Dishonored Best Bone Charms Guide: Best Charms for DLC, More

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Cody Perez

Cody has been in the video game business as part of media and content creation for more than 10 years. During that time, he has contributed and even led some of the largest sites in the world dedicated to gaming and entertainment. He has also dabbled some in PR and was a tester for Activision in the past working on the Call of Duty series. When not playing games or writing about them, he enjoys cooking, sharpening his Japanese skills, and watching the latest anime shows.

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The beauty of the first Dishonored and its sequel is the freedom that players have. Sure, you have predetermined levels and objectives in this game, but the best part is figuring out how to get there. With so many paths and methods of combat and exploration, the freedom you have is fantastic. This aspect is only enhanced by some of the amazing items in the game, such as the ones in this Dishonored best bone charms guide.

Bone charms are some of the most powerful items you can find in the game. With them, the Dishonored protagonist — be it Corvo, Daud, and so on — is able to alter their abilities vastly. In general, they can be considered accessories that offer passive bonuses. Sometimes they will boost a specific stat, other times, they will make a particular playstyle more viable, and even some radically change the world in a way. Find out which are the best for you in this Dishonored best bone charms guide.

Bottom Line Up Front

The best bone charms in Dishonored are the ones that grant abilities that are vastly more powerful than others. Some charms are inherently more valuable, either due to the stats they boost or from the playstyles that they help out. They could help with stealth, melee combat, powers, and more.

If I had to pick a single bone charm in Dishonored that is the absolute best one, I would go with the Arcane Assassin: Void Channel ability. This one makes your void powers longer-lasting, which is always lovely, but then you get buffs to Blink and Windblast that give them more range. If you like using the powers often, like me, this is an invaluable charm.

Bone Charms Tips

Before we dive too deep into the bone charms in Dishonored, I have some tips for you that I came up with during my time playing this beloved and wonderful stealth game:

• Charms are limited. At the start of your playthrough, you can only have up to four charms on you at once. However, there are ways to equip more charms and even more radically change your gameplay.
• If you have the DLC, which most likely you do if you get the game on modern consoles these days, you’ll be able to get three more charm slots for seven in total. Then you are able to upgrade this even further in the DLC to a total of 10, which is impressive.
• Even though you are limited to four in the main Dishonored game, this is still a fair amount. I recommend finding ones that work together. For example, there are several charms that help with a rat playstyle.
• While niche charms like those for a full combat playthrough are lovely, watch out for too specific charms. For instance, some charms boost your swimming speed, but this is useful in only a few situations. Ignore those or at least switch them out when you don’t need them.

Selection Criteria

There are quite a lot of bone charms, even in the original Dishonored. Across the main game and DLC, there are a lot of options to choose from. Depending on what you pick, you can change the entire way that you play the game.

As such, I had to be quite particular about which bone charms to include on this list. Here are the selection criteria I used to narrow it down:

• Benefits: First and foremost, the stat boosts and benefits of the charm are the most essential part. If the benefits aren’t worth equipping, it certainly didn’t make this list.
• Uniqueness: Some bone charms have far more intriguing and odd benefits. I tried to include some of those on this list.
• Variety: Given how free and flexible Dishonored is, I tried to be the same and include high-quality charms that can appeal to all sorts of different playstyles from stealth to powers to full-on brute force players.
• Game Versions: With the DLC, new bone charms were introduced to Dishonored. I tried to include a nice mix of charms you’ll find in the main game and the sometimes overpowered ones in the DLC.

Best Dishonored Bone Charms

Without further ado, let’s dive into the city of Dunwall and take a look at the 15 best bone charms that exist across the base game of Dishonored and its DLC packs. That said, if a charm was introduced in the base game, I’m using that version, not the possibly adjusted version from DLC.

I included 15 in this list mainly to give you plenty of options, especially if you are someone who’s going to try and unlock more slots to let you equip up to 10 bone charms at once.

1. Acrobat

• Effects: This bone charm gives the player the ability to climb up faster than they usually would.
• Game Version: Dishonored base game

Acrobat is one of the more superficial bone charms in Dishonored, but I love that about it. If you’re anything like me, you mainly go for a stealth-based playthrough of this game. The Acrobat charm is a decent one for stealth players but it has its uses for other playstyles, too.

Being able to climb up faster can help in speeding up your run of the game while also allowing you to quickly avoid being caught by enemies. While it may not be as flashy as some of the other best charms on this list, it can be an instrumental one in protecting your full stealth playthrough.

Pros

• Being able to climb up faster is a nice bonus
• This is fantastic for speed-runners and stealth players
• There is also some use for all playstyles

Cons

• The bonus with this charm is meager compared to some others
• This may not apply to everyone, especially brute-force players

2. Blood Ox Heart

• Effects: This gives you 20% more overall mana than before.
• Game Version: Dishonored

The Blood Ox Heart is another bone charm that isn’t too extraordinary in what it does. It gives you 20% extra mana points for your character, and that’s it. This single boost, though, can open up so many possibilities for your run of Dishonored.

If you’re also like me, I use a mix of stealth and power to get through the levels. If you find yourself using Corvus’ powers even remotely often in this game, the Blood Ox Heart is essential. It gives you the chance to use more powers in various scenarios, which can open up plenty of avenues for you.

Pros

• This frees you up to use more powers
• This is a vital charm for anyone who primarily uses powers in Dishonored

Cons

• If you don’t use powers for some reason, this bone charm is useless to you

3. Falling Star

• Effects: Using the drop assassination technique will instantly give you 20% of your mana back to you.
• Game Version: Dishonored

Falling Star is a prime example of a perfect bone charm for versatile players who like to use both powers and stealth together. Drop assassinations are something that you should often be doing in this game if you are a stealth player and doing so is quite rewarding.

It will instantly give you back a considerable chunk of your mana just for assassinating someone. This can be helpful for following up that attack with powers to take someone else out or for you to make a quick getaway before you’re seen by another enemy. You can’t go wrong with this bone charm, especially when mixed with some of the others on this list.

Pros

• This is a must-have bone charm for players who use powers and stealth
• You’ll continuously get use out of this one
• It pairs well with other similar bone charms

Cons

• Again, if you don’t use powers or stealth or both, this is useless for you
• The situational nature of this charm may be too annoyingly specific for some

4. Spiritual Pool

• Effects: This bone charm gives the player faster mana regen than they usually have.
• Game Version: Dishonored

Spiritual Pool is yet another amazing bone charm for anyone who uses mana quite often in their runs. What it does is speed up the rate by which you get mana back. One of the biggest gripes I have with the game is that the mana regeneration is obnoxiously slow for me.

I feel like I am so limited in what I can do at times because I have to hide and sit around to wait for my mana to come back. Spiritual Pool doesn’t drastically increase the rate, but it is enough to give you better options faster for using your powers in combat.

Pros

• This bone charm helps with one of the more annoying parts of gameplay
• Power users will adore this particular bone charm
• Pair this with other charms on this list, and you could have a near-broken character build

Cons

• If you don’t find yourself needing mana that often, this probably isn’t for you

5. Strong Arms

• Effects: This speeds up the rate by which the player chokes an enemy.
• Game Version: Dishonored

Strong Arms is by far one of the weirder bone charms on this list. Instead of speeding up your climbing or mana, it focuses on the highly specific but useful act of choking someone out. If you play stealthily, chances are you’ll be doing this quite a lot in your playthrough.

Strong Arms ensures that you are able to speed up the animation for choking someone, which is helpful for a number of reasons. For one, it reduces the amount of time it takes you to neutralize an enemy, which frees you up to then turn around and take someone else out. In addition, it can be helpful for not leaving you vulnerable to being spotted while doing this. Plus, speed-runners might love this.

Pros

• Strong Arms significantly speeds up stealth playthroughs
• It frees you up to have more time to react and make your next move

Cons

• Non-stealth players will probably have little use for this charm

6. Swift Shadow

• Effects: While you are using stealth, Swift Shadow will give you a significant boost to your movement speed.
• Game Version: Dishonored

Swift Shadow is one of my favorite bone charms in all of Dishonored. As I mentioned above, I play stealth, and another annoying aspect of playing this way is how slow you generally go. Swift Shadow reduces some of the frustration with this by speeding up the player character while in stealth mode.

There is so much to love about how much this frees you up in the game. If you’re trying to blast through a level, this can help with that. In addition, it gets rid of those frustrating moments when you get spotted or takes someone out and needs to make a quick escape. If you play stealth at all, this should be the first charm you equip.

Pros

• One of the must-have bone charms for any stealth players
• It reduces and fixes the slowness of stealth mode

Cons

• This is specific to stealth lovers, so anyone else should look elsewhere

7. Tough Skin

• Effects: Tough Skin gives the player 15% more health points.
• Game Version: Dishonored

Tough Skin is another straightforward bone charm. It gives you 15% more health in the game than you would typically have. This is the prime example of a bone charm that any non-stealth player should add to their repertoire. Sure, 15% may not seem like much, but it can be vital to winning certain fights.

The health in this game is relatively low, and it can be pretty easy to die in the middle of a fight. This is why I don’t recommend most players take the full combat approach. But this bone charm gives you a lovely bit of wiggle room to take a hit or two and keep going in the fight.

Pros

• Any boost to your relatively low health is welcome
• This is one of the must-haves for players who like to speak with their fists

Cons

• Someone who sticks to stealth most of the time may not have too much use for this charm

8. Undertaker

• Effects: Undertaker boosts the player’s overall speed while carrying around a body.
• Game Version: Dishonored

Undertaker is a highly situational ability but one that is useful for players who take their time and might struggle with getting caught in this game. One of the best ways to avoid being found is to hide any of the bodies of the enemies that you have assassinated in a level.

The problem with carrying a body to a safe area is that the game makes you walk extremely slowly. Undertaker gives you a nice boost to movement speed so you can quickly dispose of the evidence and get moving to the next target. It’s not a requirement for players to use but is highly useful if paired with other stealth-themed charms.

Pros

• If you find yourself hiding bodies often and taking your time with your stealth, this is the charm for you.
• It relieves some of the pressure from one of the annoying downsides of stealth.

Cons

• If you don’t use stealth, your limited bone charm slots are better used elsewhere

9. Vengeance

• Effects: If you get damaged at all by anything, you’ll gain some adrenaline in return.
• Game Version: Dishonored

Most of the bone charms on this list have to do with purely beneficial boosts. I like the Vengeance one a lot for its risk-and-reward system. The entirety of this particular bone charm is built on the idea of giving some to gain some. In this case, it is giving up some health to gain some adrenaline.

You likely know how powerful the adrenaline status can be since it gives you a unique instant kill against an enemy in this game. The weird part about adrenaline is that the game tells you nothing about it. There is no bar to keep track of or anything.

Thankfully, an item like this one changes all that since it makes the process of gaining adrenaline much easier. This item is best used by aggressive players who like to use their weapons first and stealth later. It is paired well with other charms like the ones that give you more health and the like.

Pros

• The risk-and-reward system is beautiful
• Combat lovers will adore this bone charm; it’s a must-have

Cons

• If you use stealth, you’re better off using other charms
• This bone charm’s risky nature of needing to take hits to benefit isn’t for everyone

10. Welcoming Host

• Effects: This boosts the white rat possession duration, increasing it to 30 seconds instead of 20 seconds.
• Game Version: Dishonored

Possession is a mechanic that is useful for a number of things. The white rats that roam the sewers are everywhere in Dunwall — a nasty city — and having the chance to possess them for longer is rather helpful. The tiny rats don’t stand out, allowing players to zip past enemies without being noticed.

If you can possess for longer, that gives you more time to think and execute your plan. This can even possibly help speed up a playthrough since you may not have to engage in combat that much. If you pair this with another bone charm like the one that turns all rats into albino rats, you can possess rats rather often and for long periods of time.

Pros

• One of the most underrated stealth bone charms
• This charm pairs so well with other similar charms
• It can help speed up your playthrough of levels and avoid combat

Cons

• If you don’t find yourself using the possession power that often, this isn’t for you.

11. Whirlwind II

• Effects: This better version of the original bone charm lets you swing your sword much faster than normal.
• Game Version: Dishonored

This is a relatively straightforward bone charm. The idea is that it lets the player take their sword out and swing it around much faster than they usually would. This is key for a number of reasons, not least of which is the fact that it would then allow you to be a better fighter than most of the NPCs.

Since you’ll be able to swing faster, you should be able to deal damage quickly and take out those enemies much faster than before. This bone charm is only really for those who prefer to do an all-combat playthrough of the game and rush into every battle. Make sure to pair this with others that will keep you alive and Vengeance, of course.

Pros

• One of the most beneficial bone charms for players who like to fight everyone
• The quicker swings will let you take down enemies much faster

Cons

• If you don’t go for an all-combat approach, this is entirely useless to you

12. Acrobatic Killer: Raven

• Effects: Whenever you do a drop assassination on someone, you will regain some of your health.
• Game Version: Void Walker’s Arsenal DLC

Acrobatic Killer: Raven is one of the several overpowered and highly useful DLC bone charms. In this case, I love this one because it is essentially helpful to everyone. Even if you are a combat-only player, it can help to do the occasional drop assassination since it will give you health back to then turn around and fight other enemies.

On the other hand, stealth players can use this to ensure they are pretty much always maxed out on health so long as they are correctly taking out enemies via assassination like they know they should. This versatile bone charm is a must-have for anyone trying to survive and move fast in Dishonored.

Pros

• This is a necessary protection bone charm for anyone trying to play through the game quickly
• It’s one of the most versatile charms, being useful for all sorts of players

Cons

• The situational nature of only working with drop assassination is unfortunate. I would have liked to see it extended to other scenarios

13. Arcane Assassin: Void Channel

• Effects: All of the powers that the player uses in combat will last for 20% longer than they usually would. In addition, the Blink and Windblast powers have more range than ever before.
• Game Version: Void Walker’s Arsenal DLC

This is by far the best bone charm on this list and my absolute favorite. It is almost broken in a way, boosting your powers in such significant ways. Let’s start with the first part, which is making all of your powers last for 20% longer than they usually would.

This affects basically any status power, which on its own is worthy of being a bone charm. But then you have an added bonus in extending the range of two of the best powers in Blink and Windblast. I don’t know about you, but I use Blink all the time, so being able to go further is unbelievably helpful.

Pros

• This is by far the best bone charm of them all
• It has not only one beneficial power boost but two
• The extended duration for all powers is nice enough on its own
• But you also get the excellent range extensions for two of the best powers

Cons

• I guess maybe if you don’t use any powers for whatever reason, this would be useless to you.

14. Arcane Assassin: White Rat Friend

• Effects: None of the white rats will attack you.
• Game Version: Void Walker’s Arsenal DLC

Arcane Assassin: White Rat Friend is the final piece of the puzzle for a tried-and-true rat build. Pair this with the ability to possess white rats for longer, and the bone charm that turns all rats into albino ones, and you have one of the most broken characters builds around.

You won’t have to worry about any rats attacking you, and they will be like your little army, letting you zip around the map with ease. You can use this for stealth, to decimate every foe you encounter using your rat possession powers, and so on.

Pros

• The final piece of the puzzle for a broken rat build
• Not having to worry about rats attacking you is a blessing (that is, so long as you turn all rats into white rats)
• Perfect for stealthy players

Cons

• If you don’t do anything with rats, you have no need for this one

15. Void Surge

• Effects: There is a chance that you won’t use any mana whenever you use power.
• Game Version: The Brigmore Witches DLC

The Brigmore Witches Dishonored DLC brought with it two new bone charms, of which only one is viable, in my opinion. That said, Void Surge is one of the best in the business, especially for players who use powers. Sure, it is entirely random, but there is a chance you won’t ever spend any mana when using power.

This is already helpful since it means you’ll be able to instantly use another power if you need to without using up more mana than necessary. The random nature of this is annoying, but it is a nice bonus when paired with already helpful charms for mana regen and the like.

Pros

• If you have a power build, this bone charm is a requirement
• The ability to sometimes not use mana for powers is almost broken
• This bone charm frees you up to do more occasionally with your powers

Cons

• If you aren’t using a power build, you obviously won’t need this one
• The RNG nature of this particular build is rather frustrating since it is one of the only cases of this in the entire game

FAQs

Where to Find All Runes in Dishonored

The bone charms in Dishonored are some of the most important parts of your entire playstyle and playthrough. Like the rest of the gameplay elements, there are so many of them, and they each can radically change how you approach various levels and situations.

If I had to pick a single bone charm that I would recommend to everyone, I would choose the Arcane Assassin: Void Channel charm from the Dishonored DLC. This is one of the best charms for those who use powers like Blink, and I think this can be helpful no matter what type of player you are.

Bone charms aren’t the only items for you to collect in Dishonored. There are also runes that allow you to upgrade your various powers. They are essential to getting the most out of the highly versatile gameplay system. Thankfully, we have all of the Rune locations already listed out for you to find.

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