[GameSpot] - Cult Of The Lamb: Best Weapons, Curses, And Tarot Cards

[343iBot]

Massive Monster's Cult Of The Lamb is an adorably berserk addition to the roguelite genre and what it's become. It's inherently Devolver as it harvests the best bits of Enter The Gungeon, Stardew Valley, and The Binding Of Isaac, and to everyone's surprise, launches them all into a cult management sim. There are cute NPC followers, farm plots, gravesites, fighting pits, brainwashing rituals, and an evil fox in a cloak, and it's all underscored by an action-RPG combat system that's deeper than it first appears.

Cult Of The Lamb's weapons are offered at random and the same goes for curses (i.e. magic spells) and tarot cards (i.e. modifiers) which add variety to crusades and the quest to dethrone the four Bishops. The first two are upgraded with Faith and a separate skill tree that unlocks different types (Godly, Vampiric) and status effects (Freeze, Poison) while tarot cards can be obtained through missions, purchased from item shops, and stacked with others mid-crusade to create the best run possible. The RNG can be deafening as merchant NPCs like Clauneck would rather let fate decide, but here are our picks for the best weapons, curses, and tarot cards to wield while you're away from your flock.

For more tips, rituals, and sermons, read our Cult Of The Lamb review.

Weapons

Cult's Bane Gauntlets are anything but gentle.

Bane Gauntlets

Like the Bane Dagger, the Bane Gauntlets have a chance to poison enemies and deal damage over an extended period of time which is a direct buff to the weapon type and its innate ability to trigger combos that stun foes. Attacks are slow, but they can be blessed by tarot cards (i.e. Divine Strength) for additional speed or to create a useful dose of venom for areas such as Anura and Silk Cradle.

Merciless Hammer

It's simple: small Lamb, big hammer. The Merciless Hammer primarily focuses on critical hits and while the Merciless Axe is right there, it's a Cult weapon that prioritizes damage and knockback. It's slower due to its targeting system but the one-shots are ideal for any strength/tank/Radahn build.

Vampiric Axe

The Vampiric Axe screams Interview With A Vampire thanks to its ornate design and appetite for any life force that moves. It has a chance to grant a Blue Heart whenever an enemy is defeated and can be further amplified by The Arachnid (for poison) or Master Of The Art (1.2x weapon damage).

Necromantic Sword

The Crusader's Blade is a fit for most variants (Merciless, Vampiric) due to its balance of speed and damage and its flexibility with tarot cards. The Necromantic Sword finds value in becoming "death's own blade" as slaying different mobs can summon a small ghost friend that will attack enemies.

Curses

Death's Attendant clears rooms like the Kool-Aid Man.

Death's Attendant

Death's Attendant wins "Best Melee" due to two outliers: consistency and cute ghost summons. The Necromancer curse unleashes a devastating melee attack that leaves tiny ghost buds in its wake and it's a helpful tool for creating space in overcrowded rooms and for solving Cult's larger bosses, who have a soft spot for turning an ordinary 1v1 into a dizzying SNES-era, bullet hell nightmare.

Divine Guardian

Divine Guardian is satisfyingly OP for two reasons--it's the only true defensive curse and it gives the Lamb invulnerability for two seconds. The burst spell still inflicts damage and knockback but unlike Divine Blizzard (frost) and Divine Blight (poison), it trades in status effects for the ability to deflect incoming projectiles, which can be used to counter Cult's more challenging boss rooms.

Path Of The Righteous

Path Of The Righteous is essentially Ichor Thrown+, as it allows Lambs to fastball a blob of ichor at an unsuspecting enemy and leave a pool of poison behind. The puddle it produces prior to impact increases its effectiveness and while it's an added bonus to endurance runs in Anura, it can also be indirectly upgraded through tarot cards such as Ichor Earned, Ichor Lingered, and Ambrosia.

Touch Of The Revenant

Similar to the Death’s Attendant curse, Touch Of The Revenant deals with more ghost pals who are straight up not having a good time in the underworld. The spell is cast in a straight line--creating a ground fissure that summons a series of ghosts that will attack nearby enemies. The range is limited, but it's a unique curse that can keep larger mobs and shameless projectile abusers off your fleece.

Tarot Cards

Divine Strength is for swing-happy dagger experts.

Divine Strength

Divine Strength is everything because attack rate means everything and sometimes you would rather spend a 30-minute Darkwood run swinging at every single thing that looks at you. Higher rarities like Divine Strength++ can increase attack rates by 2x (instead of 1.25x) and that's a big win for cult leaders who prefer daggers, swords, axes, and anything else that isn't the Warmaker's Hammer.

The Arachnid

The Arachnid is a default tarot card but one that doesn't have a cure (or limits). It applies a poison status effect to enemies struck, which can give base weapons (Traitor's Razor) an added edge or turn Zealous Axes, Vampiric Swords, and Necromantic Daggers into more dangerous configurations.

Ambrosia can be found at Forneus The Cat's item shop.

Ambrosia

While All Seeing Sun and Weeping Moon are great card choices, the "liquor of Gods" increases curse attack damage by 1.25x and stacks as you obtain Faith and unlock Might of the Devout levels I to V. Ambrosia costs 30 gold and can be found at Forneus the Cat's pop-up shop, which can appear as a random room during a Crusade. Tip: Look for the NPC house that's marked by a small cat icon.

Blazing Trail

Blazing Trail is for the dodge roll romantics. The card was designed to "punish those who dare stand in your way" as it adds a bit of extra damage when rolling into enemies--a new secondary ability that really shines next to the chaotic parts of Darkwood and Anchordeep. It can be bought from the Tarot Card Merchant at Spore Grotto for 35 coins after running into Sozo's mushroom minions in Anura.

The Hearts III

Similar to The Hearts I and II cards, The Hearts III allows Lambs to gain two extra Red Hearts which can make a difference in endurance Crusades and boss encounters that require a lvl. 3 sacrifice. The tarot card is sold by Ratoo at a Heart Room for 100 gold and while Heart Rooms appear at random, it's hard to miss the NPC and his entourage of heartbreak. Ratoo is clearly going through it, and River Boy's chilled-out OST theme (aptly named "Ratoo") is worth diving into headfirst.

For more on the instant indie hit, check out our Cult of the Lamb review and our tips for beginners.

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