Summary
Video game weapons come in all shapes and sizes. There are the realistic guns of military shooters likeCall of Duty. The sillier acid-infused ones ofBorderlands. Then there are even more absurd ones. A unique – and distinctly peculiar and creepy – variety isthe blood weapon, rather a common trope. These are forged from, imbued with, or in some way utilize, the blood of the user (or someone/thing else).
From the biggest franchises likeFinal FantasyandCastlevaniato lesser-known titles like Soul Sacrifice, a variety of titles have featured blood weapons. The very best ones are extremely powerful, have very useful effects, or both. Sometimes, an entire build can even be focused around them. Here are some of gaming’s greatest blood weapons.
TheDiabloseries, very often, is about one thing: Eradicating huge groups of horrific creatures as quickly as possible before your character is overwhelmed. It follows, then, that it’s helpful if your chosen character has access to some nice crowd control abilities early on.
Blood Surge is a Core skill for the Necromancer class, which drains blood from enemies before unleashing a blood nova. Adding Enhanced Blood Surge to the mix also heals your character in the process, while Paranormal Blood Surge offers the chance for Overpower if players can use it consistently. The skill is limited, however, by its reliance on having multiple targets, meaning that it won’t perform to its potential against bosses.
Supportive players in team shooters are often considered to have something of a passive role. They don’t tend to get the kills that win games (even though they’re instrumental in keeping their team in fighting shape so they can do so). They’re typically more lightly-armed as a result, but sometimes, they get access to intriguing weapons unique to them. One such weapon is the HRG Vampire.
Amid the grisly carnage that is the typical Killing Floor 2 session, a Field Medic is an invaluable ally. One of this class’s higher-tier weapons (tier 4) is the HRG Vampire, a large weapon that fires Crystal Spikes. It consumes the blood from foes and then spits it back out in a great, grotesque clump, also healing allies. It’s a unique, fitting, and rather useful weapon, but it can be unwieldy and isn’t a huge damage dealer.
Reinforced With The Blood Of The Mightiest Being Of All
What Makes It So Good?
Really, Kratos needn’t concern himself with the concept of ultimate weapons. He’s demonstrated that he’s more than capable of tearing some of the strongest beings in existence apart with his bare hands. Still, he’s done some gloriously disgusting work with the likes ofthe legendary Blades of Chaostoo. Now he has a new favorite weapon: the Draupnir Spear.
This spear isn’t a blood weapon in the more conventional sense. Rather, the Lady of the Forge created it in Svartalfheim for Kratos, who added some of his own blood into the mix. The weapon is, as such, a part of him: It contains his essence, and perhaps it’s this that allows him to use such incredible abilities with it. It has a focus not only on ranged attacks, but on AoE slams and offering the chance to manipulate the stagger mechanic. The only real downside of the spear is that Kratos has a limited time in which to utilize it.
A Dark And Deadly Vampire Killer
In the Castlevania series, Dracula often appears as a final bossarmed with a wide range of supernatural powers. The Castlevania: Lord of Shadows games see him armed with perhaps his most intriguing weapon of all: The Shadow Whip.
A sort of nefarious counterpart of the series’ iconic Vampire Killer, the Shadow Whip is not a weapon carried in a conventional way, but a physical creation Dracula can magically call on when needed. It’s made from nothing other than the blood of the count himself. It can be augmented with the ability to deliver combos, launch foes to juggle them and extract enemies’ power in order to utilize it. Despite its utility, it’s rather lesser-known, and serves in the Lord of Shadows games more as Dracula’s basic ability.
One of the unique elements of PS Vita action RPG Soul Sacrifice Delta is the ability to save or sacrifice opponents on their defeat, thereby altering your character’s stats (survivability is boosted by saving and offensive power by sacrificing). From the range of magical attacks available, Blood spells can deal very high damage, and Sanguine Demonshot+ is the most potentially powerful of all. Acquired by sacrificing antagonist Magusar and boosted through fusion with Saint’s Offering (L), it can be a deadly shotgun of sorts.
If the player can get close to a foe and stick there as they repeatedly fire, they’ll be impressed with the damage potential here. They’ll need to be wary too, though, because Blood spells drain HP with each use so healing effects are vital.
Steiner is, if his hilarious clanking armor didn’t tip you off, a classic Final Fantasy Knight. However, he gets a weapon typical of the Dark Knight.
The Blood Sword can be acquired quite early in the adventure, given to the party by Queen Stella after taking four Stellazio to her home in Treno. This weapon has the unique effect of restoring Steiner’s HP by exactly as much as he deals with Attack, every time (except against Undead foes). It also teaches him the Sword Art Darkside, which allows deals Shadow damage in exchange for some HP. Though it can be very helpful, the Attack value of the sword is a mere 24.
A gun, for many Bloodborne fans, is just a means of setting up Visceral Attacks. It won’t do much damage without significant investment in Bloodtinge, rather a forgotten stat. The game’s Firearms shoot bullets infused with blood, and this is perhaps the strongest one of all. It’ll prove a huge boon inthe game’s dark fantasy world.
Those who enjoy Bloodtinge builds and the small pool of main weapons that benefit from them, though, know the power of an upgraded Evelyn. Its fantastic scaling with the stat means that you’ll be able to take down foes from a distance very well. It’s an unusual build that requires heavy investment to reach its potential, and a Firearm won’t do all the work by itself, but the Evelyn is probably the game’s best choice with a Bloodtinge character. Be sure to collect it from Cainhurst Castle, or acquire the Cainhurst Badge there so you can buy it.
Dead Island 2 is another title that focuses heavily on pure combat carnage. Fortunately, the player can arm themselves with a wide range of vicious weapons. In the Dagger category, there’s perhaps no choice deadlier than the Blood Rage. It’s a blood weapon in the fact that it makes heavy use of enemies’ blood, if not in a strictly conventional sense.
Blood Rage is found in a safe in the sand, at the beach of the Santa Monica Pier. To open it, players need to obtain the key, which is held byan unfortunate zombienamed Dante. Blood Rage boasts the perk Infectious, which means that nearby opponents can also bleed when you strike a target. A further boon is Superior Melee Puncturator, making the dagger very effective at inflicting Bleed. Its power is only tempered by the fact that it’s very short-ranged.
A Blade That Transforms In Deadly Style When Imbued With Blood
Having already celebrated the elegant, formidable, blood-bullet-firing Evelyn, it would be remiss not to also cover its trusty partner: the Chikage. This sword is also unlocked via the Cainhurst Badge (given on joining the Vilebloods), and as befits the Vileblood theme, its damage potential revolves around the Bloodtinge stat.
In its standard form, it’s quite a conventional Thrust weapon,mostly scaling with Skill. When transformed, however, the player’s own blood empowers it with wide, sweeping attacks and sole Bloodtinge scaling. With high Bloodtinge, it’s very powerful indeed, but it does drain the Hunter’s health and force a bit of an awkward build.
Elden Ring’s Rivers of Blood is, perhaps, a bit of a cliche. It’s a katana with a blade drenched in blood, and which carries a powerful curse (courtesy of the Lord of Blood, Mohg). Much more importantly, though, it’s very strong. Previously held by Bloody Finger Okina, it can be acquired by defeating Okina at the Church of Repose.
A premiere choice for a Blood Loss build, Rivers of Blood offers effective build up in the status, further boosted with Arcane investment. Corpse Piler, which only this blade has access to, is a series of strikes that also helps with Blood Loss, and deals additional Fire damage. It’s a weapon with a lot of potential, but which still affords the player some versatility in their build.
