Esdras of the Anointed Legion is the sixth boss in Blasphemous. He is a member of The anointed Legion, and the brother of Perpetua, who you may have come across in the story by the time you face him. You’ll face this guy on the Bridge of the Three Cavalries before you enter the Mother of Mothers. He’s an interesting boss, and certainly one of the core points of the game’s story and world-building. Our guide for how to take on this guy is as follows.
Phase 1
The first thing to know about Esdras of the Anointed Legion’s attacks is that they’re lightning-based. As such, you’ll want some protection from that, if you have anything that will provide it. You should also try to have a couple of decent Rosary Beads equipped. We recommend Perpetua’s Protection, which increases your protection against lightning damage, and Dove Skull, which increases your defence against physical attacks.
In this first phase, Esdras is pretty agile. He’s got a colossal hammer and will be swinging it in front of him a lot. (https://ctlsites.uga.edu) Know that you can parry this, and you’ll find battling through this first phase fairly easy.
When he pulls out his spinning attack, there’s no way to parry. Instead you need to jump over him in order to avoid getting hit. Afterwards you can get close and get a good combo off on him for maximum damage. Be wary though. Esdras will end this attack with a slam to the floor, dealing a shockwave of damage all around him. Dash away before he does this.
Phase 2
Esdras will completely change his attack pattern for this phase of the fight. His spinning attack now allows him to create lightning. This is going to follow him, making it much harder to jump over him and avoid taking damage. His shockwave attack is also going to produce lightning now, so watch out for it. Just be more aware of your movement, and you should be able to get a decent amount of hits in still.
In this phase, Esdras is also going to gain the ability to shoot lightning at you. He’ll spin first, which should give you a chance to prepare for it. As the lightning shoots out, slide or duck to avoid it. Getting hit will push you back and slow you down. Two things that will allow him time to get close and punish you with more damage.
Phase 3
Unlike most of the bosses in Blasphemous that we’ve covered so far, Esdras has three phases to his fight. For this final phase his sister Perpetua is going to show up.
Don’t worry, Perpetua is more of a show for making the fight feel harder. Her attacks are restricted to being purely physical. She will fly around and dash at you. You can easily dodge her attacks, and continue to focus on Esdras. Do this, and the fight will be over sooner than you think. It’s more of a last ditch effort from the boss to scare you into thinking that you’re about to lose.
Lore
There’s nothing more to know about Esdras than we’ve already pointed out. You may notice him from early cutscenes, in which he speaks to himself and chases after The Penitent One. This is all part of the game’s world-building, so pay attention.
We hope that you found this guide to beating Esdras of the Anointed Legion helpful. Please check out the following guides if you also need some assistance beating the Warden of the Silent Sorrow, Ten Piedad, Our Lady of the Charred Visage, Exposito Scion of Abjuration, or Tres Augustias.