We love Bloodstained. It’s a great game that is worth the time and money you’ll be putting to it. If by some chance you have not played it yet, or are stuck at a certain part of the game, it may be because you aren’t using the proper shards. Here are some of the best shards that we’ve used to finish the game and get that elusive 100% completion!
Heretical Grinder
Harvest from: Blood Grinder Knight
This Shard really puts the Grind in Grinder. If you wanna dish out rapid hits, this is a must. Not to mention they can harvested the moment you enter the castle since Blood Grinder Knights appear that early in the game. As long as you got the MP to spare, you can definitely bring the pain with this Directional Shard. It can also go through walls through so it’s definitely a way to deal with those pesky floating Ghosts that your other weapons can’t.
Welcome Company
Harvest from: Poltergeist
Welcome Company can be acquired from Poltergeists nearly at the start of the game, therefore giving an early form of defense. And the portraits don’t just absorb attacks, but they also deal damage to your opponents, thereby providing you some offense too, so it’s actually recommended to use with close range weapons. Upgrade this as much as you can!
Words of Wisdom
Harvest from: Archdemon
Some of those hard hitting Shards can drain your MP Meter dry, so a Passive Shard that lessens MP Consumption is a must. When upgraded, if you’re lucky, casting from Shard attacks won’t cost any MP at all. It definitely works great with a rapid hitting Shard like Heretical Grinder.
Head Flail
Harvest from: Dullahammer
Ok Ok, we know that the Dullahammer Head Familiar is one of the best shard pairings with Welcome Company. That’s not to say this lesser known Dullahammer shard isn’t good too! If you’re more into fast hits then the Head Flail Shard will do just that. When upgraded, a swing of a Dullahammer’s head comes out fast and hard.
Directed Shield
Harvest from: Shield Outsiders
This shield generating shard is one of the best defenses in the game as it blocks pretty much everything the game throws in front of you. When upgraded, the shield’s coverage increases. Not to mention Shield Outsiders encountered pretty early in the game too! Do yourself a favor and invest in this Shard as it’s able to block attacks that can be fatal in boss battles in harder difficulties.
Void Ray
Harvest from: Abyssal Guardian
When you find the Heretical Grinder’s range too short, this is your next best option. Just as strong as the Grinder in terms of damage, the Void Ray dishes out multiple hits from a longer distance and with each upgrade, the width of the ray gets bigger. allowing you to go full kamehameha on those demons.
Detective’s Eye
Harvest from: Seeker
For the competionist, this is a must. Sure you can travel the entire castle hitting every inch of wall you come across, but won’t it be easier to activate a Shard that lets you detect secret breakable walls? Not to mention at higher levels, any items that enter the Shard’s range will be picked up automatically? I rest my case.
Silver Knight Familiar
Harvest from: Breakable objects in the castle
This is one of my recommended familiars if you want something well-rounded. Compared to the Bloodbringer shard that just attacks, the Silver Knight familiar attacks and at the same time defends you from enemy attacks. When upgraded it will be more dependable to block enemy projectiles and also launch attacks that can hit multiple enemies.
Aug LCK
Harvest from: Deathtrap
When you want to get rare items for crafting or farming Shards, you will need all the luck you can get, and what better way to do that than to equip a luck increasing passive shard. At lower levels, you’ll need to equip this shard but max it out to level 9 and it becomes a passive you can toggle, allowing you to stack another shard for maximum luck!
Aug Gold
Harvest from: Crafted from Johannes
Even with your ever dependable Johannes to craft all your needs, there are times that you will need to buy from the shop. And some of those stuff can get pretty expensive (looking at you alkahest) so if farming for cash is your thing better equip this passive shard to increase your chance of getting more precious dough. Same with augment LCK, if you max this to level 9, it turns into a passive skill!
Notable mentions: Accelerator, Standstill, and 8-Bit Fireball
Got some other shard builds that you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments below!
Videogame Content Editor. A father and gamer. Would gladly trade what’s left of his soul to witness a Final Fantasy 6 and Xenogears remake done during his lifetime.
