Unleashing Divine Fury: Mastering Ruego Al Alba's Ultimate Weapon Skills in Blasphemous 2
Unleash untamed power with the Ruego Al Alba in Blasphemous 2 Enhance its deadly nature with Weapon Memories, including Blood Pact, Mystical Striker, Retribution, Covenant of Atonement, Blessed & Sacred Steel, Crimson Cleaver, and Relentless Power Dominate your foes with unparalleled strength
Highlights
Blasphemous 2 offers a new experience with different areas, abilities, and weapons compared to the first game.
The Ruego Al Alba weapon possesses a distinctive Blood Pact capability that enhances its damage and imbues mystical energy into the blade.
Players are advised to prioritize investing in Weapon Memories such as Mystical Striker, Retribution, and Covenant of Atonement in order to augment their damage output and enhance their ability to withstand attacks.
Blasphemous 2, the eagerly anticipated sequel to the beloved religious metroidvania, is now available. In this iteration, players once again assume the role of the Penitent One on a quest for redemption. However, this game offers a fresh experience with a completely new set of locations, abilities, and weapons.
In Blasphemous 2, the iconic Mea Culpa sword is absent and is instead substituted with an array of choices for the player. They can opt to wield the Veredicto, the Sarimento & Centella pair, or the Ruego Al Alba. Of these options, the Ruego Al Alba closely resembles the Mea Culpa but with notable differences. Given this, it is important to consider which Weapon Memories (also known as Skills) to prioritize when utilizing this weapon.
7 Blood Pact
| Weapon Memory | Tier | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Blood Pact | 1 | Hold Roseary Ward Input + Attack Input when the meter under the Ruego Al Alba in the top left is filled to activate Blood Pact. Infuses Mystical damage into all hits with Ruego while active. The meter is charged by dealing damage with the Ruego Al Alba |
The Ruego Al Alba utilizes a unique feature called the Blood Pact, which serves as its main 'gimmick'. While the Veredicto harnesses the Embers of Faith to ignite its flame, and the Sarimento & Centella channel the power of Verdadera Destraza through lightning, the Ruego Al Alba infuses mystical damage into its blade via the Blood Pact. Additionally, each weapon possesses a distinct traversal ability: the Veredicto can activate bells, the Sarimento pair can traverse through floating mirrors, and the Ruego Al Alba can break specific walls with a downward stab once players jump or double jump to the correct height.
6 Mystical Striker
That being said, when it comes to gimmicks, Ruego's Blood Pact is likely the most powerful one overall. It enhances the damage of a weapon that already had decent damage, effectively making it comparable to the default Veredicto's damage when Blood Pact is activated.
| Weapon Memory | Tier | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Mystical Striker | 1 | All Mystical damage increased. |
The next Weapon Memory is essentially an overall damage boost. Once players master the correct use of the Ruego Al Alba, they will consistently have the Blood Pact active during crucial battles in Blasphemous 2.
All three weapons, once obtained, possess a similar Weapon Memory that enhances the elemental damage in their empowered state. These weapons are definitely worth acquiring as soon as possible. The only exception is the Sarmiento pair, which can maintain its elemental damage more consistently, but only if in the hands of a player skilled at avoiding all damage.
5 Retribution
| Weapon Memory | Tier | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Retribution | 1 | Pressing the Roseary Ward input at the last moment before an attack impacts gives players the option to press the Attack button to use an empowered counterattack that strikes multiple times. |
In truth, although Blood Pact may appear to be of greater significance, it is Retribution that will have the most "instantaneous" impact on a player's encounter with the Ruego Al Alba. Both this weapon and the Sarmiento & Centella weapons possess a certain counter/parry/blocking ability from the onset.
For the Sarimento pair, the Cross Guard ability is utilized, while the Ruego Al Alba boasts the Rosary Ward skill. Mastering the timing to counter with the Ruego Al Alba is relatively effortless, intensifying the gratification felt when executing the subsequent Retribution Slash following a successful parry. Undoubtedly, this particular attack possesses unparalleled potential to stun opponents in the game, a notion further strengthened by a Weapon Memory later on in the skill tree.
4 Covenant of Atonement
| Weapon Memory | Tier | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Covenant of Atonement | 2 | Hits that come in contact with an enemy while Blood Pact is active will regenerate the Penitent One's HP. |
The preferred choice for Soulslike or Metroidvania players, besides enhancing their damage, is acquiring abilities that enable them to recover health outside of the default methods. Usually, this is achieved through lifesteal. Without some form of lifesteal, games like the Souls series or Blasphemous 2 can make the lengthy stretches between checkpoints feel unreasonably harsh. Hence, players who constantly find themselves running low on Bile Flasks in Blasphemous 2 would be wise to allocate their Marks of Martyrdom to the Covenant of Atonement. This particular upgrade grants the Penitent One slightly enhanced survivability overall.
3 Blessed & Sacred Steel
| Weapon Memory | Tier | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Blessed Steel | 2 | Increases the base damage of the Ruego Al Alba |
| Sacred Steel | 3 | Increases the base damage of the Ruego Al Alba |
The Penitent One's quest is accompanied by three weapons, each with two unique upgrades in their respective Weapon Memory trees that directly enhance the weapon's damage. These upgrades do not introduce new moves or enhance specific sources of damage, but simply increase the base damage of the weapon.
In all honesty, a straightforward damage boost is perhaps the most powerful upgrade in a game like this, as it positively influences every single strike the player lands thereafter. Therefore, it is imperative to swiftly acquire the Blessed Steel or Sacred Steel Weapon Memories as soon as they become available to the player, particularly after obtaining additional copies of the Ruego Al Alba.
2 Crimson Cleaver
| Weapon Memory | Tier | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Crimson Cleaver | 2 | Hitting the Attack input for a fourth time during an attack chain will unleash a powerful downward slash that deals increased Stun damage |
Simply put, this following Weapon Memory enhances the Ruego Al Alba's combo chain by adding more attacks. Unlike the other two weapons, the Ruego Al Alba stands out with a defined 'attack string'. It initiates with a three-hit sequence, allowing players to either follow through with the entire combo or opt for a single hit (or two) instead.
Meanwhile, the Veredicto merely performs its overhead swing at an incredibly slow pace, while the Sarmiento & Centella merely execute their directed 'poking' attacks (at least during the initial stages of the game). Therefore, introducing a fourth attack to this repertoire, particularly one that incorporates a sweeping spin with a wide area of effect, will, at the very least, provide players with an additional tool to utilize in the midst of combat.
1 Relentless Power
| Weapon Memory | Tier | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Relentless Power | 2 | Increases the Penitent One's ability to stun enemies |
Executing enemies in both Blasphemous and Blasphemous 2 is not only visually impressive (and in some cases, gory), but it also offers a more fulfilling way to defeat enemies. Executions provide increased Fervour and Martyrdom Points, and depending on the Penitent One's weapon or Altarpiece Favors, they can even restore health.
Moreover, the Ruego Al Alba possesses significant stun capabilities with its Retribution attack, triggered after a well-timed Rosary Ward. By combining this with the Relentless Power Weapon Memory, players can effectively utilize the Ruego to farm executions. This strategy has become popular among players as the game's length has surpassed initial expectations.
Blasphemous 2 is available for PC, Switch, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
