Kos Parasite is a trick weapon in Bloodborne. It was added with The Old Hunters DLC. There are 3 versions of this weapon: Normal, Uncanny and Lost. The only known differences being the Gem Imprints and the locations in which they are found.
Kos Parasite Description
"When the carcass of Kos washed up on the coast, its insides were teeming with tiny parasites, unlike any found in humans.
This atypical weapon can only be clasped tight and swung, but a Kos Parasite is said to stimulate phantasms inhabiting a lumenwood"
Kos Parasite Information
- Transforms from right-hand tentacle to dual-wield tentacles.
- Requires 16 Blood Stone Shards, 16 Twin Blood Shards, 16 Chunks and 1 Blood Rock 3,720 Blood Echoes to fully upgrade.
- You must equip the Milkweed Rune to use this weapon effectively, granting a wider moveset, greatly extended range and an appreciable damage multiplier, far more than is displayed on the weapon. This will transform the player fully into a Lumenwood.
- To perform a Leap Attack, tap forward on the Left Stick as you press R2
- To perform a Transformation Attack, press L1 while performing another attack.
- Whilst the weapon and the Rune are equipped, the player's dash and rolling animations change to become faster and lighter.
- Without the Rune, the character will have the regular unarmed moveset when using this weapon, however the Arcane damage will be added, meaning it can still be effectively used with good enough gems.
- For unarmed moveset, only right hand has enhanced unarmed damage,
Location
Normal
- Dropped by Orphan of Kos
Uncanny Kos Parasite
- Purchased at Bath Messenger in any Depth 5 Non-Root Chalice Dungeon (level 3) for 60000 Blood Echoes. (Also confirmed on NG+)
- If you have the normal version: Create Glyph 8i29rqz3 (Pthumeru Labyrinth) and buy from Bath Messengers up a ladder from the main room for 60,000 Blood Echoes.
Lost Kos Parasite
- Purchased at Bath Messenger in any Depth 5 Non-Root Chalice Dungeon (level 3) for 60000 Blood Echoes. (Also confirmed on NG+)
- If you have the normal version: Create Glyph 8i29rqz3 (Pthumeru Labyrinth) and buy from Bath Messengers up a ladder from the main room for 60,000 Blood Echoes.
Player Notes
- Its trickmode L2 casts a multi-hitting arcane attack for 2 quicksilver bullets, very similar to a smaller Call from Beyond.
- Backdash R1 in both modes spits a short range projectile forwards from the mouth that causes slow poison build-up.
- Jumping attack in transformed mode attacks with your tongue/tentacle.
- Transform attack back to normal mode fires a short range mass of parasites forward.
- This weapon will not cause you to recoil backwards after you hit a wall. Coupling this with it's great reach, the Kos Parasite is great for attacking through walls or around obstacles.
- This weapon has a high amount of stagger with every hit, equal to the Beast Cutter. Since the weapon is slow, it makes up for it with making every human-sized enemy or those slightly larger prone to flinching with every hit (regardless of the type of attack). It's ideal as a bait-and-punish tactic weapon and/or "hit & run".
- Be wary of this weapon's weaknesses, of which there are many. Neutral light attacks are altogether cumbersome to get a handle over, being slow with a mediocre, narrow range and large, easily punished recovery periods between them.
Stats/Scaling
Movesets & Videos
| Move | Damage Type & Modifier | Stamina | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| R1 Combo | 1.00x, 1.05x, 1.10x | 24 | Awkward horizontal and slightly diagonal tentacle strikes. |
| Backstep R1 | .75x | 28 | Regurgitates pale fluid from the head. Causes poison build up. |
| Dodge R1 | 1.29x | 28 | Sweep and thrusting tentacle strike. |
| Dash R1 | 1.05x | 30 (+run) | Thrusts the tentacle forward. |
| R2 Attack | 1.18x | 40 | Sweeping horizontal swipe, slight uppercut. |
| Charged R2 | 1.35x+103 | 50 | Horizontal swipe. |
| Backstep R2 | 1.10x210 | 42 | Performs a backhand diagonal slash from the left shoulder to the right foot. |
| Dash R2 | 1.18x | 45 | Performs a forward thrust with a slight sweep. |
| Leap | 1.23x | 50 | Leaping head butt. |
| Transform Attack | 1.10x | 25 (+x) | Wide, sweeping attack from both sides. |
| Move | Damage Type & Modifier | Stamina | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| R1 Combo | 1.05x, 1.05x, 1.18x | 28 | Initiates a left tentacle swipe, right tentacle swipe and then a two handed reach out. |
| Backstep R1 | .75x2 | 28 | Regurgitates pale fluid from the head. Causes poison build up. |
| Dodge R1 | .975x | 32 | After the roll, initiates a dual tentacle forward strike. |
| Dash R1 | 1.10x | 35 (+run) | Dual tentacle forward strike. |
| R2 Attack | 1.25x, 1.45x | 55, ?? | A dual tentacle thrust forward. |
| Backstep R2 | 1.20x | 55 | Powerful dual tentacle forward thrust. |
| Dash R2 | 1.25x+113 | 60 (+run) | Initiates a dual tentacle forward strike with a longer windup. |
| L2 | (90+113+113+350) | 100 | Initiates a multi hit arcane attack. Consumes 2 quicksilver bullets. Move is the same for every iteration (backstep, dash, etc) |
| Leap | 1.25x | 55 | Leaping head butt along with a tentacle/tongue strike from the head piece. |
| Transform Attack | 1.00x | 25 (+x) | Launch a small burst of parasites forward. Short range projectile, costs no bullets. |
Trivia
- The Kos Parasite is perhaps the most interestingly unique weapon in Bloodborne in various ways: It is one of two weapons that can reach it's full potential while using a rune (the other being Beast Claw), the weapon itself is not held, it is purely an arcane weapon, it is the only weapon directly dropped by defeating a boss, it has the highest durability of any weapon at 600 respectively, it is the only weapon to have an A-scaling of any weapon without any upgrades and is the only weapon to have an S-scaling by upgrading it twice.
- It shares other features with the Beast Claw in addition to the Rune synergy, both are tied for the cheapest weapons to fully upgrade at 3,720 Blood Echoes required.
Gallery
AnonymousUse the backstep attack to spit on your enemy's corpse after you kill them
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This is one of the more unique weapons and I really like the concept. It just sucks that you can only get it after beating the hardest boss in the game. For me, that makes it kind of worthless because I don't really enjoy NG+ (once I've finished building a character I lose interest in playing them pretty quickly) and the chalice dungeons are an Olympics level challenge against tedium and boredom.
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God watching in anguish as I make my character a maniac that just wants to bang people to death with tentacles and the powers of a primordial god
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1200 damage and broken limb on a single L2 on watchdog of old lords in defiled chalice? For only 2 blood bullets? ****ING YES PLEASE! This let me beast mode (so to speak, “kin-mode”?) my way through to the platnuim. Thanks, Kos! ;p
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has 56 rally at +7 and 59 at +8.
i assume it starts with 35 and adds+3 for very level.
so:
35,38,41,44,47,50,53,56,59,62,65.
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So, what would you consider harder to obtain this or the rakuyo
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When I have this weapon equipped, my favorite way to greet my fellow hunters that I am cooperating with is to throw up on them, as a sign of friendship.
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beating orphan of kos on a pure arcane build was hell but a orgasmic experience finally landing that sweet sweet final swipe
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Does the description imply the parasite is just clutched in the hand of the Hunter when not paired with the Milkweed rune?
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I can get this weapon in the chalice dungeons, without having to kill the Orphan of Kos?
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Arcane - that most patrician of builds. You sir, have excellent taste.
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I feel kinship with any and all broccoli. If I invade you and you're broccoli, I silence blank out. If I co-op with a beckoner and a broccoli invades, I stand aside. If I get attacked by broccoli, I dodge but don't retaliate. "If a broccoli says, I love Kos, and hateth his fellow broccoli, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his broccoli whom he hath seen, how can he love Kos whom he hath not seen? " - Gospel of Broccoli 4:11
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***** kos parasite all my homies hate kos parasite all my homies want the *****ing bladed yoyo placenta
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Guys, please help me. TL;DR - I went to Isz Chalice Dungeon level 3. Uncanny or Lost Kos Parasite isn't an option I can buy. Where the hell is it??? Long version. I planned out a character build I wanna do, focused around Arcane. I knew this weapon would be wicked for it, and I wanted to get it as early as possible. I made a beeline for Ebrietas so I could get the Isz Chalice. Got through the first two bosses no problem, finally find the Bath Messenger, and bam. Uncanny/Lost variances of Boomhammer, Whirligig, Amygdala Arm, etc. But not the Kos Parasite. What the actual f***?? I also noticed there wasn't a Rakuyo or Ludwig Holy Blade. Now I'm starting to worry that I need to beat Orphan of Kos in order to be able to purchase the weapon. I don't care about PvP. At all. Never have. Never will. If I have to crawl all the way to Orphan of Kos to be able to buy the weapons, at the end of the game, WHAT THE HELL IS THE GODDAMN POINT?!?
The L2 is crazy useful, but the most valuable move on the weapon is the tricked dodge r1. Its range is absolutely insane. I cannot count how many times I've punished someone who thought he was at a safe distance to heal only to get a tentacle surprise from behind finishing them off. I don't think any other weapon in the game has a melee attack with a comparable reach. And it inflicts guaranteed stagger in PvP. Add hunter tools with high ARC to the mix and you have an extremely versatile, powerful build.
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I literally was at Mergo when I finally got to kos with my Arc/Str build. I got so sick of getting my ass kicked I went to got kill Mergo planning to come back...... and then Gerhman..... and the moon..... and then I realized I forgot something. Don’t forget to kill kos before Gehrman, kiddos
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The only trick weapon I haven't used. I've beaten the Orphan, but my Arcane is lvl 18. Almost there...
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Very underrated weapon. It's basically a heavy version of the whip, slower but with similar range plus poise on its attacks and high stagger. It's a better choice than the Beast Cutter, which is too slow in my opinion (in whip form anyway). The dashing/rolling R1 attack has super long reach and poise, which makes it the best dashing R1 attack in the game. The L2 is insane, dealing very high damage in a large area around you, and it also has poise. You can clear out groups of enemies very quickly with it, and it only costs 2 bullets. Most enemies are staggered by its regular transformed R1s. I would say its only real weakness is lower DPS compared to some other weapons, but if you are stunlocking things or hitting them out of range it doesn't matter. For large enemies who aren't easily staggered, I recommend using the slightly faster 1 handed R1s. Overall it's super satisfying to slap enemies around with it. One of my favorite weapons.
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Why would I kill the orphan of kos for this weapon when I could take it from the barrels in the fishing hamlet
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When you equip this without the milkweed rune and with best gems it's just litt\urally feels like 'Omae wa mou shindeiru'
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Heh, the plunging attack has you land hunched over and face-first on the enemies.
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using this without milkweed magically makes you a kung-fu master
it catches everyone in pvp off guard
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This is hands down, my favourite weapon in the game! By the way, every now and then when I dodge forwards through a crowd and press R2 (I think), it seems like my tentacles bend backwards behind me; it absolutley destroys foes, but has anyone else had this happen?
You can start by using Fire Gems....you can get one of them in the Pthumeru Chalice by killing the Watchdog of the old lords
Putting a Fire Gem in your weapon will change the scaling of the weapon in Arcane
A good weapon you can start with is the Ludwig's Holy Blade
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I’ve always been curious of a pure arcane build. The trouble is that I have no idea how to progress through the game leveling up Arcane primarily. I also don’t know anything about spells or whatever.
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Sooner or later gonna beat Mr. Horseface and work my way to this beauty and I am planning to do a tentacle-mage-hunter-tools-ish build with it and Augur of Ebrietas.
Can anyone tell me which version is the best to upgrade though? Uncanny, Normal or Lost?
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Good weapon all around - Excellent Damage even with mediocre bloodgems, all hits often stun, doesn’t bounce off walls and outstanding range. Downside, it’s very slow but the bonus is you get a large amount of poise when attacking. Not the best weapon to use vs tank like bosses, like The Watchdog, Abhorrent Beast, Bloodletting and the Headless Bloodletting.
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question, do I must have the normal version first to get the uncanny one? or I can get the uncanny first without killing Orphan of Kos?
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Tentacles that can go through walls on unsuspecting victims - just like my Hentai.
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I finally have it! Now I can become Squid-Cauliflower man!!!
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Broccoli is green, Cauliflower is white. Learn your vegetables.
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This weapon proves that every horrible thing that Brygenwerth and the Healing Church was all worth it in the end. Finally We can be transcend our wretched, toxic meat forms and be reborn as beings of pure, organic produce.
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Fun fact: this broccoli is actually a space vegetable that really likes slug dildos.
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Master Willem:...We are born of the broccoli, made men by the broccoli, undone by broccoli and forced to eat it. Our eyes are yet to open... For god's sake Laurence fear the broccoli man.
Laurence: Master Willem Are you drunk again?
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I think "parasites" that appear when you perform Transform Attack are actually phantasm as we can see in moveset video.
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It would appear that the "tentacles" of the Kos Parasite are actually overgrown phantasms. So... magical slugs. Arguably the best weapon for a pure arcane build is slapping people around with giant magic slugs.
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Not gonna lie, I kinda think the Kos Parasite in its weapon icon looks strangely reminiscent of Ebrietas... Notice how the strange protrusion on the back of Ebrietas resembles the feather tentacles on the Kos Parasite (as well as on the backs of the Kos-looking slug things in the Nightmare Frontier). That, and the use of tentacles and spitting blood/water is mutually shared.
Do you think that's why they refer to her as "Daughter of the Cosmos?" Is Ebrietas really just the full-grown version of the parasite, minus the lumenwood? Is that why she weeps at the Altar of Despair, the one thing that can revive the dead? "Together with the left-behind Great One, the Healing Church looks to the stars, in hopes they might rediscover true greatness."
BABY MISS MAMMA KOS?
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AR at 50 arcane.
+0) 30 +25 /+1) 33 +29 /+2) 36 +34 /+3) 39 +39 /+4) 42 +44 /+5) 45 +49 /+6) 48 +55 /+7) 51 +61 /+8) 54 +67 /+9) 57 +74 /+10) 60 +81.
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It's like a dream come true! Man, maybe I have to buy a PS4 after all...
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So I went to dungeon 8i29rqz3, and instead of there being the bath messengers, patches was there instead. It would seem that once you befriend patches he replaces the bath messengers in dungeons, and his items don't cost anymore than buying it from the dungeon messengers.
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So, to effectively use this weapon, you must pray for Kos to grant you eyes, become a blue, tentacled mushroom, and have insane arcane. And try to play the rest of the game with a straight face.
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I just got the base parasite but I'm unsure weather its worth it to level or if I should grab the lost or uncanny variant. I'm running pretty much pure arcane and am leaning towards the lost version at the moment.
I'm not gonna comment on the weapon, but I'm glad I read all the comments. Maybe I'm just tired, but I laughed a lot at some of those. Thank you :D
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On NG+, cost doesn't change (still 60k); also found variants of weapons expected to be in pthumeru messenger shop (like MHS and Simon's BB)
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I'm on ng++ with 45 arcane/45 strength. Is it worth upgrading to +10? I definitely like the moves.
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If you use this weapon without transforming, it uses the normal fist moveset, but with way more damage. This means that using fists are now much more viable as you can now equip bloodgems and fortify the weapon. I'm not sure what it scales with, but I think it is arcane.
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Do we just have to actually make an Isz root chalice or does someone have a glyph to use?
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The basic attacks on this thing are fairly weak, and their slow speed makes it's dps not very good. However, the L2 attack has a very long reach and does a lot of damage, completely destroying mobs of enemies. In addition, the reach and stagger potential of the attacks are quite good, so while it won't burn down bosses or tough enemies as much as other weapons it's quite useful when used correctly.
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The Uncanny version seems to be much better if you're going for pure arcane damage. The best arcane gems are typically triangular and can be reliably farmed in Isz. The gem imprints on the normal version make it much harder to twink out as arcane radial gems are extremely rare, and arcane waning gems are even rarer.
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Just played through a Lower Hindertomb Chalice. Found a Bath Messanger in Layer 3 selling the Lost and Uncanny versions of the Kos Parasite, Beasthunter Saif, Beastcutter, Boom Hammer, Holy Moonlight Blade, Bloodletter, and Bowblade. If need be, glyph is: 4j56
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If you have the normal version: Create Glyph 8i29rqz3 (Pthumeru Labyrinth) and buy from Bath Messengers up a ladder from the main room for 60,000 Blood Echoes. This is the chalice listed for most other weapons on the wiki right now for NG, and I went there on my NG+ after getting all normal versions and was able to buy all uncanny and lost versions of all the DLC weapons at that one single fountain. No need for anything more than the Holy Chalice to get any and all lost and uncanny weapons from the DLC (once you've already obtained the normal version). I edited this wiki page but please make any neccessary corrections as it was my first time editing a wiki page.
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thus making it useless except on certain enemies (which are rare) and a couple bosses.
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I was really hoping that the DLC would give some reason to strive towards pushing my character towards a more Arcane oriented build, but it still feels like Arcane is getting the short end of the stick... Pretty much needs an extra 60-80 base arcane damage just to compete with strength of Holy Moonlight, and still wouldn't be as effective as a Strength/Skill build with Ludwig's Holy Blade which has the added effect of more damage and no QS use. I really wish we got the Orphan of Kos's club weapon instead.
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what I see is unavoidable roll+r1. this ***** is op as ***** for pvp, worst than BoM roll+r1. need patch...
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Am I missing something? Because if I equip this weapon, nothing appears in my hand. Simply looks like I'm not wielding any weapons. Even when transforming, it just holds her hands together.. I have enough arcane
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The trick mode has fantastic reach as well as hitboxes that remain out for a considerable amount of time. It consumes a good amount of stamina though, especially the R2 and R2 R2 combo. Seems best for either outranging people with pokes or landing combos with a full stamina bar as the hit stun and range are both strong. Most notably though is the L2 AOE in trick mode. It only consumes 2 quicksilver bullets but can provide both high damage and has surprising range. The AOE is also a multihit attack, so if you're not careful only the first hit will land as an enemy is hitting you knocking you out of the animation, but if you use the deceptive range to your advantage you can catch someone approaching at good distance with the full damage. I found that it was especially effective against enemies that try to dodge out of what would normally be your range for weapon attacks. It's also just a lot of fun to use.
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After all these years of playing rpgs From Software finally let's me make the character I always wished to play as. A giant stalk of cauliflower.
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Your normal fists have S scaling in both strength and skill, so I'm wondering if the arcane damage is added, or replaces this physical scaling?
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Honestly, I never thought I'd find a weapon more hellish to deal with than the Rakuyo, but I've been proven wrong. This is the worst weapon to use for PVP, it's absolutely no fun to use, and most players just exit the game to not waste time on you. It can insta-kill with hyper-armor, and the range is just too much. If you wana have fun with PVP, master an actual weapon, not some OP-nightmare.
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The true tragedy here is that Iosefka's Alienize-Yharnam quest doesn't change / get altered if you speak with her through the door with this equipped. Sadly :(
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because I would rather get it before I do the dlc content on my arcane build
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can you still get the uncanny and lost versions of the weapon if havent beaten the orphan of kos or do need the original, the wiki says there are ways to get them without having the normal version?? halp
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On NG+ the crazy movements of the tentacles meant I was constantly hitting the Cleric Beast's head, leading to easy staggers and viscerals. I haven't tested on other bosses, but I'm betting this is great for easily hitting large bosses' weak points.
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This page states that with the milkweed rune on, the damage of the weapon gets multiplied. Has anyone already found out what that multiplier is?(I'm new to this wiki, so sorry if I ask dumb questions)
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Lower hintertomb Chalice, Layer 3 the side room a messenger bath up the ladder. Glyph: 4j56
I really want to love this weapon but the fact I have to go to such deep chalices to make it viable is such a pain
8
+10
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