Early in Valor Mortis, side rooms and shortcuts get sealed off by large glowing red orbs. Your saber and the Fire Transmutation do nothing to them, which is why these blocked paths tend to stop players cold in the opening hours. They react only to a firearm.
Quick answer: Shoot each red orb with the Pistol to break it and open the path. The Pistol is a mandatory story pickup found in the carriage during Chapter 2: Regroup.
What breaks the red orbs in Valor Mortis
The red-orange nodes that gate side paths are a ranged puzzle, not a melee one. You need something that can hit them from a distance, and in practice that means the Pistol. Aim at the orb and fire, and the barrier it holds in place disappears.
There is a close-range option too. Once you have the Rapier, you can equip it and land a melee strike on an orb that sits within reach. Not every blocked path puts the orb close enough for that, so the Pistol remains the reliable tool for most of them.
- Pistol — shoot the orb from any distance to destroy it.
- Rapier — equip it and melee an orb that is within close range.
The very first orb you encounter sits past the broken bridge, down the right-hand path at the intersection. You will reach it before you have any way to break it, so it is normal to walk away and come back later.
Where to get the Pistol in Valor Mortis
The Pistol is part of the critical path and cannot be missed, but it arrives later than many players expect. In the Steam Next Fest demo it was handed over at the very start, and that was changed for the full release. You now pick it up during Chapter 2: Regroup, usually more than an hour into a run, which is why people think they skipped it.
To reach it, get past your first meeting with General Lothaire and arrive at the Valley of Ashes. From there, the route is short.
Using the Pistol on red orbs and enemies
With the Pistol equipped, aim at any red orb and fire. The orb shatters and the blocked path opens, which confirms the shot worked. The same weapon also handles enemy weak points, the glowing pustules sometimes called lambent blisters, so precise shots serve double duty in combat.
The Pistol deals 30 damage initially, and materials found in the world can be used to upgrade it later. Its description presents it as a balanced firearm with ample ammunition capacity that can break Nephtoglobin Weak Points. Because ammo is limited, reserve shots for orbs and weak points instead of firing at enemies with full health.
Going back for the first red orb
Once the Pistol is yours, that first sealed path past the broken bridge is easy to clear. You have two ways to return. You can walk the whole route back on foot, or you can wait until Fast Travel unlocks and jump straight to the area. Fast Travel saves a long round trip, so it is the less tedious choice if you are not in a rush.
From there, the rule stays the same across the rest of the game. Spot a red orb, line up a shot, and the way through opens. Since abilities unlocked later reopen places you have already been, it is worth keeping a mental note of any orbs you passed before you had the Pistol in hand.
