***SPOILERS AHEAD***
If thou art new to the game, knoweth thee I'm the one getting unremittingly downvoted for preaching the "Blind Gospel of Roderick The Ascetic". Consider thyself thusly indoctrinated on the joys of blindfulness (go play the game blind, seriously; the experience pays off and the game is worth every bit of it). Otherwise risk having thine guilt entrapped irredeemably amidst a pit of skewering spikes at the mercy of the Miracle whose ways are as twisted as they are righteously divine. Thou hast been duly counseled.
***PREACHING OVER***
So there are 13 prayers (essentially "spells") in Blasphemous. I'll break them down a bit and give my impressions.
Couple things to note: all prayers operate on timers/cooldowns, whether self-buffs or instant-dmg prayers (Lorquiana and Cante Jondo being the exception), which means nothing else can be used/cast till the time is up. You'll see the timer as a depleting blue "dial" on the mask icon next to the HP and fervor bars. The timer (along any ongoing buff/effect) will reset by switching rooms, however. Lastly, all prayers come in 3 fervor costs which for convenience I'll just call low, moderate, and high.
- Verdiales of the Forsaken Hamlet — found @ The Holy Line
Fervor cost: low
First prayer you'll acquire. Ground-based "shockwave" that fires on both directions and "climbs" over walls/ceilings (limited range, though). Seems more powerful at the ends (probably because multiple hits are easier where it cuts off?). Particularly great VS Tres Angustias and Quirce. Also VS the giant-bell-swinging nuns at the Convent!
Verdict: Good. Super useful early on when Mea Culpa is weakest, and carries on nicely. - Seguiriya to Your Eyes Like Stars — found @ Mercy Dreams
Fervor cost: low
Likely second prayer you'll come across. Boosts your attack speed for a short duration. Particularly useful VS relatively static bosses you can safely land repeated hits on (like Esdras or Melquiades). Kinda wasted on single foes, but can work wonders amidst heaps of enemies if you're quick on your feet to dodge and make the most of the temporary speed-boost. (Works nicely in Mother of Mothers VS all those annoying rainbow-baton-jesters, floating-throne-cardinals, and lunging-pole-acolytes.)
Verdict: Good. Really, try it. - Saeta Dolorosa — found @ Where Olive Trees Wither (req: Linen of Golden Thread or via Gemino's quest)
Fervor cost: moderate
Hitting enemies recovers some HP. OK, you won't always need more HP with so many flasks. But as with Seguiriya, it's useful VS bosses that give you multi-hit openings (again: Esdras, Melquiades). Or as if you're running outta life exploring around and you have a crowd of enemies bunched up? And got no fervor? No prob, slit yourself and one Saeta can turn the tides to your favor if you can land enough hits quick enough. Tougher enemies are preferable in this case.
Verdict: Good. The unsung lifesaver. - Taranto to my Sister — found @ The Bridge of the Three Calvaries (defeat Esdras)
Fervor cost: moderate
Lightning attack. Practically instant once cast. Nice verticality and dmg. Situational alternative to Verdiales where you need a bit more of an "air game" or wanna clear someone over a platform.
Verdict: Good. Especially by the time you get it. And carries on decently. Also cherub-cage breaker. - Lorquiana — found @ Library of Neglected Words
Fervor cost: moderate
Fires a horizontal beam across the entire screen. Insta-hit once cast. Looks awesome, feels great, and can multi-hit tougher foes. Best used to clear rows of enemies and/or sniping annoyances from afar. Unlike other prayers, this one has no cooldown so it can be immediately re-cast, which is kinda nifty. Not really useful against bosses at this stage (maybe Crisanta during the first phase, but she's too fast and that sword shreds).
Verdict: Good. Particularly for exploring, questing, and backtracking late-game. - Zambra to the Resplendent Crown — found @ Desecrated Cistern (req: Nail Uprooted from Dirt or Linen of Golden Thread falling from Wasteland of the Buried Churches)
Fervor cost: moderate
Gain more TOA from slain enemies. Comes in pretty late in the game to be useful, and the bonus TOA is barely noticeable (I tested it quite a bit, the numbers were inconsistent, and I gave up). It also lasts too little and "keeping it on" it isn't cost-effective. On a side note, I found the best location to harvest TOA with this (+ Heart of the Holy Purge + Scaly Coin) to be Library of Neglected Words in the room where you acquire Amber Eye (there's 4-5 of these weird headless guys summoning exploding heads/masks). There's a savepoint right next to it. Can make about 1K TOA per trip. But it requires Three Gnarled Tongues (+ Blood Perpetuated in Sand + Silvered Lung of Dolphos) to get to, so... yeah.
Verdict: Pretty Useless (sadly). Duration and TOA bonus could use a buff. - Solea of Excommunication — found @ Jondo (req: Three Gnarled Tongues)
Fervor cost: high
For a short duration, your quick attacks become "devastating" blows (meaning 1-hit-KO or what?). I haven't really managed to put it to good use since it only affects your quick attacks (chained hits in rapid succession?) rather than your regular spaced-out hits. Am I reading this right? Plus, by the time you acquire it you're already pretty much obliterating most enemies in 1-2 hits anyway. What kills it (as most other similarly timed prayers), is that it doesn't last long enough and it feels like a huge waste of fervor. I haven't really tested this on bosses, however, so that may change things.
Verdict: So Far So Bad, But Potentially Decent If I Figure It Out? - Romance to the Crimson Mist — found @ Library of Neglected Words (Bone Books Puzzle Room)
Fervor cost: moderate
Automatically spawns damaging "smoke clouds" every couple secs at your location (so theoretically you'd want to be moving around leaving trails behind you—even midair if you're jumping), damaging enemies within it. Problem is it's DOT (dmg-over-time), each "tick" of damage is extremely low (and doesn't tick fast enough) for you to wait on it, enemies tend to move out of the AOE, and the clouds don't last long enough. And if you're playing blind, you'll likely get this preeeetty late (since you won't be getting all 3 bones till relatively late-game), adding insult to injury.
Verdict: Terrible. Worst prayer in the game. Needs a buff. Desperately. Please. - Cante Jondo of the Three Sisters — found @ Archcathedral Rooftops (req: Three Gnarled Tongues, Blood Perpetuated in Sand)
Fervor cost: high
Large AOE "sonic boom" type of attack. Seems a bit underwhelming because it's basically a graphically invisible and (ironically) soundless prayer. But it's incredibly powerful (haven't tested the dmg, but pretty much everything gets destroyed instantly, which is saying something). Also no down-time. I haven't used it much, to be honest, since it comes in too late in the game and I typically neglect it for Tiento at that point (see below). Want to try more.
Verdict: Good. Ka-Boom-Good. - Tiento to Your Thorned Hairs — found @ Albero (Cleofas reward)
Fervor cost: moderate
Renders you invincible for a short duration. And yeah, trivializes every boss (by this point in the game that means: Crisenta and Escribar). Not much else to say, really.
Verdict: "OP" (could probably use a nerf in cost only). - Debla of the Lights — found @ Albero (Ludovico reward)
Fervor cost: low
Basically Taranto (lightning attack) on a bit of steroids? Probably the most visually-imposing prayer of them all. Almost instant once cast. Wide AOE and excellent verticality. Can multi-hit, but not as powerful as it looks (disappointingly). But it's also comparatively "cheap", fervor-wise. Though a bit of a pretty late-game acquisition (as one of Tentunia's remains will require Three Gnarled Tongues and knowing where to find it). It was my last prayer on my main file after I was already at 99.5%. Did try it VS Escribar on second run. It gave His Holiness some scratches, but Tiento proved far more useful in the end.
Verdict: Marginally Decent (and realistically not useful post-Escribar/end-game). - Zarabanda of the Safe Heaven — found @ Archcathedral Rooftops (Viridana reward after defeating Crisanta)
Fervor cost: moderate
Dual spinning shield that blocks certain projectiles and damages enemies it hits. Honestly, of all the prayers (aside from Solea), I have used this one the least. It comes in right before the final boss so it's hard to put it to much use (unless maybe you're going after every Confessor?). Contact damage is decent. But only blocking certain projectiles is kinda iffy, y'know? It also doesn't last long enough. But it gets outclassed by Tiento anyway, so... yeah.
Verdict: Eh... It's OK. Maybe if it blocked every projectile, or just outright everything? (Like, I mean, Tiento?) At the very least, its duration could definitely be increased. Needs buff. - Campanillero to the Sons of the Aurora — found @ The Sleeping Canvasses (Jocinero reward for freeing all 38 cherubs)
Fervor cost: moderate
Summons 3 autonomous cherubs that fire beams at enemies when in range. Aim is decent and damage is good. Downside? Each cherub "extinguishes" itself in the process (meaning 3 cherubs = only 3 attacks max—and sometimes they overlap, wasting a cherub and an attack, *derp*). Additionally, the cherubs don't last forever either: they'll just "expire" after a short duration. So use 'em or lose 'em.
Verdict: I don't wanna say kinda mediocre? It's a really cool idea (I mean, going around with a trio of winged blonde toddlers firing deadly incinerating lasers?! It's cute, it's ridiculous, it's Catholic badassery at its best). But you get this so late in the game (if at all) it just feels like a pretty underwhelming reward. What can you realistically use it on? The final boss? The Confessors trials? It really could use a buff (either make it last longer or don't annihilate every cherub on attack).
Well, there you have it. Feel free to discuss, and especially correct and/or add to whatever I've missed.
PS: Also, in case it wasn't almost immediately obvious to some, every prayer is named after a dance/song style (lotsa flamenco in here).
Submitted September 21, 2019 at 05:21PM by Tentaculoid https://ift.tt/30ccg8x
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