The Moonlight Greatsword is a series staple and has been present in every Soulsborne game developed by FromSoftware. It’s known as an Intelligence-focused weapon that has the power to fire off blue projectiles that look pretty awesome in dark areas, and it’s available in Elden Ring as well. However, getting it is a total hassle, and that might be the understatement of the year. Here’s how to get the Moonlight Greatsword in Elden Ring.
In Elden Ring, Moonlight Greatsword is a weapon skill for the Dark Moon Greatsword, which is the weapon you’re looking for. You can consume FP to use this skill, which allows you to fire off the aforementioned cool-looking projectiles. Do be warned that this guide contains major spoilers for two story bosses, as well as a side boss and some late-game areas.
Getting the Moonlight Greatsword in Elden Ring
- Meet Melina and unlock the ability to level up.
- Return to the Church of Elleh at nighttime and speak with Renna, who gives you the Spirit Calling Bell.
- Progress through the story until you reach the Academy of Raya Lucaria. You’ll need to beat Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon, in order to proceed.
- After that, head to the northwestern region of Liurnia of the Lakes to get to Caria Manor.
Do be warned that this area can be pretty dangerous if you’ve only just beaten Rennala and are at around level 40 or so. It’s possible to clear the area at this level, but it might be wise to level up a bit more before returning.
- Clearing Caria Manor gives you access to Ranni’s Rise, Renna’s Rise, and Seluvis’s Rise. Head to Ranni’s Rise to start the quest proper.
Head up the tower to speak with Ranni and accept her request to help Blaidd. You can check out our Blaidd NPC questline guide here. It’s a pretty long and involved questline, but you’ll need to see it through to the end in order to progress.
It requires you to beat Radahn, enter Nokron, and recover the Fingerslayer Blade you get at the end of the area.
- After completing Blaidd’s questline, head back to Ranni’s Rise and speak with her to hand over the Fingerslayer Blade you got in Nokron.
- Next, head to Renna’s Rise north of your location and interact with the sending gate at the top, which will take you to Ainsel River.
The first thing you should do at Ainsel River is interact with the item pickup right in front of you to get the Miniature Ranni key item.
- Rest at the nearby Site of Grace, and choose the Speak to Doll option three times until the Doll finally responds.
- Head to the Carian Study Hall, located on the eastern side of Liurnia of the Lakes.
Interact with the pedestal inside the Study Hall, and this will invert the entire area, giving you access to Liurnia Tower Bridge and the Divine Tower of Liurnia.
- Head up to the top of the Divine Tower to get the Cursemark of Death.
- Head back to Ainsel River and progress through that area until you get to the Nokstella Waterfall Basin.
Once here, Ranni will ask for your assistance in killing an assassin. Continue south through the area to trigger an invasion. After killing the invader, you’ll receive a key and Ranni will thank you for your efforts.
- At this point, head back to the Grand Library of Raya Lucaria and use the key to open the chest.
You’ll receive the Dark Moon Ring, which will come in handy towards the end of the quest. Head back to Ainsel River to progress.
- Keep going through Ainsel River to reach the Lake of Rot, and progress through the area to reach the Grand Cloister Site of Grace.
At the Grand Cloister, you’ll need to navigate your way through a series of drops to get to the ground floor and run past the centipede enemies. At the southernmost edge of the area, you’ll see that the path ends in a drop-off, with a coffin sitting at the edge. Interact with the coffin to rest inside it.
- The coffin will transport you to another zone, where you’ll need to fight the boss Astel, Naturalborn of the Void.
- After defeating the boss, you can proceed on through the area behind the arena and pull the lever to summon an elevator.
This elevator will take you to the Moonlight Altar in Liurnia of the Lakes. Do note that you need to have the Dark Moon Ring in your possession at this point or you won’t be able to progress.
- From here, head east to the Cathedral of Manus Celes.
Near the Site of Grace, you’ll see a hole in the ground that you can drop down into. Look for ledges that you can safely drop to, and make your way to the very bottom.
- Navigate your way through the cave, where you’ll find a doll laying on the ground.
Interact with it and use the ring, and this will trigger more dialogue with Ranni. After listening to what she has to say, you’ll find the Darkmoon Greatsword lying on the ground as an item pickup, and that will mark the end of the questline.
This is easily the longest questline you can take on in Elden Ring, and is not one that you can complete in just one go. You’ll need to progress through the story in order to unlock more of Ranni’s questline, so this is best attempted in small chunks as you’re playing.
Even so, the reward is well worth it. Ranni’s questline adds a lot to the overall lore and story of Elden Ring, and you also get to play around with the Darkmoon Greatsword and make use of the iconic Moonlight Greatsword weapon skill. If you’re using an Intelligence build, of course.
That’s all you need to know about how to get the Moonlight Greatsword in Elden Ring. Be sure to check our guide wiki for more tips and information on the game.
