Darksiders Warmastered Edition Beginner Tips - War, Souls, and Backtracking

Darksiders: Warmastered Edition is the KAIKO and THQ Nordic remaster of the first Darksiders campaign, originally developed by Vigil Games. This guide is for War’s first-game adventure, not Darksiders II: Deathinitive Edition, Darksiders III, Darksiders Genesis, or Darksiders 4.

Content warning: Darksiders Warmastered Edition is ESRB Mature 17+ with Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, and Suggestive Themes descriptors. This guide keeps fantasy/action violence and mature-theme discussion non-graphic and focused on play.

This is a spoiler-light beginner guide for combat rhythm, souls, chests, travel points, ability-gated exploration, and cleanup planning. It is not an exact puzzle-solution guide, boss guide, artifact route, weapon-upgrade route, achievement roadmap, or full walkthrough.

Version Scope

Version or Platform	What to Know
Warmastered Edition	Remaster of the first Darksiders campaign starring War.
Original Darksiders	Same first-game campaign, but not the remaster package or current patch target.
Darksiders II Deathinitive Edition	Separate sequel remaster starring Death with its own loot, skills, and traversal assumptions.
Darksiders III	Separate later game starring Fury; do not import Fury advice into War’s guide.
PC 2026 update	The 2026 update mentions Vulkan, Photo Mode, Steam Input, motion aiming, and fixes; check your current build before relying on technical advice.
PS5 / Xbox Series X	S
Switch / Wii U	Switch is confirmed by Nintendo; Wii U is a historical Warmastered platform, so buying and access details can differ.

Essential Tips

1. Play It as Combat Plus Exploration

Darksiders is not only an arena brawler.

War spends a lot of time fighting, but the first game also leans on puzzle-solving, platforming, locked routes, dungeon-like spaces, and hub-style backtracking. If a path looks impossible, stop treating it like a failed jump and ask whether the game expects a later power, item, or travel route.

2. Activate Vulgrim Locations When You Find Them

Backtracking is part of the structure.

Vulgrim locations make later returns less painful. When the game points you toward a new Vulgrim spot, activate it before moving deeper into the objective. You do not need an exact route map for this habit; just treat each location as future travel insurance.

3. Use Souls With a Goal

Currency is progression pressure, not clutter.

Blue souls are tied to purchases and progression planning. Spend them when the purchase solves a problem you are actually facing, then save exact move, weapon, and achievement spending plans for a dedicated route. Buying everything that looks interesting can leave you short when the next useful option appears.

4. Open Green and Yellow Chests When They Matter

Resource chests are strongest when timed.

Green chests refill Life, and yellow chests refill Wrath. If you are healthy and stocked, leave those resources until you need them. Blue chests are safer to open immediately because they contain souls.

5. Dodge Before You Commit to Long Combos

War hits hard, but he is not invincible.

Beginner fights get cleaner when you attack in short bursts, watch the enemy’s windup, then dodge before committing to another string. This matters most around larger enemies and forced fights, but the habit starts with regular encounters.

6. Let Melee Carry the First Read

War’s baseline damage is close-range pressure.

Use melee as your default way to learn enemy spacing, knockback, and recovery windows. Ranged tools and later abilities have jobs, but they work better once you already understand when it is safe to stand near an enemy.

7. Keep Wrath for Bad Rooms

Special power is most useful when a fight turns.

Wrath is a limited combat resource. Use it when a room is crowded, your health is slipping, or a dangerous enemy needs to be controlled quickly. Spending it just to speed up harmless enemies can leave you empty for the fight that actually matters.

8. Revisit Blocked Paths Later

Unreachable is often temporary.

Warmastered’s first-game structure expects War to regain powers and eventually revisit earlier areas. If a door, gap, object, or route clearly resists your current kit, move on and return after the campaign gives you more tools.

9. Keep Collectibles Separate From the First Clear

A first playthrough and a cleanup pass are different jobs.

You can note obvious collectibles, but do not turn the first run into a full artifact or shard sweep. For now, learn the map and keep a simple note of areas that looked gated.

10. Do Not Mix in Sequel Advice

War, Death, Fury, and Strife are different guide targets.

Darksiders II, Darksiders III, and Genesis share the series name but are separate guide targets. If advice is written for Death, Fury, Genesis, or Darksiders 4, it is not Warmastered Edition advice.

11. Check Your Current Version Before Technical Tweaks

The PC and current-gen versions changed recently in sources.

Recent 2026 patch notes mention Vulkan, Photo Mode, Steam Input changes, motion aiming, controller support, and stability fixes. Before changing graphics, controller, or performance advice, confirm your actual platform, current patch, and settings menu.

Combat and Resource Habits

Situation	Best Habit	Why It Helps
New enemy type	Start with short melee strings and dodges	Lets you read timing without overcommitting
Low health	Look for Life recovery before pushing deeper	Prevents a manageable fight from becoming a reset
Low Wrath	Save yellow chests until you need the refill	Avoids wasting a limited resource pickup
Enough health and Wrath	Leave green/yellow resources for later if possible	Keeps safety available after a harder room
New Vulgrim spot	Activate it before continuing	Makes later backtracking less tedious
Blocked route	Mark it mentally and continue	Later powers and travel options often reopen areas
Upgrade menu	Buy for current problems, not curiosity	Keeps souls available for useful progression choices
Sequel-specific advice	Ignore it for this guide	Later games use different protagonists and systems

Backtracking and Cleanup

Use broad passes instead of a walkthrough route:

Pass	Goal
First clear	Learn combat, activate travel points, collect obvious rewards, and keep moving.
Tool return	Revisit blocked paths after War gains a relevant power or traversal option.
Travel pass	Use Vulgrim locations to shorten repeat trips across earlier areas.
Resource cleanup	Refill health/Wrath and gather souls before long pushes or cleanup sessions.
Collectible pass	Save artifacts, shards, armor pieces, and exact chest cleanup for a dedicated route.
Achievement pass	Check missable-achievement and point-of-no-return details in a dedicated roadmap before committing.

This guide deliberately avoids exact pathing. A full 100% route should handle every puzzle, boss, artifact, shard, chest, and achievement condition separately.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Do not force every blocked path immediately - War’s powers and travel options are designed to reopen earlier spaces later.

2. Do not skip Vulgrim locations - Backtracking is much smoother when travel points are already active.

3. Do not waste Life and Wrath chests at full resources - Green and yellow chests are more valuable when they refill something.

4. Do not spend souls without a current reason - Save detailed weapon and move planning for a dedicated upgrade route.

5. Do not mash through large enemies - Attack briefly, read the windup, dodge, then re-engage.

6. Do not burn Wrath on harmless fights - Keep it for crowded rooms or dangerous pressure.

7. Do not follow Darksiders II or III advice here - Death and Fury use different systems from War.

8. Do not trust old technical advice blindly - PC and current-gen patch details changed in 2026 sources.

9. Do not chase full collectibles from memory - Artifact, shard, armor, chest, and achievement cleanup works better with a dedicated checklist.

Summary

Category	Top Tip
Scope	Use Warmastered first-game advice, not sequel systems
Combat	Use short melee strings and dodge before overcommitting
Resources	Time green/yellow chests around Life and Wrath needs
Souls	Spend for current problems, not every menu option
Travel	Activate Vulgrim locations early
Exploration	Return to blocked paths after new powers
Cleanup	Save exact collectibles and achievements for a dedicated route
Technical	Treat 2026 patch, platform, and performance details as version-specific