Corruption in Saros explained

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Corruption in Saros refers to a broad range of different mechanics and systems, depending on whether you mean Corrupted Weapons, Health, Artefacts, or Projectiles. Some of these systems are somewhat interlinked, but the reality is that Corruption in Saros is more of a broad, catch-all term for "the thing that should be good for you is now also bad for you".

To explain, I've got all the different corruption mechanics in Saros listed below, where I'll lay out how they work and what the word means in different contexts.

What does Corruption do in Saros?

Corruption in Saros has different meanings depending on what it's applied to. Here's a brief summary of each meaning before we get into more detail below.

• Corrupted Projectiles and Attacks: Enemy attacks that reduce your maximum health.
• Corrupted Health: When Arjun's maximum health is reduced.
• Corrupted Weapons: Guns that deal increased damage the more your Health is corrupted.
• Corrupted Artefacts: Artefacts that come with negative effects for Arjun when picked up.

Obviously that's a wide range of (mostly bad) effects, but it's still worth fully understanding them and what you need to do to counter the negatives while playing through Saros.

Article continues below

Corrupted Projectiles and Attacks

Corrupted Projectiles in Saros are enemy attacks that reduce Arjun's maximum health if they hit you, even if you shield against them (though there are upgrades that can reduce their impact). During an Eclipse, all enemy attacks are Corrupted.

Corrupted Health and how to fix it

Corrupted Health alone in Saros can't kill you, but unless dealt with, it can eventually reduce your maximum health to a sliver, effectively meaning that you can be killed by a single attack. Corruption is marked on your health bar with a swirling yellow pattern, as well as a growing yellow protrusion that comes out of Arjun's back (this is purely cosmetic).

To fix it, you need to use your Power Weapon. Using whatever Power Weapon you have equipped begins to de-corrupt your health bar, though the space left behind is empty and still needs to be healed. The more you increase your Command, one of the core Saros Attributes, the more ammo you'll effectively have for these weapons.

Corrupted weapons

Some weapons you find have a chance to be corrupted, marked by a Yellow Sun icon. Corrupted weapons deal additional damage based on how much Corruption your health has. Without any corruption on your health, they deal a regular amount of damage, but the more your health bar gets reduced, the more powerful they get. These tend to be some of Saros best weapons out there, especially as there's no downside to this quality.

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Corrupted Artefacts

Corrupted Artefacts are Artefacts that also come with some sort of randomized penalty if you pick them up, such as increased dash cooldowns, dealing less damage when standing still, or any number of problems.

These Corruption penalties are removed if you can defeat an Overlord (the boss at the end of a biome), but you keep the positive elements of the Artefacts going forward in the run you're currently doing. If you regret picking one up, check out our guide on how to drop Artefacts in Saros.

What is Autohit in Saros: And what happens when it's turned off?
How long to beat Saros: Accurate estimations of the story here
How to save in Saros: Ensure your progress is recorded
All Saros abilities: Every permanent upgrade in the game
How to break Yellow Barriers in Saros: Smash through these obstacles

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Joel FraneyGuides Editor, GamesRadar+

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and Very Tired Man with a BA from Brunel University, a Masters from Sussex University and a decade working in games journalism, often focused on guides coverage but also in reviews, features and news. His love of games is strongest when it comes to groundbreaking narratives like Disco Elysium, UnderTale and Baldur's Gate 3, as well as innovative or refined gameplay experiences like XCOM, Sifu, Arkham Asylum or Slay the Spire. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at Eurogamer, Gfinity, USgamer, SFX Magazine, RPS, Dicebreaker, VG247, and more.

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