"It's friggin' Monster Hunter!": Shadow of the Erdtree brought giant katanas to Elden Ring, and Monster Hunter Longsword sickos are loving them

Monster Hunter Wilds SGF hands off preview
(Image credit: Capcom)

Monster Hunter veterans are feeling very at home in Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, all because of a brand new weapon type.

Elden Ring's new DLC introduces massive katanas, or as they're called in-game, 'Great Katanas.' Now, you could take one look at the Great Katanas and say sure, they might have a striking similarity to Monster Hunter's uber-popular Longsword weapons, but that would only be telling half the story.

As proven in the clip below, it turns out Elden Ring's Great Katanas and Monster Hunter's Longswords have eerily similar attack patterns. Comparing the Shadow of the Erdtree clip on the left to the footage from Monster Hunter Rise on the right, you can see the two weapons look nearly identical when the player chains together three attacks. 

One Monster Hunter veteran even recognized the attack pattern after less than four seconds of trying out the Great Katanas. In the clip below, 'Twas By Design clocks the similarities straight away. "It's triangle, circle, triangle!" the streamer exclaims, referencing the three-step attack pattern that probably plays in the dreams of Longsword users at this point.

If you want to get your hands on a Great Katana, I can actually point you to one very close to where Shadow of the Erdtree begins. Follow the main road on the Gravesite Plain to the Three-Path Cross Site of Grace, then head north until you find the Ghostflame Dragon. Defeat it (or run through the arena), and you'll find a Great Katana atop a dead body.

But if you're after a much better version of that base weapon, you're going to want to read our guide on how to get Rakshasa's Great Katana in Shadow of the Erdtree, a weapon with exceptional Bleed damage.

This is a Shadow of the Erdtree PSA: The DLC has its own version of Dark Souls Crystal Lizards and you do not want to ignore them.

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.