Absolum is filled to the brim with synergies between the various Trinkets, Rituals and Inspirations, that all affect how you’ll be approaching each run. However if you’re looking for the best Absolum builds for each character, we got you covered!
Best Builds for All Characters in Absolum
There are two characters which you can play at the start of Absolum (Galandra and Karl) and two more which you unlock through the story (Brom and Cider). Each of these characters has unique powers and movesets, which is why it's important to set up the best builds and ensure the longest run (straight to Azra and further).
While at the start you won’t have a lot of control when it comes to the Rituals that show up, as you progress through the game, you’ll gain the ability to reroll your options and even start a run with a Trinket of your choice.
Best Galandra Build
When it comes to Galandra, the best Builds in Absolum emphasize her Running Attacks as well as throwing the enemies around.
| Build |
|---|
| Arcana Reaper Cyclone - Spin while maintaining control of your movement to send the enemies flying Inspirations - Burial Smash (First inspiration that you can buy from Ederig the Stalwart for Galandra) - Dark Grip - Ghost Blade (Final inspiration at the Ederig the Stalwart NPC) Rituals - Lightning Skill - Increases static charge until a Chain Lighting attack is triggered - Power Conduction - Chain Lightning damage is increased by 100% Trinkets - Gauntlet (Common) - Impact hits deal +25% Damage - Deathvines (Rare) - Tech hit deals +100% Damage - Juggernaut Helmet (Rare) - Run attack deals +40% Damage - Boots (Common) - +15% Move speed - Jaroba Oil (Epic) - Move speed +50%, but lowers friction making your character slide |
Arcana: Galandra has quite a few Arcanas that can launch enemies into the air, though the best one to have all of the enemies flying is the Reaper Cyclone. It deals quite a lot of damage and is especially efficient in late game when there will be many opponents coming at you at once. It's especially smart to use it in either the far left or the far right side so that the enemies will knock against the invisible wall and fall back into your Cyclone while it lasts.
Inspirations: Burial Smash and Dark Grip Inspirations work in tandem to provide the most damage as well as Mana output for gripping enemies. The goal is to keep running, grabbing and slamming into the ground (Nero and his Devil Bringer in DMC 4 trained me for this). Ghost Blade synergizes well with any Inspiration, considering it keeps attacking even if you die in multiplayer. It's honestly OP and it also helps how cute it is.
Rituals: Setting up Lightning Charge Rituals on any of your moves is always a great idea, but you can also replace these with Fire/Wind element Rituals. So long as it's doing continual damage, it's good to go.
Trinkets: Both Boots and Jaroba Oil work to increase Galandra's speed (though you can just stack Boots instead), while the Juggernaut Helmet Trinket increases the damage of these speedy attacks. Gauntlet adds damage onto your Reaper Cyclone Arcana as well as the Burial Smash Inspiration, while Deathvine works great on Galandra's Skill, which you should keep spamming when the enemy is down on the ground.
Best Karl Build
When it comes to Karl in Absolum, you'll want to put focus on an Arcana Spam build, as well as choosing Rituals that will affect Arcana primarily.
| Build |
|---|
| Arcana Rifle Bullet - Fire multiple fast bullets Inspirations - Infused Shells (The last upgrade you unlock from Ederig the Stalwart for Karl) - Reload Rituals - Rose Arcana - Arcana spawns a Rose turret - Skeletal Arcana - Arcana spawns a Skeleton - Tornado Jump - Gain 1 extra jump that spawns a Small tornado Trinkets - Eyeball Charm (Common) - Mono target attacks deal +10% damage - Lord’s Bracelet (Rare) - When Health is at 100% or above, you deal +30% damage - Whetstone (Common) - Critical hits deal +25% damage - Lucky Charm (Common) - Increase Luck by 2.5 |
Inspirations: The combo of Reload and Infused Shells turn Karl into a turret of mass destruction, allowing you to use your arcana with minimal pause. Not only does Reload let you replenish mana at will, but it also releases a shell casing, benefiting from Infused Shells, so if anything is still alive after your barrage, it gets staggered, allowing you to refill in peace.
Rituals: Any Arcana ritual will do amazing in Karl's build considering how often you’ll be triggering them, but the Rose and Skeletal Arcana are the best in my opinion. Both the rose turrets and the skeletons are amazing defensive options, letting you hunker down and reload, while also dishing out their own damage.
Tornado Jump (my favorite useless Ritual because of it’s laughable damage) actually has a great use here in order to reposition yourself if you’re ever surrounded, so you can safely reload and unleash your Arcana back at the enemies.
Trinkets: This build doesn’t benefit a lot from rarer trinkets. Instead, you’ll pretty much want to stack as many Whetstones, Lucky Charms and Eyeball Charms as you can for the raw damage boost. However, this is the best build for the Lord’s Bracelet, because you’ll be hanging back and avoiding melee range, so you’ll more often than not be at full HP and benefiting from the +30% damage boost.
Best Brome Build
Brome's strongest Build is built around his Inspiration Drill Rush, which can dish out crazy numbers of damage if set up right.
| Build |
|---|
| Arcana - Rage Barrage - Summon several homing magical projectiles Inspirations - Drill Rush (The last upgrade you unlock from Ederig the Stalwart for Brome) - Resonance Field - Battle Rage Rituals - Mana Flow - Gain more mana on hits as your combo counter increases. - Lightning Skill - Skills increase your Static charge by 20%, any hit at 100% triggers Chain lightning. While this element is my preferred choice, you won’t go wrong with wind or fire either. - Fiery Arcana - Arcana grants you a fiery ring. Trinkets - Juggernaut Helmet (Rare) - Run attack deals +40% damage - Jaroba Oil (Epic) - +50% Move speed but lowers friction, making your character slide - Tentacle Charm (Common) - Multi-target attacks deal +15% damage - Ring of Magic (Common) - Mana gained +20% |
Arcana: Rage Barrage is the perfect Arcana to go with this build because you can set it and forget it, allowing Brome to still zip around the screen, while it shoots and staggers enemies around it.
Inspirations: Drill Rush is by far Brome's strongest Inspiration which unlocks a hit and run type of playstyle. You will deal insane damage while also controlling the battlefield with your fast movement. Everything in this build is here to allow you to spam your main move as much as possible.
Rituals: Mana Flow is amazing because your combo meter is always going to be pretty high. Even if you get hit, building it back up is easy enough with Drill Rush. While the Thunder element you get from Lightning skill is the best choice in my opinion, the important thing is to find a damaging ritual so you get even more use out of every rush you do. Same goes for your Arcana, although because you’ll be dashing into enemies, the Fiery Rings are a clear winner.
Trinkets: The Juggernaut Helmet Trinket is especially good here because it buffs the damage of your run attacks. Most of the time Jaroba Oil can actually be a downside (especially when you’re trying to pick something up), but here it gives you the much needed speed to run down your enemies and never let them catch a break.
Best Cider Build
This entire build is focused on keeping Cider in the air as much as possible, while dishing out the most damage with her Skill.
| Build |
|---|
| Arcana - Rising Drill - Spin upwards, rising nearby enemies with you. Inspirations - Pneumatic Heels - Slice and Dice (Final upgrade unlocked at the Ederig the Stalwart NPC) - Magnetic Jump Rituals - Lightning Skill - Increase Static Charge by 20% to trigger Chain Lightning - Burning Skill - Inflicts Burn - Blazing Dash - Creates a Blazing Trail on the ground Trinkets - Feather Charm (Common) - Aerial attacks deal +20% Damage - Dry Hand Charm (Rare) - Attacks from behind deal +50% Damage - Winged Boots (Epic) - Dash is unlimited for 5s after performing an Arcana |
Arcana: Cider has a lot of gadget Arcanas that can be difficult to maneuver, but Rising Drill is as easy as it sounds, with the benefit of knocking back enemies. A bonus is that you can also jump into the air and perform a downwards drill attack.
Inspirations: Pneumatic Heels and Slice and Dice Inspirations focus on boosting your Dashes. Heels will grant you an extra Dash as well as the ability to air Dash, while Slice and Dice will allow Cider to damage enemies after Dashing through them. The second Ritual also deals more Damage when you attack from behind, so make sure to position yourself accordingly. Magnetic Jump will help you stay in the air for longer, as well as execute a special diving blade attack from up high (we do have the high ground with this build).
Rituals: Since you should be using Cider's arm to drag yourself up and stay in the air, having both the Lightning and Burning Rituals applied to your Skill will apply some great extra damage. Dash is another thing you should do a lot (in air or on ground), so Blazing Trail is another Ritual must.
Trinkets: Cider's collection of Trinkets works to boosts both Dash, Aerial attacks, as well as attacks from behind. Feather Charm gives you stronger damage in air, and I suggest you stack a few of these, since it's a Common Trinket. The Dry Hand Charm provides an additional Damage boost from behind on top of the Slice and Dice Inspiration, while Winged Boots allows you to dash unlimited for five seconds after you've used an Arcana, meaning even more Blazing Trail damage.
Absolum Character FAQ
You’ll encounter Cider multiple times while you’re going through the first island. While she seems reluctant at first, after meeting her a few times, she’ll eventually join you at camp. You’ll find Brome on the second island Jaroba, just make sure to take the top path.
Most things you’ll unlock by simply going through the different zones in the game. Make sure to take a different path every time while you’re starting out, so you come across all the ritual crystals and quests that are scattered throughout the map. You'll also be able to unlock special hybrid Rituals from Vikhana the Joyful at the base.
You can reroll inspirations after you purchase the Inspiration reroll from Ederig the Stalwart, an NPC in your home base that’s there from the start. As far as rituals go, you’ll be able to reroll them after you purchase the Ritual reroll upgrade from Vikhana the Joyful, an NPC that you’ll meet on your adventure through the second island Jaroba. After that you can use your hard earned crystals to reroll your options.
Vikhana the Joyful provides a Third Ritual upgrade. Once you obtain it, you will now always have three Ritual options instead of two to choose from.
Yes, and you absolutely should do that in some cases. Trinkets will gain an increase the more duplicates you have.
You get Inspirations in Absolum by defeating mini bosses across the islands, as well as by defeating the Secret Bosses.
If you have a fun build to suggest to us, let us known in the comments! And if you want to argue about any of our build suggestions, we're down for that too!
Hristina is the Assigning Editor for Pro Game Guides with a Master's degree in English Language, Literature and Culture from the University of Belgrade. She's written blogs, anime quizzes, books, as well as worked as a Content Editor before starting at PGG as a Staff Writer. She lives, breathes and often screams for the horror genre. If a game has multiplayer, be sure that she is playing it, like Dead by Daylight, PEAK, R.E.P.O. and Marvel Rivals. Hristina's comfort games are Outlast, Last of Us, and Until Dawn, which she has played or watched other people play more than 10 times each.