Alright, let’s talk about the Elden Ring Blasphemous Blade. Its weapon skill, Taker’s Flames, is one of the best reasons to build around Faith. It hits hard, covers a lot of ground, and heals you while you deal damage — if you want a weapon skill that feels like a boss move, this guide has you covered.

What Is Taker’s Flames?

Taker’s Flames is the unique weapon skill on the Blasphemous Blade. You can’t remove it, and you can’t put it on another weapon. When you press L2/LT, the sword catches fire, you do a wide sweeping flame slash, and then you slam the blade into the ground, causing a violent explosion of fire in front of you.

The skill costs 25 FP. Every enemy hit by Taker’s Flames restores some HP, which is a huge deal in PvE. This heal is separate from the Blasphemous Blade’s passive effect that restores HP when enemies die, so the skill itself can keep you alive during a fight — especially if you hit multiple enemies at once.

What Makes Taker’s Flames So Good?

First, it’s an AoE fire attack with great reach. You can hit a whole group in one L2 press.

Second, it has good poise damage and can stagger a lot of regular enemies. Third, the healing effect makes it one of the safest PvE weapon skills in the game.

The main downside is the wind-up. Once you press L2, you’re committed. If you miss or the enemy dodges, you can get punished hard, especially in PvP where players know how to roll through Taker’s Flames.

How to Get the Blasphemous Blade and Use Taker’s Flames

Before you can use Taker’s Flames, you need the Blasphemous Blade itself. It comes from the Remembrance of the Blasphemous, so you need to beat Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy.

How to Get the Blasphemous Blade

First, reach Volcano Manor. You can get there through Mt. Gelmir or by doing Rya’s questline. Then, defeat Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy — if you want a much easier fight, use the Serpent-Hunter spear found in the boss arena.

After the fight, grab the Remembrance of the Blasphemous. If you also want Rykard’s Rancor, duplicate the Remembrance at a Walking Mausoleum before you use it. Head to Roundtable Hold and talk to Finger Reader Enia to exchange the Remembrance for the Blasphemous Blade.

Meet the stat requirements: 22 Strength, 15 Dexterity, and 21 Faith. Two-handing the Blasphemous Blade lowers the Strength requirement to 15 because of the two-hand strength bonus, but you still need 15 Dexterity and 21 Faith.

New player warning: Don’t rush into Volcano Manor underleveled just to grab this sword. Rykard can flatten you if you’re not ready, and the Serpent-Hunter spear helps a lot, but it doesn’t make you unkillable.

Step-by-Step: Use Taker’s Flames Correctly

Equip the Blasphemous Blade in your right hand. Check your FP bar — you need at least 25 FP to use the skill. If you have a shield in your left hand, make sure it has the No Skill Ash of War, or L2/LT will use the shield’s skill instead.

Aim at your target. Press L2/LT once and let the full animation play out. After the explosion, follow up with R1/R2 if the enemy is still alive, or roll away if you’re in danger.

New player warning: If your shield has Parry on it, you won’t use Taker’s Flames at all — you’ll just parry and get clapped. Put No Skill on that shield before you try this in a fight.

Blasphemous Blade Weapon Skill Combos and Tactics

Taker’s Flames works best when you set it up first. It’s not the fastest weapon skill, so you need a safe window or a stagger. Here are the combos and tactics I use in PvE and PvP.

PvE Combos

L2 → R1 — The classic. Use Taker’s Flames on a group, then hit R1 to clean up survivors.

Jump R2 → L2 — Start with a jumping heavy attack to close the distance and deal poise damage. If the enemy staggers, press L2 and let the full explosion hit them while they’re stuck.

L2 → L2 — Yes, you can spam Taker’s Flames in PvE. The heal and stagger pressure are so strong that you can loop it on most bosses and large enemies, but watch your FP. I used this to clear the Haligtree prayer room mobs, and it made that area much easier.

L2 → Charged R2 — If a tough enemy survives the explosion but is staggered, charge an R2. The heavy attack will catch them right after the skill recovery and finish the job.

PvP Tips

Don’t open a PvP fight with Taker’s Flames. The animation is too long, and a good player will just roll behind you and backstab you. Use it as a punish instead — if your opponent misses a big attack or gets greedy with a roll attack, press L2 while they’re recovering.

Try free-aiming the explosion. When an enemy rolls sideways, don’t stay locked on. Aim slightly in the direction they’re rolling, because the delayed ground slam can catch them at the end of the roll.

Put No Skill on your offhand shield. This makes L2 always use Taker’s Flames, so you never accidentally parry instead of healing yourself with a flame explosion.

Best Stats and Upgrade Path for Taker’s Flames

The Blasphemous Blade scales with Strength, Dexterity, and Faith, but not evenly. Faith is the best stat for Taker’s Flames. Strength helps your normal melee damage, and Dexterity is only a minor bonus.

Suggested Faith Build Stats

  • Vigor: 50 to 60. You need HP because you’ll be close to enemies.
  • Mind: 25 to 30. This gives you enough FP to spam Taker’s Flames several times.
  • Endurance: 25. You need stamina for swings, rolls, and armor.
  • Strength: 22. This is the minimum for one-handing the weapon.
  • Dexterity: 15. Leave it at the requirement.
  • Faith: 50 to 60. This is your main damage stat and makes Taker’s Flames hit much harder.
  • Intelligence and Arcane: Leave these at your starting base.

Start as Prophet or Confessor if you want a smoother Faith build around the Blasphemous Blade.

Upgrade Path

The Blasphemous Blade uses Somber Smithing Stones, not regular Smithing Stones. You upgrade it from +1 to +9 with Somber Smithing Stones, and the final +10 upgrade requires a Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone.

Weapon skill damage scales with your weapon upgrade level, so don’t use a low-level Blasphemous Blade in the late game. Get it as high as you can.

You can also boost Taker’s Flames with the Flame-Shrouding Cracked Tear in your Flask of Wondrous Physick and the Fire Scorpion Charm talisman. The Fire Scorpion Charm increases fire damage but makes you take more damage, so be careful. Equip the Shard of Alexander or Warrior Jar Shard to increase weapon skill damage even more.

New player warning: Don’t stack Fire Scorpion Charm with other damage-increasing talismans if you’re already squishy. The extra damage you take can turn a bad trade into a one-shot.

Common Mistakes Players Make With Taker’s Flames

Spamming L2 in PvP.
Taker’s Flames is strong, but it’s telegraphed. Spam it in PvP and you’ll get parried or backstabbed. Use it smart.

Using a shield skill by accident.
If your shield has Parry, Bash, or any other skill, L2/LT will use that instead of Taker’s Flames. Put No Skill on your shield.

Not investing in Faith.
This isn’t just a Strength weapon. If you ignore Faith, Taker’s Flames will feel weak. Faith is the stat that makes this skill shine.

Using it on fire-resistant enemies.
Taker’s Flames deals fire damage. Against fire-resistant enemies, you’ll see much lower damage. Switch to physical attacks or another weapon in those situations.

Panic rolling instead of using the heal.
When your HP is low, a landed Taker’s Flames can heal you. Don’t always chug a flask first. Sometimes the best move is to press L2, hit the enemy, and heal from the damage you deal.

Taker’s Flames FAQ

Does Taker’s Flames heal you?

Yes. Taker’s Flames restores HP for every enemy it hits, which is why it’s so strong in PvE. You can heal by attacking, letting you keep pressure on bosses and mobs.

Can I put Taker’s Flames on another weapon?

No. Taker’s Flames is the unique skill of the Blasphemous Blade. You can’t change it, remove it, or copy it to another weapon with an Ash of War.

Should I build Strength or Faith for the Blasphemous Blade?

Faith is the better stat for Taker’s Flames. Strength still helps your regular attacks, but Faith boosts the fire skill damage and your overall damage output.

What upgrade materials does the Blasphemous Blade need?

It uses Somber Smithing Stones for +1 to +9. The final +10 upgrade needs a Somber Ancient Dragon Smithing Stone.