(Updated for Patch 1.0+) Soulstone Survivors Ultimate Material Farming Guide

Last Updated on 26 June, 2025

Grinding for materials in Soulstone Survivors can feel like a slow burn, until you learn how to exploit rune mechanics, map advantages, and elite kill timing. Whether you’re crafting weapon upgrades or targeting rare minerals, this new and updated guide shows you how to farm everything quickly and efficiently for version 1.0+. For a deeper breakdown of rune synergy and farming loops, the Steam guide on reducing the grind offers additional strategies.

Unlocking the Material Harvest Rune

The Material Harvest Rune, found under the Legionnaire skill tree, is the cornerstone of efficient material farming.

When activated, this rune automatically converts Major Soulstones into upgrade materials at the end of a run. The more you kill, especially bosses and elites, the more materials you’ll gain. That makes it perfect for long, aggressive clears and high-density maps.

Important: the rune scales with how many elite enemies and Lords you defeat before picking up your final soulstone. Kill everything first, then collect. Additional rune mechanics are detailed on the Soulstone Survivors Runes Wiki.

Map-Based Material Targets

Different maps reward different materials, and Curse Intensity affects drop tiers. If you’re hunting a specific type of ore or gem, head to the right location.

• Scorching Valley: Great for Copper, Topaz, and Platinum. To unlock higher-tier materials like Platinum, increase your Curse Intensity.
• The Caves: Known for yielding Emerald and Adamantite, ideal if you’re refining for weapon cores.
• Whispering Grove: A solid map for rarer materials, especially Amethyst. Not the fastest map, but the reward tier scales well with difficulty.

These maps shine when combined with strong builds and smart rune setups.

Best Farming Build Tips

Efficient farming isn’t just about where you go, it’s about how fast you clear and how much you kill. Here’s how to power through runs and maximize your return:

• Use AoE-heavy builds: Pick abilities with large radius or chaining effects. The faster you melt mobs, the more elites spawn and the better your yield.
• Boost movement speed: Anything that keeps you moving between spawns makes farming faster. Time is everything in a resource run.
• High-damage Ultimates: Burst damage clears bosses quickly, letting you finish elite waves faster and start the next Overlord cycle.

Builds that combine mobility, AoE, and reliable scaling (like Hounds, Pyromancer, or Legionnaire classes) dominate material runs.

The Overlord Farming Cycle

If you want to truly min-max your material gain, consider farming Overlord Cycles.

These optional late-run loops spawn additional Lords, each with their own set of rewards. With the Material Harvest Rune active, every Lord defeated contributes more materials to your final drop, without requiring manual pickup or juggling soulstones mid-battle.

To trigger Overlord Cycles effectively:

• Clear the initial boss phase quickly
• Avoid picking up the final Major Soulstone right away
• Let the next boss phase initiate, defeat them, then scoop your loot

Each new cycle extends the run slightly, but with exponential reward gain. The Overlord Mode wiki page explains how scaling works across cycles.

Curse Intensity = Better Drops

Want Platinum, Void Essences, or high-tier gems? Crank up your Curse Intensity.

Higher curse levels spawn tougher enemies, but also unlock rarer material drops, especially in late-game zones or during overlapping Overlord Cycles. Think of it like difficulty-based scaling: the harder the run, the juicier the materials.

Start small (Curse II or III) and build up as you get more confident in your AoE and sustain builds.

Minor vs Major Soulstones

Ignore Minor Soulstones when farming. They don’t interact with the Material Harvest Rune and slow your path to elite waves. Focus on slaying elites, surviving bosses, and letting the rune convert Major Soulstones for you at the end.

The only time you should scoop minor drops is if you’re doing a separate talent-grinding run, not for material farming.

Bonus Tip: Harvester Placement Doesn’t Matter

Unlike crafting stations or manual pickups, you can place the Material Harvester anywhere on the map, or ignore it entirely. With Material Harvest active, all materials are tallied and dropped automatically at the end of your run.

So don’t stress where you stand when the last boss falls. Just finish strong, and the game does the rest.

TL;DR – Soulstone Survivors Material Farming

• Use the Material Harvest Rune to convert Major Soulstones into raw materials
• Kill all Lords and Elites before picking up final soulstones
• Farm specific maps for specific drops:
  • Scorching Valley = Copper, Topaz, Platinum
  • The Caves = Emerald, Adamantite
  • Whispering Grove = Amethyst
• Run high-AoE, fast-clear builds to maximize boss spawn
• Stack Overlord Cycles for bonus Lords and drops
• Increase Curse Intensity to unlock rare material drops
• Skip Minor Soulstones during material grinds
• Harvester placement doesn’t affect material gain