Recently, an unexpected update was released for Vampire Survivors, bringing a surprising amount of content. It includes the initial few cards from the new “Dark Arcana,” which serve as the foundation for some incredibly powerful abilities. Recommended Videos:
There’s more! A new stage, some new secrets, and a new character are also awaiting you. We’re here to ensure you know how to discover and unlock everything in the Vampire Survivors Darkasso update.
How to Unlock the New Stage
The very first thing you need to do on the path to unlocking everything is to obtain the new stage. Although the clue might seem obvious, we’ll still explain it in detail. The stage unlocks when you “cast a spell” called “forbiddenbox.” As long as you have collected the Forbidden Scrolls of Morbane, you’ll have a main menu option called “Secrets.” Go there and navigate to the “Cast Spell” box. Type in the spell’s name, “forbiddenbox.” But be prepared, as you’ll immediately enter the new level with a random character!
Image by Destructoid
This is the surprisingly spooky new stage, Room 1665. You need to move south by killing enemies until the door opens. Don’t worry too much about building outside of assisting the character you’re dealt with. Just focus on getting your most powerful weapons and surviving. When you hear a strange laugh, the next door will open.
When you see a little treasure goblin walking across the stage, aim for it, as it will drop a treasure chest. The corridors between rooms have candles that provide supplies like floor turkey. The stage is relatively short, lasting only 20 minutes. However, as long as you reach the bottom room, you’ll have everything you need for now.
Unfortunately, characters who can pass through walls cannot skip the door mechanism. You have to wait through each room, and there are 16 rooms in total.
Reaching the end of the stage unlocks the Darkasso, which is used to mix up your runs. You’ll start with Number VI – Moonlight Bolero by default. It causes a treasure boss to spawn every minute, allowing you to potentially collect more Arcana and Passive Weapons than you’re normally allowed. It’s incredibly powerful in enhancing the second half of your run while also helping to level your weapons faster.
How to Unlock Each of the New Dark Arcana in Vampire Survivors
There are a total of five new Dark Arcana cards, and all of them are extremely powerful. They are still subject to change based on player feedback.
| Arcana Name | Arcana Effect | How to Unlock |
| VI – Moonlight Bolero | Causes a treasure boss to spawn every minute, enabling you to potentially collect more Arcana and Passive Weapons than usual. | Unlocked by finding the Dark Arcana in Room 1665 |
| I – Sapphire Mist | All Weapons have a chance to fire twice instead of once when activated. Certain Weapons might fire more than twice instead. | Reach a Cooldown Bonus of -85% with Space Dude |
| X – Hail From The Future | Defeating frozen enemies gives bonus MaxHealth, Recovery, and Growth. Triggers an Orologion when health reaches a critically low level. | Trigger a Weird Souls Purifier with Santa Ladonna |
| XII – Crystal Cries | Defeating frozen enemies gives bonus MaxHealth, Recovery, and Growth. Triggers an Orologion when health reaches a critically low level. | Trigger a Starry Heavens with She-Moon Eeta |
| XXI – Wandering the Jet Black | Losing health generates exploding projectiles. Explosion damage is increased by total recovered health and Magnet bonus. Explosion area is increased by Magnet. | Reach 665 Max Health with Bat Robert |
A quick reminder chart
You’ll start with the Moonlight Bolero once you unlock the Dark Arcana, so that’s out of the way. The next one you want is the Sapphire Mist, which requires you to reach a Cooldown Bonus of -85% with Space Dude. If you don’t have him, you’ll have to survive 20 minutes in the Space 54 stage.
Once you have him, I recommend playing on The Library, as it has an Empty Tome that you can pick up. This is necessary for the challenge. Before you start, I also suggest using as many Seals as you can to lock away unevolved weapons. When you start your match, you’ll want to choose Arcana XX – Silent Old Sanctuary. It gives you extra Rerolls, Skips, and Banishes. But the more important aspect is that it gives you 20% Might and -8% Cooldown for each active weapon slot left empty.
As you play, you need to constantly Banish weapons and only pick up Passive Weapons. As long as you have five empty Weapon slots, you should have a -85% cooldown. The trick to unlocking this is that you have to complete the stage with this cooldown reduction. Once you do, a powerful new Dark Arcana will be yours.
For Hail the Future, you’ll need to play as Santa Ladonna. If you haven’t unlocked her, you’ll have to survive 20 minutes on the Laboratory stage. Santa Ladonna has a passive ability that triggers a Rosary when her health reaches a critically low level. As far as I could tell, you just need to activate this ability to unlock the Arcana.
Forcing it to trigger by taking damage was the only unusual thing I did for the stage when I played her. The same applies to the next card, Crystal Cries. Except you’ll use the character She-Moon Eeta. She’s unlocked by surviving 20 minutes in Whiteout. She-Moon has a similar low-health ability that triggers, although hers freezes enemies for 10 seconds. Force yourself to take damage until it triggers, and you should be all set.
For the final card, you’ll need to reach +665 Max Health with Bat Robbert. You can unlock him by unlocking his weapon, which itself is unlocked by beating over 160,000 bats. If you need help with this, play Bat Country a few times. Bat Robbert gains +32 Max Health whenever his health reaches a critically low level. Between this and the Hollow Heart item, it shouldn’t be difficult to get him to max.
I recommend taking some Revive passive items and Arcana to help protect yourself if your health gets too low. You’ll have to trigger it multiple times, so keep an eye on the pause menu to see what your health buff is. If it goes over 665, that’s okay.
How to Unlock the New Character Bats Bats Bats
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To unlock Bats Bats Bats, you’ll have to follow one of the most cryptic clues in the game. “It’s as easy as ABC, find the Ring of Rings.” The “ABC” in this clue refers to the stage Bat Country, which features a secret set of lettered tiles that can change the background visuals. You’ll need to find the “Ring of Rings,” which is more straightforward than it sounds. In Bat Country, there is a circle made of the Golden Ring item on the right side of the map.
Be careful when acquiring them – not only are they cursed items, but each of the six rings has an Atlantean Ring Wraith protecting it. Once you collect the items, you’ll hear the unlock sound effect and Bats Bats Bats will be available from the character select screen.
Bats Bats Bats starts with a special version of the evolved form of the Pako Battiliar, the Mazo Familiar. Its Damage and Amount are affected by your Max Health. The original item requires the Hollow Heart to evolve into the Mazo Familiar, but it’s still a good idea to pick it up for the bonus damage. Bats Bats Bats’s version continues to grow stronger as you level up. Also, if you revive during a match, it increases the weapon’s Amount and gives you a follower bat. He’s incredibly powerful when teamed up with the IV – Awake Arcana and the Tirajisu.
How to Unlock New Old Characters
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Two classic characters, Poe Ratcho and Imelda Belpaese, have new versions that can be unlocked. To do so, you’ll need to clear their respective Adventure Mode campaigns. If you already have, but you don’t see these characters unlock, try opening up their Adventure Mode menus and see if that prompts the achievements to collect.
Once unlocked, you can select these new versions of the characters from the Character Select screen. You’ll have to select the originals and then select their alternate appearances. Select the character, then press Left on the D-Pad from the Start button. You’ll be able to pick from the normal, the original sprite, and the new versions. The new versions also come with level 5 versions of the Passive Weapon that evolve their default item.
