Iaito

The Iaito is a Katana in Dark Souls. It is found within Blighttown.

Availability
The Iaito is found early in Blighttown from the entrance of the Depths, on a corpse lying on a platform. It requires a running jump to reach the platform.

Moveset
One-handed R1: Brisk, vertical slashes.

One-handed R2: Player rushes forward while pulling out the Iaito from its sheath and slashing forward vertically. Relatively fast with good reach.

One-handed forward+R1: Standard kick.

Two-handed R1: Brisk, vertical slashes.

Two-handed R2: Similar to one-handed R2, but slower and deals more damage.

Two-handed forward+R2: Jumping attack; tiny hitbox but good damage.

Characteristics
For all intents and purposes, the Iaito is very similar to the uchigatana in terms of moveset and damage. The only notable differences are that the Iaito has a higher dexterity requirement, slightly better scaling with dexterity and has a faster R2, while the uchigatana has a better R2 for a downed opponent.

Upgrades
The Iaito follows a generic upgrade path and can be ascended to any of the generic types.

History
In Japan, an Iaito is a "mock" sword, designed for practice rather than combat. "Iaido" is a martial art centered around drawing the sword as an attack, similarly to the R2 attack for the Iaito in Dark Souls. Iaido practitioners often use Iaito for practice.