If you've managed to make it to the castle in Lost Castle 2, then you've probably met a strange new character named Nia. The game will initially present her as an amnesic girl, and she will be brought to your camp after you make significant progress on one of your runs.

Contrary to what you may see online, you don't actually have to defeat the final boss of the run to meet Nia, but she won't serve any purpose for you until you have defeated the boss. Until then, she'll simply reside in your camp with an unnamed purpose that won't reveal itself until the final boss is dealt with.

What Is Ethereal Nightmare Mode And How To Unlock It

Ethereal Nightmare Mode is essentially the New Game+ or post-game content of Lost Castle 2. Once you've defeated Steward the Demon Sealer and the subsequent Demon boss at Black Castle, you'll be brought back to camp and will have successfully completed your first full run. Once you're back in camp, head over to Nia, who's standing in the middle of the camp by the Ethereal device.

You should get a prompt telling you that Nightmare Mode has been unlocked, and you may also watch the cutscene introducing Nia if she wasn't already hanging around your camp before this. Speak with Nia and ask to use the Ethereal Device, and you'll be brought to a screen that shows you various debuffs you can put on your next run and how the Ethereal Nightmare will affect your run.

Since the difficulty options in the base part of the game are Easy and Normal, you can think of this as the game's Hard mode.

When applying the debuffs, you'll notice there are numbers at the top of a bar that fills as you apply debuffs. These numbers are the depths of the Ethereal Nightmare. You'll need a set number of debuffs to enter each depth, but you'll also need to complete each depth to unlock the subsequent one. So even if you think you're ready to skip to depth 3, you won't be able to without clearing 1 and 2 first.

On the right side, you'll also see an overview of the run, showing everything you've selected and a breakdown of its impact on you.

This mode is entirely designed to test your ability to create a fully fleshed-out, cohesive build. It's possible to beat the initial run with any random combination of items, but the same won't be true for Ethereal Nightmare Mode, and you'll need to strategize a functional build to complete it. Doing so will reward you with rare resources and permanent upgrades to your build.

It's highly recommended that you work on a tank build, but there are a variety of builds that will work. There will be an achievement for unlocking and completing each depth of Ethereal Nightmare Mode.

Related

Lost Castle 2: Forest Guardian Boss Guide

Here is how to defeat the Forest Guardian boss in Lost Castle 2.

Posts By  Collin MacGregor

What Are The Ethereal Nightmare Mode Rewards

As mentioned, the rewards you'll earn from runs on any Ethereal Nightmare depth, aside from unlocking the associated achievements, will be Soulstones, Soul Flowers, and Champion's Relics. These items function as follows:

Item

Description

Soulstones

Used to buff the base stats of a weapon. They work in tandem with Soul Flowers and Champion's Relics, since you'll need to unlock a weapon's Soul Inscription first.

If you have a surplus of unused Soulstones, you'll also be able to use the Soulstone Smelting feature to trade 10 in for a chance at a rarer Soulstone, depending on the level of the ones you trade in.

Soul Flowers

Used to unlock a specific weapon's Soul Inscription, which is needed to permanently upgrade it.

Champion's Relics

Unlocks a random weapon's Soul Inscription without the need for Soul Flowers.

Be sure to check in with Nia every time you come back to camp to make sure she doesn't have anything to offer you herself. Even if you don't plan to adjust the settings of your next run.

Next

Lost Castle 2: Mad Gardener Boss Guide

Here is how to beat the Black Forest's Mad Gardener boss in Lost Castle 2.

Posts By  Collin MacGregor