Gnosis is a stat that was added to Witchfire in January 2024 to help with the balance of the game. To unlock it, level it up, and use it, you’ll need to complete a large checklist of items.
Where to find Gnosis to unlock in the Hermitage
Returning to the Hermitage, turn right from the portal that takes you out into the world to fight the witch. Just inside the door of the building where your armory and mirror are, turn left. There will be a new corridor here that is lit in red. Take the stairs down into the church, and there will be a large table with a large book on it. Here you can learn Gnosis. You will need to pay 2,500 Volatile Witchfire to open this area.
What is Gnosis?
Gnosis is an unlockable that increases “your understanding of dark magic…, revealing hidden paths and events,” according to developers The Astronauts. You will need to complete a list of items for each level of Gnosis, which will gradually become more difficult as you reach higher levels. This is separate from your other stats, and while level increases are not required to complete Witchfire, Gnosis levels are.
The level of the player, since Gnosis was added, no longer changes the difficulty of expeditions into the territories of the witch. As you level up, the witch will rearrange her defenses, but the difficulty level only increases as you raise the Gnosis level. With each level of Gnosis, you will add new enemies, new traps, and enemies will be more difficult.
When should I level my Gnosis?
Since the Gnosis level makes all enemies harder and adds new, very scary things to the maps, you’ll want to make sure you’re prepared before leveling it. Once you have leveled your Gnosis, you cannot go back to a lower Gnosis level. This means if you are low level with few weapons and no upgrades, you will struggle a lot with the world outside the Hermitage. Basically, you should level until you find the content easy, then move to the next Gnosis level. Here are some recommendations I have for leveling Gnosis.
- Level 1: Leveling to Gnosis 1 made a pretty big difference in the difficulty, at least for me. You can probably do this whenever you have the Volatile Witchfire available to do it.
- Level 2: I would suggest being at least level 20, have some Mysteriums unlocked on some weapons, have a fetish you like, and both large and small spell unlocked. You’ll also want a leveled long-range weapon for some of the bigger flying baddies that come your way.
- Level 3: I’m thinking of getting to level 28-30, making sure you put some points into Luck. You should have a favorite weapon upgraded to Mysterium III, have a set of rings you’re comfortable using, have a fetish in each of your three slots, and also have a demon weapon you like unlocked. We have a list of all the weapons you can unlock with your mirror in Witchfire for your convenience. Also, make sure to unlock Arcana before you go to level 3.
- Level 4: You’ll want to be at least level 40ish, dishing out some points into health, extra healing flasks, and three fully upgraded weapons (demonic weapons can’t be upgraded, but you should be comfortable with it), a fully upgraded fetish, relic, and ring, and some advanced spells.
After you level up your Gnosis, I suggest always returning to the Scarlet Coast and messing around a bit. This will give you a good idea of the new enemies, traps, and everything else you’ve unlocked before you dive into the harder content. This isn’t necessary, but some of the traps and things are really tricky, and figuring out their stories in a safer space is usually a good thing.
All levels of Gnosis in Witchfire
Eventually there will be 10 Gnosis levels in Witchfire. In update 0.4, there are currently four total levels available out of 10. As each level increases the difficulty of the world outside the Hermitage, you will have to interact with the new maps you unlock as you play.
Level 1 Gnosis
To unlock Gnosis level 1, you must be carrying 12,000 volatile Witchfire; you won’t to spend the 12,000 Witchfire on this unlock, you just need to have it in your inventory when you go to the book. The second thing you need to do is find the Shipwrecks in the first two maps.
Locations of the shipwrecks on the Scarlet Coast
There are two total wrecks you need to see to unlock the first level of Gnosis:
- The first shipwreck is located on the southeastern part of the Island of the Damned; go south and east until you hit the cliff overlooking the sea. There’s a massive ship that stands over the edge of the cliff, so it’s very hard to miss.
- The second shipwreck is located on the Scarlet Coast, again in the southeastern part of the map. There is a beach that is strewn with small boats, and a massive barge further out to sea. For these to count, you only need to look over them from the shore; you can’t swim so you can’t actually get into the boats themselves.
What can you do with level 1 Gnosis?
Gnosis level 1 mostly just makes the map harder. You don’t unlock much with Gnosis 1 out in the world, but it does allow you to unlock several new weapons, fetishes, and other items in the mirror. There will be some places on the map that now glow, you can spend Volatile Witchfire to unlock them. They have treasure, lore and shortcuts behind them.
Level 2 Gnosis
Unlike unlocking Gnosis level 1, you only need two of the three items on the checklist to unlock level 2. The three things on the checklist are:
- Be carrying 30,000 Volatile Witchfire
- Force Manifestations
- Defeat the first Shield Familiar
How do you Enforce Manifestos?
To Force a Manifestation, you must find an area on the map that is labeled Dangerous. When you kill an enemy in a place that has red Witchfire floating around in the air, you will find Force Manifestations by killing enemies. This will force other enemies to spawn, and you will have to kill them as well.
Where to find the Shielder Familiar (and how to defeat it)
The Shieldsman is the main enemy on the Scarlet Coast. You must have Gnosis level 1 to enter its lair; go to the place marked on the map with a skull with a cross on the forehead. Go down by paying Volatile Witchfire.
The Shielder is a fairly easy enemy to kill, even on Gnosis 4; you just need a very good gun to study its movements. A good way to get it down is to freeze it; keeping a large and small ice spell in your back pocket will make this fight much easier. I would recommend Mysterium III Hunger, high level Echo and Frost Cone to help you get through this fight. Ring of Excreta on Mysterium III can also be really helpful.
Phase 1
The Shieldsman will attack with a faster, enhanced version of the jump attack that the Swordsman does. It will jump in and out, and melee if you get too close to it. You can dodge with the dash or by jumping because it always lands on the ground, but watch your stamina.
Phase 2
Depending on what Gnosis level you are, the Shielder will bring in Revenant enemies to attack you at around 70 to 80% health. These are melee-only attackers that can be softened up fairly easily,
Phase 3
Once the Shielder is at 50%, it will turn into a green Fencer with a shield. It will be able to attack with the slow green sticky attack balls like the shielded Swordsman can, and it will have a bubble of poison around it. To not take continuous damage, you must be inside the green bubble that the Shielder makes. Kill enough of the Revenants to make room for yourself and get closer to the Shieldsman. Frost Cone or other stuns will make this part easier.
What can you do with Gnosis level 2?
Gnosis 2 unlocks the Prophecies, which are additions to the Arcana you get when you absorb Witchfire Manifestations. Prophecies are added to specific lines of Arcana, and are all different depending on which ones you choose and which line they are on. This level also unlocks the ability to enter the basement of the Wailing Tower in the center of the Isle of the Damned, several locations on the Scarlet Coast, and allows you to start preparing the Irongate Castle items to switch to Gnosis 3.
Level 3 Gnosis
Sort of like level 2, level 3 Gnosis requires you to get three of the four requirements to reach the level. The list of things to choose from is:
- Have 35,000 Volatile Witchfire
- Have 30 Gold
- Unlock all Arrival Portals in the Castle
- Kill a loyalist in the Castle
Where to find Gold in Witchfire
Gold can be found in Ammo chests, unlocked chests, and locked chests around the maps. Usually, you only find small stacks at a time, but you can also pick up relics around the map that will have some value to them. These can be found by searching for bags on the map or by following a lost spirit.
Arrival portals in the Castle in Witchfire
Arrival portals in the Irongate Castle work a little differently than they have so far in other places. You always spawn at the same portal when you start this map. However, if you take one of the several green or yellow portals back to the Hermitage, you will start in that place from then on. This unlocks an Arrival Portal; there are a total of three on the Castle Map.
Where to find Faithful in Irongate Castle
The Faithful in the Irongate Castle is in the back, easternmost part of the Castle. It is marked by a skull that has a cross on its forehead.
Level 4 Gnosis
Again, you only need three of the four requirements to unlock level 4 Gnosis after you’ve completed level 3. The list of possible requirements are:
- Have 50,000 Volatile Witchfire
- Open four mirages
- Kill the Familiar of the Castle
- Unlock Mysterium III with any weapon (which you should have done before reaching Gnosis level 3, or the enemies will probably be too difficult).
How to open Mirages in Witchfire
Mirages are the walls in Witchfire that are locked with Gnosis and can be unlocked using Volatile Witchfire. The four Mirages that will count for level 4 Gnosis will only be the four in the Irongate Castle. I’m not 100% sure about it, but the locations seem to be random.
The famous site of the Irongate Castle
The Familiar is in the most northwestern part of Castle Irongate. You’ll need to make your way through the castle’s front door to the south and push your way into its throne room.
Gnosis Levels 5-10
As of update 0.4, Gnosis levels 5 to 10 still don’t exist. Since Witchfire is still in early access, The Astronauts are still working on creating the content that will accompany these higher levels of Gnosis, as well as a lot of really difficult enemies, I guess. More information will be added as patches add these levels.
For more Witchfire, check out Best Stats to Upgrade in Witchfire at Pro Game Guides.
