Army of Shadows Guide – Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE

The Army of Shadows is a special feature available in Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE. It can only be accessed by Sung Jinwoo, and it allows him to summon a range of Shadow Soldiers to help him in combat.

In this guide, we will explain the ins and out of the Army of Shadows in Arise Overdrive. In particular, we will explain how to unlock and summon the Army of Shadows, how you can upgrade them as well as some useful synergies that you can use to maximise their efficiency.

Please be aware that this guide contains some spoilers for the main story of Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE.

What Is the Army of Shadows in SL: ARISE OVERDRIVE?

The Army of Shadows is a special ability that can be used by Sung Jinwoo. It is available regardless of which class you chose for Sung Jinwoo (Assassin, Duelist, Elementalist or Ruler).

You can press 1 on your keyboard (default PC controls) to summon your Shadow Army in combat. This is available in both story and world map missions, but it is initially locked.

To unlock the Army of Shadows, keep progressing the main story until after you have defeated Igris.

As you continue to progress through the main story, you will unlock a wider range and number of Shadow Soldiers in your Shadow Army.

The Shadow Army consists of weaker soldiers, and more powerful leaders (who can be specifically upgraded). To begin with, the only unlocked leader is Igris, but you can unlock four more by continuing to play through the Main Story.

Shadow Soldiers List

The table below shows the five main Shadow Soldier leaders who can be unlocked by progressing through the Main Story of Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE.

Each Shadow Soldier has a strong passive ability called the Shadow’s Authority. They also possess skills that they will use while fighting. Some of the skills just deal damage, while others can buff Sung Jinwoo or other summoned shadows.

Shadow Name	How to Unlock	Shadow’s Authority	Notable Skills
Igris	Complete Main Story Chapter 5	Increases the entire team’s Critical Hit Rate	Earth Slash – Triggers Bleed on the target enemy The Commander’s Touch – Triggers Bleed on the target enemy
Iron	Complete Main Story Chapter 6	Increases entire team’s Defence	Charge, Iron! – Decreases the target’s Defense Iron Angry! – Gives a Shield to all Shadows The Iron Special! – Stuns the target
Tank	Complete Main Story Chapter 6	Increases entire team’s Max HP	Tank Press – Stuns the target Tank Overkill – Increases the Defense of all Shadows Tank Roar – Freezes nearby enemies
Tusk	Complete Main Story Chapter 9	Increases entire team’s Heavy Attack Damage	Concentrated Heat – Increases the Attack of all Shadows
Kaisel	Complete Main Story Chapter 10	Increases entire team’s Ultimate Skill Damage	Roar of the Heavens – Increases the Speed of the entire team

How to Choose your Shadow Soldiers

Sung Jinwoo can only choose three of the five Shadow Soldiers to add to his party, so when you have completed Story Chapter Nine and unlocked Tusk, you’ll have to decide which Shadow Soldier you want to leave out.

Since the damage output of Shadows is quite limited (especially when they are low level and in need of many upgrades) it is slightly better to prioritise the Shadows that do the most to support your party.

Therefore, choose your Shadows depending on whether you want more help with Attack or Defense.

For an Attacking Setup, I recommend combining Igris (more Critical Hit Rate) with Tusk (Heavy Attack Damage and boosted Shadow Damage) and either Kaisel (more Ultimate Skill Damage) or Iron (debuff’s enemy Defense).

For a more Defensive setup, I recommend choosing Iron (Increased Defense) with Tank (Increased Max HP and Shadow Defense) and any of the remaining Shadows.

Upgrading Shadow Soldiers

Like most other aspects of gameplay in Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE, your Shadow Soldiers can be upgraded over time. This process takes quite a long time, but the good news is that Shadow upgrading uses a different set of materials compared to other upgrades.

To upgrade your Shadow Soldiers, press Esc when in the Lobby to access the in-game menu, then choose the Army of Shadows option. From here, you can view all of your available Shadow Soldiers. Select the Shadow you wish to upgrade. There are two methods of upgrading, Level Up and Upgrade. To fully upgrade your Shadow, you need to max out both of these upgrade types.

Both types of upgrade increase the HP, Attack and Defense of the Shadow.

The upgrades all cost Gold, which is typically the most limiting resource because it’s the only thing that’s shared between almost every upgrade in the game. However, the actual materials are easier to acquire. When playing as Sung Jinwoo, slain monsters will sometimes get a dark blue aura around them. When out of combat, you can press G to perform Shadow Extraction. The resources you gain from this feature can then be used to upgrade your Shadows.

The best way to obtain these materials is to farm longer missions with lots of enemies, so the Main Story, Repeat Missions and Gate Missions.

I hope you liked this guide about Shadow Soldiers in Solo Leveling: ARISE OVERDRIVE.

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