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Mournstead is a dangerous place, and the lower your level, the more dangerous it is. Leveling up in Lords of the Fallen requires Vigor, which functions as both experience points and currency. Every enemy you kill drops it, but not all Vigor farming strategies are created equal. Just like it is in other Soulslikes, some farming strats are riskier, slower, or just more boring. Though every player will have their preferred method of acquiring Vigor, a few strategies stand out as better than others. Let’s break them all down.
Farm in Umbra
Unlike other Soulslikes, LotF takes place in two worlds: Axiom, the land of the living, and Umbra, the land of the dead. Umbra has a unique property that makes it great for farming Vigor: you get a multiplier that directly increases your Vigor gains over time. In short, the longer you remain in Umbra, the bigger your multiplier will get, and the more Vigor you’ll collect. Combine that with the fact that the game will send endless waves of enemies at you while in Umbra and you have an ideal recipe for Vigor farming.
The catch to Umbra farming is that the longer you spend there, the more your Dread increases. Higher Dread means stronger enemies pursuing you. If you farm in Umbra too long, you’ll eventually be overwhelmed by the onslaught of powerful enemies, causing you to drop any Vigor you’ve collected. There’s a solution, however. While farming in Umbra, always remain close to a Vestige or an Emergence Effigy. Touching either will allow you to return to Axiom, safely escaping the hordes of Umbra with your Vigor intact. Just remember that you can’t interact with an Emergence Efficy until you’ve dealt with any enemies in the vicinity.
Farm Ardent Penitents
If you’d like a profitable alternative, the Bellroom strategy is great no matter your starting class. Pilgrim’s Perch is one of the first areas you’ll encounter, and not far into it you’ll find the Vestige of Blind Agatha in the Bellroom. In the nearby tunnel, there’s an Ardent Penitent, one of the spiky-helmed bersekers. Kill the Penitent, rest at the Vestige, and repeat. The Ardent Penitent drops 500 Vigor when killed, and with the right weapon and strategy, you can kill it in about 15 seconds. The entire process takes about 30 seconds per cycle, meaning you can make roughly 60,000 Vigor in an hour.
This is easily one of the best early-game Vigor farming options to level up in Lords of the Fallen, but it’s not without its downsides. For one thing, the Ardent Penitent can be a difficult opponent. With a high DPS build you can Soulflay it and kill it in a couple of hits. If that’s not an option, bait it toward the elevator shaft behind you and use Soulflay to toss it in the hole. In addition to dropping Vigor, the Ardent Penitent also drops Lucky Paws which increase your Item Discovery rate as well as several pieces of armor that you can sell. Collect these and then sell them at the end of your farming run for an even bigger boost to Vigor.
Others Ways to Farm Vigor in Lords of the Fallen
Later in your playthrough, you’ll find the Moth Ring. It increases the amount of Vigor you gain, making farming significantly easier. Like other special content, however, it’ll take some time before you see it. Until you have that valuable ring, you’ll need to use other strategies. As you explore Umbra you’ll find glowing blue sacs on the walls. Using your Umbral Lamp on them will pop them and give you Vigor. Though it’s not a large amount, it adds up over time. Because you encounter them frequently while exploring, there’s no reason not to use the chance to farm a little.
Remember that enemies often drop duplicates of items you already have which can then be sold. If you have a bunch of Lucky Paws, use them against enemies with good drops. That will make farming Vigor all the more efficient. Learning which enemies drop which items is a bit of a learning process. Still, Lucky Paws can be farmed so easily from Ardent Penitents that you have no reason not to use them regularly. That’s especially true once you’ve discovered a mob with a good drop. You’ll have no trouble with early-game Vigor farming and leveling up if you take advantage of every opportunity in Lords of the Fallen.
Lords of the Fallen is available for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
