Valor Mortis Beginner Guide: First Hour & Tips
Just unlocked Valor Mortis? This launch-day primer covers the first-hour priorities, the one mechanic that decides every fight, the weapon to start with, and the mistakes that get new players killed — before you spend your first Catalyst.
Before you start — set expectations
Valor Mortis is a first-person soulslike: you parry, you manage a stamina bar, and when you die you drop your currency where you fell. What is unusual is the camera. You are looking through William's eyes the whole time, so spacing and threat-reading are a sight-and-sound problem as much as a movement problem. Give it the first hour before you judge it — reviewers agree the opening is a slower, familiar template that transforms once the gun, transmutations and parkour arrive.
Practical launch facts: it is out now at $39.99, roughly twenty hours long, on PC, PS5 and Xbox, with no pre-orders and a 50 GB install that begins the moment the game unlocks. On Xbox it is a day-one Game Pass Ultimate title; on PS5, PlayStation Plus members get a free 90-minute trial.
Do this in the first five minutes
Open the settings and set the FOV to your taste, rebind block or dodge to a side mouse button if you have one, and turn off every overlay. The studio added an FOV slider and remap options after playtest feedback precisely because first-person readability was the open question.
The one mechanic: parry and posture
Why parry, not block
ConfirmedA well-timed parry fills the enemy's posture meter; a full meter opens a critical attack. Blocking still chips your health and can be broken, and dodging spends stamina too — both are the fallback when you miss the parry, not alternatives to it. One creator discovered that a successful parry can instantly kill an ordinary enemy rather than merely staggering it, which tells you how much the system rewards the timing.
- Treat the early hours as a timing tutorial: parry weak enemies until the window feels natural.
- Some attacks are red and cannot be blocked — dodge or retreat, do not trade.
- A skill that boosts damage after a parry lets you chain a weaker enemy into a stronger one for an instant kill.
Stamina is everything
Every swing, dodge and dash spends from the bar. If it empties you can neither attack nor defend, so pace actions more than in a typical soulslike.
Use your ears
In first person the positional 3D audio locates enemies by footsteps and growls before they appear. A sphinx-like boss even telegraphs floor attacks purely by sound.
First-hour priorities
- 01
Spend Catalysts at every Lantern
Catalysts are the experience currency you drop on death. Spend them on permanent stats at checkpoints rather than hoarding — death does not refund unspent ones.
- 02
Slot one Amber early
Ambers are found in the world and equipped at Lanterns. Even one — such as a heal-on-hit amber — changes how survivable you feel.
- 03
Learn the Saber before the Rapier
The Saber blocks; the Rapier does not. Learn enemy tells with the forgiving weapon first.
- 04
Use the gun and transmutations
Once the musket and rifle arrive, ranged cover-shooting becomes essential, not optional. They are not a melee replacement — they change the fight.
- 05
Do not skip the FOV and remap
First-person readability was the studio's own post-feedback fix. A wider FOV and a comfortable block/dodge bind prevent most early frustration.
- 06
Expect the second half to flip
A later chapter turns into Ghostrunner-style parkour — grapple hooks, wall-running and platform switching. The slow opening is not the whole game.
Mistakes that get new players killed
Playing it like a third-person soulslike
You cannot see behind you. Check your corners, use audio cues, and do not assume a dodge will clear a hit you cannot see coming.
Forcing the parry on everything
Red attacks cannot be parried and must be dodged. Forcing a parry on an unparryable move is how new players die fastest.
Hoarding Catalysts
Unspent Catalysts are dropped on death and not refunded. Spend them at the next Lantern; the upgrades are permanent.
Ignoring the FOV slider
A too-narrow FOV makes first-person melee miserable. Set it before you fight, not after you have already decided you hate the game.
Questions new players ask
Is Valor Mortis hard?
It is easier to start than Sekiro but stricter than many soulslikes on timing. The first-person parry window is millisecond-tight, and reading incoming damage in first person is the real skill. The game lets you soften the loop with skills and add-ons, which several reviewers framed as a relief.
Do I have to parry in Valor Mortis?
Parry is the fastest way to win a fight, but it is not the only way. Blocking still works and the game lets you avoid the parry loop entirely via skills and add-ons. Learn the timing on weak enemies first; do not force it on a boss you have not studied.
What is the best starting weapon in Valor Mortis?
Start with the Saber. It can block as well as strike, which is forgiving while you learn enemy tells. The Rapier does more weak-point damage but cannot block at all, so save it until your parry timing is reliable.
Can I play Valor Mortis on Game Pass?
Yes — the full game is a day-one title on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. On PlayStation 5, PlayStation Plus members get a free 90-minute trial. There were no pre-orders, so buying later costs nothing.
Where to go next
Valor Mortis Guide is an independent fan resource and is not affiliated with One More Level or Lyrical Games. Mechanic descriptions on this page are confirmed against the publisher's own systems walkthrough and day-one reviews, and are labelled as such.