Blood Altar

Used by Garuda

Ability2

Energy25

Blood Altar

Impale an enemy on an altar of talons and siphon health for Garuda and her allies.

Introduced in Update 24.0 (2018-11-08)

Strength

Duration

Range

Misc

Impale an enemy on an altar of talons and siphon health for Garuda and her allies.

Info

Blood Altar is Garuda’s ability 2.
Impale an enemy on an altar of talons and siphon health for Garuda and her allies.
Use it with the rest of the kit — especially Dread Mirror, Bloodletting — instead of casting it in isolation.
Ability Strength, Duration, Range, and Efficiency each matter differently; check Mod Scaling below before dumping all four.

Read the battlefield first — cast Blood Altar when it actually solves the room, not on cooldown habit.
Pair Blood Altar with movement and energy economy so you’re not stranded after a big spend.
On Steel Path, confirm whether Blood Altar still carries without strip, Viral, or a squad buff.
If you never press 2, it’s the first Helminth candidate on Garuda.

Ability dossier · Blood Altar

Verified 2026-07-22

Blood AltarDread Mirror
Use Blood Altar to set up Dread Mirror, or follow Dread Mirror with Blood Altar while enemies are vulnerable.
Blood AltarBloodletting
Use Blood Altar to set up Bloodletting, or follow Bloodletting with Blood Altar while enemies are vulnerable.
Blood AltarSeeking Talons
Use Blood Altar to set up Seeking Talons, or follow Seeking Talons with Blood Altar while enemies are vulnerable.

Strength: Strength matters if Blood Altar scales effect power; otherwise dump it for other stats.
Duration: Duration is low priority on Blood Altar unless an augment or lingering effect needs it.
Range: Range is usually dumpable on Blood Altar unless you feel the hitbox is too tight.
Efficiency: Blood Altar costs energy each cast — Efficiency (or strong regen) keeps the loop comfortable on long missions.

Stack the stats that actually move this ability’s needle, then Efficiency for uptime.

Mission	How to Use It
Steel Path Survival / Defense / Disruption	Test whether Blood Altar still clears or enables clear when enemies are dense and overlevelled.
Mobile Defense / Excavation	Use Blood Altar to control or delete the swarm on the objective, then reposition.
Exterminate / Capture Speed Runs	Cast Blood Altar only when it saves time — skip it on empty tiles.
Spy / Rescue / Quiet Routes	If Blood Altar is loud or forces combat, save it for after the vault; if it’s stealth-friendly, use it to stay safe.

VS
Vs similar tools on other frames — Blood Altar is tuned for Garuda’s loop — don’t judge it as a standalone subsume without the rest of the kit.