DARK SOULS 3 Moonlight Greatsword: Location & Build

How to Get the Moonlight Greatsword

The DARK SOULS 3 Moonlight Greatsword gives an Intelligence build powerful melee attacks and ranged moonlight waves. Obtain it by transposing the Soul of Consumed Oceiros with Ludleth at Firelink Shrine. Its charged projectiles consume durability instead of FP, giving you another way to attack when your casting resources run low.

You need both Oceiros’s soul and access to soul transposition:

1. Defeat the Curse-rotted Greatwood in the Undead Settlement to obtain the Transposing Kiln.
2. Give the kiln to Ludleth of Courland on his throne in Firelink Shrine.
3. Defeat the Dancer of the Boreal Valley, then use the Basin of Vows at the altar to lower the ladder.
4. Climb the ladder and turn left toward the Consumed King’s Garden.
5. Defeat Oceiros, the Consumed King, at the end of the garden.
6. Return to Ludleth and exchange the Soul of Consumed Oceiros for the sword.

Keep Oceiros’s soul intact until you make the exchange. White Dragon Breath uses the same boss soul, so choosing that sorcery spends the soul you need for the weapon.

You do not need to cut off Oceiros’s tail. The sword comes from transposition.

Official page: DARK SOULS™ III (bandainamcoent.com)

Requirements, Damage, and Upgrades

This greatsword deals both physical and magic damage, with Intelligence providing its meaningful damage scaling. Strength contributes very little beyond meeting the requirement, while Dexterity has no damage scaling.

Image: Steam / FromSoftware, Inc.

Attribute	Value
Weapon class	Greatsword
Strength requirement	16
Dexterity requirement	11
Intelligence requirement	26
Starting Strength scaling	E
Starting Intelligence scaling	C
Intelligence scaling at +5	B
Weapon skill	Moonlight Vortex
Skill FP cost	18
Maximum reinforcement	+5

Reinforce it with Titanite Scales through +4, then use one Titanite Slab for +5. It cannot be infused or buffed, so your upgrades and Intelligence investment do the work.

These are its base attack values before stat-scaling bonuses:

Reinforcement	Physical attack	Magic attack	Intelligence scaling
+0	69	130	C
+1	80	152	C
+2	91	173	B
+3	103	195	B
+4	114	216	B
+5	126	238	B

The two damage values do not translate directly into health removed from an enemy.

Getting a Titanite Slab

For an early maximum upgrade, head to the Untended Graves and defeat Champion Gundyr.

Enter the dark Firelink Shrine and collect the Coiled Sword Fragment. Trade it at the crow’s nest in the regular Firelink Shrine for a Titanite Slab.

Alternatively, rescue Siegward from his cell for another Titanite Slab.

Building Around Intelligence

Meet 16 Strength, 11 Dexterity, and 26 Intelligence, then work toward roughly 40 Intelligence for a sword-focused build. The weapon’s Intelligence returns diminish around 40–41, making that a useful point to shift attention toward survival and stamina.

Image: Steam / FromSoftware, Inc.

A character combining the sword with offensive sorceries can continue toward 60 Intelligence. The sword still gains damage, but the increase beyond its softcap is much smaller.

Avoid pouring extra levels into Strength solely for this weapon. Its weak Strength scaling makes Intelligence the more productive damage investment.

For the rest of the setup, choose equipment around how you actually fight:

• Ring of Favor
• Prisoner’s Chain
• Lloyd’s Sword Ring
• Magic Clutch Ring
• Crown of Dusk: Boosts magic damage, with a smaller benefit to weapons than sorceries.

Look behind an illusory wall in Irithyll of the Boreal Valley for the Magic Clutch Ring.

How to Unlock It Early

You can obtain the sword after five boss victories: Iudex Gundyr, Vordt, Curse-rotted Greatwood, Dancer, and Oceiros. This route reaches late-game enemies early, so the low boss count does not make it an easy opening.

Image: Steam / FromSoftware, Inc.

Start as a Sorcerer if you want immediate access to sorceries, then prepare before challenging the Dancer:

1. Reach the Crucifixion Woods after Vordt and the Undead Settlement.
2. Recruit Orbeck of Vinheim to learn sorceries.
3. Collect a sorcery scroll in Farron Keep and give it to Orbeck to unlock Pestilent Mist.
4. Give Orbeck the Golden Scroll to unlock Hidden Body. Buy Spook as well.
5. Return to Emma’s chapel on the High Wall of Lothric and challenge the Dancer early.
6. Defeat the Dancer and Oceiros, then complete the transposition requirements.

Hidden Body and Spook reduce detection while you collect upgrade materials around Lothric Castle and the garden. Use that combination to limit fights during material runs.

Using Pestilent Mist Against the Bosses

Against the Dancer, cast Pestilent Mist near a pillar and keep the pillar between you and her. Stay close enough to encourage attacks; creating too much distance lets her walk around the obstruction. Reposition immediately if she gets past it.

For Oceiros, lure him into the corner to the right of the exit door, then move behind the roots and branches. Cast through the gap while keeping the obstacle between you. His aggressive second phase can keep him pressing against the obstruction, creating repeated casting opportunities.

These tactics depend on positioning. Preserve room to retreat instead of assuming either boss will remain trapped.

Moonlight Waves, Vortex, and Durability

The moveset has three distinct tools: normal sword attacks, fully charged strong attacks, and Moonlight Vortex.

Normal attacks provide your dependable melee damage. Against fast bosses, use them during short openings instead of forcing a charge.

Fully charged strong attacks release a moonlight projectile. Each wave costs 4 durability and no FP. Hold the strong attack through its full charge to produce the wave.

Moonlight Vortex is the weapon skill: a thrust that releases concentrated moonlight for 18 FP. It has high resistance to interruption, but it can be parried. The fully charged projectile attack is also parriable.

Keep Repair Powder ready for longer fights. Repeated waves drain durability quickly enough that weapon maintenance becomes part of this build’s combat rhythm. Use powder during a clear opening, and check durability before entering another boss arena.

Choosing Attacks for Boss Openings

Match the attack to the length of the recovery window. A charged wave is valuable only when you can finish the animation safely.

• Abyss Watchers: Look for backstabs, then use the recovery afterward to begin a charged attack.
• Twin Princes: Use charges during longer recoveries. In phase two, roll behind Lorian and use normal attacks to reach Lothric on his back.
• Sister Friede: Follow backstabs with charged strong attacks when her recovery gives you enough time.
• Nameless King: Use normal attacks through shorter gaps and save moonlight attacks for larger openings. Conserve durability during the King of the Storm phase to reduce the need for Repair Powder later.
• Darkeater Midir: Aim for the head after a completed attack sequence. The projectile’s reach lets you punish some recoveries without closing all the way to his face.

Carry another damage option for magic-resistant enemies such as the Crystal Sage. A heavily upgraded sword still has to work through the target’s defenses; switch damage types when its magic-heavy attacks stop paying off.