[Xbox-News] Valor Mortis: Tips and Tricks to Survive the Crimson Plague

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The Crimson Plague is ravaging Europe. Scattered across every level, echoes of the fallen and journal pages reveal the army’s secrets and the horrors of the plague. In Valor Mortis, you play William, a young Englishman disillusioned with the monarchy who joins Napoleon’s cause, drawn by the promise of a unified Europe. He dies for that ideal — and you’ll need every tool at your disposal to survive what follows in Valor Mortis, available today for XBOX Series X|S, XBOX on PC, Game Pass, and with support for XBOX Play Anywhere. Before you lead William into battle, the team at One More Level wants to share how its combat really works, and a few things we hope you will go looking for.

A Few Simple Tips



Valor Mortis is a soulslike, but its systems are built to feed each other. Your blade breaks posture. Your firearms hit weak points. Hitting weak points refills your nephtoglobin (nephto), and killing enemies often drops ammo. Once that loop clicks, you are always one move away from your next advantage.

• Break their posture. Enemies have a posture meter, similar to Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Land hits and parries to break it, then follow up with heavy attacks or a powerful finisher.
  
  

• Commit, then parry. You can’t cancel an attack animation into a parry, so never start a swing you can’t finish. On weapons that support it, a clean parry lands with a metallic clang and sets up a counter-attack. A perfect dodge gives you a moment of slow motion.
  
  

• Block, then counter. Counter-attacking right after a block restores the health you lost while blocking. In Valor Mortis, defense is also a way to heal.
  
  

• Make every shot count. Ammo is scarce, so aim down sights at glowing weak points (the pustules, or “lambent blisters”). Detonate the explosive barrels some enemies carry, and shoot glowing red-orange nodes to reveal blocked paths.
  
  

• Burn, then finish. The Fire Transmutation sets enemies alight, and burning enemies are open to finishers.
  
  

Change Your Playstyle with Ambers



Ambers are where your build gets personal. Some simply make you stronger, but the best ones change how the game plays. Slot them in when you visit a lantern. The more you level William, the more Ambers you can equip, so use catalyst clots from your inventory to push past the next level threshold.

Here are three that show how far an Amber can take your build:

• Marksman’s Bane. Lets you parry bullets, and every successful bullet parry gives you a Pistol round. Enemy gunfire becomes a source of ammo.
  
  

• Volatile End. Shooting an enemy’s weak point causes a damaging explosion. Every precise shot now hits even harder.
  
  

• Butcher’s Carnage. Your melee strikes restore health, but you can no longer heal with Ferrofluid Flasks. It rewards staying aggressive and punishes every moment of hesitation.
  
  

Every major boss has a strategy that works best against it. If a fight isn’t going your way, try different Transmutations, firearm combinations, and items from your inventory, and come back with a new plan.

Explore Every Corner



Valor Mortis rewards you for exploring, like a metroidvania. Abilities you unlock later open up areas you have already visited. Later levels open into combat arenas with fights across multiple heights, and villages are full of shortcuts and alternate paths.

The best rewards are off the main path. Echoes of the fallen and journal pages fill in the story of the Crimson Plague. Many Ambers are tucked into optional areas, and you are unlikely to find every one of them in a single playthrough.

Some of the most powerful enemies in Valor Mortis are also the best hidden. Optional mini-bosses wait in the corners of its interconnected levels for players curious enough to look. You never know what you will discover, or what kind of trouble you will find.

Ready to Die for Napoleon?



Valor Mortis is available today for XBOX Series X|S, XBOX on PC, Game Pass, and with support for XBOX Play Anywhere. We can’t wait to see the builds you create and the secrets you uncover.







Valor Mortis

Lyrical Games

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

You served Napoleon. You died for Napoleon. You have risen for Napoleon.
You are William, a soldier of the Grande Armée brought back from a battlefield grave. But the Europe you awaken to is not the one you sacrificed for. A mysterious plague now sweeps the continent, and you have been reborn with its corrupting power pulsing through your veins.

HARNESS CORRUPTED POWER
Each death is a chance to grow stronger. Master a combat system of parries, dashes, and visceral finishers across a variety of weapons. Channel your power to enhance attacks and unlock new supernatural abilities to inflict upon your enemies.

SECRETS LITTER THE BATTLEFIELD
Navigate a 19th-century alternate history where the costs of endless war have corrupted the landscape. Use your newfound mobility to outmaneuver the plague-ridden abominations of Napoleon’s Eternal Guard and uncover environmental secrets that may increase your chances of survival.

UNCOVER A HORRID CONSPIRACY
Witness a compelling story where historical figures and realities intertwine with elements of horror and the supernatural. Explore beyond the dark corners of the world to discover the truth behind the plague and your unholy resurrection.

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