If you’re into survival games, chances are you may have heard murmurings about V Rising, a vampire survival title from Stunlock Studios, the developers behind Battlerite. It’s like a lot of other games in the genre, except you’re playing at a Diablo-esque camera angle and well, you’re a vampire. That comes with all sorts of complications including avoiding the sun, feeding on enemies, and building a cool-ass base. All of this is remarkably laid back. That is, until we interacted with our Castle Heart and saw the Castle is Decaying message. In this guide, we’ll explain what that means, how to sustain your castle, and ways for you to deal with it.
If you’re looking for more help, we have guides on how to get Blood Essence, how long a day is, explainers on teleport and Blood Types, how to get around the environment when placing a Castle Heart, and what the Castle is Decaying message means as well as how to work around it.
What Does Castle is Decaying Mean?
When V Rising says your castle is decaying, it means that literally. Your castle is essentially being worn down over time and won’t have “power” for structures like the Blood Press and other crucial tools. Not only that, but your defenses will grow more and more brittle, less likely to hold up against an enemy attack. You can tell your castle is decaying by the message near your minimap, by a notification in the Castle Heart, and by the red markings all over your walls.
How to Stop Castle Decay
If you don’t want your castle to decay, you need to feed Blood Essence to your Castle Heart. If you have some in your inventory, just walk up and interact with it. For those at the start of the game, there should be two slots to fill up. It’s a little confusing because the “Insert Blood Essence” message looks like a button. All you really need to do, however, is drag and drop it from your character’s inventory onto one of the Castle Heart slots.
You don’t need all that much either. The 18 Blood Essence we put in is enough to power and fortify the castle for almost 2.5 real time hours. Improving that up to 50 got us nearly seven hours after a short jaunt into a nearby human encampment. You can eventually upgrade it to the point that your base will be powered for more than five days straight.
When a castle is powered all of those above messages and marking will go away. Overall, that’s great news. Sustaining your camp shouldn’t be this huge thing that’s constantly weighing on your mind. Unless you’re playing online, of course. If you’re in a persistent server, time will continue to go by. Should you let your castle enter decay, other people will be able to walk in and claim your stuff, deleting your entire base. In a PVP server they can also kill you in your coffin. With that said, if you’re going to play on a dedicated server, make sure you have enough time to upgrade your Castle Heart, otherwise you’re likely to log in the next day and find all your progress gone.
How to Repair Castle Durability
When you power your castle, lost durability automatically repairs. This isn’t a long process and should regenerate within a few in-game hours.
Upgrading the Castle Heart
You can make this entire process easier by upgrading your Castle Heart. Each one will unlock more slots for Blood Essence, allowing you to go longer and longer without having to worry about “powering” your base. The first upgrade will set you back 12 Copper Ingot and 12 Leather.
Need more help with V Rising? Stay tuned! We’re diving into the game now and will be back with a plethora of guides including some tips and tricks, how to get Blood Essence, and how to deal with the Blocked by Environment message!
[Disclaimer: Tencent, the parent company that owns Fanbyte, is also a majority holder of Stunlock Studios, the developer of V Rising. That being said, there is no direct nor indirect involvement in coverage whatsoever. We do share the love for vampires, but that’s about it.]
