| “ | A crystallized form of demon power. It cannot be handled by an ordinary human being. |
„ |
| ~ In-game description |
Shards are a gameplay mechanic in Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. They are demon powers that have been crystallized. They cannot be handled by an ordinary person.
Description[]
| “ | Condensed demonic power in crystal form. No ordinary human can wield shards; they must be assimilated into the body by individuals known as Shardbinders. Sometimes, when a demon is destroyed in the human world, its residual power will crystallize into shard form. | „ |
| ~ Archives' Terms description |
Shards are demon powers that have been crystallized. While they normally cannot be handled by a common person, special individuals called Shardbinders can absorb and utilize them in order to use special abilities corresponding to the shard's source by impaling the shards into their bodies. These special abilities range from "active" abilities such as shooting fireballs, "passive" abilities such as double jumping, to "reactive" abilities such as summoning guardian familiars. Notable Shardbinders capable of manipulating such magical power are Miriam and Gebel. Other individuals can also use Shards after manipulating their own bodies, as is seen with Dominique Baldwin.
Types of Shards[]
| “ | I'd... forgotten the way it felt... Like uninvited claws scraping across my bones... | „ |
| ~ Miriam's account of absorbing a shard. |
There are six types of shards Miriam can absorb in the game. Each group of shards contained in a particular type share similar characteristics between them, such as the way they are activated and/or perform, although they may vary in other areas such as element type, the stats they raise, or the abilities they yield, among others.
- Conjure Shard (red) - Typically single-shot projectile attacks fired in a fixed direction.
- Manipulative Shard (blue) - Effects which require the activation button to be held or used as a toggle, and constantly drain MP.
- Directional Shard (purple) - Shards which can be aimed using Miriam's hand.
- Passive Shard (yellow) - Shards which provide a continuous bonus at no MP cost. At Rank 9 they create a Skill Shard copy of themselves which works at half power.
- Familiar Shard (green) - Summons a support creature with various abilities that becomes stronger as Miriam gains XP with the creature present.
- Skill Shard (white) - Similar to a Passive Shard, but with no limit to the number that can be equipped simultaneously.
Classic Mode features the Time Shard, which stops time in a similar manner to Standstill. Despite being yellow, it has no passive function but works like a Conjure Shard.
Bloodless[]
- Main article: Blood Shard
Similarly to Miriam, Bloodless has her own personal set of shards, called Blood Shards, which are required to both increase her overall capabilities, but also to fully explore the Hellhold.
Aurora[]
Although Johannes confirms that she is not a Shardbinder, Aurora can use a selection of Conjure Shards and Familiar Shards. Her interface simply labels these as "Shard" and "Familiar" respectively. Except for her starting Familiar Igniculus, all of Aurora's Shards are actually her friends from Lemuria who have been turned into demons by a curse. Because of this, most of her Shards work identically to Miriam's equivalents. Uniquely for Aurora, her Shards also provide different passive bonuses when equipped, such as higher attack stats or additional resistances. Igniculus shards are found in stands hidden away across the Hellhold, for a total of eight extra shards.
Aurora generally acquires a new type of Shards the first time she kills the specific enemy associated with it, then afterwards they can come from the other enemies that drop the same material as that enemy, although only once per type. Like Miriam, she can speak to Johannes to enhance them using the material associated with each Shard, most of which are gemstones and metals but some of which are special items such as Confessions and Firefly Elixirs. Aurora has no option to sell Shards, duplicate or otherwise.
The Light Ray is listed as a Directional Shard in Johannes's menu and can be enhanced there, although it is an innate skill that Aurora's own interface does not label as a Shard. Light Ray shards are generally rewarded after defeating certain bosses.
Collecting Shards with Aurora is more important than ever, because, besides completely filling out the map like with the other playable characters, achieving Max grade and Max Rank for all available shards is also a necessary requirement to obtain the mark of 100% completion with Aurora.