The Reed Great Katana is a new weapon added in the Elden Ring Tarnished Pack, and it sits on a corpse in Caelid that a brand-new character can reach without beating a single boss. It is the first Great Katana you can pick up in the Lands Between rather than the Realm of Shadow, and it carries native bleed, low stat requirements, and the Overhead Stance skill.
Quick answer: Fast travel to the Fort Faroth Site of Grace in eastern Caelid, ride Torrent north past Elder Dragon Greyoll, then climb the large white mound beside the dragon and loot the burned corpse at the top.
Requirement before the corpse will appear
The weapon only spawns if you own the Tarnished Pack content. If you are playing without it, the corpse at the top of the mound is empty, with no item glow and no loot prompt. This is the most common reason players reach the spot and find nothing there.
Reed Great Katana location in Caelid
The pickup is in Greyoll’s Dragonbarrow, on top of the giant white skull-shaped mound next to Elder Dragon Greyoll. The mound sits almost directly north of the Fort Faroth Site of Grace. Greyoll is paralyzed and cannot attack, so you never have to fight the dragon to reach the corpse.
If you have already killed Greyoll on this save, the corpse and the weapon are still there in the same spot. Defeating the dragon does not remove the pickup.
How to reach it from Fort Faroth
This is the shortest route if you already have the Fort Faroth grace unlocked. If you still need to reach Caelid, the spirit springs behind the Third Church of Marika let a fresh character ride up there on Torrent.
There are two other ways up if you approach from a different direction. You can come through the Dragonbarrow Fork cave and jump the spirit spring near it, or climb onto the upper plateau from the back section by the Minor Erdtree, where another spirit stream lifts you up.
Reed Great Katana stats and scaling
The Reed Great Katana is a Great Katana that deals Slash and Pierce damage, with the Overhead Stance skill by default. Its native blood loss buildup pairs well with the class’s fast crouch attacks and long swings, making it a natural fit for a Strength/Dexterity bleed setup.
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Weapon class | Great Katana |
| Damage type | Slash / Pierce |
| Skill | Overhead Stance |
| Passive effect | Blood loss buildup (55) |
| Weight | 10.0 |
| Physical attack power | 158 |
| Critical modifier | 100 |
| Guard boost | 33 |
Requirements and scaling
| Attribute | Required | Scaling |
|---|---|---|
| Strength | 11 | D |
| Dexterity | 16 | D |
| Intelligence | 0 | — |
| Faith | 0 | — |
| Arcane | 0 | — |
Because it is a standard weapon, you can infuse it and swap its Ash of War at any Site of Grace. Keen suits a pure Dexterity build, Blood pushes bleed procs, and Occult works if you take Arcane above 30.
Bonus rune farm at Greyoll
Since Greyoll is right beside the mound and cannot fight back, you can strike the dragon’s legs for a large rune payout. The Reed Great Katana’s bleed helps here, as blood loss deals percentage-based damage against the motionless dragon. This gives you enough runes to start upgrading the weapon on the spot.
To confirm you have the katana, open your inventory and check the Great Katana weapon category. If the corpse gave no prompt, you are missing the Tarnished Pack content, which is the only requirement blocking the pickup.
