Melquíades the Exhumed Archbishop is a really interesting boss in Blasphemous. As you probably know, the game takes a lot of inspiration from Spanish culture, especially from Holy Week (Semana Santa). The Game Kitchen (the game’s developers) have their studio in Seville, a place where this celebration is especially important.
With that context, and if you know a little about these celebrations, you’ll probably understand a bit better what this boss, with all those arms holding him up, is based on. By the way, it just occurred to me… wouldn’t it have been really epic to release the game closer to Holy Week?
Anyway, let’s get to it, since as usual I’m rambling.
Table of Contents
Melquíades Location
You’ll find Melquíades the Exhumed Archbishop in “Mother of Mothers“, an area you’ll reach after crossing the huge door on the “Bridge of the Three Calvaries” and going through the “Patio of the Silent Steps”.
The fight is in the northwest part of this map, leaning a bit toward the center horizontally. However, you’ll have to take quite a detour to get there.
Attack Guide
I found Melquíades to be a pretty easy boss, especially compared to Esdras of the Anointed Legion, who for me is, without a doubt, the worst one to date, though I’ll probably run into an even worse one later on.
Anyway, let’s start with Melquíades’ attack guide:
- Slapping Hands: Sometimes some hands will appear from the bottom of the screen and try to hit you. Get away from where they appear, and if they catch you right on the spot, jump while moving away or you’ll get slapped hard.
- Magic Pillars: Every now and then Melquíades summons several magic pillars that fall scattered across the screen. As usual with this kind of attack, you can see beforehand where they’ll fall so you can get to safety.
- Staff Strike: An attack he’ll sometimes do when he sees you close to him. Just get away or dash at the exact moment to dodge it. It’s not an especially dangerous attack, but it’s pretty annoying since it pushes you back, and you want to stay close to him.
- Magic Pillar Chain: You’ll often see the boss move to the far side of the screen and start moving while summoning “Magic Pillars” one at a time with his staff. This is a good moment to attack, since the pillar that’s about to fall lands more or less in his center, so you can attack the arms without much trouble. He’ll keep getting closer, you keep backing away… and so on.
Strategy and Tips
At first the boss seems immune to attacks, and that’s because, while he’s held up, he actually is. So what you need to do is attack those arms holding him up. As you do, you’ll see them gradually fall until they can’t hold the boss up anymore and he comes down.
That’s when you need to go all out on him. Take advantage of the fact that you’ll have just about enough time to rush over and land a full combo. I especially recommend the upward combo from the “Ascending Edge” Mea Culpa skill. It worked great for me because of the jumping strike at the end, which lets you hit him a bit more in the air while he’s getting back up.
Another tip, and I’d say this one is VERY useful against Melquíades, is to use another Mea Culpa skill. This time I mean “Fervorous Blood“, or its upgraded versions if you can, of course. This ranged attack uses very little Fervour and hits every arm in its path. It’s honestly an incredible help for taking out the arms. Try it… it’s a real godsend, quite literally.
Oh, and I almost forgot. The “Sacred Thrust, Sacred Lunge” skills and the like also come in really handy for quickly closing in on the arms and even hitting several of them hard.
Build for the Fight
As for the build, I recommend this one. It’s not like it has to be exactly this; it’s just a guideline, and in the end everyone adapts their build however they want… Well, more than a build, I’m going to recommend the items I think are essential for this fight.
- Rosary Beads:
- Consecrated Amethyst: Gives you a lot of magic resistance, ideal against a boss with magic attacks, right?
- Dove Skull: This one’s for physical resistance, since the staff hits and the slaps also hurt.
- Prayers:
- Següiriya to your Eyes like Stars (I don’t think I’ll ever manage to write this without looking it up): Lets you attack faster, so you’ll be able to land more hits when the boss comes down. That said, you’ll have to time it really well: use it right when he’s about to come down, and be very quick.
- Taranto to My Sister: To fry the arms with lightning.
By the way, just so you know, I tried the “Zarabanda of the Safe Haven” prayer and for some reason the shields don’t hit the arms. A shame… it would’ve been really effective.
And that’s it! Did you like this boss? Have you beaten Melquíades the Exhumed Archbishop in Blasphemous? How did you do it? Any recommendations? Leave a comment!
