Halls of Torment Walkthrough: Wellkeeper, Equipment Retrieval and Ability Upgrades

Scope: PC full release 1.0 onward, covering early and regular base-game progression. The free Bardcore update is acknowledged. Paid Boglands DLC and new content from The Lost Archives, scheduled for 22 October 2026, are excluded.

Rules checked: 4 October 2026

Start with Swordsman, defeat Imp Chieftain in Haunted Caverns and reach Ember Grounds. Rescue the Wellkeeper so that retrieved equipment can be purchased and progression can support your next attempt.

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Objectives for the first runs

Character level during a run and unlocking the next map are separate. This is not a chart where reaching a level automatically changes the region.

Enter Haunted Caverns with the starting Swordsman. Check how facing changes the main weapon’s attack area, and keep moving while hitting approaching enemies.
Collect experience and improve movement speed, attack reach and your main damage source. Move outward before becoming surrounded, and avoid returning into a dense crowd just for experience.
Head for the first ability scroll and choose an ability with a role distinct from your main weapon. Check its tags, including physical, magic and attack speed.
Defeat Imp Chieftain, who appears when 24:00 remains. This kill unlocks Ember Grounds.
Surviving Haunted Caverns until 26:00 remains meets Archer’s unlock condition. Do not assume Swordsman and Archer are both freely available from the start.
After returning, check completed objectives and rewards on the Quest Board, then make rescuing the Wellkeeper the next run’s objective.

Rescue the Wellkeeper in Ember Grounds

Rescuing the NPC and buying equipment are separate actions. First finish the progression that brings the NPC back to camp.

Enter Ember Grounds and follow the compass icon for the Wellkeeper, rather than wandering across the whole map without a target.
Talk to the Wellkeeper in the cage, then search for the key needed for the rescue. Follow the newly displayed objective icon to find it.
Pick up the key, return to the cage and unlock it. Collecting the key alone does not mean the Wellkeeper has moved to camp.
After returning, check the Wellkeeper and Item Stash at camp. You can equip items before starting and prepare to use newly retrieved equipment.

Three stages of making equipment permanent

An item equipped during a run does not become a future starting item merely because you picked it up. Check retrieval and purchase.

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Three stages of making equipment permanent：5 entries
Stage	Action	Result to check
Find	Obtain equipment from a chest or another source and use it during the run	It can be equipped in a current slot. This alone does not make it permanently owned
Retrieve	Carry it to the well, choose the item to bring back and confirm	Confirm that it was sent using a retrieval slot. Read the number of available retrievals shown on screen
Buy	Purchase the retrieved item from the Wellkeeper at camp	The purchased item becomes selectable from the Item Stash
Equip before starting	Place it in a slot through the Item Stash	Owning equipment does not activate every owned item’s effects simultaneously
The Wellkeeper is absent late in progression	Check progress such as Greed, involving 30 purchased items	Later progression can send retrieved items directly to the Armory. Do not assume an identical early-game bug affects everyone

Before sending a new item, compare how it fits the current equipment and abilities. Do not use an old Early Access fixed retrieval quota.

Separate ability scrolls from upgrades

Level-up traits are separate from abilities and ability upgrades selected through scrolls. If an upgrade is absent, check its requirements.

After choosing an ability from a scroll, select its traits during regular level-ups. Raising character level alone does not automatically advance any chosen ability to the same rank.
After reaching the specified ability rank and completing the unlock quest, check upgrade choices at the next scroll. If none appears, inspect unfinished quests and the current rank.
Adding an ability also adds level-up choices. Consider the order of acquisition so that traits for your main option are not buried early on.
Transfixion, Astronomer’s Orbs and Ring Blades have different attack patterns and useful upgrades. Do not assume a main-weapon bonus applies identically to every ability.
Use Potion of Memories to retain a choice and Potion of Oblivion to remove a choice. Complete the relevant NPC, ingredient and container progression before using them.

Choose the next unlock

Choose an objective that leads to the next equipment, ability or NPC rather than advancing every condition at once. Use the current Quest Board for the final check.

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Choose the next unlock：6 entries
Progression point	Next objective	Improvement gained
Haunted Caverns	Defeat Imp Chieftain	Unlock Ember Grounds
Ember Grounds	Rescue the Wellkeeper and retrieve equipment	Prepare starting equipment and strengthen later attempts
Ember Grounds onward	Defeat regional unlock bosses such as Wraith Warlord	Progress through required kills rather than character-level bands
Forgotten Viaduct	Rescue the Cupbearer	Advance the progression needed to use potions
Frozen Depths	Rescue the Scriptor using a way to apply Burn	Expand equipment progression, including records of retrieved items and higher-tier equipment
After regular regions	Check progression requirements for Agony and the Vault	Try endgame content that differs from standard 30-minute survival

The Vault does not use the same 30-minute ending format as a regular stage. Do not merge entry requirements for the Boglands DLC into mandatory base-game steps.

Example early Swordsman upgrade decisions

Choose according to how a run fails, rather than a tier ranking. Locked equipment is not mandatory for a finished build.

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Example early Swordsman upgrade decisions：6 entries
How the run fails	Priority to improve	Check on the next run
Unable to escape a ring of enemies	Movement speed and attack reach	Are you returning into a dangerous crowd for experience?
The main weapon connects but enemies survive	Attack speed and Damage compatible with the main weapon	Are upgrades being spread across tags that do not match your abilities?
Distant projectiles drain health	Reduce their sources and move out of firing lines	Are you watching only melee enemies and leaving shooters alive?
A new item is unavailable next run	Well retrieval and purchase at camp	Did you return after merely finding and equipping it?
An ability upgrade is absent	Current ability rank and quest completion	Have too many other abilities diluted the selection pool?
Progression feels ineffective	Blessings, equipment and quests	Are temporary run levels being confused with permanent progression?

FAQ

What level unlocks the next map?

Maps unlock through conditions such as regional boss kills. The first example, Ember Grounds, requires defeating Imp Chieftain in Haunted Caverns.

Why did equipment I picked up disappear?

Finding it during a run, retrieving it through the well and purchasing it at camp are separate actions. Early on, retrieved and purchased equipment becomes available for the next attempt.

Can equipment still be retrieved after the Wellkeeper disappears?

Later progression can send retrieved items directly to the Armory. Check the purchase count, Greed progression and inventory after retrieval.

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