Where to Get the Rapier and How to Use It
Get the Rapier during Chapter 3: Rendezvous by following the path from the Abandoned Church toward Fallen Village and pulling it from the body blocking your way. Use its fast attacks between enemy swings, then turn successful parries into Posture breaks and Critical Attacks.
Follow the Village Route From the Church
- Reach Chapter 3: Rendezvous and start from the Lantern at the Abandoned Church. The hub's Lantern is named Church.
- Take the path toward the Village. At the branching route, keep heading toward the Village; the path on the right leads toward the Fortress.
- Follow the Village path until a body blocks your progress. Interact with the Rapier stuck in it to pull the weapon free and continue.
The Rapier is a required story pickup, so collecting it is part of opening the way forward. Use the body blocking the Village route as your landmark when leaving the church.
Compare the Rapier With the Other Blades
| Option | Damage progression | Defence and Posture | How to get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saber | 20 damage at level 1; 60 at level 10. | Blocks and parries; 100 Posture per perfect parry and 5 per normal hit. | Automatically obtained at the start of the game. |
| Rapier | 25 damage at level 1; 45 at level 10. | Parries without proper blocking; 150 Posture per perfect parry and 3 per normal hit. | Pull it from the body on the Village path outside the Abandoned Church during Chapter 3. |
Choose the Rapier when you enjoy timing parries and attacking during recovery windows. Keep the Saber in mind if you prefer having a block available while learning an enemy. Try the Rapier against familiar attacks before committing your upgrade materials.
Fight With Parries, Thrusts and Weak Points
- Time your parry as a parryable attack lands. Successful parries negate damage and cost no Endurance, making them the foundation of your defence with the Rapier.
- Dodge attacks that glow red. They cannot be parried; a Perfect Dodge empowers your next attack, giving you another way to create an opening.
- Follow a safe opening with the Rapier's three-hit thrust combo, or use a charged attack when you have time. Charged attacks can apply up to ×5 Posture.
- Watch the enemy's Posture bar and perform a Critical Attack when it breaks. Strike accessible Nephtoglobin Weak Points with the Rapier to release Remnants that refill your Nephtoglobin.
A Rapier light attack costs 15 stamina. Attacks and dodges draw on Endurance, so leave yourself room to evade after attacking. Fire, Stasis and Shield consume Nephtoglobin; melee hits and shattered Weak Points help replenish that resource.
Rapier Upgrade Materials and Level Costs
Upgrade the Rapier at James's Iron Bench in the Abandoned Church using Blade Materials. Work through the material tiers as your supplies allow, keeping the final material for the blade you want to finish first.
| Option | Upgrade costs | How to get it |
|---|---|---|
| Crude Blade Material | Level 2: 1; level 3: 2; level 4: 3. | Collect environmental pickups, open chests or purchase available stock at the Abandoned Church. |
| Pure Blade Material | Level 5: 1; level 6: 2; level 7: 3. | Find it while exploring or buy it from James's Iron Bench when stocked. |
| Distilled Blade Material | Level 8: 1; level 9: 2. | Find it while exploring or buy it from James's Iron Bench when stocked. |
| Quintessential Blade Material | Level 10: 1. | Find it in the world; merchants do not sell it. |
Find the Final Blade Material
These are the Quintessential Blade Material locations for your final upgrade. Choose the route that matches your progress.
- The Outskirts > Lighthouse: after defeating Experiment 83, search the side laboratory with the notes and open its chest.
- Fortress > Chapel: enter the underground sewer room, take the left door after the pole jump, descend the stairs and turn right. Clear the enemies and watch for the explosive chest at the back.
- Fortress > Courtyard: complete The Oathbound and open the chest to the right of the table in its hidden room.
Pair the Rapier With Useful Ambers
Duellist's Focus widens the melee parry window. From The Battlefield > Onslaught Arch, backtrack up the cliffs, pass the camp and take the left fork. Shoot the wall's weak point, defeat the Eternal Guardian and open the chest behind it.
Dominatus restores Health when you perform Critical Attacks, making it a useful companion to a parry build. Find it in the corner tent left of the uphill route through Valley of Ashes > Military Camp.
Perfectionism increases melee damage while you have full Health. At Valley of Ashes > Demolished Path, backtrack down the plague vines from the ladder shortcut and take the left branch behind the enemies. Defeat the Eternal Guardsman and open the chest beyond it.
Choose Skills That Reward Your Parries
Start with Maximum Health and Melee Damage while you learn the weapon. Parrying Impact increases parry Posture damage by 5% per purchase, up to 20%. Critical Damage strengthens the attack you earn after breaking Posture.
Take Melee Endurance Cost if you want cheaper attacks, or Maximum Endurance for a larger reserve. Add Nephtoglobin Extraction if you regularly weave Transmutations into melee combat: it increases the Nephtoglobin gained from melee hits.