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Dark Devotion - The Messiah trophy guide


zioGrave

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The Messiah (gold trophy)

Quote

Reach the end of the Temple while wearing the Redeemer’s Curse. Be an example, show the path.

As the trophy description suggests, the goal here is to go through the whole dungeon from start to finish in one run while bearing the Redeemer’s Curse. The Curse reduces your max HP and armor points to 1, which means you can only take 2 hits before dying, but in change boosts your other stats (except damage).
This task may look daunting at a first glance and surely it’s one of the most challenging game trophies, but actually achieving it is quite easier than it seemes.
Also the run itself is not that much time consuming, as it will take about 20-30 minutes to complete.
With the right setup you should have no problem and will nail it in a few tries (I did it right on my second attempt).

 

Prerequisites
Altough here it’s said that you must complete all of the Emissary quests before the Altar of Redemption becomes usable, I actually found out that it activates right after killing the First One boss once.
The related trophy description (Defeat the First One: “You have sinned by bringing down one of your people, you have to redeem yourself.”) also gives a clue about the Altar activation.
So I guess this trophy becomes obtainable after defeating the First One boss and not by completing the Emissary quests (need to be confirmed though). Completing the quests gives the Emissary a new dialogue line where he hints to focus on the Altar, but the Altar itself should already be active by the time.
Make sure you have already beaten the game, since having the White blade available is highly recommended, and have activated all the Ancient Tablets (permanent power-ups) before attempting this trophy.
Also check you have unlocked the Protective sphere item at the blacksmith. If you don’t, that’s how it’s done: work your way from the Gloomy Cellblock down to the Cloister of the Chosen and unlock the jail door you find there by using a Rusted key carried all the way from the Block itself (Rusted keys are found there exclusively). The Protective sphere blueprint awaits you inside the chest behind the said locked door.

 

Character build
Once done with the preparations, I recommend the following character build for the run.


Blessings/Perks (Purple Stone Altar)
Tier 1 (bottom): Cat’s paw (+10 speed)

Tier 2: Knowledge of weaknesses (+5% crit per hit until critting)
Tier 3: Hobnailed armor reinforcement (+3 base armor points)
Tier 4: Scholar (-5 faith spell cost)
Tier 5 (top): Blood peddler (adds +1 min/+2 max damage for each new room you enter)

 

Equipment (Blacksmith)
Main hand: White blade (unlocked by killing the final boss once – this is a game changer, boasting great damage, lightning speed and enormous reach at the same time. On top of that, this weapon also inflicts additional holy damage, may remove one of your curses on a successful strike and has a chance to slow down enemies and bosses alike. And of course is one-handed. IMO the best game weapon by far)
Offhand: none in particular (you may choose any offhand of your choice, but doesn’t really matter since that will replaced by the Basilius’ Guide spellbook almost immediately)
Armor: Black hide (the actual armor points do not matter, so pick the armor with the best stats set available)
Item 1: Protective sphere (taking any item other than this will make the whole run way harder)
Item 2: Porous gemstone (this item will spare you from killing all bosses again, except for the Guardian, greatly reducing the run difficulty and also saving some extra time)

 

Dungeon run playbook
Getting started (AKA wearing the Curse)
Enter the Ancient Dungeon’s first room and trigger the Redeemer’s Curse by praying at the Altar of Redemption on the top floor. As said before, the Curse reduces your max HP and armor points to 1, however this does NOT affect the Hobnailed armor reinforcement bonus thus allowing you to start your journey with a more comfortable 4 armor points (1 + 3 bonus).
However, remember that any lost bonus armor point is gone for good and cannot be recovered by any means.
The other stats buffs provided by the Curse are the following:
+10% damage crits
+10% stun crits
-20% miss
+0,5 stamina regen

Now it’s time to go on and get what will be your best friend in the run: the Basilius’ Guide spellbook. Its awesome effect grants you a damage buff (+1 min/+2 max) on every cast that lasts until you exit the dungeon, either by death or leaving.


Obtain the Basilius’ Guide: now we are talking
Reach the 3rd room (doesn’t matter what room you will enter second, you will always end up in the same room) and blow up the breakable wall right beside the entrance by using a Godless Idol . Drop down a couple of platforms and open the door on the left (requires faith): the chest cointaining Basilius’ Guide awaits you on another platform to the left end.
There is a workaround if you don’t actually have any Godless Idol by that time: the Blood peddler blessing animation is likely glitched and would break the wall if you stand close enough to it. As soon as you enter the room keep moving left until Blood peddler activates and watch the wall crumble down in front of you.
Should you be stuck behind the breakable wall, just quit the game and restart again. You should be going in a couple of attempts, either by looting a “legit” Godless Idol or by using the Blood peddler glitch.

 

Game strategy
Once you find the Basilius’ Guide spellbook equip it and go through all the map until the final boss room, the Guardian, where you have to kill him once more. Any route will do, since all other boss fights are prevented thanks to the Porous gemstone effect.
Remember to cast the buff spell every time you can (the Scholar blessing allows more spell casts, however you may do this 4 times per room only) and explore the maximum number of rooms possibile to profit of the Blood peddler effect. Passing through the Gloomy Cellblock and entering every single cell you can is strongly recommended because doing this activates Blood peddler twice, both by entering a cell AND by returning to the main room, for a free +2 damage bonus (don’t know whether this is glitched or indended). One-way lost rooms work in the same fashion as well.
Your goal is to buff your weapon damage as much as possible before facing the final boss, in order to make a short work of him (the shorter the better). To fully benefit the Basilius’ Guide effect you have to constantly gather faith by any means: killing regular enemies, using every Sacred Pages you might come across and exploiting the Crusader’s Haven rooms faith-restoring statues (cast the spell while the faith bar is filling up for maximum effect).

Do NOT pray at any Altar since you should use all your faith for spell casts. Should you ever get cursed don't bother finding a Cure Altar as the White blade's secondary effect will take care of it for free.
Another golden rule on your way to the end is the follwing: move through the dungeon CAREFULLY. The key to success is avoid getting hit at any costs, thus saving the whole Hobnailed armor reinforcement bonus until the final showdown with the Guardian. Pay attention to the traps and ranged enemies.
Be especially cautious should a Dark Assasin ever spawn in your way: their spinning attack is DEADLY nevertheless and strikes for multiple times, do NOT get caught by it or you will likely die.

Make good use of the White blade’s ridiculous range, speed and always increasing power.

 

What about my inventory?
Some words about other items management: swap armor and trinkets only if they boost your stats (since armor points and HP don’t matter) and be sure they don’t bring a nasty curse upon you, like hated the Torn Saddlebag one.

Do not pick up any other weapon except the ones you already have to exclude the risk of getting cursed by an item.
Your 1st inventory slot is reserved for the Porous gemstone, which acts as your VIP pass. As said before, you won’t have to worry about any other boss fight but the final one, since all the intermediate ones will be skipped thanks to the Porous gemstone effect. Once dead, stay dead.

Protective spheres are your second starter item and main defense, so try to keep these until the very end and use them only in case of emergency.
Try to stockpile Armor pieces as well, which is quite a common drop, as these will be your life insurance in case of running out of Protective spheres.
The 4th item to carry is really up to you: take what you feel more comfortable playing with. I like Green and Black needles (in that order) for their stats buff, also the Unstable sphere is a solid choice for its insta-damage effect and good range. Other damage items (such as idols and throwing stuff) are either too slow or too tricky to be reliable in the final boss fight, so leave all these alone. The Holy water may also be of some use, but its unlikely drop rate and short lasting effect suggest to focus on more reliable items.
Loot all the chests/corpses and destroy the Teleportation Altars you find along the way to increase your chances to find the items you want.

 

The final showdown
Upon reaching the Snow-covered Walkway, anteroom to the final boss, you may swap the Porous gemstone for another item more fit for battle should one drop from the last chest or Teleport statue.
As for the final boss battle these are my 2 cents: don’t get greedy with damage and manage your stamina, by this time you will hit very hard (on my successful run I had a 160-300 White blade damage upon getting there) and the boss will go down in no time. Just watch out when he starts swinging his sword like crazy, especially when he does with two, because you're fairly fragile and be ready to use your Protective sphere and/or Armor pieces if needed. All his other attacks are quite predictable and easily dodged.
As soon as you land the fatal blow the trophy will pop.

 

Congratulations! You have earned a shiny new gold trophy!

Edited by zioGrave
Fixed some misspelling, added missing lines
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  • 6 months later...

Worked like a charm, thanks so much for this! I was bad lucky and got the curse that make you drop objects when you dodge, promptly losing all my armor patches and bubble shields by the time I got to the Guardian, but by that point I was making 2-300dmg a hit and had a few yellow bees (an item I would recommend over the syringes as you can spam them before the fight), and I beat him in under a minute. Cheers!

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