Lords of the Fallen combat guide: Radiance and Inferno effects explained

To spellcast in Lords of the Fallen, you need the Radiance or Inferno stats. Depending on what you want to do, you’ll need either one, perhaps even both. Like all Soulslike titles, stats are essential no matter what build you’re going for.

Spellcasting is interesting in this genre, and unfortunately, the game doesn’t do much to prepare you for using either of those stats. It’s all very vague, so it can seem confusing.

Thankfully, we’re going to go over everything you need to know for using the Radiance and Inferno stats in Lords of the Fallen. If you’re interested in spellcasting at all, whether as a primary or secondary part of your build, we’ve got you covered.

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What the Radiance and Inferno stats are used for in Lords of the Fallen

1) The Radiance stat

If you want to use Radiant magic, Orian Preachers are a solid start (Image via CI Games)

Think of Radiant spells as holy magic, Miracles in the Dark Souls games, or Faith in Elden Ring. Radiant Magic in Lords of the Fallen can heal you, as well as provide defensive buffs to your character. It’s incredibly useful if you feel like survival is going to be an issue. Thankfully, there’s a class that already comes built for this type of gameplay: the Orian Preacher.

With the highest base Radiance stat of the starting classes, it’s going to be your best bet for this type of character. Whenever you add to this stat, you gain more Mana, as well as your Spell Potency, making it an ideal stat to focus on for these builds.

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2) The Inferno stat

Pyric Cutlists look amazing and have powerful magic at their disposal (Image via CI Games)

While Radiance damage is fun and helps you survive longer in Lords of the Fallen, Inferno is all about destruction. It’s fire, it’s ruin, and it decimates your enemies in a variety of fun, brutal ways. Whether you bounce fireballs at them or swing a pair of fiery axes, you get exactly what you pay for.

This spell stat is similar to the Pyromancy spells in the Souls franchise and feels just as good to use. While you aren’t healing yourself like with Radiant Magic, these Infernal spells often inflict the Burn status ailment, making them incredibly useful.

Fire magic can sure be devastating (Image via CI Games)

There are a few spells that buff you, but the primary focus is damage. Like the Radiant weapons, focusing on Inferno also gives you access to weapons that increase damage based on this stat.

The Pyric Cultist, interestingly enough, does not start with an Inferno Catalyst but a Catalyst for the third type of magic: A Pyric Umbral Catalyst.

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Umbral Magic requires both stats to be efficient in Lords of the Fallen

If you want some Umbral magic, seek out Molhu (Image via CI Games)

There’s also a third type of magic, and it requires both of the above stats in Lords of the Fallen: Umbral Magic. It exists in a role similar to the Souls’ franchise’s Sorceries and often inflicts Wither in this game.

However, what makes it more difficult to use is that this spell type scales off both of the spellcasting stats in the game. It might be easier to scale up your damage and become a more balanced caster type, but it’s much harder for players who want to specialize.

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No matter what build you go for in Lords of the Fallen, you want to play safe and not take too much damage. With this in mind, you’ll want to upgrade your Sanguinarix to ensure you can heal efficiently.