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Secrets of the Obscure Masteries

Secrets of the Obscure Mastery Tracks

At a glance

Skyscale flight, rift exploration, and legendary armor crafting: effects and suggested priorities for SotO's four tracks.

What are SotO masteries?

The four Secrets of the Obscure (SotO) tracks improve skyscale movement, rift hunting, Wizard's Tower services, and Convergence rewards. Start with the tiers required by the story, then follow your goals, such as skyscale travel or Obsidian armor crafting.

  • Tracks: 4 (Heart of the Obscure Research, Flight Training, Astral Ward, Inner Nayos)
  • Total MP required: 88
  • Available MP: 103 (15 spare)
You need the SotO expansion.
Own Secrets of the Obscure to unlock these tracks. Mastery unlocks apply to your account, so training them on one character benefits your other characters.

Heart of the Obscure Research

5 tiers Total 20 MP Main use: Hidden treasure chests

An exploration track for detecting Kryptis rifts and opening hidden chests in SotO maps. Tier 3 lets you open smaller chests for extra loot, and tier 5 opens the larger chests.

Unlock: receive the Heart of the Obscure in the latter part of Hell Breaks Loose.

1
Rift Guidance2 MP
Use the Heart of the Obscure to detect minor Kryptis rifts.
2
Updraft Generator3 MP
Channel the Heart's energy into an Updraft Generator to create an updraft.
3
Lesser Arcane Treasures4 MP
Open Lesser Arcane Chests in SotO maps for extra exploration rewards.
4
Ley-Loom Operation5 MP
Use a Ley Loom to form a usable ley line.
5
Greater Arcane Treasures6 MP
Open Greater Arcane Chests in SotO maps for better loot.
Start by reaching tier 3, Lesser Arcane Treasures.
Tiers 1–3 cost 9 MP. You can then open Lesser Arcane Chests while exploring. If chests are your goal, reach this tier first, then continue toward Ley-Loom use and Greater Arcane Chests.

Flight Training

7 tiers Total 25 MP Main use: Better skyscale flight

Improve skyscale midair mounting, wall jumps, and combat mounting, and unlock updrafts and ley lines for griffons and skyscales. We recommend this if you use your skyscale often. If you only have the borrowed SotO skyscale, complete A New Friend or the Season 4 unlock route before using it in other maps.

Unlock: complete Hell Breaks Loose.

1
Who Rescues Whom?2 MP
Mount or dismount your skyscale in midair. If you also have PoF's Air Rescue mastery, you can gain Bond of Vigor after mounting in midair.
2
Fireball2 MP
Fire a skyscale Fireball at aerial targets.
3
Wall Spring3 MP
While clinging to a wall, hold the jump key to charge and release it to leap. This needs one endurance bar. Training PoF's Wall Launch too makes charging faster and the leap farther.
4
Enhanced Updrafts3 MP
Ride updrafts on your griffon or skyscale to gain height.
5
Combat Launch4 MP
Unlock a mastery skill to mount your skyscale during combat.Select Skyscale in the Mastery Skill menu and activate it. The cooldown is three minutes.
6
Ley-Line Acclimation5 MP
Ride ley lines on your griffon or skyscale. Travel along the line without dismounting first.
7
Rising Spirits6 MP
Griffons and skyscales regain endurance from updrafts and ley lines.
Permanently unlocked flying mounts can use these benefits outside SotO too.
Reaching tier 5, Combat Launch, costs 14 MP in total. Combat mounting is convenient in the open world, but it still requires an area where mounts are allowed.

Astral Ward

6 tiers Total 27 MP Main use: Legendary armor crafting

This track covers Wizard's Tower services and rift crafting. It has the highest SotO point cost (27 MP) and XP requirement, so expect a longer project. For legendary Obsidian armor, you must reach tier 5.

Unlock: complete The Missing Facet, or enter Amnytas through the Wizard's Tower portal.

1
Astral Amenities2 MP
Rest in the Wizard's Tower for four hours to gain a +25% open-world XP buff. Time logged out there counts too.
2
Astral Craft3 MP
Buy Astral Ward armor and recipes for Fine and Masterwork Rift Motivations. Masterwork Motivations let you track tier 2 rifts.
3
Emotion Control4 MP
Buy the Rare Rift Motivation recipe. Rare Motivations let you track tier 3 rifts.
4
Rift Mastery5 MP
Earn more Rift Essence when closing rifts.
5
Obsidian Armor Crafting6 MP
Buy legendary Obsidian armor recipes from Lyhr. This is the key tier for legendary armor crafting.
6
Wayfinder Mastery7 MP
Unlock Obsidian armor cosmetic upgrades and currency exchanges, faster Arcane Chest opening, help against Eparch, and a daily bonus reward from Into the Spider's Lair.
If legendary armor is not your goal, this can wait.
Astral Ward focuses on SotO rift hunting and legendary crafting. For general play, you can train Flight Training and Heart of the Obscure Research first, then work on this track with spare MP.

Inner Nayos

5 tiers Total 16 MP Main use: Better Convergence rewards

Improve combat, essence carrying, and rewards in SotO's Convergence: Outer Nayos, which supports up to 50 players. Tier 1 adds siege damage to skyscale Fireball. If you run Convergences regularly, work toward the reward tiers.

Unlock: complete Duress.

1
Sieging Fireball2 MP
Add siege damage to skyscale Fireball.
2
Wizard's Blessing2 MP
Gain Wizard's Blessing when turning in essences in a Convergence.
3
Wisp Pockets3 MP
Collect essences while in wisp form during a Convergence.
4
Essence Attunement4 MP
Carry 50 essences instead of 25 in Convergences, with healing and an additional effect when picking them up.
5
Convergence Mastery5 MP
Earn extra Rift Essence from successful Convergences and a buff that increases essence gains from later Motivation use. Your chance of receiving Unstable Rift Motivations also increases. Useful for regular Convergence runs.
Its priority depends on how often you play Convergences.
If you run them every week, training this sooner improves your rewards sooner. If you have not started Convergences, you can work on other tracks first.

Suggested priorities and tips

Our suggested order for SotO masteries:

  1. Early Heart of the Obscure Research (5 MP): Reach tier 2 first for rift detection and exploration tools.
  2. Flight Training if you use a skyscale often (25 MP total): Combat Launch needs 14 MP through tier 5; Ley-Line Acclimation needs 19 MP through tier 6. Permanently unlock the skyscale to use it outside SotO.
  3. Heart of the Obscure Research tiers 3–5 (15 more MP; 20 total): Open Lesser and Greater Arcane Chests and use Ley Looms. If chests are your goal, reach tier 3 first.
  4. Astral Ward (27 MP total): Obsidian armor crafting needs tier 5, costing 20 MP cumulatively. The final Wayfinder Mastery adds cosmetic upgrades, faster chest opening, and meta rewards.
  5. Inner Nayos (16 MP, optional): Train it if you run Convergences regularly; otherwise, it can wait.
SotO has 103 available MP, with 88 needed for all tracks.
With 15 spare, you can skip points you find difficult. Look for mastery insights, the glowing pillars, and earn points through achievements and the story.