Minecraft Dungeons is a fun and accessible action RPG that's perfect for first-timers or veterans who want something a bit more chill. Minecraft Dungeons has a range of playstyles based on what gear you pick up. You can emphasize archery and be a ranger-type character, use daggers and be a stealthy assassin, or use a massive sword and become a warrior. You can also become a wizard, sort of.
Minecraft Dungeons doesn't have a traditional magic system, with a gradually-replenishing pool of "mana" you can use to cast spells. Instead (and rather creepily), magic-like artifacts are powered by the souls of your defeated enemies, which can be fun, but also cumbersome in certain situations.
Here's how the soul gauge works, what items combine best with it, and some general tips on the wizarding lifestyle.
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Fantastic souls and where to find them
Your soul gauge appears underneath your artifacts on your action bar, but only when you have a weapon or artifact equipped that absorbs souls. The artifacts that use souls include the Corrupted Beacon, Harvester, Torment Quiver, and Lightning Rod, while some armor pieces like the Dark Armor and the Soul Dancer Robes boost your soul-generation, alongside weapons like the Eternal Knife and the Frost Scythe.
After defeating an enemy with one of these items equipped, you'll see a ghostly face rise from the corpse of a defeated enemy, and gradually gather into your character. Upon doing so, your soul gauge will gradually fill, allowing you to use certain artifacts that have "Requires souls" as one of their traits. Some artifacts use more souls than others, but the general results are incredibly potent and powerful. A fully charged Corrupted Beacon can provide some of the highest damage-per-second area damage in the game, making short work of even some of the most powerful enchanted mobs.
Source: Windows CentralSouls look like these spooky ghost boys (left), and the soul gauge sits beneath your aritfacts (right).
Also, each soul artifact gives you a bonus to the amount of souls you generate per kill. So, depending on your playstyle, you may want to forego having defensive options to increase the number of souls you receive, although this can be a risky playstyle if you're particularly squishy with low armor, using something like the Soul Dancer Robes for example.
The biggest downside to a souls-oriented playstyle is the fact that you need mobs to power it. On some boss battles, there simply aren't many mobs available, as you'll only be fighting a single entity. This will starve you of souls, leaving you to rely on a melee or archery weapon to defeat your target in some cases. The "Soul Siphon" enchant gives you a 10 percent chance to gain up to nine souls on-hit, rather than on-kill, but it seems to be incredibly rare. The enchant comes as default on the Eternal Knife dagger-style sword but I've actually never seen it appear on any other weapon as a random enchant. Let us know in the comments if you have!
Best artifacts for souls playstyles
There are a range of items that are powered by souls, but some have very different uses when compared to others. Here are some loadouts I recommend for players looking to dabble with souls.
To find out where they drop primarily, take a look at our loot tables guide over here.
Melee souls-user
Melee souls players will generally use the Harvester explosion artifact as their primary souls-dump, but there are other artifacts you should consider when making your builds. Of course, what artifacts you take will depend heavily on your enchants and weapons too, but here are some suggestions.
Enchants to look for as a melee souls-user include Enigma Resonator, which gives you a stacking crit bonus based on how many souls you have stored. You may also want enchants like Leeching and Radiance to give you heals when fighting in melee range, and Anima Conduit, which grants health for each soul absorbed.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Harvester | This is the ideal souls-based weapon for those fighting in melee range. It erupts into a massive explosion that deals a tremendous amount of damage to all enemies caught in the blast. Every enemy you kill will help it to charge. |
| Light Feather | The Light Feather is a favorite artifact for any melee character, as it allows you to jump around the map more quickly, stunning enemies before you slice them up. |
| Iron Hide Amulet | The Iron Hide Amulet gives you a massive defense boost for a short time, which can be absolutely necessary if you're dealing with large packs of mobs in melee range. |
| Soul Healer | Depending on your playstyle, you could swap out Light Feather or Iron Hide Amulet for Soul Healer instead, which grants you (and your team mates) an emergency heal, in exchange for souls. More soul artifacts lead to faster soul-generation too. The travel speed on the heal can be a bit slow though, and if you're playing with friends there's no way to control who it will heal. It simply goes towards the player with the lowest health. |
Archery souls-user
Archery-heavy soul weavers will be using one of the game's Soul Bows, gunning for weapon enchants like Enigma Resonator, which grants you massive amounts of crit chance depending on how many souls are you in your gauge.
Any other enchants that increase your arrow potency is worth exploring too. I managed to get a bow with a couple of enchants with increased damage, which when coupled with Enigma Resonator makes for some truly insane crits (30,000 or more!)
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Torment Quiver | As an archer, Torment Quiver is your bread and butter. This absurdly powerful artifact not only lets you shoot through walls, but it also knocks back enemies in a cone in front of you. It stacks with most arrow-boosting enchants, such as multi-shot and Enigma Resonator, letting you spray a massive cone of crit-heavy arrows in exchange for a few souls. |
| Ghost Cloak | Thematically this is the ideal defensive tool for a ranged souls-user. It lets you pass through mobs, letting you reposition your attacks, and provides a small defense bonus while it's active. The cooldown is also very short, making it a great option for any ranged player in general. |
| Soul Healer | You may want to include Soul Healer into this build as an extra heal, especially if you're using Cowardice (more damage on full health), just to top yourself off. Also, the boost to soul generation is nice as well. |
| Harvester | Sometimes I throw Harvester into my archery builds for the sake of variety, but it can also be useful (and fun) to clear a huge area of mobs surrounding you, especially if you have excess souls you want to dump. |
Caster souls-user
Due to the way souls work in general, playing a pure caster feels a little tougher than the above choices, but the Corrupted Beacon is so incredibly fun to use, that you may find the risks are worth the rewards.
Spells dont benefit from Enigma Resonator, but you'll want weapons that have Soul Siphon on them (such as the Eternal Knife) to help you replenish souls when you run out.
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Corrupted Beacon | This is your primary spell artifact as a soul weaver. It blasts a ridiculously powerful beam of energy in a line in front of you, vaporizing enemies and blasting them back, dealing massive damage every second. It also drains souls like crazy, so what I tend to do is take off most a mob's health using the Beacon, then finish them off with a soul-harvesting weapon to regain some of the energy. |
| Harvester | This is another nice spell to use as a caster souls-user, particularly since the Corrupted Beacon works best if enemies are lined up in front of you. If you're being assaulted in melee range, blasting enemies away with the Harvester makes for a potent offensive and defensive tool. |
| Ghost Cloak | This is your best defensive tool as a ranged souls-user, letting you vanish through groups of mobs to reposition. It also provides a decent defensive boost while it's active, letting you mitigate the incoming damage from an angry Creeper or melee slap from a Redstone Golem. |
| Torment Quiver | You may like to throw Torment Quiver into this build as well, simply because it's so powerful. |
| Lightning Rod | The Lightning Rod is a powerful spell that takes a few moments to fire off, hitting a target and all those around them with lightning. The Corrupted Beacon and Harvester are both far more powerful, in my opinion, but this can be a fun tool to throw in for the sake of variety or flavor. |
Best armor and weapons for souls playstyles
There are a few key weapons and armor that every souls-oriented player will want to get, either because they boost your soul generation, or because they offset some of the weaknesses that may come with the playstyles in question.
For information on where these items can drop, take a look at our loot tables over here.
Melee souls-user
Melee souls-users will want Soul Scythe weapons above all else, for the large damage they deal, but also the additional souls they generate. The "Dark Armor" set also mitigates incoming damage, while boosting souls generated.
| Name | Description | Gameplay Image |
|---|---|---|
| Frost Scythe | Become the frosty Grim Reaper with this cold-blooded scythe, characterized by its crystalized detailing throughout. Swiping enemies causes a slowing effect, with added soul gathering to fuel your abilities.○ Slows mobs○ +2 Soul Gathering | Row 0 - Cell 2 |
| Jailor's Scythe | A badass Soul-absorbing Scythe weapon that also chains enemies together. A great option for both defensive and offensive play.○ Binds and chains enemies○ +2 Soul Gathering | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
| Dark Armor | Gothic-style armor boosts the amount of souls you receive, while also reducing incoming damage.○ +100 percent souls gathered○ 35 percent damage reduction | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
| Feral Soul Crossbow | For times when you can't stand in melee range for whatever reason, the Feral Soul Crossbow is a good option for beating back enemies.○ Souls critical boost○ +2 Soul Gathering | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
Archery souls-user
Archery souls users will primarily want any enchant that boosts archery skills with extra arrows. Infinity is great too for ensuring you don't run out. Your regular archery attacks will generate souls on-kill when using a Soul Bow or a Soul Crossbow, and here are the best options currently in the game. For those instances where you run out of arrows and souls and you need to run into melee, weapons like the Frost Scythe and the Jailor's Scythe can keep enemies at bay, while the Eternal Knife can guarantee additional souls for your Torment Quiver. The armor you'll typically want to use is the Frost Bite Unique, or failing that, any Phantom Armor with good enchants is a good alternative.
| Name | Description | Gameplay Image |
|---|---|---|
| Frost Scythe | The Frost Scythe can slow enemies on-hit, which is great for fleeing out of melee range.○ Slows mobs○ +2 Soul Gathering | Row 0 - Cell 2 |
| Jailor's Scythe | The Jailor's Scythe can instantly chain mobs together, rooting them in place. This is a good option for keeping incoming mobs at bay while you rain arrows down upon them.○ Binds and chains enemies○ +2 Soul Gathering | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
| Bow of Lost Souls | This bow grants souls, while also dealing large amounts of damage. Find one with Enigma Resonator, and you'll be wrecking mobs like never before.○ Chance for Multishot○ +2 Soul Gathering | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
| Frost Bite | Frost Bites is a Unique Phantom Armor that spawns a floating snowball pet that stuns enemies, while also boosting ranged damage.○ Spawns a Snowy Companion○ +100% souls gathered○ +30% ranged damage | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
| Eternal Knife | This dagger-style sword has a small chance to return souls on-hit (10 percent), and while not ideal, it's better than nothing!○ Chance to gain souls○ Thrust attack○+2 Soul gathering | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
Caster souls-user
The squishiest of the playstyles, the caster-style soul user uses Soul Robes or the Unique Souldancer Robe with additional mitigation to boost the power of artifacts. With these items, you'll be able to shred large groups of enemies using the Corrupted Beacon or the Harvester, but given how fast souls deplete currently, you'll need to fall back on an Eternal Knife or a good archery option in a pinch.
| Name | Description | Gameplay Image |
|---|---|---|
| Frost Scythe | The Frost Scythe can slow enemies on-hit with a freze attack, that slows their movement and attack speed, which is ideal for surviving as a squishy wizard.○ Slows mobs○ +2 Soul Gathering | Row 0 - Cell 2 |
| Jailor's Scythe | The Jailor's Scythe roots mobs with large chains, keeping them still while you make a quick escape.○ Binds and chains enemies○ +2 Soul Gathering | Row 1 - Cell 2 |
| Bow of Lost Souls | As one of the most powerful Soul Bows in the game (if not the most powerful), this is a great option for harvesting souls as a Soul Robe user.○ Chance for Multishot○ +2 Soul Gathering | Row 2 - Cell 2 |
| Feral Soul Crossbow | If you don't fancy the archery playstyle but still want a good ranged weapon, the Feral Soul Crossbow is a no-nonsense ranged attack with a big boost to crits, since it has Enigma Resonator as standard.○ Souls critical boost○ +2 Soul Gathering | Row 3 - Cell 2 |
| Souldancer Robe | The Souldancer Robe is the quintessential magician's armor, giving you a large bonus to damage on artifact abilities. A regular Soul Robe will suffice until you can find a good Souldancer option.○ 30% chance to negate hits○ +100% souls gathered○ +50% artifact damage | Row 4 - Cell 2 |
| Eternal Knife | The Eternal Knife comes with the rare Soul Siphon enchant as standard, giving you a 10 percent chance to gain souls on-hit, rather than on-kill.○ Chance to gain souls○ Thrust attack○+2 Soul gathering | Row 5 - Cell 2 |
General soul-playstyle tips
- The most important thing to remember as a soul-wielder is that, as of writing at least, souls are generated on kill, with the exception of the Soul Siphon enchant, which has a 10 percent chance on-hit to grant a few souls.
- The amount of souls you generate is based on how many artifacts and equipment items you're using with soul gathering status effects.
- If you kill an enemy with a souls-based attack, whether it's the Torment Quiver, the Corrupted Beacon, and otherwise, you will not be given souls.
- It's best to knock a mob's health down low with one of your soul artifacts, and then finish them off with one of your soul-harvesting weapons.
- Keep an eye on your soul gauge. If you're going into a tough fight, it might be worth prioritizing mobs you can kill quickly to regenerate souls. If you know that you can't kill a boss with your soul gauge alone, ensure you have enough arrows on-hand.
- Even if you're playing an archer or a wizard-style charater, you can still dish out large amounts of damage with your off-spec weapons if you have the right enchants. Identify your playstyle weaknesses and try to get enchants that can offset the downsides of your build or playstyle.
Are you playing with souls?
The souls mechanic is interesting, although admittedly a bit clunky as of writing, and I suspect that Mojang will tweak it in the future so that you don't have to rely on the presence of mobs to regain souls. In any case, souls power some of the most powerful artifacts in the game, and can be a lot of fun. Are you playing with one of these styles right now? Let us know in the comments, and if you have any questions, I will try and answer them!
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