Elden Ring fans are finding many reasons to love its brand-new expansion, Shadow of the Erdtree. This new chapter to the popular action RPG has built on the base game in meaningful ways, expanding on its story while giving its players multiple options in terms of creating a build that best suits their playstyle.

The expansion’s weapon types have garnered a lot of praise, bringing new ways to enjoy tearing through the DLC’s challenging new enemies and bosses. However, the addition of new variations on existing weapons is not to be overlooked, with some of the new ones creating the scope for some devastating new builds.

Harnessing the Power of the Stars

FromSoftware’s love for Katanas continues in Shadow of the Erdtree with the addition of the Star-Lined Sword. It combines the best of the Moonveil and Rivers of Blood Katanas, blending a stylish new Ash of War with quick moves and excellent Dexterity scaling. Its unique weapon skill, Onze’s Line of Stars, lets you unleash flurries of Magic-infused attacks with multiple inputs with an overhead slam attack that lets you teleport above an enemy to avoid their attacks.

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This powerful weapon can be accessed from the Cerulean Coast West Site of Grace. Head northeast through a ravine and follow the path till you reach a beach full of demi-humans, along with the Demi-Human Queen Marigga, who drops the sword upon her defeat. You will need Somber Smithing Stones to upgrade it, which shouldn’t be a problem if you have handed over all of the Somberstone Miner’s Bell-Bearings to the Twin Maiden Husks at Roundtable Hold.

Know Your Gear: Where to Find the Star-Lined Sword in Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree and How to Use It

Our build for this weapon aims to capitalize on its high Dexterity scaling along with a bit of Intelligence to make the most of its unique weapon skill. To this end, we recommend a Dexterity stat of 80 and Intelligence at 40 to max out your attack power.

It’s also a good idea to take Vigor to 60 and Endurance to 30 as you burn through Stamina and do not want to run out of it in the middle of a fight. Head on over to Renalla at Raya Lucaria in case you need to respec your character with a Larval Tear.

High Intelligence lets you equip Sorceries to your heart’s content, giving you ranged options to deal with distant enemies or something powerful to increase your versatility in battle further. The armor you have on should ideally let you medium-roll while maintaining your Poise as close to 51 as you can get it to avoid getting knocked out of your attacks.

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Next, you will need the Lord of Blood’s Exultation Talisman, as the Star-Lined Sword does come with native Bleed damage. The Talisman gives you a damage buff every time you inflict Bleed on an enemy. The Rotten Winged Sword Insignia synergizes well with this weapon owing to its quick successive strikes.

The Shard of Alexander further increases the damage from your weapon skill. Finally, the Magic Scorpion Charm is a great offensive option, but you could also use the Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman to boost your defense by a huge margin.

While in combat, you should look to always use the weapon skill in lieu of regular attacks, using the latter only in situations where you are running low on FP or if an enemy is close to dying. The weapon skill is perfect for punishing enemy attacks that fail to hit you and can easily stagger lesser foes, allowing you to trigger all of your damage buffs with ease and tear through their ranks. This build works best when dealing with crowds, as the sword’s sweeping slashes go in a wide arc in front of you.

As you level up further, consider investing a few points into Arcane in order to further improve your ability to inflict Bleed damage and trigger your damage buffs more easily. It’s also a good idea to carry another Katana like the Rivers of Blood or Night Sword to have options against enemies that have high magic resistances.

You could also look at using your Flask of Wondrous Physick to improve your magic damage or to add in a bit of extra defense for bosses you are struggling against. The key to using this weapon is getting used to its effective range, which lets you damage enemies before they even have a chance to get close enough to get in attacks of their own.

Managing your Stamina is important to getting the most out of this build, so don’t be afraid to back off in a fight and allow it to recharge. Talismans like the Green Turtle Talisman or Two-Headed Turtle Talisman can work wonders in this regard, although you will have to sacrifice a bit of damage to equip them.

You are now ready to use the Star-Lined Sword in the Land of Shadow and tear through bosses like Messmer, the Impaler or Romina, Saint of the Bud. We have more builds with some of the new weapon types as well, if any of them have caught your fancy. Check out our Elden Ring and Shadow of the Erdtree guides to learn more!