In Valor Mortis, William gets his first firearm—the Pistol—from a carriage suspended above the Valley of Ashes. During Chapter 2: Regroup, reach it from the Demolished Path lantern. The weapon is essential later: shooting the red Nephtoglobin growths is the only way to clear them and open blocked shortcuts.
Quick answer: From the Demolished Path lantern in the Valley of Ashes (Chapter 2), drop onto the broken bridge, defeat the blade-wielding enemy, then take the Pistol from the ornate case inside the suspended carriage.
How to reach the Pistol from the Demolished Path lantern
There is no in-game map, so you navigate this section by sight from the checkpoint. The route drops down through the wreckage of the bridge rather than climbing over it.




What the Pistol does and how to confirm the unlock
A tutorial pop-up appears the moment you pick it up, which is your confirmation that the weapon is unlocked. The Pistol is a ranged sidearm built to destroy Nephtoglobin weak spots. Breaking those weak points on enemies drops Nephtoglobin Remnants, which you pick up to restore your Nephtoglobus.

The controls shown on the pop-up are straightforward:
- Hold right-click to aim.
- Press left-click to shoot.
- Press R to reload.
To put it to use immediately, step back out of the carriage and aim at the pulsating red Nephtoglobin growth on the wooden path ahead. One shot clears it and opens the route forward. From here on, most locked shortcuts in the chapter depend on shooting these red growths, so keep the Pistol ready.
Upgrading the Pistol: Firearm Parts by level
The Pistol caps at level 10, and each tier of upgrade needs a different grade of Firearm Parts applied at the Lantern. The table below shows which material covers which levels, along with its shop price where one exists.

| Upgrade material | Pistol levels | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 2–4 | $1,500 | |
| 5–7 | $3,000 | |
| 8–9 | $6,000 | |
| 10 | — |
Each level demands more of the relevant part as you climb: level 2 takes one, level 3 takes two, and level 4 takes three Standard Firearm Parts, with the Superior and Exquisite tiers following the same one-two-three pattern. Level 10 needs a single Masterwork Firearm Parts.
Standard Firearm Parts are the easiest to stock. They lie around the world in the Caverns, Fallen Village, Vale of Wrath, Valley of Ashes, and more, and James’s Iron Bench sells two at a time from the start of the game. Superior and Exquisite Parts show up in chests and on the ground across later regions, while Masterwork Firearm Parts appear only in chests in the City of Orphans and the University.
At Pistol level 2, the Nephtoglobin Infusion — Bullet upgrade becomes available. Keep the reload input pressed to chamber a posture-breaking round; firing it consumes Nephtoglobin.
Once the Pistol is in hand and that first red growth is cleared, you are set for the rest of Chapter 2, where shooting Nephtoglobin nodes opens the lift at The Climb and several other blocked passages on the way to the Abandoned Church.





