Valor Mortis New Game Plus: NG+ Changes & 100% Guide

Valor Mortis New Game Plus is the definitive way to experience the alternate 1815 where Napoleon won at Waterloo, but it is not a simple victory lap. The Crimson Plague hits harder, the Eternal Guard patrols with sharper instincts, and every shortcut you memorized feels less forgiving. This guide breaks down exactly what carries over, what changes, and how to push toward a full 100% completion run on PS5 and Xbox without burning out. If you’re weighing the Xbox version specifically, our breakdown of the Valor Mortis Xbox Game Pass launch details covers what’s included at no extra cost before you commit to a full replay.

What Carries Over in Valor Mortis NG+

The first question every player asks before committing to a second run is simple: what survives the transition into New Game Plus? Valor Mortis does not wipe your progress clean, but it also does not hand you a god-mode file. Understanding the carryover rules shapes your entire NG+ strategy, because the game respects your time while still demanding mastery of its combat systems.

Your weapon inventory carries over completely, including every melee and ranged tool you forged or discovered during the first playthrough. This is the biggest power spike, because a fully upgraded Crimson-Tempered Saber or Plague-Lock Rifle trivializes early zones that once took hours to clear. However, community testing confirms that ability unlocks tied to story progression reset, which means mobility tools like the Grappling Hook and Wall Run must be reacquired through their respective Metroidvania-style shortcuts. The map itself resets, but your memory of its layout becomes the real carryover.

The currency system deserves special attention because it creates a fascinating tension. Your Crimson Shards and Plague Coins carry over, which means you can immediately purchase high-tier consumables and crafting materials from vendors. But vendor stock resets, so you cannot simply buy endgame gear at the first merchant. This forces you to engage with the early economy differently, prioritizing upgrade materials over raw damage numbers during the opening hours of NG+.

NG+ Difficulty Scaling and Enemy Changes

For the rematch-specific mechanics behind each boss's new attack chains, the NG Plus bosses guide ranks every scaled-up fight by threat level.

New Game Plus in Valor Mortis is not just a health multiplier slapped onto existing enemies. The scaling system reworks enemy behavior, placement, and aggression patterns in ways that punish players who relied on memorized routes rather than adaptive combat skills. According to the game's official site, the game is built around a demanding combat system where supernatural forces and war are present at every step, and NG+ amplifies that philosophy.

Enemy health pools increase by roughly 40-60% across the board, but the more dangerous change is poise damage reduction. Enemies that staggered after two heavy hits in the base game now require three or four, which means your parry timing and stamina management become the primary survival tools. The Eternal Guard units gain a new counter-parry behavior in NG+, punishing players who spam the same attack string. Plague monsters, meanwhile, spawn in mixed packs more frequently, forcing you to manage crowd control rather than dueling single targets.

Boss Modifications in NG+

Boss encounters receive the most dramatic overhaul. Each major boss gains at least one new attack pattern, and several gain phase-shifted mechanics that alter the rhythm of the fight. The Crimson Warden, for example, summons Plague Hounds during its second phase in NG+, which forces you to split attention between the boss and adds. Community reports indicate that the Napoleon's Shadow encounter adds a mirror-image mechanic where the boss creates a clone that mimics your last three attacks.

The Plague Colossus deserves a specific warning because its new tracking charge attack punishes players who roll too early. In the base game, you could side-step the charge with a single well-timed dodge. In NG+, the charge tracks your movement for an extra half-second, which means you need to delay your dodge until the last possible frame or use a mobility ability to create vertical distance. This single change has caused more NG+ deaths than any other boss modification, based on community data.

Valor Mortis 100% Completion Checklist for NG+

Chasing the 100% completion marker in Valor Mortis NG+ requires a different approach than a first-playthrough clear. Because your weapon inventory carries over, you can access previously locked areas earlier, but the reset map means you must re-explore every region. The most efficient route prioritizes missable content first, because several lore scrolls and side quests become unavailable after certain story triggers.

Missable Content Priority Order

The Crimson Archive region contains three lore scrolls that disappear permanently if you enter the Burning Library before collecting them. In NG+, this trap is even more dangerous because you might rush through early zones with your endgame weapons and trigger the story flag accidentally. The same applies to the Plague Quarter side quest involving the Merciful Sister, which locks out if you defeat the area boss before speaking with her.

• Crimson Archive scrolls: Collect all three before entering the Burning Library

• Merciful Sister quest: Speak with her before defeating the Plague Quarter boss

• Abandoned Chapel key: Grab it before the chapel collapses during the story sequence

• Eternal Guard codex entries: Scan all five Guard variants before the final act

• Hidden vendor stock: Purchase the Plague-Touched Ring before the vendor relocates

The 100% completion tracker in the menu updates in real time, which helps you identify what you missed without consulting external guides constantly. However, the tracker does not distinguish between base-game collectibles and NG+ exclusive items, so you need to track both categories separately. A full 100% run typically requires two NG+ cycles if you miss any of the missable content on your first NG+ attempt, because some items only appear in NG+ and cannot be collected during the base game.

NG+ Exclusive Collectibles

New Game Plus introduces its own set of collectibles that do not exist in the base game. These NG+ exclusive items include Echo Shards hidden in areas that were previously inaccessible, Plague-Touched armor pieces dropped by NG+ only enemies, and Memory Fragments that expand the lore surrounding Napoleon's victory at Waterloo. The Echo Shards are particularly important because they unlock the True Ending when collected in full.

The True Ending requires all 12 Echo Shards plus the base-game Crimson Codex completion. This is the ultimate goal for a 100% NG+ run, and it changes the final confrontation with Napoleon's Shadow in meaningful ways. Players who complete the True Ending unlock a post-credits scene that hints at future content, which the community has been dissecting since launch.

Platform-Specific Tips for PS5 and Xbox

Valor Mortis runs on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows, but the console versions have platform-specific quirks that affect NG+ performance. The game targets 60 FPS on both consoles, but community testing reveals that certain areas with heavy particle effects cause frame drops on the Xbox Series S. These drops are most noticeable during the Plague Colossus fight, where the new tracking charge attack creates additional particle load.

PS5 Optimization Tips

The PS5 version benefits from DualSense haptic feedback that provides subtle vibration cues for parry timing. This is a genuine advantage in NG+, where the tighter parry windows make every frame of feedback valuable. The adaptive triggers also add resistance when your stamina is low, which helps you manage resource consumption without looking at the UI. To maximize performance, disable ray tracing in the settings menu, because the visual upgrade is marginal while the frame rate impact is significant.

• Disable ray tracing for stable 60 FPS in particle-heavy areas

• Use DualSense haptics for parry timing feedback

• Enable performance mode before entering boss arenas

• Clear PS5 cache if you notice frame pacing issues after long sessions

• Adjust trigger resistance to match your preferred stamina management style

Xbox Optimization Tips

The Xbox version offers Quick Resume support, which is a double-edged sword in NG+. Quick Resume lets you jump back into a boss fight instantly, but it can also cause save state corruption if you switch games during a loading screen. Community reports recommend fully closing the game before switching to another title, especially during NG+ where the stakes are higher. The Xbox Series X handles the Plague Colossus fight better than the Series S, but both consoles benefit from disabling motion blur.

• Use Quick Resume carefully to avoid save state issues

• Disable motion blur for clearer enemy telegraphs

• Close the game fully before switching titles during boss fights

• Enable VRR if your display supports it for smoother frame delivery

• Monitor Series S performance in particle-heavy encounters

The Valor Mortis PS5 tips and Valor Mortis Xbox tips communities have both converged on one universal recommendation: turn off all post-processing effects before attempting NG+ boss fights. The visual clarity gained from disabling chromatic aberration and film grain makes enemy telegraphs significantly easier to read, which matters more than any graphical fidelity when a single missed parry means death.

Optimal NG+ Route and Build Strategy

Your NG+ route should prioritize mobility ability reacquisition above all else. Because traversal abilities reset, you need to re-unlock the Grappling Hook and Wall Run as quickly as possible to access shortcuts and hidden areas. The fastest route reacquires the Grappling Hook within the first two hours of NG+ by rushing the Abandoned Foundry region, which is accessible immediately after the opening sequence.

Early NG+ Priority Route

The opening hours of NG+ are deceptive because your endgame weapons make combat trivial, but your lack of mobility tools limits exploration. The optimal route pushes through the Crimson Gate into the Abandoned Foundry, grabs the Grappling Hook, then doubles back to collect the Wall Run from the Sunken Chapel. This route takes roughly 90 minutes with an optimized path, and it unlocks the majority of the map for efficient collectible hunting.

• Hour 0-1: Rush Crimson Gate, skip optional combat, reach Abandoned Foundry

• Hour 1-2: Acquire Grappling Hook, backtrack to Sunken Chapel

• Hour 2-3: Unlock Wall Run, begin Echo Shard collection

• Hour 3-5: Clear missable content priority list

• Hour 5+: Boss rush with full mobility kit

Build Recommendations for NG+

Your NG+ build should lean into poise damage and stamina regeneration because the increased enemy poise reduction makes stagger-locking harder. The Crimson-Tempered Saber with a poise damage enchantment remains the best all-around weapon, but the Plague-Lock Rifle gains value in NG+ because its ranged pressure lets you control mixed packs without committing to melee range. The Echo Shard upgrades you collect during NG+ also enhance your supernatural abilities, which creates a feedback loop that rewards aggressive exploration.

The Mobility Assassin build struggles in NG+ because the increased enemy aggression punishes the close-range playstyle it requires. The Tank Buster build, meanwhile, shines against NG+ bosses because the guard break enhancement counters the new poise reduction values. Most players find that a hybrid approach works best: use the Crimson-Tempered Saber for general exploration and switch to the Eternal Warhammer for boss encounters.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Valor Mortis New Game Plus carry over weapons?

Yes, all weapons from your first playthrough carry over into New Game Plus, including fully upgraded melee and ranged tools. This gives you a significant early-game power spike, but weapon upgrade materials reset, so you cannot immediately max out new weapons you discover during NG+.

How many NG+ cycles are needed for 100% completion?

A full 100% completion typically requires two NG+ cycles if you miss any missable content on your first NG+ attempt. The NG+ exclusive Echo Shards and Plague-Touched armor pieces only appear in New Game Plus, and some missable base-game items become permanently locked if you trigger certain story flags.

What is the hardest NG+ boss in Valor Mortis?

The Plague Colossus is widely considered the hardest NG+ boss because its new tracking charge attack punishes early dodges. Community data shows this single change causes more NG+ deaths than any other boss modification, especially on Xbox Series S where frame drops can obscure the tell.

Do Valor Mortis PS5 tips apply to the Xbox version?

Most general combat and exploration tips apply across platforms, but the PS5 DualSense haptic feedback provides parry timing cues that Xbox controllers lack. Xbox players should compensate by disabling motion blur and relying more heavily on visual telegraphs during NG+ boss fights.

Can I unlock the True Ending on my first NG+ run?

Yes, you can unlock the True Ending on your first NG+ run if you collect all 12 Echo Shards and complete the base-game Crimson Codex. The Echo Shards are hidden in previously inaccessible areas, so you need to prioritize mobility ability reacquisition early in your NG+ route.