River Well and head underground. Track down Blaidd and speak with him here (provided you have not already beaten Radahn).
• Return to Ranni’s Rise, but this time, go to the neighboring tower, Seluvis’ Rise. Speak with him until he gives you the Letter of Introduction.
• Take this letter to Sellen at Waypoint Ruins and exhaust their dialogue.
• Speak with Blaidd in Siofra River once more, and then finally go and beat Radahn at Redmane Castle. You can also skip many of the prior steps by simply beating Radahn early.
• After the fight, stars will fall and reveal a passage to the underground city of Nokron. You’ll need to go here to get the Finger Slayer Blade, and then give the blade to Ranni at Ranni’s Rise.
• Now, go into Renna’s Rise and through the waygate at the top of the tower. You’ll wind up in Ainsel River.
• Collect the Miniature Ranni Doll from the coffin in front of you, then rest at a Site of Grace and speak to it multiple times.
• You’ll then need to press ahead through Ainsel River and beat Blaidd, Baleful Shadow. He’ll give you the Discarded Palace Key which can be used on the chest in Rennala’s boss arena, which will give you the Dark Moon Ring.
• Continue through the Ainsel River until you reach the Lake of Rot. Pass through the lake until you reach a coffin at a waterfall. Hop on in, and you’ll soon wind up at Astel, Naturalborn of the Void’s boss arena.
• Once he has been felled, you can advance to the Moonlight Altar area, where the Cathedral of Manus Celes is. Jump down the hole to the right here.
• You’ll then be able to speak with Ranni at the bottom and give her the Dark Moon Ring. Soon enough, she’ll leave the Dark Moon Greatsword in her place.

It’s a lot of work to be doing for one weapon, but Ranni’s quest takes you to some of Elden Ring’s most interesting areas, will get you the Carian Inverted Statue (used during Fia’s quest), and you can opt for an alternate ending after finishing it, too.

The Dark Moon Greatsword will require 38 Intelligence, 11 Dexterity, and 16 Strength to wield, and will need Somber Smithing Stones to be upgraded. It primarily scales with Intelligence, and its Weapon Skill, Moonlight Greatsword, allows the player to coat the weapon in Frostbite while increasing their Magic damage. While active, heavy attacks will also dish out projectiles.

All in all, the Dark Moon Greatsword is pretty fun to use against enemies, and is worth experimenting with if you’re using an Intelligence build across The Lands Between. That said, I personally preferred the Moonveil when it comes to Intelligence weapons…because it is a rather overpowered katana, after all, and I’m a fan of those.

For more on Elden Ring, take a look at our guide on where to get the Moon of Nokstella, which will give you more spell slots. On top of that, if you are playing with Intelligence in The Lands Between, you’ll want the Meteorite Staff and Rock Sling, that’s for certain!