Lords of the Fallen is both familiar and completely different. This game is Soulsborne through-and-through, with a dark fantasy setting and punishing combat pitting you against overwhelming odds. Like the games from the Dark Souls series, you’ll die a lot. And one huge feature sets this game apart from its contemporaries. There’s a world of death layered over the everything, and you can glimpse it at any time using the Umbral Lamp.
The power of the Umbral Lamp changes how you’ll need to approach almost everything, adding another challenge for veterans of the genre. But if you’re a new player curious to slay sinners and overcome the impossible odds, we’ve got a few tips to get you going. After over 20+ hours of blazing through the world of Mournstead, we’ve got 11 tips we wish we knew before clawing our way (slowly) into Lords of the Fallen.
More Lords of the Fallen guides:
How To Reach Skyrest Bridge | Mineowner’s Ring Location | Seedling Vestige Farm | Blacksmith Location | Boss Weapon Unlock | Critical Attacks | Early Vigor Farm | Pieta, She of Blessed Renewal Boss Guide
Tips & Tricks To Get You Started
#1. Put points in Vitality early. Having more health will give you more chances to survive — your health starts ridiculously low, and after a few levels in Vitality you’ll rapidly increase your total health pool. All stats can also be reset at the Skyrest Bridge hub, so you can never completely screw up your build.
#2. Learning how to Parry is one of the most important skills in the game. Even if you’re a magic-user, you’ll want to practice the Parry skill. In Lords of the Fallen, blocking deals chip damage to the player. If you successfully block right before an enemy attack, you’ll suffer negligible chip damage (which can be restored by attacking enemies) and deal high Posture damage to the enemy. Breaking an enemy’s Posture is going to be critical for fighting bosses, so start practicing right away.
#3. The Umbral Lamp is a great tool, but don’t hold it for too long. If you hold up the Umbral Lamp, enemies in the Umbral can actually attack you and instantly pull you into the Umbral. Using the lamp, you can get a preview of what’s inside the Umbral — spot secret paths or enter the Umbral itself instantly. You can also use it as a powerful attack method.
#4. Use Soulflay with the Umbral Lamp to deplete 50% of enemy posture. At the start of the game, you’ll only have one Soulflay charge. You’ll be able to use more after upgrading the lamp. After reaching the Skyrest Bridge hub, you’ll be able to slot Umbral Eyes into your lamp to upgrade it — the first one is located right next to the Redcopse Windmill Vestige. Enter the Umbral and pull the platform with Soulflay to the left of the locked bell gate. Drop down to find the Eye.
#5. There are benefits to entering the Umbral. Use the Umbral Lamp to find secret items — look for clusters of moths for major differences. Most often, you’ll find water drained in the Umbral and metal bars removed. You can also find special statues that will teleport you back to the land of the living. Consider these a method for gaining an extra life. Draining blue pustules will also heal you slightly. By entering and re-entering the Umbral, you’ll essentially gain another full health bar. Weak enemies are also extremely common in the Umbral, so you can safely heal your chip damage after entering.
#6. The Umbral is a great way to farm for Vigor. Hanging out in the Umbral will slowly increase the danger level of the area — and increase a multiplier that gives you bonus Vigor per kill. If you stay in the Umbral for a good amount of time, you can get up to a triple multiplier. That’s huge! But killer enemies will eventually spawn and end your exploration. If you want to farm, keep in mind nearby revival statues and vestiges. And even if you do die, if you’re in a relatively safe area without too many instant death traps, you can safely recover your lost vigor.
#7. Use Beckoning spots to fight bosses. These will appear outside boss arenas after dying once. This spawns an AI helper that will draw the attention from the boss until they’re killed. Usually, you can safely take off 40% or more of the boss health bar with a helper. After defeating Pieta, she will become available as a beckoning helper. Pieta isn’t just a fast fighter; she’ll also heal herself and you in combat. That makes her the most durable helper. Summoned allies are only valuable as far as they can stay alive in combat. Pieta is the toughest, thanks to her healing, making her the best summon.
#8. Once you reach the Skyrest Bridge hub, there are two important features you need to check out. Find Molhu in the Umbral in a room up the stairs from the Vestige checkpoint. You need to be in the Umbral to interact with this creature. He’ll trade items for Vigor and will even create boss weapons with Remembrances dropped by certain bosses.
#9. Buy healing stones when you’ve got extra vigor. The Blacksmith in the hub will sell these useful extra healing items. These slowly heal but buying them up makes exploration so much easier. You’ll need to unlock the Blacksmith in the hub before they become available.
#10. The Blacksmith also sells the Bow and Crossbow. If you don’t have one of these or if you’re not using ranged magic, these weapons are essential. Equip to your Throwing Hand and you can swap between the bow and the Umbral Lamp freely. Bows are surprisingly powerful but cost ammunition — buy up extra ammunition whenever you’ve got Vigor left over after leveling up.
#11. To unlock the Blacksmith, reach Pilgrim’s Perch past the Skyrest Bridge area. You’ll need to defeat Scourged Sister Delyth to access Pilgrim’s Perch. Reach the end and access the Bellroom Vestige. Progress until you unlock the shortcut lift back to the Vestige. At the bottom of the lift, drop down to reach an optional area with a shielded knight enemy. Defeat him and check the item glowing spot to acquire the Prison Cell Key. Next, take the key to the locked-up Blacksmith nearby and he’ll return to the Skyrest Bridge hub. From there, you’ll be able to buy and upgrade weapons.
That’s 11 tips we think you’ll want to know for the first handful of hours in Mournstead. Let us know if there’s anything we missing — and we’ll be covering the rest of the game extensively as we continue to progress through each intimidating area.
