Video games are usually pretty straightforward about how they want you to move. You press a button, you jump, you land. Simple. But Blasphemous—the 2019 gothic nightmare from The Game Kitchen—is anything but simple. If you've spent any time in Cvstodia, you know the movement feels heavy. Deliberate. Almost clunky, honestly. That's by design. However, there is one specific maneuver that separates the casual players from the speedrunners, and it’s what the community calls the blasphemous jump in water.
It’s a nightmare. Truly.
You’re trying to navigate the murky, waist-deep filth of the Desecrated Cistern or the Spires of the Quince, and suddenly, the Penitent One moves like he’s wearing lead boots. Because he basically is. The game forces a slow-walk animation in water that disables your standard leap. This isn't just a minor annoyance; it’s a hard gate that prevents you from reaching specific ledges, secrets, and those agonizingly out-of-reach Cherubs.
But here’s the thing: you can bypass it.
Why the Water Jump is a Total Pain
The physics of Cvstodia are punishing. When the Penitent One enters deep water or mud, the game triggers a state change. Your velocity is capped. Your jump height is gutted. In most Metroidvanias, you’d just double jump or wait for a late-game power-up. While Blasphemous does have an item for this—the Nail Uprooted from Dirt—getting it requires a whole lot of backtracking and a specific questline involving Redento, the wandering pilgrim.
Most people think you must have that Relic to make these jumps.
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They're wrong. Sorta.
There is a frame-perfect technique that allows for a blasphemous jump in water without the Nail Uprooted from Dirt, though it's incredibly finicky. It involves a "coyote time" exploit. In platformer design, "coyote time" is that split second where a character can still jump after technically leaving a platform. By timing a dash-cancel right at the edge of a submerged platform or using the momentum from a downward strike (the Weight of Sin), you can occasionally trick the engine into giving you a full-height leap.
It’s hard. Like, "throw your controller across the room" hard.
The Real Way to Fix Your Mobility
Honestly, if you aren't a speedrunner trying to shave three seconds off a segment, you should just get the Relic. The Nail Uprooted from Dirt is the intended solution for the blasphemous jump in water issue.
To get it, you need to help Redento. You find him first in the Mountains of the Endless Dusk. You have to clear monsters out of his path. Then you find him again in the Desecrated Cistern. You keep helping this poor, hunched-over man until he eventually reaches the Mother of Mothers.
It's a long walk.
But once you have that Nail equipped in one of your three Relic slots, the water physics simply... disappear. You can run. You can dodge. Most importantly, you can perform a full-height jump as if the ground were perfectly dry. It changes the entire flow of the Desecrated Cistern. You go from a crawling victim to a platforming god.
Advanced Tech: The Dash Jump
Even with the Relic, the blasphemous jump in water can be improved with a technique called the Dash Jump.
If you press the dash button and the jump button almost simultaneously—with dash being slightly earlier—the Penitent One carries the horizontal momentum of the slide into the verticality of the jump. This creates a long-distance leap that clears gaps even the developers probably didn't intend for you to cross easily.
- Stand at the very edge of the water-clogged platform.
- Ensure the Nail Uprooted from Dirt is equipped (crucial for consistency).
- Input: Dash -> Jump (approx. 2-frame window).
- Profit.
Doing this in the Spires of the Quince is basically mandatory if you want to collect every item without losing your mind. The verticality of that zone is brutal. One missed jump and you’re falling through three screens of progress, probably landing on some spikes.
The Misconception About "Swimming"
I see this on forums all the time. People ask where the "swimming" upgrade is.
There isn't one.
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The Penitent One cannot swim. He is a man of metal and cloth and deep, abiding guilt. He sinks. The blasphemous jump in water isn't about swimming; it's about ignoring the friction of the mud. If you fall into water that doesn't have a floor—like the bottomless pits in some areas—you just die. The "water" we're talking about is specifically the environmental hazard that slows movement.
Don't Forget the Linen Thread
If you're struggling with movement in these areas, the water jump is only half the battle. You also need the Silvered Lung of Dolphos. Why? Because most areas with deep water also have toxic mist.
It’s a double whammy of environmental hate.
You’re moving slowly because of the water, and you’re losing health because of the air. To truly master these zones, you need a loadout that looks something like this:
- Nail Uprooted from Dirt (to fix the jump).
- Silvered Lung of Dolphos (to breathe).
- Blood Perpetuated in Sand (to see the hidden platforms).
If you try to tackle the "true" platforming challenges of the late-game without these three, you're going to have a bad time. The blasphemous jump in water becomes much less scary when you aren't choking to death on green gas at the same time.
Let's Talk About the DLC Changes
When the Stir of Dawn and Wounds of Eventide updates dropped, the developers tweaked some of the collision boxes in the water. Some of the old "skip" jumps were patched out, while others became more consistent.
Interestingly, if you’re playing on a higher Penitence (like the True Guilt mode), your fervor management becomes tied to your ability to move quickly. You can't afford to get stuck in a slow-walk animation in the water. Every second you spend sluggishly wading through a pool is a second where an enemy can catch you without your dodge-cooldown being ready.
Speed is survival.
Specific Troublespots to Watch For
The Desecrated Cistern is the obvious one, but the real test of your blasphemous jump in water skills is in the Echoes of Salt. This area was added later and serves as a bridge between several major zones. It is filled with shallow pools and steep inclines.
If you don't have the timing down, the sirens in this area will absolutely shred you. They move fast. You move slow. It’s a recipe for a "Game Over" screen.
Wait.
Actually, there’s one more trick.
If you find yourself stuck in water without the Relic and you desperately need to make a jump, try the Arturo's Penitence (the prayer that increases attack speed). For some reason, the animation speed increase slightly affects the recovery frames of your landing in water, allowing you to chain "tiny jumps" faster than you can walk. It looks ridiculous. You look like a caffeinated frog hopping through a swamp. But it works.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Run
If you're starting a new save or finally finishing that 100% completion run, here is how you should handle the water mechanics to avoid frustration:
- Prioritize Redento’s Quest: Don’t skip the dialogue. Follow the old man. The Nail Uprooted from Dirt is non-negotiable for a smooth experience.
- Map the Shortcuts: In the Desecrated Cistern, there are several gates you can open from the "dry" side. Use these instead of wading through the main chambers whenever possible.
- Practice the Slide-Jump: Get used to the Dash -> Jump input on dry land first. The muscle memory needs to be perfect before you try it in a high-stakes environment like the Spires.
- Check Your Relic Slots: It sounds stupid, but half the time I thought a jump was "impossible," it’s because I’d swapped out my movement Relics for something like the Tongue Caressed by Mist and forgot to switch back.
The blasphemous jump in water isn't a bug; it's a test of patience. The game wants you to feel the weight of the world. It wants you to feel burdened. But once you understand the rhythm of the dash-jump and the location of the right Relics, Cvstodia becomes your playground.
Stop wading. Start jumping. The Miracle is watching, and it doesn't have much patience for slow walkers.