Darksiders Genesis is a massive step away from what fans have come to know and expect. Instead of leveling, most progression is done through collectibles and cash, making it simpler to progress, though it can also be harder to figure out how to get it right. To make things easier, we made a quick guide to make it a lot simpler.
What are Creature Cores?
For the most part, leveling is done through creature cores, a uncommon drop that can drop from any enemy. Every enemy has a specific one, with some being more valuable than others. What makes this system hard is there is a lot of elements to it. Not only does the type matter, certain perks are more or less advantageous than others, along with placement being important. Due to this, once you fill the board you’ll be in a constant state of flux trying to find the perfect build.
Focus on Unlocking Major Creature Core Slots
Before worrying about proper placement and worrying about how well maximize your potential, you want to unlock major creature core slots. The reason for this is pretty simple, they tend to give good bonuses, are always a level three slot and have minimal to no disadvantages. For instance, one of the bosses has a perk that heals between 2 to 8 percent of damage done, making it invaluable for anyone looking to maximize potential or minimize difficulty. This will help you a lot more than, say, increasing your health by 1 percent.
Don’t Base Things off the Power Stat
Similar to The Division and other games that choose to simplify things by giving an overall power rating or something else that determines how good your build is, Darksiders Genesis doesn’t calculate every factor. For the most part, power is determined by a couple simple factors.
Whether the core is matching, what level the core is/max level of the cores slot and whether or not it has an outright stat boost. So, you’ll obtain the most power from a level three core going into a level three slot that matches the slot and gives a fixed stat boost, though it might not be as impactful as other things.
This can probably be best seen by comparing the Jailer and Slag Demon major creature cores. Box give the same power, wrath and health, thus resulting in it yielding the same power, but odds are you’ll be more powerful by killing enemies and gaining a certain percent more power for a couple seconds than having a 25 percent chance of a dodge leaving lava that can damage enemies. Ultimately it’s your decision, but don’t look at one stat and assume it will lead you down the right path.
Purchase Every Level One Minor Creature Core from Vulgrim
Probably the easiest way to pad your board in Darksiders Genesis is to just purchase things from Vulgrim. Even if you see no value in Shadow Caster giving you bonus health on revive or more health orbs, filling the board is more important than what you fill it with early in the game. Once you start to unlock more powers and start to have excess stock, simply swap them out with more useful perks.
Check Common Drops Often
Since the board is designed to be a bit confusing, odds are the first cores you’ll max out are the ones going in the first couple of slots, which largely cap at level one. Once you progress a bit more and have ample cores, see what level each core can be and simply swap them around. There is no additional value to a level three core being in a level one slot if you can move a level one core from a level three slot into the aforementioned slot. Especially since a lot of the negative consequences of certain medals diminish or are removed completely at a higher level.
