Lords of the Fallen has some unique and inspired new mechanics that aim to reinvent a lot of what we've seen from Soulslike games. One exciting new feature is the implementation of the dual overlayed worlds, Axiom and Umbral. Umbral is the world of the dead, and you can actually go there. However, be careful with the Umbral dread affliction in Lords of the Fallen.
Umbral is meant to be the land of the dead but you can actually escape from it back into the world of the living. There are also loads of puzzles that can only be solved through traversing the Umbral world. However, the dread meter will make things complicated for you. Let's learn everything about Umbral dread in Lords of the Fallen.
Our Lords of the Fallen walkthrough hub has everything you need for the new game by HexWorks! Find out how long the game takes to complete and whether you'll find New Game Plus at the end! We've also got you covered on if Lords of the Fallen is on Game Pass and how many trophies you can unlock!
What is Umbral Dread?
Remaining in Umbral can be tempting due to all the enemies that make for great mobs for Vigor farming. However, the dread mechanic ensures that this is not an easily abuseable trick. The longer you stay in Umbral, the more difficult your combat encounters will get.
This is because of the Umbral dread affliction, which is a status effect on you while you're in Umbral. You can track its buildup by looking at the creepy eye on the top right while you're in Umbral. The dread meter will keep increasing every second.
As the meter builds up, more enemies will spawn, and their difficulty levels will also increase. You'll start to see Umbral illusions and echoes spawning into existence, and these phantom enemies will only get stronger as the dread meter builds up.
However, you also get the perk of having a Vigor multiplier that correlates with your d level. The higher your meter, the higher the multiplier you get for enemy XP drops. This makes Umbral a high-risk, high-reward spot for those looking to travel to the realm of the dead to farm some experience quickly.
How to remove Umbral dread
You can't actually remove Umbral dread in Lords of the Fallen. The meter is set up in a way that builds up to the maximum level and spawns a final apex predator enemy in the Umbral world. This enemy spawning will guarantee death for the vast majority of players.
Your best shot is to escape from the Umbral world as quickly as possible. This can only be done by locating a Vestige. These are the Lords of the Fallen's versions of bonfires. Alternatively, you can find a flower bed and plant a Vestige Seed there to unlock a way out of Umbral and back into Axiom.
That's everything you need to know about the Umbral dread affliction in Lords of the Fallen. For more guides, learn about the PC requirements and multiplayer options for Lords of the Fallen.