Valor Mortis Best Builds, Level 5 Weapon Branches & Catalyst Upgrade Guide

Starter Build (to Level 21): Saber + Pistol

The Saber is the recommended all-game weapon: it keeps high melee damage while also offering block and parry, which is the skill the whole game tests. Pair it with the Pistol for a fast shot between parries, and you have an answer to both humanoid duelists and weak-spot checks.

Your upgrade currency is Catalysts. The allied NPCs James and Louis — found at the Abandoned Church and other story camps — sell weapon parts, transmutation materials and a Skill Tree reset (respec) for Catalysts, so nothing you spend on the tree is permanent.

Resource loop: Nepthoglobin (the purple meter) pays for heavy attacks and transmutations, the Ferrofluid Flask is your heal, and posture-break executions remain your biggest damage source against every humanoid boss all the way to Level 21.

Weapon Level 5 Branch Picks

At weapon level 5 each of the three upgradeable categories offers a branching perk. The picks below are the verified community consensus.

Melee Upgrade Costs (Lv2 → Lv10)

Materials in the full run are enough to max all three melee weapons, so spend freely — the table is the total per level, per weapon.

Firearm Upgrade Costs (Lv2 → Lv10)

Same ladder as melee, but the Lv10 material — the Masterwork Firearm Part — exists exactly once in the whole game. Only one gun can hit Lv10 (Gun of Glory), so commit to your main firearm before spending Superior and Exquisite parts.

Transmutation Upgrade Costs (Lv2 → Lv5)

Transmutations cap at Level 5, and the Lv5 material is the rarest item in the game: exactly two Quintessential Transmutation Materials drop in a full playthrough. Fire, Stasis and Shield each need one — so one of the three has to stay at Lv4.

The verified safe line: level Fire and Stasis as you like until you own both Quintessential materials, then hold the second one for Shield (obtained in Chapter 8). Shield Lv5 unlocks Shield Bash, which the missable Abyssal Eviction trophy requires.

Catalysts: Shopping and Respec

• Catalysts are the single upgrade currency — one pool for weapon parts, transmutation materials and Skill Tree resets.
• James and Louis appear at the Abandoned Church and later story camps; both stock parts and materials.
• The Skill Tree respec costs Catalysts but has no limit and no lockout — experiment freely between chapters.
• Priority order for a first run: main melee to Lv5 branch, main firearm to Lv5 branch, Fire to Lv3, then bank materials until you know which gun gets the Masterwork Part.