Forspoken may have a lot of things working against it, but it's impossible to deny that it still offers some innovative gameplay that can't be found in other games of its genre. Its parkour, combat, and gear all set it apart and serve to make it a game worth trying. The gear, in particular, is quite different from most types offered in other action RPG titles.
One of the most unique elements of Forspoken's gameplay revolves around its nail designs. There are a total of thirty designs to find in the game, with each of them offering players a variety of unique buffs and bonuses that can help them on their journey through Athia. Thankfully, finding most of them is fairly straightforward, and they can be easily acquired as long as players are willing to put in the legwork. Here are the locations and effects of the nail designs in each region of Forspoken's map.
Where to Find All the Nail Designs in Avaolet
There are seven nail designs to find in the Avaolet realm. All but one of these are acquired by eliminating a group of Nightmares gathered in a Breakstorm.
The Amped nail design is found by defeating the Nightmares at the Ruins of Calme in The Untrodden Forest. This design boosts damage when the player is surrounded by enemies and gives Frey's spell damage a passive bonus of 5%. By defeating the army of Nightmares in The Water Garden at Chichek, players can get their hands on the Blessed nail design, which improves critical hit rate and increases all spell damage by 2% when equipped.
Bounce and Spectrum are the two nail designs to find in The Moulderings area. Bounce is found by clearing the Nightmares at the Brome Guild, and will improve the health recovery of healing draughts while decreasing all damage by 5%. Spectrum is acquired by defeating the Deinosuchus boss located in The Sunken Lands. When equipped, Spectrum boosts the critical hit rate of the player's attacks based on the number of spells they have learned while simultaneously increasing all spell damage by 2%.
Players wanting the debuffs they inflict on enemies to last longer should prioritize getting the Heavy nail design, which can be found by eliminating the enemies at Perle in Samum Coast. Aside from improving debuffs, Heavy also grants the player's Prav spells a damage bonus of 5%. After a battle at the Ruins of Sommay in Golden Hills, players are rewarded with the Jet nail design. Jet provides a decent boost to the recharge rate of support magic and increases Frey's spell damage by 5%. Finally, the last nail design to find in the Avaolet is Twisted, which can be acquired by defeating two waves of enemies including Nightmares and Unjust Enforcers at the Ruins of Eskii in the Fountainfields. Twisted increases the longevity of debuffs from Sila-specific spells and the damage of all Sila spells by 5%.
Where to Find All the Nail Designs in Cipal
There are only four nail designs to find in Cipal. Two of them are automatically acquired while playing through the game's story. The other two can be gained by defeating groups of enemies.
After reading an archive entry called "The Tantas' Nails" while visiting the Xenos Guild in Dead Man's Ledge, Frey and Cuff will have an exchange of dialogue, and then the player will receive the Blue Flash and Slay nail designs. Blue Flash speeds up the charge rate of attack spells and reduces all damage by 5%. Meanwhile, Slay causes support magic to deal more damage when surge magic is fully charged, and also buffs the amount of damage Frey's spells can do by 5%.
Cipal's two remaining nail designs, Clutch and On Point, can each be obtained by eliminating a group of Nightmares at a specific location -- Clutch at Reeve in The Blessed Plains, and On Point at the Abandoned Merchant Convoy in The Sacred Peaks. Players wanting to increase their survivability will want to equip Clutch, which increases the effectiveness of healing items at low health. It also includes a passive 2% increase to all spell damage. The On Point nail design causes any top-level attack magic to deal extra damage, while also increasing the damage of Frey's spells by 5%.
Where to Find All the Nail Designs in Junoon
Five nail designs await the player in Junoon, and they possess some of the more unique qualities among Forspoken's nail designs. As usual, most of these can be obtained by defeating groups of enemies. One, however, lies behind a boss battle.
At the Ruins of Koshish in Nowhere is a tall wall that towers above the rest of the ruins. Near that wall are a chest and a box containing an archive entry. Upon the player's retrieval of the archive entry, a giant dragon named Apsaravis appears above the wall and roars a challenge to the player. Once the dragon is defeated, the player is awarded the Escalate nail design. Escalate is one of the most powerful nail designs in the game as it allows killer blows to be chained together in a combo while also buffing all spell damage by 2%.
The next nail design to find in Junoon is Hope, which requires the player to eliminate the Nightmares at Fort Chahiye in Crosstide Coast. Hope is also a powerful nail design in that it boosts damage based on the number of Frey spells the player has learned. Add onto that a 5% buff to Frey spell damage, and this becomes an extremely useful design to have equipped.
Tease, Wired, and Wisdom are all designs that can be helpful to any players primarily using Olas spells, as they each offer a passive 5% increase to Olas spell damage. The good news is that they are each fairly easy to obtain as long as players are able to make the trek over to this part of Junoon. After defeating the Nightmares at the Ruins of Terharnaa in Nearcoast Terrace, players will receive the Tease nail design, which causes debuffs from Olas' spells to last longer in addition to the 5% Olas spell buff. The Wired design can be found at Biichu in the Blossomwoods upon eliminating the enemies there and gives all top-level attack magic the ability to electrocute enemies. Finally, the Wisdom design is acquired by defeating the enemies at Fort Layaak in Physic Garden and grants a damage boost based on the number of Olas spells the player has learned.
Where to Find All the Nail Designs in Praenost
Players can expect to find seven nail designs while exploring the Praenost realm. Most of them require the player to defeat a group of enemies, while one is obtained by playing through the main story. Another can be found by doing a little platforming.
Aftershock is one of the easiest nail designs to acquire in the game as it is automatically unlocked in Chapter 5 after players defeat the large group of enemies outside of Praenost Castle on their way to challenge Sila. This nail design causes killer blows to generate a shockwave, which can prove very useful while in the middle of a horde of enemies. It also passively increases all spell damage by 2%.
After eliminating the enemies at Fort Wielki in Guardians' Way, including a fierce Mylodon, players will receive Dig Deep. This design improves the recharge rate of surge magic and reduces all damage by 5%.
Fatale is among the more difficult designs to obtain, as it requires players to defeat a fire giant named Gigas at the Rock Beds in Mount Garrison. This challenging fight is rewarding, however, in that the Fatale design causes enemies to be knocked to the ground more easily based on the number of spells the player has learned while simultaneously increasing all spell damage by 2%.
The Ignite, Nightshade, and Passion designs are each acquired by defeating groups of Nightmares at different locations in Praenost. Ignite is found at the Ruins of Zelennia in The Path of Glory, Nightshade is found at the Ruins of Lepsi in the Fields of the Fallen, and Passion is found at Fort Optima in Mount Garrison. Ignite gives top-level attack magic the ability to set enemies on fire and comes with a passive 5% bonus to all Sila spell damage. Nightshade grants top-level attack magic the ability to poison enemies and decreases all damage by 5%. Lastly, Passion boosts damage based on the number of spells learned while also buffing Sila spell damage by 5%.
Ill is the most uniquely-obtained nail design in the game, as it requires a fair bit of platforming. The Kloros Guild in Middle Praenost is surrounded by a Breakstorm and the door is locked. However, players can get into the guild by climbing the outcroppings on the tower's northeastern side using Sila's Zip spell and making their way through the door at the top. At the bottom of the staircase, one meager Riven Carcass awaits its doom. Upon defeating it, players will receive the Ill nail design, which causes debuffs from Frey-specific spells to last longer and increases Frey spell damage by 5%.
Where to Find All the Nail Designs in Visoria
The realm of Visoria contains the last seven nail designs for players to find. To no one's surprise, six of these can be obtained by defeating Nightmares at specific locations, while the seventh requires players to defeat a boss.
Beaucoup, Flaunt, Frostbite, Grit, Lit, and Savage are all obtainable through the usual means of eliminating Nightmares. Beaucoup, which is found at the Ruins of Alda in Inner Visoria, boosts the recharge rate of surge magic based on the number of spells learned and decreases all damage by 5%. Flaunt can be found at Fort Gabb in Yonder Cape and not only provides a general damage boost at high health but also a 2% increase to all spell damage.
Frostbite is obtained by defeating the enemies at Fort Sestina in the Visorian Plateau and gives top-level attack magic a chance to freeze enemies in place while also buffing Prav spell damage by 5%. After a short battle at Plateau Hollow in Shepherd's Meadow, players can expect to acquire the Grit nail design, which gives players a general damage boost at low health and a 2% increase to all spell damage. Finally, the Lit design is found at Zakto in Tanta's Demesne. This design allows attack magic to deal more damage when surge magic is charged and provides a 2% increase to all spell damage.
The Honor design may be difficult for some to obtain. Acquisition of this design requires the defeat of the dragon Amphicynodon at the Boneyard in the South Plateau. Although challenging, the fight is worth it for those spending plenty of mana to unlock Prav spells, as the design provides a damage boost based on the number of Prav spells the player has learned while also increasing Prav spell damage by 5%.
Upon retrieving all thirty nail designs available in Forspoken, players have plenty of options to choose from when it comes to making a build that suits their playstyle. The buffs, bonuses, and abilities these designs offer make them one of the most innovative aspects of Forspoken's gameplay.