In Valor Mortis, the plague-ravaged world pulls you deeper into its darkest corners. Chapter 4 stands out as a relentless challenge where exploring winding caverns and mastering new powers becomes essential. This section tests your ability to adapt—combining platforming, combat, and environmental puzzles with the creeping corruption threatening to consume everything.
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Table of contents Dark Descent Traversing The Corruption The Stasis Transmutation Into The Depths Military Camp Cart Sequence Defeating Sphinx, Devourer Of The Unworthy
- Dark Descent
- Traversing The Corruption
- The Stasis Transmutation
- Into The Depths
- Military Camp
- Cart Sequence
- Defeating Sphinx, Devourer Of The Unworthy
Once you trigger the Dark Descent quest, you'll receive the Cave Grotto Key . Leaving the camp, use your grapple hook to cross to the far side and access the cavern entrance. This moment marks the true descent into the game's dangerous underground. Inside, the first lantern serves as a checkpoint and a beacon amid looming threats. Keep an eye out—holes scattered across the floor here can lead to tricky falls.
Once the Dark Descent quest begins, you’ll obtain the Cave Grotto Key. Head out from the camp and use the grapple hook to reach the other end of the area. Here, you’ll find the entrance to the Caverns.
Make your way inside the area. You’ll find the first lantern here shortly. From here, you’ll be able to get to the area with multiple enemies shortly ahead.
If you happen to fall into the water, don't panic. Jump onto the boats floating nearby to find a way back up. Alternatively, from the higher ledge where you spot a rifleman guarding an explosive barrel, you can unlock a hidden path by carefully navigating the terrain.
You can get down and use the boat to reach deeper into the cave. There are some ranged enemies here, so be careful.
You can also use the grappling hook to get there. Once you’re down, jump on the ledge where you found a rifleman with an explosive barrel next to it, and you’ll find a path that you can unlock here.
Deeper inside the caverns, a waterfall cascades within the gloom. Brace yourself as corruption has warped this area, remixing the landscape in unsettling ways. Prepare to adapt quickly as you continue.
Traversing The Corruption
You'll unlock the wallrun ability here, crucial for navigating narrow ledges that skirt dangerous drops and corrupted barriers. Fire is your tool against these obstacles—use it not just as a weapon but as a light source to mark where you've been.
Torches along the path can be ignited with your fire transmutation, breaking the darkness and keeping you oriented in the twisting tunnels.
On the other side of the sequence, you’ll find a lantern. There will be a path blocked by corruption here that you can use your fire on.
As you progress into the depths, you’ll find it quite dark in here. You can bring out your fire transmutation to light up nearby areas. There are torches here that you can light up using your fire, and that can also serve as a mark of where you’ve already travelled.
Watch for the large carrion enemy lurking ahead. Defeating it is mandatory to progress. Use your fire transmutation to burn away the corrupted blockades once it's down.
As you progress, you’ll find falling rocks and enemies clinging to walls. Use your pistol to defeat these enemies quickly.
Wallrunning and platforming take center stage as you unlock shortcuts back to previous lanterns. An important challenge is a sequence where platforms crumble beneath you if you linger too long, so maintain momentum to avoid falling to your death.
Once you reach the other end, you’ll be able to unlock a shortcut to the first lantern. There are further wallrun spots here that can lead you deeper.
The next platforming sequence requires you to hurry up, because the platforms will crumble if you stay on top of them for too long.
When you reach the salt mine portion, manipulate the levers to control lifters and rotate platforms. Precision timing here can be the difference between progressing and restarting from a checkpoint, so observe the movements carefully.
Go to the top of the wooden platforms, and you’ll find another lever. This one rotates the wooden platform in the front. You’ll have to jump on it to progress.
The Stasis Transmutation
This new power lets you freeze enemies and mechanical gears mid-motion—key to overcoming deadly contraptions blocking your way. A perfect example is a pair of moving structures you need to pause simultaneously to clear a path.
You can use it to pause moving contraptions. If you go ahead, you’ll find a spot where you can use it to stop two moving structures in place to unlock a path ahead.
Use levers coupled with stasis strategically to halt gears and stop moving platforms. This allows access to previously unreachable lanterns and areas further into the caverns.
Use the lever and then use stasis on the gears to stop the moving platform in the middle, so you can get to the area leading to the lantern on the front.
Into The Depths
At the lantern, encounter Lucjan who hints at hidden secrets nearby. Here, use stasis to freeze a cargo lift, then place a crate on it to cross to the opposite platform. Prepare for a wave of enemies ahead, which calls for careful combat and solid use of your abilities.
Use the crate on the lift to jump to the other side. Keep going, but you’ll encounter several enemies ahead.
Make your way to the wooden platform. There will be a soldier’s body here. You can jump left to progress ahead. If you go up, you’ll find a way back to the lantern, and you can go downward from here to reach the next section.
Beware of the cart tracks. These carts come at intervals and dealing with them requires patience and timing. A misstep here can cause huge damage in an instant, so move with caution along the path.
A blocked passage soon appears, corrupted and impassable. Your fire transmutation will help clear this and move you forward.
Follow the tracks, and you’ll find a path to your right leading downward. There’s another track here. Keep following it until you find a passage blocked by corruption. Use fire to clear it.
Manipulate a rotatable section of the cart track with a switch placed above. Your goal is to divert a cart into a wooden gate, smashing it open. Access the tiny hole near the track to reach the switch—exploration pays off.
Once the door has been broken by the cart, there will be a lift to your right leading you back up to the last lantern you activated. Pass the rotating wheels and jump across to the next section.
Military Camp
This area is swarming with transformed soldiers, many wielding ranged weapons. Using the environment against them feels satisfying; a cargo platform loaded with explosive barrels serves as your secret weapon. Drop it, then shoot the barrels to annihilate clustered foes.
There’s a switch that you can use to lower the cargo with explosive barrels on it. Shoot the barrels once the cargo is at the lower level, and that will defeat the enemies with guns there.
Cross a wooden bridge cautiously and navigate a broken second bridge by jumping. A nearby cave illuminated with torches contains a lantern—don’t miss this important checkpoint.
Jump over the gap to get to the other side of the bridge and head inside the cave with torches outside of it. You’ll find the lantern ahead.
Cart Sequence
In this intense segment, you'll ride a cart through hazardous obstacles. Swiftly switch between your powers to counter threats on the fly. The sequence tests your reflexes and ability synergy before leading you to a final lantern and the looming boss arena.
Once you’ve cleared all of the obstacles, you’ll finally reach the final lantern. Rest at the lantern. There’s an obvious boss arena ahead.
Defeating Sphinx, Devourer Of The Unworthy
The boss arena transforms into a desert wasteland where you face the imposing Sphinx. Watch for its distinct attacks: it unleashes a swarm of bats from its skull mask and summons red orbs that descend and explode in shockwaves if left unchecked.
If you don’t shoot down these orbs, they’ll crash into the arena and release a large shockwave, which can be quite challenging to dodge.
When the Sphinx swings its purple claws in melee combos, your best defense is timing a parry. This will stagger the boss and open a window to land more hits, especially targeting its face when it pauses between attacks.
Keep landing hits on its face when it’s not doing any attacks while moving sideways.
Phase two starts with the skull mask breaking, bringing a sandstorm that sharply reduces visibility. The Sphinx enlarges its bat swarms and ups the ante by launching two deadly red orbs instead of one. Keep your focus and adapt fast.
It also gets an annoying backflip where it hits you with its tail. The attack where it used to summon one red orb will now summon two in phase two.
Additional attacks include a painful backflip tail hit and a long-range purple laser, fired only when you’re keeping your distance. Staying mobile and managing your positioning is critical for survival.