Valor Mortis Catalyst Farming: Best Spots
Where to farm Catalysts in Valor Mortis, ranked by what one full clear around each Lantern pays. Resting at a Lantern brings every non-boss enemy back, so the richest Lanterns are repeatable routes. Plus every Catalyst Clot, boss payoff and quest reward.
- Best repeatable spot
- Tribunal Square13,910 per clear · City of Orphans
- Best early spot
- Old Mine8,945 per clear · Caverns
- Biggest Clot
- Commander's Catalyst Clot10,000 Catalysts
- Richest boss
- Entity100,000 Catalysts
- Mice gift
- Giant Whisker Gift30,000 Catalysts in Entropy
- Catalyst Amber
- Surplus+15% from kills at top rank
Top 10 Catalyst farming spots
CalculatedEach row is a Lantern and the regular enemies closer to it than to any other Lantern in its region: rest, clear them, rest again. Catalysts per clear adds up what each of those enemies pays at its placement level.
- Prison · Napoleon's Prison
- 14,600 Catalysts
- Tribunal Square · City of Orphans
- 13,910 Catalysts
- Ship Graveyard · Vale of Wrath
- 13,685 Catalysts
- Traverse · Fortress
- 13,345 Catalysts
- Ramparts · Fortress
- 13,200 Catalysts
- Eerie View · Cursed Hollow
- 12,770 Catalysts
- Main Hall · University
- 10,750 Catalysts
- Shamble Street · City of Orphans
- 10,500 Catalysts
- Sewers · City of Orphans
- 10,080 Catalysts
- Sewage Drain · University
- 10,015 Catalysts
Distances are straight lines from the Lantern; the walk is longer. Enraged elites are left out because they never respawn. Napoleon's Prison has no fast travel: you can farm it while you are there, but you can't come back.
Data: Steam build 25907482 (1.0 launch). How we source this
How to farm Catalysts in Valor Mortis
The short version: pick a rich Lantern, clear its enemies, rest, repeat.
Catalysts are both your experience and your money: you spend them at Lanterns to level up and at James's and Louis's benches to buy materials. Every enemy pays a fixed amount by type and placement level, and resting at a Lantern revives every non-boss enemy, so the fastest farm is the richest cluster of enemies around one Lantern.
By that measure, Tribunal Square in City of Orphans is the best spot you can keep coming back to: the 37 enemies in its catchment pay 13,910 Catalysts per clear, led by Eternal Guardsman ×2, Volunteers ×2, Shambling Civilians ×11, and half of them stand within about 61 m of the Lantern. Early on, Old Mine in Caverns is the richest you have (8,945 per clear) before the later regions open up.
Value per kill matters more than enemy count. An Eternal Guardsman pays 1,200 Catalysts at placement level 1 and up to 2,700 at level 6, Volunteers pay 500 to 2,500 and Remnants of the Iron Regiment up to 3,500, while a Risen Soldier pays 50 to 200. A route built around a few heavy hitters beats a long walk through crowds of Risen and Shambling Civilians.
Stack the bonuses. The Surplus Amber adds up to 15% more Catalysts from kills at its top rank; it sits in chests in Valley of Ashes, Caverns, The Outskirts. And don't farm with a fortune in your pocket: death drops every Catalyst you carry, and a second death before you pick them up deletes them. Level up at the Lantern before each run.
The single biggest payout isn't a fight at all, it's the Mice. 22 friendship points are available across The Outskirts and City of Orphans (14 of them just for talking to the Mice and finishing their requests, the rest for friendly answers). Reach 10 and the Mouse King in Entropy hands you the Giant Whisker Gift, worth 30,000 Catalysts.
How the ranking is calculated
CalculatedOur arithmetic over the game's own spawner data: a planning guide, not a stopwatch.
- Every regular enemy spawner in a region is read from the level files, with its enemy type, variant and placement level (1 to 6).
- Each spawner's Catalyst reward comes from its variant's row at that placement level, the same table the game pays out from.
- Each spawner is assigned to the nearest Lantern in the same region (straight-line distance), so every enemy counts towards exactly one Lantern.
- Enraged elites never respawn (the game's own tutorial says so), so they are counted apart as one-off kills. Bosses are listed separately below.
Not included: the Surplus Amber, enemies that only appear in scripted events, and travel time. Placement levels are fixed per spawner, so these numbers don't change with your character level.
Best farming spot in every region
CalculatedThe richest Lantern in each region, plus what clearing every Lantern's enemies in that region once would pay.
| Location | Best Lantern | Catalysts / clear | Whole region (repeatable) | One-off elites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Battlefield | Onslaught Arch | 2,480 | 4,280 | 1 · 750 |
| Valley of Ashes | Demolished Path | 2,270 | 8,420 | 2 · 16,500 |
| Fallen Village | Marketplace | 5,200 | 14,615 | 1 · 3,000 |
| Caverns | Old Mine | 8,945 | 15,185 | 1 · 3,000 |
| Vale of Wrath | Ship Graveyard | 13,685 | 27,055 | 4 · 15,600 |
| Cursed Hollow | Eerie View | 12,770 | 25,755 | 3 · 23,000 |
| The Outskirts | Market Square | 8,980 | 26,345 | 2 · 25,000 |
| City of Orphans | Tribunal Square | 13,910 | 34,490 | 2 · 10,200 |
| University | Main Hall | 10,750 | 38,420 | 2 · 13,700 |
| Fortress | Traverse | 13,345 | 43,450 | 2 · 29,000 |
| Napoleon's Prison | Prison | 14,600 | 22,560 | — |
One-off elites are Enraged enemies (red, glowing eyes): big payouts, but only once.
Catalyst Clots and where to find them
Game data9 kinds of Clot, each a one-use item worth a fixed number of Catalysts. 191 are placed in the world, worth 342,450 Catalysts in all.
| Item | Catalysts | Placed | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
 Common Catalyst Clot | 50 | 5 | The Battlefield ×5 |
 Uncommon Catalyst Clot | 100 | 20 | The Battlefield ×7, Valley of Ashes ×10, Abandoned Church ×3 |
 Rare Catalyst Clot | 400 | 13 | The Battlefield ×2, Valley of Ashes ×4, Fallen Village ×7 |
 Epic Catalyst Clot | 700 | 30 | The Battlefield ×1, Valley of Ashes ×1, Fallen Village ×6, Caverns ×9, Vale of Wrath ×8, The Outskirts ×5 |
 Legendary Catalyst Clot | 1,000 | 37 | Fallen Village ×1, Caverns ×6, Vale of Wrath ×8, Cursed Hollow ×10, The Outskirts ×10, Fortress ×1, Abandoned Church ×1 |
 Mythic Catalyst Clot | 2,000 | 32 | Vale of Wrath ×3, Cursed Hollow ×7, The Outskirts ×4, City of Orphans ×12, University ×6 |
 Imperial Catalyst Clot | 3,500 | 38 | Vale of Wrath ×3, Cursed Hollow ×1, The Outskirts ×4, City of Orphans ×5, University ×7, Fortress ×8, Napoleon's Prison ×10 |
 Eternal Catalyst Clot | 5,000 | 16 | The Outskirts ×1, University ×4, Fortress ×8, Napoleon's Prison ×3 |
 Commander's Catalyst Clot | 10,000 | — | From General Lothaire |
 Tiny Whisker Gift | 3,000 | — | Quest reward: The Shrike's Anthem, Mummy and Daddy, Bedtime Stories |
 Giant Whisker Gift | 30,000 | — | Mice friendship reward in Entropy |
Placed counts come from the level files. Using a Clot turns it into Catalysts you carry, which a death can drop, so use Clots at a Lantern just before you level up.
Boss Catalyst payoffs
Game dataWhat each boss kill pays, in campaign order, with the running total. Bosses don't respawn, so each pays once.
| # | Boss | Location | Kill reward | Running total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  General Lothaire | The Battlefield | 10,000 | 10,000 |
| 2 |  The Iron Marshall | Fallen Village | 7,000 | 17,000 |
| 3 |  Sphinx | Caverns | 20,000 | 37,000 |
| 4 |  Slaughtermill | Vale of Wrath | 30,000 | 67,000 |
| 5 |  Anna | Cursed Hollow | 14,000 | 81,000 |
| 6 |  High Justicar Aurelius | The Outskirts | 18,000 | 99,000 |
| 7 |  Experiment 83 | The Outskirts | 20,000 | 119,000 |
| 8 |  The Orphan | University | 40,000 | 159,000 |
| 9 |  Captain Raphael | Fortress | 50,000 | 209,000 |
| 10 |  Entity | Entropy | 100,000 | 309,000 |
General Lothaire also carries the Commander's Catalyst Clot (10,000 Catalysts). The final boss's reward is the value in its enemy row; its kill screen lists no payoff.
Side quests that pay Catalysts
Game data11 side quests pay Catalysts directly or with a Catalyst item.
| Side quest | Location | Catalysts | Catalyst items |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Shrike's Anthem | The Outskirts | 3,000 | Tiny Whisker Gift (3,000) |
| Mummy and Daddy | City of Orphans | 3,000 | Tiny Whisker Gift (3,000) |
| The Choir | Napoleon's Prison | 6,000 | — |
| Till Death | Cursed Hollow | 3,000 | — |
| Sleeping Beauty | Cursed Hollow | 3,000 (best branch) | — · choice: Let Her Sleep 2,000 |
| The Curious Case of Seamus Diggory | Cursed Hollow | 3,000 (best branch) | — |
| Bedtime Stories | City of Orphans | — | Tiny Whisker Gift (3,000) |
| Misericorde | City of Orphans | 3,000 (best branch) | — · choice: End his suffering. 3,000 |
| Homesick | Caverns | 2,000 | — |
| Laudanum | The Outskirts | — | Mythic Catalyst Clot (2,000) |
| Lullaby | Fallen Village | 1,500 | — |
The Mice: a 30,000-Catalyst gift
A hidden Mice friendship score decides the biggest single Catalyst payout in the game. Napoleon's Prison and Entropy have no fast travel, so every point has to be earned in The Outskirts and City of Orphans before you move on.
- The Outskirts: 6 points from 4 sources
- City of Orphans: 16 points from 13 sources
- Napoleon's Prison: with 10 or more points: Special Cartridges ×3
- Entropy: with 10 or more points: Giant Whisker Gift, Mice's Key
How many Catalysts to reach level N
CalculatedTotal Catalysts from level 1, and how many clears of Tribunal Square (13,910 per clear) that is.
| Level | Catalysts from level 1 | Clears of the best spot | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 10,273 | 1 | Open in calculator → |
| 25 | 114,010 | 9 | Open in calculator → |
| 50 | 602,002 | 44 | Open in calculator → |
| 100 | 3,334,480 | 240 | Open in calculator → |
| 200 | 18,091,983 | 1,301 | Open in calculator → |
Every level costs more than the last, so the clears add up quickly: level 100 needs 3,334,480 Catalysts in total and level 400 needs 165,974,460.
The best repeatable Catalyst farm in Valor Mortis is Tribunal Square in City of Orphans: 37 enemies worth 13,910 Catalysts per clear, refreshed every time you rest. Early on, Old Mine in Caverns pays 8,945 per clear. The 191 Catalyst Clots placed in the world are worth 342,450 Catalysts, the bosses pay 309,000 between them, and side quests add 38,500. The Mice's Giant Whisker Gift is worth 30,000 Catalysts if you earn 10 friendship points before Napoleon's Prison.
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Valor Mortis Catalyst farming FAQ
Where is the best place to farm Catalysts in Valor Mortis?
Tribunal Square in City of Orphans. The enemies nearest that Lantern pay 13,910 Catalysts per full clear (37 enemies, led by Eternal Guardsman ×2, Volunteers ×2, Shambling Civilians ×11), and resting there brings them all back. Prison in Napoleon's Prison pays more (14,600 per clear), but it is in a region without fast travel, so you can only farm it while you are passing through.
What is the best early-game Catalyst farm?
In the first four regions, Old Mine in Caverns is the richest Lantern at 8,945 Catalysts per clear. The first boss, General Lothaire, also carries the Commander's Catalyst Clot (10,000 Catalysts).
Do enemies respawn in Valor Mortis?
Yes. Resting at a Lantern fully restores your Health and Nephtoglobin and revives all non-boss enemies, which is what makes Lantern farming work. Enraged enemies (red, glowing eyes) are the exception: they don't respawn after dying, and bosses never do.
What are Catalyst Clots worth?
There are 9 kinds, worth 50 to 10,000 Catalysts each; the largest is the Commander's Catalyst Clot. 191 are placed in the world, worth 342,450 Catalysts in all.
How do you get the Giant Whisker Gift?
Earn at least 10 Mice friendship points in The Outskirts and City of Orphans (22 are available, 14 of them for simply talking to the Mice and finishing their requests). The Mouse King in Entropy then gives you the Giant Whisker Gift, worth 30,000 Catalysts.
Is there an Amber that increases Catalysts?
Yes: Surplus adds up to 15% more Catalysts from kills at its top rank. It is found in chests in Valley of Ashes, Caverns, The Outskirts.
How many Catalysts do you need to level up?
Reaching level 50 from level 1 costs 602,002 Catalysts in total, about 44 clears of Tribunal Square. Level 100 costs 3,334,480, and the maximum level, 400, costs 165,974,460.
What happens to your Catalysts when you die?
You drop all of them where you died. Go back and pick them up: die again before you do and they are gone for good. Spend them at a Lantern before a risky farming run.