Ori and the Will of the Wisps: Complete Guide

A spoiler-light guide to Ori and the Will of the Wisps: movement and combat fundamentals, the Spirit Shard system with recommended builds, who sells what in Wellspring Glades, a region outline, boss and escape tips, and 100% and achievement advice.

Researched September 2026 — current as of Patch 3.1 (November 2020), the final major update. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

• The game autosaves constantly. Unlike Ori and the Blind Forest, there is no Soul Link. Dying sends you back to a recent checkpoint.
• Spirit Light is your currency. Spend it on shards (Twillen), weapons and skill upgrades (Opher), and maps (Lupo). Don't hoard it.
• Buy Lupo's map for each new region. It reveals the layout and marks collectibles in that region.
• Equip shards before tough sections. Shards are your build. Swap freely at any time from the menu.
• Bind your three favorite skills. Ori has three ability slots, and Spirit Edge (the sword) is equipped in one of them by default. Swap from the radial ability wheel any time.
• Grab Spirit Edge and Bash and learn to chain movement. Most of the game's joy is linking Double Jump, Dash, Bash, Grapple, and Glide.
• Escape sequences are one-attempt-at-a-time memory tests. Each segment has a checkpoint; learn the route.
• Talk to everyone. Side quests, including the long Hand to Hand trading chain, hand out useful rewards and count toward the Completionist achievement.
• Plant seeds for Tuley and fund Grom's projects in the Glades to unlock shortcuts, shops, and upgrades.

Movement and Combat

Abilities

Ori earns most abilities from story progression and Spirit Wells/trees, with some weapons bought from Opher.

Ability | What it does

Spirit Edge | Sword; the default melee weapon

Double Jump | Extra air jump (a Triple Jump shard adds a third)

Dash | Quick air or ground dash

Bash | Launch off enemies and projectiles; redirect projectiles

Grapple | Pull to grapple points and some enemies

Glide | Slow falls and ride wind currents

Burrow | Swim through soft sand

Water Dash | Dash through water

Launch | Fly in a direction for a long distance

Flash | Lights up darkness; essential in Mouldwood Depths

Regenerate | Spend energy to heal

Spirit Smash / Spirit Arc / Spirit Star / Spike / Sentry / Blaze / Light Burst | Weapon and utility abilities, mostly bought or upgraded via Opher

Tips:

• Bash is movement, not just offense. Bash projectiles back at enemies and use enemies as extra jumps.
• Regenerate is your healing button. Keep enough energy for at least one Regenerate in boss fights.
• Spirit Arc (bow) lets you fight flying enemies and hit switches at range.
• Spirit Smash breaks armored enemies and blocks.
• Launch changes how you explore; revisit old areas after you get it.

Health and energy

Increase max health and max energy with the Life Cells and Energy Cells hidden throughout Niwen. They count toward 100% completion and make bosses and escapes far more forgiving, so detour for them when a map shows one nearby.

Wellspring Glades: The Hub

The Glades are a village of Moki that grows as you help. Key NPCs:

NPC | Role

Twillen | Sells and upgrades Spirit Shards

Opher | Sells weapons/skills (e.g. Spirit Star, Spike, Blaze, Sentry) and upgrades them

Lupo | Sells regional maps; appears in each region

Tuley | Plant seeds you find to grow the Glades' gardens and unlock paths

Grom | Builds structures and repairs the Glades with the Gorlek Ore you bring him

Tokk | Traveling adventurer involved in several side quests; worth talking to whenever you meet him

Gorlek Ore feeds Grom's projects, which unlock shops, shortcuts, and new challenge areas. Bring ore to him regularly.

Spirit Shards

Shards modify your abilities and stats. You start with limited shard slots and earn more (Spirit Shard slot upgrades) through progression. Twillen sells and upgrades several shards.

Recommended shards

Shard | Effect | When to use

Triple Jump | Adds a third air jump | Exploration

Magnet | Pulls Spirit Light and orbs to you | Always early

Vitality / Energy | Max HP/energy up | Bosses and escapes

Wingclip | Bonus damage vs flying enemies | Bird-heavy areas

Lifeforce, Reckless, Overcharge, Finesse | Damage-boosting shards with different conditions (read each description in Twillen's shop) | Boss damage builds

Spirit Surge | More damage as you hold more Spirit Light | Keep your Spirit Light high

Sticky | Cling to walls | Wall-heavy platforming

Ultra Grapple / Ultra Bash | Longer grapple, stronger bash | Advanced traversal

Life Harvest / Energy Harvest | More life/energy from defeated enemies | Sustain

Sample builds:

• Explorer: Magnet, Triple Jump, Sticky.
• Boss fights: Vitality, Energy, Lifeforce or Reckless (depending on confidence).
• Glass cannon: Lifeforce, Reckless, Overcharge, Finesse, and Spirit Surge stack damage for players who are confident they won't get hit.

Region Outline (Spoiler-Light)

Niwen is a large, interconnected map. The main regions:

Region | Notes

Inkwater Marsh | Starting region; learn basics

Wellspring Glades | The hub village

Midnight Burrows | Small early area near the Glades

Kwolok's Hollow | Home of the guardian Kwolok

The Silent Woods | Dark, dangerous forest

Luma Pools | Underwater and water-dash sections

Mouldwood Depths | Dark caverns; home of the spider Mora; Flash helps

Baur's Reach | Snowy mountain region named after the giant bear Baur

Wellspring | A water mechanism dungeon

Windswept Wastes | Desert with sand burrowing sections

Windtorn Ruins | Ancient ruins beneath the desert

Willow's End | The final region

The five Wisps (the Voice, Memory, Eyes, Strength, and Heart of the Forest) hold pieces of the Spirit Willow's light. Each is recovered in a different region, usually after a boss or escape sequence, and many story achievements (Dark Triumph, Guardian's Rest, Icy Escape, Quick Sand, Stone Cold, and others) unlock along the way.

Boss and escape tips

Encounter | Tip

Howl | The spirit wolf; learn his lunges and use Bash to reposition

Horn Beetle | Dodge the charge, strike after it hits a wall

Mora | Giant spider; escape sequence plus a boss fight; learn her patterns

Kwolok | Emotional fight; keep distance and punish after his slams

Willow Stone | Break the protective plating, then strike the core

Shriek | Final boss; multi-phase. Equip Vitality and Energy shards, use Launch to keep up

Escape sequences: learn the route, don't panic. Retry each section until your muscle memory takes over.

Side Content

• Spirit Trials: time-trial races with online leaderboards that show other players' times and routes. Completing all of them earns Speed Demon.
• Hand to Hand: a long trading chain between characters across Niwen. Completing it earns Mark of the Trader, and it's one of the most useful side quests for 100%. A dedicated Steam guide walks through every trade.
• Combat Shrines: wave arenas with valuable rewards; come back with upgrades if one is too hard. Clearing all of them earns Shrine Bright.
• Hidden Spirit Wells: fast travel points; unlock them as you find them.
• Tuley's seeds and Grom's projects for the Glades.

100% and Achievement Tips

• Post-game exploration: after finishing, you can return to explore and collect anything you missed.
• Buy every Lupo map (Cartographer's Protégé) and complete Hand to Hand (Mark of the Trader).
• Combat Shrines count toward completion and give strong rewards.
• Difficulty achievements: Hardcore Fan (complete Hard mode), Immortal (complete the game without dying), and Look at the Time (complete the game in under 4 hours). Plan separate runs.
• Lightless and Shardless: beat the game without spending any Spirit Light, and without equipping a shard (separate challenge runs).
• High and Dry: avoid touching any corrupted water. Plan this one alongside a speedrun route.
• Collection achievements: Tools of the Trade (all abilities), Mad Skills (upgrade all abilities), Shard Hunter and Shard Specialist (unlock and upgrade all shards), Fully Slotted (all shard slots), Healthy and Powerful (max life and energy), Fixer Upper (all Glades projects), Completionist (every side quest), and Lost and Found (all collectibles).
• Skill achievements you can pick up anytime: Juggling Act (juggle 3+ projectiles in the air for over 5 seconds), Bring it On (defeat 5 enemies without touching the ground), Damage Spike (3 enemies with one Spike), and Did I Do That? (10 kills with environmental hazards).
• Untouchable has a hidden description on Steam; check an achievement guide before attempting it.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Skipping Lupo's maps.
• Hoarding Spirit Light instead of buying shards and upgrades.
• Ignoring Grom and Tuley, which slows your access to shops and shortcuts.
• Never using Regenerate.
• Fighting flying enemies with only the sword. Spirit Arc makes them trivial.
• Leaving Launch unused when revisiting old areas.

Advanced Tips

• Bash chaining: bash off an enemy, then bash its projectile to extend.
• Grapple into dash: combine for fast traversal through windy areas.
• Sentry jumping: an advanced Sentry-based movement trick that lets you reach late-game areas early; there's a dedicated "How to Sentry Jump" Steam guide if you want to learn the inputs.
• Hard mode: enemies hit harder; bring Vitality and the Life Harvest-style sustain shards.
• Spirit Light farming: revisit areas with dense enemies; the Magnet shard makes it faster.

FAQ

Do I need to play Ori and the Blind Forest first? It helps with the story's emotional weight, but Will of the Wisps stands on its own.

How long is Ori and the Will of the Wisps? Around 10 to 15 hours for the story, 20 or more for 100%.

Can I continue after the ending? Yes, the game returns you to the world to finish collectibles.

Is there a point of no return? The final region leads to the ending, but you can return afterward to finish side content.

What is the best shard for beginners? Magnet for convenience, Vitality for survival, and Triple Jump for exploration.

How do I get more shard slots? Through progression and side content; explore thoroughly, as slot upgrades are among the most valuable rewards. Getting all of them earns the Fully Slotted achievement.

Sources

• Steam — Ori and the Will of the Wisps store page and patch posts
• Wikipedia — Ori and the Will of the Wisps
• Steam Community — Crappy 100% Achievement Guide
• Steam Community — top-rated guides list (Hand to Hand walkthrough, How to Sentry Jump, Niwen interactive map)
• Steam — Ori and the Will of the Wisps global achievements