Post by Iron Blue Arremer on Feb 14, 2011 14:00:19 GMT -5
Introduction
Adrian Fahrenheit Tepes, more commonly known as Alucard, is Dracula's half-human half-vampire son. He opposes his father in order to stay true to the last wish of his mother before she was killed, which was to protect humans instead of killing them. Thusly, he regularly teams up with the Belmonts and their consorts. He is hinted to have romantic interest in Maria Renard, and, if you want to include non-canonical stories, to be the lover of Sonia Belmont and father of Trevor.
Alucard was introduced in Castlevania 3, and has made appearances in many games since then, making him one of the reappearing characters with the biggest list of being cast both as playable and supporting character, and probably the most important character aside from the Belmonts. His main game was Symphony of the Night, though, where he starred, and which was the very first Metroidvania-styled game produced by IGA.
Alucard is also the character used in the demo of Harmony of Despair. He is essentially the weapons guy along with Soma, just being a bit more simple with having only a handful of comparably straight-forward spells and not as many different weapon types to choose from.
General Abilities
Overview
Alucard, like most characters, is able to use a back dash, a jump kick and a slide kick. However, unlike any other characters, his slidekick will have him transform into his Wolf form from Symphony of the Night and dash slightly forward, before transforming back. Neato. Alucard is the tallest character of the cast and thusly you might get hit with some things that other characters can safely stand under, so keep an eye out for hitboxes close to your head.
Aside from this, Alucard is one of the 3 characters who can equip more than one weapon. While Shanoa is limited to 3-5 weapons, Alucard and Soma have access to a huge arsenal of weaponry. Alucard cannot use several weapon types Soma can use and shares most blade weapons with Soma, however, there are a few swords only Alucard can use. Additionally, all one-handed maces and shields are exclusive to Alucard. Alucard also can hold two weapons, one in each hand, except of course two-handed weapons.
Some of the weapons have weapon specials. Those are triggered by pressing the "Hadoken" button input - Down, Down Forward, Forward, Attack.
This will trigger certain things, reaching from the weapon doing simply more damage to amazing and neat-looking specials, like firing projectiles, summoning minions, or attacking crazily fast.
All of the weapon specials cost unified 20 MP to use.
Mist Form
Alucard's personal skill (RB) is his mist form, also taken from Symphony of the Night. It has a few differences. First, you can't stay in the mist form, you will transform into a cloud only for a second. Secondly, there is no poison mist addition, so it's a purely defensive move. During the transformation, Alucard is completely invulnerable, allowing him to dodge many attacks for the cost of 10 MP. Mist form also has a small glitch that moves Alucard a few pixels above the position he initiated the mist form in, allowing him to reach some close ledges.
Spells
Alucard has recieved most of his spells from Symphony of the Night, although in a slightly weaker version. He is not able to access them immediately like in Symphony, but has to collect them from chests first.
Unlike subweapons, other spells or souls, Alucard's spells will not change appearance when powering up, only the spells become stronger. This will happen through collecting more copies of it.
Hellfire (includes Dark Inferno)
Cost: 10 MP
Location: Chapter 3 purple/Boss (both difficulties), Chapter 6 boss (both difficulties)
Alucard opens his cape and summons three little fireballs that will fly straight forward with somewhat limited range. When holding the spell button instead of releasing it immediately, Alucard will summon a flaming sphere instead, Dark Inferno, which will move forward as well, slower but with longer range. Both of these spells disappear when hitting a wall, but Dark Inferno will pierce through enemies and impenetrable shields.
Although Alucard's versions of this spell are cheaper than those of Soma and Charlotte, he unfortunately can only cast them on the ground, thusly making them incredibly situational. They're nice if the enemy is out of your range or to add in a bit of damage, but most of the time, you won't be using either of these spells.
Summon Spirit
Cost: 10 MP
Location: Drops from Ectoplasm enemies, Chapter 1 purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Alucard wraps himself in his cape, summoning a white mist-looking cloud that homes slowly into the closest enemy. It deals Dark damage, so expect many enemies being nearly immune to damage from this spell. The good thing is, though, that it moves through walls and impenetrable shields and nothing can block it.
Overall, a useful spell for Alucard, if only to damage enemies he can't reach or to leave something behind for certain nuisances of enemies (e.g. Ghosts).
Tetra Spirit
Cost: 30 MP
Location: Chapter 4 purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Essentially this is the same as Summon Spirit, just instead of summoning 1 spirit, Alucard summons 4. Obviously, this spell costs more MP, which are kinda hard to come by for Alucard, but they cover a bigger area. In some cases, Summon Spirit is more than enough, but in some other cases, having 4 of these guys float around is pretty nice. It's up to you which one you like better or if you even wanna go with both of them.
Dark Metamorphosis
Cost: 10 MP
Location: Drops from Cave Troll enemies, Chapter 2 purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Yelling the name of the spell and wrapping himself in his cape, Alucard starts glowing in a red aura. In the duration of this spell, Alucard will heal HP if a blood splash from an enemy touches him. This can be quite useful depending on the weapon you use, but if you use certain weapons that have longer range (Valmanway, Heaven's Sword), you will usually be too far away to get touched by the blood, and thusly, this spell is utter crap for you.
Soul Steal
Cost: 30 MP
Location: Chapter 5 purple/Boss (both difficulties)
This spell has been a bit changed from its Symphony incarnation. Instead of hitting the entire screen, Alucard summons a dark circle. Everything withing that circle will get damage and release a "soul" that flies towards Alucard, healing him for 1 HP each. Enemies can get hit multiple times by this, and the spell is backdashcancel-able. Aside from that, it's a pretty useful defensive spell. You can use it to shield yourself from easy to kill enemies (Medusa Heads) or projectiles. The MP cost of this spell is quite juicy, though, and the damage usually limited, so there's not many offensive uses for Soul Steal.
Recommended Armor Setups
There is only one "true" setup for Alucard, luckily. Only a couple of things you possibly might want to vary, but this is the most commonly and best setup for Alucard:
Head: Samurai Helmet / Dragon Helm
Chest: Berserker Mail / Dracula's Tunic / Ancient Armor
Legs: Sonic Boots (or Winged Boots)
Back: Crimson Cloak
Accessory 1: Miser Ring (or Megingiord)
Accessory 2: Miser Ring (or Megingiord)
If you want to better up your MP regeneration to get more out of your weapon specials, you might wanna go for a Bishamon Raiment or a Chaos Ring.
I do not recommend using INT-based setups or any more MP regenerating items but one, since all of Alucard's spells are incredibly costly and situational.
Recommended Weapons
Alucard uses only a few types of weapons: Daggers, one-handed swords, two-handed swords, rapiers, katanas, knuckles, one-handed maces, shields and a few special weapons.
I will tell you which are fun and/or good weapons to use with Alucard out of each class.
Daggers
Holbein Dagger: When using this weapon, Alucard will cover his upper front with a flurry of rainbow-colored slashing. Most of the hitbox is diagonally upward of him, so it's hard to aim, and it does not much damage per hit, however, it's a so called "blender" weapon, dealing a lot of hits in a very short amount of time. If you are starting out, this weapon is awesome, and it's really fun even after getting better stuff. This weapon has no special. Get 2 of them.
Location: Chapter 2 Normal, Boss chest
One-handed Swords
Valmanway, Valmanway +1: The feared and dreaded weapon. The Valmanway (and it's +1 counterpart), is the best sword and weapon in the game. When using it, the swordsman will do 4 long-ranged sword slashes (yes, 4 for 1 button input). You will do 8 very quick slashes when pressing both attack buttons in rapid succession. Now, while the Valmanway doesn't do much damage as is, it's insane speed and range make it an incredibly strong weapon. You also can move while constantly slashing, to top it off. This is the weapon that makes Alucard and Soma being called "blenders". This weapon has no special. Get 2 of them.
Location: Valmanway - Chapter 6, 7, 8 Hard, Boss chest
Valmanway +1 - Chapter 10 Hard, Boss chest
Alucard Sword, Alucard Sword +1: Alucard swings a sword engulfed in blue flames. This is one of Alucard's best weapons, especially the +1 version. It deals considerable damage, is rather quick and has an awesome special. With it, Alucard teleports forward a bit, and stabs like 4 times into the back, dealing more damage than normal with each attack. He also is invulnerable during this. Get at least 1 of them.
Location: Alucard Sword - Chapter 4 Hard, Boss chest
Alucard Sword +1 - Chapter 9 Hard, Boss chest
Badelaire: Alucard swings a sword engulfed in a white aura. The Badelaire is a weapon that becomes stronger the more playtime you have on Alucard. It maxes out on about 100 hours. If you have Chapter 9, it becomes pretty much obsolete as the Alucard Sword +1 has the exact same attack power as the maxed out Badelaire and additionally has a special. If you don't have that DLC, this weapon is definitely worth checking out. It has no special. Get at least 1 of them.
Location: Chapter 7 Hard, Boss chest
Milican's Sword: The user swings a small grey blade. It has petrification properties. This is less a powerful but rather a handy weapon. It can petrify enemies, which, obviously, doesn't work on every monster. However, there's an awesome part about this. If you hit a charmed ally, they will petrify as well. And as long as they don't mash buttons, they can stay petrified until the charm wears off, thusly not attacking their teammates. So this might come in handy against Dracula and, most importantly, Astarte. No special on this one. Get at least 1 of them.
Location: Chapter 5 Normal, Boss chest
Vorpal Blade: Dubbed the "Mini-Valmanway", the Vorpal Blade works exactly like the Val, just with 1 slash per button press instead of 4. Good weapon to get started with on Hard. Get 2 of them.
Location: Chapter 6 Normal, Boss chest
Two-handed Swords
Daybreak: This weapon will have Alucard swing a sword a bit slower than usual, sporting a red aura. This weapon not only is quite powerful (especially considering it drops on Normal), but it also has an awesome special. It summons minions that will do whatever they do and then disappear. There's different summons that will be chosen randomly. First, there's the knights, that will simply walk forward until hitting an obstacle. Then, there's the archers, that will shoot arrows that go in a ballistic curve forward. The female witch will summon Dark Inferno. The robed wizard summons 2 stick-like projectiles that home into the enemy. And then there's the variation with all of these being summoned at once. This is pretty much the only two-handed weapon worth using for Alucard, and then it's more a fun weapon, though it is fairly powerful when entering Normal. Get 1 of them.
Location: Chapter 4 Normal, Boss chest
Rapiers
Don't use them. No really, don't use them.
Katanas
Yasutsuna: Like with most katanas, Alucard has a "flurry" of slashes in front of him . Unlike with most katanas, however, the Yasutsuna allows Alucard to move. Since the title update in December, this weapon is not as strong anymore as it was before (it was pretty much as good as Valmanway, and really common), its hit rate has been reduced. Most people shun it since its nerf, however, it's still an amazing weapon for Alucard. While there are better choices, it's easy to find and if you still are in need of the better weapons like Valmanway and such, it's a good choice to go with. The special has Alucard slash quickly four times in a rainbow-colored flurry. Get 2 of them.
Location: Chapters 5, 6, 7 and 8 Hard, Purple and Boss chests;
Chapters 9, 10 and 11 Hard, Green and Blue chests; common enemy drop from Pejora's Mask.
Yasutsuna +1: This is, obviously, a better version of the Yasutsuna. However, it gets its own section because it's a bit difference. The Yasutsuna +1 actually has a hitrate comparable close to the standard Yasutsuna before the game was patched, and additionally is stronger in terms of ATK. Special is the same as Yasutsuna's. Get 2 of them.
Location: Chapter 11 Hard, Boss chest.
Muramasa, Muramasa +1: Like with any other katana, Alucard creates a storm of slashes in front of him. It is red, though. He cannot move while doing it. The Muramasa is the strongest weapon power-wise, and is a very good weapon to own and use. It's amazing when backdash-cancelled and, aside from Valmanways and +1 weaponry, Alucard's best weapon. You definitely should have at least the +1 variation, if you don't own Chapter 11, be sure to get the standard version. Special is, like with most katanas, the rainbow slash that hits a few more times in rapid succession. Get 2 of them.
Location: Muramasa - Chapter 2 Hard, Boss chest; Chapter 11 Normal, Boss chest
Muramasa +1 - Chapter 11 Hard, Boss chest
Knuckles
Fist of Tulkas: Alucard quickly punches. Unless counting DLC weapons, Fist of Tulkas is the best knuckle weapon and exclusive to Alucard, to boot. It's a very powerful weapon strength-wise, and if you're alright with being close range, you can deal amazing damage to enemies. The special shoots a green fireball. Get at least 1 of them.
Location: Chapter 6-11 Purple/Boss chests.
Kaiser Knuckle +1: Alucard's version will have him punch quickly in rapid succession. The special will have him throw out a machinegun-like punch, he can't move while using that, though. This is an amazing weapon and the best knuckle in the entire game. It's powerful, quick and deadly. Get at least 1 of them.
Location: Chapter 9 Hard, Boss chest
Maces
Moon Rod: Alucard swings a small rod with a crescent-shaped tip attached to it. The only mace-typed weapon really worth using, and it's exclusive to Alucard, so yay. It has alright stats, but what makes it really shine is its special. It summons a swarm of blue crescent-shaped projectiles that will fly infinitely until hitting an obstacle. They have a hard to describe pattern, but generally it's pretty much straight forward line. It's really useful when you don't have the best gear yet and also a very fun weapon to use. Get at least 1 of them.
Location: Chapters 6-11 Hard, Purple/Boss chests.
Shields
Shields, for the most part, are pretty useless, at least if you are somewhat solid with dodging enemy attacks. If not, they can be quite useful, as they protect you from most projectiles, and add to your defense generally, as well. However, there are two notable exceptions.
Dark Shield, Medusa Shield: These two shields actually have ATK if you look at them in the item compendium. And they really do. If you touch an enemy with the Dark or Medusa Shield, they will take damage. Thusly, you can use them as weapon. It's really not much damage, but it's still frigging sweet to use them for funsies. They don't have any special. Get at least 1 of each.
Location: Medusa Shield - Commen enemy drop from Medusa Head
Dark Shield - Chapter 6 Normal, Green/Blue chests
Special Weapons
Heaven's Sword: Alucard tosses out a sword that flies straight forward, then returns to him. The sword will only hit if it flies out, not when it returns. This weapon is freaking awesome because you throw damn swords. However, what is even more awesome is its special. You can only use it if you have 2 of the Heaven's Swords equipped. If you have this and use the special, Alucard will summon a huge flurry of slashes, dealing a TON of damage. Get 2 of these babies.
Location: Chapter 3 Normal, Boss chest
Progressing Alucard
Although Alucard has spells, they level up by collecting more copies of them. Leveling up his spells will not affect his actual power, though.
Alucard's power mostly comes from the weapons and equipment he puts on. Thusly, you want to collect as many high-level equipment as possible.
Adrian Fahrenheit Tepes, more commonly known as Alucard, is Dracula's half-human half-vampire son. He opposes his father in order to stay true to the last wish of his mother before she was killed, which was to protect humans instead of killing them. Thusly, he regularly teams up with the Belmonts and their consorts. He is hinted to have romantic interest in Maria Renard, and, if you want to include non-canonical stories, to be the lover of Sonia Belmont and father of Trevor.
Alucard was introduced in Castlevania 3, and has made appearances in many games since then, making him one of the reappearing characters with the biggest list of being cast both as playable and supporting character, and probably the most important character aside from the Belmonts. His main game was Symphony of the Night, though, where he starred, and which was the very first Metroidvania-styled game produced by IGA.
Alucard is also the character used in the demo of Harmony of Despair. He is essentially the weapons guy along with Soma, just being a bit more simple with having only a handful of comparably straight-forward spells and not as many different weapon types to choose from.
General Abilities
Overview
Alucard, like most characters, is able to use a back dash, a jump kick and a slide kick. However, unlike any other characters, his slidekick will have him transform into his Wolf form from Symphony of the Night and dash slightly forward, before transforming back. Neato. Alucard is the tallest character of the cast and thusly you might get hit with some things that other characters can safely stand under, so keep an eye out for hitboxes close to your head.
Aside from this, Alucard is one of the 3 characters who can equip more than one weapon. While Shanoa is limited to 3-5 weapons, Alucard and Soma have access to a huge arsenal of weaponry. Alucard cannot use several weapon types Soma can use and shares most blade weapons with Soma, however, there are a few swords only Alucard can use. Additionally, all one-handed maces and shields are exclusive to Alucard. Alucard also can hold two weapons, one in each hand, except of course two-handed weapons.
Some of the weapons have weapon specials. Those are triggered by pressing the "Hadoken" button input - Down, Down Forward, Forward, Attack.
This will trigger certain things, reaching from the weapon doing simply more damage to amazing and neat-looking specials, like firing projectiles, summoning minions, or attacking crazily fast.
All of the weapon specials cost unified 20 MP to use.
Mist Form
Alucard's personal skill (RB) is his mist form, also taken from Symphony of the Night. It has a few differences. First, you can't stay in the mist form, you will transform into a cloud only for a second. Secondly, there is no poison mist addition, so it's a purely defensive move. During the transformation, Alucard is completely invulnerable, allowing him to dodge many attacks for the cost of 10 MP. Mist form also has a small glitch that moves Alucard a few pixels above the position he initiated the mist form in, allowing him to reach some close ledges.
Spells
Alucard has recieved most of his spells from Symphony of the Night, although in a slightly weaker version. He is not able to access them immediately like in Symphony, but has to collect them from chests first.
Unlike subweapons, other spells or souls, Alucard's spells will not change appearance when powering up, only the spells become stronger. This will happen through collecting more copies of it.
Hellfire (includes Dark Inferno)
Cost: 10 MP
Location: Chapter 3 purple/Boss (both difficulties), Chapter 6 boss (both difficulties)
Alucard opens his cape and summons three little fireballs that will fly straight forward with somewhat limited range. When holding the spell button instead of releasing it immediately, Alucard will summon a flaming sphere instead, Dark Inferno, which will move forward as well, slower but with longer range. Both of these spells disappear when hitting a wall, but Dark Inferno will pierce through enemies and impenetrable shields.
Although Alucard's versions of this spell are cheaper than those of Soma and Charlotte, he unfortunately can only cast them on the ground, thusly making them incredibly situational. They're nice if the enemy is out of your range or to add in a bit of damage, but most of the time, you won't be using either of these spells.
Summon Spirit
Cost: 10 MP
Location: Drops from Ectoplasm enemies, Chapter 1 purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Alucard wraps himself in his cape, summoning a white mist-looking cloud that homes slowly into the closest enemy. It deals Dark damage, so expect many enemies being nearly immune to damage from this spell. The good thing is, though, that it moves through walls and impenetrable shields and nothing can block it.
Overall, a useful spell for Alucard, if only to damage enemies he can't reach or to leave something behind for certain nuisances of enemies (e.g. Ghosts).
Tetra Spirit
Cost: 30 MP
Location: Chapter 4 purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Essentially this is the same as Summon Spirit, just instead of summoning 1 spirit, Alucard summons 4. Obviously, this spell costs more MP, which are kinda hard to come by for Alucard, but they cover a bigger area. In some cases, Summon Spirit is more than enough, but in some other cases, having 4 of these guys float around is pretty nice. It's up to you which one you like better or if you even wanna go with both of them.
Dark Metamorphosis
Cost: 10 MP
Location: Drops from Cave Troll enemies, Chapter 2 purple/Boss (both difficulties)
Yelling the name of the spell and wrapping himself in his cape, Alucard starts glowing in a red aura. In the duration of this spell, Alucard will heal HP if a blood splash from an enemy touches him. This can be quite useful depending on the weapon you use, but if you use certain weapons that have longer range (Valmanway, Heaven's Sword), you will usually be too far away to get touched by the blood, and thusly, this spell is utter crap for you.
Soul Steal
Cost: 30 MP
Location: Chapter 5 purple/Boss (both difficulties)
This spell has been a bit changed from its Symphony incarnation. Instead of hitting the entire screen, Alucard summons a dark circle. Everything withing that circle will get damage and release a "soul" that flies towards Alucard, healing him for 1 HP each. Enemies can get hit multiple times by this, and the spell is backdashcancel-able. Aside from that, it's a pretty useful defensive spell. You can use it to shield yourself from easy to kill enemies (Medusa Heads) or projectiles. The MP cost of this spell is quite juicy, though, and the damage usually limited, so there's not many offensive uses for Soul Steal.
Recommended Armor Setups
There is only one "true" setup for Alucard, luckily. Only a couple of things you possibly might want to vary, but this is the most commonly and best setup for Alucard:
Head: Samurai Helmet / Dragon Helm
Chest: Berserker Mail / Dracula's Tunic / Ancient Armor
Legs: Sonic Boots (or Winged Boots)
Back: Crimson Cloak
Accessory 1: Miser Ring (or Megingiord)
Accessory 2: Miser Ring (or Megingiord)
If you want to better up your MP regeneration to get more out of your weapon specials, you might wanna go for a Bishamon Raiment or a Chaos Ring.
I do not recommend using INT-based setups or any more MP regenerating items but one, since all of Alucard's spells are incredibly costly and situational.
Recommended Weapons
Alucard uses only a few types of weapons: Daggers, one-handed swords, two-handed swords, rapiers, katanas, knuckles, one-handed maces, shields and a few special weapons.
I will tell you which are fun and/or good weapons to use with Alucard out of each class.
Daggers
Holbein Dagger: When using this weapon, Alucard will cover his upper front with a flurry of rainbow-colored slashing. Most of the hitbox is diagonally upward of him, so it's hard to aim, and it does not much damage per hit, however, it's a so called "blender" weapon, dealing a lot of hits in a very short amount of time. If you are starting out, this weapon is awesome, and it's really fun even after getting better stuff. This weapon has no special. Get 2 of them.
Location: Chapter 2 Normal, Boss chest
One-handed Swords
Valmanway, Valmanway +1: The feared and dreaded weapon. The Valmanway (and it's +1 counterpart), is the best sword and weapon in the game. When using it, the swordsman will do 4 long-ranged sword slashes (yes, 4 for 1 button input). You will do 8 very quick slashes when pressing both attack buttons in rapid succession. Now, while the Valmanway doesn't do much damage as is, it's insane speed and range make it an incredibly strong weapon. You also can move while constantly slashing, to top it off. This is the weapon that makes Alucard and Soma being called "blenders". This weapon has no special. Get 2 of them.
Location: Valmanway - Chapter 6, 7, 8 Hard, Boss chest
Valmanway +1 - Chapter 10 Hard, Boss chest
Alucard Sword, Alucard Sword +1: Alucard swings a sword engulfed in blue flames. This is one of Alucard's best weapons, especially the +1 version. It deals considerable damage, is rather quick and has an awesome special. With it, Alucard teleports forward a bit, and stabs like 4 times into the back, dealing more damage than normal with each attack. He also is invulnerable during this. Get at least 1 of them.
Location: Alucard Sword - Chapter 4 Hard, Boss chest
Alucard Sword +1 - Chapter 9 Hard, Boss chest
Badelaire: Alucard swings a sword engulfed in a white aura. The Badelaire is a weapon that becomes stronger the more playtime you have on Alucard. It maxes out on about 100 hours. If you have Chapter 9, it becomes pretty much obsolete as the Alucard Sword +1 has the exact same attack power as the maxed out Badelaire and additionally has a special. If you don't have that DLC, this weapon is definitely worth checking out. It has no special. Get at least 1 of them.
Location: Chapter 7 Hard, Boss chest
Milican's Sword: The user swings a small grey blade. It has petrification properties. This is less a powerful but rather a handy weapon. It can petrify enemies, which, obviously, doesn't work on every monster. However, there's an awesome part about this. If you hit a charmed ally, they will petrify as well. And as long as they don't mash buttons, they can stay petrified until the charm wears off, thusly not attacking their teammates. So this might come in handy against Dracula and, most importantly, Astarte. No special on this one. Get at least 1 of them.
Location: Chapter 5 Normal, Boss chest
Vorpal Blade: Dubbed the "Mini-Valmanway", the Vorpal Blade works exactly like the Val, just with 1 slash per button press instead of 4. Good weapon to get started with on Hard. Get 2 of them.
Location: Chapter 6 Normal, Boss chest
Two-handed Swords
Daybreak: This weapon will have Alucard swing a sword a bit slower than usual, sporting a red aura. This weapon not only is quite powerful (especially considering it drops on Normal), but it also has an awesome special. It summons minions that will do whatever they do and then disappear. There's different summons that will be chosen randomly. First, there's the knights, that will simply walk forward until hitting an obstacle. Then, there's the archers, that will shoot arrows that go in a ballistic curve forward. The female witch will summon Dark Inferno. The robed wizard summons 2 stick-like projectiles that home into the enemy. And then there's the variation with all of these being summoned at once. This is pretty much the only two-handed weapon worth using for Alucard, and then it's more a fun weapon, though it is fairly powerful when entering Normal. Get 1 of them.
Location: Chapter 4 Normal, Boss chest
Rapiers
Don't use them. No really, don't use them.
Katanas
Yasutsuna: Like with most katanas, Alucard has a "flurry" of slashes in front of him . Unlike with most katanas, however, the Yasutsuna allows Alucard to move. Since the title update in December, this weapon is not as strong anymore as it was before (it was pretty much as good as Valmanway, and really common), its hit rate has been reduced. Most people shun it since its nerf, however, it's still an amazing weapon for Alucard. While there are better choices, it's easy to find and if you still are in need of the better weapons like Valmanway and such, it's a good choice to go with. The special has Alucard slash quickly four times in a rainbow-colored flurry. Get 2 of them.
Location: Chapters 5, 6, 7 and 8 Hard, Purple and Boss chests;
Chapters 9, 10 and 11 Hard, Green and Blue chests; common enemy drop from Pejora's Mask.
Yasutsuna +1: This is, obviously, a better version of the Yasutsuna. However, it gets its own section because it's a bit difference. The Yasutsuna +1 actually has a hitrate comparable close to the standard Yasutsuna before the game was patched, and additionally is stronger in terms of ATK. Special is the same as Yasutsuna's. Get 2 of them.
Location: Chapter 11 Hard, Boss chest.
Muramasa, Muramasa +1: Like with any other katana, Alucard creates a storm of slashes in front of him. It is red, though. He cannot move while doing it. The Muramasa is the strongest weapon power-wise, and is a very good weapon to own and use. It's amazing when backdash-cancelled and, aside from Valmanways and +1 weaponry, Alucard's best weapon. You definitely should have at least the +1 variation, if you don't own Chapter 11, be sure to get the standard version. Special is, like with most katanas, the rainbow slash that hits a few more times in rapid succession. Get 2 of them.
Location: Muramasa - Chapter 2 Hard, Boss chest; Chapter 11 Normal, Boss chest
Muramasa +1 - Chapter 11 Hard, Boss chest
Knuckles
Fist of Tulkas: Alucard quickly punches. Unless counting DLC weapons, Fist of Tulkas is the best knuckle weapon and exclusive to Alucard, to boot. It's a very powerful weapon strength-wise, and if you're alright with being close range, you can deal amazing damage to enemies. The special shoots a green fireball. Get at least 1 of them.
Location: Chapter 6-11 Purple/Boss chests.
Kaiser Knuckle +1: Alucard's version will have him punch quickly in rapid succession. The special will have him throw out a machinegun-like punch, he can't move while using that, though. This is an amazing weapon and the best knuckle in the entire game. It's powerful, quick and deadly. Get at least 1 of them.
Location: Chapter 9 Hard, Boss chest
Maces
Moon Rod: Alucard swings a small rod with a crescent-shaped tip attached to it. The only mace-typed weapon really worth using, and it's exclusive to Alucard, so yay. It has alright stats, but what makes it really shine is its special. It summons a swarm of blue crescent-shaped projectiles that will fly infinitely until hitting an obstacle. They have a hard to describe pattern, but generally it's pretty much straight forward line. It's really useful when you don't have the best gear yet and also a very fun weapon to use. Get at least 1 of them.
Location: Chapters 6-11 Hard, Purple/Boss chests.
Shields
Shields, for the most part, are pretty useless, at least if you are somewhat solid with dodging enemy attacks. If not, they can be quite useful, as they protect you from most projectiles, and add to your defense generally, as well. However, there are two notable exceptions.
Dark Shield, Medusa Shield: These two shields actually have ATK if you look at them in the item compendium. And they really do. If you touch an enemy with the Dark or Medusa Shield, they will take damage. Thusly, you can use them as weapon. It's really not much damage, but it's still frigging sweet to use them for funsies. They don't have any special. Get at least 1 of each.
Location: Medusa Shield - Commen enemy drop from Medusa Head
Dark Shield - Chapter 6 Normal, Green/Blue chests
Special Weapons
Heaven's Sword: Alucard tosses out a sword that flies straight forward, then returns to him. The sword will only hit if it flies out, not when it returns. This weapon is freaking awesome because you throw damn swords. However, what is even more awesome is its special. You can only use it if you have 2 of the Heaven's Swords equipped. If you have this and use the special, Alucard will summon a huge flurry of slashes, dealing a TON of damage. Get 2 of these babies.
Location: Chapter 3 Normal, Boss chest
Progressing Alucard
Although Alucard has spells, they level up by collecting more copies of them. Leveling up his spells will not affect his actual power, though.
Alucard's power mostly comes from the weapons and equipment he puts on. Thusly, you want to collect as many high-level equipment as possible.
