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The Castle Heart is a foundational structure in V Rising around which the entire castle is built. Fueled by Blood Essence, the heart powers the entire castle and its defenses. When the Castle Heart runs out of Blood Essence, it weakens the base and compromises its functionality.
Fortunately, players can upgrade the Castle Heart to extend its operational capacity and duration, resulting in reduced refueling intervals and increased gameplay focus. However, there’s more to Castle Heart upgrades than outlined in this introduction. The following guide provides a detailed overview of every aspect of Castle Heart upgrade in the game, including upgrade tiers, requirements, and benefits.
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How Does The Castle Heart Function In V Rising?
The Castle Heart operates on a consistent supply of Blood Essence. Players can acquire Blood Essence by killing living creatures from around the world. The heart needs 180 Blood Essence to run for 24 hours. If the Blood Essence runs out, the Castle starts to decay, prompting players to refill the heart with essence.
Upgrading the Castle Heart provides additional Blood Essence slots, which extend the heart’s operational duration. It’s highly recommended to prioritize Castle Heart upgrades as soon as it’s built.
How To Upgrade The Castle Heart In V Rising
Once built, players can interact with the Castle Heart by pressing the prompt key when nearby. Doing so brings up the context menu, which shows the heart’s current level and upgrade requirements. The default starting level for the Castle Heart is level one. At this level, the heart includes two Blood Essence slots and the capacity to lay down 50 tiles.
The Castle Heart can be upgraded to a maximum level of five, and the following table includes upgrade requirements and the stat improvements that accompany each upgrade:
Castle Heart Level | Upgrade Requirement | Blood Essence Slots | Max Servants (PVP) | Max Tiles | Max Operating Time | Castle Key Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Level 2 |
| 4 | 5 (3) | 140 | 5 Days, 13 Hours, 20 Minutes | 1 Copper Castle Key |
Level 3 |
| 6 | 7 (4) | 240 | 8 Days, 8 Hours, 0 Minutes | 1 Iron Castle Key |
Level 4 |
| 8 | 7 (5) | 360 | 11 Days, 2 Hours, 40 Minutes | 1 Golden Castle Key |
Level 5 |
| 10 | 8 (5) | 550 | 13 Days, 21 Hours, 22 Minutes | 1 Golden Castle Key |
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Benefits Of Upgrading The Castle Heart In V Rising
Upgrading the Castle Heart in V Rising is a first step towards expanding the player’s vampiric dominion. The castle is essentially the player’s main hub area, serving as a respawn, storage, and crafting point. Building and upgrading the Castle Heart adds a new strategic dimension to the game. Listed below are three benefits players can expect when upgrading their Castle Hearts:
- Expansion: As seen in the table above, each time players upgrade the Castle Heart, they gain additional floor tiles, allowing them to expand their castle. A larger area presents the opportunity to experiment with grander and more sophisticated castle designs.
- AdditionalServants: Upgrading the Castle Heart allows players to house additional Servant Coffins. Recruiting more servants helps players gain the upper hand in hunting and combat.
- Character & CastleBuffs: In addition to increasing the castle’s operational duration, upgrading the Castle Heart also unlocks a unique character ability and castle structure. At Castle Heart level four, players acquire the Dominate Mount vampiric ability, allowing them to convert their horse into a vampiric variant. Similarly, at level five, players acquire the Eye of the Twilight structure, which enables them to scan for Soul Shards.
In version 1.0, V Rising now allows players to relocate their castles. Learn more in our dedicated guide .
