How to Raise Soul Level in Soul Hackers 2

The titular ability of Soul Hackers 2, Soul Hacking, requires our protagonist, Ringo, to interface directly with a human soul and help her party members. Besides the baseline ability of reviving them from death, this also allows Ringo to access deeper levels of their souls to bring out their full potential. To do this, though, you need Soul Levels. Here’s how to raise Soul Level in Soul Hackers 2.

How to Raise Soul Level in Soul Hackers 2

Besides Ringo, every member of your party in Soul Hackers 2 has a personal dungeon on the Axis known as a Soul Matrix. As you explore a character’s Soul Matrix, not only will you obtain information about their personalities and backstories, but you’ll also receive powerful new skills and passive abilities for them. You’ll receive one of these skills every time you open a special Gate in a character’s Soul Matrix, but to do that, you’ll need a sufficiently high Soul Level with that character.

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Generally speaking, there are three ways you can raise a character’s Soul Level:

• Story Progress
• Character-Specific Sidequests
• Hangout Events

Story Progress

As you progress through the main story of Soul Hackers 2, Ringo will naturally grow closer to her party members through regular dialogue. You can increase these gains slightly by choosing particular dialogue choices in cutscenes that favor characters whose levels you want to raise. Of course, if you only bond with them through the story, you probably won’t get enough of a Soul Level boost to unlock a lot of skills.

Character-Specific Sidequests

Most of the sidequests you pick up in Soul Hackers 2 will either be simple fetch or battle quests for demons or NPCs, but on occasion, one of your party members will have a personal stake in a sidequest. If you take on and complete these quests, the associated party member will get a nice, big boost to their Soul Level. It’s not always immediately apparent which quests are party member-related, so make sure to take on any new ones as they pop up so you can check later.

Hangout Events

Occasionally, as you explore the game’s various dungeons, you’ll encounter one of Ringo’s partner demons out on recon. These demons will usually either provide helpful items or services or offer you a chance to contract with another demon. Sometimes, though, they’ll have a special item available for you to claim. These special items can be cashed in at Bar Heidrun to trigger Hangout Events, amusing little cutscenes where Ringo spends some quality time with one or more party members. Viewing these events will get you both some extra backstory about your party and, of course, raise your Soul Level.