Duskfade is packed with collectibles — some tied to achievements, some to upgrades, some to side quests. Here's every type and where to find them.
| Collectible | Count | Reward | Achievement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clock Heart Pieces | 3 per upgrade | +1 Max Health | "Don't call Dr. Peppermint" (80G) |
| Rainbow Ingots | All regions | Sword upgrades | "The most beautiful sword in the kingdom" (90G) |
| Music Boxes | Multiple | Return to Arpeggio | "Master of melodies" (80G) |
| Cards | Full set | Collection completion | "Collector" (80G) |
| Tailord's Kittens | All kittens | Side quest completion | "Cat army" (80G) |
| Upgrade Gears | Many | Skill tree currency | — |
| Star Shards | Many | Currency | — |
| Time Energy Upgrades | Multiple | +1 Max Time Energy | "Advanced clockmaking" (90G) |
| Traveler's Items | All purchases | Upgrades from Traveler | "Compulsive buyer" (80G) |
| Wally Encounters | Every time | Hidden character | "No peeking!" (15G) |
Collect 3 Clock Heart Pieces to increase your maximum health by 1. These are the most important collectibles for survival — prioritize them above everything else.
Max out your health by finding all Clock Heart Pieces. Dr. Peppermint is the health NPC — presumably found in Tick Town. Talk to them as you collect pieces to track your progress.
| Region | Location | How to Reach |
|---|---|---|
| Tick Town | Various hidden spots | Some require late-game abilities |
| Magical Forest | Off the beaten path | Double jump + roll extension |
| Clocktower Ruins | Deep in the temple | Grapple required |
| Mount Cinder | Crystal cave system | Rail grinding + grapple |
| Other regions | TBD at launch | — |
Rainbow Ingots are the Minutero's upgrade material. Find them all to max out the sword's power and unlock its ultimate form.
This is one of the highest-value achievements. Don't miss any Rainbow Ingots — they're often in the most well-hidden areas of each region.
| Tip | Details |
|---|---|
| Explore off-path | Rainbow Ingots are rarely on the main route. Check alcoves, high ledges, and dead ends. |
| Backtrack with new abilities | Many are unreachable on first visit. Return with Grapple, air dash, or glide. |
| Listen for Cuckoo | If you've invested in Cuckoo's Item Finder skill, the bird pings nearby hidden items. |
| Check every chest | Some Rainbow Ingots are in locked chests. Open every chest you see with the Minutero. |
| Platforming challenges | Many are rewards for difficult platforming sequences — the "how do I reach that?" spots. |
Collect Music Boxes and return them to Arpeggio — the butterfly-like musician NPC you meet in the caves of Mount Cinder.
Return all music boxes to Arpeggio. These are scattered across all regions, often in hard-to-reach areas.
Arpeggio is a tall, butterfly-like figure and an acquaintance of Zirian. You meet them on the way to Mount Cinder. After explaining your predicament, Arpeggio gives you the Grapple gadget. They also initiate the Music Box collection quest.
Arpeggio is both your Grapple source AND your Music Box quest giver. Make sure to return to them periodically as you collect boxes. They're likely found in or near Tick Town or their original cave location.
Collect a full set of cards scattered throughout Tearfeld. The exact nature of these cards (trading cards? lore cards? enemy cards?) will be revealed at launch.
Complete the card collection. Cards may be found in chests, dropped by enemies, or given by NPCs. Check every source!
Tailord is an NPC who has lost their kittens. Find all of them scattered across the world to complete this side quest.
Find all of Tailord's kittens. These are likely hidden in various regions, requiring exploration and possibly specific abilities to reach.
Tailord is found in Tick Town or the Clockmaking Academy. There's also a story achievement for helping Tailord escape the Academy ("Be my muse!" — 15G Bronze). This suggests Tailord may move locations during the story.
Kittens are likely small, easy-to-miss objects. Invest in Cuckoo's Item Finder skill to ping nearby hidden items. Check every nook and cranny — kittens could be behind breakable objects, in high places, or in hidden alcoves.
Upgrade Gears are the currency for your four skill tree branches (Minutero, Zirian, Gadgets, Cuckoo). They're the most common collectible:
If you need more Upgrade Gears, enemies respawn when you rest at bonfires. Find a bonfire near a group of enemies, clear them, rest, repeat. This is the equivalent of "soul farming" in Souls games.
Star Shards are the basic currency collected from smashing boxes, breaking objects, and defeating enemies. Used for purchases from the Traveler NPC and possibly other vendors.
Every box, container, crate, and breakable object can drop Star Shards. The Minutero smashes them in one hit. Make a habit of breaking every object you see — it adds up fast.
Similar to Clock Heart Pieces for health, Time Energy Upgrades increase your maximum time energy — the resource used for special attacks (Blast Attack, Chronoblast, transformations).
Max out your time energy. One of the highest-value achievements. Time energy upgrades are likely hidden in the same way as Clock Heart Pieces — off the beaten path, behind platforming challenges.
The Traveler is a mysterious desert explorer NPC who sells items and upgrades. Buy everything they offer to complete this achievement.
Buy all of the Traveler's items and upgrades. Save your Star Shards for these purchases — don't waste currency on consumables if you're going for this achievement.
The Traveler is described as a "mysterious desert explorer" — likely found in the Sun-scorched Dunes region. Meeting them triggers the "Don't talk to strangers" achievement (15G Bronze). They may also appear in Tick Town as a vendor.
Wally is a fun hidden character — a nod to the iconic children's puzzle book "Where's Wally?" (also known as "Where's Waldo?"). You need to find him every time he appears.
Find Wally every time. He appears in multiple locations throughout the game. Missing any Wally encounter means you'll need to replay to get this achievement.
Wally is likely hidden in crowd scenes, background details, or hard-to-spot locations. Take your time in each area and look carefully at the environment. If Cuckoo has an Item Finder skill, it may help ping Wally's location.
Likely tied to specific NPC side quests. These are mentioned in demo coverage as collectibles with quest significance.
The "The mask of pain" achievement (15G Bronze) requires dazzling Palette with your best outfit. This suggests cosmetic outfits exist in the game — collect them all to impress Palette!
There's a secret achievement (15G Bronze) for breaking "the poor Cloudie Guard's pots." Find and break these specific pots — likely in Tick Town or a Cloudie-populated area.
There's a secret achievement (15G Bronze) for killing Wilson. Wilson is presumably a specific NPC or enemy. Details TBD at launch.