How to use Token of Pain in Halls of Torment

Halls of Torment is an unforgiving game, taking the solid foundation of Vampire Survivors and layering on new tiers of agony, including varied enemy types and complex boss battles. Thankfully, there are methods you can use to stack the odds in your favor, such as permanently keeping your items and unlocking new characters to take on new situations. One such method involves acquiring a magical artifact called the Token of Pain during the game’s first stage, the Haunted Caverns. Knowing how to use the Token of Pain can drastically increase your odds of success in Halls of Torment’s opening stage, so read on if you’re struggling to succeed in your first run.

Halls of Torment’s Token of Pain: Explained

Acquiring the Token of Pain

Before you can use the Token of Pain, you first need to collect it. Doing so involves completing a cryptic sidequest in the Haunted Caverns, wherein you follow a series of blood trails and sacrifice hordes of enemies to two magical altars. After sacrificing enough enemies to one altar, you’ll receive a fragment of the Token of Pain, and once you’ve collected both, you’ll assemble the full Token!

Using the Token of Pain

Once you’ve acquired the Token, you’ll notice no changes right away, and you may be confused as to what exactly its effects are. It’s not directly explained to you, other than in vague terms by the Bloodstained Book in the stage, but the Token actually kicks in once you confront the final boss of the Haunted Caverns, the Lord of Pain.

This is a fearsome foe, who only rears his ugly head once you’ve survived the full 30 minutes in the stage. He comes in two phases, one mounted and one on foot, and in both he has a huge amount of health and a range of fast, powerful attacks. Facing him down is undoubtedly a daunting prospect, but thankfully the Token of Pain makes things significantly easier.

At the start of the fight, if you have the Token of Pain in your possession, it will fire a bolt of purple energy at the Lord of Pain, removing 60% of his maximum health. This happens automatically, so you don’t need to do anything other than have the Token in your possession for the attack to take place. This is a huge head start, and turns what seems like an insurmountable endurance fight into a tough-but-fair brawl that feels more in line with the difficulty of the game overall. Note that this effect occurs at the start of both phases, mounted and on foot, thus drastically shortening the length of this battle.

So there you have it: how you can use the Token of Pain to bring down the Lord of Pain in Halls of Torment. It’s an incredibly useful tip to be aware of when attempting to clear the Haunted Caverns, so be sure to grab both halves of the Token whenever you find yourself trying to do so.