Golden Epitaph

Notes

• Requires 12 Strength, 10 Dexterity and 14 Faith and weighs 3.5. Strength and Dexterity contribute equally to its physical portion, while Faith strengthens the holy portion. A mix of Faith and a physical attribute supports more of its damage than assuming Faith scales the whole sword.
• The weapon has an innate 30% damage bonus against Those Who Live in Death, including the matching skeleton and Deathbird enemies. That is a target-specific bonus in addition to its holy damage, not a 30% bonus against every enemy.
• Last Rites costs 25 FP and lasts 60 seconds. It grants you and nearby allies 10% more damage against enemies, or 5% against players, and adds 25 holy attack power to affected weapons.
• The blessing also adds a separate 100% damage bonus against Those Who Live in Death and prevents ordinary reviving skeletons defeated under its effect from getting back up. It does not make every enemy associated with death share that classification.
• Last Rites is an aura buff, so it competes with Golden Vow, Rallying Standard and Shared Order. Recasting one of those is not a way to keep all their full damage bonuses together.
• The blessing is useful even if you switch to another weapon afterward. Its fixed bonus and duration do not increase with Faith or reinforcement, though those still improve Golden Epitaph's own attacks.
• Upgrade with Somber Smithing Stones to +10. Last Rites and the affinity are fixed, and outside grease or a weapon enchantment cannot be applied to this sword.
• Only the imp-sealed entrance room is needed for the pickup. Bring one Stonesword Key and watch for Death Blight from the Basilisk; the chariots and two Crucible Knights deeper inside are unrelated.
• Use the blessing before attacking an undead target, then keep ordinary hits and the extra Holy portion separate when considering defenses. A Holy-resistant enemy can still resist that portion despite the target-specific bonus.
• Last Rites does not deal a damaging weapon-skill hit by itself. Shard of Alexander does not increase its fixed blessing percentages, and Godfrey Icon does not apply.