Valor Mortis keeps its fast travel locked behind a boss fight and a chapter transition, which catches a lot of players off guard. The good news: nothing is permanently missable. Every area stays accessible once the system opens up, so you can backtrack freely to grab anything you skipped. The bad news: you will be doing a fair amount of legwork in the early game before that freedom arrives. Here is exactly when fast travel unlocks, how to trigger it, and how to get the most out of the Lantern network once it is live.
When does fast travel unlock in Valor Mortis?
Fast travel is not available from the start. The game withholds it until you hit a specific story milestone: defeating General Lothaire, The Eagle Bearer, the first major boss, and then entering the Abandoned Church for the first time.
This happens at the beginning of Chapter 3: Rendezvous. If you are still in Chapters 1 or 2, you simply cannot fast travel yet, regardless of how many Lanterns you have kindled. The names of those Lanterns will not even be visible to you until the system activates, which makes the early map feel more disorienting than it actually is.
Valor Mortis Guide: How to Unlock Fast Travel
How to reach the Abandoned Church
General Lothaire waits outside the Abandoned Church behind a fog wall. The encounter itself will be familiar to anyone who has played soulslike games before: the fog wall signals a boss arena, and Lothaire is the gate you have to open. Once he is down, walk through the door behind him to enter the Church. A cutscene with your comrade James plays out, and after the dialogue ends, you are free to explore the hub.
Head to the Lantern inside the Abandoned Church and interact with it. This is the trigger. The game will display the prompt: "You can freely travel between any discovered Lanterns." From that point on, every Lantern you have already kindled becomes a valid fast travel destination.
How to use fast travel in Valor Mortis
The mechanic itself is straightforward once it is active:
- Walk up to any kindled Lantern and interact with it.
- Select the "Travel" option from the menu.
- Browse the full list of regions and their associated Lanterns.
- Select your destination and confirm.
There is also a dedicated shortcut to return directly to the Abandoned Church from any Lantern, which saves time when you need to head back for upgrades or story progression.
Valor Mortis Guide: How to Unlock Fast Travel
What gets added to the fast travel list?
Every Lantern you kindle after Chapter 3 is automatically added to the travel menu. You do not need to do anything special. Rekindle a new Lantern in a later area and it appears in the list immediately. This means the network grows as you progress, and revisiting old areas becomes progressively easier.
Why fast travel matters for exploration
Valor Mortis has strong Metroidvania DNA. Areas are built with locked paths that only open once you acquire specific abilities or Transmutations later in the game, such as the Grapple ability or the Shield Transmutation. This design deliberately encourages returning to earlier zones.
Without fast travel, that backtracking would be genuinely tedious. With it, you can drop into any previously visited Lantern, grab the item or path you could not reach before, and get out without retracing the entire route on foot.
| Fast Travel Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Boss to defeat | General Lothaire, The Eagle Bearer |
| Location to reach | Abandoned Church |
| Chapter unlocked | Chapter 3: Rendezvous |
| Activation trigger | Interact with the Church Lantern |
| Enemy respawn on rest | Yes, all standard enemies |
| Bosses respawn on rest | No |
How long until you reach fast travel?
Reaching General Lothaire and the Abandoned Church takes a few hours depending on your pace and how thoroughly you explore. If you are curious about the full scope of the game's length across different playstyles, the how long it takes to beat Valor Mortis guide breaks down time estimates for every approach.
For players jumping in fresh and wondering about platforms, pricing, or Game Pass availability before committing, the Valor Mortis release date, platforms, and price FAQ covers all of that in one place.
What to do before fast travel unlocks
Since you will be without fast travel for the opening hours, a few habits make the early game less frustrating:
- Kindle every Lantern you find. They all get added to the fast travel list retroactively once Chapter 3 begins, so there is no reason to skip any.
- Note blocked paths. You will encounter doors, gaps, and barriers that require abilities you do not have yet. These are not dead ends, just deferred content.
- Do not stress about missables. The game is designed around revisiting areas, so skipping something early is rarely permanent.
For a full breakdown of everything available in Valor Mortis, including all the other mechanics worth knowing, check out the complete Valor Mortis strategy guides collection.
