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Valour Rift Guide

Valour Rift guide including Ultimate Umbra runs, upgrade strategies, and trap recommendations.

Zafiast's Valour Rift Guide (for non-event play). This is a general progression guide for the Valour Rift area. For the full rank-by-rank progression, see the Shellnut Guide.

What is Valour Rift?

From the wiki: hunters collect Gauntlet Elixir while arming String Cheese when they first arrive, using them to exchange for / craft Gauntlet String Cheese (GSC). After stockpiling enough GSC, hunters can enter the tower. Before entering, there are 6 augmentations one can activate in exchange for gold and materials looted from within the tower. The Ultimate Umbra augmentation is required to encounter The Total Eclipse, which drops Cores of the Eclipse (otherwise the Shade of the Eclipse is encountered instead). As hunters reach higher floors, augmentations unlock and they can upgrade their Speed, Sync and Siphon, making subsequent runs more manageable.

The purpose of VRift is to do Ultimate Umbra (UU) runs. UU1 is the first UU run, UU2 the second, and so on. x/x/x refers to Speed / Sync / Siphon. UU runs drop Cores of the Eclipse, which buy the best base and best Rift trap in the game. The Prestige Base is unique in that it must be upgraded through UU runs to become good.

Pre-UU

  • Clear the entire main progression guide up to but excluding Archduke (or at least all the Rift sections listed there).
  • Get AEIB and TDT (possibly AERB or Clockwork if you have those — refer to the Traps and Bases guide).
  • If you have it, use the Elixir Exchanger base while not inside the tower until 360 sigils (3/3/2).
  • If you don't own that base, do normal (non-UU) runs until 6/4/4.
  • Upgrade according to the Valour Rift Upgrade Chart in the "Extra Info" page (floors may differ from the chart, but the order is still the same). On Discord, run ... vrift upgrade in the bot channels of the MouseHunt server.

For all UU runs you need 75 Fragments and to turn on Ultimate Umbra, Sigil Hunter, Secret Research and Super Siphon. Elixir Rain does not exist for UU, and String Stepping (SSte) applies from UU2 onwards. DO NOT USE ANYTHING OTHER THAN GAUNTLET STRING CHEESE FOR YOUR UU RUNS.

Auras

  • Triple aura = Lightning + Chrome + Slayer
  • Halloween = Cursed Skull (you get 4/year; you could use 1 for UU1 and UU2 if you can do both within the week)
  • LNY = White / Red Candles

UU1 — requirements before starting

  • Reach 6/4/4, 1,000 secrets, triple aura, full CF. Upgrade to 6/5/4 mid-run if you need the +10 for one more TE.
  • You may drop 1 luck aura per extra sync you have.
  • Mid-run upgrades: Speed 7 after TE2, Speed 8 after TE4.
  • Completion target: TE5 (charms: RUPC throughout, or R20xx/REPC). Minimum TE4.

(If UU1 ends at TE5/6) Do a normal run with SH/SR/SSip + full Rift Extreme Power Charms after upgrading whatever you can — this should be enough to unlock SSte (check the simulator to be sure). You should be at 8/7/5 if UU1 TE6, or 8/6/5 if TE5.

UU2 — requirements before starting

(WIP — refer to Discord for any doubts.)

  • Reach 8/6/5, 2.5k secrets, 1.5k sigils, triple aura (use Halloween or LNY to replace one if needed), full CF.
  • Mid-run upgrades: Speed 9 after TE4, Speed 10 after TE8, (C)CDT after TE9.
  • Completion target: TE10 (charms: RUPC throughout).

UU3 (Prestige Push) — requirements before starting

  • Reach 10/7/5, 1.5k secrets, 1.5k sigils, triple aura + skull, LNY a must, full CF, all augs except Elixir, 800 Ful'Mina's Toothlets and Signature Series Denture Base.
  • Completion target: TE15 (charms: RULPC throughout, possibly Ember, TSC). Minimum TE14.

Traps & Bases

  • When to get PB: AEIB users should get PB after Speed 7 if UU1 ends at TE4+, otherwise after Speed 8. AERB users should get theirs after TE6.
  • (C)CDT only after Speed 10.

Extra info

Simulators for VRift exist (developed by Re and Aaron). Learn to use these powerful tools to calculate your chances of success during runs. Further info on how to use them is in the Valour Rift Additional Info guide, which also contains an upgrade order and questions to consider. For deeper strategy (climbing performance, retreating, UC farming and the push), see the Valour Rift Strategy Guides.