Find a second copy of a ranked Amber you already wear and it climbs a rank. That's why a build keeps getting stronger long after you've equipped it. Pick the Ambers that back the way you fight, then go looking for more of the same.
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Melee
Firearms
Transmutations and Nephtoglobin
Ferrofluid Flask
Survival
Utility
How Amber Ranks and Extra Copies Work in Valor Mortis
Ranked Ambers get stronger with every extra copy you find, until they reach rank III. Single-rank Ambers have one fixed effect, so a single find is all you need. Perfect Copy plays by its own rules: while it's equipped, your other equipped Tier 1 and Tier 2 Ambers each go up a rank, which can lift an Amber past the copies you've actually collected.
Build Around How You Fight: Parrying, Shooting or Transmutations
Pick the thing you do most in a fight and let the Ambers back it up. Parry players have Duellist's Focus for a wider window and Marksman's Bane for parrying bullets. Perfectionism suits them too, since its bonus only applies while your Health is full. Gunners get Volatile End for explosions on Weak Point hits, Sleight of Hand for faster reloads and Lucky Shot for the odd round you don't spend. If you lean on Transmutations, Bottomless Well refills Nephtoglobin on its own, Life Diverted turns part of your Transmutation damage into healing and Equivalent Exchange lets you pay for Transmutations with Health once the Nephtoglobin runs out. An Amber that never touches what you do in a fight is a wasted slot.
What Butcher's Carnage, Glass Soldier and the Other Trade-Off Ambers Cost You
Some Ambers charge for their power. Glass Soldier raises your melee damage and lowers every damage resistance. Lunatic's Grasp trades lower resistance to Ignite and Stasis for faster build-up. Dilated Moment slows time while you hold aim, but it drains Endurance and cuts your damage.
Butcher's Carnage is the sharpest trade. Melee hits heal you, which pays off up close, but Ferrofluid Flasks stop healing you at every rank. You're swapping your backup heal for one that only comes when you're hitting something. Life Diverted rewrites the flask too: it restores Nephtoglobin instead of Health, so plan your healing around Transmutation damage.
Where to Look for Ambers: Chests, Gold Vines, Quests and Elite Enemies
Spoiler warning: Some Amber spots are in late regions, so the places and enemies named here come from later in the story.
Most Ambers wait in chests off the main path, and the way in is usually a small puzzle. Burn gold vines with the Fire Transmutation, shoot weak points with a firearm to open shortcuts and freeze boxes and cogs in place with Stasis to cross a room. Several Ambers are side quest rewards, including Tomorrow's Promise from Lullaby and Sleight of Hand from An Unheard Farewell. Elite enemies, the tougher ones that stand out from the crowd, drop a few more, and one Amber is a gift from the mice.
Some need a Transmutation you haven't picked up yet. Perfect Copy needs the Shield Transmutation to get past the poison, so it's a come-back-later pick. The Ambers screen in your inventory lists all of them, so it's the quickest way to check which ones you're missing.
FAQ
How do you equip Ambers in Valor Mortis?
Spend Catalysts at any Lantern to level up, then pick an Amber for an open slot. You can swap Ambers at any Lantern whenever you like.
How many Amber slots do you get?
Five. They open as you gain levels, so the level-up menu at a Lantern shows how many you've unlocked so far.
Do you need every copy of every Amber for the Ambersmith achievement?
No. Ambersmith is for gathering every Amber, so one of each is enough.