The Blasphemous Blade build gets accused of being the most boring weapon in Elden Ring, and that complaint is a big part of why it is popular. It is a greatsword that throws a ranged wave of fire and heals you every time that wave connects. It also heals you whenever an enemy near you dies, whether or not you killed it. It carries plenty of first playthroughs from Mt. Gelmir to the credits. This guide covers how to get it, the stats that actually make it hit (most players invest in the wrong ones), the healing numbers behind Taker's Flames, the best talismans, and how it compares to the other Faith-scaling swords. Every figure was checked against Fextralife's live weapon, skill and talisman pages and the official Bandai Namco patch notes for Elden Ring version 1.17.2 (released 2026-10-20).
Quick answer: The Blasphemous Blade is a Strength/Dexterity/Faith greatsword you get by trading the Remembrance of the Blasphemous (dropped by Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy at Volcano Manor) to Finger Reader Enia at Roundtable Hold. It needs 22 STR / 15 DEX / 21 FAI, weighs 13.5, and at +10 scales C Str / C Dex / B Faith for 296 Physical + 191 Fire. Its skill, Taker's Flames (30 FP), deals pure Fire damage that scales only with Faith and heals 10% of your max HP + 150 on hit. Build it as a Faith weapon: take Strength and Dexterity to the minimum, push Faith toward 60–80, and get Vigor to 50–60. Upgrade it with Somber Smithing Stones. It cannot take Ashes of War, grease or buff spells.
Key takeaways
- This is a Faith weapon. Taker's Flames scales only with Faith, so every point past 22 STR / 15 DEX is wasted on the part of the kit you'll actually use.
- Sustain is built in. You heal 10% max HP + 150 on each skill hit and 4% max HP + 40 whenever a nearby enemy dies.
- Kill-heals stack. Add Rykard's Great Rune (7% + 80) and Taker's Cameo (3% + 30) and every nearby kill gives back 14% of max HP + 150.
- Shard of Alexander (+15% skills) is the best talisman for this build, followed by Fire Scorpion Charm and, if you own Shadow of the Erdtree, Talisman of the Dread.
- Nothing in 1.17 or 1.17.2 touched it. The last change to its scaling came in Patch 1.09, so the numbers below are current.
How do you get the Blasphemous Blade in Elden Ring?
The Blasphemous Blade is a Remembrance weapon, so there's no chest to find and no rare drop to farm. You need to:
- Beat Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy at the end of Volcano Manor in Mt. Gelmir. The closest Site of Grace is Audience Pathway.
- Take the Remembrance of the Blasphemous to Finger Reader Enia at Roundtable Hold.
- Choose the Blasphemous Blade. The other option is the Rykard's Rancor sorcery. To get both on one playthrough, duplicate the Remembrance at a Walking Mausoleum with a bell. Bell-less mausoleums won't copy Rykard's, because he's a child of Radagon.
The fight has two phases: the God-Devouring Serpent first, then Rykard himself. Before you walk into the arena, pick up the Serpent-Hunter great spear from the corpse on your left as you enter. Its blade of light hits both phases from outside the magma pool, and per Fextralife a Mimic Tear holding a copy of the Serpent-Hunter makes the fight much easier. Rykard drops 130,000 runes on NG. He's immune to Madness and takes Frostbite more easily than any other status. If you don't have the Mimic Tear yet, our Mimic Tear guide covers where to get it.
Two traps before you fight him:
- If you reach Rykard through Tanith's contracts instead of the legacy dungeon, he won't count as one of the two shardbearers you need to enter Leyndell. Tanith's third contract only opens after Leyndell.
- Killing Rykard before you've received Tanith's Red Letter locks you out of the Taker's Cameo talisman for that playthrough. Taker's Cameo is one of this build's three heal-on-kill pieces, so finish the Volcano Manor contracts first if you want the full set.
The weapon's item description sets the tone: "Sacred sword of Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy. Remains of the countless heroes he has devoured writhe upon the surface of this blade."
Blasphemous Blade stats, requirements and scaling
Here's the weapon as it stands on version 1.17.2, from Fextralife's upgrade table:
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Weapon type | Greatsword (Standard / Pierce) |
| Requirements | 22 STR / 15 DEX / 21 FAI |
| Weight | 13.5 |
| Attack at +0 | 121 Physical / 78 Fire |
| Attack at +10 | 296 Physical / 191 Fire |
| Scaling at +0 | D Str / D Dex / D Fai |
| Scaling at +10 | C Str / C Dex / B Fai |
| Upgrade path | Somber Smithing Stones, max +10 |
| Skill | Taker's Flames (30 FP, cannot be swapped) |
| Infusion / buffs | None. No Ashes of War, grease or buff spells |
| Passive | Heals 4% max HP + 40 when a nearby enemy dies |
Two details people get wrong all the time:
- The 22 Strength requirement doesn't drop to 15 when you two-hand. Two-handing multiplies your effective Strength by 1.5, so a character with 15 STR can wield it two-handed. The listed requirement is still 22, and one-handing it below that tanks your damage.
- The passive heal triggers on any nearby enemy death, not just your own kills. Fextralife notes it doesn't stack with itself if you powerstance two Blasphemous Blades.
How does Taker's Flames work?
Taker's Flames is the build. You raise the sword, it catches fire, and you swing a long wave of flame forward. Per the Fextralife skill page:
- FP cost: 30, and the skill can't be charged
- Can't be parried and deals 22 stance damage
- Damage: pure Fire, scaling only with Faith. Your Strength and Dexterity add nothing to it.
- Heals 10% of max HP + 150 flat HP on hit
- Boosted by Fire Scorpion Charm and Talisman of the Dread
- A Mimic Tear holding the Blasphemous Blade heals itself with it too
- Patch 1.07 added hit detection to the blade itself, so the swing and the flame wave can both connect up close
Here's what the healing looks like at real Vigor levels:
| Vigor | Max HP | Heal per Taker's Flames hit |
|---|---|---|
| 40 | 1,450 | 295 HP |
| 50 | 1,704 | 320 HP |
| 60 | 1,900 | 340 HP |
Each connecting hit gives back roughly a sixth of your health bar. That's why so many players say armor barely matters on this build: you're healing through damage that would kill a normal greatsword user. One of the most-upvoted replies in a recent r/EldenRingBuilds thread put it bluntly: you "basically heal to full health with a single ash of war."
The downside is that it's slow. The wind-up is long, and a fast boss will punish you if you cast it mid-combo. Use it after a boss finishes a string of attacks, on a large target, or from mid-range. Don't use it as a panic button. If you're getting hit out of the cast, aim for 51 poise so ordinary enemy attacks don't stagger you during the wind-up. That target is community advice from players who run this build, not an official breakpoint.
What are the best stats for a Blasphemous Blade build?
Short answer: meet the Strength and Dexterity requirements and put everything else into Faith and Vigor. Taker's Flames uses Faith alone, and that's where nearly all of your damage comes from.
Recommended level-150 spread (community consensus from Fextralife builds and r/EldenRingBuilds, not an official breakpoint):
| Attribute | Target | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Vigor | 50–60 | Bigger HP pool makes the % heals bigger. Vigor's soft caps are 40 and 60 |
| Mind | 20–25 | Taker's Flames costs 30 FP, so you need enough for several casts per flask |
| Endurance | 20–25 | Carry a 13.5-weight greatsword and still roll at medium load |
| Strength | 22 | The requirement. Going higher only raises the R1/R2 physical damage, which you'll rarely use |
| Dexterity | 15 | The requirement. Nothing more |
| Faith | 60–80 | Faith's attack soft caps are 20/50/80. This stat is your damage |
Going past 80 Faith gives very little back. Once you reach it, put the extra levels into Vigor or Mind.
Starting class. Any class works. You'll fix any misallocation with a Larval Tear at Rennala before the build comes online. The Confessor is a natural fit, starting at level 10 with 14 Faith and 12 Strength. The Prophet wastes slightly fewer points (7 Intelligence vs 9), so either is fine. If you want a full comparison of all 12 starting classes, including the two Tarnished Pack classes, see our best starting class guide.
Leveling order on a fresh character: Vigor to 25 → hit the weapon requirements as soon as you get the Remembrance → Faith to 50 → Vigor to 40 → Mind to 20 → Faith toward 80 with Vigor toward 60 alongside it.
Best talismans and buffs for the Blasphemous Blade
Talismans, in priority order:
- Shard of Alexander: +15% skill attack power, and it applies to every Taker's Flames. You get it from Iron Fist Alexander after finishing his questline (you can summon him for the Fire Giant fight, and his quest ends in Crumbling Farum Azula). If you kill him early you get the Warrior Jar Shard instead.
- Fire Scorpion Charm: +12% fire damage, but you take +10% physical damage. It sits on the ramparts of Fort Laiedd in Mt. Gelmir, near Volcano Manor. The healing covers the physical-damage penalty, which is why this charm suits the Blasphemous Blade better than most weapons.
- Talisman of the Dread (Shadow of the Erdtree): +15% to magma spells and skills, and Fextralife lists Taker's Flames among them. It's on a corpse inside Elder's Hovel.
- Ritual Sword Talisman: +10% attack power at full HP, from the chest in Lux Ruins after Demi-Human Queen Gilika. Taker's Flames keeps you topped up, so this bonus is active more often than on any other weapon.
- Flex slot: Taker's Cameo (3% + 30 HP per kill) if you want to clear crowds, or Dragoncrest Greatshield Talisman if a boss keeps killing you outright.
Buffs (they multiply together, so Golden Vow × Flame Grant Me Strength works out to about +38%):
- Golden Vow gives +15% attack and +10% damage negation. It's at the Corpse-Stench Shack in Mt. Gelmir, near where you'll already be farming this build.
- Flame, Grant Me Strength gives +20% physical and +20% fire for 30 seconds and needs 15 FAI. It's behind Fort Gael in Caelid.
- Flame-Shrouding Cracked Tear in the Flask of Wondrous Physick multiplies with Fire Scorpion Charm (per Fextralife).
The heal-on-kill stack. For general exploration, equip Rykard's Great Rune (7% + 80 on kill, activated at the Divine Tower of West Altus) together with Taker's Cameo. With the blade's passive, every nearby kill gives back 14% of max HP + 150 HP, and you'll barely need your flask outside boss fights. Our Great Runes guide compares Rykard's against the other five.
Blasphemous Blade vs Godslayer's Greatsword vs Maliketh's Black Blade
All three Faith-scaling swords (a greatsword and two colossal swords) appear in any Strength/Faith build. Here's how they actually compare:
| Weapon | Requirements | Damage | Skill | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blasphemous Blade | 22 STR / 15 DEX / 21 FAI | Physical + Fire | Taker's Flames: ranged, heals | Safe progression, sustain, ranged poke |
| Godslayer's Greatsword | 20 STR / 22 DEX / 20 FAI | Physical + Fire | The Queen's Black Flame | Black-flame damage based on the target's max HP |
| Maliketh's Black Blade | 34 STR / 12 DEX / 20 FAI | Physical + Holy | Destined Death (40 FP) | Burst damage and cutting the boss's max HP |
Our pick: the Blasphemous Blade is the most forgiving of the three. If you keep dying, choose it. Maliketh's Black Blade does more burst damage, but you'll need extra Strength for it, and it deals Holy damage, not Fire, so Fire Scorpion Charm and the fire half of Flame Grant Me Strength do nothing for it. If you want it, our Maliketh guide covers the fight. Watch out for holy- and fire-resistant bosses too. Fire Giant has 50% fire damage negation, which halves Taker's Flames, so a physical backup weapon is worth carrying for that fight.
Is the Blasphemous Blade still good in Shadow of the Erdtree?
Yes, as long as you level your Scadutree Blessing. The weapon and skill weren't changed in 1.17 (2026-08-27) or in the bug-fix-only 1.17.2 (2026-10-20). The official 1.17 notes changed the Carian Sorcery Sword, Rakshasa's Great Katana, some shields, Storm Wall and a few sorceries and incantations, but nothing on this build. The DLC also adds the Talisman of the Dread, which buffs Taker's Flames directly. What changes in the Realm of Shadow is how fast enemies hit. You'll take more damage while you wind up the skill, so the 50–60 Vigor target matters more there.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Raising Strength past 22. It barely helps, because your skill doesn't use Strength at all.
- Upgrading with regular Smithing Stones. It's a Somber weapon. You need Somber Smithing Stones and Somberstone Miner's Bell Bearings.
- Trying to grease it or put an Ash of War on it. Neither is possible, so put those runes and slots toward fire talismans.
- Casting Taker's Flames into a boss's combo. The wind-up is long, so cast it after the combo ends.
- Skipping Vigor because "it heals anyway." The heal is a percentage of max HP, so low Vigor shrinks it.
- Killing Rykard before finishing Tanith's letters. You'll lose Taker's Cameo for that playthrough.
FAQ
Does the Blasphemous Blade scale with Strength or Faith? Both, plus Dexterity, but only Faith matters for Taker's Flames, which deals pure fire damage that scales solely with Faith. At +10 the scaling is C Strength, C Dexterity and B Faith. Meet the 22 STR and 15 DEX requirements and put the rest into Faith.
How much does Taker's Flames heal? It heals 10% of your max HP plus 150 flat HP each time it hits. That's about 295 HP at 40 Vigor and 340 HP at 60 Vigor. The sword also restores 4% max HP + 40 whenever a nearby enemy dies.
Can you two-hand the Blasphemous Blade with less Strength? Yes. Two-handing multiplies your effective Strength by 1.5, so you can wield it with 15 STR. The listed requirement is still 22, and one-handing below that cuts your damage hard.
Can you buff the Blasphemous Blade with grease or Ashes of War? No. Fextralife confirms it can't be infused with Ashes of War and can't be buffed by magic or consumables. Boost it with talismans and incantations like Golden Vow and Flame, Grant Me Strength instead.
Should I take the Blasphemous Blade or Rykard's Rancor? Take the Blasphemous Blade for a melee or hybrid Faith build. Rykard's Rancor is a sorcery that needs 40 Intelligence and 18 Faith, so it only suits Intelligence/Faith hybrids, not this low-Intelligence build. If you want both, duplicate the Remembrance at a Walking Mausoleum that has a bell. Bell-less mausoleums can't copy Rykard's.
Is the Blasphemous Blade good for a first playthrough? It's one of the best choices for one. It gives you range, self-healing and strong fire damage on a straightforward stat spread. The main drawback is that it gets repetitive, a common complaint from players who rely on the skill alone.
More Elden Ring guides
FromSoftware hasn't announced further expansions for either Elden Ring or Elden Ring Nightreign. The best way to get more out of this build is to put it against the hardest fights in the base game and DLC. Next, see our best talismans for Promised Consort Radahn and the Strength/Faith build for alternative weapons on the same stat spread.
Looking for your next build? Browse more Elden Ring weapon and boss guides on the timesaver.gg blog.
