Trials of Toroah

Complete all six Trials to unlock Ash’s ultimate Vandalier class.

Table of contents

  1. Overview
  2. What is the Vandalier Class?
  3. The Six Trials
  4. How to Access Trials
    1. Step 1: Obtain the Key
    2. Step 2: Equip Key to Ash
    3. Step 3: Enter Any Dojo
    4. Step 4: Accept the Challenge
    5. Step 5: Complete the Battle
  5. Trial Characteristics
    1. No Standard Experience
    2. Low Gold Rewards
    3. Ash-Scaled Difficulty
  6. The Ash Leveling Strategy
    1. How to Do This:
    2. Why This Works:
    3. Exception:
    4. Recommended Ash Levels:
  7. When to Do the Trials
    1. Option 1: Do Trials Immediately (Not Recommended)
    2. Option 2: Save Trials for Later (Recommended)
    3. Latest Possible Timing:
  8. Advancing to Vandalier
  9. Trial Battle Strategies
  10. Experience “Cheating” in Trials
    1. Castle Ruins Method (Act II, Section 3)
  11. Quick Reference
    1. Key Locations
    2. Collector’s Treasures (for Chaos Key)
  12. Next Steps

Overview

The Trials of Toroah are six optional challenge battles scattered throughout the game. Completing all six trials and collecting all six Prisms allows Ash Lambert to advance from Paragon to Vandalier, the most powerful class in the game.

If you miss even ONE key or Prism, you cannot unlock Vandalier. All keys must be obtained before leaving their respective story sections!

What is the Vandalier Class?

The Vandalier is Ash’s ultimate transformation, granting him:

✨ Access to every spell in the game

  • All Hero spells (Ice Storm, Rolling Fire, etc.)
  • All Mage spells (Phase Shift, Salamander, etc.)
  • All Priest spells (Supreme Healing, etc.)
  • All Monk spells
  • All enemy-exclusive spells including Plasma Wave and Life Orb

⚔️ Exclusive ultimate equipment

  • Vandal Heart (Sword, 40 ATK)
  • Vandal Helm
  • Vandal Armor

💪 Massive stat bonuses

With Vandalier unlocked, Ash becomes unstoppable. Plasma Wave hits every enemy on the battlefield, and Life Orb restores all HP/MP for FREE.

The Six Trials

# Trial Name Key Required Prism Reward Earliest Available
1 Nova Trial Key of Nova Nova Prism Act I, Section 5
2 Earth Trial Key of Earth Earth Prism Act II, Section 3
3 Mana Trial Mana Key Mana Prism Act IV, Section 1
4 Chaos Trial Key of Chaos Chaos Prism Act IV, Section 5
5 Logos Trial Logos Key Logos Prism Act V, Section 4
6 Heaven Trial Key of Heaven Heaven Prism Act VI, Section 1

How to Access Trials

Step 1: Obtain the Key

Each Trial requires a specific Key. Keys are obtained through different means:

  • Nova Key: Talk to woman in Port City Minato tavern after defeating Death Ant
  • Earth Key: Trade Banana to young man in Yuzu tavern
  • Mana Key: Found as hidden item in Prison Fortress (Act III)
  • Chaos Key: Trade 3 collector’s treasures (Macroman, Tarot, Ramen) at Kerachi tavern
  • Logos Key: Found in Smoking Bones Cave
  • Heaven Key: Talk to Weird Man in Glasgow City after obtaining first 5 Prisms

Step 2: Equip Key to Ash

Open the menu and equip the Key item to Ash Lambert (like you would equip a weapon or armor).

Step 3: Enter Any Dojo

Visit any Dojo in any town and select “Leave”

Step 4: Accept the Challenge

The Dojomaster will ask if you want to “Transform” - select YES

Step 5: Complete the Battle

Fight the Trial battle and collect the Prism from the treasure chest

You MUST get the Prism from the chest before ending the battle! If you defeat all enemies without getting the Prism, you cannot retry!

Trial Characteristics

Trials are different from normal battles:

No Standard Experience

  • You don’t gain experience from attacking or defeating enemies
  • You only gain experience from casting spells on party members
  • Support spells (Mystic Shield, Bless Weapon) work best for grinding

Low Gold Rewards

  • Each Trial gives minimal gold (140-270G total)
  • Trials are for Prisms, not money

Ash-Scaled Difficulty

CRITICAL: Enemy levels in Trials are determined solely by Ash’s level!

  • Higher Ash level = Much harder Trials
  • Lower Ash level = Easier Trials
  • Other party members’ levels don’t matter

The Ash Leveling Strategy

Keep Ash as your LOWEST level character until all Trials are complete!

How to Do This:

  1. Don’t use Ash in battles (when possible)
  2. Don’t let Ash get the killing blow on enemies
  3. Don’t cast spells with Ash unnecessarily
  4. Position Ash safely in the back, away from combat

Why This Works:

Experience in Vandal Hearts is based on how far below the “standard level” a character is. If Ash sits out battles:

  • He falls behind in levels
  • Other characters get stronger
  • Trials become much easier
  • After getting all Prisms, Ash can quickly catch up

Exception:

In Act III, Section 1 (Plain of Sorrow - Tower Defense), you only have 4 characters including Ash. You’ll likely need to use him here, which may push him to Level 15.

Progress Ash Level Notes
Acts I-II 10-11 Minimal usage
Act III (after tower defense) 15 Unavoidable
Acts IV-V 15-16 Keep him benched
After all 6 Prisms Any Level freely!

When to Do the Trials

You have flexibility on timing:

Pros: Get it over with Cons: Party is weaker, less equipped, fewer characters

Pros:

  • Larger party (more options)
  • Better equipment available
  • More money to spend on prep
  • Characters have advanced to better classes

Cons:

  • Must remember to get Keys before leaving story sections
  • Ash might level accidentally

Most FAQ authors recommend waiting until Act V or VI to complete earlier Trials, when you have a full party of 12 advanced characters.

Latest Possible Timing:

  • Trials 1-5: Anytime before starting Act VI
  • Trial 6: Anytime before the final battle with Dolf

Advancing to Vandalier

Once you have all six Prisms:

  1. Ensure Ash is at least Level 20 (Paragon class)
  2. Visit any Dojo in any town
  3. Select Advance (not Leave/Transform)
  4. Ash will advance from Paragon to Vandalier

Congratulations! Ash is now a demigod.

Trial Battle Strategies

Each Trial has unique challenges. See individual Trial pages for detailed strategies:

Experience “Cheating” in Trials

Since you gain experience from casting spells on yourself in Trials, you can exploit this:

Castle Ruins Method (Act II, Section 3)

This level has healing circles (restore HP/MP each turn):

  1. Clear all enemies
  2. Don’t enter the door (triggers battle end)
  3. Stand healers on healing circles
  4. Cast Mystic Shield on themselves repeatedly
  5. Each cast = 16-17 experience
  6. Takes ~6 rounds per level
  7. Repeat until desired level

After leveling healers, other characters can use Mage Oil on them for massive XP boosts.

Don’t level Ash this way if you’re doing Trials! Trial difficulty will skyrocket.

Quick Reference

Key Locations

Key How to Get Missable?
Nova Minato tavern (talk to Woman) No
Earth Yuzu tavern (give Banana) Yes - need Banana from Act II.3
Mana Prison Fortress hidden item No
Chaos Kerachi tavern (3 treasures) Yes - need items from Acts II-IV
Logos Smoking Bones Cave hidden No
Heaven Glasgow tavern (have 5 Prisms) No

Collector’s Treasures (for Chaos Key)

  1. Macroman - Act II, Section 1 (Ygdra Canyon, NW corner)
  2. Tarot - Act III, Section 3 (Basil Gate, SE corner)
  3. Ramen - Act IV, Section 4 (Magic Train, front car grate)

Next Steps

Table of contents

Copyright © Konami Co., Ltd. | Guide compiled from FAQs by Jeff Chan, Lancel0t, Shotgunnova, Syonyx, Richard Uyeyama, and Wolverine Inc.