Black Blade

Black Blade
	Katana
	Slash/Thrust
	N/A
	300
Skill
	Hold
	-(17/5)
	-(13/4)
Attack power
	122
	0
	0
	0
	0
	100
Guard absorption
	50.0
	30.0
	25.0
	25.0
	30.0
	35
Additional effects
	30
	-
	-
Miscellaneous
	N/A
	N/A
	50
	6.5
Attribute bonus
	E
	C
	-
	-
Attribute requirement
	18
	18
	-
	-

For the Dark Souls II variant, see Berserker Blade.

The Black Blade is a katana in Dark Souls III.

In-Game Description

A short katana wielded by the swordsman and distinguished guest of High Lord Wolnir. This shiny black blade is thick, but shorter than the typical katana.

The swordsman was a master of a rare technique, traces of which can be observed in this weapon's strong attack.

Skill: Hold
Assume a holding stance to rapidly execute a lunging slash with normal attack, or a deflecting parry with strong attack.

Availability

Found in the Catacombs of Carthus, dropped by the Mimic at the end of the upper ledge surrounding the Demon, near the entrance to the Smouldering Lake.

Characteristics

The Black Blade is a katana with some simple trade-offs that lets it stand out as a unique weapon within its class. Its primary draw is its high damage, a Sharp-infused Black Blade being one of the highest damage katanas available for a Dexterity-focused build, but it is somewhat short and heavy, and has a hefty strength requirement of 18 that may make it inaccessible for some builds.

Furthermore, the weapon features different strong attacks to the standard katana moveset. Its one-handed strong attack combo is of particular note as it uses the standard attacks with their order reversed, starting with a horizontal slash that goes into a thrust. This gives it ready access to a faster alternative to the advancing slash of the Hold skill, at the cost of a less accessible thrust for distant opponents. This further reduces the effective reach of the weapon compared to other katanas, which may make it more difficult to fight opponents that are agile or who wield longer weapons such as spears or ultra greatswords.

Moveset

Attack	Description
One-handed Weak Attack	Vertical downward slash, followed by an upward slash.
One-handed Strong Attack	Horizontal slash, followed by thrust; reverse order from other katanas.
Two-handed Weak Attack	Downward two-handed slash, followed by upward slash.
Two-handed Strong Attack	Holds katana overhead with off-hand gripping the tip, then releasing and bringing the blade down in a quick motion. Further input yields a strong two-handed overhead slash downward, same as the first two-handed strong attack on other katanas.
Jump Attack	Performs a jump and lands plunging the blade into the ground.
Two-handed Jump Attack	Same as one-handed.
Running Attack	Running thrust attack.
Two-handed Running Attack	Same as one-handed, but holding the katana in both hands.
Rolling Attack	Low horizontal slash.
Two-handed Rolling Attack	Same as one-handed, but holding the katana in both hands.
Kick	Standard kick.
Off-handed Weak Attack	Block.
Off-handed Strong Attack	Mirrored version of one-handed weak attacks.

Upgrades

Reinforced with Titanite.

Videos

Dark Souls 3 Black Blade - Weapon Arts Showcase

Trivia

• If no input follows a single one-handed attack, weak or strong, the player will flick the katana sideways in a slight flourish.
• As with the Chaos Blade in Dark Souls and the Berserker Blade in Dark Souls II, the first two-handed strong attack is the same as that of the katana weapon class in Demon's Souls.