Story encounters and rewards
| Encounter | Location or reward |
|---|---|
| The Fallen | Underground; Holy Cross and Fallen key |
| Medusa | Serpents’ Lair; Petrifying Gaze and Prophetess key |
| Joan of Arc | Prison Tower; Infernal Pyre, Holy Light and Warrior key |
| Death, first encounter | Catacombs story encounter; not the Shadow reward |
| Isaac’s illusion | Castle entrance bridge; not the Zealot reward |
| Talos | Clock Tower; The Builder and nearby Smash unlock |
| Carmilla | Library Observatory; The Occultist, Aerial Rush and Paintbrush |
| Death, Notre-Dame | The Shadow / Soul Harvest |
| Isaac, real encounter | Heart of the Clock; The Zealot and Chronomantic Dive; Chauve-Souris reward route |
| Dracula | Court of the Night, then Castle Rooftops |
Recommended castle progression is Talos → Artist → Carmilla → Notre-Dame painting → Death → Clock Tower / Isaac → Dracula. Treat it as a useful route, not a claim that every pair is locked into that order.
Optional branches
| Encounter | Branch and reward |
|---|---|
| Mammon | Three-eye door; The Miser and an Obol inside the room. The Obol is used in the Whisperer branch. |
| Arthur | Notre-Dame Chapel; The Brittle King and Excalibur. |
| Succubus | Hall of Mirrors / Belmont Manor; The Temptress, on the Sage route. |
| Joan rematch | Courage trial. |
| Self / Doppelganger | Four Virtues altar; Self / Absolution for the True Ending. |
These branches can be skipped for the Normal Ending. That does not make every one of them skippable for the True Ending.
Summon Arthur
Reach the Chapel on the eastern side of Notre-Dame, northeast of Death’s arena. Equip The Builder’s Fist of Talos and interact with the sword in the stone. The route is described with Double Jump access. Arthur’s separate necessity for the True Ending remains uncertain; this page does not promise that skipping him preserves that ending.
Cards that are not ordinary boss fights
Obtain The Artist by smashing the sculpture, The Judge through judgment and The Sage through Eleanor’s quest. A card’s appearance in a boss database does not turn its acquisition into a combat encounter.