There’s only one way to use all the soul energy you find in Death’s Door, and that’s on upgrades. Since there are only 4 upgrade categories, and only 5 points per upgrade, each upgrade is both expensive and impactful. Therefore, it’s a good idea to head back to the Hall of Doors for upgrades every time you can afford one (and find yourself near a door).
Death’s Door Upgrades
- Strength – Increasing your Strength increases the damage you do with your melee weapon, and also increases the reach of your swing.
- Dexterity – More Dexterity means less time between swings with your melee weapon, and also decreases the time it takes you charge your melee and ranged attacks.
- Haste – Haste upgrades decrease your dodge roll cooldown, makes your dodges faster, and also increases your base speed.
- Magic – Upgrading your Magic increases the damage done with your spells and ranged abilities.
Upgrade Costs
The pricing is the same for each of the 4 upgrade categories, and each point you spend will make the next point in that category cost more.
- 1st Point – 400 souls
- 2nd Point – 600 souls
- 3rd Point – 800 souls
- 4th Point – 1000 souls
- 5th Point – 1500 souls
The Best Upgrades in Death’s Door
There are quite a few ways you can approach combat in Death’s Door, therefore the best upgrades are really whatever suit your playstyle! If you’re someone who never uses the spells, spend all your souls on Strength, Dexterity, or Haste. If you prefer spells, then by all means, dump your souls into Magic and Dexterity.
Ultimately, there are two styles of play possible in Death’s Door: ranged and melee. The boss fights won’t let you recharge your energy without hitting them, so I lean towards recommending the melee focused build.
Melee Build: Haste and Strength
Those of you who like to get up close and personal should focus on Haste and Strength when choosing upgrades.
Haste is a great stat to upgrade, since not taking damage is a big part of not dying in Death’s Door. While someone with perfect dodge timing might not make use of Haste, most of us mortals could use the extra boost of speed, as well as the reduced cooldown between dodges.
Strength makes fights end quicker, since you’re going to be killing enemies faster. Strength upgrades allow you to reach breakpoints with weapons where enemies die in fewer hits, and it also makes the boss fights easier to finish before you run out of health.
Dexterity can be the 3rd priority stat here; while the decreased time between attacks is nice, it didn’t seem to be as useful as the flat increases to base damage and speed that the other stats give. If you need faster swing time for a given enemy or area, use a faster weapon!
Ranged Build: Dexterity and Magic
Those of you who prefer to stay as far away from enemies as possible should focus on Dexterity and Magic for your upgrades.
Magic is a no-brainer for this build, since it will increase the damage you do with your spells and your bow. Dexterity lowers the time it takes to actually fire off spells and arrows, and therefore is an essential stat as well if you plan on doing most of your damage from range.
I’m not convinced that a ranged build is a truly viable way to play, since it will make fighting the bosses difficult. However, games are supposed to be fun, so if magic and bows are your thing, go for it! I think a safer way to play would be to throw a few spare points into Magic and/or Dex if you can’t afford Strength or Haste upgrades. That way, your spells and bow still have some utility, but you’ll be prepared to take on the tough boss fights when you get to them.
I find that a ranged build isn’t difficult to use once you’ve upgraded all of your spells, but it does affect the effectiveness of your melees, both in damage and ability for the rest of the build. It sort of restricts you to using the daggers, as they have the fastest spell recharge potential; it is always the only one that can fill your whole capacity from nothing in one combo.
Also, the hookshot’s upgrade appears to fit best in a melee build, as its attack damage is affected by melee upgrades, rather than ranged.
Actually, I attempted to use a melee-based build against the Grey Crow, and that fight seems to favor more ranged builds, particularly after I got the bow and arrow upgrade.