Leveling & Stat Priority
Every level is one stat pick, paid for in Catalysts. Here's how the cost curve works and where to spend those picks first for each way you might play.
How leveling works
At each Lantern you spend Catalysts to gain a level, and every level grants exactly one stat upgrade pick. The catch is the cost curve: early levels are cheap and the price climbs steeply the higher you go.
| Reaching level | Picks earned · total Catalysts |
|---|---|
| Level 5 | 4 picks · 2,431 |
| Level 10 | 9 picks · 7,319 |
| Level 15 | 14 picks · 14,135 |
| Level 20 | 19 picks · 22,835 |
| Level 25 | 24 picks · 34,476 |
| Level 29 | 28 picks · 49,533 |
Front-load the picks that matter
The last four levels (26–29) cost 15,057 Catalysts — more than double the first nine levels combined (7,319). Your early picks are by far the cheapest, so spend them on what moves the needle most. Use the Catalyst Calculator to price out any target level.
Spend these first (any build)
Whatever you're building toward, these two earn their place in the first handful of levels:
- 1Maximum Health — More margin for error while you learn the fights — the single best early buy, and the bosses guide's top pick.
- 2Maximum Stamina — Endurance is your action budget — every dodge, block and swing spends it — and it doubles as the Firearms damage stat.
After that, lean into the stat that powers your damage — which depends on how you fight. Pick your lane below.
Priority by playstyle
Each list is roughly the order to buy in. They're directions, not laws — the demo bakes the exact upgrade magnitudes into bytecode, so treat these as which stats compound for each style, then tune to taste in the planner.
Melee duelist
Might — Your Health and your capacity to inflict Melee damage.
You win with the blade — parry, break Posture, punish. Damage and the Stamina to keep swinging come first; crit payoff comes next.
- 1Melee Damage — Your bread and butter — every swing hits harder.
- 2Maximum Health — Stay in melee range without one mistake ending the run.
- 3Critical Damage — A parry into a Critical Attack is your biggest damage window — make it hurt.
- 4Parrying Impact — Break Posture faster so those Critical Attacks come around sooner.
- 5Melee Stamina Cost — Cheaper swings mean longer combos before you're winded.
Firearms marksman
Endurance — Your maximum Endurance level, its regeneration, and the damage you inflict with firearms.
Endurance is both your stamina pool and your gun damage, so Maximum Stamina is doing double work here. Then it's all about precision payoff.
- 1Maximum Stamina — The Firearms damage stat AND your aim/dodge economy — buy it early and often.
- 2Headshot Damage — Rewards the precision a gun build is built around.
- 3Critical Damage — Stacks with weak-point and crit hits for burst.
- 4Maximum Health — You'll still get rushed — keep a buffer.
- 5Ammunition Drop Chance — Stay stocked so you're not forced into melee mid-fight.
Transmutation caster
Sufferance — The damage you inflict with Transmutations and your tolerance to Nephtoglobin.
Sufferance is both your Nephtoglobin pool and your tolerance to it — your real health bar. Pool first, then damage, then the regen that keeps you casting.
- 1Nephtoglobin Sufferance — More Nephtoglobin to spend and more tolerance before it hurts you.
- 2Transmutation Damage — Core damage for every Transmutation you cast.
- 3Status Buildup — Apply burn, stasis and the rest faster — huge against bosses.
- 4Maximum Health — Casters are fragile; don't skip the buffer entirely.
- 5Nephtoglobin Extraction — Melee hits refill more Nephtoglobin, keeping the caster engine fed between spells.
Put it into a build
Allocate these picks live and see the Catalyst cost, or start from a ready-made build.