Relics & the Dark Covenant

The Death Sigils and Dark Essence you earn from each Reincarnation are spent in two places. Relics are permanent stats you raise with Death Sigils, and the Dark Covenant is a node tree with three branches — Flesh, Soul and Abyss — that you open with Dark Essence. Both survive Reincarnation, and both are entered from the Gate of Reincarnation. Read Reincarnation first for the rebirth rules.

Relics

Where to find them and what they cost

Tap the Relics card on the Gate of Reincarnation screen to open the Relic altar.
They cost Death Sigils, which you get only from Reincarnation. The rebirth screen shows how many Relics your current sigils can empower and how many more sigils you need for the next empowerment.
Choose a Relic and press Empower to raise it one rank; its stat applies permanently. Each rank costs more than the last, and every Relic has a maximum rank.

Grades and unsealing

Relics come in four grades: Common → Magic → Rare → Unique. Only Common is open at first.
Max out some of the Relics in your current grade to break the seal on the next grade. You don’t need to max them all; the screen shows how many are required and your progress.
Locked grades show as Sealed - preview only, so you can see which Relics are waiting.
Higher-grade Relics have higher maximum ranks and bigger effects.

Relic list

The word at the front of each Relic’s name changes with its grade. The table lists the shared part of each name.

Relic	What it strengthens	Grades
Signet of the Bonecarver	Hero attack	Common, Magic, Rare, Unique
Reliquary of the Gravewarden	Hero health	Common, Magic, Rare, Unique
Seal of the Dread Commander	Command	Common, Magic, Rare, Unique
Brand of Mortis	Hero damage	Common, Magic, Rare, Unique
Standard of the Reaper	Minion damage	Common, Magic, Rare, Unique
Bulwark of the Ossuary	Minion health	Common, Magic, Rare, Unique
Shroud of Endurance	Reduced damage taken by the hero	Common, Magic, Rare, Unique
Charm of Wraithstep	Evasion	Common
Heart of the Crypt	Hero max health (percentage)	Common
Talisman of the Raven-Eye	Hero critical chance	Common
Vow of the Executioner	Hero critical damage	Common
Sigil of the Blink Rite	Reduced Teleport cooldown	Common
Talisman of Dread Cadence	Hero attack speed	Magic
Drum of the Dead March	Minion attack speed	Magic
Rune of the Funeral Pyre	Corpse Explosion damage	Magic
Ward of the Pale Covenant	Hero resistance to all elements	Magic
Ward of the Afterimage	A shield based on max health when you Teleport	Rare
Circle of Catacomb Reach	Corpse Explosion radius	Rare

The Dark Covenant

Dark Essence and entering

It costs Dark Essence, which you get only from Reincarnation. The higher you climb above your waypoint and the further you push past your lifetime record, the more you get.
On the Gate of Reincarnation screen, press Enter on the Dark Covenant card to open the Covenant. Tap a node and press Empower to spend Dark Essence on its next rank.

The three branches

Branch	What it strengthens	Signature nodes
Flesh	Minion health, leech and resistances, hero max health, extra summons and corpses at the start of battle	Rotting Flesh, Horde of the Dead, Undying Legion, Ossuary Sovereign
Soul	Minion attack and crits, chain strikes, all four elements, multishot and pierce for ranged minions	Bound Wraith, Chained Rite, Soulburst, Choir of the Damned
Abyss	Magic find, item quality, boss damage, Reaper gauge charge, hero and minion damage — but many nodes come with a price	Whisper of Greed, Tyrant’s Touch, Demon’s Pact, Throne of Ash

Some Abyss nodes carry a price alongside their power, such as taking more damage or losing health, resistance or move speed. Read each node’s description in full before you buy.

Node sizes

Type	Description
Lesser Sigil	A branch’s basic node. It can be raised through several ranks.
Minor Sigil	A strong node mid-branch. It opens only after you invest a certain amount of Dark Essence in that branch.
Grand Sigil	A branch’s core node. Powerful, but it takes up a lot of Corruption Capacity.
Grand Confluence	A fusion node that opens when you own the Grand Sigils of two different branches.

Nodes open in order along their path. You need at least one rank in the previous node before you can buy the next.
Bigger nodes take up more Corruption Capacity when attuned.

Attune and Corruption Capacity

Buying a node does nothing by itself. You must Attune it for its effect to apply; an unattuned node is Dormant and has no effect.
The total size of your attuned nodes can’t exceed your Corruption Capacity. The Covenant screen shows how much you’re using and your limit.
A newly bought node is attuned automatically if you have spare capacity. If not, it stays Dormant — set another node to Dormant and attune it yourself.
Switching between Attuned and Dormant is free. Change them whenever your situation calls for it.
Corruption Capacity grows slowly as you reincarnate (up to a limit), and the Trial of Encroachment can widen it further.

Depth seals

Deep nodes require a deep enough lifetime deepest record. Even with Dark Essence to spare, they stay locked as “Sealed by the Abyss” until your record is deep enough.
This record updates when you reincarnate. Finish a life that went deeper, reincarnate, and new nodes open.

Trial of Encroachment

The Trial of Encroachment widens your Corruption Capacity by one slot in exchange for a permanent price.

Qualify. Your lifetime record must be deep enough. Each additional slot needs a deeper record.
Choose a Stigma. Pick one of three offered Stigmas and press Brand the Stigma. A Stigma is a price that permanently lowers a stat, and later slots on the ladder move from Lesser Marks to Graver Marks and then Dire Marks.
Prove yourself. Clear the target stage or any deeper floor. While the trial bears down on you, those floors have stronger, more numerous enemies and more elites.
The expansion is locked in. When the proof succeeds, your Corruption Capacity grows by one and the chosen Stigma is permanently branded.

The Stigma isn’t branded until the proof is made. Abandon Trial carries no penalty.
Absolution spends Dark Essence to replace a branded Stigma with a different one. It doesn’t remove the price, only changes it, and it costs more each time.

What to prioritize

Relics: follow your build. For a legion build, start with Command, minion damage and minion health Relics; for a hero build, start with hero attack and damage. When unsealing the next grade, max out the ones you actually want first.
Covenant: go deep in one branch. Minor and Grand Sigils open based on Dark Essence invested in that branch, so spreading across branches delays your core nodes.
Plan your Corruption Capacity. Grand Sigils and Grand Confluences take up a lot of it. Fill it with small nodes and you’ll have no room to attune your core ones.
Take Abyss when you can afford the price. Many of its nodes boost damage heavily while cutting survivability.
Go deeper to open the Covenant. Both Dark Essence and the depth seals on deep nodes come from lives that beat your lifetime record.

Common mistakes

Buying a node and never attuning it. Dormant nodes have no effect. Always check that a node shows Attuned.
Not noticing your Corruption Capacity is full. If a newly bought node stays Dormant, you’re over the limit. Set a less important node to Dormant.
Trying to max every Relic in a grade. The next grade opens once only some are maxed.
Confusion when a node won’t open despite having Dark Essence. Deep nodes need your lifetime record, and Minor and Grand Sigils need enough investment in their branch.
Ignoring the price on Abyss nodes. Some of them increase damage taken or lower resistances.