Beginner Tips And Tricks For Valor Mortis

Published Oct 13, 2026, 1:00 PM EDT Steven is a seasoned writer specializing in the video game and technological fields, with years of experience creating reviews, features, and industry analysis. Passionate about the gaming world and its evolving culture, Steven has always wanted to combine his enjoyment of writing and love for gaming in a way that can provide insightful coverage for players and enthusiasts alike. Despite relying on some familiar gameplay mechanics and tropes, Valor Mortis offers plenty of in-depth mechanics and gameplay systems that can be more than a little overwhelming to get the hang of. Although there is plenty of time to figure things out as you go, there were still several mechanics or things that I wish I had known much earlier into my playthrough that will enhance your experience to keep in mind as you play. Learn To Parry As Early As Possible While parrying the weaker enemies in Valor Mortis is heavily encouraged and not too difficult at the start, it can become easy to get into a habit of relying on dodging and just brute forcing your way through enemies with how varied their attacks can be. Although you can get a bit into the story by relying on this method, parrying is still an essential part of the gameplay loop for most weapons with plenty of benefits. On top of not taking damage from blocking, parrying deals massive posture damage that can leave enemies vulnerable to a massive critical attack, and an additional window while they recover from the initial break. Don't Forget To Use Consumables If you're like me, you can go through an entire RPH without even touching the consumables in case you "need them for later," but in Valor Mortis, there's never a bad time to use them. On top of the fact that you'll get even stronger consumables later that will make saving your weaker ones useless, there's no benefit to hoarding the useful items. You can also only hold a handful of each at a time, meaning you won't be blowing through your reserves if you use additional Pistol Cartridges or a Whetstone to deal a bit of extra damage to a boss, but even if you don't plan to use them much, you should at least sell them at the Church to use on upgrading your abilities or weapons. Don't Rely On A Single Weapon Alone Unlike other Souslikes where the option choice is more based on personal preference, in Valor Mortis your arsenal is more like a toolset where certain powers or weapons are better for different situations and opponents. Now don't get me wrong, part of the fun in the experience comes from building around a specific weapon or playstyle that strikes your fancy the most, but even a full build based around parrying and single-target attacks can make use of swapping to a Claymore to quickly dispatch low-level mobs, or a Musket to take out fast enemies from a safe distance. Check Your Surroundings For Combat Opportunities While Valor Mortis offers a wide variety of combat opportunities and playstyles that can turn you into a formidable living weapon, one thing you should always be taking advantage of while playing comes in the form of environmental hazards. If you pay attention to your surroundings, you'll find plenty of opportunities for explosive barrels, pools of oil to ignite, cliffs to launch enemies off of, or even carts that can be launched into enemies from a distance. While you can certainly take out each enemy by hand, these chances will save plenty of resources and time while also offering some of the most satisfying kills in the game. Explore Every Inch Of The Map Despite having a relatively linear map, each area in Valor Mortis is still filled to the brim with collectibles and secrets to discover, with countless resources and game-changing items hidden in just about every corner waiting to be found. While some of these areas will be marked with symbols like the Eternal Guardists or Shrike symbols written in chalk, many of the rest you can only find by manually scouting each possible path in an area, but more often than not you'll be rewarded handsomely for your efforts through upgrade materials, Catalysts, or even gameplay-changing Ambers. Make Sure To Check In Periodically At The Church After you've defeated General Lothaire and unlocked the Church, you'll be able to upgrade your weapons, Transmutations, and even buy and sell items using Catalysts as a form of currency rather than just skill upgrades. While it can be easy to forget since you can't simply do it at the Lantern, you'll want to regularly check in at the Church after each milestone in order to upgrade your weapons to gain access to powerful game-changing abilities. On top of these powers, the NPCs that make their home here will have new dialogue after each boss or new area is discovered, offering new insights into the grim world of Valor Mortis. Your Catalyst Will Change When You're Ready To Level Up One quality-of-life feature that took me far too long to realize in Valor Mortis is the fact that the game has a built-in function notifying you when you have enough Catalyst to level up, and you should try to backtrack to a Lantern as soon as you can. Once you have enough Catalyst to advance to the next level, the counter at the bottom right of your screen will change from white to yellow, which is a great reminder to try and play on the safer side until you find your next checkpoint, or head back to one you've already discovered to not risk losing a level. High Levels Don't Make You Invincible As you progress dozens of levels into Valor Mortis and have unlocked some powerful late-game abilities, it can be easy to become overconfident and start to rush through areas filled with lower-level enemies. Additionally, some higher-level bosses can also be found early on that you'll need to come back and fight later unless you're willing to struggle against them for quite some time. Even with an end-game build, it can be incredibly easy to get swarmed by smaller enemies if you don't take them seriously or go in with a plan, which can cost you plenty of catalysts and wasted time trying to get them back from a dangerous area or one far away from a Lantern. Don't Neglect Upgrading Your Base Stats While it can be tempting to only focus on damage-boosting abilities or skills that provide unique effects, your base stats are an irreplaceable aspect of the gameplay experience that you don't want to ignore, especially once you start specializing your builds toward one area. You can reset your skills by paying Catalyst in the skill menu at the Lantern. Even with a fully enhanced arsenal of weapons and Transmutations, if you don't upgrade your health, Stamina, and Nephtoglobin you won't get nearly as much use out of them as without. Thankfully, on top of the initial three, you'll also get another chance to increase your base stats further at around level 25, where you can dump a total of 12 skill points to enhance them even further. Experimenting With Amber Helps Unlock New Builds Although it's incredibly easy to rely on a few powerful Amber or the highest rarity ones you can obtain to get through the majority of Valor Mortis, you'll be missing out on a major part of the gameplay experience if you don't explore the other combo potential some of the others have. Using different kinds of amber, you can tailor your builds towards high-risk and high-reward playstyles, ones focused entirely around Transmutations and generating Nephtoglobin, stealing life from your opponents, or more. Although it's not necessary by any means, you might be surprised by how vastly different some of the Amber and mutation combinations can feel to play in Valor Mortis.