Which altarpieces and rosary beads should I equip for fighting the father of the penitents?

[Oni]

[John Crossbow]

Worth noting to begin with, he's particularly weak to lightning. There are a bunch of viable strats, but here's what I used:

Weapon: Sarmiento & Centella

Altar Pieces:
The Veteran One + The Partisan = Lebeche's Favor
The Pilgrim + Nacimiento = Second Wind
The Tempest + The Pillager = Storm Steps
Lebeche + The Unwavering One (or The Maiden if you haven't upgraded it yet, but it's worth doing that quest at this point since it's quick and easy) = Lebeche's Favor

Rosaries:
Pewter Tears
Imprint of Scalopendra
Votive Offering Claimed By Rust
Scratched Face from the Canvas
Compass of the Stranded

I'm not sure if the last two actually offer any help during the fight, and Imprint and Votive only help during the easy first phase since all his damage is physical in the second phase. You're probably better off replacing at least the last two with the other two Physical Damage Resistance rosaries, or throw Concentrated Fear of Guilt in there somewhere.

Prayers:
Quick Verse - Liviana of the Blighted Blades
Chants - Aubade to the Sleepless Iron

Contrary to other guides doing the rounds, I'd strongly recommend NOT using Seguiriya to the Memory of your Eyes. The drop from 6 seconds to 3.5 seconds in the last patch means that it's way too easy to put yourself in needless danger by stopping time, and it's really nowhere near as helpful as just focusing on dodging and punishing.

He seems very intimidating at first, and I was stuck on him for an embarrassingly long time, but once I made this build and focused on dodging and being aggressive, I tore through him.

Good luck!

[Oni]

Child_Dog님이 먼저 게시:

Worth noting to begin with, he's particularly weak to lightning. There are a bunch of viable strats, but here's what I used:

Weapon: Sarmiento & Centella

Altar Pieces:
The Veteran One + The Partisan = Lebeche's Favor
The Pilgrim + Nacimiento = Second Wind
The Tempest + The Pillager = Storm Steps
Lebeche + The Unwavering One (or The Maiden if you haven't upgraded it yet, but it's worth doing that quest at this point since it's quick and easy) = Lebeche's Favor

Rosaries:
Pewter Tears
Imprint of Scalopendra
Votive Offering Claimed By Rust
Scratched Face from the Canvas
Compass of the Stranded

I'm not sure if the last two actually offer any help during the fight, and Imprint and Votive only help during the easy first phase since all his damage is physical in the second phase. You're probably better off replacing at least the last two with the other two Physical Damage Resistance rosaries, or throw Concentrated Fear of Guilt in there somewhere.

Prayers:
Quick Verse - Liviana of the Blighted Blades
Chants - Aubade to the Sleepless Iron

Contrary to other guides doing the rounds, I'd strongly recommend NOT using Seguiriya to the Memory of your Eyes. The drop from 6 seconds to 3.5 seconds in the last patch means that it's way too easy to put yourself in needless danger by stopping time, and it's really nowhere near as helpful as just focusing on dodging and punishing.

He seems very intimidating at first, and I was stuck on him for an embarrassingly long time, but once I made this build and focused on dodging and being aggressive, I tore through him.

Good luck!

Thank you a lot, mate. I'm already stomping him in his first phase, but the second one is just destroying me. I can't parry right (I admit I get too anxious/nervous when he picks up the sword ).

[John Crossbow]

Don't bother parrying or blocking at all in this fight. Purely dodge and evade, and don't be afraid to dodge through him and take advantage of those iframes. Try to limit your double jumping/air evasion to only when you REALLY need it, and otherwise stand firm and be aggressive with landing hits after you dodge through each of his attacks. If you're too careful and only go for the easy opening when he does his jumping attack, then it can take way too long and give you too many opportunities to get hit. Plus it makes it a lot harder to punish once his moveset changes up after you've knocked the first 1/3 of his health off. Better to just get used to dodging at him and not being afraid to hit him with a full combo each time.

Have you got everything upgraded that can be upgraded by this point, like health, flasks, etc? And having a fully upgraded Sarmiento & Centella will make massive amounts of difference. You're able to get all but 5 Marks of Martyrdom by this point in the game, so hopefully you're able to max out Sarmiento & Centella unlike me, who didn't use the weapon at all until this fight, so couldn't unlock the final lightning pip, which would've been a godsend.

[Oni]

Mate, because of you I was able to finish it on my third try today (after failing a dozen yesterday).
I used the Ruego Al'Alba because it's the one I'm more used to, but equiped the resonance that gives lightning damage to blood pact.
And you were right, no good in trying to parry, you can literally dodge every single attack that he throws at you.
Thanks again, mate.

[John Crossbow]

Oni님이 먼저 게시:

Mate, because of you I was able to finish it on my third try today (after failing a dozen yesterday).
I used the Ruego Al'Alba because it's the one I'm more used to, but equiped the resonance that gives lightning damage to blood pact.
And you were right, no good in trying to parry, you can literally dodge every single attack that he throws at you.
Thanks again, mate.

Oh niiiiice. Well done!