Ori and the Will of the Wisps beginner guide: Upgrade Tips

Start with the Story, Then Explore What You Can Reach

A beautiful path can still lead straight into a barrier you cannot cross yet. This Ori and the Will of the Wisps beginner guide helps you recognize when to explore, when to spend your resources, and when to return later. Use this Ori and the Will of the Wisps beginner guide to build a practical routine: follow the story for movement abilities, investigate accessible detours, and revisit obstacles with new tools.

Ori’s adventure uses a Metroidvania structure. You revisit connected areas as new abilities make previously inaccessible routes available. Finding a blocked passage does not automatically mean you missed a puzzle solution.

Red Bull’s beginner tips recommend emphasizing the main story early, which introduces tools such as Spirit Edge, Double-Jump, and Dash. IGN also recommends exploring available pathways. These approaches work together: follow the objective while checking branches you can already reach.

What you encounter	A practical response	Reason to take that approach
An accessible side passage	Investigate before moving on	Exploration can reveal collectibles and upgrades
A barrier with no clear solution	Continue elsewhere and revisit later	Some routes depend on abilities acquired through progression
An NPC away from the main path	Talk to them if you can reach them	Conversations can provide quests or complete existing tasks
A difficult optional jump	Check your available movement tools	A different ability or shard may help with traversal

Avoid turning every obstacle into a prolonged test of persistence. A good approach is to try the tools you have, check nearby routes, and move on if nothing fits. Backtracking is part of the game’s structure.

This Ori and the Will of the Wisps beginner guide treats exploration as a continuing process. You do not need to clear every visible branch during your initial visit. Returning with another movement ability gives you a reason to examine familiar terrain again.

Spend Spirit Light on Problems You Actually Have

Spirit Light pays for purchases and upgrades, but the reference guides offer different spending philosophies. IGN encourages using it rather than hoarding it. The Legion Gaming video describes a more cautious player experience, keeping a reserve for useful purchases that appear later.

Image: YouTube / XBOX

A good approach combines those ideas: buy something that solves a current problem while leaving room for future options. Purchasing every available ability immediately can leave you with tools you rarely use.

For spending decisions, this Ori and the Will of the Wisps beginner guide recommends identifying the obstacle before choosing the upgrade. Are underwater sections stressful? Are you struggling with movement? Would improving an equipped shard help more than buying another one?

Purchase or upgrade	What the references establish	A useful decision prompt
Lupo’s regional maps	Reveal the area’s layout and unexplored sections	Would seeing nearby routes help you navigate?
Shards and shard upgrades from Twillen	Expand or improve passive options	Will you equip the shard you are paying for?
Abilities from Opher	Provide additional tools for different playstyles	Does the ability address a challenge you are facing?
Water Breath	Allows underwater breathing	Are underwater routes becoming a regular part of exploration?

Consider Water Breath Before Extended Underwater Exploration

Red Bull highlights Water Breath as an Opher purchase that changes how you approach underwater areas. Without it, you use available bubbles or air pockets; with it, breathing becomes less of a concern.

The Legion Gaming video’s player experience particularly recommends it for Luma Pools and describes it as a passive purchase that does not occupy a Spirit Shard slot or require an assigned ability button.

That makes it worth considering when underwater exploration becomes demanding. The sources do not provide a consistent purchase price, so check Opher’s shop rather than planning around an assumed cost.

Choose Optional Abilities Deliberately

IGN states that purchased optional abilities are not required to complete the main quest. Their value comes from supporting how you play or helping with optional exploration.

Triple Jump is one traversal option mentioned in IGN’s guide, available from Twillen in Wellspring Glades. However, that source gives conflicting price information. Treat its availability as the useful takeaway and confirm the cost in-game.

Separate Combat Abilities from Passive Shards

Abilities and Spirit Shards serve different purposes. Assigned abilities give you actions to perform, while shards modify your capabilities through equipped effects. Understanding that distinction helps you identify which part of your setup needs attention.

Image: YouTube / MKIceAndFire

IGN notes that you can assign three abilities at a time. Once your collection grows, some tools will remain unassigned. An ability you already own may help with a challenge even if it is absent from your current controls.

Before buying another tool, review what is available. This Ori and the Will of the Wisps beginner guide encourages changing your setup when the challenge changes, rather than treating your initial choices as permanent.

Tool or activity	Function described in the sources	How to apply that information
Spirit Edge	Melee attacks can provide a small boost near the top of a jump	Try it when you are narrowly short of a ledge
Spirit Arc	Damages enemies from a distance	Consider it when approaching an enemy directly feels risky
Bash	Launches Ori while pushing the targeted object in the opposite direction	Aim with both your landing and the projectile’s direction in mind
Combat Shrines	Award an additional shard slot, according to the player video	Revisit accessible shrines to expand your passive setup
Spirit Trials	Platforming time trials award Spirit Light	Try them when you want another source of currency

Use Bash with Your Landing in Mind

Red Bull explains that Bash has both traversal and offensive uses. When Ori launches one way, the targeted projectile or object moves in the opposite direction. Enemy projectiles can therefore become opportunities to counterattack.

A good approach is to check your intended landing before committing. Redirecting a projectile successfully is less useful if Ori’s own trajectory carries you into thorns.

Practice recognizing both directions whenever you use Bash. That turns the ability into a more deliberate tool for crossing spaces and handling enemies.

Revisit Combat Shrines

The supplied sources disagree about Combat Shrine rewards. IGN describes them as granting skills or shards, while the Legion Gaming video’s player experience identifies the reward as an additional Spirit Shard slot.

The player video recommends revisiting shrines you could not initially reach. Its practical point is that another slot lets you equip an additional passive effect without removing one already in use.

Sticky is another traversal aid discussed by Red Bull. Its wall-clinging effect can simplify maintaining your position on a wall. A good approach is to experiment with it and see whether that behavior suits the section you are navigating.

Use Maps to Make Backtracking Productive

Lupo’s regional maps help you understand both an area’s shape and where you have not explored. IGN identifies grayed-out sections as unvisited terrain, making the map useful for more than locating the current objective.

Image: YouTube / XBOX

The map also helps you find NPCs and points of interest. Open it when you lose direction instead of repeatedly retracing the same corridor.

In this Ori and the Will of the Wisps beginner guide, backtracking starts with a question: what can your current abilities do that your earlier setup could not? Use the answer to choose a route worth revisiting.

Map information	What to check	What it helps you decide
Grayed-out terrain	Unvisited branches near explored routes	Where to investigate next
Current objective	The main quest’s destination	Whether a detour supports your current progress
NPC locations	Characters connected to your tasks	Where another conversation may help
Visited Spirit Wells	Available travel destinations	How to return to a familiar area

Buy the Regional Map Before Extra Collectible Information

Both IGN and the Legion Gaming video recommend buying Lupo’s maps. The video’s player experience distinguishes those maps from additional purchases revealing collectible locations, arguing that ordinary exploration already uncovers useful information.

A good approach is to buy the regional map, explore accessible branches, and then decide whether additional information is worth the Spirit Light. You can make that decision with a clearer picture of what remains.

Use Spirit Wells to Reduce Repeat Travel

IGN’s guide states that you can travel to previously visited Spirit Wells through the map without first standing at another well.

When returning to a merchant or an earlier region, check the available wells before walking the entire route again. For further navigation and ability advice, see IGN’s Ori and the Will of the Wisps tips and tricks guide.

Make Wellspring Glades Part of Your Routine

Wellspring Glades brings together merchants, rebuilding projects, and NPC interactions. Returning there can connect the resources you gather with upgrades and additional quests.

Grom uses Gorlek Ore to rebuild structures and remove obstacles. IGN explains that these projects bring more Moki into the village, creating further opportunities for conversations and tasks.

Collect reachable Gorlek Ore when exploring, then review Grom’s projects when you return. His thorn-removal project opens previously inaccessible parts of the Glades, giving you another reason to look around afterward.

This Ori and the Will of the Wisps beginner guide recommends a short Glades routine:

• Review Twillen’s shards and upgrades against what you currently equip.
• Check Opher’s abilities for tools relevant to upcoming exploration.
• Look at Grom’s projects when you have Gorlek Ore.
• Talk to NPCs, including those involved in ongoing side quests.

Let Collectibles Support Your Next Attempt

Life Cells and Energy Cells improve the resources available to Ori. The Legion Gaming video’s player experience emphasizes that collecting them makes optional exploration feel useful even without pursuing full completion.

A good approach is to investigate reachable upgrades when a demanding section leaves you short on health or energy. That gives your detour a concrete purpose.

Check Your Tools When a Floor Blocks a Route

The same player video describes purchasing Spirit Smash from Opher in Wellspring Glades to break certain floors blocking optional areas.

Treat this as player experience about those breakable floors, rather than a rule covering every obstacle. If the floor matches that description, check whether Spirit Smash is available. Other barriers may require different progression abilities.

FAQ

What should I focus on in an Ori and the Will of the Wisps beginner guide?

Prioritize story progression for movement abilities, explore accessible branches, and buy regional maps from Lupo. Return to blocked routes as your toolkit expands, and choose purchases that address challenges you are experiencing.

Do I need to buy every optional ability?

No. IGN states that optional purchased abilities are not required to finish the main quest. Choose tools that support your combat or traversal preferences, and review abilities you already own before spending more Spirit Light.

Is Water Breath worth considering?

Yes, if underwater exploration is giving you trouble. Red Bull explains that it removes the need to rely on bubbles or air pockets for breathing. The player video especially recommends it for Luma Pools.

Should I complete Combat Shrines and Spirit Trials?

Both are worth investigating when accessible. The player video reports that Combat Shrines award additional shard slots, while IGN identifies Spirit Trials as a source of Spirit Light. Return later if reaching or completing an activity is currently difficult.