Valor Mortis has three merchants who take Catalysts, the currency enemies drop. James and Louis both run benches in the Abandoned Church hub and in Entropy, while Lucjan carries a smaller stock. Some lines only appear once the story reaches a later chapter, so a bench you cleared out early will have new items waiting later.
Quick answer: Spend Catalysts at James’s Iron Bench for ammo and weapon upgrade materials, at Louis’s Laboratoire for vials and the Empty Ferrofluid Flask (5,000 Catalysts), and at Lucjan for Catalyst Clots.
See where James and Louis set up shop on the Valor Mortis map.
How chapters unlock new stock
James and Louis start with a base inventory and add more items as you progress. Chapter 5 is called “Crime” and chapter 9 is called “In Ruins.” Reaching each one expands what the benches sell, including higher tiers of upgrade materials. Where a stock number is listed, that is the full quantity the merchant holds. Everything else is unlimited.
Upgrade materials advance through set ranks. Blade Materials progress from Crude (1,500) to Pure (3,000), then Distilled (6,000); Firearm Parts go from Standard (1,500) to Superior (3,000), then Exquisite (6,000); and Transmutation Materials move from Crude (2,000) to Pure (4,000), then Distilled (8,000). Quintessential and Masterwork are the highest ranks and cannot be bought.
James’s Iron Bench: ammo, whetstones, grenades and weapon materials
James sells Pistol Cartridges and other ammunition, whetstones, grenades, Blade Materials and Firearm Parts. Find his bench in the Abandoned Church and in Entropy.
| Item | Price | Stock | Available from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pistol Cartridges | 200 | Unlimited | Start |
| Deadly Rounds | 200 | Unlimited | Start |
| Whetstone | 200 | Unlimited | Start |
| Hand Grenade | 200 | Unlimited | Start |
| Crude Blade Material | 1,500 | 2 | Start |
| Standard Firearm Parts | 1,500 | 2 | Start |
| Special Cartridges | 300 | Unlimited | Chapter 5 (Crime) |
| Mighty Rounds | 300 | Unlimited | Chapter 5 (Crime) |
| Fire-Clad Rounds | 300 | Unlimited | Chapter 5 (Crime) |
| Flaming Whetstone | 300 | Unlimited | Chapter 5 (Crime) |
| Oil Grenade | 300 | Unlimited | Chapter 5 (Crime) |
| Crude Blade Material | 1,500 | 2 | Chapter 5 (Crime) |
| Pure Blade Material | 3,000 | 1 | Chapter 5 (Crime) |
| Standard Firearm Parts | 1,500 | 2 | Chapter 5 (Crime) |
| Superior Firearm Parts | 3,000 | 1 | Chapter 5 (Crime) |
| Stasis-Clad Rounds | 300 | Unlimited | Chapter 9 (In Ruins) |
| Stasis Whetstone | 300 | Unlimited | Chapter 9 (In Ruins) |
| Crude Blade Material | 1,500 | 2 | Chapter 9 (In Ruins) |
| Pure Blade Material | 3,000 | 2 | Chapter 9 (In Ruins) |
| Distilled Blade Material | 6,000 | 1 | Chapter 9 (In Ruins) |
| Standard Firearm Parts | 1,500 | 2 | Chapter 9 (In Ruins) |
| Superior Firearm Parts | 3,000 | 2 | Chapter 9 (In Ruins) |
| Exquisite Firearm Parts | 6,000 | 1 | Chapter 9 (In Ruins) |
Louis’s Laboratoire: vials, Transmutation Materials and the Ferrofluid Flask
Louis stocks vials, Transmutation Materials, Ferrofluid Flask Power Upgrades and the Empty Ferrofluid Flask. His bench sits alongside James’s in the Abandoned Church and in Entropy. It opens once Louis is back from the Fallen Village at the end of the Chapter 3 quest Rendezvous, under TRADE in the Laboratoire menu.
| Item | Price | Stock | Available from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nephtoglobin Vial | 200 | Unlimited | Start |
| Refreshing Vial | 300 | Unlimited | Start |
| Crude Transmutation Material | 2,000 | 1 | Start |
| Ferrofluid Flask Power Upgrade | 3,000 | 1 | Start |
| Empty Ferrofluid Flask | 5,000 | 1 | Start |
| Cleansing Vial | 1,200 | Unlimited | Chapter 5 (Crime) |
| Protective Vial | 6,000 | Unlimited | Chapter 5 (Crime) |
| Crude Transmutation Material | 2,000 | Unlimited | Chapter 5 (Crime) |
| Pure Transmutation Material | 4,000 | 1 | Chapter 5 (Crime) |
| Ferrofluid Flask Power Upgrade | 3,000 | 1 | Chapter 5 (Crime) |
| Remnant’s Return | 1,000 | 4 | Chapter 5 (Crime) |
| Crude Transmutation Material | 2,000 | 1 | Chapter 9 (In Ruins) |
| Pure Transmutation Material | 4,000 | 1 | Chapter 9 (In Ruins) |
| Distilled Transmutation Material | 8,000 | 1 | Chapter 9 (In Ruins) |
| Ferrofluid Flask Power Upgrade | 3,000 | 1 | Chapter 9 (In Ruins) |
The Empty Ferrofluid Flask is a single-stock item at Louis’s bench for 5,000 Catalysts, so budget for it before spending on upgrade materials.
What each item in Louis’s shop does (Chapter V list)
The BUY tab of Louis’s TRADE menu shows nine items once Chapter V starts, each priced in Catalysts, with a small number on a tile marking how many are left of a limited item and no number meaning unlimited.
- Cleansing Vial — 1,200 — “Use it to cleanse yourself of Ignite and Stasis statuses.” Unlimited. Buy it before fights against enemies that set you on fire or freeze you.
- Crude Transmutation Material — 2,000 — “Use it to upgrade Transmutations.” Unlimited from Chapter V onward. Two of them take Fire or Stasis to level 2.
- Remnant’s Return — 1,000 — “Use this to automatically absorb Catalysts lost upon death.” 4 in stock. Worth it as insurance before a boss when you are holding a lot of Catalysts, so you get your Catalysts back after you die.
- Protective Vial — 6,000 — “Use it to decrease damage taken for a short duration.” Unlimited, and the most expensive item on the list.
- Refreshing Vial — 300 — “Use it to gain faster Endurance regeneration.” Unlimited and cheap, so you get more dodges and attacks in a long fight.
- Pure Transmutation Material — 4,000 — “Use it to upgrade Transmutations.” 1 in stock. This is the material for level 3 Transmutation upgrades, and Back-Burner on Fire needs two of them.
- Nephtoglobin Vial — 200 — “Use it to refill your Nephtoglobin.” Unlimited and the cheapest item, refilling the purple meter that Transmutations draw from.
- Empty Ferrofluid Flask — 5,000 — “Use it to increase the number of Ferrofluid Flask at the Lantern.” 1 in stock. It adds one more flask charge, used at a Lantern.
- Ferrofluid Flask Power Upgrade — 3,000 — “Use it at the Lantern to increase the healing power of Ferrofluid Flasks.” 2 in stock in Chapter V, for stronger Ferrofluid Flask upgrades applied at a Lantern.
Select a tile and the right-hand panel shows that item’s text along with a BUY line carrying its price. When you cannot afford it, the price on the BUY line turns red, and the Catalyst counter at the top right shows what you are currently carrying. Compared with the Chapter III list, Chapter V adds the Cleansing Vial, Remnant’s Return, Protective Vial and Pure Transmutation Material, and the Crude Transmutation Material becomes unlimited.
Lucjan: Catalyst Clots and limited extras
Lucjan carries Catalyst Clots, Pistol Cartridges, a Ferrofluid Flask and a Nephtoglobin Vial. His Uncommon Catalyst Clot shows at 0 in stock from the start, and a wider list opens later in the story.
| Item | Price | Stock | Available from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uncommon Catalyst Clot | 200 | 0 | Start |
| Pistol Cartridges | 200 | 6 | Later in the story |
| Uncommon Catalyst Clot | 200 | 5 | Later in the story |
| Medium Catalyst Clot | 800 | 5 | Later in the story |
| Legendary Catalyst Clot | 2,000 | 5 | Later in the story |
| Ferrofluid Flask | 1,000 | 3 | Later in the story |
| Nephtoglobin Vial | 200 | 2 | Later in the story |
Where Lucjan is in Chapter V
In the Vale of Wrath, Lucjan Skawinski stands at the Under the Bridge Lantern, under a wooden trestle bridge beside a river, wearing a top hat and a long blue double-breasted coat. Approach him from the front for the “[E] TALK TO” prompt, and if you choose the humorous reply he answers, “Your humour is yet another thing that sets you apart from other travellers in these parts.” In Chapter IV he waited beside the Old Mine Lantern in the Caverns instead.
With all three stocks mapped, you can plan purchases around your Catalyst count: pick up ammo and cheap consumables as you go, save for the limited upgrade materials that each bench holds only one or two of, and return to James and Louis after chapters 5 and 9 to buy the higher tiers that open up.
