The fastest way to improve in Children of Morta: Ancient Spirits is to stop treating every run as a damage race. Spend early gold on permanent family upgrades, learn each character's dodge rhythm, use Spirit powers to control space, and retreat from bad rooms before greed turns a winning run into a corpse pile. The DLC's Yajouj and Majouj are especially strong when you play around positioning, cooldowns, and a clean escape route.
These tips apply to the Ancient Spirits expansion and the base game's progression loop. If you are still learning how Bergson upgrades work, Steamoz's guide to evaluating gear without relying on tier lists is also useful here: Morta rewards synergy and execution more than a single supposedly perfect item.
Start With Permanent Upgrades, Not Flashy Loot
Every run feeds the family through permanent currencies and skill trees, so a failed expedition is still productive. At the Bergson home, prioritize upgrades that help every character before spending heavily on one hero. John's shield tools, Linda's ranged damage, Kevin's speed, and Lucy's fire abilities all benefit from broad improvements such as increased damage, health, movement, and critical chance.
Donavan's training and the family's shared bonuses are the backbone of a new save. A small permanent damage increase is worth more than an awkward temporary relic if you are still taking unnecessary hits. Save character-specific spending for the hero you genuinely enjoy, then build outward once your core family bonuses are affordable.
| Early priority | Why it matters | When to delay it |
|---|---|---|
| Shared damage and health | Improves every Bergson and makes early rooms safer | Rarely; these are reliable first purchases |
| Movement and dodge support | Helps avoid telegraphed attacks and traps | Only if your chosen hero already has comfortable mobility |
| Character skill nodes | Unlocks the playstyle you want to practice | Delay when a family-wide upgrade is cheaper and stronger |
| Luxury economy bonuses | Improves long-term farming efficiency | Until survival upgrades stop deciding your runs |
Do not restart because the first few rooms feel slow. Morta's progression curve is intentionally front-loaded with learning. A run that reaches one new room and returns home with enough currency for a permanent upgrade is a successful run.
🎮 Children of Morta - Ancient Spirits
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View on Steammoz Store →Use Yajouj and Majuj as a Control Character
Ancient Spirits' headline addition, Yajouj and Majuj, should not be played like a stationary glass cannon. Their identity is built around managing two bodies and using spirit-based attacks to pressure enemies while you remain mobile. Keep the pair near the edge of a pack, attack through the group, then reposition before melee units collapse on you.
The key mistake is dumping every Spirit ability as soon as it becomes available. Hold one defensive or space-making tool for the moment a fast enemy reaches your flank. Your normal attacks can handle isolated targets; the valuable cooldown is the one that interrupts a surround, clears a lane, or gives you time to revive a fallen companion in co-op.
Build around one combat question
Before entering a room, decide whether your build is trying to kill quickly, kite safely, or chain crowd control. Damage boosts are excellent when you already have room to attack. Cooldown reduction and movement bonuses become better when enemies spawn in waves or the room is filled with hazards. Mixing every stat produces a character who is mediocre at all three jobs.
For new players, prioritize reliable damage, maximum health, and cooldown support. Critical-hit stacking can become exciting later, but it is less forgiving before you know enemy patterns. The official Children of Morta Steam page lists the current base game and DLC package details, while Dead Mage's official game page provides the developer's character and world context.
Choose Characters for the Room, Not Habit
The Bergsons cover radically different combat problems. John is the forgiving front-line choice because his shield lets you learn enemy timing without instantly losing a run. Linda is excellent when you can maintain distance and keep firing lanes open. Kevin is much faster but demands cleaner dodges. Mark wants close-range timing and benefits from understanding enemy stagger windows. Lucy controls areas with fire, while Joey's heavy attacks are slower but excellent for punishing clustered targets.
Do not force Yajouj and Majuj into every biome simply because the DLC is new. Ancient Spirits is a better learning tool after you understand the basic run loop with at least one straightforward Bergson. Switching characters also protects you from fatigue: if a melee run keeps ending in trap rooms, take Linda or Lucy and solve the same problem from range.
| Character | Best beginner role | Main risk | Practice goal |
|---|---|---|---|
| John | Shielded front line | Standing still too long | Block, counter, and retreat after a short exchange |
| Linda | Ranged single-target damage | Getting cornered while aiming | Fire while circling, never backward into unexplored space |
| Kevin | Fast melee burst | Overcommitting to a combo | Use speed to disengage, not only to chase kills |
| Lucy | Area denial and elemental pressure | Running out of space | Place fire where enemies must walk, then kite around it |
| Joey | Heavy crowd punishment | Long attack recovery | Attack after enemy telegraphs, not during them |
| Yajouj and Majuj | Mobile spirit-based control | Wasting cooldowns early | Keep an escape tool for the second enemy wave |
Co-op changes the calculation. One player should draw attention while the other attacks from an angle. Revives are not free opportunities to be heroic; clear the immediate threat first, then revive when the room is under control.
Read Enemy Telegraphs Before Chasing Gold
Most deaths in Morta happen after the room is already won. A chest appears, a gold pile sits behind an enemy, or a broken wall reveals a side path, and the player rushes forward without checking the next spawn trigger. Clear the visible wave, pause for a second, and identify where ranged attackers and fast melee units are positioned before collecting rewards.
Ranged enemies are priority targets because they punish dodges that were meant for melee attacks. Fast units should be separated from slow bruisers rather than fought in one clump. If a room has traps, stand in the open lane and let enemies walk through danger. Your dodge is not just an escape button: it is a way to cross a trap safely, reset attack spacing, and avoid the final hit of a multi-swing animation.
Three habits that prevent cheap deaths
- Keep a wall or open lane behind you before starting a fight.
- Do not spend your dodge on a weak enemy's first animation if a stronger unit is about to attack.
- When the screen fills with effects, stop attacking for a heartbeat and restore visual information.
That last habit sounds timid, but it wins runs. Morta's damage is bursty: a single elite hit followed by a projectile can erase the health you spent several rooms building. A calm reset is better than squeezing in one more attack.
If performance makes those telegraphs difficult to read, lower effects quality and shadows before reducing resolution. The game is pixel-art driven, but excessive effects can still muddy crowded rooms. For broader PC troubleshooting habits, see Steamoz's low-FPS and crash-fix checklist.
Make Relics, Runes, and Spirits Work Together
Temporary relics, runes, charms, and Spirit powers are strongest when they solve the same problem. A cooldown-focused setup wants repeated active casts. A critical build wants enough attack speed or survivability to keep attacking. A health-heavy setup can afford to trade safely with melee enemies, but it should still carry a way to escape crowd control.
Read the wording carefully. A bonus to basic attack damage is not automatically a bonus to an active skill, and a chance-based effect is less reliable than a flat defensive upgrade when you are learning. If two choices are close, take the option that works in every room rather than the one that only shines against a particular enemy type.
| Run direction | Look for | Pair it with | Typical mistake |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safe ranged play | Attack range, damage, movement | Linda or Lucy with a retreat route | Standing still to maximize one volley |
| Fast melee | Attack speed, dodge support, health | Kevin or Mark and short engagements | Chasing a damaged enemy into a new spawn |
| Heavy punishment | Health, armor, burst damage | Joey or John against clustered enemies | Ignoring slow recovery animations |
| Spirit control | Cooldown, area damage, repositioning | Yajouj and Majuj with one saved escape tool | Using every Spirit power on the first pack |
Ancient Spirits rewards a disciplined two-button rhythm: damage with your normal attack, then spend a Spirit power only when it either creates safety or guarantees a valuable kill. This is why cooldown reduction can outperform raw damage during longer rooms. More casts mean more interrupts, more breathing room, and fewer desperate dodges.
Beat Bosses by Surviving the Second Pattern
Bosses in Children of Morta are pattern tests, not damage checks. During the first attempt, ignore the temptation to maximize DPS. Watch the arena, identify the safe side of each telegraph, and learn whether the boss chains a follow-up attack after landing. Many players dodge the obvious strike and immediately walk into the second one.
Enter a boss room with your health intact, but do not hoard every resource forever. Use temporary healing and damage tools when they shorten a dangerous phase. Save your strongest control ability for an add wave, a corner trap, or the boss's most aggressive pattern rather than spending it during a harmless opening animation.
| Boss situation | Danger | Counter strategy | Best tool |
|---|---|---|---|
| Large telegraphed strike | Dodging too early and eating the follow-up | Wait for the impact cue, then move through or away | Reliable dodge timing |
| Summoned enemies | Being surrounded while watching the boss | Clear fast adds first and preserve one escape lane | Area damage or Spirit control |
| Projectile pattern | Panicked movement into another projectile | Circle at the arena edge and use small movements | Movement bonus and patience |
| Low-health phase | Greed during faster attacks | Take one safe attack, reset, repeat | Saved burst ability |
After a death, change one variable. Pick a different character, invest in a family upgrade, or alter your relic priority. Repeating the identical run with the identical mistake is not practice; it is just faster frustration.
For official patch information and platform details, check the game's official Steam news feed and 11 bit studios' official site. If you follow these ten principles—permanent upgrades first, smart character rotation, saved cooldowns, controlled rooms, and patient boss attempts—Ancient Spirits stops feeling like a chaotic roguelite and starts feeling like a very readable combat game.
One final rule carries through every Bergson: a safe retreat is still progress. The best players are not the ones who never lose health. They're the ones who know exactly when the next attack is not worth taking.