Alright, because I've seen people not put in effort to understand this mode by trying literally everything, I might as well save you some time and get to the quick and dirty of it. I have less than 300 hours played and got the Jade unlocks relatively quickly after some light experimentation. As guide intro states, I played Uzumaki Chron 2 which has a deeper but similar system to Spirit Concentrator, so it was relatively easy to "crack the code" here.

Let's get started with some general tips.

Spiritual Assault is a game mode that spawns enemy mobs within a certain radius of the player, and it is NOT a good idea to stand around walls or really stay in one place. Ammo and health drops decrease due to items not respawning if you're sticking an area too much.

A lot of the enemies aren't scaled to ridiculous levels so this is not your Reincarnation 9 type of run. Furthermore, Ascensions are adjusted depending on character so that you don't have absurd conditions (i.e. Lei Luo goes from wanting enemies far to wanting enemies near on one of his ascensions). You're not gonna be incentivized to look for cover no matter which map you're taking.

DO NOT step into this mode thinking you are going to succeed with a skill build. The developers have not balanced skill damage to keep up. If you are winning with skill damage, it is down to RNG and an effective character like Lyn or Momo who either have fast casting, absurd AoE, or both. You are making the game significantly harder by playing anyone else with skill damage.

Have I done it despite what I'm saying? Of course I have. But you're here to learn. Get comfortable first before you start imploding your runs.

This guide isn't for me to go in-depth with all the testing and possible builds. Maybe if enough people ask, I will go do it. There's plenty of elemental builds others have suggested in the past with Crown Prince. But I think this mode is quite intuitive when you understand the base game at a high level. All Spiritual Assault does is remove all the conveniences of the base game while speeding up Ascensions and Occult Scroll collection. I definitely prefer this style of play since the only other place to experience it is in Daily Challenge runs. I don't see anyone in multiplayer, but the reality is that you'll mostly only deviate from this build if you have a plan already or have a team member willing to sacrifice parts of their solo build to boost everyone else up (scrolls, weapons). Try to unlock these if you haven't already, since the big one here is Air Surfer to replace Prepaid Defense.


Here you'll see the build I commit to as the generic "solve-all." I'll explain, but if you really wanted the best win then you'll go with Nona as she synergizes the best with this and has a free teammate in solo runs. The developers have not nerfed this generic build and it comes as an easy fallback when RNG just doesn't reward you for 10 whole minutes. I have to say though, the recent changes to decrease the time of SA punishes the player if they can't speedkill for EXP. This build will get you there as long as you follow the general tips, but you'll see performance dips for playing more fairly.

Easily the strongest effect in the entire mode. This is game breaking and the devs haven't nerfed it. For good reason too; it can't carry endgame but it defines the entire 5-10 minutes for anyone with decent apm (actions per minute, taken from RTS games). The main reason being that Foundry has infinite ammo, therefore you have infinite elemental procs of doom wiping foes like Mr. Clean on your dirty kitchen stove you never wipe down after frying something with oil. Human science is really something. Be thankful this Jade exists. Abuse it to easily carry yourself to mid game.

Now, very important. Do not:

• Use weapons that cannot reload like bows, Icy Spear, etc.
  
• Use Genesis scroll unless you have Aura Venom that can circumvent a single shot reload failure by simply mashing right click and mashing reload until it works.
  
• Use Advanced Depot or anything removing direct ammo reload options.
  
• Use characters' ascensions that prevent ammo consumption.

This sounds limiting but the reality is that you are only excluding a small fraction of build options and scrolls for a superior playstyle with Reload condition scrolls (which boost damage resist or give you outright immunity to all damage). Aura Venom lets you make use of pretty much any flexible adjacent build like magazine empty, merged magazine Gemini (as long as it isn't a high mag weapon anyway), and CritX builds. Still an S tier weapon in SA. Just note that technically anything using single magazine Gemini will be maxing out Chromatic's value. I fondly remember a Lei Luo run with Deafening Mortar and treating it like a melee Sniper on him due to scrolls and Chromatic.

Staple for Nona. She is a DLC character so obviously if you don't have her, you'll need to get the next best option. However, just remember this will typically come down to key weapons for characters like Hell or Wild Hunt so you keep the Chromatic Magazine effect. The main reason we want pistols is for Handful Grip to speed it up, but don't feel too bad. Foundry counts as a pistol and therefore benefits from Handful Grip. I particularly use Scorching Rounds and look for decreased reload time bonuses before looking at single magazine Gemini weapons to remove pressing the reload button altogether. Any reloadable pistol works, but you'll typically want Scorching Rounds, Aura Venom or Sunder. You'll be click mashing with reload mashing for a long time, so just be aware of that.

I would argue this is somewhat optional in multiplayer. The key role of this Jade is to get your reforges when you're trying to finally complete a build in the level 20s or low 30s.

Staple for weapon builds, shouldn't need an explanation.

Completely optional but allows you a lot more freedom with weapon choice across the run. My main issue is how expensive Duoyi made "best in slot" weapon farming in SA when your character plays like a person with a broken leg on a cold Alaskan expedition early game. You're not going to sacrifice your reliability and defensive options for ALL mainline weapon builds when playing. It's debatable even when in parties of 4. So this is my compensation that doesn't compromise the build and can easily be swapped out in favor of character 1*3s when finally getting a clear.

Get out of jail free card. MUST have in every build. It will save your life more times than you can count.

The fact that this exists amazes me because it just makes Flesh and Bones more viable than Paranormality. Regardless, I use this as a staple to halve damage when shield is broken. THIS STACKS WITH DEFENSIVE BONUSES. Needless to say it makes you near immortal when you stack resists.

Obviously you won't have this if you haven't won yet, but just substitute with Prepaid Defense to get yourself familiar with the early game. If you think you don't need Prepaid Defense, then substitute with an Advanced Armory to get Gemini effects sooner. You will be bunny hopping like an idiot but mark my words, you will be extremely difficult to kill. They've nerfed Rock-Steady Determination to give damage instead of defense, but I notoriously was sitting between 70 to 90% damage resist before the changes. Slow and Steady Spiritual Blessing combined with this makes it nearly impossible for you to lose if you keep aware.

Post change, this is now a 1*2 piece which is a welcome change. Now you can focus purely on enemies instead of trying to pick these up as you kite around. Previously you would have to circle back the same areas, but this build has room to fit this.

The most dangerous thing you can do in this mode is convince yourself that you are invincible just because you reach a point where you are hard to kill. There is no self-revive in this mode, and Fake Death doesn't really zone you out of your focus to make you realize that yeah, you just died.

Average foes like Kappas and Spiders can absolutely bomb you if you forget about them. My rec build allows you to ignore Exploding Lanterns if you never get exhausted irl, but these are threats if you're deviating from a reliable build.

The NUMBER ONE KILLER in this mode stems from Elites. Elite Monks will delete you for remaining in an area. Having a Thanos Snap or Time Freeze G key (bought from the shop or gotten as a drop typically) can practically save your life because you can see what is actually hitting you, or kill what is. What mostly got me ended up being the Lobsters because of weak sound design; I can't tell that their shots are landing on me and I don't typically look at the ground as much as the next enemy's face. Circle around the map when Elites spawn unless you are killing them in two clips (i.e. Aura Venom Lucky Shot + Crit on Magazine Share with headshots).

I have never found this game mode to be RNG with Nona, but many unpredictable things can happen if you're not paying attention. My Iron Wing got shredded within 6s with no self-destruct ascension before in this game mode, so don't get cocky just cause you're ahead. Imagine turtle and something oneshots you from behind. Lol.

Thanks for reading this guide and have fun with SA.