Damage in Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse runs on one number more than any other, and that number is Rose’s ATK. It decides how much every weapon swing, spell, and whip crack takes off an enemy’s health, and it climbs as she gains levels.
Quick answer: Yes. Rose’s ATK scales all of her hits, increasing by 1 with each level and each ATK UP book. At level 50, she deals roughly 3.6 times the damage she does at level 1 with the same weapon.
How a hit’s damage is worked out
Every hit Rose lands is built from three values multiplied together. The first is the weapon’s ATK, or for spells the spell’s own attack value. The second is a multiplier that comes from Rose’s own ATK stat. The third is how strong the particular move is. Damage never falls below 1, and there are no random critical hits.
Rose begins with 1 ATK. Each level and every ATK UP book adds 1 to that stat, and the game has 14 ATK UP books. Collecting them all and reaching level 99 brings Rose to ATK 113. Her current ATK appears on the Equipment screen.
That stat feeds a multiplier. At ATK 1 the multiplier is 0.56, and it rises by 0.03 for each point of ATK, reaching 0.83 at ATK 10, 2.03 at ATK 50, and 3.53 at ATK 100. It stops climbing at ATK 110, where it caps at 3.83. If you want to push ATK up quickly, the fastest route is grinding levels and farming experience.
How much ATK changes your damage
The table below shows the multiplier at different ATK values and what one normal hit lands with two sample weapons.
| Rose’s ATK | Multiplier | Hit with ATK 25 weapon | Hit with ATK 100 weapon |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0.56 | 14 | 56 |
| 10 | 0.83 | 21 | 83 |
| 25 | 1.28 | 32 | 128 |
| 50 | 2.03 | 51 | 203 |
| 70 | 2.63 | 66 | 263 |
| 100 | 3.53 | 88 | 353 |
| 110 or more | 3.83 | 96 | 383 |
These numbers are for a move of normal strength, and the moves further down change them.
Weapon ATK and tiers
The weapon card’s ATK value provides its base damage, with the weapon’s tier determining the value. Using an identical move, a Legendary weapon deals four times the damage of an Ordinary one. See the full weapons list for each weapon’s ATK.
| Weapon tier | ATK |
|---|---|
| Ordinary | 25 |
| Refined | 50 |
| Masterpiece | 75 |
| Legendary | 100 |
Whip tip versus whip body
Damage varies with the point of contact: a whip tip strike deals 1.3 times normal damage, while a body strike deals 0.8 times. That makes tip hits about 60% more damaging than body hits. Stay at the whip’s maximum reach to land tip strikes consistently.
- Tip of the whip: 1.3 times normal strength.
- Body of the whip: 0.8 times normal strength.
- The whip combo’s fourth strike has a 1.6 multiplier when it connects with the tip.
- Fully charged whip attack: 3.0.
- Upward and downward whip attacks use a 1.25 multiplier.
Which moves hit harder
Different weapon types have their own strong moves, each scaled against a normal hit.
- A fully charged swing from a two-handed weapon can deal up to 2.5 times normal damage.
- With sword and shield, a medium-charge attack has a 2.25 multiplier; fully charging it raises that to 3.0.
- For one-handed swords, attacks launched directly from a slide or backward dodge use multipliers of 1.35, 1.45, and 1.55.
- A spear’s whip-style attack has a 1.4 multiplier.
- Dual blades deliver numerous small strikes, each far below normal damage, before finishing with a hit whose multiplier ranges from 1.0 to 1.2.
Spells use the same ATK
Rose’s ATK multiplier scales spells too, using each spell’s attack value. A single Cursed Flame fireball inflicts 14 damage at ATK 1, 51 at ATK 50, and 87 at ATK 99. Boosting Rose’s ATK strengthens her magic as well as her weapons.
Enemies have no defense
Neither regular enemies nor bosses have a defense stat. The same hit deals equal damage to enemies with different health pools. Raise Rose’s ATK or equip a weapon with more ATK to increase damage. The exception is Custom Mode: its Damage dealt slider runs from 0.5 to 5.0 and applies an additional multiplier to all damage.
How damage you take works
An enemy’s attack value comes with a power level. When Rose’s DEF equals that level, hits deal the listed attack value. Each point of DEF below the enemy’s power increases the damage she takes: roughly 1.7 times at 20 points below and about 4.4 times at 50 below. Going above the enemy’s power with DEF offers only a small benefit, reducing damage by about 10% at 20 points above.
Rose gains 1 DEF per level and another 1 for each DEF UP book; there are 14 in total. Being under-levelled for an area hurts much more than being over-levelled helps.
Safety nets
A few rules keep a single bad hit from ending a run.
- If Rose has at least 20% of her maximum health, a hit that would kill her leaves her at 1 health instead.
- Once a hit lands, Rose has 1 second during which she cannot be hit again.
- Damage below 15 makes Rose flinch only slightly and causes less knockback.
- A pit fall removes either 10% or 20% of Rose’s maximum health.
Keeping ATK high through levels and better weapons, landing hits at the whip’s tip, and keeping DEF up with your levels together decide how fast Rose clears a room. For more on the systems around all this, the beginner tips cover what the game leaves unsaid.
