V Rising Castle Heart Status In Decay: What is Castle Heart Decay and how do you prevent it?
Learn about Castle Heart Decay and how to prevent it
What is Castle Heart Decay in V Rising, and how does it work? If you've played any V Rising at all, you've probably already placed down a Castle Heart somewhere in the Farbane Woods, without really knowing much about what it is or how it works. You just know that it's important. Well, it's also important to understand that you need to keep your Castle Heart fed, or it will start to decay over time. And if a Castle Heart is in decay, the whole castle is vulnerable to attacks and even takeovers by other players.
Below you'll learn what it means when you see the words "Castle Heart Status: In Decay" on your screen in V Rising, which is now out of early access after the release of the 1.0 update. We'll explain how to prevent Castle Heart Decay, and the consequences of neglecting the health of your Castle Heart for a long enough time in Stunlock Studios' survival RPG.
What is Castle Heart Decay in V Rising?
Your Castle Heart in V Rising is the most important part of your home. It is the starting tile from which you can build outwards, constructing foundations, walls, resource-gathering structures, and even roofs to create your castle. However, just like you, your Castle Heart needs blood to survive.
If a Castle Heart isn't supplied with enough Blood Essence, it will start to decay. Interact with your Castle Heart, and you'll see a 2x4 grid under "Castle Power" where you can add Blood Essence. This is what allows you to power your surrounding buildings, and it also fortifies your base against attacks from enemies.
A Castle Heart will gradually consume the Blood Essence you give it, so you'll need to keep your Castle Heart topped up regularly. As you place Blood Essence into the Castle Heart, you'll see the timer below the grid increase. This timer tells you how long (in real-life time) it will take for the Blood Essence to slowly be used up by the Castle Heart. Upgrading the Castle Heart unlocks more slots within the grid, which allows you to place more Blood Essence in at a time, giving you more time between top-ups.
If you allow a Castle Heart to run out of Blood Essence, it will start to decay. Not only does this mean structures such as Sawmills and Furnaces won't be powered and therefore won't work, but it also makes your castle more vulnerable to outside aggressors.
Castle decay is a slow process. Without Blood Essence, the Castle Durability meter at the bottom of the Castle Heart window will start to decrease. Castle Durability is the protection your walls and structures have against enemy attacks. Usually it's quite hard for an enemy to break down one of your castle walls without a very strong and focused attack. But if a Castle Heart is in decay, it will become easier and easier for an enemy to break in and claim the Castle Heart for themselves.
What's more, it's very obvious to players when a castle has a Castle Heart in decay, because the walls and other structures will have a wavy red blood effect running along them. Thankfully, you'll always know if one of your Castle Hearts is in decay, because you'll receive a pop-up notification on your screen in the top-right corner under the minimap. If you see the words "Castle Heart Status: In Decay", then you should head back home and give your hungry Heart some Blood Essence to return it to full health as soon as possible.
That's all there is to the simple matter of preventing Castle Heart Decay in V Rising. Now that you can power your castle easily, you're free to head out on an adventure to find bosses in V Rising. If you want to explore the world of Vardoran faster, take a look at our guides on how to fast travel and how to get a horse in V Rising. If you get into combat on the road, make sure you know how to heal in V Rising.