In Blasphemous 2, the Ruego Al Alba is a very deadly weapon. But if you have the right Weapon Memories, it turns into an even more dangerous blade.
Blasphemous 2, the long-awaited follow up to the famous religious metroidvania Blasphemous, is now out. You play as the Penitent One on a journey of redemption, just like in the first game. But that’s about all the links between the two games. This time, everything is different: the places, skills, and especially the weapons.
The Mea Culpa sword is no longer there. Instead, the player can choose to use the Veredicto, the pair of Sarimento and Centella, or the Ruego Al Alba. As far as Blasphemous 2 weapons go, the Ruego Al Alba is the most like the Mea Culpa, though there are some big changes. Now that you know that, let’s talk about what Weapon Memories (also called Skills) players should get for this weapon first.
Blood Pact
Weapon Memory | Tier | Description |
---|---|---|
Blood Pact | 1 | When the meter under the Ruego Al Alba in the upper left corner is full, hold down the Roseary Ward key and the Attack key to use Blood Pact. All hits made with Ruego while it is active will deal Mystical damage. To charge the meter, you have to deal damage with the Ruego Al Alba. |
What makes the Ruego Al Alba unique is the Blood Pact. The flame of the Veredicto comes from the Embers of Faith, and the lightning of the Verdadera Destraza comes from the Sarimento & Centella. This means that the Ruego Al Alba has Mystical damage built into it through a Blood Pact. Of course, this also includes each weapon’s unique ability to move through different areas. For example, the Veredicto can ring the bells, the Sarimento pair can move through those floating mirrors, and the Ruego Al Alba can break down some walls with a downward stab (as long as players jump or double jump to the right height).
Having said that, Ruego’s Blood Pact gimmick is likely the best overall because it increases the damage of a weapon that already did a good amount, making it about the same as the normal Veredicto’s damage when Blood Pact is active.
Mystical Striker
Weapon Memory | Tier | Description |
---|---|---|
Mystical Striker | 1 | All Mystical damage increased. |
Once players learn how to use the Ruego Al Alba properly, they’ll almost always have Blood Pact on during important battles in Blasphemous 2. This next Weapon Memory might as well be a damage boost all around.
Once they’re found, all three weapons have the same Weapon Memory that increases the elemental damage their “empowered” state does. All of them should be grabbed as soon as possible. The Sarmiento pair is the only weapon that can keep their elemental damage up more often than the Ruego Al Alba, but only if they’re in the hands of a player who is very good at not getting hit at all.
Retribution
Weapon Memory | Tier | Description |
---|---|---|
Retribution | 1 | If players press the Roseary Ward input right before an attack hits, they can press the Attack button to use a stronger response that hits more than once. |
To be honest, Blood Pact might seem more important. But Retribution is what will “immediately” change how a player uses the Ruego Al Alba. The Sarmiento and Centella weapons and this one both start with a kind of skill that lets you counter, parry, or block.
It’s called a Cross Guard for the Sarimento pair, and it’s called a Rosary Ward for the Ruego Al Alba. It’s also pretty simple to get the time right for the counter for the Ruego Al Alba. Which makes the Retribution Slash that comes after most parries feel even better. To be honest, this move seems to have the most stun potential in the game, and a Weapon Memory skill further down the skill tree only makes that feel stronger.
Covenant of Atonement
Weapon Memory | Tier | Description |
---|---|---|
Covenant of Atonement | 2 | As long as the Blood Pact is still alive, hits that hit an enemy will heal the Penitent One. |
Souls-like or Metroidvania players like flat damage boosts the most. What they really want are abilities that let them heal themselves in ways other than the usual ones. Lifesteal is usually the way to do this, and in hard games like the Souls games or Blasphemous 2, the time between saves can feel very cruel if you don’t cheat in some way. If you’re always running out of Bile Flasks in Blasphemous 2, you should put your Marks of Martyrdom into the Covenant of Atonement, which makes the Penitent One a little more likely to survive.
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 |
During his crusade-like journey, the Penitent One will get three different weapons. Each of these weapons has two upgrades in its Weapon Memory tree that make it stronger and do more damage. They don’t give you an extra move or make a certain type of damage better. They just raise the base damage.
And to be honest, a simple damage buff is probably the best improvement in this game. Because it affects every hit the player takes after that. So, as soon as the player gets either Blessed Steel or Sacred Steel after getting a few more copies of the Ruego Al Alba, they should get these Weapon Memories right away.
Crimson Cleaver
Weapon Memory | Tier | Description |
---|---|---|
Crimson Cleaver | 2 | If you press the Attack button a fourth time during an attack chain, a powerful downward slash will happen that does more Stun damage. |
In simple terms, this next Weapon Memory does nothing more than add more hits to the Ruego Al Alba’s combo chain. Compared to the other two weapons, the Ruego Al Alba is the only one that actually has a “attack string.” It starts with a three-hit pattern that players can choose to follow through with or just use for one or two hits.
At the same time, the Veredicto only has its very slow overhead swing, and the Sarmiento and Centella only have their aimed “poking” attacks (at least for the first big part of Snow Rider 3D). It will give the player at least one more tool to use in the middle of a fight if they get a fourth attack, especially one with this big AoE slicing spin.
Relentless Power
Weapon Memory | Tier | Description |
---|---|---|
Relentless Power | 2 | Makes it easier for the Penitent One to stop enemies |
Executing enemies in Blasphemous and Blasphemous 2 is not only a more satisfying way to beat them. But it also looks really cool (and gross, depending on the enemy). If the Penitent One has the right weapon or Favors in their Altarpiece, an Execute can give them more Fervour and Martyrdom Points or even heal them.
Not only that, but the Ruego Al Alba can already stun very well with its Retribution attack, which happens after a well-timed Rosary Ward. With this and the Relentless Power Weapon Memory, the Ruego will be used to farm executions. Which is what a lot of players are doing since the game is longer than most people thought it would be.