In Death Howl, you unlock additional totem slots by spending Teardrops within the individual Realm progress trees. Ro begins her journey into the Spirit World with only one active totem slot, but you can expand your capacity up to four slots across a playthrough. Totem slots do not unlock automatically after defeating bosses; they are purchased as specific nodes near the end of the regional skill trees using Teardrops earned from exploration and banked currency.
How to Unlock Additional Totem Slots
Unlocking new slots requires advancing through the distinct regions of the Spirit World and directing your upgrade points toward totem nodes.
- Travel to a new Realm: The game is divided into four main realms (alongside the central Howling Mountain), and each major realm possesses its own independent progress tree.
- Accumulate Teardrops: Collect Teardrops by banking accumulated Death Howls at Sacred Groves or by clearing monster nests across the overworld.
- Open the Realm Progression Tree: Access the upgrade menu while resting at a Sacred Grove to view the available skill branches for that territory.
- Path toward the Totem Node: Allocate upgrade points through the tree. Community testing on the Steam forums notes that reaching the totem slot node typically requires around 9 upgrade points, as the slot sits near the end of the branch.
- Confirm the Upgrade: Once purchased, your maximum active totem capacity expands, allowing you to equip another passive charm in your loadout.
A common point of confusion among new players is assuming that defeating the Great Spirit bosses automatically expands your charm slots. Bosses grant progression toward deeper regions and narrative milestones, but extra slots must be manually bought through the Teardrop skill trees.
How to Get Teardrops for Progress Trees
Teardrops serve as the essential leveling currency for Ro's shamanic enhancements, including totem slots, limit break skills like Overwhelmed, and temporary Spirit Cards. You can acquire Teardrops through two primary methods.
The first method is converting Death Howls at Sacred Groves. Every spirit you defeat yields world crafting materials and a single Death Howl. When you interact with a Sacred Grove to save and recover health, your accumulated Howls are absorbed into the stones. This fills a meter that yields a Teardrop each time the gauge completes. Be mindful that resting at a Sacred Grove to bank Howls also revives standard enemies across the world map.
The second method is locating overworld Nests and completing side quests. Nests are clearly marked on your map once an area's fog of war is lifted. These caches frequently hold direct Teardrop rewards, though they are usually defended by challenging Elder Spirits. Completing specific NPC side tasks—such as the "Balancing the Scales" quest in the Meadows of Delusion—also awards bonus Teardrops along with unique items.
Totem Slot Progression Overview
| Slot Number | How to Unlock | Primary Cost | Function |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slot 1 | Available from the beginning | Default loadout | Equips your first shamanic charm after meeting Nanntok |
| Slot 2 | Realm Progress Tree node | Teardrops (~9 upgrade points deep) | Allows two simultaneous passive buffs |
| Slot 3 | Advanced Realm Progress Tree node | Teardrops | Allows three simultaneous passive buffs |
| Slot 4 | Late-game Realm Progress Tree node | Teardrops | Unlocks maximum passive charm capacity (4 totems) |
Managing and Selecting Totems
Totems are equipable shamanic artifacts that provide passive combat bonuses or modifiers. Most totems activate on the first turn of combat or trigger upon specific board actions like defeating a target or discarding cards.
Ro begins with access to four basic totems, including charms that provide bonus attack damage on the first turn or grant initial stacks of Block. As you venture further, you can discover more specialized totems:
- Tree Roots: Located in the Nest south of the Northern Sacred Grove in the Forest of Howling Death. This charm grants +1 attack damage for the active turn every time Ro slays a spirit.
- Pearl Totem: Earned from completing the "Balancing the Scales" side quest. It permits you to discard a card in combat to receive Block equal to that card's mana cost.
- Extra Mana Charms: Several player-tested builds leverage charms that award bonus mana on enemy kills, allowing aggressive turns where you chain multiple attack cards together.
You can freely swap your equipped totems in the menu outside of combat without any penalty. Because some advanced totems introduce negative drawbacks to balance their high power, matching your equipped totems to your active regional deck and tactical layout is critical for survival.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do bosses automatically unlock totem slots in Death Howl?
No. Bosses do not drop or automatically grant totem slots. You must manually invest Teardrops into the specific totem slot node located in each realm's progress tree.
Can you change your totems during combat?
No. Totems can be swapped freely through the totem menu while exploring the overworld or resting at Sacred Groves, but your charm selection is locked once you confirm your starting position on the battle grid.
What happens to your Death Howls if you die in battle?
If you fall in combat, Ro respawns immediately outside the encounter with the health she entered with, but your unbanked Death Howls drop onto a grid tile inside the arena. You have five turns to step onto that tile and retrieve them during your next attempt. If an enemy steps onto your dropped Howls first, the Howls vanish permanently and that enemy receives an attack damage boost for the remainder of the battle.
