4) Crystal tricks.

Inside a dungeon, press the square button to shoot a blast from Valkyrie.

If the blast contacts a solid surface, it will form a crystal.

Shoot the crystal again to form a large crystal.

Shoot the crystal a third time to shatter it, producing a cloud of dust that lasts for five seconds and drifts slowly downward.

You can have up to three crystals (large or small) active at one time; making a fourth causes the first one to disappear.

Valkyrie can stand on crystals. Jumping on a crystal once will cause it to crack. Jumping on it a second time will cause it to break.

Large crystals crack the second time they are jumped on and break the third time.

Crystals can also be broken with your sword.

A broken crystal turns into 1 rectangular block and 1 small sphere.

These can be picked up with the X button.

When picked up, they can be thrown with the X button or dropped with the Circle button.

These broken pieces float in water and can be used as stepping stones. It is recommended to ignore the small spheres and just work with the rectangular blocks.

You can have up to three sets of broken pieces at one time; making more causes the first set to disappear.

To ascend a wall, place a crystal, jump on it, place another crystal, jump on it, and so on.

To reach an overhead ledge, make three ice crystals on the ground and shatter them with your sword to create ice chunks.

Form a large crystal on the ground under the end of an overhead ledge (between two ledges).

Pick up a large ice chunk with the X button and lay it on top of the crystal with the Circle button. Repeat this with the other two large ice chunks so all three are stacked on the crystal.

Jump on top of the crystal, to the side of the chunks. Press the X button to pick up one chunk, then drop it immediately with the Circle button. It should stack on top of the other chunks.

Press the X button again, pick up one more chunk, and drop it with the Circle button. You should now have a stack of three chunks on top of the crystal.

You can now stand on the top of the stack and jump to reach your objective. The crystal will not break if you are standing on the broken pieces on top of it. This trick is referred to as "crystal steps".

In most cases, two steps on top of the crystal are sufficient to reach objectives above you.

It takes three steps to reach the chests in the bell tower at Gorhia Cult HQ.

To reach the chest at the end of Palace of the Dragon, build your large crystal on top of the artifact treasure chests.

When a cloud of dust is formed from shattering a crystal, Valkyrie can jump and stand on the middle of the cloud.

When Valkyrie is standing on this cloud, it will not disappear after five seconds; it will disappear when she jumps off or if it touches the ground.

This can be used as a stepping stone to reach higher areas and is referred to as "crystal dust" or "dust cloud".

Shattering a crystal when Valkyrie is next to it will fling her away.

She can shatter a crystal she is standing on and it will fling her upwards, but this does not increase her jump height.

To perform a "crystal bounce", shatter a crystal on the ground while ducking next to it. This will fling Valkyrie away horizontally, allowing her to cross a narrow horizontal distance. Some dungeons require this trick to advance.

To walk through the air (useful in the Dark Tower of Xervah), shoot a crystal onto the ceiling, then turn it into dust.

Jump onto the dust platform, standing on the edge of the cloud.

Make another dust cloud on the ceiling and jump onto it.

By repeating this, you can slowly make your way across the top of the screen riding the dust clouds.