Souls

Strike a creature down and its spirit may linger. A glowing soul orb bursts out of it and flies into you, with nothing to pick up. Every soul lands in your Soul Codex. Wear one and it makes you stronger. Fill the Soul Gauge and the creature's giant spectral form tears out of you to attack across the screen.

How you get souls

• Almost every creature has its own soul, from Dewdrop Slime to the region bosses.
• A soul drops when you defeat the creature. It is a rare find for most creatures, so be ready to hunt.
• Your first copy of a soul comes sooner than later ones. Every kill that gives nothing makes the next try a little likelier, so bad luck does not last.
• Elite and Crowned creatures leave souls more often.
• The player who deals the most damage gets the full chance. Party members on the same map who earn a share of the kill get a smaller chance of their own. Souls are never stolen.
• Bosses always leave their soul the first time you defeat them each day. Party members who helped get a good chance at that same daily soul.
• A soul you already own becomes a shard. Shards awaken that soul (see below), so no drop is wasted.

Rarities

Souls come in four rarities: Common, Rare, Epic and Legendary. Higher rarity means slightly stronger stats, but never a huge jump. A Legendary soul is worth about one good accessory, not a whole new build.

The Soul Codex and the loadout

Open Souls from the menu. The left side is your loadout, the right side is the codex of every soul. Souls you have not found yet show as a dark shape with the place you can find them.

You have three slots:

The same soul cannot be worn twice. Tap a soul, then tap WEAR. BEST LOADOUT fills your slots with the strongest souls you own.

Region sets

Wear two or three souls from the same region and you get a damage bonus. Two give a small boost to damage. Three give a bigger boost to damage plus extra critical damage. The loadout shows chips under the slots so you can see which set you are building.

Codex bonuses

Every different soul you collect gives a permanent bonus, even when you are not wearing it. Each one adds a little HP and attack. Reaching these totals gives a one-time extra reward:

Soul Gauge and Soul Burst

Fighting fills the Soul Gauge around the big SOUL button next to your attack button. On a keyboard, press V.

• Every creature your skills hit adds a little, and a defeat adds more.
• Hits on bosses count double.
• Summons and Soul Bursts do not fill it.
• The gauge stays as you change maps, but resets when you leave the game.

When it is full, the button glows. Tap it and your MAIN soul's spirit rises behind you and unleashes its signature attack. It costs no MP and has no cooldown except the gauge. You are also safe from harm for a moment while it appears. It works on bosses. AUTO fires it for you when the gauge is full.

Soul Link

If a party member on your map used their Soul Burst in the last few seconds, yours becomes a SOUL LINK. The second burst hits harder, and both of you get part of your gauge back. A whole party can chain bursts one after another.

Awakening

A soul can be awakened up to five stars. Each star costs shards of that soul plus lumens. The lumen cost grows with the creature's level.

Each star adds a quarter of the soul's stats again and makes its Soul Burst hit harder. The spirit also looks bigger and brighter. Tap a soul in the codex and press AWAKEN when you have enough shards.

Souls you cannot get from the field

• Party quest souls. Each party quest has a Legendary soul of its own. The Lantern Trial gives Gloomwick Soul, the Tidebell Salvage gives Hullbreaker Soul, the Forgeheart Ascent gives Anvil Warden Soul, the Starfall Vigil gives Starfall Warden Soul and the Stormroot Descent gives Galecrown, the Rootbound Harpy Soul. Each can also drop as a rare bonus when you finish the run, and a Hard clear makes it more likely. Each party quest board sells its soul as a shard for the tokens of that quest. Use the shard and it joins your codex.
• Raid colossi. Nyxhydra Soul and Ignarok Soul come only from their raids.
• Dungeon bosses. Dungeon creatures leave their souls on any run, for example Thornmother Soul and The Drowned Treasurer Soul.

Read more in Party Quests and Raids.

A few souls to start with

Region bosses carry the strongest souls of their area: