Lords of the Fallen – like many dark fantasy action RPGs before it – limits you to only a handful of healing items between rests. Called Sanquinarix, the game starts you out with only three, but fear not – you can increase the amount of charges and the item’s effectiveness through hidden items called Saintly Quintessences. As Lords of the Fallen is a difficult game even by Soulslike standards, you’re going to want to upgrade your Sanquinarix as much as possible.
How to Upgrade the Sanquinarix
It’s quite simple to upgrade your Sanquinarix. Once you overcome the first major boss, Pieta, She of Blessed Renewal, you’ll be able to upgrade when speaking to her revived form in Skyrest Bridge. She’s the woman hanging out just to the left of the Skyrest Bridge Vestige; however, she will require an item called a Saintly Quintessence to upgrade it, increasing either the Sanquinarix’s charge or potency. Later on, she will require more Saintly Quintessences per upgrade.
Where to find Saintly Quintessences
Saintly Quintessences are usually – but not always – located within the bloated corpses you can Soul Flay open in the Umbral realm. They’re not plentiful, so you should definitely re-explore an area in the Umbral realm after clearing it to make sure you didn’t miss once.
That said, the first Saintly Quintessence available is the easiest to obtain, though you can walk right by it. During Lords of the Fallen’s opening moments, several tooltip windows will teach you how to attack, lock onto targets, and so on. Eventually, you’ll learn how to use the Umbral lamp. After learning how to Rift into the Umbral realm, how to Soul Flay both enemies and the environment, and recover Soul Flay charges, you’ll drop down into an area with a handful of cross-wielding enemies to practice on. Above two of them, you’ll see a bulbous corpse hanging on the wall. Soul Flay it to release the first Saintly Quintessence you’ll find, and keep in mind you cannot use it for a while yet.
You’ll find the second Saintly Quintessence not long after you reach Skyrest Bridge, but you’ll have to beat a sub-boss to get it. Navigate the wooden planks outside of Skyrest Bridge until you see a set of stairs leading up to your right with a Stigma you can Soul Flay. Behind it, you’ll find a Vestige to rest at called Chabui, located in the Shrine of Baptism. From the rest spot, head up the ladder into the prison room adorned with hanging bells. Once you make your way to the bottom, a fight with Scourged Sister Delyth will trigger, though she won’t attack you immediately. Delyth is protected by an Umbral Parasite hidden in a small alcove to the right, which you’ll have to Siphon with the Umbral lamp in order to damage her. Once defeated, look into the small alcove and Rift into the Umbral realm if you’re not in it already. There will be a bloated body hanging on the wall, which you can Soul Flay to reveal the Saintly Quintessence.
Likely the third Saintly Quintessence you’ll find comes after the gruesome Congregator of Flesh boss fight. This is quite a bit further into the game from the last Quintessence, requiring you to navigate the perilous Pilgrim’s Perch to reach the Forsaken Fen where the Quintessence resides. If you haven’t fallen into a blood-stained pit with a grotesque monster trying to feast on you, don’t worry about this Quintessence yet. But if you have, it’s a tricky one to find.
When you enter the Forsaken Fen after defeating the Congregator of Flesh, you’ll come to a Vestige to rest at with Byron – a hammer-wielding man with a Scottish accent – hanging out nearby. To the left, you’ll find a narrow path that leads to a locked door – more on that later. For now, navigate the swamp filled with headless ghouls behind Byron until you see a massive tree root forming a bridge up to the left. Follow it to unlock the door back to the Vestige, which will be helpful when trying to get the Quintessence.
Head back out into the swamp monster infested area, keeping in mind that most enemies here can poison you. You’ll see a hut in the middle of a pond surrounded by bridges. By now, you likely know that if you shift to the Umbral realm bodies of water disappear, revealing secrets beneath. Facing away from the Vestige point, the Saintly Quintessence is located beneath the water in the far back-right corner. You’ll have to defeat the Umbral fairy creature in order to Soul Flay the bloated corpse hanging from the wall, revealing the Quintessence.
With these three Saintly Quintessences given to Pieta, you’ll have a Sanquinarix with +50% healing and 5 total charges, which will help immensely as you continue your dangerous journey through Mournstead. That said, there’s a lot more Saintly Quintessences to find, so keep your eyes open – in both the regular and Umbral realms.
And that is how you upgrade your Sanquinarix and get more and better heals in Lords of the Fallen.
