Valor Mortis Tips and Tricks — Best Getting Started Guide for New Players

TL;DR

• Parrying is the core skill — learn it early on weak enemies before bosses force it on you.
• Catalysts are your currency — always bank them at a Lantern before pushing into new areas.
• An SSD is required to play on PC — check our Valor Mortis PC requirements guide before buying.
• Red glowing attacks cannot be blocked or parried — dodge them, always.
• Shoot glowing weak points to refill your Nephtoglobin and deal bonus damage.
• The Church and Lanterns are different — use both, and visit the Church regularly.
• Ambers are build-defining — equip them to suit your playstyle as early as possible.
• Explore every corner — the world hides upgrades, Amber clots, and shortcuts.

Valor Mortis throws you into Napoleonic France — except France is full of plague monsters, and you are technically dead. Like most soulslikes, it does not hold your hand for long. The basics are explained, but the deeper systems, the rhythm of the combat, the things that actually keep you alive — those take time to click.

This guide cuts straight to what matters. Whether you are five minutes in or stuck on your third death to a chapter boss, these tips will help you understand what the game is actually asking of you.

Want a full breakdown of the game first? Read our Valor Mortis review to see if it’s worth picking up.

Understand the Core Loop First

Before diving into specific tips, it helps to understand what Valor Mortis is actually built around. The loop is simple but unforgiving.

You fight through an area, collect Catalysts (the game’s upgrade currency) from defeated enemies, reach a Lantern (the game’s checkpoint), spend those Catalysts to upgrade your character, then push deeper. If you die before reaching a Lantern, your Catalysts drop where you fell. You can retrieve them by returning to that spot without dying again. Die a second time before retrieval and they are gone for good.

This is the standard soulslike loop — risk versus reward, every time you push forward. Once that rhythm makes sense, the rest of the systems fall into place around it.

Tip 1 — Learn to Parry Early, Not When You Have To

Parrying is not optional in Valor Mortis. The game is built around it. Every enemy has a posture bar — a white bar underneath their health bar. You fill that bar through successful parries and attacks. When it breaks, the enemy is vulnerable to a critical finisher that deals massive damage.

The problem most new players run into is ignoring parrying early. The dodge is more forgiving at the start, so beginners lean on it instead. Then the first real boss arrives and suddenly parrying at precise timing is not a nice-to-have — it is the only way through.

Practice on the weakest enemies in early areas. These enemies are slow enough to let you read the timing without punishing misses too harshly. Get comfortable with the parry window before anything bigger is testing it at speed.

A clean parry also does something else worth knowing: it lands with a metallic clang sound cue. Listen for it. That sound means your parry connected perfectly. If you are not hearing it, you are blocking rather than parrying — and blocking does not fill posture.

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Tip 2 — Red Attacks Are Unblockable — Always Dodge Them

This one will save you a lot of frustration early on. When an enemy glows red before an attack, that attack cannot be blocked or parried. No exceptions. Attempting a block will still take the full hit. Trying to parry will get you punished even worse.

The moment you see red, dodge. Dodge toward open space, bring the enemy back into your view after the animation ends, and re-engage. Repeatedly pressing block while a red attack is already committed to is one of the most common and costly beginner mistakes in Valor Mortis.

Tip 3 — Blocking Is Also a Way to Heal

One mechanic Valor Mortis borrows from Bloodborne is a rally system. When you take a blocked hit, a pale red segment appears on your health bar. That segment is health you can get back — but only by landing melee attacks before it disappears.

This means being defensive is not purely passive. After you block an attack, counter immediately. Land hits. Recover that chunk of health before it expires. Sitting back and waiting after a block is actually worse than pressing forward aggressively.

In Valor Mortis, offense is also your medicine.

Tip 4 — Always Activate Every Lantern You Find

Lanterns are your checkpoints and your upgrade station in one. Resting at a Lantern restores your heals and lets you spend Catalysts on upgrades. It also respawns all non-boss enemies in the area — which sounds like a downside but is actually useful.

Skipping a Lantern to save time almost always costs more time later. If you die before the next one, your Catalyst drop could be a long and dangerous run away. There is no benefit to skipping. Activate every single Lantern you find.

Also remember: Lanterns are one of the better training spots in the game. Clear the nearby enemies, rest, and run the same encounter again. You lose nothing but time, and you get practice and more Catalysts in return.

Tip 5 — Spend Catalysts Regularly — Do Not Hoard Them

Holding onto Catalysts is one of the most common mistakes in soulslike games. The instinct is to save up for something big. In Valor Mortis, that instinct will get you killed.

Every run that ends in death with a large Catalyst stockpile is a risk you didn’t need to take. Spend at each Lantern. Upgrade your health, stamina, and parry window as priorities in the early game — these affect every single encounter rather than a specific damage output.

The upgrade tree at the Lantern covers base stats. Stamina is particularly important to upgrade early — it governs both your offensive attacks and your defensive options, so it is the most broadly useful stat in the game. If you run out of stamina mid-fight, you can neither attack nor parry effectively. Build it early.

Tip 6 — Check In at the Church After Every Major Milestone

The Lantern is not the only upgrade hub in Valor Mortis. After you defeat General Lothaire and unlock the Church, a separate upgrade and economy system opens up.

At the Church, you can upgrade your weapons, upgrade your Transmutations, and buy and sell items using Catalysts as currency. Weapon upgrades at the Church unlock powerful new abilities attached to each blade — these are game-changing and easy to miss if you are only visiting Lanterns.

Make it a habit to return to the Church after each chapter milestone or significant boss kill. The upgrades available there can completely change how certain later encounters feel.

Tip 7 — Shoot Glowing Weak Points — Always

Every enemy in Valor Mortis has glowing weak points — referred to as lambent blisters or pustules. Shooting these with your flintlock pistol or targeting them with the Rapier deals bonus damage and, critically, refills your Nephtoglobin — the resource that powers your Transmutation abilities.

This creates a loop that the Xbox Wire tips guide described well: your blade breaks posture, your firearm hits weak points, hitting weak points refills your Nephtoglobin, and killing enemies drops ammo. Once that loop is running, you always have your next advantage available.

Ammo is scarce, so do not spray shots randomly. Aim down sights, find the glow, and shoot it. The payoff in Nephtoglobin and damage far outweighs the lost shot if you miss.

Also watch for explosive barrels that some enemies carry — shooting those deals significant area damage and can clear groups of weaker enemies without spending heals.

Tip 8 — Do Not Neglect Your Transmutations

Transmutations are your supernatural abilities — powered by the Nephtoglobin coursing through William’s veins. The Fire Transmutation is one you pick up very early, and it is genuinely powerful and easy to underuse.

Setting an enemy on fire opens them to finishers. It also works brilliantly for crowd control — especially when funneling enemies through a door or narrow space. There is an excellent early Catalyst farming spot at the Marketplace Lantern that takes advantage of this: position at the barn door, equip Fire Transmutation, and let grouped enemies walk into it. Rinse and repeat right next to the Lantern for fast Catalyst gain before Chapter 3’s difficulty spike.

More broadly, Transmutations are not a last resort. They are a core combat pillar alongside melee and firearms. Weave them in constantly rather than saving them for emergencies.

Tip 9 — Understand What Ambers Do and Equip Them Early

Ambers are build-defining accessories you find throughout the world and equip at Lanterns. As you level up, more Amber equipment slots unlock. Each Amber modifies how you play — some boost stats that trigger during specific actions, others enhance Transmutation effects or weapon properties.

The key rule: equip Ambers that synergize with what you are already doing. If you use Fire Transmutation often, find Ambers that amplify fire effects. If you lean on parrying, look for Ambers that trigger on successful parry. Chasing general stat increases without thinking about how they interact with your weapon and Transmutation is a common mistake that leaves power on the table.

Ambers can also be enhanced using scavenged materials found in the world — another reason to explore thoroughly rather than following the critical path only.

Tip 10 — Explore Every Corner — The World Rewards It

Valor Mortis uses a Metroidvania-inspired level structure with no world map. The game funnels you through villages and corridors, but every branch and side path exists for a reason. Hidden chests contain Catalyst Clots, Ambers, consumables, and weapon upgrade materials. Some paths unlock shortcuts back to Lanterns that save significant time on later runs.

The game has no in-game map, so build your own mental picture of each area in relation to nearby Lanterns, bridges, and landmarks. When you see a blocked route — green poison gas, a collapsed wall, a locked door — mark it mentally. You will often come back with an ability or key that opens it, and what waits behind it is usually worth the detour.

Do not rush the critical path. The players who struggle most in the mid-game are usually the ones who skipped every optional corner in the early chapters.

Tip 11 — Sneak Up on Unaware Enemies for Free Critical Hits

Valor Mortis has a stealth mechanic that is easy to overlook but incredibly useful, especially when entering a new area with multiple grouped enemies. If an enemy has not spotted you yet, walking (not running) and staying out of their line of sight lets you approach from behind for a critical backstab.

A critical hit from stealth kills weaker enemies instantly and deals significant chunk damage to stronger ones. Used well before a multi-enemy fight, it can remove one threat before the chaos starts — which in first-person soulslike combat is a bigger advantage than it sounds.

Tip 12 — Use the Rapier for Weak Points, Keep the Sabre for Everything Else

You start with the Sabre — a versatile weapon with good blocking options and reliable parry coverage. Early in the game you find the Rapier, which cannot block but excels at fast thrusting attacks and targeting enemy weak points directly without needing a pistol shot.

These two weapons complement each other well. The Rapier’s ability to hit weak points directly is useful in situations where ammo is low. The Sabre’s blocking options are better for sustained fights where you need defense. Knowing when to switch between them — and upgrading both at the Church — gives you more tools for different encounter types.

There are further weapons beyond these two. Always check the Church upgrade tree when you add a new weapon to your arsenal. Some of the best combat-changing abilities in the game are locked behind Church upgrades on specific weapons.

Tip 13 — Sell Consumables You Are Not Using

Valor Mortis limits how many consumables you can carry at one time. Whetstones, Pistol Cartridges, and similar items stack up quickly. If you are not using them in fights, do not let them sit capped in your inventory taking up space.

Sell unused consumables at the Church for Catalysts. Those Catalysts go directly into upgrades that help every encounter, rather than sitting in inventory slots as items you may never use. This is a small habit but it adds up over a 20-hour campaign.

Tip 14 — Manage Your Endurance — Don’t Chain Attacks Until Empty

Endurance is the stamina system in Valor Mortis, and it governs both attacking and defending. New players often drain it completely in a flurry of attacks, leaving themselves unable to parry or dodge when the enemy counters.

The right rhythm is: land two or three strikes, create some distance, let Endurance recover, then re-engage. It feels slower than going all-in, but it means you always have a defensive option available. A perfectly timed parry with full Endurance is far better than three extra sword swings that leave you exposed to the next attack.

Upgrading Endurance early at the Lantern is one of the best early-game investments — it directly expands how long you can fight before needing to reset the distance.

Common Beginner Mistakes to Avoid in Valor Mortis

• Trying to parry red attacks. They are unblockable. Dodge, always.
• Hoarding Catalysts. Spend them regularly. Dying with a full Catalyst bank is just a loss.
• Ignoring the Church. Lanterns and the Church are different systems. Use both.
• Forgetting to equip Ambers. Unlocked upgrade slots with no Ambers in them is free power you are leaving behind.
• Chaining attacks until your Endurance runs out. Always leave Endurance for at least one defensive option.
• Not using Transmutations in normal fights. They are meant for regular combat, not just bosses.
• Running through new areas. Walk when scouting. Stealth backstabs remove one problem before a fight even starts.
• Skipping optional paths. The best Ambers and upgrade materials are off the critical route.

A Note on Valor Mortis Difficulty

Valor Mortis has no difficulty selector and the developer has confirmed that is intentional. There is no easy mode. But the game is also more approachable than most soulslikes — it has a pause function, frequent checkpoints, no boss runbacks, clear tutorials for its mechanics, and a rally system that lets aggressive play recover health.

The tools to handle the difficulty are all inside the game. If you are struggling on a specific encounter, the answer is almost always one of these: upgrade Endurance or health at the Lantern, visit the Church to upgrade your weapon, practice parry timing on weaker enemies, or use Transmutations more aggressively. The game is designed to reward players who use all its systems together rather than leaning on just one.

If you’re still deciding whether to play on PC or console, take a look at our Valor Mortis PC system requirements guide to check your hardware. And for a full overview of what the game offers, our Valor Mortis review covers everything from combat and story to whether it’s worth the $39.99 price tag.

You can grab the game on Steam, the PlayStation Store, or the Xbox store, or visit the official Valor Mortis website for more details.

Valor Mortis Tips and Tricks FAQ