How to play — Dark Memory

§ 01 — Controls

Controls

Two schemes, picked on your first awakening and switchable in Settings › Controls: mouse, Path of Exile 2 style, or keyboard, with W A S D. In both, Space rolls in the chosen direction, with two charges that come back in 3 s each; with none left, the hero only catches a breath.

Action	Mouse	Keyboard (WASD)
Move	Left click on the ground (hold to keep walking)	W A S D or arrows; the body faces the mouse
Attack	Left click on an enemy, or right click	Left or right click
Attack in place	Shift + left click	Left click
Techniques 1–5	`Q` `W` `E` `R` `T`	`Q` `E` `R` `T` `3`
Techniques 6–9	`6` `7` `8` `9`	`4`, mouse buttons and wheel
Roll · run	`Space` rolls toward the cursor; hold after rolling to run	`Space` rolls where the keys point
Life flask · mana flask	`1` · `2`	`1` · `2`
Interact · talk	`F` or click the name	`F`
Read a book	`F`, near the book	`F`
Portal to Vharan	`P` (again or `Esc` cancels)	`P`
Inventory · character	`I` · `C`	`I` · `C`
Talent tree	The HUD's + button, or “Open tree” on the sheet	same
Act I map · local map	`M` · `Tab`	`M` · `Tab`
Item names on the ground	Hold `Shift` or `Alt`	same
Close · pause	`Esc`	`Esc`

§ 02 — Classes

Classes

The Warrior starts with a sword and fights up close; at level 5 gains Memory Step. The Druid starts with a staff and fights beside the bear she summons. Both can use any weapon; the class only gives affinity: techniques of its weapons cost 5% less mana. See the classes on the home page.

Class techniques

Memory Step · Warrior
Level 5. Teleport: the departure leaves an exploding echo; the arrival strikes and staggers. Up to three charges.
Call of the Bear · Druid
Level 1. Summons the bear; while it lives, the same key sends it charging at the enemy under the cursor.
Wild Bond · Druid
Passive. What is yours passes to the bear: strength, defences and, at rank 3, Fury, Ward and Haste.
Ember · Frost · Storm · Earth · Druid
Infusions on the bear, one at a time: burns, freezes, jumps between enemies or hardens and staggers.
Maddening Roots · Druid
Level 9. Marks an enemy: earth and companion hits can root it and lower its defences.
Wildwood Fury · Druid
Level 6. Goads the bear: for a few seconds it inherits part of your attack and movement speed, plus a flat bonus. Without the bear out, it can't be cast.

The bear changes with the weapon

Weapon in hand	Bear	What changes
other weapons	Spirit Bear	physical claws
Staff	Storm Bear	lightning; techniques discharge as Overload
Spear	Hunter Bear	+15% damage and a 40% chance to bleed
Hammer	Stone Bear	+50% life and armour; the charge stuns harder

Class	Affinity
Warrior	Sword, Axe, Spear, Crossbow, Shield
Druid	Staff, Hammer

The level 32 character sheet beside the inventory, with the Forgotten Crown tooltip — Plate 13 Character and inventory — a level 32 Warrior in-game image · build 0.1.0

§ 03 — Weapons and techniques

Weapons and techniques

The bar has nine slots and shows the techniques of the weapon you hold. Each technique goes up to rank 5, one rank per character level; the next technique of the same weapon opens five levels later, and only with the previous one at rank 5 (levels 1, 6, 11 and 16).

Every weapon asks for an attribute by grade: from 15 at grade II up to 80 at grade X; with two requirements, 60% of each. Without the attribute, the piece goes inactive and the weapon's technique won't fire.

Forgetting a technique takes it off the bar and leaves an instinct: a smaller bonus, always on. There are three per hero; the fourth comes from the Book of Names, on the Tithe Road. Recalling it brings the technique back at the same rank, at no cost.

Staff

Attributes: INT · Mastery (level 20): Eye of the Storm

Ravenous Ember
Orbs in sequence that explode; at rank 3 they leave fire on the ground.
Wandering Hurricane
A spinning storm that travels to the enemies.
Storm Root
Lightning foci on the ground that branch through enemies.
Electric Whip
Jumps between up to five targets; at rank 5 the last one explodes.

Crossbow

Attributes: DES · Mastery (level 20): Siege Volley

Iron Volley
A short volley of bolts.
Ember Trap
Fire explosions at the chosen spot.
Demolisher Bolt
A heavy bolt with an area impact.

Bow

Attributes: DES · Mastery (level 20): Remembered Rain

Hunter's Fan
A spread of arrows; ranks add count and pierce.
Pyre Arrow
An incendiary arrow that explodes; at rank 3 it leaves a pyre.
Shard Rain
Frozen shards fall on the marked area.
Eye of the Hurricane
An arrow shot skyward brings a hurricane down on the aimed spot: it pulls enemies in, spins and creeps forward. Another of your techniques touching it sends it racing off in some direction.

Dagger

Attributes: DES + INT · Mastery (level 20): A Thousand Fangs

Three Last Breaths
Quick stabs ending in a bloody opening; poisons.
Silent Step
Crosses a short distance and cuts on arrival.
Fan of Fangs
A fan of blades; ranks add blades and pierce.

Sword

Attributes: FOR · Mastery (level 20): Oath of the Blade

Crimson Spin
Spins the sword into a ring of red cuts; causes bleeding.
Crimson Triad
Three cuts; the last breaks the ground over a wider area.
Vigil Rend
Dashes to the spot and releases a circular cut on arrival.

Axe

Attributes: FOR · Mastery (level 20): Iron Harvest

Arcane Hurricane
Spins and cuts while moving; also works with a sword.
Headsman's Fall
Leaps and smashes the ground.
Wound of the Earth
Red fissures that strike the area again; causes bleeding.

Spear

Attributes: FOR + DES · Mastery (level 20): Unbroken Line

Point of the Oath
Lunges and breaks the formation with a thrust.
Echo Trident
A fan of spectral points; causes bleeding.
Cutting Wind
A spiral that travels ahead, striking its path.

Hammer

Attributes: FOR + VON · Mastery (level 20): The Bell of Vharan

Bell's Fall
Leaps and drops the hammer's weight in a red wave.
Forge Beneath the Earth
Fire bursts from the marked spot in eruptions.
Storm Hammer
An electric focus that draws lightning onto nearby enemies.

Shield

Attributes: FOR + VON · Mastery (level 20): Wall of Memory

Living Bulwark
Raises a temporary guard and releases an impact wave.
Line Breaker
Charges behind the shield and strikes where it lands.
Returning Disc
An energy disc that crosses enemies and comes back.
Cold Strike
A cone of ice crystals that freezes for a moment.
Electric Shield
Needs a staff in the main hand and a shield in the other. A circular discharge across the ground; when it hits three enemies or more, it can stun each of them.

Numbers in the Codex

§ 04 — Talent tree

Talent tree

A constellation: the class portrait in the centre, the class above and the ring of nine weapons below. Every level gives a point, and every boss defeated for the first time gives one more. Every node costs one point.

Each weapon's fan: Technique I → II → III, each with four rank nodes; two arms of passives lead to the Notables; at the end, the level 20 Mastery.
Remembered Attribute: five points in the attribute of your choice. Swapping during the same visit to the tree is free; after that it costs the same as forgetting a node.
Orbit Crystal: set into the stone slots of the Sword, Spear or Axe, it unlocks Crimson Orbit, a spectral copy of the weapon that circles you for 8 s and wounds whatever is close.
Undo is free while the window is open. After that, forgetting a node costs gold, and only the statue in Vharan redistributes technique ranks.
Evolutions at level 15: Knight, Shaman and Necromancer appear in the tree as “coming soon”.

The Warrior's talent tree: the portrait in the centre and the weapon emblems around it — Plate 26 Talent tree — Memories of War in-game image · test build

§ 05 — Combat

Combat

Every technique marks the enemy for 4 s. Another technique hitting the mark closes a chain link: +25% with two techniques, +45% with three, +70% with four or more. Basic attacks refresh the mark. The afflictions below set up reactions that another technique detonates.

Affliction	Comes from	Effect	Reaction
Burn	fire damage	16% of the hit per second, for 4 s	Combustion: blows up the rest of the burn around it
Freeze	cold damage	locked in ice 0.85 s, then 42% slower	Shatter: breaks the ice into area cold damage
Shock	lightning damage	14% of the hit per second and 35% slower attacks	Overload: arcs to up to three nearby enemies
Bleed	physical crits and cutting techniques	10% of the hit per second, for 5 s	Haemorrhage: twice the remaining bleed at once
Poison	poison and chaos	ignores resistances	Corrosion: the remaining poison at once, and the target takes +15% damage

Dash techniques cut everything along the way; leap techniques stagger on landing. Bosses are never stunned.

Monster grades: the name on the plate tells the grade. A Veteran has more life and damage, calls its neighbours and flanks; a Champion fights close to your level and can apply Ruin, which strips resistances for a few seconds. The further into the Act, the more of them.
Boss warnings: before the special blow, the weapon lights up, the ground gives way and a sound of its own warns you. Every boss has its own mechanics: totems that shield it, braziers, echoes fighting at its side.
Roll: goes through enemies without pushing them. Two charges, each back in 3 s; hold Space after rolling to run.
Blood and remains: heavy blows spread blood and pieces; Settings › Game sets Full, Reduced or Off.

The Druid and the bear against the Shaman of the Depths; Storm Root lightning and an Overload reaction — Plate 05 The Hollow Depths — Storm Root and Overload on the Shaman in-game image · build 0.1.0

Numbers in the Codex

§ 06 — Items

Items

Five rarities, no Legendary. The colour of the name tells which.

NormalNo affixes. The base Ivo the smith sells.
MagicOne or two affixes.
RareThree to six affixes. Rare, Unique and Set only drop from level 20; before that they turn Magic.
UniqueThree affixes on drop and a power of its own; four bosses keep a signature one.
SetGreen pieces that add bonuses at 2, 4 and 6 pieces.

Sockets and runes: Magic or better gear opens rune sockets by item level; Ivo the smith opens the missing ones. Belts have no rune sockets.
Relics: pendants on the belt that fire on their own when something happens (burning, freezing, bleeding…) and spend charges, which come back with kills. The Oath Seal, the Bell Crypt's prize, gives 30% less damage for 5 s when a blow takes 15% of your life.
Flasks with modifiers: magic one, rare two, unique three: more healing per sip, more charges per kill, more capacity or faster recovery.
Items on the ground: the name shows for a few seconds; hold Shift or Alt to see them all. Gold is picked up by walking over it, and a loot filter hides what you don't want to see.
Bag: one 10 × 5 page. Vharan's chest keeps the rest.

The boss Uniques

One for each boss of the Woods, the Depths, the Marsh and the Road: certain on each hero's first victory, 10% after that, and only that region's boss drops it.

Insignia of the Twelve
amulet · Giant of the Dark Forest
The Count: every kill adds a tally, up to twelve. At twelve, twelve spectral spears rise in a ring around you and strike whoever is inside, and your damage rises 12% for 12 s.
The Shaman's Staff
staff · Shaman of the Depths
Blood Totem: a kill can raise a totem for 8 s that heals you and your allies and strengthens the allies; when it fades, it bursts into fire.
Ember Crown
helm · The Ash Custodian
Strike the Name: hitting a burning enemy leaves it Struck: it takes 20% more damage from everything. If it dies Struck, its ashes set fire to whoever is near.
The Weigher's Hook
gloves · The Weigher
Weigh: every hit lays a Weight on the target, up to three. At three, the next hit weighs in: 75% more, and it stuns; on a boss, 40% more.

The inventory with the full Bastion Set and the chest piece tooltip with its 6-piece bonus lit — Plate 14 Inventory — the full Bastion Set, with runes in-game image · build 0.1.0

Numbers in the Codex

§ 07 — Memory Coins

Memory Coins

Right-click the coin, then the item. Uniques and sets accept Memory Ash, awakening, corruption and compatible runes, but not adding, removing or reforging affixes; coins cannot be sold.

Glimmer of Memory 1
Awakens a Normal item: it becomes Magic with 1 or 2 affixes.
Bound Echo 1
Adds 1 affix to a Magic item that still has a free side.
Unstable Fragment 1
Rerolls the unlocked affixes of a Magic item.
Forgotten Crown 2
Raises a Magic item to Rare and adds 1 affix.
Profane Fragment 2
Rerolls the unlocked affixes of a Rare item (3 to 6 affixes in all). Each new affix has a small chance to roll one tier better.
Whole Remembrance 2
Turns a Normal item into a Rare with 4 affixes.
Broken Echo 2
Erases 1 random unlocked affix from a Magic or Rare item.
Uncertain Remembrance 2
Turns a Normal item into Magic, Rare or, rarely, the Unique of its kind.
Ancient Seal 3
Permanently locks 1 random affix: its type, tier and value no longer change with other coins, nor with corruption. One seal per item.
Oath 3
Adds 1 affix to a Rare item (up to 3 prefixes and 3 suffixes).
Scar of the Void 3
Corrupts the item forever. It may gain an implicit, move tiers up or down, or nothing. After that, no coin can change it.
Memory Ash 4
Rerolls the values of the unlocked affixes, without changing tiers.
Primordial Memory 4
Awakens a rare property on a Rare or Unique item. One per item.
Reforging Stone 2
Pick one affix to reroll its tier and value. It may get better or worse.
Obols 2
Adds the obol's affix to a compatible item; item level sets the best tier. On a Normal item, it becomes Magic. There are 28 obols.
Runes 2
Takes 1 free socket. On a weapon, +3 damage of its element; on armour or a shield, +8% resistance to it.

The six runes

Each rune takes one free socket; the effect depends on whether it goes into a weapon or armour. Right-click the rune, then the glowing socket. Ivo the smith takes runes back out.

Rune of Lightning
On a weapon: +3 lightning damage on attacks
On armour or shield: +8% lightning resistance
Rune of Chaos
On a weapon: +3 chaos damage on attacks
On armour or shield: +8% chaos resistance
Rune of Venom
On a weapon: +3 poison damage on attacks
On armour or shield: +8% poison resistance
Rune of Iron
On a weapon: +3 weapon damage
On armour or shield: +12 armour
Rune of Fire
On a weapon: +3 fire damage on attacks
On armour or shield: +8% fire resistance
Rune of Frost
On a weapon: +3 cold damage on attacks
On armour or shield: +8% cold resistance

The Primordial Memory tooltip over a bag full of coins and items — Plate 27 Inventory — the Primordial Memory and a full bag in-game image · build 0.1.0

Numbers in the Codex

§ 08 — The Tithe Chest

The Tithe Chest

Every expedition on a combat map hides a chest that fell from a Tithe cart, far from the entrance. When you get close, an arrow at the edge of the screen points to it.

Three chests: Silver (Magic, 72% of the time), Gold (Rare, 23%) and Royal (Unique, 5%). The price is in gold and rises with the area level: in the Woods, 91, 124 and 157; on the Tithe Road, 305, 416 and 527.
Pay the tithe and the chest spins like a wheel above its lid: gold, Memory Coins, runes, gear, keys. The nobler the chest, the better the gear that can come out.
Tithe Key: each key spins the same chest once more, up to twice for the Silver, three times for the Gold and four for the Royal. Monsters drop them, the strong ones more often: 1.2% of commons, 10% of elites, 35% of guardians, 60% of bosses.
The Collector: at each hero's first chest, a Tithe collector waits kneeling beside it, tells where it came from and hands over the first key.

§ 09 — Recovery and travel

Recovery and travel

Flasks do not refill over time, so every expedition is a tally: how much you kill, how much you spend, when to go back.

Flasks: life on 1, mana on 2. Each sip spends 10 charges; kills give charges back.
Torches: light up as you pass and restore life, mana and flasks once per expedition. Resting at a lit torch lets you travel to another torch in the region.
Portal (P): a little over a second of channelling, standing still, opens a portal to Vharan. Works in the campaign regions.
Vharan's well: near where the portal arrives, restores everything, with no limit.
Waystones: every map has one near the arrival. They save your return point, and only they travel between visited regions; exits and gates lead straight through.
Expeditions: when you leave, the region is kept for 15 minutes the way you left it. Quests, unlocked maps, character and inventory are permanent.
Maps: M opens the painted Act I map (pauses the game); Tab overlays the local map without pausing. The minimap turns with the camera, and the fog of war lifts 22 m around you and stays saved on the hero.
Dungeons: three branches sit off the painting and open through the story: the Bell Crypt, after the Custodian; the Vharan Sewer, through Old Odra's quest; the Tower Undercroft, with Tomas's rope.
Books: eight books scattered across the regions keep what the kingdom wrote before it forgot. Read them with F.

The Act I map window, opened in Vharan — Plate 28 Act I map (M key) in-game image · test build

§ 10 — Vharan's services

Vharan's services

Everything the town offers is a few steps from the square.

Where	What it does
Captain Elara	Quests and expeditions; “The Sixth Finger”.
Brenn	Buying, selling and gambling.
Ivo	Base gear and anvil: open sockets, remove runes.
Chest	Store items: five pages.
The square's statue	Reset skills; at the fire in front of it, offerings.
Vharan's well	Drink and refill the flasks.
Vharan's waystone	Travel between regions.
Sister Maeryn	Memories; “The Song beneath the Stones”, after the Shaman.
Old Odra	After the Weigher, “What goes down the sewer”: she opens the grate beside the well.
Tomas	At the Road's tower, the rope down to the Tower Undercroft.

§ 11 — Act I bestiary

Act I bestiary

The name on each creature's plate, region by region.

Creature	Family	Where
Shadow Wolf	beast	Forest of Awakening, Whispering Woods
Night Bat	winged beast	Ashen Marsh, Hollow Depths
Undead Orc Miner	undead orc	Hollow Depths
Corrupted Miner	corrupted orc	Hollow Depths
Risen Miner	undead orc	Hollow Depths
Undead Orc Brute	undead orc, heavy	Hollow Depths
Corrupted Brute	corrupted orc, heavy	Hollow Depths
Cave Spider	cave vermin	Hollow Depths
Cave Larva	cave vermin	Hollow Depths
Ash Husk	ash, undead	Ashen Marsh
Scorched Husk	ash	Ashen Marsh
Bell-Drowned	drowned, undead	Ashen Marsh
Tithe-taker	servant of the Tithe	Tithe Road
Hauler	servant of the Tithe, heavy	Tithe Road
Frozen Husk	frost, undead	Tithe Road
Frost Wolf	frost, scavenger	Tithe Road
Frost Fang	frost, elite	Tithe Road
Carrion Hyena	scavenger	Tithe Road
Ghoul	scavenger, undead	Tithe Road
Carrion Crow	winged scavenger	Tithe Road
Garden Crow	winged scavenger	Garden of the Forgotten
Fountain-Drowned	drowned, undead	Garden of the Forgotten
Gardener's Hound	beast	Garden of the Forgotten
Dead Gardener	undead	Garden of the Forgotten
Flowerbed Rat	vermin	Garden of the Forgotten
Rooted	root, undead	Garden of the Forgotten
Oath Bear	beast, heavy	Vale of the Broken Moon
Camp Rat	vermin	Vale of the Broken Moon
Vale Sabretooth	beast	Vale of the Broken Moon
Broken Moon Wolf	beast	Vale of the Broken Moon
Echo of Cael's Soldier	echo	Vale of the Broken Moon
Echo of Cael's Spearman	echo	Vale of the Broken Moon
Watch Echo	echo	Tower Undercroft
Watch Echo Spearman	echo	Tower Undercroft