Valor Mortis: How to Equip Ambers (and Why the First Lanterns Can’t)

Ambers change how your character fights in Valor Mortis, and the game is clear about where they go on. You do not equip them from the Inventory. You equip them at a Lantern. The catch early on is that the Lanterns you reach first do not yet offer the slots those Ambers need, so an Amber you pick up in the opening stretch rides along unused until later.

How to get an Amber from a chest

Most Ambers live in chests. The early ones are red with gold trim. One sits in the woods north of the gorge, beside a wrecked crate and a dead soldier in a green coat, and it holds Duellist’s Focus.

Face the chest and move close. The prompt “[E] OPEN (HOLD)” appears only when you’re in front, with the crosshair near the lock’s small round marker. From the side, no prompt appears.

The [E] OPEN (HOLD) prompt over a red and gold chest in the woods — The “[E] OPEN (HOLD)” prompt appears when you face the front of the ornate red chest.

Hold E. The lid lifts and a glowing item rests inside with a paper laid on the lid.

Press “[E] TAKE”. A banner names the Amber with an orange pyramid icon, such as “Duellist’s Focus”. The Amber is now in your pack.

Opened red Valor Mortis chest with the Duellist's Focus Amber banner at the right — The opened chest and the banner naming the Amber: Duellist’s Focus.

Where to see the Ambers you are carrying

Press Tab to open the Inventory. The INVENTORY tab opens first.

Tap A and D to move across the four category icons, which cover consumables, materials, keys, and Ambers. Stop on the gem icon marked “AMBERS”.

Select an Amber to read it. Duellist’s Focus reads “Increases the Parry window for Melee Weapons.” The footer repeats the rule that matters here: “Ambers can significantly increase your abilities. You can equip them by interacting with the Lantern.”

The AMBERS tab with Duellist's Focus selected and its parry-window effect shown — The AMBERS tab with Duellist’s Focus selected, showing its melee parry-window effect and the Lantern hint.

Equipping Ambers at a Lantern

Resting there also restores you, which makes it a natural stop.

Stand at the Lantern and read the “[E] REST” prompt. Use a short press. The first rest spells out what happens: “Resting” / “Resting at a Lantern has the following effects:” / “Health and Nephtoglobin are fully restored.” / “All non-boss enemies are revived.”

Character with sword drawn standing before a glowing hourglass Lantern on a pole — A Lantern on a pole with a suspended glowing hourglass, the rest point where Ambers are equipped.

The “Lantern” menu opens with three choices: LEVEL UP, UPGRADE FERROFLUID FLASK, and LEAVE.

Valor Mortis Lantern menu with LEVEL UP, UPGRADE FERROFLUID FLASK and LEAVE — The Lantern menu at the first Lanterns: no Amber row yet.

Choose LEVEL UP to open the levelling screen. Upgrade nodes are arranged in three rows, with a track below them and a row of five slots beneath the track.

The LEVEL UP screen with the heart-shaped node selected and the row of locked slots below the track — The LEVEL UP screen, with the upgrade nodes, the track, and the row of five locked slots underneath.

Why you can’t equip Ambers at the first Lanterns

At the first Lanterns, the Onslaught Arch, the Trenches, and the Field Encampment, the Lantern menu only offers LEVEL UP, UPGRADE FERROFLUID FLASK, and LEAVE. There is no entry for placing an Amber. On the LEVEL UP screen the row of five slots stays locked, and it is still locked when you reach level 2. Those are the Amber Slots: Ambers are equipped from the Level Up menu at a Lantern, and each slot unlocks once you reach a certain level. There are five Amber Slots, and any slot takes any Amber. An Amber’s rank rises each time you find another copy of it: 15 Ambers go up to rank III, the other 14 have a single rank, and Perfect Copy raises the rank of your other equipped rank I and II Ambers.

Because those slots remain locked, an Amber you grab this early cannot go on yet. Nothing is broken and nothing is missed. The slots open further on, and the Lantern stays the place where Ambers equip once they do.

Make a point of opening chests along the way. The game contains 29 Ambers, with three ranks available for 15 of them, so you can bank plenty before the slots are ready.

For now, pocket every Amber you find and press ahead. You can equip Ambers by interacting with a Lantern.