How to Get the Katana in 99 Nights in the Forest

The Katana has exactly one source in 99 Nights in the Forest: the Assassin class. It is not in any chest, it has no recipe, and nothing in the world drops it. So the real question is not "where do I find it" — it is "is the Assassin worth 500 Diamonds". This page answers both, and settles the long-running argument about whether the Katana is just a Spear with a different skin.

Last verified: 2026-09-30.

Quick Answer

The Only Route: The Assassin Class

The Katana was the first class-exclusive weapon in the game, and it has never left that status. Equip the Assassin before a run and you begin with one Katana and 120 Throwing Knives.

That is the entire obtainment story. Every source we checked says the same thing in different words: no chest, no crafting recipe, no event drop, no trader. If you are not running the Assassin, the Katana does not exist for you.

Two things come bundled with that purchase, and they are not optional extras — they are the cost side of the trade:

• Price: 500 Diamonds. Diamonds and Gems are the same currency here; see How to Get Diamonds Fast for how long that actually takes to save.
• Reduced maximum health. The Assassin trades HP for mobility. Our own Best Class page describes it the same way: "faster sprint at the cost of some HP."

This matters more than it sounds. You cannot evaluate the Katana as a weapon in isolation, because you can never hold one without also being down some health. That lower HP pool is why the throwables in the same loadout are not flavour — they are how you fight without taking hits.

The full class comparison, including the Assassin's crit and sprint bonuses, is on All Classes.

What It Does

Katana vs Spear: Settling the Reskin Argument

Community opinion splits on this, so here is what the numbers actually say.

Same damage per hit, different cadence. The Katana swings about 0.05 seconds faster, which works out to roughly 11% more damage per second. On paper that makes "it is just a reskin" wrong.

In practice, be honest about what that 11% buys you. One published melee tier list records identical hits-to-kill for both — Rabbit in 2, Wolf in 4 — which is what you would expect from identical per-hit damage against small health pools. The tier list ranks the Katana A-tier and calls it "functionally identical to the Spear but with style points."

So the fair verdict is:

• Not a pure reskin. The swing rate difference is real and measured, and it does produce a distinct DPS profile.
• But not a meaningful upgrade either. You are not paying for a better weapon; you are paying for the Assassin's mobility kit, and the Katana is what comes with it.

If you want the Spear instead, it is free — chests and the Pelt Trader's second rung both produce it, and the Pelt Trader arrives on Day 2. Our How to Get the Rifle page shows the full trade ladder the Spear sits on.

How to Fight With It

The Katana's advantage is reach plus rhythm, not damage. Three habits get that out of it:

1. Swing at maximum reach, then step out during the enemy's response and re-enter. Standing still and trading blows wastes the reach that makes this weapon safe.
2. Do not kite Bears the way you kite Wolves. A Bear's attack reach is long enough to connect anyway; the hit-and-step rhythm that works on wolves will get you hit.
3. Use the throwables. With a reduced health pool, closing the distance unnecessarily is the expensive mistake. The 120 Throwing Knives let you open at range first.

One clarification worth making, because sources blur it: the Kunai is a separate item from the Throwing Knives you spawn with. It deals 35 damage and comes from Ruby Chests or a separate 25-Diamond Assassin purchase — it is not part of the free loadout.

Is the Assassin Worth It?

Only you can answer that, but the decision is clearer when you put it in these terms:

Take it if you want mobility and a scouting playstyle, you are comfortable fighting around a smaller health pool, and you want both a melee and a throwing option from the first minute of a run.

Skip it if you want the weapon without the class. At 500 Diamonds you are buying a playstyle, and there are cheaper classes that hand you a usable weapon — see the class-by-class cost table on All Classes.

Note that on our Best Weapons ranking the Katana does not appear in the consensus S-tier. It is a strong starter, not an endgame weapon: the S-tier melee options (Morningstar, Obsidiron Hammer, Infernal Sword, Ice Sword) all sit well above 25 damage per hit. Treat the Katana as a very good day-one weapon that you will eventually replace.

FAQ

Can I get the Katana without the Assassin class? No. It is class-exclusive with no alternative route.

Can I craft it? No recipe exists.

Does it drop from chests? No chest tier contains it — not Gold, not Ruby, not biome chests.

Is it better than the Spear? Same 25 damage per hit, ~11% faster swing rate, so slightly higher DPS. Hits-to-kill against rabbits and wolves are reported as identical.

What else does the Assassin give me? Faster sprint, crit hits, and 120 Throwing Knives — plus reduced maximum health as the tradeoff. See All Classes.

Is the Kunai included? Not free. The Kunai (35 damage) comes from Ruby Chests or a separate 25-Diamond purchase once you own Assassin.

How much is 500 Diamonds? Real money-saving time. See How to Get Diamonds Fast for the realistic routes.

Sources

Checked 2026-09-30. Damage (25 base, 32.5 Brawler, up to 40 boosted Berserker), the 0.45-second measured swing interval and the ~55.6 base DPS all come from 99-nights-in-the-forest.com's item page, which also explicitly argues the Katana is not a cosmetic Spear reskin. The 25 damage figure and class-exclusive status are independently corroborated by BloxSwaps' weapon table, and BloxSwaps adds that the Katana was the first class-exclusive weapon in the game. Of Zen and Computing's melee tier list ranks it A-tier, records identical hits-to-kill with the Spear, and is the source for the "style points" framing and the Spear's own chest/trader routes. The Assassin loadout (1 Katana + 120 Throwing Knives, 500 cost, reduced max HP) is from the same item page and matches our own Best Class entry. The Kunai being a separate 25-Diamond purchase or Ruby Chest drop comes from BloxSwaps.

One caveat on aggregator sites: rblxguide lists the Katana's damage as "2,532", which is not a real in-game figure — it appears to be the base and Brawler values run together (25 and 32.5), the same formatting bug that turns the Ice Sword's 35 / 45.5 into "3,545". We mention it so you do not trust that number if you land on it.

Related Pages

• All Classes — the full cost table, including the Assassin at 500
• Best Class — how the Assassin ranks and what it costs you in HP
• How to Get Diamonds Fast — what 500 Diamonds actually takes
• Best Weapons — where the Katana sits, and the S tier above it
• How to Get the Rifle — the Pelt Trader ladder the Spear shares