Boons and Flaws are unique attributes that players must choose when creating their character.
They are modifiers that effect gameplay in various ways, including vital core mechanics such as ether, hunger, and reputation, for the better, or worse.
Boons[]
Boons are positive and helpful effects that are chosen in Character Creation. The number of Boons able to be picked is dependent on the number of Flaws that have been picked, with more selected Flaws equaling more Flaw Points and therefore more Boons. You can only have a maximum of 2 Boons at once.
These Boons can be chosen at character creation with no requirements for obtainment.
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These Boons can be chosen at character creation, but require an additional requirement to unlock them permanently.
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Flaws[]
Flaws are negative and harmful effects, most often chosen in Character Creation. Most Flaws can be rerolled by talking to the Shrine of Yun'Shul, Keeper of Hearts or Shrine of Blasphemy if you are over Power 17. Choosing Flaws will grant Flaw Points, allowing you to choose more Boons.
These Flaws can be chosen at character creation with no requirements for obtainment. Most base Flaws can be obtained by Flaw granting deals, such as those with Deep Shrines or Yun'Shul.
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These Flaws can be chosen at character creation, but require an additional requirement to unlock them permanently. Unlockable Flaws cannot be obtained from Flaw granting deals, such as those with Deep Shrines or Yun'Shul.
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These Flaws are granted via specific means instead of being chosen during character creation or granted via a deal with a Shrine. Special Flaws often have harsher downsides and do not grant Flaw Points. Some Special Flaws can be removed from your character if you complete a task, but are unable to be removed in any other fashion.
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 , Carrion, Father of Evolution 1  , or by obtaining Clarity from Misérables for 15 . Also cleared from all slots permanently if you purchase the Soul Plasticity Echo Unlock for 500 Echoes.
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Breakdown of Boons[]
- Some boons are more worth taking than others:
- Autodidact is useful to help level up certain stat quicker or level up stats that are annoying to do manually. If you die, you can also power up to restore your two lives. However, a side effect of free investment points is that you will often be in EXP Debt, as you will "progress" more without meeting proper EXP quotas, hitting training caps faster. Unfortunately, it becomes useless once you reach Power 20. This Boon stacks with the Adret Aspect Talent, Maudet.
- Gourmet is a well-rounded boon that even stacks with its Talent variant. You spend less time making food overall which is great for extended adventures with limited supplies. Not worth picking if you're going to choose Carnivore, though.
- Maverick's exp boost is a nice bonus but is too poor to be viable and is negated by playing with some friends. Unfortunately, it becomes useless once on any fully-progressed build.
- Packmule is very useful for builds that need to carry around a lot of loot, such as bank slots or PvE builds. While nice to have, it's not as impactful as many other Boons unless you're going for one of the aforementioned builds.
- Scrapper gives you more control over your build. It can be worth taking if you are okay with omitting a long-lasting boon like Survivalist, Gourmet, or Steadfast. Though, if you happen to obtain the Ace of Spades Regalia, this Boon will become obsolete.
- Sly is largely seen as a waste of a Boon, as all it does is reduce the amount of reputation lost when doing things that might upset factions. It however may be useful for people who gank, especially in the Depths and around Castle Light.
- Steadfast grants a pretty big boost to your overall armor durability by reducing the damage taken to it. This Boon is generally seen as needed on almost all builds due to its universal bonus. The Armorer's Ring has a similar, albeit weaker effect that stacks with the Boon.
- Survivalist's immunity to Acid Rain might seem limited in usage since acid rain only happens in Upper Erisia, but being an ability usually limited to a single armor, it can prove invaluable for spending time there. It also avoids the dangerous event of your glider breaking when gliding into acid rain. In addition, it decreases the rate at which parasites in the Second Layer kill you. (This Video Demonstrates this fact.)
Breakdown of Flaws[]
- Some Flaws are more worth taking than others:
- Blind gives you the Blinded effect constantly. If you can live through it and get Blindseer, you can negate the problem the Flaw gives. This Flaw also provides protection from Flame Blind and Gaze. Blind also grants your character milky-white eyes.
- Deficient can be a problem even in attunement-less builds, as you will suffer in long-term fights and when you use high-cost mantras, and your only main source of damage is your M1s. Generally, not worth taking. However, if you decide to go for Silentheart, the effect is minor, though still a downside, as Ether can still be useful.
- Fugitive can be worked around if you manage to get reputation with most factions, some might be harder than others. Also effectively negated by the Noble Regalia, as it gives you a large amount of starting reputation for all factions.
- Glutton just forces you to handle provisions more smartly, since you will likely need more food for extended sessions, but this can be somewhat worked around by using the carnivore Talent/Grand feast. Also effectively negated by the Hungerless Regalia, as it entirely disables passive stomach/thirst drain.
- Haemophilia is basically a free Flaw in 1v1 situations, as the increased blood drain won't have an impact when you'll be knocked before your blood runs out, but in ganks you can die to blood before health runs out after some time. This Flaw (luckily) doesn't affect blood cost from utilizing or being hit by Bloodrend Mantras nor the blood cost from the Blood Loss Corrupt Resonance downside, as these aren't affected by any blood damage modifiers.
- Manic is usually a free point. The increased insanity gain is minimal, comes from few sources, and scratching can be completely avoided if you play properly and can even benefit some builds.
- Obvious grants -20% stealth on spawn, increasing the radius at which enemies will detect you. Because of this, this Flaw will largely only affect PvE with one exception being Tacet's range, as that is affected by your Stealth stat. This Flaw can be dangerous in areas like the Depths. The Felinor aspect almost entirely negates this Flaw, as the Aspect starts with 20% stealth. Though, because of Felinor's innate 1.2x stealth multiplier, you'll have -4% stealth, which is negligible and can be countered by a mere 2 Agility.
- Simple's EXP gain rate decrease is not problematic for the patient, but it can be annoying to power up at higher levels. It'll also mean it takes more time to get back your first life via powering up. The exp gain downside of this Flaw is negated when fully progressed. The reduced Knowledge gain from this Flaw can hurt, but there are some workarounds; if you gain Knowledge in increments of 1 or 2 (most Knowledge gain sources fall under this range), the Flaw will not hurt you as it rounds. Alternatively, gaining Knowledge in increments of any even number that is not divisible by 4 will cause your Knowledge gain to round up, granting you slightly more Knowledge than it would otherwise. Also, the Insightful Regalia overpowers the decreased Knowledge gain downside of this Flaw, allowing you to gain slightly more Knowledge than you would previously.
- Squeamish will cause you to lose stomach upon killing enemies, and as food buffs are tied to your stomach bar, you'll also lose those more quickly than other character might. Other than that, you typically won't eat more than other characters. Regardless, be sure to carry an ample supply of food. This Flaw can be effectively negated if you obtain the Carnivore Talent, as this will cause you to instead gain stomach and hydration after killing.
- Vegetarian's inability to consume meat can be easily avoided; there are many other food sources other than meat/meat related items and the Guild Base Mess Hall sells Vegetarian options. Vegetarian only grants a chance to vomit when eating meat-based foods, so they are still viable options in a pinch. Picking this Flaw will make it impossible to obtain the Carnivore Talent, which may be useful.
Trivia[]
- Prior to the official release of the game, Blind was a selectable Flaw for 1 point. This was removed during testing for unknown reasons, although was it was brought back during the August 16th, 2022 update, being unlocked after gaining Blindseer.
- Deepbound used to be a Flaw, but it was changed to be an unlockable origin.
- The Restless Flaw was originally obtainable when Oathbreaking Oathless and using Shrine of Order, however this Flaw is currently unobtainable.
- The Shrine of Order used to grant a random base Flaw on use, this was removed during the September 6th, 2025 update.
- There used to be more Boons and Flaws. The currently known ones are Adept (likely the original version of the Talent) and Seasick.
- While not confirmed, Wishbound's passive insanity gain shares some similarities with the Latin concept/word, lunaticus. Within it's Latin origins, the word refers to diseases caused by the moon, such as madness or epilepsy.
Having the Blind Flaw at night. (No, this isn't just a black image. Look carefully.)