---
title: "Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night: Complete Guide"
game: "Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night"
game_url: "https://qna.gg/games/bloodstained-ritual-of-the-night"
author: "Qloud"
author_url: "https://qna.gg/players/Qloud"
topics: ["Builds", "Bosses", "Farming", "Crafting", "Endings"]
summary: "A complete guide to Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night: how shards, crafting, and food work, the area and boss order, strong builds with real item and shard names, how to get every ending (including the true ending),…"
url: "https://qna.gg/g/bloodstained-ritual-of-the-night-complete-guide-3b8d77a1"
published: "2026-09-27T21:16:05.335Z"
updated: "2026-09-27T21:16:05.335Z"
source: "QnA.GG"
---

# Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night: Complete Guide

A complete guide to Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night: how shards, crafting, and food work, the area and boss order, strong builds with real item and shard names, how to get every ending (including the true ending), and what the extra modes and DLC add.

*Researched September 2026 — current as of Update 1.6 (October 2024) and the Classic II: Dominique's Curse DLC (June 2024). ArtPlay's next game, Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement, was announced in June 2025 for 2026; its Steam listing now shows 2027. Check the linked sources if something differs.*

## Quick Start

1. **Shards are your spells and abilities.** Killing demons drops shards that give Miriam new attacks, summons, passives, and traversal powers. Equip them in the shard menu.
2. **Get duplicate shards.** Collecting the same shard again raises its **grade** (up to 9), making it stronger. Farm your favorite shards.
3. **Craft at Johannes.** In Arvantville, Johannes crafts weapons, armor, accessories, and food from materials, and raises shard **rank** (up to 9) with materials and gold.
4. **Eat every new dish once.** The first time you eat a food, Miriam gets a permanent small stat bonus. Cooking new recipes is a cheap way to grow stronger.
5. **Save rooms heal you.** Red save rooms fully restore HP and MP. Warp rooms let you fast travel.
6. **Take quests in Arvantville.** Villagers give monster-hunting, cooking, and item-gathering quests that reward useful gear.
7. **Explore every corner of the map.** The map shows percentage explored; blocked paths are usually gated by a traversal shard you do not have yet.
8. **Do not stop at the first "ending".** There are three endings. If you get a Game Over after beating a major boss, it is a bad ending, not the end of the game. See the endings section.
9. **Use Words of Wisdom** once you have it (it drops from the Archdemon enemy). This passive reduces MP consumption by a percentage and makes spell-heavy play much easier.

## Core Systems

### Stats and Equipment

Miriam has standard RPG stats (HP, MP, STR, CON, INT, MND, LCK). Equipment slots:

| Slot | Examples |
|---|---|
| Weapon | Swords, great swords, spears, katanas, whips, guns, boots, and more |
| Head | Hats, helmets, hairpieces |
| Body | Armor and dresses |
| Scarf | Scarves such as Over the Rainbow |
| Accessories (two) | Rings and trinkets |

Weapons fall into types that play very differently. Each type has special techniques you learn by reading **technique books** and performing input commands, much like fighting game specials.

### Shard Types

| Type | Button | What it does | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conjure | Trigger | One-time magic attacks or summons, costs MP | Blood Steal, Thrashing Tentacle, Summon Hellhound |
| Manipulative | Trigger (held) | Temporary effects on you or the world | Standstill, Bunnymorphosis, Healing |
| Directional | Aimed | Aimed projectile attacks | Flame Cannon, Bone Throw, Petra Ray |
| Passive (Effective) | Always on | Stat or ability buffs | Words of Wisdom, Augment STR, Sword Mastery |
| Familiar | Always on | A demon companion that fights with you and levels up | Familiar: Silver Knight, Carabosse, Dullahammer Head, Dantalion, Buer, Bloodbringer |
| Skill | Always on, unlimited | Traversal and utility abilities, plus passive shards upgraded to rank 9 | Double Jump, High Jump, Invert, Deep Sinker, Shortcut |

Shard upgrades:

- **Grade** (up to 9): increases with duplicate drops. Improves power, size, or duration.
- **Rank** (up to 9): increased by Johannes with materials. Adds bonus effects. A passive shard at rank 9 also becomes a **skill shard**, so it can be active twice: once in the passive slot and once as a skill, for a stacked effect.
- **Level:** familiars gain levels by fighting with you.

### Crafting, Food, and Gold

- Materials come from enemies, chests, and breakable objects. Some are bought from Dominique's shop.
- Johannes crafts gear and food. Weapons you craft are often better than drops at the same stage.
- Food heals when eaten and gives a one-time permanent bonus the first time you eat each dish.
- Gold buys materials and gear. Selling spare materials funds shard ranks.

### Healing

- Save rooms fully heal.
- Potions, food, and the Healing shard restore HP mid-exploration.
- Familiars and some gear offer regeneration.

## Areas and Main Bosses

The castle is large and non-linear, but the main path runs roughly:

| Order | Area | Notable boss or event |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Galleon Minerva | Vepar (tutorial boss) |
| 2 | Arvantville | The village hub with Johannes, Dominique, and quest givers |
| 3 | Entrance | Zangetsu's first (mandatory) fight comes just after this area |
| 4 | Garden of Silence | Opens up exploration |
| 5 | Dian Cecht Cathedral | Craftwork, who drops the Craftwork shard |
| 6 | Tower of Twin Dragons | Aegis Plate for later |
| 7 | Livre Ex Machina | The library |
| 8 | Bridge of Evil | Connects two train stations |
| 9 | Underground Sorcery Lab | Bathin, who drops Reflector Ray |
| 10 | Hall of Termination | Gebel |
| 11 | Forbidden Underground Waterway | Needs Deep Sinker |
| 12 | Hidden Desert | Alfred, who drops Deep Sinker |
| 13 | Secret Sorcery Lab | Reached with Deep Sinker |
| 14 | Inferno Cave | Orobas, who drops Invert |
| 15 | Oriental Sorcery Lab | Second fight with Zangetsu (Zangetsuto) |
| 16 | Den of Behemoths | A reimagined Garden of Silence with enlarged enemies, reached after the true-ending moon step |
| 17 | Glacial Tomb | Gremory, then the final bosses |

Other bosses include Andrealphus, Valac, the Glutton Train, the Abyssal Guardian, Bloodless, the Doppelganger, Valefar, Dominique, Bael, and the secret O.D.

### General Boss Tips

- **Learn patterns before trading hits.** Most bosses telegraph clearly.
- **Use backstep** to dodge; it has invincibility frames.
- **Bring food.** Healing food in the item menu is the easiest way to survive long fights.
- **Pick a boss-killing shard.** Strong conjure or directional shards with high grade melt bosses from range.
- **Vepar:** stay low and punish after its attacks; a good tutorial for reading telegraphs.
- **Gebel:** you can only reach his true fight properly with the Zangetsuto (see endings).
- **Gremory:** a late boss that tests your gear and healing; come in with good resistances and plenty of food.

## Endings

There are three endings: two bad ones and the true one.

### Bad Ending 1: "Just a Flicker"

1. Defeat Bathin in the Underground Sorcery Lab and take the Reflector Ray shard.
2. Use Reflector Ray to reach the upper Livre Ex Machina and then the Hall of Termination.
3. Defeat Gebel. The castle remains and the game shows a Game Over.

### Bad Ending 2: "Usurper"

1. Defeat Craftwork (Dian Cecht Cathedral) for the Craftwork shard.
2. Get the Deep Sinker shard (defeat Alfred in the Hidden Desert) and use it in the Forbidden Underground Waterway to reach the Secret Sorcery Lab.
3. Defeat Orobas in the Inferno Cave for the Invert shard.
4. Get the Aegis Plate in the Tower of Twin Dragons. With it equipped you can walk on spikes without damage.
5. Use Craftwork and the Aegis Plate to reach the Oriental Sorcery Lab, then defeat Zangetsu a second time to get the Zangetsuto.
6. Fight Gebel and kill him normally. This is the Usurper ending.

### True Ending: "Dethroned"

1. Do everything for Usurper, including getting the Zangetsuto.
2. During the Gebel fight, strike the red moon with the Zangetsuto to free Gebel from Gremory's control.
3. Go back to the Garden of Silence and strike the moon again to open the way to the Den of Behemoths and then the Glacial Tomb.
4. Defeat Gremory to get the Dimension Shift shard.
5. Use Dimension Shift to go deeper and defeat Dominique and Bael.

## Builds

These builds use real in-game items and shards. Swap pieces for whatever you have at your stage.

| Build | Weapon | Key shards | Key gear | Why it works |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boss-killer mage | Any light weapon | Words of Wisdom, Bolide Blast, Sacred Shade, Familiar: Dullahammer Head | Witch's Hat, Scarlet Dress, Solomon's Ring, Skull Necklace, Over the Rainbow | Massive INT and cheap spells; Bolide Blast staggers many bosses |
| Tank | A shield weapon | Summon Buer, Optimizer, Sacred Shade, Familiar: Buer | Tatenashi, Pleiades, Over the Rainbow, two Safe Rings | High defense with summons doing damage |
| Melee rush | Rhava Velar | Welcome Company, Accelerator, Optimizer, Familiar: Dantalion | Demon Horns, Over the Rainbow, Flame Mail, two Silver Power Rings | Fast, high-STR combo damage |

Community favorites also include Bunnymorphosis (dive kicks become a strong attack while transformed) and mana-efficient setups built around Words of Wisdom.

### Stat Priority

- **Melee:** STR, then CON for defense.
- **Magic:** INT, then MND for magic defense, with MP boosts and Words of Wisdom.
- **Luck:** raises drop rates. Equip luck gear when farming shards or rare materials.

## Farming Tips

- **Shard farming:** fight the enemy that drops the shard repeatedly near a save room. Leaving and re-entering rooms respawns enemies.
- **Luck boosts** from gear and food increase drop chances.
- **Materials:** break objects and check Dominique's shop before farming rare enemies.
- **Gold:** sell surplus materials and duplicate gear.

## Extra Modes and DLC

| Mode | What it is |
|---|---|
| New Game+ | Carry gear and shards into a new playthrough |
| Nightmare difficulty | The hardest setting for veterans |
| Speed Run Mode and Boss Rush Mode | From the "Speed Demon" launch update |
| Zangetsu Mode | Play the story as Zangetsu with his own moveset |
| Randomizer | Randomized items and shards |
| Boss Revenge | Play as bosses fighting Miriam |
| Classic Mode | A retro-style mode with its own stages |
| Classic II: Dominique's Curse (paid DLC, June 2024) | A large retro adventure as Dominique in Limbo, with a moon cycle that turns friendly demons hostile |

Update 1.6 (October 2024) fixed a shop soft lock, a Classic Mode spawn issue with Morte enemies, long Classic Mode loading times, a missing glow effect in the Archive, and a Classic II sound bug.

## Common Mistakes to Avoid

- **Thinking a Game Over after Gebel is the real ending.** It is a bad ending; keep going.
- **Never visiting Johannes.** Crafted gear and shard ranks are a huge power jump.
- **Ignoring food.** First-time eating bonuses add up to a lot of free stats.
- **Using unupgraded shards.** Grade and rank matter; a max-grade basic shard can beat a new one.
- **Skipping technique books.** Weapon specials add big damage.
- **Not checking the map percentage.** Hidden rooms and breakable walls hide some of the best loot.
- **Neglecting familiars.** They level up only when used.

## Advanced Tips

- **Backstep cancelling:** backstep has invincibility frames and can cancel some attack recovery.
- **Luck farming:** stack luck items before farming rare shards.
- **Invert and Reflector Ray** open many shortcuts once you have them; revisit old areas.
- **Rank passives to 9** to convert them into skill shards and free up slots.
- **Mix a directional and a conjure shard** so you always have a ranged answer.
- **Welcome Company and Accelerator** make a strong combo for fast melee builds.

## FAQ

**How many endings does Bloodstained have?**
Three: two bad endings (Just a Flicker, Usurper) and the true ending (Dethroned).

**How do I get the true ending?**
Get the Zangetsuto from the second Zangetsu fight, strike the red moon during the Gebel fight, strike the moon in the Garden of Silence, beat Gremory for Dimension Shift, then defeat Dominique and Bael.

**What does the Aegis Plate do?**
It lets you walk on spikes without taking damage, which is needed to reach the Oriental Sorcery Lab.

**Is Classic II free?**
No. Classic II: Dominique's Curse (June 2024) is a premium DLC. The other extra modes were free updates.

**Is there a sequel?**
Bloodstained: The Scarlet Engagement, a new 2.5D game produced by IGA with SHUTARO as creative director, starring Leonard Brandon and Alexander Kyteler. It was announced in June 2025 for 2026, but its Steam listing now shows 2027.

**Where do I get Double Jump?**
It is a skill shard dropped by the boss Andrealphus in the early-to-mid game; the map will show areas you cannot reach until you have it.

**How long is the game?**
Roughly 15 to 25 hours for a complete run with the true ending, longer for full completion.

## Sources

- [Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night on Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/692850/Bloodstained_Ritual_of_the_Night/)
- [Steam news for Bloodstained (Update 1.6, Classic II, Scarlet Engagement)](https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/692850)
- [Bloodstained Wiki (Fextralife): Endings](https://bloodstainedritualofthenight.wiki.fextralife.com/Endings)
- [Bloodstained Wiki (Fextralife): Bosses](https://bloodstainedritualofthenight.wiki.fextralife.com/Bosses)
- [Bloodstained Wiki (Fextralife): Shards](https://bloodstainedritualofthenight.wiki.fextralife.com/Shards)
- [Bloodstained Wiki (Fextralife): Builds](https://bloodstainedritualofthenight.wiki.fextralife.com/Builds)
- [Bloodstained Wiki (Fextralife): Walkthrough](https://bloodstainedritualofthenight.wiki.fextralife.com/Walkthrough)