You’ve seen it. That twisted, writhing hunk of meat and steel that basically turns the endgame of Elden Ring into a cakewalk. It’s gross. It’s covered in tiny, moving arms. Honestly, it’s one of the most unsettling designs FromSoftware has ever cooked up, but it is undeniably the strongest PvE weapon in the game. If you're struggling with Malenia or just tired of dying to random mobs in Miquella’s Haligtree, you need to know how to get the Blasphemous Blade. It isn't just about the damage, though the fire scaling is insane. It's the lifesteal. Every time you kill an enemy, you get HP back. Every time you hit a boss with the Taker's Flames skill, you get a chunk of your health bar back. It’s basically cheating, but the game lets you do it, so why wouldn't you?
Getting your hands on it isn't exactly a walk in the park. You can't just stumble upon it in a chest in some random cave in Limgrave. You have to commit to a bit of a trek through Mt. Gelmir, deal with a very weird "family" of recusants, and eventually slay a god. Or at least, a guy who let a giant snake eat him so he could become a god. Same thing in the Lands Between.
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The Long Road to Volcano Manor
Most players first see the Blasphemous Blade and think they can just run to a specific spot on the map and pick it up. Nope. This weapon is a Remembrance reward. That means you have to kill Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy. But reaching Rykard is where people usually get tripped up because there are actually two very different ways to get to him.
One way is the "intended" way—joining the Volcano Manor covenant. You find Rya in Liurnia, get her necklace back from the Blackguard (don't kill him, his crab is too good), and she’ll eventually teleport you or lead you up to the manor. Once you're there, you talk to Tanith. She’s the lady sitting in the chair with the massive Crucible Knight bodyguard. You join the house, take the drawing-room key, and start doing assassinations.
You’ll see letters on the table. Pick them up. Kill the target. Go back. Repeat.
If you follow this questline to the end, Tanith will eventually ask if you want to meet the Lord. She teleports you right to the boss door. It’s convenient. But it takes a long time because the final assassination target is all the way in the Mountaintops of the Giants, which is a late-game area. If you want the blade now, you have to take the back way.
The Secret Path Through the Dungeons
If you don't feel like being an assassin, or if you just want the sword as early as possible, you have to explore the manor itself. Behind an illusory wall in one of the drawing rooms, there’s a whole hidden town. It’s a nightmare of lava, snake-men, and those annoying mechanical iron virgin enemies. You have to fight your way through the Prison Town Church, across the rooftops, and eventually beat the Godskin Noble.
He’s the fat one. He rolls around. He’s frustrating.
Once he’s dead, you can access a portal that takes you to the Audience Pathway. This is the "fast" way to how to get the Blasphemous Blade, but it's significantly harder because you're fighting through a high-level dungeon instead of just fast-traveling to assassination targets. Either way, you end up at the same fog gate.
Slaying Rykard (The Serpent-Hunter Method)
When you walk into that boss arena, don't just run at the giant snake with your current weapon. You’ll die. Immediately to your left as you enter, there’s a legendary spear called the Serpent-Hunter stuck in a corpse. Pick it up. Equip it. Even if you don't have the stats for it, the "great-serpent hunt" weapon skill works regardless during this fight.
The fight is a gimmick, but a spectacular one.
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The first phase is the God-Devouring Serpent. Stay at a distance and spam the light and heavy attacks of the Serpent-Hunter. It creates these massive gusts of wind that stun the snake. Once the health bar hits zero, the real fight starts. Rykard pulls the Blasphemous Blade—the very thing you’re here for—out of the snake’s throat.
Phase two is chaotic. There are skulls flying everywhere. The ground is literally exploding. Rykard swings that sword in massive arcs that can one-shot players with low Vigor. The trick here is patience. Don't spam your weapon skill until you're out of stamina. Hit him, wait for his animation to reset, and hit him again. Once he’s down, you get the Remembrance of the Blasphemous.
Trading the Remembrance
You aren't done yet. Having the Remembrance in your inventory doesn't mean you have the sword. You need to head back to Roundtable Hold and talk to Enia, the Finger Reader. She’s the creepy, ancient lady next to the Two Fingers.
Choose the "Receive power from Remembrance" option.
You'll see two choices: the Blasphemous Blade or the Rykard's Rancor sorcery. Unless you are a dedicated pure-INT mage, take the sword. It scales primarily with Strength, Dexterity, and Faith. If you've already spent your Remembrance on the spell by mistake, don't panic. You can find a Wandering Mausoleum (the giant stone turtles with bells) and duplicate the Remembrance there, even if you’ve already used it.
Why Everyone Wants This Weapon
Let's talk numbers. The Blasphemous Blade is a Greatsword. It’s heavy, but not too slow. At +10 reinforcement, it has a C scaling in Strength, C in Dex, and B in Faith. This makes it a monster for Faith builds. But the real star is the Taker's Flames skill.
When you use the skill, you slam the sword into the ground and send out a wave of fire. It deals massive fire damage and knocks down many human-sized enemies. But here is the kicker: it heals you for 10% of your max HP plus a flat 150 HP on every hit. That’s per enemy hit. If you hit five enemies with one wave, you’re basically back to full health.
- Lifesteal on Kill: You get 4% HP + 40 HP just for having it held when an enemy dies.
- Lifesteal on Hit: The weapon skill is the most reliable heal in the game.
- Fire Damage: Most things in Elden Ring are weak to fire, especially the finger-creepers and many bosses.
Many players pair this with the Fire Scorpion Charm and the Shard of Alexander to boost the damage of the fire wave to ridiculous levels. It’s a "comfort" weapon. It lets you make mistakes because you can just heal the damage back by attacking.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
A lot of people think they can just "powerlevel" to the blade, but they forget the stat requirements. You need 22 Strength, 15 Dexterity, and 21 Faith. If you’re a pure Dexterity build, this sword is going to feel weak. You really need to lean into that Faith investment to see those big fire numbers.
Another big mistake? Missing the Volcano Manor quests. While you can kill Rykard early by going through the secret dungeon, you will lose out on all the rewards from the assassination contracts, including the Hoslow Armor set and the Taker's Cameo talisman. The Taker's Cameo actually stacks with the Blasphemous Blade’s healing, making you nearly immortal. I always recommend doing the quests up until the last one before killing the boss. Once Rykard is dead, everyone leaves the manor and the quests are gone forever.
Also, don't forget to upgrade it with Somber Smithing Stones. Since it's a boss weapon, it only goes up to +10, which is much easier to reach than the +25 of standard weapons.
Next Steps for Your Build
Once you have the weapon, your next move should be grabbing the Flame, Grant Me Strength incantation in Caelid. It’s located behind Fort Gael, guarded by some flame-chariots. This spell boosts both your physical and fire damage, which perfectly aligns with the Blasphemous Blade's split damage type. Pair this with the Ritual Sword Talisman (since you'll almost always be at full health) to keep your damage output at its absolute peak. You should also look into getting the Mimic Tear spirit ash; watching your clone also use Taker's Flames to heal itself makes boss fights almost trivial.